On Saturday, it was announced that the inimitable Clark
Terry had died at the age of 94. I’ll have some of his work cued up at the end
of this post.
A good number showed this week: Wes on tenor, Steve M. and
Steve H. on alto, Jack D and Todd on trumpet, Carl on trombone, Annie and Dick
on vocals, Sam on bass and, in the absence of Gene, Jack K on drum. Yes, drum.
Jack pulled a snare out of the closet and his brushes from the car. Given the
size of the set, Wes and Steve H also did a little time-keeping while Jack
played trumpet.
Sam started us out off-book with Amazing Grace. Jack K. called Misty
(I-277). Wes moved us on to Blues for
Alice (I-55). Steve H. was inspired
by a tune from the previous week, It’s
De-Lovely (III-213). Jack D. asked
for the pretty Softly As In A Morning
Sunrise (II-355). Todd pulled out the old standard Bye Bye Blackbird (II-73). Steve M. went with the classic I’ll Remember April (I-197), which is
hard to do in the depths of a February freeze.
Sam stretched us so much with Solar
(I-363) that we decided to take another round on it to get more comfortable. As
long as we were remembering, Jack K wanted I
Remember You (II-179). Annie started off Singer Time with All of You. Carl followed with his only
request of the day, Two Degrees East,
Three Degrees West (II-408). The great standards went back and forth
between the vocalists: Easy Living
(I-127) for Annie; How High the Moon
(I-180) for Dick. Back to Annie, it was Easy
to Love (I-128); Dick responded with Have
You Met Miss Jones (I-172). Annie took another call, Dearly Beloved (I-103). Steve M. tried a tune we were unfamiliar
with, Detour Ahead, which gave us a
good workout. Dick went with the more familiar I Could Write A Book (I-180). Annie sang the lovely For All We Know (I-145). We rocked a bit
on Dick’s request, Red Top, and went
out with Annie singing I Can’t Get
Started (I-184).
This week’s Participant’s Picks
Sam wanted to send me a
link to Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, Samba
De Uma Nota So
but he accidentally sent this link to Stan Getz and Bill
Evans, But Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRWDeGplx3Q&list=PL80HDsGs-eTmmZQnjRwWFOpUEKZnJZqAr. It was
pretty, so I posted it anyhow.
Steve M. suggested George
Shearing performing Lullaby of Birdland:
Wes put in a request for
Along Came Betty. I found this one by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,
naturally.
Dick suggested Johnny
Green and Edward Heyman’s Out of Nowhere.
No particular arrangement, he said; it’s just a great tune. So here are a few
good examples.
Frank Sinatra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcn8F-VYJDo
Django Reinhardt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0XdQWm_m4A
Lena Horne and Teddy Wilson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1-AL2cVGtE
As promised, your scribe offers a few numbers in tribute to
the late Clark Terry. The most remarkable thing about him, for me, anyhow, was
that you knew within two notes who was playing—fast or slow, flugelhorn or
trumpet, muted or open, you could always tell it was Clark Terry. He had a
sound, and a joy in performing, like no other.
Sam’s accidental link reminded me of this version of But Beautiful, a duet with Oscar
Peterson:
From the same album, Slow
Boat to China, just because I like it.
Trumpet Mouthpiece
Blues, with Paul Gonsalves
A rollicking version of Blueport,
with Gerry Mulligan at The Village Vanguard
No tribute would be complete without a version of Mumbles. I have the original version, Incoherent Blues, with Oscar Peterson, then
one with a very old Woody Herman and a very Young Herd, Clark playing his later
upside-down flugelhorn.
--SJH
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