March 20, 2015

The MacRae Park Bunny Brunch for kids is coming up next Saturday, March 28, from 10 to noon. The Workshop participants will be playing a few Easter and Spring-related tunes for the grown-ups. Maybe we'll see you there, or afterwards if we keep playing.

This week, though, was just a standard workshop. Sam (bass), Wes (tenor), Steve M (alto), Greg (guitar), yours truly (alto) were there at the beginning. Todd was also there, bringing in not only his trumpet, but his guitar. He and Steve M started noodling around on All The Things You Are (I-22) while the rest of us got set up and joined in. We moved on to Greg's pick on the next page, Always (I-23), which we played in 3/4 time rather than the written 4/4. Our arrangement of Four Brothers was Sam's call, with Todd, Steve M, Steve H and Wes trying to be Zoot, Stan, Herbie and Serge without the same horns.

We were joined at this time by newcomer Rich, who brought his flugelhorn and, when that proved to have a balky valve, his cornet. Sam called another, The Song Is You (I-374). Wes decided on Charlie Parker's Blues For Alice (I-55). Rich's first turn came up, and he wanted Song for My Father (I-373). Todd called for a down-tempo version of There Will Never Be Another You (I-407). Your scribe, up next, changed books with Old Devil Moon (II-297). Annie, Carl and Dick arrived in the meantime, and Annie joined in a chorus.

Annie felt like trying out a lot of new things this week, beginning with the funky Feel Like Makin' Love (III-119); turns out we're not a particularly funky group. Dick brought us back to normal with Come Rain Or Come Shine (II-88). Alright, OK, You Win (I-24) was Annie's next new choice, and went better. Dick picked one of his favorites, Mean To Me (III-274). Steve M finally got a chance and called It Might As Well Be Spring (II-205). Annie's next new tune was the old standard Sentimental Journey (II-343). Next up was Jobim's Meditation (I-266). To prepare for the Bunny Brunch, we took a look at Easter Parade (I-126) and finished up with Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (III-374), which is way too much of a downer to play at the Brunch, but is still an interesting song.

Participant's Picks
Lots of people had contributions this week. Check out some of these recordings.

Sam: John Coltrane, A Love Supreme

http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/coltrane_only_live_performance_a_love_supreme.html

Carl: Nina Simone, Why? (The King of Love Is Dead)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh6R0BRzjW4 (Full Live Version)

Wes: Benny Golson, Along Came Betty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUpYEM05ffk

Greg: Thelonious Monk, Round Midnight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zre0u5XyNfY (Original 1947)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yg7aZpIXRI (Video, live in Norway, 1966)

Steve M: It Might As Well Be Spring. Lots of them available. Try these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUNh1gTBp0 (State Fair 1945)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEifmf9Uw (Sarah Vaughan 1950)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5TMvOYgcR0 (Clifford Brown, 1958)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZonD2ikM_o (Jane Monheit)

I can’t find a video of my favorite version, by local singer Karrin Allyson, but you can listen to it here if you have a Spotify account:

http://www.last.fm/music/Karrin+Allyson/_/It+Might+As+Well+Be+Spring (spotify link)

Dick: April In Paris (vocal). Here are a few good ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y87nu14ZLU4 (Doris Day, from 1952 film)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZxrvslGt5w (Ella Fitzgerald)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeKC0vxCc_w (Frank Sinatra)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0RwzIvX70A (Billie Holiday)

Annie: Roberta Flack, Feel Like Makin’ Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtX_Omc1Xqk (Live)

Woody Herman, Four Brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK_9otl3sZ0 (Zoot, Serge, Herbie, & Stan)

Enjoy.

--SJH

March 14, 2015

What a turnout! Vocals and rhythm and horns—oh, my! We had Gene on drums, Sam on bass and trumpet, Greg on guitar, Steve M and Steve H on altos, Wes on tenor, Todd on trumpet, Jack K on trumpet and drums, Carl on trombone, Ray on bass, and Annie and Dick on vocals. With the number of people who showed up--and were actually all in the room at the same time--we had to run more solos per song, so there were fewer songs this week. But everyone was in good form, and a very enjoyable afternoon ensued.

Starting with Sam, Gene, the Steves, Wes, Todd and Jack, we played an arrangement of Jimmy Giuffre’s Four Brothers. It’s always good for us to work through things written with harmonies, and anything that is new; Sam likes to stretch us whenever it is feasible. We agreed to return to it another week. Gene then suggested Milt “Bags” Jackson’s Bags’ Groove (Real Book II-30), a groove everyone really settled into with extended solos.  Wes called for another groove, this time Dizzy’s Groovin’ High (I-166). Yours truly requested Indiana (II-201), which swung along at a good clip. Jack changed the tempo with a ballad, My Romance; he took the statement of the tune and another chorus, and closed out playing the tune again with only horn chords behind him. Todd chose All The Things You Are (I-22) at a nice medium swing. Steve M decided to challenge us with Round Midnight (I-345), which sounds a lot easier to play than it is, with some intriguing chord changes.

By this time, Ray had arrived, followed closely by Annie, Carl, and Dick.  Annie got us moving with It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing ((I-224) which, it turns out, is true. Sam the Challenger pulled out Jeannine (II-212) to test our modal chops (mine are none too developed). Fortunately, Dick followed up with In A Mellow Tone (I-206). Trying one she had not previously done with the group, Annie sang Just In Time (II-222), though it sounded as though we had been together for a long time. On his turn, Dick decided on Out of Nowhere (I-318). Annie likes to add flourishes and use her classical voice on certain songs; Poor Butterfly (III-324) gets a Madame Butterfly introduction. We rocked on through Sam’s next pick, St. Thomas (II-339). The beautiful My One And Only Love (I-288) was Dick’s next choice. We tried another that Annie had wanted to check out, but hadn’t covered before, Rodgers and Hart’s Lover (II-256), in 4/4 and 3/4. As 3:00 approached, we took on I’m Confessin’ behind Dick’s vocals.

At this point, our usual end time, your scribe had to leave, but most everyone else remained behind for more fun.

Despite the large turnout, I got hardly any requests for this week’s Participant Picks.

Dick said that the piece he couldn’t think of last week was When I Look In Your Eyes, with Anthony Newley singing to a seal. Unfortunately, I cannot locate it on YouTube, so if anyone knows where we can view it, please send word.

Annie, having just sung it, suggested Just In Time. I have the movie version with Dean Martin and Julie Holiday, and another one with just Dino and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jbsTk3g-vQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIZ-11qT1Kk

The ever-watchful Sam sent his in ahead of time, and you just never know what to expect from him. Here we have Snarky Puppy playing Lingus (We Like It Here):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XJ_s5IsQc&index=2&list=RD4MA9r9V_Nzs

I have a fondness for blues tunes that don’t quite follow the traditional chord structure. This all started when I first heard Ham Hock Blues, with Lionel Hampton, Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson, George Duvivier, and Buddy Rich. The final four, instead of the usual V7, IV7, I change, goes #V7, V7, I.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yosa8uF6myU

March 7, 2015

It was one of those slightly discombobulated days at the workshop. A funeral kept your scribe from arriving until about 12:15; thanks to Jack D for keeping notes. Fearless Leader Sam, our usual bassist, was absent, and people had other events to attend that prevented them from staying as long as usual, so there was a lot of movement. At least Gene was back, and that was very good.

When I arrived with my alto, it was Gene (drums), Wes (tenor), Steve M. (alto), Jack D. (trumpet) and Jim D. (no relation), whom we haven't seen for a few months, surprising us with his baritone sax. By that time, the group had tried out a down-speed version of So What (I, 364), followed by Isn't It Romantic (I, 219), and Lady Bird (I, 235). As I settled in, Jack D. picked Solar (I, 363). Next up came the 3/4 Up Jumped Spring (I, 425). We then ran down a blues arrangement which might make an appearance at a public venue some day. Gene thought I Thought About You (I, 180) would be fun, and we all thought that would work fine. We were sure Wes was going with Blues for Alice, but he changed his mind for Robbin's Nest.

Jack D. and Steve M. had to make their exits, though we managed to hold on to Jim D. for a few more songs. Meanwhile, Annie (vocals) and Carl (trombone) made their entrance, followed soon by Dick (vocals). This may have proved the most profitable part of the afternoon, as the horns tried to create some chordal structure behind the vocalists in the absence. Annie kicked off the vocal portion with Hello, Young Lovers (I, 176). Dick pulled out Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me (II, 107). Annie wanted to try out one she hadn't worked on for a while, Soon It's Gonna Rain (III, 372). Dick wanted to give a go to one with which the rest of us were unfamiliar, If You Never Come To Me (I, 204), and we appreciated the new tune. Next, Annie called the old Basin Street Blues (II, 37). Dick called the classic In A Mellow Tone. Annie took us out with the last three songs: With A Song In My Heart (II, 427), Who Can I Turn To (II, 423), and I Could Write A Book (I, 184).

Participant's Picks
Sam, though absent, sent along a pick he used before, but it's a good one, so we'll post it again: Luis Salinas' La Salsalinas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f76JGCG_WU

Gene was enthusiastic about Cannonball Adderley's Sack O' Woe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR3rm-4ZiFo&list=PL1a4Vr37XCn_Zg4L0btVwOC5mmQePh4Ed

Annie and Carl had a discussion of Rene Marie's Peel Me A Grape, so here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELd4QewyXnY

Dick has a memory of Anthony Newley singing a song to a seal, but I have been unable to locate it. If anyone has a lead, please let us know.

I was looking for something from Phil Woods, and came across one Sam should appreciate, because he keeps trying to get us to play it: Dear Old Stockholm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQosC3wx08U&index=84&list=PLyyN1REB-P36Ry9H29fGqfZlFqwEMHbwz

Here is my favorite track off the 1963 collaboration of Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT1YTkl0-NY

Enjoy.

--SJH

February 28, 2015

Your scribe had a car snafu this particular Saturday, and thus did not arrive at the workshop until after noon. The members assembled in the lobby. Sam on the bass, Jack D on trumpet and Steve M on alto had already played Autumn Leaves, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, and Slow Boat To China, and Jack had just called In A Mellowtone. Wes, tenor already out, was digging in the storage closet for a drum and cymbal in the absence of Gene, whom we understand is recovering at home after some time in the hospital. Jack K eventually arrived to provide some actual expertise on the set, but Wes and I did what we could. Please get better, Gene!

By the time I got set up, we were ready to cover I Hear A Rhapsody (II-177) at Steve M's request. Yours truly asked for the ballad The Very Thought of You (III-421). Wes was next, and we chugged along on Coltrane's Blue Train (I-54), which received applause from a passing father and son. Sam had spotted Unforgettable on the preceding page (III-420) from the one I had chosen, so that was next.

By now, Jack K had come in with a few more cymbals and some sticks, and called Miles Davis' Four (I-149). Bye Bye Blackbird (II-73), a popular old standard, was Jack D's choice. Steve M. pulled out I Love Paris (I-189), with its intriguing shift back and forth between minor and major keys. Annie and Carl had both presented themselves by this time. Annie, her microphones and amp again locked in the office, stuck with an "I" tune, I Can't Get Started (I-184), which turned into a peculiarly amusing duet with Jack K. Steve M and I saw I Can't Give You Anything But Love on the next page and said, "Why not?" Jack K moved over to trumpet after this, and Wes and I kept the beat in turn. Annie got another call, and carried on the pattern with I Could Write A Book (I-186). By now, Dick was ready to sing, and went back-to-back with Fly Me To The Moon (II-135) and Out of Nowhere (I-318). Sam settled on Black Orpheus. Not sure who called the next one, but it was Dearly Beloved. We finished off the afternoon with Mean To Me (III-274).

Participant Picks
Well, I forgot to bring it up this week, so I don't have any picks. I have to admit, though, that I had never thought of On A Clear Day as a jazz tune. So I did a little research, and I stand corrected. Here are a few versions you might enjoy.

Bill Evans On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fG1Wgdhexg

Frank Sinatra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPTDuqZPesA

Johnny Hartman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W0ACnRrVto

Sarah Vaughan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe7dctQJWho

Barney Kessel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9z_flywrqY

--SJH