Tag Archives: Jazz

Today: The late Sidney Bechet was born in 1897 – 116 years ago

Posted on May 14, 2013 by | Leave a comment

sidney bechet

But drinking and reefers and all that stuff, most times they just mess up all the feeling you got inside yourself and all the feeling the music’s got inside itself. When a man goes at the music that way, it’s just a sign that there’s a lot inside himself he don’t know how to answer. He’s not knowing which way he needs to go. He’s not going anywhere at all.
~Sidney Bechet (Treat It Gentle: The Autobiography of Sidney Bechet)

Petite Fleur ( the Olympia Concert Paris, December 8, 1954):

A brilliant soprano saxophonist and clarinetist with a wide vibrato that listeners either loved or hated, Bechet’s style did not evolve much through the years but he never lost his enthusiasm or creativity. A master at both individual and collective improvisation within the genre of New Orleans jazz, Bechet was such a dominant player that trumpeters found it very difficult to play with him. Bechet wanted to play lead and it was up to the other horns to stay out of his way.
~Scott Yanow (allmusic.com)

Wikipedia:

Born May 14, 1897
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died May 14, 1959 (aged 62)
Garches, France
Genres Jazz
Dixieland
Occupations Clarinetist
Saxophonist
Composer
Instruments Clarinet
Soprano saxophone
Years active 1908–1957
Associated acts Louis Armstrong
Tommy Ladnier

Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.

He was one of the first important soloists in jazz (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet’s playing.

Bechet’s erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim.

Sidney+Bechet

Blue Horizon:

.. by combining the ‘cry’ of the blues players and the finesse of the Creoles into his ‘own way,’ Sidney Bechet created a style which moved the emotions even as it dazzled the mind.
~Robert Palmer

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Today: The late Robert Johnson was born in 1911 – 102 years ago

Posted on May 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

“Just look at the picture of him with the acoustic guitar: His fingers are in the weirdest position. If you’re a guitar player looking at that, you know this is a guy who’s not even thinking; he’s just there. … The soul of his creative originality plays a huge part in music making for everyone who’s ever written a song and really known what they’re doing.”
~Neil Young

“You think you’re getting a handle on playing the blues, and then you hear Robert Johnson — some of the rhythms he’s doing and playing and singing at the same time, you think, ‘This guy must have three brains!’ ”
~Keith Richards

Favorite album? I think the Robert Johnson album. I listen to that quite a bit still.
~Bob Dylan (Rockline interview – June 1985)

Cross Road Blues:

From Wikipedia:
Birth name Robert Leroy Johnson
Born May 8, 1911
Hazlehurst, Mississippi
Died August 16, 1938 (aged 27)
Greenwood, Mississippi
Genres Delta blues, Country blues
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals, harmonica
Years active 1929–38

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson’s shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend, including a Faustian myth. As an itinerant performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson enjoyed little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime.

Johnson’s records sold poorly during his lifetime. It was only after the reissue of his recordings in 1961 on the LP King of the Delta Blues Singers that his work reached a wider audience. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues style. He is credited by many rock musicians as an important influence; Eric Clapton has called Johnson “the most important blues singer that ever lived.” Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “Early Influence” in their first induction ceremony in 1986. In 2003, David Fricke ranked Johnson fifth in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Me and the Devil Blues:

…Johnson’s major influence has been on genres of music that weren’t recognized as such until long after his death: rock and roll and rock. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included four of his songs in a set of 500 they deemed to have shaped the genre:

Johnson recorded these songs a decade and a half before the recognized advent of rock and roll, dying a year or two later. The Museum inducted him as an “Early Influence” in their first induction ceremony in 1986, almost a half century after his death. Marc Meyers of the Wall Street Journal wrote that, “His ‘Stop Breakin’ Down Blues’ from 1937 is so far ahead of its time that the song could easily have been a rock demo cut in 1954.

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Today: The late Duke Ellington was born in 1899 – 114 years ago

Posted on April 29, 2013 by | Leave a comment

duke ellington

If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!
~Duke Ellington

Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous you don’t want it.
~Duke Ellington

By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
~allaboutjazz.com

Take The “A” Train:

Wikipedia:

Birth name Edward Kennedy Ellington
Born April 29, 1899
Washington D.C., United States
Died May 24, 1974 (aged 75)
New York City, United States
Genres Orchestral jazz, swing, big band
Occupations Bandleader, pianist, composer
Instruments Piano
Years active 1914–1974
Website www.dukeellington.com

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe, “[i]n the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington.” A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington’s music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.

duke ellington

C Jam Blues (1942):

Ellington called his music “American Music” rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as “beyond category”. These included many of the musicians who were members of his orchestra, some of whom are considered among the best in jazz in their own right, but it was Ellington who melded them into one of the best-known jazz orchestral units in the history of jazz. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of these individuals, such as “Jeep’s Blues” for Johnny Hodges, “Concerto for Cootie” for Cootie Williams, which later became “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” with Bob Russell’s lyrics, and “The Mooche” for Tricky Sam Nanton and Bubber Miley. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” and “Perdido” which brought the “Spanish Tinge” to big-band jazz. Several members of the orchestra remained there for several decades. After 1941, he frequently collaborated with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his “writing and arranging companion”. Ellington recorded for many American record companies, and appeared in several films.

deuke ellington

Ellington composed incessantly to the very last days of his life. Music was indeed his mistress; it was his total life and his commitment to it was incomparable and unalterable. In jazz he was a giant among giants. And in twentieth century music, he may yet one day be recognized as one of the half-dozen greatest masters of our time.
~Gunther Schuller

Ellington led his band from 1923 until his death in 1974. His son Mercer Ellington, who had already been handling all administrative aspects of his father’s business for several decades, led the band until his own death in 1996. At that point, the original band dissolved. Paul Ellington, Mercer’s youngest son and executor of the Duke Ellington estate, kept the Duke Ellington Orchestra going from Mercer’s death onwards.

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Today: Johnny Cash released American Recordings in 1994 – 19 years ago

Posted on April 26, 2013 by | Leave a comment

johnny cash-american-recordings

…Always, the choice of material is a revelation. The Beast In Me (written by former son-in-law, Nick Lowe) could be autobiographical. And while writers like horrorpunk figurehead Glenn Danzig or Tom Waits probably would never have figured on his radar were it not for Rubin; time and again the duo found songs that were, in Cash’s hands, to take on new life. This willingness to experiment was to set a precedent: Subsequent albums were to see him work magic on material from Nine Inch Nails to U2 and Depeche Mode. But Johnny Cash’s final road to redemption and artistic fulfillment starts here…
~Chris Jones (bbc.co.uk)

American Recordings did something very important — it gave Cash a chance to show how much he could do with a set of great songs and no creative interference, and it afforded him the respect he’d been denied for so long, and the result is a powerful and intimate album that brought the Man in Black back to the spotlight, where he belonged.
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)

#1 – Delia’s Gone

Wikipedia:

Released April 26, 1994
Recorded May 17, 1993 – December 7, 1993
Genre Country, country folk, americana, folk rock
Length 42:45
Label American/ Sony
Producer Rick Rubin

American Recordings is the 81st album by the country singer Johnny Cash. It was released in April 1994, the first album issued by American Recordings after its name change from Def American, the album being named after the new label. In 2003, the album was ranked number 364 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Cash was approached by producer Rick Rubin and offered a contract with Rubin’s American Recordings label, better known for rap and heavy metal than for country music. Under Rubin’s supervision, he recorded the album in his living room, accompanied only by his guitar. For years Cash was often at odds with his producers after he had discovered with his first producer, Sam Phillips, that his voice was better suited to a stripped-down musical style. Most famously he disagreed with Jack Clement over his sound, Clement having tried to give Cash’s songs a “twangy” feel and to add strings and barbershop-quartet-style singers. His successful collaboration with Rick Rubin was in part due to Rubin seeking a minimalist sound for his songs.

johnny cash american recordings

#3 – The Beast In Me:

The songs “Tennessee Stud” and “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” were recorded live at the Viper Room, a Sunset Strip, Los Angeles nightclub owned at the time by Johnny Depp. “The Beast in Me” was written and originally recorded by Cash’s former stepson-in-law Nick Lowe.

The video for the first single, the traditional song “Delia’s Gone” (directed by Anton Corbijn, featuring Kate Moss), was put into rotation on MTV, and even appeared on Beavis and Butt-head, Beavis asking if Cash was Captain Kangaroo. The album was hailed by critics and many declared it to be Cash’s finest album since the late 1960s, while his versions of songs by more modern artists such as Tom Waits and Glenn Danzig (who penned a song called “Thirteen” specifically for Cash, in just twenty minutes) helped to bring him a new audience. American Recordings received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album of the Year at the 1994 Grammy Awards. The album cover was photographed whilst Cash was visiting Australia, at Werribee near Melbourne.

johnny cash rick rubinJohhny Cash & Rick Rubin in studio

#5 – Why Me Lord:

Track listing:

  1. “Delia’s Gone” (Karl Silbersdorf, Dick Toops) – 2:18
    Originally recorded by Cash for The Sound of Johnny Cash (1962)
  2. “Let the Train Blow the Whistle” (Cash) – 2:15
  3. “The Beast in Me” (Nick Lowe) – 2:45
    Originally recorded by Lowe for The Impossible Bird (1994)
  4. “Drive On” (Cash) – 2:23
  5. “Why Me Lord” (Kris Kristofferson) – 2:20
    Originally recorded by Kristofferson for Jesus Was a Capricorn (1972)
  6. “Thirteen” (edit) (Glenn Danzig) – 2:29
    Full-length version appears on Disc 5 of the Unearthed Box Set. Written by Glenn Danzig for Cash. Later recorded by Danzig for Danzig 6:66 Satan’s Child (1999)
  7. “Oh, Bury Me Not (Introduction: A Cowboy’s Prayer)” (John Lomax, Alan Lomax, Roy Rogers, Tim Spencer) – 3:52
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
  8. “Bird on a Wire” (Leonard Cohen) – 4:01
    Originally recorded by Cohen for Songs from a Room (1969)
  9. “Tennessee Stud” (live) (Jimmy Driftwood) – 2:54
    Originally a hit single for Eddy Arnold (1959)
  10. “Down There by the Train” (Tom Waits) – 5:34
    Written by Waits for Cash. Later released by Waits on his Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards rarities collection.
  11. “Redemption” (Cash) – 3:03
  12. “Like a Soldier” (Cash) – 2:50
  13. “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” (live) (Loudon Wainwright) – 5:03
    Originally recorded by Wainwright for Attempted Mustache (1973)

Personnel:

  • Rick Rubin – producer
  • Johnny Cash – acoustic guitar, vocals, main performer, liner notes
  • Jim Scott – mixing
  • David Ferguson – sound recordist
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Christine Cano – design
  • Martyn Atkins – art director, photographer

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