I was never a cowhand.

I was thinking about great jazz album covers after seeing the Bobby Timmons post from a few days ago. I'm not one to have covers blown up and hung on a wall like Larry does (your lounge looks great, Larry, this isn't a dis) but if I was, this might be my first choice.

one of the best covers, great music too

I love the cover to Way Out West (Contemporary Records, 1957). As a crime writer I feel like I could write a decent story based on this image alone. The saxophone wasn't around for much of the cowboy era (it was invented in Belgium by Adolphe Sax in 1840) but maybe this character was the first to play it in the Old West. I wonder when that instrument first made it to America?

The album isn't just about the photo, the music is fantastic too, and is another example of a piano-less saxophone trio. 

Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone

Ray Brown - bass

Shelly Manne - drums

Ray Brown and Shelly Manne are two of the best out there and the three of them make some great music together. I think I'll listen to this one tonight. I can hear Shelly Manne tapping out the opening of "I'm an Old Cowhand" in my head right now.

Jazz to Play While Reading

It’s nice to spend a lunch hour in a comfortable chair reading a book. A pleasant break from the work day.

Sure, I can hear you say that I could read in the gym while pumping an elliptical machine, but at least I walked up to the third floor and found a spot near a window where I could warmly look out at the frigid winter chill while I read modern lit.

good and sweaty

I was listening to jazz as I read. Something that wouldn’t distract me too much. I needed to get away from horns and large bands that would pull me from the words. A piano trio was a fine solution. I turned to one of my finest countrymen, Oscar Peterson’s Trio-Live in Chicago.

The trio consists of:

Oscar Peterson – piano

Ray Brown-bass

Ed Thigpen-drums

Brown and Thigpen are seasoned pros and they lay down a crisp and mellow place for Oscar to display his genius. He’s one of the greats of course, though he probably doesn't get the cred he deserves these days. The Trio is definitely worth a listen. It would have been a great show that night in Chicago, 1961.

I can give you a taste for now. How about ‘Sometimes I’m Happy.’ 

Enjoy my friend and let’s talk tonight about that screenplay. A know a guy who suggested he could compose a cello-based score.

The New Voyage of Discovery - The Clarinet

It was a great meeting last night. It’s always a pleasure to talk about educating the next generation of musicians, even if these are classical string musicians for the most part. I suppose getting the education first is important and hopefully some of them will realize that jazz is the truest path.

As I drove home along Hazelwood I was listening to a great album led by a man on a clarinet. The clarinet gets a bad rap and I haven’t written about it often here. If you were to ask ten jazz buffs their list of the Top Ten Jazz Musicians Of All Time (and you know we love making those kinds of lists), how many clarinetists would there be? Not many.

The exception would be those people who favour the old-time stuff. Woody Herman or Artie Shaw might make it. I like Woody best when he sings songs for hip lovers. The last clarinetist that was cool and hugely famous was probably Artie Shaw. He was a big star and was married to Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, though not at the same time. 

Not bad for a clarinetist

Last night it was neither Artie Shaw nor Woody Herman that was spinning, but Buddy DeFranco playing with the Oscar Peterson Quartet. This is a killer band, which doesn’t hurt, but Buddy holds his own with that legendary quartet.

Clarinet – Buddy De Franco

Piano – Oscar Peterson

Guitar – Herb Ellis

Bass – Ray Brown

Drums – Louis Bellson

The track that hit me as I drove those country roads was ‘PickYourself Up’. Yeah, I can hear you say that the title is appropriate given my current gloomy perspective. Buddy shows how it’s done on this track. Just trace his solo around the 5:50 mark and hear him piling phrase on phrase and Oscar and the band humming beneath him and you know you’re onto something special.

Maybe the clarinet should be our voyage of discovery for this new year. What do you say? Jimmy Giuffre anyone?

The Art of the Trio - Barney Kessel

I've written a fair deal about how I have recently been enjoying the jazz trio and the vast variety of sounds that can be produced, and that isn't just with the piano at the centre; the guitar trio also offers delights.

I have been loving Barney Kessel lately and this amazing song 'Crisis' is not only a great example of Barney's swinging style, but, like the Bill Evans Trio, shows how large a role the drummer and bassist play in the song. This isn't just Barney saying 'Listen to me! Aren't I amazing??' since from those opening moments of Shelly Manne and Ray Brown (both giants in their own right) laying down a captivating beat, you are aware that this group is a strong and cohesive unit.

I know you will enjoy this one my friends!