When you get up in the morning, you must have a song - Ray Charles

Friday, June 27, 2014

Coleman Hawkins - JATP and more



It's a Friday night and we gotta lotta love for Hawkins round Chez Hook this evening. Had a itch needed scratchin' so I threw together these live tracks. Couple of oddball bonus cuts thrown in.

I started off with an old Verve lp that has 3 from a 1950 JATP set, next up another 3 from 49. Rifftide from the second set should be recognized as Hackensack by Monk, obviously from their time together. The first lp finishes off with Hawkins accompanying MJQ on 4 tracks.

Next I tacked on Hawkins set from a Pablo box entitled "The Greatest Jazz Concert In The World", a claim that doesn't actually hold up. Go figure! But it is fun.

Then I slapped on a couple of odd tracks from weird compilations before finishing with a "jam session" from the afore mentioned earth shaking concert. The jam is a Duke staple and I'm pretty sure my cloth ears say Hawkins in sandwiched between the Prez and Benny Carter solos.

1. Yesterdays
2. Hawk's Tune
3. Stuffy
4. Body and Soul
5. Rifftide
6. Sophisticated Lady
7. Bean Stalkin'
8. I Can't Get Started
9. Time On My Hands
10. The Walker
11. Moonglow
12. Sweet Georgia Brown

13. Lover Come Back To Me
14. Blues Changes
15. Skippy
16. Battle of the Saxes

17. C Jam Blues





Saturday, June 21, 2014

Stephane Grapelli - Satin Doll


More Grappelli. Lots of fun. Lots of swing. Lots of standards.

Play this when the barbecue is over and everyone is sitting around, drinking nightcaps and watching fireflies buzz by. 


1. Satin Doll
2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
3. Body and Soul
4. Ain't Misbehavin'
5. Mack The Knife
6. Body and Soul (second version)
7. Pennies From Heaven
8. The Girl From Ipanema
9. My Funny Valentine
10. Blue Moon
11. The Lady Is A Tramp
12. Exactly Like You
13. Ebb Tide
14. You Took Advantage Of Me
15. Loverman
16. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Stephane Grappelli - violin
Eddy Louiss - organ
Marc Hemmeler - piano
Jimmy Gourley - guitar
Guy Pederson - bass
Kenny Clarke - percussion

produced by Arnauld Froberville
Vanguard records VSD 81/82

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Joe Hunt Trio - self titled.




This is a great little record and it is a shame that it has hardly garnered the attention it should, but so goes the music business.

 Here's the deal, I met Joe after buying and/ or bidding against him for something on ebay. He lived near me and I knew no one in the area and contacted him and he was gracious enough to invite me into his home.  We had several afternoons together with a bottle of wine and some of the finest jazz I have never heard elsewhere.
 You see, Joe drummed for George Russell on those great early records. Later he worked with Stan Getz, Evans  and Gary Burton. He never once mentioned it. He and his wife made me feel so comfortable that it never occurred to me to interview him after I put two and two together. I can not say that I have ever met a more gracious couple.
 But mostly he has spent his time teaching and I was lucky enough to catch him during his brief stay in Harrisburg.

Oh yeah, and he introduced me to Clark Terry. Very cool.

I held off on posting this record until it no longer seemed to be carried in the usual avenues. It may still be available through both the piano player and bassist's websites.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Wardell Gray - Central Avenue


A friend asked me to repost this lp. It was a perfect opportunity to revisit it as well and I thought it was so fantastic that I decided to revise my much earlier post and give it it's due right here.

 Wardell Gray came of age in that special time between swing and bop. It was the west coast and things were as far out as they were back east just yet. Gray's easy tone and swinging feel make this a delight to listen to. Too bad his early demise relegated him to obscurity to all but hardcore jazz fans.

Other than a couple of alt versions this lp was also released as Wardell Gray Memorial Album. With the additional tracks it will no longer fit on a snigle disc so....
The first disc worth of tracks are the same as the memorial lp, you can skip them if you have a copy.


1. Twisted
2. Southside
3. Sweet Lorraine
4. Scrapple from the Apple
5. Move
6. A Sinner Kissed An Angel
7. Blue Gray
8. Grayhound
9. Treadin'
10. April Skies
11. Bright Boy
12. Jackie
13. Farmer's Market
14. Sweet and Lovely
15. Lover Man
16. The Man I Love
17. Lavonne
18. So Long Broadway
19. Paul's Cause


This bonus disc is the bomb! The first 3 tracks are the unissued sessions from Central Ave. "The Great Lie" is from an IAJRC release. "Stoned" is on a Mainstream comp. The last track is actually Gray's first ever release.

1. Twisted (alt.)
2. Easy Living (alt.)
3. Southside (alt.)
4. The Great Lie
5. Stoned
6. The Chase - Dexter Gordon's All Stars
7. Relaxin' at Camarillo
8. Cheers
9. Carvin' The Bird
10.Stupendous
11. Easy Living



There ya go. The whole shebang! A much better post than the first time around.