Sunday Music Muse Day - Johnny Hodges with Sam Woodyard, Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker

This Sunday Music Muse Day finds me enjoying and celebrating a pair of 2-CD sets of  legendary jazz saxophonists.  First up is Johnny Hodges at Sportpalast, Berlin, a 2 CD live set recored in Berlin, Germany in march 1961.  Hodges uses fellow band mates of the Ellington Orchestra, including my father, Sam Woodyard, on drums.  This CD set was produced by famed produce Norman Granz who handled the European tour of this group, while Duke had gone Paris to work on the movie, Paris Blues, with Billy Strayhorn. It sounds like it was a win-win for everybody.  Most of the tunes are associated with the Ellington playlist, as to be expected.  It's always fun for me to find Sam on other jazz outings.  I think of this as collecting a nice music legacy for my kids.

Next is baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan Quartet, the original quartet with Chet Baker.  This collection of cuts recorded in the early 1950s is giving me a education in the West Coast Jazz style of the era.  It definitely has a more laid back feel than the East Coast style of artists like Miles Davis, and the Bebop of Dizzy Gillespie.  It's  alway fun to discovery the gems of the past in jazz made before I got into it in the 1970s.

Two sets double CDs, I'm looking forward to enjoying for a long time.  Cheers.

Sunday Music Muse Day - Gerry Mulligan and Johnny Hodges, Les McCann and Eddie Harris

This week's Sunday Music Muse Day finds the weather turning cooler in definite hint of fall in the air. All the more reason to cue up so warm jazz. First up, Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, the excellent set described in the liner note by famed jazz critic Nat Hentoff as "particularly attractive in the wholly casual air. There's is no stain, no trace of pretentiousness."  This could be labeled West Coast jazz, recorded in LA, as Gerry Mulligan well known baritone saxophone player leading his own groups in the "cool jazz" of that time, 1959. While Johnny Hodges was still a featured saxophonist with Duke Ellington.  Apparently, they admired each others play a long while before getting together for this session. The session features three tunes from each of them.  Well worth listening to, while settling in with a warm drink on cool afternoon.

Next is a re-issued classic, Les McCann & Eddie Harris Swiss Movement, the Montreux 30th Anniversay Edition, released by Rhino Record and Atlantic Record. I usually resist buying a CD of music I already own on vinyl record but this has an extra unreleased track. By all account this historic recording should have been a disaster. A live recording of musicians, Les McCann (piano and vocals), Eddie Harris (tenor sax), Benny Baily (trumpet), Leroy Vinneger (bass) and Donald Dean (drums), who barely knew each other, thrown together at the last minute, with no planned music, no rehearsals, "no time for a sound check, and the PA system is feeding back", against all odds Swiss Movement became one of the most popular jazz album ever record. As noted on Wikipedia, "The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best jazz performance, small group. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's jazz album chart, No. 2 on the R&B chart, and No. 29 on the LP chart." Compared to What, the best known tune, sold millions as a single.  The music is still fresh as it was in 1969.

Winter is coming, but lets not rush and just enjoy the coming fall weather.  I personally like the change of seasons, for the sense of rest and renewal. Enjoy

Another Delayed Sunday Music Muse Day

Life, a college visit, and the start of the NFL season, combined to push this week's Sunday Music Muse Day to Monday, again.  This time I have some interesting and solid picks for music lovers.
First up, is another great Jazz find with my father, Sam Woodyard, on drums.  It's a Verve Master Edition reissue of the LP Johnny Hodges, Soloist with Billy Strayhorn and THE Orchestra.  "THE Orchestra" has to been the Duke Ellington Orchestra, without the Duke.  Jimmy Jones is on piano, with Billy Strayhorn as bandleader and arranger.  I enjoy finding and listening to Sam's outings with other groups, although this has him familiar grounds.  It's a great set.

 Here the original cover.

 And the original back cover.

My next selection is a local band the I saw listed to play at the Little Cafe, a small music venue, the our independent movie theatre. I checked their website and sampled their tunes from their CD, Margaret Explosion - Live Dive.  From my first impression of their name, I expect it to been a female-centric, folk-rock band, but to my surprise they're avant-garde jazz band, as one review noted they "play spacey, floating dreamscapes with smart improvisational skill".  Margaret Explosion's music reminds me of "a little" Miles Davis "In a Silent way" era music.  Even, my wife Lisa like it on first listen.  Most of their tunes are totally improvisational live tracks, so in a way they only exist on CD, so if you see them live you should expect a "Greatest Hits" set.  I missed their show this past weekend, but plan to look out for their next performance.

I also like this animated video they  did the music for.

Next is another CD by guitarist Charlie Hunter, titled "Charlie Hunter".  I think it's his first release.  I'm such a sucker for the 8-string guitar sound he gets.  The radical neck design is so interesting.  Some of his stuff can be hit and miss, it's always worth giving it a listen.

The last selection really take me back, Return to Forever - Returns.  It's 2 CD set of the Chick Corea's Return to Forever fusion band with the original members, Al Di Meola, on guitar (actually Bill Conners was original guitarist on the first album) , Stanley Clark, on Bass, Lenny White, on drums, and Chick, of course on keyboards.  This are live track recorded during their 2008 world wide reunion tour, which I missed somehow.  It's fun to listen to the old standards played with new fire and intensity of players who have continue to grow and mature.   Many times there are music nods, musical quotes, to each member's solo efforts.  This is a nice compliment to the Corea-Mclaughlin CD I featured last week.

After a busy weekend, I'm looking forward to spending time with these great tune.  Enjoy.