5 posts tagged “swing”
“You know, I want you to make a record with me,
And I’m going to write a number specially for you.”
Duke
Ellington
We’ve all been there. We’ve run into an old friend we haven’t seen in a while. We remember. We catch up. And before we part, we promise to get together soon.
When Duke Ellington ran into
Colman Hawkins and said the above quote, I don’t think either of them thought
it would take twenty years to put an album together. It did but they never forget the date.
With both of their careers firmly established, Ellington as a big band leader and Hawkins as the first great tenor saxophonist, they took a brief moment from their busy schedules to sit down at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on August 18, 1962.
Yes, they only had one day and it was an afternoon session. There would be no need for practice. Ellington brought his regulars and Hawkins would only need to a couple songs under his belt to get to speed.
True to his word Ellington wrote a song for Hawkins called “Self Portrait of the Bean”, which is Hawkins' nickname. But my favorite song on the album is “Limbo Jazz”, a spry calypso number conceived midway through the session, like Ellington threw on an apron and put together a little number with his bassist and drummer, adding a few horns here and there and asking his guest to add the finishing touches.
Hawkins returned the favor by improvising a wonderful ending solo, his expressive sound as natural as breathing and as beautiful as a warm ocean breeze.
When you listen, take note of the
drummer, Sam Woodyard, singing along, completely unaware that not only was
their improv being recorded it would also end up as the first song on the
album.
- Dave
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Maude Maggart is the sister of Fiona Apple. |
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If you've ever seen my DVD collection, you'll know that I am a pretty big fan of Star Trek. I have previously mentioned how much I love Data from Star Trek and was glad to see that the actor, Brent Spiner, had recorded Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back. The 1940's pop and showtunes standard album have been out of print for a while, and fans and collectors have paid a lot of money to own an original copy. I would recommend getting a copy of his new, just-released, album, Dreamland before it goes out of print or you'll regret it later.
Dreamland is an old fashion radio musical with already established jazz singer, Maude Maggart. We've previously used her cover of Cole Porter's "Night and Day". It is important that I mention the Porter tune, because Brent Spiner heard her Porter cover of "Looking at You" and fell in love with her voice.
The other star appearing on this CD is Mark Hamill (Star Wars). He plays the villainous boyfriend and the Spanish waiter, and I believe other character voices too. I'm not familiar with the other voice actor Pat Richardson, but I think she is a pretty famous TV actress.
This album was meant to be listened to from start to finish, like an hour radio program. I was surprise to see that you can download it as per song ($1.50), but to me, this doesn't make much sense because you're only getting 1/16th of the story.
I didn't realize that the story is actually a dream (if you think I'm spoiling the story, I'm not, the explanation is written on the liner notes), so at one point in the story I was pretty confused when Spiner woke up with (what I imagined based on the voice acting) a horrific and older lady. The story is a great idea and it keeps you listening to find out what will happen next.
As for the songs, if you love old big band/swing Frank Sinatra tunes ("In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Nice 'n' Easy"), you'll love these new recording from Spiner and Maggart. The songs that are excellent are the duets, especially on the last track "To Know You is to Love You".
For some reason, when I was listening to this album, the one song that I kept going back to was "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone". There's a sense of humor in the song ("What do you call a singer who breaks up with his girlfriend?" answer: "Homeless!") and some improvisation and it made me think of a live 1930 setting.
Check out this video "behind the scene" of Dreamland, it really shows off what a great fun time they all had while recording this album (and it translate to the album too).
Dreamland is available on amazon and iTunes, but I would recommend getting it directly from therealbrentspiner.com because you can get it personalized and autographed.
What's in store for Brent in the future? It looks like he's going to be filming a documentary? From reading his blog, it would seem that he's going to be traveling around and will personally make stops to people's homes.
Bonus: Let's not forget other Star Trek actors have recordings. Here are some songs that we've previously used:
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Links:
therealbrentspiner.com
myspace.com/realbrentspiner
maudemaggart.com
myspace.com/maude...
“Let those other fellows play sixty-thousand notes.
You just play with three with tone.
That makes the difference.”
Russell
“Pops” Smith
with advice to a young Benny Webster
What I like about jazz is how multi-dimensional it can be. From Dixieland, Big Band to a small trio playing in a hotel lounge, jazz can stir a swell of emotions from wooing a lover to putting a spring in your step. It can even make you want to kick back after a long day and relax.
When I listen to this Columbia Jazz Masterpiece, “Ben & Sweets” it sounds like two guys taking the time to reflect and for good reason. By the time Ben Webster and Harry “Sweets” Edison met up in New York in 1962 they had a lot to talk about. Webster had already made his mark on lead saxophone in the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Edison already spent twelve years as the trumpet soloist with Count Basie. In the 30’s and 40’s there were no bigger big bands or preeminent soloist.
But the late 40’s and 50’s were not kind to Big Band Swing. What’s surprising, though, is how constant these two remained when the paradigm shifted from Be-Bop to Hard-Bop to West Coast Cool. The decades did not matter. To Webster and Edison, their music was timeless and they kept busy playing by arranging and leading or backing vocalists. By the time they laid down these tracks, both men were established enough to no longer feel a need to impress. Instead, all they wanted to do was play beautiful music.
Unlike most albums where I like to cherry pick, I love every track. Each man gets a chance at his own extended solo with a Gershwin tune. (Webster with “How Long is this Going on?” and Edison with “Embraceable You.”) And when I listen to my favorite, “Kitty”, I can’t help picture Webster and Edison on a front porch in the cool of the evening, laughing, joshing and most of all reminiscing. “Do you remember the time…?”
Dave
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I was shopping around for some of my writers to review this CD for Brian Setzer Orchestra's Wolfgang's Big Night Out, but after listening to a few songs, I love it so much that I've decided to be greedy and write the review myself.
So, as you know, Brian Setzer made rockabilly cool with The Stray Cats (well some would argue that rockabilly has always been cool!). Then Setzer made Swing music cool with "Jump Jive 'n' Wail", with his new orchestra band.
This time, he's decided to transform classical music with a "big band" sound and make it accessible and hip.
Trust me when I tell you that you know ALL the songs. You might not happen to know all the song titles and who wrote what, but you've all heard these songs.
Despite knowing the music already, Setzer really modernize it and add his own twist and take in his adaptions of the songs.
All the titles are cleverly retitled. For instance, "Symphony No. 5" is renamed "Take the 5th", while my favorite "God Rest Ye Merry Men" is retitled "Take a Break Guys".
"Take a Break Guys" is easily the best reimagined song, with its clash of brass instruments, double bass, and an electric guitar. This traditional song is made fun again!
The other really good song is "For Lisa" (based on Beethoven's "Fur Elise"), with it's perky violins, flutes, and acoustic guitar. I've also decided to dedicate that song to Lisa :)
I think we will have to touch base with The Stray Cats in another entry for the future, since they have such a rich history and songs to choose from - it wouldn't be fair to devote half the article to them on a review of Wolfgang's Big Night Out.
But, as a special bonus, I am including some old Stray Cats favorites and that infamous swing song.
Wolfgang's Big Night Out is released last month (September 25th) by Surfdog Records, and can be purchased at most music retail stores.
10/28/2007 07:49:37
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.briansetzer.com
www.straycats.com
I thought Cute Phase's Victim Loved Silence was an EP the first time I put it in the car. Then I saw on the display track 14, and I knew that it wasn't an EP.
I thought my eyes was fooling me, but I checked the track listing on the back of their cover and it only lists 8 songs.
Apparently all tracks after 8 are instrumentals, including a Flock of Seagulls cover ("Space Age Love Song").
So a little about Cute Phase, they were formed in 2003 by their singer/songwriter Adam Unknown. Yes, that is the moniker that he's chosen.
I am assuming that they didn't want to associate Adam with his former band Cherry Poppin' Daddies because I couldn't find any reference to that band on their biography at all. But I think it's cool that he was in a Swing band - there's nothing to be ashamed of! Wear it like a badge of honor!
Anyway, my favorite song off Victim Loved Silence is "Switchblade". I looked on their website for more information:
An Interview with Adam Unknown - 6/05 by Scott Watkins
LA.YourLocalScene: Who are the girls that sing on "switchblade"?
Adam unknown: "that was from a BBC reality show called "girls alone". A dozen girls were let loose unsupervised in a house for week to see what they would do...a modern day "lord of the files". At the end, a few of the girls have a talent show and sing that song.. I didnt have to change the pitch or tempo...it was a perfect fit, one of those rare moments."
The synth/electronic sound is pretty similiar to their other songs, but this song does not feature Adam's vocals. If you want to hear what he sounds like, you should check out their other songs on myspace or their official website.
You can check Cut Phase out live on KILLRADIO.org with Jon Hershfield this August 8th.
Incidentally, if you decide to buy their songs, don't get the iTunes version, since that only comes with 8 songs (but a different cover). I recommend getting the CD because it is a CDPlus and contains some extra goodies.
August 1, 2007 8:14 AM
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
cutephase.com
myspace.com/cutephase
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