All That Jazz

[John K]

When I featured Monk's Little Rootie Tootie, I forgot to mention it's an I Got Rhythm contrafact, as are 100's of other jazz compositions. Here's another tune based on rhythm changes, by perhaps the most famous jazz musician/vocalist.

[Renata S]

More piano. This is from one of my favourite albums. 

If that wasn't enough, this is the full two-hour concert in Japan. 

[John K]

I have DVD of that concert. I wonder if they handed out ponchos to the audience, or they came prepared. Here's Keith and long time collaborator Jack DeJohnette when they were much younger and Keith still played electric keyboard. It's a long piece, but be sure to catch Jack's extraordinary drum solo at the end. Guitar whiz John McLaughlin also makes a guest appearance.

[John K]

It occurred to me that I've somewhat neglected one of the most important jazz instruments, bass. We've already heard the work of greats like Scott LaFaro with Bill Evans, Paul Chambers with Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius with Weather Report, and Gary Peacock with Keith Jarrettt. To round things off, here's a track that doesn't have a bass solo, but the great Ray Brown lays down a killer bass line that goes way beyond mere time keeping.

[John K]

Here's a jazz great with a sense of fun, Ornette Coleman. First, a well known early piece, then a short but sweet piece with sidekick Pat Metheny, who had an affinity for Ornette's music. Maybe on April 1, I'll play something with Ornette on violin.

[John K]

Gotta keep the thread alive, so here's 2 compositions by one of the founding fathers of modern jazz, Dizzy Gillespie. He and his occasional collaborator, Charlie Parker, established an extraordinary standard of musicianship. The first track has been recorded by countless jazz musicians, but the version I chose is perhaps the definitive version, with Charlie Parker on alto, and Miles Davis rather than Gillespie on trumpet. One interesting factoid about it is that Dizzy originally titled it *Interlude*, but some unknown individual, not Dizzy, renamed it *Night In Tunisia*, and that's the name it's known by.

The second piece features Dizzy on trumpet, as well as some vocal, hitting some high notes, and also features the great Cuban conga player Chano Pozo. Dizzy and Pozo were *instrumental* in bringing Latin rhythms into the jazz mainstream.

[John K]

I'm going to be proactive and feature some holiday music. Jazz musicians rarely play Christmas music, but here's one of the best known examples by guitar great Kenny Burrell.

I'm following it up with a memorable anti-carol. It's songwriter Bob Dorough on vocal, with accompaniment by Miles Davis and cohorts.

[John K]

New year's come & gone, but I can stilll belatedly try to revive my thread. Here's an extraordinary collection of talent on stage at the same time. 

[John K]

I'm overdue for a new selection. Here's one of the better contemporary song writers, who always had a jazz sensibility. 

[video]

[John K]

Since Keith Jarrett was featured twice already on keyboard, I thought why not showcase his soprano sax playing? On this track, he also plays piano, so presumably it's overdubbed, unless he played piano one hand & soprano with the other, which would be quite a feat. While I wouldn't call him a virtuoso on soprano, he's a decent player, and way better on this instrument than saxophone great Ornette Coleman on violin, though I was never sure if he played violin as a joke.