Discovering Jazz

Latest Episodes:

Episode 92, Real Book Obscurities, The Notorious ‘g’s Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

One of the best ways to ‘discover’ jazz is to try playing it—on whatever instrument (including voice) that you feel most comfortable. I’ve been trying that with my keyboard and The Real Book, Sixth Edition. When I come up to the pieces that start with ‘g’, there are some real challenges. So here I am listening to (and presenting to you) some great recordings of some of those tunes.

The tunes you’ll hear on this episode are:

Gloria’s Step, performed by Michel Donato, Frank Lozano, Francois Bourassa, and Pierre Tanguay from Montreal.

John Guerin’s Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. America by Tom Scott and the L.A. Express—preceded by a Walter Winchell clip that inspired the piece.

Grand Central by Cannonball Adderley with John Coltrane.

Groovin’ High by Dizzy Gillespie with Charlie Parker

Grow Your Own by Keith Jarrett and Gary Burton

Guilty by Linda Carone from Toronto

Golden Lady: two versions. First the original Stevie Wonder, then a modern jazz adaptation by Robert Glasper.

Gemini by Jimmy Heath with Freddie Hubbard and some wonderful french horn from Julius Watkins

Giant Steps, slowed down and lyricized by Eugene McDaniels and entitled “Curious Traveler”. With Ted Brancato on piano.

Episode 91, ‘Real Book’ Obscurities Part 1 Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

The “Real Book”, Sixth Edition, is sort of like a ‘bible’ for beginning jazz students. It consists of 400 jazz tunes, ranging from compositions written by jazz musicians to some of the great Broadway tunes that have become jazz standards. It is the best selling jazz book of all time, and can be used by instrumentalists or singers looking for charts to provide their accompanists.

Yet some of the tunes are pretty obscure—in the sense that not too many musicians and very few ‘audience’ members are familiar with them. In this series I’m concentrating on those ones, playing either the ‘original’ recording of the tune, or a later version.

As you listen to them, you’ll get an idea as to why some of the students who put together the original Real Book, or Hal Leonard, who did the latest revision, were inspired to include them.

On today’s episode you’ll hear compositions by Stanley Cowell, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow, Richard Rodgers, Wayne Shorter, John Lewis, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, and Gil Evans.

Episode 90: Can You Call It Jazz? Top Rated albums w. Jazz Sensibilities Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

I’ve taken some time to explore the 75 best albums of 2019 according to the British publication, Uncut, as well as their top 30 reissues and some top rated albums from the January 2020 issue.

The purpose? To see how much jazz one can find in some of the better quality music in the rock, alt country, Americana, and World music genres. Interestingly, I find a lot. Whether or not you call it jazz, I can’t really say, considering how fluid this genre is these days. You be the judge. But there does seem to be a lot of ‘jazz sensibility’. And there is some real jazz as well.

The real jazz is John Coltrane and Britain’s Tubby Hayes. No dispute there!

Just as ‘real’, from my perspective, are tracks from London, England’s The Comet is Coming (Shabaka Hutchings) and Nerija, the former rated by Uncut as #4 in the best albums of 2019.

More controversial—but still pretty ‘jazzy’ are Sessa, Sandro Perri, Brittany Howard, Van Morrison, Gruff Rhys, Solange, and Mappe Of (from Whitby, Ontario).

But jazz or not, there is no question that you’ll hear a lot of great music on this episode.

Episode 89: Jazz ‘Masterpieces’ from 2019 Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Today I’m playing a track from each of the seven albums that received a 5 star review in Downbeat Magazine in 2019. As well, there is one album by a Canadian who The Ottawa Citizen jazz reviewer rated as not just the best Canadian jazz album of the year—but the best jazz album period! Most of these artists are ‘new discoveries’ for me–and the jury is out as to whether it is music to which I want to give more time and attention. Ask me next year.

But I start the program with something with which I definitely resonate. It’s from the new offering from Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School— a record I’ve been looking forward to hearing.

Episode 88: Absolute Pitch–what is it, who has it, and what’s it good for? Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Today you will learn a lot about absolute or ‘perfect’ pitch, and hear selections by jazz musicians who possess this faculty. Also a demonstration from a child who has it, and some descriptions by musicians as to how it has been helpful as well as limiting. As well, I’ll discuss how it differs from ‘relative’ pitch, and why the two so often end up being confused.

You’ll hear music by Ryan Keberle, Bing Crosby and Joe Sullivan, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Puth, Paul Shaffer w. Gil Parris, Ella Fitzgerald, Gary Burton, and Vancouver Island’s Adrian Dolan. You’ll also hear Adrian talk about his absolute pitch.

I get a chance to share my own experience with absolute pitch as well.

Episode 87: Giants of Jazz Part 5,Johnny Hodges,Lester Young, Willie Eckstein Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

This is the last of the five part series on Time Life’s Giants of Jazz—28 three record sets with huge booklets featuring swing era musicians who helped define jazz.

This week you’ll hear and hear about James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, Henry Red Allen, Red Norvo, and more Teddy Wilson.

In my quest to find any Canadian equivalents to these jazz giants, I’ve made a wonderful discovery: a Montreal based ragtime and jazz pianist/composer who helped introduce jazz to the Canadian recording industry and to live radio. His name is William Eckstein. I start off the program with a couple Eckstein tracks from 1919 and 1930.

Archives: Episode 54, The Jazz Solo, Part 3. Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

Something from the Archives. One from my favourite series of the past year—The Jazz Solo, Part 3. I give examples of solos that have been considered by ‘experts’ to be exceptionally amazing. And one by a great jazz artist that is considered to be not at all up to par.

You’ll hear solos by Bill Evans, Fredie Hubbard, Jaco Pastorious, Robi Botos, Charlie Parker, Ron Carter and Ella Fitzgerald. Guess who botches theirs….at least according to some jazz critics?

As well, I’ll play two different vocal solos from Ella Fitzgerald on the same tune, 13 years apart, and you’ll see how she really developed that particular solo.

Next week, I’ll record and post the final program in my Giants of Jazz series from Time-Life Records. For 2020 I have lots of new and exciting ideas for Discovering Jazz programs I plan to record.

Episode 86, Giants of Jazz w 6 guitarists,Benny Carter,Earl Hines, etc. Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

This is Part 4 of my five part series on Time Life’s Giants of Jazz. Today you’ll hear Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, Benny Carter, plus six tracks from one set called “The Guitarists”. The latter includes six of the earliest jazz guitarists who pioneered the use of this instrument in dances and records. You’ll hear recordings by Charlie Christian, Lonnie Johnson, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Aleman, Eddie Durham, and Eddie Lang.

As usual, I add a Canadian entry, imagining what it might look like if there were a similar series on early Canadian jazz. The nominee this week is Mart Kenney and the Western Gentlemen.

Archives: Jazz for the Holidays Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

This is a program I put together two years ago…Episode 14—of holiday music. Mostly Winter holidays: Christmas, Channukah, New Years, Chalica (you probably have no idea what that one is, eh?), one Spring holiday (Ramadan)—and quite a few just celebrating the joys of winter.

Lots of music here, and not much talk. You’ll hear Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Bob Dorough, Carri Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Wesley Collett-Taylor, Dexter Gordon, Mike Rud, The Darylectones, Salah Ragab, Barbra Lica, Kenny Ellis, John Eidsvoog, and The Shuffle Demons.

Have fun.

Episode 85, More New Vocal Discoveries (with Angela Verbrugge) Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

I asked Victoria vocalist and studier of ‘swing’ style jazz, Angela Verbrugge, to send me names of some great jazz vocalist that would likely be new to me. She did. Thank you!

This program, as well as last week’s, has me playing music by those singers and talking to her about the singers and the music.

I also introduce to her my favourite vocalist, the late great Gene (aka Eugene) McDaniels. I play three tracks by him showing three very distinctive phases of his jazz vocal and songwriting career, starting with a very obscure album from 2009. And from the 1970’s, an album that introduced the world to Alphonse Mouzon and Mirislav Vitous—but it’s political content spurred interference from the American White House blocking it’s distribution.

Other singers you’ll hear are Sarah McKenzie, Benny Benack III, Rebecca Kilgore, Tessa Souter, and three Canadian singers (Calgary’s Johnny Summers, the late Natasha D’agostino, and Angela Verbrugge).

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