Jazz On The Beach 146 & Blues Beach 56
Jazz On The Beach 146 & Blues Beach 56
Matthew Whitaker, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Artie Zaitz & New Jazz Underground
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On this week’s Jazz On The Beach radio show playlist there’s the sensational 23 year old Hammond organist Matthew Whitaker’s In The Key Of The Universe from On The Shoulders: An Organ Tribute (Mocat Records, June), an album of compositions by the Hammond masters that inspired him including Jimmy Smith, Dr Lonnie Smith and Charles Earland.
What really stands out are Whitaker’s terrific arrangements, none more so than on this Joey DeFrancesco composition which feels like the centrepiece of the album, and features guitarist Marcos Robinson, flautist Antonina Styczen, percussionist Ivan Llanes Montejo and the horns of Summer Cammargo, Ilai MacAggi, Ian Munoz, Griffin Ross (who plays the tenor solo) and Adam Stein.
There’s the multi instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s deeply funky Freaks For The Festival from his wildly innovative double album The Case Of The 3 Sided Dream In Audio Color (Atlantic, 1975), that lives up to its name with a totally blank fourth side except for a one minute long telephone conversation where Kirk reminds us all to ‘place our ears close to this very beautiful spinning piece of material’ - good advice indeed.
On Freaks For The Festival Kirk raps, plays multiple horns and flute and is accompanied by some of the stellar musicians participating on the album including keyboardists Hilton Ruiz and Richard Tee, guitarists Cornell Dupree and Hugh McCracken, drummers John Goldsmith and Steven Gadd, bassists Francisco Centeno and Metathias Pearson and conga/percussionists Ralph McDonald and Lawrence Killian. I could try and guess exactly who’s playing here, but if you know, please pass it on.
Really enjoying the new single from guitarist Artie Zaitz, a former Tomorrow’s Warrior and an integral part of the London scene working with Moses Boyd, Sheila Maurice-Grey, Theon Cross, Mark Kavuma and Jake Long among many others. He’s a fine Hammond organist too, and on Boogaloo Ga Goo (Banger Factory, July) his organist of choice is Ross Stanley, plus drummer Steve Brown and conga player Dave Pattman. There's an album to follow later this year, looking forward to that.
Also new this week, New Jazz Underground’s version of trumpeter Nicholas Peyton’s Jazz Is A 4 Letter Word which first aired on YouTube two years ago, now mixed and mastered for a 7” single (Ordinary Tones, August 16th). It’s the band’s first foray into physical formats having already built up a massive online following. Here’s that YouTube performance from saxophonist Abidas Armenteros, double bassist Sebastian Rios and drummer TJ Reddick.
I couldn’t resist playing Steely Dan’s FM (No Static At All) from the FM Original Movie Soundtrack (MCA, 1978) if only for Pete Christleib’s wonderful tenor solo and Victor Feldman’s percussion fills under Walter Becker’s guitar break. But I love it all, there’s Jeff Porcaro’s exquisite drum groove and one of Donald Fagen’s finest moments too. It also fits nicely after bassist extraordinaire Stanley Clarke’s title track from Journey To Love (Nemperor, 1975) with its subtle Jeff Beck guitar solo, Steve Gadd’s drumming and an incredible mini moog solo from George Duke.
When guitarist Jim Hall’s Modest Jazz Trio got together to record one song for a compilation project on Good Friday 1960, they ended up cutting a whole album that night. Double bassist Red Mitchell is playing piano throughout while double bassist Red Kelly sticks to the bass. Here’s the title track from Good Friday Blues (Pacific Jazz Records, 1960) that’s about to be released on Blue Note’s Tone Poet series.
And finally, another track from the fine Spanish trumpeter Daniel Cano with What Is It Else from The History of Cardenio (Honolulu Records, April) with double bassist Andrea Di Base and drummer Dave Storey. Dan lived in Canterbury for ten years and recently moved to Granada, but is coming over to London for a gig at The Vortex on 15th August to perform the music that ‘retraces one of the stories from Cervantes’ Don Quixote, whose plot was brought to the stage by William Shakespeare’.
Just click the link below to listen to this week’s J.O.T.B…
Blues Beach
Blues Beach has really put on weight since its launch two years ago, with listening figures closing in on its big jazz brother. Among the selections on this week’s playlist are Junior Wells’ It’s My Life, Baby with its electrifying Buddy Guy solo, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s iconic Turn On Your Lovelight, new releases from Son Of Dave with Try A Little Hound Dog and Rick Estrin & the Nightcats’ The Circus Is Still In Town, Jimmie Vaughan’s trio with Hammond organist Mike Flanigin playing The Bim Bam Boos’ You Can’t Sit Down, Robert Johnson’s If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day and Jimmy Reed’s Shame, Shame, Shame.
Just click the link below to listen to this week’s Blues Beach…
Listen live
You can listen live to Jazz On The Beach every Wednesday evening from 10.00pm - midnight* and to Blues Beach every other Thursday from 6.00pm - 7.00pm* on DealRadio.co.uk or via the TuneIn Radio app. (*UK time). Or you can ask your smart device to ‘Play Deal Radio’.
Both shows are broadcast live from the Deal Radio Studio at 69a High Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6EH, a stone’s throw from the beach.
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Jazz On the Beach and Blues Beach radio shows are sponsored by our good friends at 6 Park Avenue Coffeehouse & Bar, Deal and Wellingtons Coffeehouse & Bistro, Dover.
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