Jazz On The Beach 148 & Blues Beach 57
Jazz On The Beach 148 & Blues Beach 57
Kenny Burrell, Pat Metheny, Sonny Rollins & Blues Beach Goes Country!
We begin and (very nearly) end this week’s Jazz On The Beach playlist with two ‘50s tracks featuring the colossal tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, whose 94th birthday is just a few weeks’ away on September 7th. The first is St Thomas, his wonderful version of a Bahamian folk song from Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, 1957) with pianist Tommy Flanagan, double bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Max Roach.
The second is his composition Airegin (‘Nigeria’ backwards) from trumpeter Miles Davis’ Bags Groove (Prestige, 1957) with Rollins, pianist Horace Silver, double bassist Percy Heath and drummer Kenny Clarke.
This album was made up from two 10” LPs recorded three years earlier: Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis All Stars Vol. 1 (as well as a pair of alternate takes).
I like the 10” format, we released a few at Gearbox Records, and one that stands out is the Ronnie Scott Quartet’s 1612 Overture with pianist Stan Tracey, double bassist Malcolm Cecil and drummer Jackie Dougan. Recorded in 1963 at ‘The Old Place’ by Les Tomkins with his Ferrograph tape recorder, Scott’s tenor is absolutely roaring, and I’ll add it to next week’s playlist.
Another nonagenarian jazz musician, the great guitarist Kenny Burrell turned 93 last week, and on the playlist are two tracks that feature different aspects of his playing.
There’s his signature tone and bluesy licks on tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine’s The Hustler from Hustlin’ (Blue Note, 1965) with Turrentine’s wife Shirley Scott on Hammond organ, double bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Otis Finch, and his deeply melodic chordal style on the bossa nova Tres Palabras from Bluesy Burrell: Kenny Burrell With Coleman Hawkins (Moodsville, 1963) featuring tenor saxophonist Hawkins, pianist Tommy Flanagan, double bassist Major Holley, drummer Eddie Locke and the ubiquitous Ray Barretto on congas.
At a mere 92 year old, tenor saxophonist Charlie Gabriel participates with his Preservation Hall Jazz Band-mates and guest vocalist Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) on Tootie Ma, an unused performance from the Take Me To The River: New Orleans documentary from 2022. There’s also a Take Me To The River: Memphis and a London version is in the works for next year. Here’s producer Martin Shaw with some background and the whole of Tootie Ma.
You’ve probably heard tracks from Charlie Gabriel’s album 89 (Sub Pop Records, 2022) with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on past playlists. It has lost none of its charm and sounds perfect on a warm summer evening, here’s a reminder with I’m Confessin’.
You don’t have to be 90 to make this week’s J.O.T.B. playlist, there’s the Bill Charlap Trio’s beautiful (I Don’t Stand) The Ghost Of A Chance (With you) from And Then Again (Blue Note, August 16th) that was recorded live at the Village Vanguard in New York with double bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (they’re not related), while master guitarist Martin Taylor and his daughter-in-law, vocalist Alison Burns, have recorded an exquisite version of The Gentle Rain from the pastoral Songs For Nature (P3 Music, June).
There’s German drummer Peter Gall’s uptempo fusion title track Love Avatar (Compost, September 27th) with saxophonist Wanja Slavin, guitarist Reiner Baas and bassist Matthias Pichler keyboardist Rainer Böhm, and the Copenhagen duo Bremer/McCoy - bassist Jonathan Bremer and keyboardist Morton McCoy - release the spacious Bøn from their upcoming Kosmos (Luaka Bop, September 6th).
Also this week, there’s Dr. John’s Such A Night from In The Right Place (Atlantic, 1973) with Allen Toussaint at the piano, the Meters, the Bonaroo Horns and sensational harmonies from Robbie Montgomery and Jessie Smith. It fits perfectly with Rickie Lee Jones’ sassy Danny’s All-Star Joint from her blockbuster debut Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros, 1979) featuring Hollywood studio A-listers including bassist Willie Weeks, guitarist Buzz Feiten and saxophonist Tom Scott.
There’s a second play for saxophonist and flautist Charles Lloyd’s Defiant, Tender Warrior from The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note, March) with pianist Jason Moran, double bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Brian Blade. That’s also the case for guitarist Pat Metheny’s title track from MoonDial (Modern Recordings, July 26th), which he performed solo on his custom nylon string baritone guitar, one of over a dozen instruments made for him by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. Here’s Metheny talking about this remarkable instrument and how he uses it.
To listen to Jazz on The Beach, just click the link below…
Blues Beach
Blues Beach has taken a summer break and hands over the playlist for a one time only country music special. Normal service will be resumed on August 22nd (Blues Beach is biweekly), but in the meantime, enjoy this trip out West, and please let me know if you’d like to do this again sometime.
To listen to Blues Beach Goes Country, just click the link below…
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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Distribute the playlists and playback links for my two radio shows avoiding social media platforms
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