Jazz on the Beach 195 & Blues Beach 79: Nathan Davis, Tessa Souter, Trio of Bloom, Cannonball Adderley, Gato Barbieri, Heshoo Beshoo Group
'I'm in a heat wave, baby, all through the day, all through the night.'
The hot, dry weather is back, and this week’s Jazz on the Beach radio playlist taps right into it with two extremely hip quintet tracks, one you’ll recognise, one you may not. The first is the Nathan Davis Quintet’s title track from The Hip Walk (SABA, 1965), that more than lives up to its name. It was recorded in Villingen, Germany, by tenor saxophonist Davis with his fellow Paris based US expats: trumpeter Carmell Jones, double bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Kenny Clarke, plus the Belgian pianist Francy Boland.
The second is the Cannonball Adderley Quintet’s stone classic Work Song from Them Dirty Blues (Riverside, 1960), recorded at Ter-Mar Recording Studio in Chicago. The line up is alto saxophonist Cannonball and his cornettist brother Nat (who wrote the tune), pianist Barry Harris, double bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes. I’ve played Oscar Brown Jr’s vocal version from Sin and Soul on the show, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s version from East-West on Blues Beach, but up till now, never the original.
Among the new releases on the show is Queen King from Trio of Bloom, an exciting new project conceived by poet and producer David Breskin featuring keyboardist Craig Taborn, drummer Marcus Gilmore and guitarist Niels Cline. The track is a reworking of Cline’s King Queen, and comes from their upcoming album Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic Records, 26th September), featuring a terrific groove (with Cline also playing bass) and great solos.
There’s vocalist Tessa Souter’s marvellous jazz tribute to the French composer and his music with A Song for You (Gnossienne No. 1) from Shadows and Silence: The Erik Satie Project (Noanara Music, 27th June). She’s wonderfully supported by her trio of pianist Luis Perdomo, double bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Billy Drummond, while trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson also appear on other tracks.
Lophae (that’s ‘Lo Fi’) return with the irresistibly funky Little House, a first taste from their upcoming album Imagine More (self released, October). Guitarist Greg Sanders, drummer Ben Brown, bassist Tom Herbert and tenor saxophonist Sam Rapley are making some of the most compelling music on today’s London scene.
Organic Pulse Ensemble is the working name of Swedish multi instrumentalist Gustav Horneij, who wrote and performed everything on the title track from Oppression is Nine Tenths of the Law (RR Gems Records, 28th July). It’s hard to believe there’s only one musician here, Horneij’s soprano saxophone, percussion, flute, keyboards, double bass and trumpet (and more) feel natural and, yes indeed, organic together.
There are two great covers this week, starting with guitarist Yotam Silberstein’s version of Mack Gordon and Harry Revel’s Love Thy Neighbour from the deluxe version (CD and digital) of Standards, Volume 2 (Jojo Records, April). He’s a phenomenal guitar player with gorgeous tone, and is playing with the dream rhythm section of double bassist John Patitucci and drummer Billy Hart.
And from a few years ago, vocalist Rickie Lee Jones sounds completely in her element on Jule Styne’s Just in Time from Pieces of Treasure (BMG/Modern, 2022), with vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, guitarist Russell Malone, pianist Rob Mounsey, double bassist David Wong and drummer Mark McLean.
The Heshoo Beshoo Group’s title track from Armitage Road (Little Giant, 1970, reissued by We Are Busy Bodies, 2020), is a South African jazz gem. Their name translates as ‘going with force’ and the line up is brothers Henry and Stanley Sithole on alto and tenor saxophones, guitarist Cyril Magubane, bassist Ernest Mothle and drummer Nelson Magwaza. Henry and Stanley (and another brother Danny) would later play together in The Drive, South Africa’s top soul jazz group.
The Abbey Road style album cover certainly illustrates the gulf between life in Orlando, Soweto, and London’s St John’s Wood during the depths of the Apartheid era. But the music is joyous with plenty of space for the horns that echo Coltrane and Cannonball as much as African giants Winston Mankunku and Kippie Moeketsi.
I was reading Marc Myers’ essential daily Jazzwax newsletter a few days ago where he wrote about Quincy Jones arranging a King Pleasure recording date. I’ve added Funk Junction, the instrumental flip side of Pleasure’s Don’t Be Scared (Prestige, 1955), that Jones recorded in spare studio time on the session. The lineup is amazing, featuring trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson, baritone saxophonist Danny Bank, pianist Jimmy Jones, double bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Joe Harris. You can find Marc’s excellent piece here.
I’m a huge Gato Barbieri fan and I’m enjoying Standards: Lost and Found 2 (Red Records, May), a second volume of tracks he recorded in Rome in 1968. I’ve actually picked In Search of the Mystery, a Gato original from the sessions that features pianist Franco D’Andrea, double bassist Giovanni Tommaso and drummer Pepito Pignatelli. It had also been the title track of his debut album recorded for ESP-Disc the year before with cello instead of piano.
From deep on side two of The Crusaders’ Southern Comfort (ABC/Blue Thumb, 1974), comes Lillies of the Nile, written by tenor saxophonist and bassist Wilton Felder. He recorded it again in 1993 for his solo album Forever Always, but to these ears, the original is best, with solid and tasteful playing as one would expect from bandmates trombonist Wayne Henderson, pianist Joe Sample, drummer Stix Hooper and guitarist Larry Carlton.
And finally, this year’s Deal Music and Arts Festival ends on a high note this Sunday 13th July with the Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Band at St George’s Church from 7.00pm -8.45pm. The band’s special guest is the alto saxophonist Camilla George, so it’s a good excuse to play the excellent title track from The People Could Fly (Ubuntu, 2018), that also features a top London lineup of pianist Sarah Tandy, guitarist Shirley Tetteh, double bassist Daniel Casimir and Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso on drums.
To listen to this week’s Jazz on The Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
Blues Beach
The latest edition of Blues Beach includes four spectacular live performances: Buddy Guy with I Had a Dream Last Night, Muddy Waters with Jimmy Reed’s You Don’t Have to Go, the Allman Brothers Band with Elmore James’ One Way Out and Albert King’s Blues Power. There’s folk blues from Dave Van Ronk with Blind Willie Johnson’s Motherless Child, Danny Kalb with Elizabeth Cotten’s Shake Sugaree, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee with Midnight Special.
Jimmy Witherspoon sings Willie Mabon’s I Don’t Know with a spectacular arrangement by Johnny Pate, and Robert Randolph plays some of the most beautiful steel guitar you’ll ever hear on Cody Dickinson’s Wing and a Prayer.
To listen to this week’s Blues Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
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Jazz On The Beach broadcasts every Wednesday evening from 10:00 PM to midnight (UK time), repeating on Monday morning from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM (UK time).
Blues Beach broadcasts every other Thursday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (UK time).
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