Jazz on the Beach 197: Carter Jefferson, Alex Hitchcock, Poppy Daniels, Johnny Griffin, Jaco Pastorius, Charles Chen, The Circling Sun, Stanley Turrentine
Jazz radio from Deal (where it's Carnival and Regatta week)
I think you’ll agree that there’s no shortage of terrific tenor saxophonists on this week’s playlist. That’s Sam Rivers flowing freely on drummer Anthony (Tony) Williams’ Love Song from Spring (Blue Note, 1966), also featuring Herbie Hancock and double bassist Gary Peacock. Jimmy Heath is hard boppin’ on trumpeter Don Sleet’s version of Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise from All Members (Jazzland, 1961), with pianist Wynton Kelly, double bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jimmy Cobb.
There’s Johnny Griffin’s storming The Way You Look Tonight from Johnny Griffin, Vol. 2 (aka ‘A Blowin’ Sesssion’) (Blue Note, 1957), a 1500 series classic with fellow tenor players Hank Mobley and John Coltrane plus trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Wynton Kelly, double bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Blakey.
We have ‘The Boss’ Gene Ammons’ coolly grooving Blue Ammons from Blue Gene (Prestige, 1958), with trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, pianist Mal Waldron, double bassist Doug Watkins, drummer Art Taylor and the ubiquitous Ray Barretto on congas.
And there’s Stanley Turrentine with Gibraltar from the wonderful Salt Song (CT1, 1971), featuring pianist and arranger Eumir Deodato, pianists Horace Parlan and/or Richard Tee, guitarist Eric Gale, double bassist Ron Carter, drummer Billy Cobham and percussionist Airto Moreira. Turrentine recorded a different version of the same Freddie Hubbard composition the previous year during the sessions for Sugar, but it was only released on the CD version in 1987. I love them both, but this one more.
There’s also a tenor player who may not be so familiar. Carter Jefferson was frontline partner to trumpeter Woody Shaw, a Jazz Messenger with Art Blakey and played with Cedar Walton, Mongo Santamaria, Roy Haynes and Jerry Gonzalez’s Fort Apache Band among many others.
Jefferson only made one album as a leader, here’s the sensational title track from the Woody Shaw produced The Rise of Atlantis (Timeless Muse, 1979), featuring trumpeter Terumasa Hino, pianist Harry Whitaker, double bassist Clint Houston, drummer Victor Lewis and percussionist Steve Thornton. Sadly, Jefferson messed up with drugs and alcohol, dying at 47 years old following emergency surgery for cirrhosis and kidney failure in a Polish hospital in 1993.
There’s new music from three contemporary tenor players, starting with the London born New York resident Alex Hitchcock’s Wishbone from his Letter from Afar (New Soil, 26th September), It features an exciting lineup of NYC players in trumpeter Dave Adewumi, pianist Lex Korten, double bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Jongkuk Kim.
Here’s a live version of Wishbone filmed in Amsterdam last year with Korten and Kim plus trumpeter Hermon Mehari and double bassist Orlando Le Fleming.
The second is Donny McCaslin’s Celestial from Lullaby for the Lost (Edition, 26th September), featuring Jason Lindner playing synths and electric piano, Tim Lefebvre on electric bass, electric guitar and synths and drummer Zach Danziger.
Also, Isaiah Collier is soaring on tuba player Theon Cross’ Play to Win from the remarkable Affirmations: Live at Blue Note New York (New Soil and Division 81, 11th July), with guitarist Nikos Ziarkas and drummer James Russell Sims. This is the third track we’ve played so far, you can be sure that more will follow.
Other new releases on this week’s playlist include the seventh single in Women in Jazz’s UK-based initiative dedicated to promoting and celebrating…..women in jazz! This time it’s the exciting London trumpeter Poppy Daniels’ turn with Due to the Circumstances (Women in Jazz/New Soil, 17th July), recorded at Climax Recording Studios in Woolwich with her band of pianist Eddie Lee, guitarist Kian Cardenas, bassist Tricky and drummer Lox.
There’s the transcendent Constellation by Auckland, New Zealand collective The Circling Sun from their second Pacific jazz inspired Obits (Soundway Records, 11th July). Their lineup includes bassist Ben Turua, drummer Julien Dyne, saxophonists J.Y Lee and Cameron Allen, keyboardist and trumpeter Guy Harrison, trumpeter and vibraphonist Finn Scholes and percussionist Matt Hunter.
A recent discovery that I’m enjoying greatly is the young San Franciscan pianist (also a magician and software engineer) Charles Chen’s Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior from Building Characters (Cellar Music, 16th May), with trumpeter Randy Brecker, tenor saxophonists Bob Sheppard & Lawrence Feldman, double bassist Mike Richmond and drummer Adam Nussbaum.
And finally, there’s the astonishing fretless bassist Jaco Pastorius’ Kuru / Speak Like a Child from his debut Jaco Pastorius (Columbia, 1976), with pianist Herbie Hancock, percussionist Don Alias, drummer Bobby Economou and a marvellous string arrangement by Michael Gibbs. It’s incredible how vital this fusion masterpiece still sounds half a century after it was recorded.
To listen to this week’s Jazz on the Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
Jazz On The Beach #197 - 30th July 2025
The Circling Sun - Constellation
Charles Chen - Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior
Women in Jazz & Poppy Daniels - Due to the Circumstances
Johnathan Blake - Last Breath
Anthony Williams - Love Song
Don Sleet - Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
Alex Hitchcock - Wishbone
Stanley Turrentine - Gibraltar
Theon Cross - Play to Win
Jaco Pastorius - Kuru / Speak Like a Child
Carter Jefferson - The Rise of Atlantis
Roy Haynes Trio - Down Home
Donny McCaslin - Celestial
Johnny Griffin - The Way You Look Tonight
Gene Ammons - Blue Ammons
Booker Ervin - Mojo
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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).
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