Summer officially began yesterday, June 21st. With that comes the heat, sun and fun that all make up our great summertime moments. We all have our favorite activities and thoughts from the past that bring a smile to our face every time. To honor this great time of year, we will be featuring a jazz standard, Summertime, originally written by George Gershwin in 1939 for the opera Porgy and Bess and has been covered by numerous artists throughout the years. What’s your favorite summertime memory?
(via thedailydialysis)
The first video here is of Sidney Bachet, who recorded his hit version in 1938.
The second video is from the famed 60′s psychedelic pop group The Doors, proving how jazz can influence any genre and decade.
Hancock has numerous connections with the Indianapolis jazz scene, headlining the 2006 Indy Jazz Fest and his former band mates, Mike Clark and The Headhunters are both signed to Indianapolis based, independent jazz record label, Owl Studios.
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins records Blue 7 1956. Rollins recorded two albums with Indianapolis native J.J. Johnson: J. J. Johnson’s Jazz Quintets, Trombone By Three.
When you listen to Helen O’Connell, backed by the talented Jimmy Dorsey’s Band, sing this song about the 1930s “jive talk” it will make you want to say:
Man, that’s Groovy!
The man behind this video, Jimmy Dorsey, was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and big band leader rising to fame in the 30′s.  He gained large commercial success with the help of O’Connell singing popular songs like our second video for today:
All the cats are solid senders, especially Jimmy Dorsey when he takes off with his clarinet, and Ow! Helen O’Connell sure is a solid canary. Jack, do you collar this jive?
“I’ll be seeing you” back when Big Bands were the stars, Frank Sinatra was just a young singer, and when the song by that title was a pop hit recorded by Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
Tommy Dorsey, known as “The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing,” was an American jazz Trombonist, composer, and band leader in Big Band Era. He is known as one of the greatest Trombonists and for having one of the top two or three big bands throughout the Swing Era. Sinatra is also said to have learned his breath control from Dorsey’s Trombone playing.
Tommy Dorsey (via www.nndb.com)
Check back later today for another post about Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy’s older brother.
Pianist Eric Reed born 1970 in Philadelphia, PA. Reed worked with Indianapolis native Freddie Hubbard from 1991-1992 and 2009 Indy Jazz Fest performer Nicholas Payton played on Reed’s 1996 album Musicale. (Impusle! Records)
Lucky Thompson was a sax man that established himself by playing in some of the biggest swing orchestras like Lionel Hampton and Count Basie. Later Thompson would proceed to establish himself in the hard bop and bop world playing with Miles Davis, Milt Jackson and Kenny Clarke. Thompson recorded for Prestige, ABC Paramount and Savoy and eventually quit the music business all together due to racism that he expired during his playing career. Thompson proved to be a true talent that transcend multiple genres and luck had nothing to do with it!
Lunceford was known for conducting a great orchestra during his heyday. The band was great and contemporary observers rated it with the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. This was based solely on their records and not the live show, as Duke & Count were unmatched on their performances. His death was untimely and was rumored to be caused by a poisoning from a racist owner while his band was eating at a restaurant. (via allmusic.com)
Pianist Erroll Garner born 1921 in Pittsburgh, PA. Sarah McLawler, who attended Cripus Attacks High School in Indianapolis, helped to integrate the jazz clubs in Miami along with Errol Garner when Morris Levy and Oscar Goodstein opened a Birdland there.
This video is Dexter Gordon warming up and performing at Montmarte, Copenhagen in 1971. Known equally for his lifestyle and music, Gordon is a prominent figure that seems to be connected to every story about jazz. Dexter Gordonâs last major concert appearance was with the New York Philharmonic in Ellingtones, a concerto written for him by acclaimed composer David Baker and conducted by James de Preist.
Jonathan Butler is a well-known name in Smooth Jazz and Urban Adult Contemporary circles. In his latest offering, So Strong, he’s still exercising those chops while also expanding into R&B territory. With the title track, he concocts a lovely stepper rhythm to try to work the crossover angle and mostly succeeds. I could truly see this being a big gospel hit if the verses were rewritten with respect to spiritual reverence. The chorus is open-ended enough with its repeated âYour love is so strongâ mantra, and the background singers pack enough punch to make it a contemporary gospel stomper.
The solo acoustic performance of âYou Got To Believe In Somethingâ in the video above actually improves upon the album version. With the rest of instrumentation stripped, Butler is able to dig in and deliver a more heartfelt rendition.
Much of the rest of the album is MOR material that doesn’t take enough chances. He reverts back to his smooth jazz roots in songs like âAvia/For My Babyâ and âMake Room For Me,â which isn’t a bad thing, except that he seems to want to be pulling away from those ties to be more expressive of a sound that never fully materializes.
It’s most apparent in his cover of Johnny Nash’s âI Can See Clearly Now.â For a song that represents new hope and optimism, Butler chooses to slow the tempo, stripping it of that âbrighter day is around the cornerâ feeling. The choir that comes in toward the end starts to lead it in that direction, but it’s too little, too late. For an album that strives to be so strong, its lack of punch in its musical etchings to complement its uplifting lyrical content ultimately proves to be its weakest link.
His official site has soundclips of the entire album, so check it out to make your own conclusions
