Carlos Santana's Overlooked Masterpiece - The Swing Of Delight

Santana at Woodstock, August 16, 1969

When Santana performed at Woodstock in August of 1969, most of the 400,000 people in the crowd (give or take) had never heard of them. The group had yet to release an album and was barely known outside of their home base of San Francisco.

Before Woodstock, Santana's biggest gig had been as the opening act for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Bill Graham, the owner of the Fillmore, was the most important rock music promoter in San Francisco, and was close with all the major groups, including The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane. Graham was also a big fan and a booster of Santana. When the promoters of Woodstock approached Graham about booking bands to play at the festival, Graham told them that if they wanted The Dead and The Airplane, they would also have to take Santana. Which is how a fairly obscure band ended up playing at Woodstock.

Even though Santana was largely unknown to the crowd, their 45-minute set ended up being one of the highlights of the entire concert. [While there is plenty of debate, critics generally agree that the best performances at Woodstock were by Sly & The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Santana.]

I wasn't there (I'm not quite that old), but for my money, Santana was the best group at the festival. In contrast to a number of headliners who didn't have their best stuff or bands that were hampered by the weather and technical problems (notably The Grateful Dead) Santana were rehearsed and at the top of their game.

If you've not seen the band's set at Woodstock, you should drop everything and go watch their closing number, "Soul Sacrifice." The uncut version is here. (Don't bother with the three-minute edited version.) For me, this astounding nine-and-a-half minute performance is the most electrifying moment of the entire festival. 

Michael Shrieve at Woodstock

The song starts with a nice slow burn that erupts into a five-alarm fire that leaves you breathless. Bass player David Brown and percussionists Michael Carabello and José "Chepito" Areas start off the Latin groove. From the time Carlos Santana takes his first extended guitar solo at the 1:10 mark, the song never lets up - all you can do is hold on for the ride. Carlos is followed by some very tasty Latin percussion, and then at around the 3:00 mark, Michael Shrieve (the youngest performer at the festival at age 20) takes a two-minute drum solo that is astounding. Carlos then comes back in for another extended guitar solo, followed by a fabulous organ solo by Gregg Rolie, which is followed by an all-out jailbreak by the whole band. The song concludes with another tour de force performance by Shrieve as the drums drive the song to a close. The crowd goes nuts. No doubt many of them were thinking: Who the hell are these guys? Watching the video gives me goosebumps. 

[Fun fact: Carlos Santana revealed many years later that Jerry Garcia gave him a hit of LSD before the band went on. Santana says he was tripping so badly he wasn't sure if he could play. Turns out he could.] 

There is no question that Woodstock was the launching pad for Santana. After being signed by Columbia Records at the end of 1968 (originally called The Santana Blues Band), the group went into the studio to record their first album in May, 1969. With incredible timing, Columbia Records released the eponymous Santana album the week after Woodstock. Not surprisingly, it zoomed up the charts and became a monster hit that stayed in the Billboard 200 for more than two years.

1st three LPs

I mention all the above because I periodically go through my collection to create more space by finding albums that I don't listen to very much and moving them to my overflow shelves in the garage. During a recent attempt to cull some albums, I went through my collection of Santana albums, wondering if some of them might be candidates for a new home in the garage.

First things first: Santana's first three albums (left, top to bottom) Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), and Santana III (1971) are rock 'n' roll classics. No way any of them is going outside. However, I quickly realized that I couldn't remember the last time I listened to any of the other nine Santana albums in my collection. As with a lot of other rock artists, Santana's early albums were by far their best. None of their later releases really made much of an impression on me.

That being the case, I was just about to take all the post-1971 Santana albums in my collection out to the garage, but decided to spend a couple of days listening to them first for old times' sake.  

If I count correctly, Carlos Santana (both individually and in the group Santana) released some 15 or 16 albums during the 1970s (I've got 12 of them). His output included a solo album, joint projects with Buddy Miles, John McLaughlin, and Alice Coltrane, and 11 or 12 Santana group albums (depending on whether you count live albums and a best of collection).

I'm not going to attempt a detailed review of all the albums. What I will say is that Santana III marks the end of the original Santana sound. Beginning with the band's fourth album, Caravanserai (1972), Carlos Santana (as opposed to the group) began exploring new musical directions, initially moving away from his original Latin rock roots to a jazz fusion style. However, during the rest of the decade, he also experimented with a myriad of musical styles, including the Blues, R&B, garage rock, psychedelic rock, contemporary pop, and free form jazz. 

After listening to my nine post-1971 albums, I can confidently say that all of them have more than a little redeeming value. The musicianship is routinely high, the songs are generally well crafted, and even his more exotic forays into free form jazz (Illuminations, 1974) or new agey ballads (Oneness: Silver Dreams Golden Reality, 1979) are interesting, although not interesting enough to save them from a trip to the garage. 

However, I was surprised at how well I liked a couple of Santana's later group albums, particularly Borboletta (1974) and Amigos (1976). I suspect it's because on these two albums they recapture some of the magic of the group's early Latin rock groove. I decided to give these two a reprieve from the garage. 

Just as I was about to give the remaining albums the big heave-ho, I realized that I had one more release, a 1980 solo project called The Swing Of Delight. [Fun fact: The album is credited to Devadip Carlos Santana. Devadip was the Sanskrit-based name given to Santana by the Indian guru Sri Chinmoy. Santana was a devotee of Chinmoy from about 1972-80.] The album is a two-disc set which I frankly did not remember owning. I likely picked it up for a couple of bucks from a used record bin and wasn't sure if I had ever listened to it or not. 

My initial thought was that the record was probably another jazz fusion effort in the style of Love, Devotion, Surrender, the 1972 album Santana made with fellow Sri Chinmoy disciple Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. So, I didn't hold out much hope. However, the credits inside the gate-fold jacket quickly caught my attention. Most of the album was recorded with Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on Saxophone, Tony Williams on drums, and Ron Carter on bass. Which is to say, the band on Santana's LP was Miles Davis's "Second Great Quintet" from 1964-68. This is the group that cut four classic Miles Davis LPs that tore down the walls between modal jazz, avant garde, and rock 'n' roll. So that seemed promising.

Miles Davis and the "2nd Great Quintet"

The really odd thing about The Swing Of Delight is that there are no credits anywhere on the outside of the jacket. The credits are printed on the inside of the gate-fold in a tiny, white font that makes it almost impossible to read. I had to use a magnifying glass to make out the print and discover the crackerjack musicians who played on the sessions.

So, what gives? I don't know. It's no secret that Santana's longtime label, Columbia Records, strongly opposed his experimental musical projects, because they seldom sold many copies or made any money. But burying the credits on this release feels like someone was deliberately trying to sabotage the record. If they had plastered the names of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams on the jacket, they probably would have doubled the sales.

Whatever the reason, the under the radar approach worked. The album was released in 1980 with no fanfare, received mostly lukewarm reviews, and sold poorly. But don't be deterred. This is a flat-out fabulous album that incorporates elements of post bop, jazz rock, soul jazz, jazz funk, Latin rock, fusion, and straight-ahead jazz. I hear echoes of Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea's Return To Forever, not to mention any number of stellar albums by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

The band is incredibly tight and cooking (are you surprised?), and Santana plays lead guitar like a rock star. These are not the dulcet tones of Wes Montgomery or the frenetic energy of John McLaughlin, but the electrifying Santana from Woodstock in 1969, with his signature string bends and soulful sustained notes. I was floored. I played through all four sides of the record three times in a row, marveling at the telegraphic interplay between the musicians.

Even when, on a few tunes, some of the all-star band are replaced by other musicians (notably David Margen on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, and Russell Tubbs on sax), there is no falloff in the quality of the music. In fact, except for the bass (Ron Carter plays acoustic, while David Margen is on electric bass), I had to continually refer to the credits to see who was playing on which songs. Herbie Hancock is the only keyboard player on the album.

Sri Chinmoy and Devadip

The Swing Of Delight was the last of three solo albums that Santana made while under the influence of Sri Chinmoy and by far the most interesting. While almost completely ignored by the public, these three "Devadip" albums offer a fascinating look into Santana's musical journey. As a critic on the allaboutjazz.com website wrote, "The Devadip albums show him in a light where he was less concerned with selling records and pleasing record companies, and guided solely by his muse." 

Since The Swing Of Delight is relatively unknown and not much sought after, it's easy to find great copies at a bargain price. I paid a couple of dollars for my copy, which is NM/VG+. Heck, there are even sealed mint copies available online for less than $15.

[Last fun fact: The Swing Of Delight was one of the first digitally recorded LPs released by Columbia Records. The sound is excellent, if a little bit hyper-real; the dynamic range is enormous and the low-end - particularly the drums and bass - is spectacular. 

Enjoy the music! 

Memphis -- Home Of The Blues, Soul, & Rock 'N' Roll (And Jazz?)

Modern day Beale Street

In the early 20th Century, Memphis, Tennessee was a booming commercial center. It's strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a magnet for trade and migration - drawing tens of thousands of workers from rural areas in Arkansas, Tennessee, and the Mississippi Delta. In the 50 years from 1900 to 1950, the population of the city nearly quadrupled, from 102,350 to 396,000 residents.

The hub of the city's large Black community was the area around Beale Street, where Black-owned businesses, churches, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues created a vibrant commercial district. Night life, which centered around the dance halls, juke joints, and bars, was a potentially dangerous mix of seedy characters, easy money, and liquor. Music poured out of the clubs day and night, and Beale Street soon became a Mecca for young musicians. 

W.C. Handy

In 1909, an itinerant trumpet player, band leader, and composer named W.C. Handy moved to Memphis to try his luck. Handy published what is considered the first ever 12-bar blues composition in 1912, a local hit called The Memphis Blues. In 1914, Handy produced St. Louis Blues, a song that quickly became a national sensation. (According to Discogs database, the song was recorded more than 250 times by 1929.) 

Handy would go on to produce the first great body of original blues music, including classic tunes such as Yellow Dog Blues, Beale Street Blues, Aunt Hagar's Blues, Friendless Blues, and Careless Love, cementing his status as the Father of the Blues. 

Other great Blues artists followed in Handy's footsteps, including Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis, Memphis Minnie, Gus Cannon, Jim Jackson, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith. And, the most famous of them all, Riley B. King, better known as B.B. 

B.B. King

B.B. King moved to Memphis in 1946, and like W.C. Handy he sought his fortune in the clubs of West Memphis and Beale Street. King's popularity grew rapidly after he began hosting a show on local radio station WDIA. He became known as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later shortened to "Blues Boy," and finally just "B.B." After a seven-decade musical career, B.B. King was arguably the most influential figure in the history of the blues.

All of which to say that Memphis's longtime motto, "The Home of the Blues," seems pretty much beyond dispute. However, a few years ago, the city of Memphis changed its motto, now claiming to be the "Home of Blues, Soul & Rock 'N' Roll."

Well. I mean you can certainly make a good case. In 1951, barely five years after B.B. hit town, Memphis's own Sam Phillips, a former DJ, radio engineer, producer, and the owner of the Memphis Recording Studio, helped jump start rock 'n' roll by recording what was arguably the first real rock record, a tune called Rocket 88, which became a monster hit for Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, a band led by 19-year-old Ike Turner. 

With the royalties from Rocket 88, Philips started his own label - Sun Records - and by 1956 he had recorded and released the first hit singles by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. No question that Memphis deserves at least a share of the title of Home Of Rock 'N' Roll. 

Stax Records, Memphis

But Memphis wasn't done yet. In 1959, siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton leased an old movie theater on McLemore Avenue in Memphis and founded STAX Records, which would soon become the beating heart of Soul music in America. [Fun fact: The name STAX was created from the first letters in the siblings last names, STewart and AXton.] 

Over the next 15 years (until the label went broke in 1975), Stax had more than 167 hit songs in the Top 100 on the pop charts and a staggering 243 hits in the Top 100 R&B charts. It launched the careers of legendary artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and the great Isaac Hayes, among others. So, once again, a pretty solid claim to being one of the seminal cities for the development of Soul Music in America.

Which finally brings me to my point. Memphis had an enormous impact on the history of American music in the 20th century. But despite that, you don't often hear anyone talk about Memphis as being a great jazz city. Certainly not in the same breath as places like New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, or New York.

I mention all this because earlier this year I picked up an album titled Magical Trio 2 by the talented pianist James Williams. I confess that I did not recognize Williams when I found this album in a box of used records at an antiques mall. The reason the cover originally caught my eye was because of the other two members of the trio - Ray Brown on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. I mean, if you've got those guys for a rhythm section, does it even matter who's playing piano?

When I got the record home, I did a quick search for James Williams in my music database and found that I have about ten albums on which he plays as a sideman, including a couple of discs by Art Farmer, one each by Art Blakey, Donald Byrd and Tal Farlow, and a particularly tasty collaboration with Sadao Watanabe on the album Parker's Mood. Yowser.

While listening to The Magical Trio 2 and reading the liner notes, I learned that James Williams was born and raised in Memphis. And that's what originally got me wondering about the history of jazz in Memphis. Or, more specifically, why Memphis doesn't seem to have much of a jazz history.

If you asked me to name some great jazz musicians from Detroit or Philadelphia or Los Angeles (or Rocky Mount, NC), I could come up with a name or two without much effort. But until my recent happy discovery of James Williams, I'm not sure I could have identified a single notable jazz musician from Memphis. (Although, as it turns out there are quite a few; I just didn't know they were from Memphis.) Still, my larger point is: When you think Memphis, you don't usually think jazz. As one of, if not the most important crossroads of American music, why didn't Memphis develop a great jazz tradition?

A perceptive article written by Richard J. Alley in the June, 2013 edition of Memphis Magazine, posits that New Orleans Jazz and Memphis Blues were the results of the unique cultural and racial makeup of the two different cities. 

According to Alley, Jazz was born in New Orleans's unique "Gumbo stew of African, Haitian, and Creole cooked up in a pot boiled on the fire first lit by John Philip Sousa." The latter presumably referring to the influence of European concert band music, and particularly brass instruments, on the emerging style of New Orleans jazz. 

On the other hand, Blues music, in Alley's view, was created by "Sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta, the children of slaves, telling their own stories handed down through song and gospel, and put to music made with a six-string and upturned bucket . . . The blues worked its way from those front porches up Highway 61 and into the big city called Memphis, and onto a street called Beale. And thus did Memphis become the Home of the Blues, and rightly so." 

It makes sense to me. But all that said, it turns out that Memphis isn't quite as bereft of jazz as it might seem. After I started digging a bit, I found a number of well-known jazz musicians with Memphis roots (although not all were born there). 

Among them is a surfeit of fine piano players. In addition to Williams, the list includes Phineas Newborn, Harold Mabern, Donald Brown, and Mulgrew Miller. If you were putting together an all-Memphis jazz band, any of these pianists would be a great place to start. Then, you could take your pick of such top-notch sax men as Charles Lloyd, Hank Crawford, Kirk Whalum, Frank Strozier, Sonny Criss, or George Coleman. On trumpet, Booker Little is probably your top choice, but Louis Smith wouldn't be far behind. And on vocals, you can't go wrong with the great Dee Dee Bridgewater. Alas, though, you will probably still need to call in Ray Brown (Pittsburgh) and Elvin Jones (Detroit) to be your rhythm section, as I couldn't locate any notable jazz bassists or drummers from Memphis.

After delving into the history of jazz and jazz musicians in Memphis, I began a fevered search for more recordings by James Williams and started reading up on his life and career.

James Williams

Born in 1951, Williams began studying piano at 13, and while still a young teen became the organist at the Eastern Star Baptist Church in Memphis. In 1973 he graduated from Memphis State University with a degree in music education, and at the age of 22 was offered a teaching position at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. 

For the next four years, Williams taught music while gigging in the Boston area. He often worked with drummer Alan Dawson to accompany visiting musicians, working with such greats as Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Milt Jackson, and Sonny Stitt. 

In 1977, Williams left Berklee and joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for a four-year stint, replacing Walter Davis Jr. on piano. In all, Williams played on ten albums with Blakey and The Messengers. Then, in 1981, he returned to Boston where he performed and recorded regularly before moving to New York in 1984. During his career (which was tragically cut short by cancer in 2004 at the age of 53), Williams released some 20 albums as a leader and appeared on more than 150 other albums as a performer. He was also a prolific composer and has more than 30 credits as a producer. 

Williams's first album as a leader was called Focus, a duet recorded with bassist Dennis Irwin while touring in Italy. The album was released on the Italian label Red Records in 1978. That same year, he released his U.S. debut, Flying Colors, a quintet session for Zim Records featuring the great trombonist Slide Hampton. 

Williams went on to record for much more established labels, including Concord Jazz, EmArcy, and Blue Note. However, his albums were never big sellers, and as a result he frequently switched labels in order to secure a record deal.

Allmusic reviewer Jason Ankeny sums up Williams's legacy thus: "He channeled the gospel and R&B influences of his youth to forge a soulful, deeply expressive approach to contemporary jazz. A gifted soloist and accompanist, he was also a respected producer and educator."  

Over the past few months, I've tracked down six more of Williams's albums, including Magical Trio 1 (featuring Elvin Jones and Art Blakey) and his two releases on the Concord Jazz label, Everything I Love (1979) and The Arioso Touch (1982). The later album, from 1982, which features Buster Williams on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, may be my favorite to date. It's a driving album with terrific interplay that puts me in mind of some of Bill Evans's best trio work. While The Arioso Touch is my current favorite, I have to say that all of Williams's albums that I've heard so far are excellent.

Since Williams was not very well known and his albums didn't sell widely, I almost never see them in the wild. However, most of his LPs are available on Discogs in VG+ or better condition in the $10-15 range. Sadly, about half of Williams's albums (everything after 1990), were only ever released on CD. And I think it's doubtful that any of them will be reissued on vinyl. Dang.

Enjoy the music! 

More Trombone!

The great J.J. Johnson

Is jazz trombone having a moment? Maybe it's just me, but recently I've been listening to some terrific new albums that showcase modern jazz trombonists. As a big fan of the instrument, it's a welcome development, even if we're still a long way from the trombone's glory days in the 1950s and 60s.

The trombone, like the clarinet and flute, doesn't seem to get a lot of attention or respect among jazz fans. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that clarinet and flute seem a bit dainty for hard bop. Trombone, on the other hand, suffers from the opposite problem. Like the bass clarinet or tuba - trombone is a fun addition to any group, but seemingly a bit too plodding to be seen as a serious solo instrument. 

Even so, the trombone has been an integral part of jazz since the very beginning. One of the most recognizable characteristics of ragtime and early New Orleans jazz bands are the unique sounds made by the slide trombone -- growling, scooping, and particularly the glissando, i. e. sliding up or down from one note to the next. (If you think of the "Hold That Tiger" lyric from the "Tiger Rag" you'll probably recall some of these sounds.)

But despite it's importance to the development of jazz music, the trombone has mostly been considered a secondary or complementary instrument. As jazz historian Gunther Schuller writes in the Oxford Companion to Jazz: "In a typical early jazz formation of trumpet, trombone, and clarinet, the three instruments were assigned quite specific roles, with the trombone providing commentary asides, countermelodies, and harmonic fill-ins to the main tune played by the cornet and the clarinet’s high-register obbligatos, in general providing a link between the melodic/thematic material and the rhythm section."

Kid Ory

It's not surprising then, that unlike, say, early trumpet or cornet stars such as Louie Armstrong or Bix Beiderbecke, the pioneers of the trombone are much less well-known. Among the great trombone stylists of the 1910s and 20s were legendary players such as Kid Ory, J.C. Higginbotham, and Miff Mole. But even hard core jazz fans might not recognize their names.

The trombone came into its own during the Swing Era in the 1930s. Popular big bands commonly employed three or four trombonists, all of whom would be expected to play solos. This, in turn, helped develop a new generation of trombone players attuned to a more melodic, lyrical style. Outstanding talents such as Jack Teagarden, Benny Morton, Lawrence Brown, Vic Dickenson, Juan Tizol, and Trummy Young came out of the big bands, playing solos with greater articulation and fewer slide gimmicks. In addition, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller -- two of the most popular big band leaders of all time -- were both trombonists.

In the 1940s, as the big bands broke up and bebop jazz began to take the place of swing, trombone players had to once again adapt and find a way of playing to keep up with the faster-paced, improvised rhythm of bop. The driving force behind this stylistic movement was J.J. Johnson. 

Born in Indianapolis in 1924, Johnson came of age at the tail end of the big band era, playing with groups led by Snookum Russell, Benny Carter, and Count Basie. In 1946, Dizzy Gillespie encouraged Johnson to develop a bebop style for the trombone. Years later, Gillespie says that he told Johnson: "I've always known that the trombone could be played different, that somebody'd catch on one of these days. Man, you're elected!"

Johnson eliminated most of the glissandos, growls, rips, and other novelty effects from his playing, replacing them with a precisely articulated, trumpet-like style, enlivened by augmented chords and other alterations characteristic of bebop.

Johnson met Gillespie's challenge and proved convincingly that anything Dizzy could do on the trumpet he could now match on the trombone. Johnson developed astounding speed and agility on the instru­ment, and became a charter member of the bop revolution. Trombonist and Smoke Session recording artist Steve Turre sums up Johnson's legacy: "J. J. did for the trombone what Charlie Parker did for the saxophone. And all of us that are playing today wouldn’t be playing the way we’re playing if it wasn’t for what he did. . .he is the master of the trombone — the definitive master of the century.”

J. J. and Kai

The period from the 1950s through the 1980s proved to be the golden age of trombone jazz. Following Johnson's lead, a slew of talented trombonists were soon fronting bands and headlining recording sessions. Among the breakout stars were Kai Winding (who had a brief, but very successful partnership with Johnson), Jimmy Knepper, Frank Rosolino, Bennie Green, Jimmy Cleveland, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Fuller, Bill Watrous, Urbie Green, Carl Fontana, and Slide Hampton. Their output during the decades following the second World War set a high-water mark for the popularity of bebop trombone.

Since the 1980s, when the last of these headliners faded from the scene, trombone jazz hasn't really been the same. However, it is alive and well if you know where to look.

A very good place to start is with the Smoke Sessions Record label. Smoke Sessions is a record label and NYC jazz club with a stellar calendar of live shows and a growing list of fabulous, mostly straight-ahead jazz releases. Among the players in the Smoke stable are two fine trombonists, Steve Davis and Steve Turre. 

Turre is a veteran jazzman who has played with the likes of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Woody Shaw, Hilton Ruiz, Chico Hamilton, and Lester Bowie. To date, he has cut five discs for Smoke Sessions, including the 2024 release Sanyas. (Unfortunately, only two of Turre's releases for Smoke are available on LP.)

As jazz writer Thom Jurek says, Turre's style "hovers between blues, hard and post-bop, Eastern and Afro-Latin sounds, and modal grooves." On Sanyas, Turre is backed by an exceptional group, including Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Isaiah Thompson on piano, and Buster Williams on bass. Like a number of record labels in the past, including Concord Jazz and Contemporary, Smoke Sessions has a talented stable of musicians who alternately lead their own sessions, appear as sidemen on other Smoke artists' albums, or perform in ever-evolving ensembles at the New York club. 

One of Turre's labelmates at Smoke Sessions is trombonist Steve Davis. Davis began his career with Art Blakey in the 1980s, and has shared the stage and studio with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, and Hank Jones, among others.

Davis has released six albums on the Smoke Sessions label, although once again, only two of them are available on LP. Davis's 2023 Smoke Sessions release, Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1, is a killer trio date with the great Hank Jones on piano and Peter Washington (of the Bill Charlap Trio) on bass. Music writer Dave Linn at All About Jazz calls this disk "A glorious late addition to the Jones discography and a reminder of Davis' massive abilities."  

The session was recorded in 2008, and is one of the last dates that Hank Jones played before his death in 2010. There is apparently enough material in the can for Vol. 2, which hopefully will be released on vinyl in the near future.

If you dig Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1, you will also want to check out Davis's 2024 Smoke Sessions release, We See. This sextet session features an all-star front line of Davis on trombone, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Ralph Moore on tenor sax. 

Kudos to Smoke Sessions for releasing so many exceptional trombone jazz albums by Turre and Davis. However, with two stellar trombonists on board, Smoke Sessions might want to think about pairing them up to try and capture some of the magic of the J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding outings.

I realize that a few disks does not make a trend. And I think it's unlikely we're going to see another jazz trombone renaissance anytime soon. Luckily, there is no shortage of great older recordings to hunt down. So, keep your eyes peeled for any J.J. Johnson or Kai Winding titles you see in the used bins. Nearly everything they did together or separately is worth picking up. As are just about anything by Urbie Green, Jimmy Knepper, Jimmy Cleveland, or Slide Hampton. Some of my favorites from this quartet of musicians include Urbie Green's 1977 release Senor Blues on the CTI label, Knepper's 1980 album Hot Knepper And Pepper on the Progressive Records label (a fabulous pairing of Knepper with Art Pepper on baritone sax), Jimmy Cleveland's 1957 debut, Cleveland Style on the Mercury label, and Roots, the 1985 release by Slide Hampton on the Criss Cross label. 

Enjoy the music!

 

 

Zoot Sims - Swinging From The First Note

 

John Haley "Zoot" Sims

Let's talk about one of my all-time favorite jazz musicians, Zoot Sims. First of all, "Zoot" is perhaps the coolest nickname in the history of jazz. Which is saying something, because jazz is littered with great nicknames, including Bags, Prez, Bird, Bean, Satchmo, Cannonball, Brownie, Diz, Cleanhead, Fathead, Jaws, Lucky, Papa Joe, and Sweets, just to name a few. But in my view, Zoot is in a class by itself. 

The man who became Zoot was born John Haley Sims in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, CA in 1925. He started playing clarinet in the school band at age 10, but switched to the tenor saxophone three years later. Not surprisingly, his early influences were the great saxophone stylists of the late 1930s, including Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Don Byas. 

Within a few years, Sims dropped out of high school and began playing professionally with big bands, starting with groups led by Kenny Baker and Bobby Sherwood. He joined Benny Goodman's band for the first time in 1943 at the age of 18 (and continued to perform with Goodman on and off until the late 1970s). 

In 1944, Sims replaced one of his idols - Ben Webster - in Sid Catlett's Quartet. In May of that same year, at the age of 19, he made his recording debut on Commodore Records in a sextet led by pianist Joe Bushkin.

Four Brothers: Herbie Stewart, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Serge Chaloff

After a two-year hitch in the Army Air Force (1944-46), Sims picked up where he had left off, playing with bands led by Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. He rose to fame as a member of the saxophone section in Woody Herman's second great Big Band ensemble, known as the "Second Herd," which lasted from 1947-49.

The band had a hit single in 1948 with a song by Jimmy Giuffre called "Four Brothers," written specifically to spotlight the talents of the sax section. 

While the musicians who made up the band's saxophone section changed a few times during the two years the Second Herd was together, the members who played on the hit song and became the original Four Brothers were Zoot Sims, Serge Chaloff, Herbie Stewart, and Stan Getz. (You can listen to the song here. The order of the solos is Sims, Chaloff, Stewart, Getz - followed by Woody Herman on the clarinet.) Other members of the sax section during the Second Herd were Al Cohn, Gene Ammons, and Jimmy Giuffre.

From 1954–56, Sims toured with his friend Gerry Mulligan's sextet, and later, in the early 1960s, with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. 

After leaving Mulligan's band, and up until the end of his life, Sims was primarily a freelancer, though he worked frequently in the 1960s and early 1970s with a group co–led with Al Cohn. In the 1970s and 1980s, he also played and recorded regularly with a handful of other musical partners including Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Venuti, and Jimmy Rowles. In 1975, he began recording for Norman Granz's Pablo Records label, where he eventually released more than 20 albums, mostly as a featured solo artist, but also as a backing musician for artists including Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, and Clark Terry. Among the albums Sims recorded for Pablo are six releases featuring pianist Jimmy Rowles in a quartet setting that music critic Scott Yanow has said may be Sims's finest work.

Zoot and Al Cohn

But let's back up a bit. What exactly is a Zoot? Sims acquired the nickname at the start of his career while playing with Kenny Baker's band in California in the early 1940s. According to broadcast journalist and jazz writer Doug Ramsey, "When Sims joined Baker's band as a fifteen-year-old tenor saxophonist, each of the music stands was embellished with a nonsense word [like Scoot, Voot, or Zoot]. The one Sims sat behind said 'Zoot,' and that became his nickname." 

Ramsey, who was good friends with Sims, goes on to write that "Sims was the most dependable and consistent of tenor saxophonists. Never dull, never predictable, he symbolized the spirit of jazz . . . He required no start-up time. Zoot Sims was that rarity, a musician capable of swinging from the first note, and his swing was irresistible." Most of all, Ramsey adds, "Sims just loved to play." 

In his 1989 book Jazz Matters, Ramsey recounts a story about Sims at a late-night jam session following a concert in Seattle in 1955. By 3:00 a.m., all the other headliners had gone to bed, but Sims and the rhythm section kept on playing. Eventually, the rhythm section packed it in as well. Ramsey writes that Sims, who was sitting on a stool, "Closed his eyes, rested his head against the wall, and kept on swinging hard all by himself." 

In addition to his musical genius, Sims was, by all accounts, an extremely likeable fellow, and fun to be around. There are any number of humorous stories about him, including several recorded by bass player Bill Crow in his terrific book Jazz Anecdotes. Crow says that when he wasn't working, Sims was known to be a very sloppy dresser, usually wearing an old baseball jacket and rumpled corduroy pants. Crow says that one afternoon Sims walked into a bar where he was a regular wearing a dark suit and a tie. The bartender was shocked and asked Zoot why he was all dressed up. Zoot smiled and said, "I don't know, I just woke up this way." 

Sims was also known to be a prodigious drinker. Crow says that one night a man in the audience was amazed to see Sims down shot after shot while playing, never missing a note. During a break, the man asked Sims how he could possibly play so well after drinking so much, and Sims told him, "Well, I practice when I'm loaded."

Joe Venuti and Zoot Sims

Even though Sims died relatively young at the age of 59 (in 1985 of cancer), during the course of his career he is credited with playing on some 400 albums, with more than a hundred releases as a leader.

However, Sims was never a star of the magnitude of a Stan Getz or John Coltrane, so his albums are not heavily sought after. And since he cut so many LPs, they tend to turn up fairly frequently in the used bins at bargain prices. 

I currently have 87 albums where Sims is either the leader or a sideman, including 18 of his Pablo releases. It's almost impossible to pick out any favorites, because Sims never made a bad album. There literally isn't a dud among them. As Ramsey wrote, Sims was "swinging from the first note," every time he played. 

However, if you twist my arm, I would say that you can't go wrong with any of the Pablo releases, or the albums with Al Cohn, or the three albums that Sims recorded with violinist Joe Venuti. Zoot and Venuti were two of the swinging-est cats ever, and together they shared a special musical chemistry. But most of all, they just seemed to have a blast playing; their music is effortless and joyful. Bottom line: If you come across any of Zoot's albums, just buy them.

Enjoy the music.

What I've Been Listening To Lately - The Jazz Piano Trio Edition

The piano trio has been a jazz stalwart at least as far back as the 1920s, even if the earliest popular trios were not the classic lineup of piano, bass, and drums. For example, in 1927, Jelly Roll Morton cut some trio sides using clarinetist Johnny Dodds and his brother, drummer Baby Dodds. In 1929 he similarly recorded with Barney Bigard on clarinet and Zutty Singleton on drums. (left)

 

In the mid 1930s the jazz trio format gained a wider audience when clarinetist Benny Goodman formed a superstar group with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa. A few years later, out in Los Angeles, Nat Cole put together his first trio, The Nat Cole Swingsters, performing with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince.

The classic piano/bass/drums trio lineup came into its own during the Bebop era in the mid to late 1940s. One of the first great modern piano trios was Erroll Garner's 1946 group with Red Callender on bass and Lou Singer on drums. They were followed shortly after by the Bud Powell Trio with bassist Curly Russell and drummer Max Roach and then in 1949 by the Dave Brubeck Trio with Ron Crotty on bass and Cal Tjader on drums. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the modern piano trio hit its stride with a wealth of fabulous groups led by such greats as Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, George Shearing, McCoy Tyner, Gene Harris, Marian McPartland, Andre Previn, Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, and Vince Guaraldi. 

Perhaps the greatest and most influential of all the jazz piano threesomes was the Bill Evans Trio. It was also one of the longest-lived jazz trios, recording and performing for some 20 years, albeit with seven different bassists and ten different drummers. (Indeed, Evans' first three LPs alone had three different bass players (Teddy Kotick, Sam Jones, and Scott LaFaro) and two different drummers (Paul Motian and Philly Joe Jones.) 

 

In addition to his musical genius, Evans' great contribution to the jazz trio was to democratize the format. In the liner notes to his 1960 album Portrait In Jazz, Evans is quoted as saying: “I’m hoping the trio will grow in the direction of simultaneous improvisation rather than just one guy blowing followed by another guy blowing. If the bass player, for example, hears an idea that he wants to answer, why should he just keep playing a background?” In Evans' conception, the trio shouldn't be just a pianist backed by a rhythm section, but a three-way conversation. 

 

Evans' ambition was most fully realized in his early work with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Reams have been written about the seemingly telepathic communication between the three players, particularly the interplay between Evans and bassist Scott LaFaro. [If you've forgotten just how magical their sound was, stop reading right now and go listen to Sunday At The Village Vanguard (Riverside RLP 9376). Focus on the dialogue between LaFaro and Evans. Gives me goose bumps every time.]

 

Of course, the Vanguard recordings were made impossibly poignant by Scott LaFaro's death in a car accident in 1961 at the age of 25 - a mere ten days after the sessions. Evans was devastated by the loss and spent the rest of his life chasing the cosmic connection he felt with LeFaro during their brief 1959-61 musical partnership. As a tribute, Evans put LeFaro's name on the cover of the resulting album, billing the sessons as "Featuring Scott LeFaro." LeFaro's death remains one of the greatest tragedies in jazz history (which is chock full of tragedies).

 

As much as I enjoy jazz quartets, quintets and larger ensembles, I confess that I often feel like I'm missing some of the action. With two or three primary instruments in the front line, I sometimes think I'm not hearing and appreciating all the individual contributions. Whereas with a piano trio, it's easy to follow each instrument and hear the interaction and exchange between the players. Which makes for a very satisfying listen. It's no surprise that piano trio recordings by the likes of Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, or Vince Guaraldi account for a good portion of my LP listening. And lately, I've been digging deeper into my collection for less well-known gems from the piano trio canon. I love discovering great new-to-me music and hope that some of these artists will be new to you as well.

 

Denny Zeitlin - Cathexis (Columbia CS 8982)

 

Zeitlin is a singular figure in modern jazz. His debut album, Cathexis, came out in 1964, just as he was completing his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University. Soon after the album's release, Zeitlin moved to San Francisco to begin a medical residency in psychiatry. It's safe to say that Zeitlin is the world's most successful jazz pianist who is also a practicing psychiatrist. [At the time of this writing, Zeitlin, who is 86, continues to perform and to teach psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.]

 

A student of George Russell, Zeitlin's influences include Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, George Shearing, and Dave Brubeck. If you dig these artists, you're likely to enjoy Zeitlin's music. Downbeat Magazine calls his performance "A stunning display of instrumental virtuosity, emotional depth, and musicality." Cathexis was recorded at Columbia's famous 30th Street Studio in NYC, and the original two-eye pressing sounds terrific. The legendary John Hammond (who played a key role in the careers of scores of artists, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen) produced the album and wrote the liner notes. Zeitlin is backed on the album by the great Cecil McBee on bass and drummer Frederick Waits. Inexplicably, the two are not credited on the album (but are mentioned in the liner notes.) Zeitlin would go on to record three more albums for Columbia, all of which are well worth a listen.

 

And just in case you're wondering, Cathexis is a psychoanalytic term that refers to the mental or emotional energy that people invest in themselves, others, or objects.

 

Paul Bley Trio - BeBop (1990, SteepleChase SCS 1259) 

 

Paul Bley was born in Montreal in 1932. A musical prodigy, he sat in with touring American jazz bands in his early teens. In high school, the great Oscar Peterson (also from Montreal) asked him to fill in when he had to cancel a gig at a local club. In 1950, Bley left Canada to study at Julliard in NYC. Within a few years he had cut an album with Charlie Parker and was performing in Manhattan clubs with the likes of Jackie McLean and Lester Young. On his first album, Introducing Paul Bley, released in 1954 on Charles Mingus' Debut label, Bley is backed by Mingus on bass and Art Blakey on drums. Holy smokes! 

 

Unfortunately, I can't stand most of Bley's music, which (at least to my ears) is a brand of atonal and discordant free jazz. However, beginning in the mid 1980s, Bley cut a series of five trio albums for Denmark's SteepleChase label that are pretty close to mainstream jazz. BeBop was the fourth of these, released in 1990, and features Bob Cranshaw on bass and Keith Copeland on drums. BeBop was produced by Denmark's own Nils Winther and is a great example of what beautiful music Bley is capable of when using his powers for good.

 

Paul Smith Trio - This One Cooks! (1981, Outstanding 012)

 

Paul Smith, yet another child prodigy, was born in San Diego in 1922 and began playing professionally when barely out of high school. After a tour in the military, Smith found work with Les Paul's group and then in Tommy Dorsey's band. 

 

By 1950, Smith had settled permanently in Los Angeles, where spent most of his career as a studio musician playing on television soundtracks and motion picture scores. His Hollywood resume also includes stints as the musical director for The Dinah Shore Show and The Steve Allen Comedy Hour. In addition, Smith was an in-demand accompanist, playing for Bing Crosby, Doris Day, and Sammy Davis Jr. among others. He had a decades-long association with Ella Fitzgerald as her pianist and musical director.

 

Along the way, Smith played on hundreds of albums, including more than 50 under his own name. Despite his success (or at least his ubiquity), many music critics failed to take Smith seriously, writing him off as all flash and little substance. In particular they didn't care for Smith's tendency to "quote" other songs while playing, for example, inserting a bit of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" while playing the classic tune "Take The A Train." Smith says that he just liked to keep things loose while playing, but the critics weren't impressed.

 

In fact, Smith's playing on This One Cooks! will likely not impress you as an example of deeply introspective jazz. However, he will knock your socks off with his astounding virtuosity. And even better, the music is a hoot. Drummer Frankie Capp and bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks expertly sustain Smith's often frenetic pace. In the liner notes, Middlebrooks says that when playing with Smith, his role is "To support him and stay out of his way." Finally, keep your ears peeled for several of Smith's signature "quotes" on the album. "From The Halls Of Montezuma" makes its way into Jobim's "Meditation."

Richard Beirach - EON (1975, ECM 1054)

 

Richie Beirach was born in 1947 in Brooklyn. He studied piano from age 6 to 18 with composer James Palmieri, then continued his musical education at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. He began playing in Manhattan clubs in the mid 1960s, including gigs with Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz, and Stan Getz. Eon was Beirach's debut release under his own name.

 

The first track on the album, Miles Davis' classic "Nardis," might initially lead you to think that it's Bill Evans on piano. Beirach was friends with Evans (his second album is called Elegy For Bill Evans), and his playing has more than a touch of Evans' lyrical, inventive style. And like Evans, on this recording Beirach displays an almost telepathic connection with his bandmates, bassist Frank Tusa and drummer Jeff Williams. 

 

The music on EON is both haunting and uplifting. AllMusic critic Chuck Berg says "This is simply my favorite piano trio recording of them all. It is magic from start to finish. Beirach's playing is a great mix of stunning technique and space. Frank Tusa provides melodic counterpoint and Jeff Williams is simply playing pure music. Three guys playing as one." 

The album was released by ECM, produced by the label's indefatigable boss, Manfred Eicher. Like nearly all ECM releases, the sound is exceptional. A true hidden gem.

Hal Galper - Naturally (1987 Black Hawk BKH 529-1)

 

Raise your hand if you've heard of Hal Galper. Anyone? Until I chanced upon an unopened copy of this title at a used record store, I do not think I had ever seen or heard Galper's name. So, I'm glad I took a flyer on the album based on the names of his sidemen.

Galper grew up in Salem, Massachusetts and attended Berklee College in Boston. He got his start performing in local clubs there, including as a member of the house band led by Herb Pomery at a Beantown club called The Stable. Galper later gigged with Stan Getz and Chet Baker (among others) before joining Cannonball Adderley's quintet in the 1970s. After that, he held down the prestigious piano chair with Phil Woods' Quintet from 1980-90. [Later occupied by Bill Charlap. See below.]

 

Galper cut his first album as a leader in 1971 and to date has some 18 albums to his credit. Among the many brilliant players who have appeared on his sessions are Michael Brecker, Tony Williams, Cecil McBee, Victor Gaskin, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, and Reggie Workman.

 

Despite his obvious talent, Galper has flown beneath the radar for most of his career. AllMusic critic Scott Yarow opines that "He is a talented pianist in the modern mainstream/post-bop genre. His music is thoughtful, always swings, and has some surprising twists and turns." The album Naturally was recorded in 1982 at a live concert in Sydney, Australia with Rufus Reid on bass and Victor Lewis on drums.

Bill Charlap Trio - Street Of Dreams (2021, Blue Note B0033904)

 

If you aren't already on the Bill Charlap bandwagon, what the heck are you waiting for? In the words of music critic Matt Collar, "Charlap is a swinging and lyrical post-bop improvisor and accompanist, as well as a celebrated interpreter of standards. He debuted in the '90s with Gerry Mulligan and has performed with jazz icons like Benny Carter, Phil Woods, and Clark Terry. What is so compelling about Charlap's playing is just how balanced it is. He's clearly imbibed an array of influences, from Earl Hines and Teddy Wilson to Bud Powell and Bill Evans, yet he always sounds like himself."

 

The 2021 release Street Of Dreams features the sympathetic (but unrelated) pairing of Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. Even though Charlap has more than a trace of Evans' lyrical creativity, there is no Vulcan mind meld with the Washingtons. After more than 25 years playing together, their roles are quite clear: The Washingtons provide a rock-solid rhythm backing for the star of the show, and I'm OK with that.

Ross Tompkins Trio - Street Of Dreams (1983, Famous Door HL 143)

 

What are the odds, right? Another album with the name Street Of Dreams. [In fact, there are at least six albums with this name, the first being a 10" LP by the Ink Spots, released in 1955.]

 

Born in 1938 in Detroit, Ross Tompkins attended the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to NYC and working with a host of groups, including Kai Winding, Eric Dolphy, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Bobby Hacket, Benny Goodman, and Wes Montgomery. In 1971, Tompkins moved to Los Angeles, where he played with Louie Bellson, Joe Venuti, and Red Norvo before joining Doc Severinson and the Tonight Show Band in 1972. He remained with the band until Johnny Carson retired in 1992.

Tomkins' Street Of Dreams album was released in 1983, and features John Heard on bass and either Jake Hanna or Nick Ceroli on drums. The playing is strictly mainstream, but has a flowing lyricism that is quite lovely and compelling. The release, on the Famous Door label, was mastered by the talented Gladys Hopkowitz, and sounds very natural and dynamic.

The John Bunch Trio - The Best Thing For You (1987, Concord Jazz CJ-387)

Bunch was born in 1921 and hails from Tipton, Indiana. By the time he was in his teens he was playing professionally with various bands in the Hoosier state. During World War II, Bunch served in the Army Air Corps as a bombardier on a B-17. He was shot down over Germany in late 1944, and remained a prisoner until the end of the war. 

Back home in Indiana, Bunch tried his hand at various jobs, then decided to move to Los Angeles in 1956 to try and jump start his musical career. He found work with George Auld, Jimmy Rowles, and Woody Herman's band. After two years, he moved to NYC where he played in bands led by Maynard Ferguson and Eddie Condon. 

In 1966, Bunch became Tony Bennet's pianist and musical director, a position he held until 1972. For the next 30 years, he worked steadily in New York and London, performing and recording with his own groups, as well as bands led by Benny Goodman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Buddy Rich, Gene Kruppa, Scott Hamilton, and many others.  

The Best Thing For You is a 1987 outing on the Concord Jazz label. Like nearly all Concord titles, Bunch's LP is strictly mainstream jazz. The songs are a varied selection of standards - from Gershwin to Bossa Nova - played in a mostly upbeat, swinging style, sure to put a bounce in your step and a smile on your face. The sidemen are Phil Flanigan on bass, and Chuck Riggs on drums.

Let me know if you have other lesser-known jazz piano trios to recommend.

Enjoy the music!