Category Archives: Jazz

The Best Songs: Just a Closer Walk With Thee

Just a Closer Walk with Thee is a traditional gospel song that has been covered by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, “A Closer Walk” is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleans jazz funerals.

Rebirth Brass Band – A Closer Walk With Thee:

The ‘jazz funeral’ starts off sombre. On its way to the cemetery, the brass band plays soulful, sad funeral hymns called ‘dirges’,  it should be something that reminds mourners of life’s ups and downs. The slow tune lasts until the procession reaches its final destination, at which point they ‘cut the body loose’ – send the hearse off into the cemetery.

I really love this song and have “dug up” a few examples of great artists doing their version of this old tune.

Continue reading The Best Songs: Just a Closer Walk With Thee

April 22: The late Charles Mingus was born in 1922

charles_mingus_std

 Just because I’m playing jazz I don’t forget about me. I play or write me the way I feel through jazz, or whatever. Music is, or was, a language of the emotions.
~Charles Mingus

Irascible, demanding, bullying, and probably a genius, Charles Mingus cut himself a uniquely iconoclastic path through jazz in the middle of the 20th century, creating a legacy that became universally lauded only after he was no longer around to bug people.
~Richard S. Ginell (allmusic.com)

Charles Mingus Triumph of the Underdog (1998 documentary film)

April 22: The late Charles Mingus was born in 1922

Continue reading April 22: The late Charles Mingus was born in 1922

April 12: Herbie Hancock was born in 1940 – Happy 75th Birthday

Herbie Hancock

I don’t look at music from the standpoint of being a musician; I look at it from the standpoint of being a human being.
~Herbie Hancock

It’s not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.
~Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice.
~allaboutjazz.com

April 12: Herbie Hancock was born in 1940 – Happy 75th birthday!

Continue reading April 12: Herbie Hancock was born in 1940 – Happy 75th Birthday

April 07: The late Billie Holiday was born in 1915 – 100 years ago

billie_holiday  The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever.
~John Bush (allmusic.com)
The Billie Holiday Story – BBC Documentary (56min)

April 07: The late Billie Holiday was born in 1915

Continue reading April 07: The late Billie Holiday was born in 1915 – 100 years ago

March 20: Gil Evans passed away in 1988

Gil Evans

He does it all, and he does it in ways that surprise you and conform to the needs and the genius of the soloist.
~Gary Giddins, jazz writer

Evans, like most musical geniuses (a title bestowed by Miles [Davis]) shows a roving spirit and a probing desire to create new sounds, investigate new territories, and not be pigeon-holed into one space.
~R.J. Deluke (allaboutjazz.com)

Gil Evans Documentary 1997 Amerimage – 54min

Continue reading March 20: Gil Evans passed away in 1988