1432 people in the audience, one piano player. A huge stage and a tiny piano.
When the first notes came running through his hands, everyone knew they witnessed something special, magic. Jarret was completely immersed in his music, it was more than improvisation, it was total unity between performer and music. Jarrett’s improvisation was hypnotically rhythmic, bordering on a mantra.
He doesn’t know where he is going, he has a sense of shape, but he really makes it up as he goes along. He can not play the same concert again, even if he wanted, isn’t that amazing!
He moans, he stands, he sits, he is very much giving a performance, maybe the performance of his lifetime!
Sometimes the hype is justified and The Köln Concert is one of these times. It is the best selling solo album in jazz history and the best selling piano album of all times. And it is so deserved.
If you can’t play the blues… you might as well hang it up.
~Dexter Gordon
Jazz to me is a living music. It’s a music that since its beginning has expressed the feelings, the dreams, hopes, of the people.
~Dexter Gordon
Montmartre, Copenhagen, 1971:
Wikipedia:
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was among the earliest tenor players to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the instrument. His studio and live performance career spanned over 40 years.
Gordon’s height was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm), so he was also known as “Long Tall Dexter” and “Sophisticated Giant”. He played a Conn 10M ‘Ladyface’ tenor until it was stolen in a Paris airport in 1961. He then switched over to a Selmer Mark VI. His saxophone was fitted with an Otto Link metal mouthpiece, which can be seen in various photos.
Lady Bird (Belgium, 1964):
Dexter Gordon was named a member and Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters in 1986 by the Ministry of Culture in France. His performance in Round Midnight (Warner Bros, 1986) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Leading Role and he won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack. Dexter Gordon died on April 25, 1990, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Chan’s song (from the Round Midnight):
Album of the day:
Go (1962)
From the first moments when Dexter Gordon sails into the opening song full of brightness and confidence, it is obvious that Go! is going to be one of those albums where everything just seems to come together magically. A stellar quartet including the stylish pianist Sonny Clark, the agile drummer Billy Higgins, and the solid yet flexible bassist Butch Warren are absolutely crucial in making this album work, but it is still Gordon who shines.
~Stacia Proefrock (allmusic.com)
I don’t ever balk at being considered a Motown person, because Motown is the greatest musical event that ever happened in the history of music.
~Smokey Robinson
Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, but one could argue that Smokey Robinson was the man who first pushed America’s most iconic soul music label toward greatness.
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)
The Tracks Of My Tears Live (1965)
Wikipedia:
Birth name
William Robinson, Jr.
Born
February 19, 1940 (age 73)
Origin
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres
R&B, soul, pop, adult contemporary
Occupations
Singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive
Instruments
Vocals, piano
Years active
1955–present
Labels
Motown, Universal, SBK, Liquid 8, Robso
Associated acts
The Miracles, The Temptations, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye
William “Smokey” Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the popular Motown vocal group The Miracles, for which he also served as the group’s chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as The Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the stage to focus on his role as Motown’s vice president.
I Second That Emotion:
However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year, later having solo hits such as “Baby That’s Backatcha”, “A Quiet Storm”, “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, “Cruisin'”, “Being With You” and “Just to See Her”. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left Motown in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Awards and accolades
In 1987, Robinson was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Two years later, in 1989, he was inducted to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame
In 1993, Robinson was awarded a medal at the National Medal of Arts
Two years before, he won the Heritage Award at the Soul Train Music Awards
At its 138th Commencement Convocation in May 2006, Howard University conferred on Robinson the degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa
In December 2006 Robinson was one of five Kennedy Center honorees, along with Dolly Parton, Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber
On May 9, 2009, Smokey Robinson received an honorary doctorate degree and gave a commencement speech at Berklee College of Music’s commencement ceremony
On March 20, 2009, The Miracles were finally honored as a group with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Smokey was present with original Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, (Bobby’s cousin) Claudette Rogers, and Gloria White, accepting for her husband, the late Ronnie White, whose daughter Pamela and granddaughter Maya were there representing him as well. Smokey’s replacement, 1970s Miracles lead singer, Billy Griffin was also honored. Controversially, original Miracle Marv Tarplin was not honored, against the wishes of his fellow Miracles, and the group’s fans, who felt that he should have also been there to share the honor. However, later ,Tarplin did receive his star. He was also finally inducted with the rest of the original Miracles, Bobby Bogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White,and Claudette Robinson, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 20th, 2012, some 26 years after Robinson’s controversial solo induction in 1987.
Jazz attracted me because in it I found a formal perfection and instrumental precision that I admire in classical music, but which popular music doesn’t have.
~Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was the first hugely influential jazz figure to emerge from Europe — and he remains the most influential European to this day…
~Richard S. Ginell (allmusic.com)
a tribute video from youtube – w/ video of our man:
another one – w/ some fantastic audio clips:
From Wikipedia
Birth name
Jean Reinhardt
Born
23 January 1910,
Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium
Died
16 May 1953 (aged 43)
Fontainebleau, France
Genres
Jazz, Gypsy jazz, Romani music
Occupations
Guitarist, Composer
Instruments
Guitar, Electric guitar
Years active
1928–1953
Associated acts
Stéphane Grappelli, Quintette du Hot Club de France
Jean “Django” Reinhardt (French pronunciation: [dʒɑ̃ɡo ʁenɑʁt]; 23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer.
Reinhardt is often regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time and regarded as the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the idiom. Reinhardt invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called ‘hot’ jazz guitar) that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as “one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz.” Reinhardt’s most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including “Minor Swing”, “Daphne”, “Belleville”, “Djangology”, “Swing ’42”, and “Nuages”.
Minor Swing – Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli:
Belleville:
Album of the day
Peche à la Mouche (1992) – recorded 1947-53
Legend has it that guitarist Django Reinhardt was at his absolute peak in the 1930s during his recordings with violinist Stephane Grappelli and that when he switched from acoustic to electric guitar after World War II, he lost a bit of his musical personality. Wrong on both counts. This double CD documents his Blue Star recordings of 1947 and 1953 and Reinhardt (on electric guitar) takes inventive boppish solos that put him at the top of the list of jazz guitarists who were active during the era.
~Scott Yanow (allmusic.com)
“The blues is like this. You lay down some night and you turn from one side of the bed to the other all night long. It’s not too cold in that bed, and it ain’t too hot. But what’s the matter The blues has got you.”
~Lead Belly
I heard Leadbelly somewhere and that’s what got me into folk music, which was exploding.
~Bob Dylan (Joe Smith interview 1988)
” Lead Belly was not an influence, he was the influence. If it wasn’t for him, I may never have been here. I don’t think he’s really dead. A lot of people’s bodies die but I don’t think their spirits die with them.
~Van Morrison
”Sang the blues wonderfully,but he was much bigger than that. He encompassed the whole black era, from square dance calls to the blues of the 30’s and 40’s”
~Alan Lomax
Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter 1998 Folk Alliance International Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient:
The Midnight Special:
From Wikipedia
Birth name
Huddie William Ledbetter
Also known as
Lead Belly
Born
January 1888
Mooringsport, Louisiana, United States
Died
December 6, 1949 (aged 61)
New York, New York, United States
Genres
Delta blues, songster, country blues
Occupations
Musician, songwriter
Instruments
Vocals, guitar, accordion, piano, lap steel guitar
Huddie William Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949) was an iconic American folk and blues musician, and multi-instrumentalist, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced.
Goodnight, Irene:
He is best known as Lead Belly. Though many releases list him as “Leadbelly“, he spelled it “Lead Belly”. This is also the usage on his tombstone, as well as of the Lead Belly Foundation. In 1994 the Lead Belly Foundation contacted an authority on the history of popular music, Colin Larkin, editor of the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, to ask if the name “Leadbelly” could be altered to “Lead Belly” in the hope that other authors would follow suit and use the artist’s correct appellation.
Although Lead Belly most commonly played the twelve-string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad “John Hardy”, he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar. In other recordings he just sings while clapping his hands or stomping his foot.
John Hardy (Accordion):
The topics of Lead Belly’s music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs; blues songs about women, liquor, prison life, and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing. He also wrote songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys, and Howard Hughes.
In 2008, Lead Belly was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
