It may be a September Monday, but it might as well be spring. Some kind of autumn fever has hit and I’m as restless as the proverbial willow in a windstorm. Maybe it’s the trip I’m taking this week to San Diego and the blue Pacific – a definite change from the Utah desert which surrounds me these days. I tell myself I don’t miss the ocean, but the last few days I’ve been pretty sure I’m not telling the truth. I’m pretty sure I’ll be headed back to the sandy beaches one of these days. Sandy beaches and jazz.
In the meantime, I’m finding enough interesting jazz and interesting talk about jazz to keep this customer satisfied thanks to the Internet and several fine correspondents who send news of what’s happening in various corners of the planet. I also check in regularly with WBGO, a jazz station out of Newark which is always my choice for late night listening.
Recently, I’ve begun to keep my eye and ear out for some of the newcomers on the scene – the up-and-comers who are the next generation of musicians who’ll bring their sounds to eager listeners. They’re still young, at least young in the eyes of those of us who’ve taken a few spins around the turntable, and some don’t quite have the chops yet because, as Miles once noted, “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”
It takes a certain confidence to let go, to forget everything you’ve been taught or think you should play and take yourself right out to the edge, to stop filling every moment with sound, to free wheel it and find your own path through the notes. Visual artists know the same thing – if you know exactly what every brush stroke will be, it might be something, but it’s probably not art. A jazz musician, an artist, a writer has to leave space in the work for silences. Anybody can play the notes, but it’s the silences that make it your own. And bring brilliant surprises.
Now, without further adieu or chit chat, here’s one of the new generation, pianist Aaron Diehl who has a string of honors and awards. He was named the 2011 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association and the 2013 Jazz Journalist Association’s Up-And-Coming Musician of the Year. Awards are good but the music is the thing. Here he is on a great old standard, “Moonlight in Vermont” recorded at Dizzy’s Club in Lincoln Center. What say you about young Mr. Diehl? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw9xdzpm2Rw
There are a few jazz musicians with whom I’m personally acquainted and whose music is more than a passing interest for me. One of them is guitarist John Stowell. John’s home base is Portland, Oregon, but he and his music travel the world. He’s just as likely to be playing a gig in Argentina as in a Portland club and he’s recently been touring the U.S. with vocalist Kendra Shank.
John has long been a mentor to me for my writing – we swap stories about the music and the words – and an inspiration with his flat-out dedication to his work. When I need to get back on track with my writing, I think of John. We did a performance a few years back with his music and my words from my jazz novel, Listen. It was a lot of fun. He knew just what to play and just the right moments.
I’m not the only one impressed with John’s unique style. Here’s what a few other folks have to say about it. You’ll see by the names that these cats know what they’re talking about:
“In the age of mediocrity and clones, John Stowell’s uniqueness and originality are a breath of fresh air. I love playing with him.”
Paul Horn
“John Stowell plays jazz, but he doesn’t use any of the clichés; he has an incredible originality. John is a master creator.”
Larry Coryell
“I’ve been a fan of John Stowell’s for some time.”
Mundell Lowe
“More guitarists would play like John Stowell if they knew how.”
Herb Ellis
Here’s a live performance of “How Deep Is the Ocean” with John on a 1958 Gibson ES-175. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwJQ2pOMQ4s
And now for something completely different, not quite jazz as you might think of it, but close enough for this websketch. Thomas Lauderdale is another Portland music man who put together a sly little orchestra with the name Pink Martini. Oh, I see you know something about Pink Martini. And you should. It’s not pure jazz and it’s not pure anything else except Thomas Lauderdale.
The story of the orchestra is a good one – a little more than just “hometown boy makes good.” Pink Martini has played in concert halls and with major orchestras all over the U.S. including Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, the L.A. Philharmonic, four sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, and on other continents – with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London and at the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia…the list goes on. And on. Lauderdale once said that if the United Nations had a house band, it would be Pink Martini.
Here’s a small sample, a jazzy little tune with a Twenties sound written by Lauderdale and singer China Forbes: “Hang On Little Tomato.” It’s bouncy and hopeful in the face of sadness or uncertainty – like, say, a broken heart. Someone near and dear to me likes this song a lot. Maybe you will, too. Who among us has not been sad, uncertain or had a broken heart?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jz706sJMjg
This next tune doesn’t need much introduction. It’s a Cole Porter number written way back in the 1930s and featured in the 1956 movie, “High Society,” a musical turn on the Broadway play, “The Philadelphia Story.” The movie starred Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Celeste Holm. Oh, and Louis Armstrong and his band. The tune is “Now You Has Jazz,” and here’s the film clip with Bing and Louis explaining it all for us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF2xTrTtkcA
Speaking of jazz at the movies, here’s a lovely rendition of one of my favorites, “Speak Low,” a beautiful song written for “One Touch of Venus,” by composer Kurt Weill (Mack the Knife) and Ogden Nash, who is just as often known for his humorous and witty poetry. (The Icebreaker: Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.) Sassy Vaughan sings it this time, and for my money this is one of the best showcases of her rich vocal interpretations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW-3beTPQnE
The next one goes out to you. Yes, it does. To everyone who reads this websketch and lets me know they enjoy it, to those of you who send me links to other great sites, and all of you who are members of the Jazz Appreciation Family. This one was recorded in 1946 by the great Jimmy Dorsey with vocal by Dee Parker. “I’m Glad There Is You.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e48xyanc0M And I am.
Ciao, JazzBabies…