"New" Beverly Kenney CD

Now available at CDBaby.com

. . .and at PM Sounds, Torrance, CA

_________________________________

Also available at CDBaby.com

READ DOUG RAMSEY'S REVIEW HERE

. . .and at Atomic Records, Burbank, CA &

PM Sounds, Torrance, CA

Richie Kamuca - Lee Konitz

For Hartman completists only

1. Somebody Loves Me

2. Stella by Starlight

3. You Came a Long Way from St. Louis

4. Misty

All other tracks on the album (not heard here) are instrumentals

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FINALLY!

At last, the wonderful, young (wellll. . .forty-ish) singer-pianist Denzal Sinclaire has a web site worthy of his talents. Slightly longer in coming than the last ice age. Here are parts 1 & 2 of a featured video at his FINALLY! revamped http://www.denzalsinclaire.com/





Sinclaire has three albums on Verve. IMHO all are worth checking out.

_____________

Today Would have been the 80th birthday of sax great Richie Kamuca. See immediately preceding post for jazz critic Doug Ramsey's review of Kamuca and Konitz's Live at Donte's. (Pardon the auto-flacking, but---hey!---a guy has gotta eat.)

From Doug Ramsey's 7/19 Rifftides column

Recent Listening: Kamuca and Konitz

Richie Kamuca & Lee Konitz, Live at Donte's 1974 (Cellar Door)

It's a hoot to hear the saxophonists channel their hero Lester Young in this recently discovered session recorded at the lamented Los Angeles club. "Lester Leaps In" begins and ends as a unison duet, complete with stop-time breaks, reproducing Young's 1939 solo on the master take of the piece with Count Basie's Kansas City Seven. In their own solos, Kamuca and Konitz leave no doubt about where they came from. Kamuca, the tenor player, is clearest in his fealty to Young. Konitz, on alto, is more abstract in his Prezcience, but it has always been a major element in his work. The other tunes are standards in the gig books of musicians of Kamuca's (1930-1977) and Konitz's (1927- ) generation—"Just Friends," "Star Eyes," "All The Things You Are" and Bobby Troup's "Baby, Baby All The Time." Solos are long and exploratory; the shortest track is 7:41. The set has the exhilaration, rough edges, chance-taking and surprises that make for satisfying live performance.

Support for the two Ks is by the solid L.A. rhythm section of pianist Dolo Coker, bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Jake Hanna, all of whom solo to great effect. Vinnegar goes beyond his customary walking bass for a couple of bowed solos and a bit of unexpected wildness in his "Lester Leaps In" solo, to the evident amusement of his colleagues and the audience. Coker, an under-recognized high achiever among Bud Powell admirers, has impressive moments throughout. Hanna cooks along, fueling the swing. Toward the end of the last track, "Lester," he finally takes a solo. What he saved up is worth the wait. The sound of this session, exhumed from reel-to-reel tapes, won't turn Rudy Van Gelder green with envy, but it's perfectly acceptable; you can plainly hear what everyone is doing. Unearthing and releasing it is a feather in the cap of Cellar Door's Bill Reed. On the CD box, it says, "Limited Edition." The 300 copies probably won't last long because there is nothing limited about the music.

Marian Bruce

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Austin Cromer w/ Dizzy Gillespie

Over the Rainbow

If You Could See Me Now

Apocryphal true story?

One simply can't say too many praiseworthy things about musician Eddie Monteiro and his mad scientist synth accordion which can, even "live," credibly approximate not only the sound of big band bop, but even a Blues Stars sounding vocal group. All at the same time!

When I first heard Eddie, circa 1990, he was working in partnership with singer Nancy Marano in a jazz duo that came this close to setting the music world on fire not only with critics but record sales as well. Nevertheless that hoary old and (almost) entirely unwarranted---vide the late Pete Jolly and the very much alive Frank Marocco---bias against the the instrument still obtained despite Monterio and Marano's relative commercial hotness. So much so that on one occasion an agent (I think it was Abby Hoffer)attempting to book the duo ran up against a jazz club owner who adamantly insisted, "I will die before I ever allow an accordion player to set foot in this establishment." To which said agent replied: "It's not an accordion. It's a tiny piano he wears on his chest." Now that's what I call fast thinking!

Here's a link to a track from M&M's first CD, The Real Thing.

. . .and a link to Kamuca and Konitz Live at Donte's

The GREAT Bobby Cole

1.Dancing In The Dark
2.September Song
3.This Can't Be Love
4.The Lonesome Road
5.Ebb Tide
6.Johnny One Note
7.Lilac Wine
8.The Lady's In Love With You
9.Ain't She Sweet
10.Love for Sale
11.Humpty Dumpty Heart
12.I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

wish this burn of Bobby Cole were a skosh better, but. . .hey!!!!

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Jane Harvey lets loose

corrected post from last week;

Here is an unreleased recording from singer Jane Harvey's archives that she has generously offered to let me share with readers of this blog.

Circa '65, it's Jane like you've never heard her before. Yes! It's the very same Jane who so sensitively rendered the songs of Stephen Sondheim on her tribute recording to him a couple of decades later. Who knew?

Department of Renovation

It has belatedly been brought to my attention that my July 1 birthday tribute to singer Ruth Olay contained an unfortunate error. The link to her "But Beautiful" was incorrect. But this link WILL take you there. In the immortal words of my grandma: Do what you will, do with your might. Things done by half. . ." and blahblahblahblahblahblahblah And then there's "Better late than never."

He's Farney that way

DICK FARNEY PLAYS AND SINGS

1. how deep is the ocean
2. you go to my head
3. embraceable you
4. but beautiful
5. it could happen to you
6. the one i love  belongs to somebody else
7. all the way
8. my funny valentine
9. how deep is the ocean
10. this love of mine
11. the things we did last summer
12. one for my baby
13. how about you
14. copacabana
15. it's alright with me
16. i hear music
17. I concentrate on you
18. just one of those things
19. speak low
20. the lady is a tramp
21. all of me
22. tenderly

Dick Farney. Download available for next 48 hours only.

r n' b day @ p-v-d-c

1. I'm gonna marry my mother-in-law - james carr
2. Treasure of love - clyde mcphatter
3. Gonzo - james booker
4. Nervous boogie - paul gayton
5. Flatfoot sam - oscar willis
6. 2 a.m. spooner oldham
7. On broadway - jimmy scott
8. Heavy makes you happy - tatsuro yamashita
9. Chicken hop - bobby bland
10. Bon ton roulay - clarence garlow
11. Rescue me - fontella bass
12. Maybe - chantels
13. Cherokee dance - bob "froggy" landers w/
      little willie joe and his unitar

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Anamari who?

1. BLUE CITY

2, ALONE TOGETHER

3. BALLAD OF THE SAD YOUNG MEN

4. HE WAS TOO GOOD TO ME

5. BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH

6. THE NOTHING SONG

7. DON'T EXPLAIN

8. THE MORE I SEE YOU

9. IT WAS LOVE

10. LOVE LOOK AWAY

Clark Terry (tp, flh) Margaret Ross (harp) Joel Shulman (p) Ben Tucker (b) Osie Johnson (d) Anamari (vo) NYC, November, 1963, Atlantic Records

Download available for the next 48 hours only

Happy birthday! Olay!

Today is the birthday of my friend, singer Ruth Olay. Circa 1955-1975, Ruth was a regular fixture on network TV, especially Paar and Merv. And though she no longer sings professionally, if you look reallll hard, you still might catch a glimpse of Ruth some afternoon on TV news at one anti-war rally or another. And if you go here you can capture more than a fleeting image of her, on a 1959 TV special with Duke Ellington.

Long retired from show business (in the spirit of "been there done that"), she now focuses most of her energies on political and social activism.

Before becoming a singer, Ruth was secretary to the great writer-director Preston Sturges. And she sang with Duke Ellington. Two inarguably legendary figures of the 20th Century. What a life she's led! And Ruth agrees.

Here's a track from But Beautiful, an unreleased album by Ruth that I hope to shepherd to release in the near future. The last time Ruth ever went into the recording studio, and she never sounded better.