Two weeks after participating in the recording of Miles Davis’ watershed album “Kind Of Blue,” John Coltrane began sessions for his fifth album and first for a new record label. The record was “Giant Steps” released 52 years ago this month and featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – "Groove's Groove" by Richard "Groove" Holmes
Song Of The Day – “Groove’s Groove” by Richard “Groove” Holmes Like fellow Jazz organ giants Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff, Holmes released countless organ-drenched Soul Jazz sides during the 1960s paving the way for Acid Jazz and Hip-Hop. Here is the edited 7″ version of this song […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – "Swingin' Dem Jingle Bells" by Fats Waller
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Swingin’ Dem Jingle Bells” by Fats Waller What more could you ask for on Christmas than this rambunctious reading of “Jingle Bells” from 1936 by the larger than life pianist extraordinaire Fats Waller. Meld that with a fine holiday Betty Boop video […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – "Freeway" by Gerry Mulligan Quartet
Song Of The Day – “Freeway” by Gerry Mulligan Quartet Some of the greatest Jazz the West Coast had to offer from the very first release by Pacific Jazz Records. I’ve got this one on a 10″ heavy vinyl microgroove record from 1952: catalog number PJLP-1! What a line up: Gerry Mulligan on the tenor […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Reincarnation Of A Lovebird” by Charles Mingus
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Reincarnation Of A Lovebird” by Charles Mingus You can almost see the flight of the bird in question during the introduction of this masterwork by bassist Charles Mingus. However, this bird is actually Charlie Parker, with whom Mingus performed on many occasions and to whom this song […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Freeway Jam” by Jeff Beck
Nothing prepared rock fans for the transformation that took place in the mid-70s when Jeff Beck joined forces with producer George Martin on his albums Blow By Blow and Wired. Beck, of course, was well known as the blues-based British rocker from the Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group who dabbled in jazz, but cut […]
Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Footprints” by Miles Davis Quintet
Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Footprints” by Miles Davis Quintet They were known as Miles Davis’ second great quintet featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Wayne Shorter on sax and Tony Williams on drums, but to some, they were his most important lineup. It was here that Miles was […]
Song Of The Day – “Rhapsody In Blue” by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
Paul Whiteman was one of the biggest selling artists of the 1920s, and led one of the best-loved sweet bands of all time. Sweet bands were society or café orchestras. They played music for listening and as a background for dining and conversing, as opposed to swing bands whose music was the main attraction and […]
Song Of The Day – “Seven Come Eleven” by Charlie Christian w/ The Benny Goodman Sextet
The world of music is scattered with “what ifs,” such as “What if Waylon Jennings didn’t give his seat up to Buddy Holly on the ill-fated flight that took his life?,” or “What if John Lennon hadn’t been murdered…would there have been a Beatles reunion?” One of the more intriguing what-ifs in my book is […]
Song Of The Day– “Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy” by Chick Corea and Return To Forever
Pianist extraordinaire, Chick Corea, got his professional start playing with the likes of Cab Calloway, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann, Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria. He went on to replace Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ band, and played with him from 1968 through 1971 during a crucial time when Miles was moving away from straight-ahead jazz, […]
