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Song Of The Day – “Haunts Of Ancient Peace” by Van Morrison

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vanmorrisonHere we have one of Van Morrison’s most soulful pieces of music, originally from one of his most underrated albums. Common One was released in 1980 and features six deeply moving extended jazz meditations that hawked back to Morrison’s classic Astral Weeks album in sound and texture.

However, unlike Astral Weeks, this record’s release was met with unanimous derision from the critics who didn’t understand the literary and jazz underpinnings of the music and found it ponderous and boring. While the record does lack the kind of immediacy that grabs you on the first listen, it does reap generous rewards upon further listening.

The title of this song was named from a 1902 book by Alfred Austin (Poet Laureate 1896-1912). This version features the same band that played on the album, and was recorded at Montreux before the album’s release. The personnel featured new band members Mark Isham on trumpet, John Allair on organ and synthesizer, Pee Wee Ellis on saxophones and Peter Van Hooke on drums. The rest of the band is filled out with Morrison’s Caledonia Soul Orchestra members Jeff Labes on piano, John Platania on guitar, David Hayes on bass and Dahaud Shaar on percussion.

Stay RadioActive

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I’m your Uncle Marty, this is chapter 532 of The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity, as we continue our QUARANTINE themed music with selections that will compel you, and your dog to STAY.

Download or play here
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200426-StayRadioActive.mp3

That’s almost it for our STAY in QUARANTINE, we will continue the theme ALONE with you on our next adventure in 3D.  Got any suggestions?  Then tell me by sending comments or suggestions via our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section, or by email .  Tell all your circle of best friends and family to look for us on Theacidflashback.com,   http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/ Long Island, New York;  Denver’s MileHiRadio, TuneIn and InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Always Rock On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Song Of The Day– “Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy” by Chick Corea and Return To Forever

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return-to-forever-hymn-seventh-galaxyPianist 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, and toward a more psychedelic rock sound. He appeared on Davis’ seminal albums Filles de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Black Beauty and Miles Davis At Fillmore.

After leaving Miles’ ranks with Dave Holland, he formed the group Circle with Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul before forming Return To Forever in 1971. The first two Return To Forever albums featured husband and wife Flora Purim on vocals and Airto Moreira on percussion, plus Joe Farrell on flute and soprano sax and Stanley Clark on bass. This group released their self-titled debut album, and 1973’s Light As A Feather. Both albums had a Latin-tinged ethereal sound, highlighted by Purim’s distant vocal style.

For Chick Corea’s second album of 1973, Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Joe Farrell were out, and Lenny White (drums) and Bill Connors (guitar) joined Corea (synthesizer, piano) and Stanley Clarke (bass) for an all-instrumental collection that pushed the boundaries of jazz by adding more rock instrumentation to the mix.

The album was recorded twice. The first version featured Steve Gadd on drums who didn’t want to tour with the group, so the complete album was cut again with Lenny White on drums. The unreleased tapes of the Gadd version have been lost to the ages.

Hymn refined Miles Davis’ blueprint for jazz rock by moving it more into the mainstream with electric instrumentation and the sounds of funk, psychedelia, Latin jazz and instrumental prog rock, highlighted by the interplay between Corea and guitarist Bill Connors.

Today’s Song Of the Day is the album’s title track which has become a cornerstone of Corea’s repertoire. The album also features Corea’s “Captain Señor Mouse,” “The Game Maker,” “Theme To The Mothership” and Stanley Clarke’s “After The Cosmic Rain.”

After this album, Al DiMeola would replace Bill Connors and Return To Forever would release best-selling records throughout the 1970s like Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery, Romantic Warrior and Musicmagic.

Song Of The Day – “Rex Rhumba” by The Nat Cole Trio

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NatColeTrioSure we all know Nat “King” Cole could sing…and lord knows he surely could play piano too.

This Cole original highlights the guitarist in the trio, the great Oscar Moore, on a track from the essential 3-CD The Capitol Transcriptions recorded on March 20, 1946. Rounding out the trio was Johnny Miller on bass.

Song Of The Day – “Dance At The Gym” from the Original Soundtrack of “West Side Story” – Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim

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WestSideStoryBernsteinSondheimwestsidestory2

 

 

 

 

 

Broadway musicals don’t get any better than this!

You can keep your Andrew Lloyd Webber with his one song per musical, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim were the real deal! And their musical, West Side Story, has never been bettered.

West Side Story was one of the first musicals where dance played as important a role in story development as dialog. The choreography was expertly done by Jerome Robbins, who also choreographed the Broadway stage version. Robbins was fired from the production before it wrapped due to it going over budget.

The film starred Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, and was directed by Robert Wise. As was common for film musicals, Natalie Wood didn’t sing any of her parts, and her vocals were dubbed in my Marni Nixon. The same goes for Russ Tamblyn, whose voice was dubbed by Tucker Smith.

The Original Soundtrack recording was one of the biggest selling albums of the 1960s, spending 54 well-deserved weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. The performances on the Soundtrack are far superior to those from the Original Broadway Cast recording.

The musical was set in New York City of the late 1950s and was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, except the lead characters, Tony and Maria, were of American and Puerto Rican descent respectively. In its original incarnation, the story focused on a Jewish and Catholic couple and had the working title of East Side Story. (Another working title for the musical was Kids With Matches.)

When original work began for the Broadway production of West Side Story, Stephen Sondheim was a complete unknown, while Bernstein was a renowned conductor and composer who had written several other musicals (On The Town and Wonderful Town ), operas (including Candide which also ran on Broadway), ballets (Fancy Free),film scores (On The Town and On The Waterfront), plus a fair share of choral music, symphonic music, and piano music.  

Today’s Song Of The Day is “Dance At The Gym” features several sections: a blues, promenade, mambo, pas de deux and jump. This gorgeous piece of music is breathtaking in its scope, and works on every level: as ballet, as orchestral work and as jazz.  The piece has such power, that stripped of its visuals from the movie, it stands on its own as a modern Jazz classic. Never before and never again would we ever get music this expertly crafted for the Broadway stage.

Song Of The Day – “That Old Black Magic” by Tony Bennett with The Dave Brubeck Trio

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tonybennettdavebrubeckEvery so often the reissue gods bestow upon us a truly special recording that music fans never knew existed.  Recently, one such recording was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public by our friends at Sony Legacy, featuring a musical summit that took place between Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck on August 28, 1962 at The White House.

The event was a special concert recorded at the Sylvan Theater (at the base of the Washington Monument) welcoming a new group of volunteers (or interns as they are now called) that had come to Washington DC to work for the government.

The show captures the two entertainers at the height of their powers. Bennett’s “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” had been released 17 days prior to the event and was climbing the charts. Brubeck was basking in the afterglow of his classic “Take Five” recording. It was also the first time of two, that Bennett and Brubeck shared the stage together in concert. Fans would have to wait until the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival to see them perform together again on the same stage.

How a recording this vibrant and important remained in the vaults for over fifty years is a mystery to me. According to the liner notes, the recording of “That Old Black Magic” from the show had been used on a compilation album over 40 years ago, lending credibility that a tape of the whole show might exist somewhere within the vaults of Sony Music. After many years of super sleuthing by Sony archivist Matt Kelly, a tape of the concert labeled “An American Jazz Concert” was found filed among classical recordings from the era, with no reference to whom the performers were.

The show begins with introductions by radio personality William B. Williams, followed by a set performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. At the time, the Quartet consisted of Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums. The group launches into a quick tempo version of “Take Five,” and follows it with three Brubeck originals, “Nomad,” “Thank You” and “Castilian Blues.” The group is captured in fine form, particularly Morello whose drum solo on “Castilian Blues” is a highlight.

Next up is a set by Tony Bennett backed by his longtime accompanist Ralph Sharon on piano, with Hal Gaylor on bass and Billy Exiner on drums. Bennett’s set includes fan favorites “Just In Time,” “Small World,” “Make Someone Happy,” “Rags To Riches,” “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” and “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” He still performs most of these songs when he takes the stage today at the tender age of 87.

What next ensues was a truly special, totally unrehearsed set by Bennett backed by The Brubeck Trio (Paul Desmond sat this set out) featuring the two sparring together on “Lullaby Of Broadway,” “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town),” “There Will Never Be Another You,” and today’s Song Of The Day, “That Old Black Magic,” featuring a terrific piano solo by Brubeck.

“It was very spontaneous – a real jam session, where you really don’t plan what you’re going to sing or how you’re going to play it,” said Bennett, “I just gave Dave the key and the song, and we just went for it.”

The sound quality of the recording is in-your-face crystal clear, giving the listener the immediacy of traveling back in time and being there for the actual event. It’s is indeed amazing that a recording of this vintage and of such high quality has remained unreleased in the vaults so long. Who knows what other gems may lurk in the deepest and darkest crevices of the record company vaults. Only time will tell…

Song Of The Day – “Our Man Higgins” by Lee Morgan

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leemorgancornbreadWhen an edited version of trumpeter Lee Morgan’s signature song, “The Sidewinder” was released as a single in 1964, it became the song that resuscitated Blue Note Records, literally saving the company from bankruptcy. As a result, Blue Note hounded Morgan to come up with another song that could do the trick again.

The soul-jazz title track from the album Cornbread was the song Morgan came up with, and while it captures the groovilicious feel of “The Sidewinder,” it failed to do the trick on the charts.

The album was recorded on September 18, 1965 and features the hard-bop playing of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Jackie McLean on alto sax, Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Larry Ridley on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. All of the album’s songs were composed by Morgan except “Ill Wind,” which is a standard by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.

Before, “The Sidewinder,” Lee Morgan’s hard-bop trumpet playing figured prominently on sides by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, trombonist extraordinaire Granchan Moncur, the king of the Hammond B3 Jimmy Smith, bebop legend Dizzy Gillespie and as a sideman to John Coltrane on his classic album “Blue Train.” During his stint at Blue Note, Morgan cut 24 albums as a leader and played on sessions by Hank Mobley, Jimmy Smith, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, to name but a few.

While the title track to Cornbread was the one Blue Note had its hopes set on to shift copies of the record at retail, the record includes a wealth of great tunes including today’s blistering, hard-driving Song Of The Day, his signature samba ballad “Ceora,” the sweet and sensitive “Ill Wind” (which gets the Miles treatment with Morgan on muted modal horn and Hancock playing a wondrous piano solo), and the album’s hard-bop closer “Most Like Lee.”

Morgan lived most of his adult life as a heroin addict, which unfortunately led to his murder at the hands of Helen More, his common-law wife. On February 19, 1972, More walked into a New York City club called Slugs, and shot him point blank as he was getting ready to begin his set on stage. While his injuries weren’t at first fatal, the ambulance service was afraid to go to the neighborhood where the club was, and by the time they got there, Morgan had bled to death at the age of 33.

Uncle Marty Gras 2020

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It’s Uncle Marty Gras, as this is adventure number 523 of The 3D RadioActivity, where we dedicate the show to a yearly tradition to play Cajun, Creole, Funk, Jazz, New Orleans, World & Zydeco tunes, making this the fattest Tuesday of the year. Laissez bon temps rouler! 🎼 😎🎵

Download here:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200223-UMG2020.mp3
or click to play:

With 57 & a half minutes of music, on our Uncle Marty Gras Party, we will WAIT and be WAITING on the next couple of shows, with well over a
hundred to choose from. If you have any favorites, then tell me by sending email or via a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and original show artwork in the photo section.  Tell all your circle of best friends and family to look for us on  Theacidflashback.com; http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/ in Long Island, New York; Denver’s  MileHiRadio;  TuneIn  and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Always Rock On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Sorry It’s The 3D Valentine’s Day Massacre

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I’m Uncle Marty, here to concede that I’m in a 12 fret program for music junkies. This is The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity number 522, and for this year’s Valentine’s Day Massacre, we acknowledge the most popular breakup day of the year as we review The Golden Rule, The Ten Commandments and three of The Dozen Steps where we make a searching and fearless moral account of ourselves, admit the exact nature of our wrongs to another, while continuing to take personal inventory and promptly own up to it when we are wrong. In other words, on this episode, we going to let the tunes apologize as we say “I’m Sorry“.

Download here:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200216-SorryItsThe3DValentinesMassacre.mp3
or click to play

Thanks for joining us as we embark on our 12th year of this little radio hobby, where we find a featured theme and run with it, as we rarely repeat a song we have played before. No apologies needed for keeping it real, so that makes me happily sorry at the same time this week. Next up is traditional Fat Tuesday fun as Uncle Marty Gras puts cajun, creole and Crescent City music on the menu. I’m always looking for new ideas that we haven’t subjected to the 3rd Dimension of depth, so if you have any suggestions, then tell me by sending a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section, or via  email.  Tell all your circle of best friends and family to look for us on  Theacidflashback.com,  Long Island, New York’s http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/;MileHiRadio in Denver;  TuneIn and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Always Rock On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

3D Will & Merriment

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I’m your Uncle Marty, this is The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity number 520, as we engage in a battle of musical WILLpower.

Download here
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200202-3DWill.mp3
or click to play!

They say Where there’s a WILL, there’s a WAY, so that’s what we’re gonna play if the yays are above the nays, okeh? Let me know your ideas by sending a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section, or via  email .  Tell all your circle of best friends and family to look for us on  Theacidflashback.com,  Long Island, New York’s http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/;  MileHiRadio in Denver;  TuneIn and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Always Rock On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe