Coleman Hawkins - STARDUST

The first tenor sax player I listened to was Coleman Hawkins. His style is unique and it is easy to like. He played with the best musicians of his time. In the beginning of his carreer Bird played with him. Here you have Coleman Hawkins playing Stardust.

Personnel:

Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax
Django Reinhardt - guitar
Stephan Grapelli - piano

Stanley Jordan playing "Over the Rainbow"

Play the guitar like a piano one can say that guitar tapping is this. I first got interested on listening to Stanley Jordan because I heard somebody saying those words about the guitar tapping. After listening to him I could see that there was much more on guitar tapping than playing the guitar like a piano.

Once I had the opportunity to see Stanley Jordan on a concert. I remember it as the best concert I went to. I cryed good tears. When he played "All the Children" that day became one of the best memories I have.

Here you have him playing "Over the Rainbow", I only like this song if played by Mr. Jordan.

Thelonious Monk - Evidence - Japan (1963)

I woke up today thinking on how the drums are important in many jazz songs. While thinking of good drums solos I realized that many of them belong to Monk's songs. I believe that the drums solo in "Evidence" should be heard by anyone who intend to play the drums.

Personnel:

Thelonious Monk — piano
Charlie Rouse - tenor saxophone
Butch Warren - bass
Frankie Dunlop - drums

Smile - Sonny Criss Quartet

Around here it is cold and rainy. I think that it is a good day to listen to Smile, lyrics by Charlie Chaplin. Here you have the interpretation of Sonny Criss' quartet for this beautiful song. It can make me smile, even in a day like this.

Personnel:

Sonny Criss - alto sax
Walter Davis Jr. - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Alan Dawson - drums

Bireli Lagrene - Belleville @ Vienne Jazz Festival

Saturday is a day to enjoy life. One can say that you can enjoy life every day but on a Saturday you should remember you are doing so. I can't think of a better jazz song for joy than Belleville. This beautiful song by Django Reinhardt is here performed by Bireli Lagrene and the Gypsy Project. Every time I hear this song a smile comes to my face and I have the feeling that I am up to something good.

Personnel:

Bireli Lagrene - guitar
Florin Niculescu - violin
Hono Winterstein - guitar
Thomas Dutronc - guitar
Diego Imbert - bass

Charlie Parker - Ornithology

Ornithology was created over How High the Moon, a very popular jazz song. The first is a masterpiece from the Bird. Together with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker introduced what we call bebop jazz. In this jazz gender musicians usually play in quartets and quintets. They improvise based on harmonic structure and melody. The bebop is characterized by a fast tempo. To play bebop jazz the musician must have a very good technique.

In the history of jazz Ornithology is so important that there are many works dedicated to this song. If you like to learn more about the theory, you can go to jazz.com.

Personnel:

Charlie Parker - alto sax
Fats Navarro - trumpet
Bud Powell - piano
Curly Russell - bass
Art Blakey - drums

John Coltrane - Olé (1/2)

Olé was recorded in 1961, Coltrane was at the end of his contract with Atlantic and about to move to Impulse! label.This song makes me see Spain through Coltrane’s eyes. Here he doesn’t look so concerned in showing his amazing technique all the time. There is space for all the musicians. The intro of the song with bass and drums is breathtaking. It is an extremely beautiful song that goes far beyond technique alone. Enjoy.

Personnel:


John Coltrane — soprano sax
Eric Dolphy — flute
Freddie Hubbard — trumpet
McCoy Tyner — piano
Reggie Workman — bass
Art Davis — bass
Elvin Jones — drums