London Flat, London Sharp: Best of American Jazz Recorded in London

(A detail of ) London Jazz Festival poster, designed by Damien Frost

There are hundreds of live and studio recordings made by visiting or resident American jazz musicians in London. This list, a new installment in the series I started with Paris and jazz, picks those London albums that I've liked most. 

Since 1939, when Fats Waller paid a visit and composed a suite celebrating London's neighborhoods and monuments, most of the jazz greats have appeared in and around the city. The crippling union regulations stopped many musicians from performing in the clubs until the 1960s, and the life expenses and poor weather drove many of them towards the Continent for permanent or semi-permanent stays. Yet, thought the past century, London with its passionate jazz buffs and a good deal of jazz literature remained an unmissable temporary stop for the musicians, as well as musical ideas, travelling from the United States to Europe.

The 15 albums below, obviously emphasising a certain attitude or taste which might not be everybody's, are some personal favourites from the most vital decades of jazz in Britain. Be sure, there are still hundred or more to name. (While picking your favourite albums be aware that there are famous records - Basie in London, for one - which were never recorded in London!)

Here is the list of 15 favourite jazz albums recorded by visiting Americans in London:

details as above

Stan Getz + Oscar Peterson Trio

Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio (Verve 8251)

Stan Getz (ts), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b)
Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, CA, October 10, 1957

Rollin' Around the Horn: Hawk, Dizz, Getz, Mex

Rollin' Around the Horn

Nat Hentoff's Liner Notes for

Sittin' In (Verve/Clef)

About 6 a.m., a few days before the July 4, 1957 weekend, three tenors, a trumpet and a rhythm section convened in a New York recording studio. They left about five hours later - and this is the result. It marks the first time that Coleman Hawkins, Paul Consalves, and Stan Getz have ever recorded together. It's also a reunion between Dizzy and Hawk. They were responsible for an historic date in 1944 at which sessions titles like Woody n' You and Disorder at the Border were recorded. It was musically an important early modern jazz event but also was a rare graphic indication for that warring time that the “bop" movement was not a break with the jazz tradition; for after all, Coleman Hawkins had Dizzy on his date.

“I never worry about styles noway,” Coleman said recently. “I like to get fellows together that play.” Coleman approves of both his reed colleagues on this session, and adds: “You know Paul’s been playing a long time and deserves a lot more credit than he’s gotten."

“Paul,” Stan Getz commented on the session, “plays a ballad that's just beautiful. His ballad playing on the date gassed us all. I've always loved the way Coleman plays; he’s always had his own style, his own way. His work has lucidity and freedom. He seems to just roll around the horn and his sound is so full.”

Getz/Burton/Swallow/Haynes Revisited

"We are very happy to be in this wonderful London town [audience laughs]...what are you laughing at, I mean it! Especially after being all over the world and trying to speak languages you don't speak, it's good to speak my American English."  -- Stan Getz

Isn't it marvelous that after 50 years two of the gentlemen in this video from 1965 (or 1966) are playing in London again within a week. This is an episode from Jazz Goes to College TV programme, a phrase probably coined by Dave Brubeck as an attempt to take jazz to smaller, more intellectual, or more "hip" venues. (another jazzy coincidence: Brubeck family played at Ronnie Scott's last week and I managed to have a chat about Iran and middle east with wonderful Darius Brubeck!) In this show recorded at London School of Economics (it's good for students to learn how play economical!), master of tenor sax, Stan Getz, is playing with his quartet consisted of Gary Burton, vibes, Steve Swallow, bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. The rhythm section, Swallow and Haynes are now swinging in London again, though in a slightly different direction.

Last Sunday at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Swallow and his quintet played new original tunes by Swallow. It was an amazing evening. He had a story, a text. And he had textures and colors to illustrate his story in sound. Most of the gigs that I've attended in last 10 days had good numbers, beautiful solos, unforgettable passages, but as an overall act, as a gig -like a film played in a cinema from beginning to end - they lacked that inner line of storytelling, that basic concept that puts the whole thing together and gives the performance a sense of unity. Swallow and his amazingly melodic electric bass guitar did this. He created a cheerful drama

For instance, he played three originals which drove from his passion for detective novels. "I don't read a book in which nobody gets killed in the first chapter," Swallow said. The light noir mood of these tunes were something that one has to add to the growing influence of noir heritage in popular culture and other forms of art.

Carla Bley, Swallow's life-long partner on keyboard, was as stylish as ever. Providing dark and somehow humorous plates of warm colors with her Hammond B3, she reminded me of Ida Lupino, a film noir femme fatale, playing piano in Roadhouse (1948) and putting her cigarettes on the instrument, an iconic image of noir world. Significantly she wrote the piece Ida Lupino and we can hear it in his then-husband Paul Bley's records , as well as her owns.

To see and hear how Swallow can knock out the audience by what he plays on his bass, this could be a good description: sometimes, especially in duos, he was playing the lead melody and Steve Cardenas, the guitar player, was his rhythm section. The best kind of jazz I know is when rhythm section comes to foreground and show the power of beats, rhythms, stops amd whatever make jazz music so vibrant and moving, and then slowly and modestly goes back to the background and allows the front line to take off again.

Let's not forget Chris Cheek who was playing mellow and humming tenor sax in a very laid back mood which reminds us of Stan Getz in one of his after-hour moods.

I'm looking forward to see Mr Haynes this evening, while invite you all to watch this excellent concert of Stan Getz Quartet with Burton, Swallow and Haynes.

Musicians on Musicians#3: Jennifer Anderson and 5 tenor

Jennifer Anderson is a saxophone player from Glenview, Illinois, and currently based in L.A. In addition to being a musician and painter, Mrs Anderson is a grade school music teacher. She is still doing her "big band thing," as well as working in the recording studios. I interviewed her via email, and here she talks about her influences and tenor saxophonists who have inspired her through the years. Like other interviewees, it was impossible for her to just stick to five names, and at one point she quoted from a friend, Chuck Johnson, to point how different players feel close to different sounds and musical personalities. "The attraction to Dexter Gordon for me is immediate because of his sound…big, robust, clear and warm," Jennifer quoted Chuck Johnson, "he has the ability to place every note he plays clearly and distinctly no matter the tempo of the tune.  But delve beyond his sound and you find a musician with a fertile aptitude to create improvisations that build logically, melodically and with intensity, chorus after chorus after chorus. And he masterfully and cleverly injects song quotes within any song he is performing. Dexter was also able to synthesize the cool, lyricism and storytelling of Lester Young with the harmonic advancement and fluidity of Charlie Parker and create his own personality." Well, not only we learn from people we love, but also we learn from the way people love other people. That's the main point of these interviews.

◘  ◘  ◘

Sonny Rollins: One of my first jazz music lessons actually came from a Sonny Rollins record. My first saxophone was a tenor. I didn't know much about the saxophone or sax players at the time, so I went to the local record store and picked up some records with pictures of guys with a saxophones one the front. One of them way Sonny Rollins' Way Out West with drummer Shelly Manne and bass player Ray Brown. I loved the cover--he looked so bad-ass slinging the sax and wearing a ten gallon hat out in the desert. When I heard I'm an Old Cowhand I realized the song was him! Never mind that it was a hokey old song. The music sounded as serious as it was fun--and swung like crazy! You could transcribe Sonny's solo and study it in a college classroom, but I really heard his personality coming through. That really got my imagination because Sonny made me see potential and possibility. Throughout his career, he has really dug into that potential and possibility and amazed us all with his interesting use of harmony, fluidity, spontaneity, and wit. There probably are people out there jamming on his tunes right now as well as studying him in college classrooms!

Ben Webster: Like Duke Ellington said said "I've always had a yen for Ben". The distinctive sound of Ben Webster is one that you can recognize is a few notes. Whether he is playing sweet or growly sexy, you could never confuse his sound with anyone else. That sound always seems to go right to my gut somehow. He was a big sensation in the Duke Ellington band in the 40's. Many musicians have paid tribute to him by playing his Cottontail solo, which was a big hit for the Ellington band. My recomendation would be Poutin'!

Coleman Hawkins: I know that historically Coleman Hawkins is a very important innovator. He took an instrument that was more of a novelty and band instrument before the 30's and really wowed the world with his playing. This drew lots of attention to the sax and made it a much more popular as a "legitimate" instrument. But even so, I feel like he would be awesome during any time period, and he was! His career was amazing even through the bop era. His beautiful, strong, colorful, lyrical sound is one I could never tire of. I love how his lines are seamless and ornamental at the same time. What a brain he must have had. Maybe that's why his nickname was Bean.

Lester Young: Lester Young was one of the first people to inspire me to play the saxophone. What I heard made so much sense to me. He seemed to speak in complete musical sentences. I loved his light sound. The problem was that he influenced me so much that I was always playing too laid back, and not in a good way! I finally realized it and stopped trying to be Lester Young. There definitely was only one of him. He is also famous for playing and and recording with his friend Billy Holiday.

Stan Getz: He is probably most known for his work with Antonio Carlos Jobim, which created the Bossa Nova craze in the 60's. But during his career he played it all--big band, cool jazz, bop and more. I heard that he was inspired by Lester Young. He has always been a huge inspiration to me because of the pure magic he created with his sound. When I first heard The Girl From Ipenema I was absolutely spellbound. His magical sound hooked me. I am currently enjoying his recordings that he made with guitarist Johnny Smith.

Musicians on Musicians#2: Kevin McMahon and 5 tenor

I met Kevin McMahon, an Irish tenor saxophonist, last winter. His is capable of executing beautiful, and slow-talking phrases on his instrument. He can do mournful treatments of ballads, and at the same time he can be aggressive, when playing bop standards is concerned. He is developing a huge and edgy sound and love to play with chord sequences that can move listeners, instantly. No need to say, he was heavily influenced by his idol, Mr Dexter Gordon, and he was calling his project of playing Dexter's composition with his quartet, "Dexterritory".

His quartet was consists of Shura Greenberg, an inspiring bass player, Steve Ashworth, a pianist who loves Cedar Walton, and Matt Fishwick on drums (though drummer's chair has been owned by a number of other musicians since then). In a tiny band stand of Oliver's at Greenwich London these cats had their own way of saying thank you to Dexter Gordon. They showed a good taste in returning to Dexter Gordon's Blue Note years and finding some of the best tunes ever written in the idiom of hardbop and rearranging them for a contemporary quartet. The list includes pieces like Hanky Panky, Ernie's Tune, Society Red, Second Balcony Jump and Cheese Cake, and the focus was on solid, bluesy, marching beat of this tunes.

Recently I asked him about the tenormen who have inspired him. Of course, top of the list belongs to Dex, and after that come these names:

Dexter Gordon: I bought the Ballads album when I was twenty-two and listening one afternoon I recall saying to myself this is why I want to play saxophone, funny that its nearly twenty years later that my band "Dexterritory" are working on presenting some of his Music. His Importance is gigantic, a tenor bridge between the swing and bob players of his generation. His contribution to hard swinging Bop unsurpassed, not to mention his coolness and manner, a sophisticated Giant indeed.

I'm a fool to want you

Stan Getz: Serenity was the first album I really checked out and I still get mileage from it, actually was just listening I Remember You from the live album. As Coltrane remarked "we'd all sound like Stan if we could". His sound and lyrical quality are simply outstanding. Stan is old Blue Eyes for me on Tenor. 

 

Sunday

Joe Henderson: I was lucky enough to meet Joe twice both briefly, he was a gentleman. His playing like all of the greats was stamped with a instantly recognizable sound...and what a sound. I do prefer the later recordings particularly the records he made playing the music of Jobim and Miles. Go Joe....

Recorda Me

John Coltrane: Could not be omitted from my top Five. My favourite albums are Lush Life and the record he made with baritone Johnny Hartman. Trane was the endless searcher for truth and an inspiration to any man.

Giant Steps

Richie Buckley: Richie is  from a big musical family in Dublin, be sure to check him out if your over there. He is an amazing saxophone player and has been a factor in my wanting to play. Has all the qualities of a master musician. He made a record a few years back called Your Love Is Here. 

Radio Hawkins#5

زندگي بسيار چيز عجيبي است. آن ها فهميدند كه به طرز عيجبي در باران خيس مي شوند، در زير آفتاب گرم مي شوند، شكايتي ندارند اما نمي دانند هر روز صبح كه بيدار مي شوند چرا چيزي جز هوا براي نفس كشيدن نيست و يا چرا وقتي به آينه نگاه مي كنند چيزي جز مو براي شانه كردن وجود ندارد. سؤال هاي اين فيلسوفان شكاك تا بي نهايت (چرا در صحرا فقط شن است و در دريا فقط آب) ادامه پيدا مي كند. اين فلاسفه لويي آرمسترانگ و لويي جوردان هستند كه آهنگ «زندگي چيز عجيب و غريبي است» را در برنامۀ امروز ما اجرا خواهند كرد.

برنامۀ پنجم از هفت قطعه تشكيل شده است. در ابتدا بخشي از كاري ناتمام از چارلي پاركر را مي شنويد. بعد كاري آوازي لويي آرمسترانگ و لويي جوردن را خواهيد شنيد. دكتر يوسف لطيف و تركيب اعجاب انگيز موسيقي شرقي و موسيقي جاز و سپس تلفيق موسيقي عربي و جاز توسط احمد عبدالملك كارهايي هستند كه بسياري از وجود آن ها بي خبرند و مي شود در اين برنامه به آن ها گوش داد. در ادامه آنيتا اودِي، ارل هاينز، ليونل همپتون و استن گتز ديگر موزيسين هاي برنامه پنجم خواهند بود.

برنامۀ اين هفته

مي توانيد اين جا هم آن را شنيده، يا دانلود كنيد

A Guide to Best Jazz Scores for Cinema#2

 20

 Eric Demarsan

 Le Cercle Rouge

1971

Jean-Pierre Melville

Musicians: Raymond Guiot, flute; Georges Arvanitas, piano; Joss Baselli, accordion; Bernard Lubat, vibraphone; Guy Pedersen, acoustic double bass; Daniel Humair, drums. Recorded at Studio Davout, Paris, October 1970. Score originally started by Michel Legrand who was replaced during production.

listen to the "main theme"

19

Stan Getz/Eddie Sauter

Mickey One

1965

Arthur Penn

Music by: Eddie Sauter; Music Directed/Conducted by: Jack Shaindlin; Music Supervisor: Jack Shaindlin; Music Arranged by: Eddie Sauter; Improvisations: Stan Getz; Musicians: Bob Abernathy, Ray Alonge, Richard Berg, Jimmy Buffington, Earl Chapin, French horn; Al DeRisi, Ernie DiFalco, Joe Ferrante, Bobby Nichols, trumpet; Clark Terry, trumpet, fluegel horn; Eddie Bert, John Messner, Ephie Resnick, Sonny Russo, trombone; Tommy Mitchell, b trombone; Harvey Phillips, tuba; Harvey Estrin, alto sax, clarinet, flute, alto flute, piccolo; Al Block, tenor sax, clarinet, flute, piccolo; Ray Shiner, tenor sax, clarinet, oboe, cor anglais; Wally Kane, bass sax, clarinet, bassoon; Eli Carmen, bassoon; Don Ashworth, Charlie Russo, reeds; + vlns, violas, celli, harps; Roger Kellaway, piano; Barry Galbraith, guitar; Richard Davis, acoustic double bass; Mel Lewis, drums; + percussion.

Listen to "I Put My Life in Your Hands/A Girl Named Jenny"

18

Krzysztof Komeda

Knife in the Water

1962

Roman Polanski

Musicians: Bernt Rosengren, tenor sax; Krzysztof Komeda, piano; Roman Dylag, acoustic double bass; Lech Dudziak, drums.

Listen to a segment of Komeda work for The Knife

17

Martial Solal

À bout de souffle

1959

Jean-Luc Godard

Musicians: Roger Guérin, trumpet; Pierre Gossez, alto sax; Martial Solal, piano; Michel Hausser, vibraphone; Paul Rovère, acoustic double bass; Daniel Humair, drums.

Listen to "L'Amour, la mort"

16

Gato Barbieri

The Last Tango In Paris

1972

Bernardo Bertolucci

Conducted & Arranged by: Oliver Nelson; Musicians: Gato Barbieri and his Orchestra, including Gato Barbieri, tenor sax; Joachim Kühn, piano; Charlie Haden, acoustic double bass; Daniel Humair, drums.

Listen to two parts of Last Tango suite

Return to part 1                                                   Go to part 3