THE DUKE’s SILHOUETTE?

I think, it *is* the Duke whose characteristic profile can be spotted in this silent film from 1925, posted by jazz blogger colleague Doug Ramsey.

I took two screenshots and enhanced them a little bit:

As the timeline on Ellington Web says, short after he’d moved to New York, Ellington played several revues (among them “Dixie Girl”) with “Elmer Snowden’s Washingtonians Black Dots Orchestra” at the Exclusive Club, then at the Hollywood Club (later Kentucky Club) where the film was shot.

The short night club scene belongs to the feature film Headlines (1925).

Here’s the earliest film with sound, exclusively featuring Duke Ellington: Black And Tan (1929). The main soloist is Duke’s man for the lyrical, sometimes Bix-Beiderbecke-inspired trumpet sounds, Mr. Arthur Whetsol.

The featured compositions are “Black And Tan Fantasy”, “Black Beauty” & “Cotton Club Stomp”:

Here is a longer version with lower fidelity, though:

JUMPIN’ into MAY with “MY” MAN PAUL GONSALVES and “DIMINUENDO & CRESCENDO IN BLUE”

Thanks, Doug, for reminding us on International Jazz Day. For me, every day is a Jazz Day.

Let’s celebrate it anyway, with Paul Gonsalves, featured in his very special showcase and 35 chorusses + a splendid coda on Diminuendo & Crescendo In Blue (linked with my vintage article on that piece):

 

SYNCHRONICITY

Amazingly, JazzWax blogger Marc Myers and I will both be delivering jazz historic lectures on next Tuesday, April 30.

Mr. Myers will read from his book Why Jazz Happened at the State University of New York, and I will talk about Lester Young, “The President of the Tenor Saxophone” & Artie Shaw, “The King of Clarinet”, in the chamber music hall at the Cologne Music College.

I will play their recordings, and will also compare their lives and careers which have much more in common than one might guess in the first place.

The topic of my lecture is entitled:

JAZZ BETWEEN AD SEG AND HOLLYWOOD
LESTER YOUNG & ARTIE SHAW – From Swing To Bop

I wish both of us full houses and responsive audiences.

Good luck!

THE GENIUS OF ART FARMER & THE SAD EYES OF JOHANNA SÄLLSTRÖM

One of my favorite trumpet, respectively flugelhorn albums is To Sweden With Love (1964) by the Art Farmer Quartet, starring Jim Hall on guitar, Steve Swallow on acoustic bass, and the late Pete LaRoca on drums (Pete left us on November 19, 2012).

Now, what have the sad eyes of Johanna Sällström to do with this album? — I was kinda shocked when I learned during the 2nd week of our Easter Holidays that “Linda Wallander”, respectively Johanna Sällström had committed suicide as early as 2007. I’ve enjoyed watching her in some of Henning Mankell’s “Wallander’s” on German TV recently, and so I eventually looked her up, and learned the sad story.

She was such a talented actress, a real Swedish shooting star. But before I knew about her untimely passing, it didn’t escape my notice that there was a deep melancholy in her expression, in her way of acting as Wallander’s daughter (Johanna Sällström participated in 13 episodes of Wallander between 2005 and 2006).

Some days later I had an inspiration for a dedication piece for Johanna, a slow waltz which I entitled “The Sad Eyes Of Johanna Sällström” (pictured below). If Art Farmer were still alive, I would have gladly handed it over to him; because, when I wrote this little melody in F minor, the sound, the overall atmosphere of “To Sweden With Love” resonated in my inner ear. — My subconsciousness has also added bits, or rather remote remembrances of Solveig’s Song by Edvard Grieg (although he was Norwegian).

I will provide the sound to the notes as soon as I find the time to make a recording.

Now, just enjoy what my dear fellow jazz blogger Doug Ramsey called “a masterpiece”: “De Salde Sina Hemman” (“They Sold Their Homestead”). — What I love at this particular track is the inner fire, the passion of Art Farmer’s sound, and the congenial accompaniment of the “rhythm section”. It’s all so beautifully balanced, and it sounds so seemingly simple and effortless.

I could tirelessly listen to it again, and again.

Hope you will sympathize with my enthusiasm.

Repost From Bruno Leicht’s Resurrected “Old & New Swingin’ Dreams” Blog: What became of CHINATOWN, MY CHINATOWN? — SAX NO END

Dear swinging friends,

This is my reply to Marc Myers’ recent article at JazzWax: JAZZ IS UNIVERSAL; which it is indeed.

Yeah!

I’m dedicating this entry to Sabina, and a good friend of mine, an American saxophonist, living in the beautiful Netherlands.

It’s been a very hot Summer, and I was at Sylt again, posting from an internet café (have prepared that post in advance).

The sea is blue, the seagulls scream, and the saxes are swingin’, aren’t they? — We will hear Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, a hard-driving Kenny Clarke, a bursting Oscar Peterson, who is playing the original sax-chorus on the piano, and we will jump right into the sea of saxes by starting off with John Nesbitt’s arrangement of Chinatown, My Chinatown on which Francy Boland’s Sax No End is based on.

Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra with solos from Rex Stewart (cnt), Benny Carter (cl), Claude Jones (tb), Coleman Hawkins (ts), recorded on October 3, 1930:

CHINATOWN, MY CHINATOWN

Now, directly to the year 1967. Francy Boland did a great job with this one. — I purchased the LP in London, while I spent some time there during the also very hot Summer of 1983.

The featured soloist here is Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, and the members of the sax-section were: Derek Humble, Carl Drevo, Ronnie Scott, Sahib Shihab and Johnny Griffin. — Recorded in Cologne, on June 18, 1967:

SAX NO END (studio)

The Clarke-Boland Big Band did the same tune in 1969, during a concert. But before we come to that, here’s the fabulous Oscar Peterson with Sam Jones and Bobby Durham on bass and drums.

This is from a semi-private concert, nevertheless for the purpose of being recorded. That’s the Oscar Peterson at the peak of his creativity.

He seems to have more than 10 fingers here. It was the year of rebellion, 1968, when Oscar transferred the 5 saxes to the 88 keys: SAX NO END (Oscar Peterson)

Here we go with the Clarke-Boland Big Band again, now sporting all five saxophonists, but no Eddie Davis: Derek Humble (as), Tony Coe (ts), Johnny Griffin (ts), Ronnie Scott (ts), Sahib Shihab (bs), live in Cologne/Germany, 1969, “Battle of the Bands”:

SAX NO END (‘live’)

Sounds a bit wild and uncontrolled, doesn’t it? But what would you expect from a band in a battle?!

UTuber “Cheeseford” wrote to the below video:

Based on the changes for ‘Chinatown’, here’s a 1968 recording (slightly abbreviated – live, it could go on for 20 minutes) of Francy Boland’s ‘Sax No End’, featuring one of the best saxophone sections of any jazz orchestra ever.

Soloists in order are: Johnny Griffin, Tony Coe, Ronnie Scott, Sahib Shihab & Derek Humble. The solos are great, but just wait for the soli section where all five play as one. Having Kenny Clarke and Kenny Clare behind you helps a bit too…

Amen!