In 1963 Art Blakey arrived in Italy to partecipate at 8th International Jazz Festival in Sanremowith his Jazz Messengers including Freddie Hubbard: trumpet, Wayne Shorter: sax, Curtis Fuller: trombone, Cedar Walton:piano, Reggie Workman: bass, one of his best line-up. We want to remember this event with the following video, in which you can see the whole concert, about one hour of exciting music.
After a long absence we come back with a gorgeous concert performed more than 40 years ago by one of the most influential pianist of the past century: Erroll Garner (1921-1977).
In the evening of May 7, 1971, in Turin (Italy) the pianist presented himself with his most usual format: the classic piano trio, completed with a conga player: Ernest McCarty, jr., bass; Jimmie Smith, drums; Josè Mangual, congas. The program was particularly engaging with some classic standards of the repertoire of the pianist, including a particular analysis (three tracks) of his masterpiece Misty, in total nine tracks welcomed with ovations by an enthusiastic pubblic,
The extraordinary popularity of Garner induced some critics to consider his music not strictly jazz ,but more akin with popular music. An unaccetable opinion considering Garner's musical work as in the following track where we can appreciate some variations on Misty
Finally this live performance give us one of the best moments of the late phase of his career, that will end after few years.
Today was Art Blakey's birthday, he was born october 11, 1919 and died october 16, 1990, just five days after his seventyfirst anniversary.
In 1963 he arrived in Italy to partecipate at 8th International Jazz Festival in Sanremo with his Jazz Messengers including Freddie Hubbard: trumpet, Wayne Shorter: sax, Curtis Fuller: trombone, Cedar Walton:piano, Reggie Workman: bass, one of his best line-up.
We want to remember him with the following video, in which you can see the whole concert, about one hour of exciting music.
In august 1983 Chet Baker had some concerts in Oslo (Norway) supported by the Norwegian pianist Per Husby and his trio. Two of those sets were published posthumously in a rare CD some years after.
Chet plays some long solos and he never seems to get tired or run out of ideas. In addition of some his favorite tunes of Hal Galper and Tad Dameon he does some nice playing on the standard Polka Dots and Moonbeams, a tune he didn't play much in those years.
The recording quality is not excellent, for a lot of talking and other noises, but the Chet performance lives them down.
The alto saxophonist Jackie McLean was born in New York May 17, 1931 and died March 31, 2006. We want to remember him here in his last exibition in Italy at Umbria Jazz 2004, with a quintet including his son René, a good hard bop tenor saxophonist, Alan Palmer: piano, Nat Reeves: bass, Eric McPherson: drums. In the first two videos they play the classic standard of Thelonious Monk 'Round Midnight.
In the following two we can listen to a composition of Jackie McLean The Rhythm of the Earth
During his european tour, organized in 1959 by Norman Granz, Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008) had with his unusual trio a concert in Rome, june 19, at Teatro Adriano.
We can show here the most part of that exibition with a young Jim Hall, guitar and Buddy Clark, bass.
The first "tema" was a composition of John Lewis taken by the repertory of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Before an introduction of the concert, in a good italian, by Norman Granz.
The second tune is the well known composition of Giuffre: Four Brothers, famous for the four saxes arrangement, that he made for the Woody Herman orchestra.
The following tune is a composition of Jim Hall: Careful,
The new tune is another original composition by Giuffre: Princess
A new one original composition by Giuffre: The Little Melody
The exibition was concluded with Time Machine by Giuffre
For that I know the Trio with Buddy Clark never was recorded in studio, so those videos are the only existing attestation.
In Salzau (Germany)
during the Jazz Baltica Festival, 1997 June 14th, the
program put together again, about 35 years after, Art Farmer (1928 - 1999)and
Benny Golson (1929) leaders of an historical group “The Jazztet” that,
during his three years of existence (1959-62), was, along with The
Jazz Messengers of Art Blakey and the Horace Silver qintet, the
definitive hard bop combo.
In that occasion some other famous musicians play along with them as Milt Jackson (1923-1999), N-H. Ø. Pedersen (1946-2005), Kenny Kirkland (1955-1998), Toots Thielemans (1922), ecc..
In the following video we can appreciate the best known I Remember Clifford, inevitable performance in a concert with his author Benny Golson.
Also the following video is a famous tune composed by Golson Whisper Not
In the next video we can listen to the classic tune of Milt Jackson Bags Groove in a special performance with Toots Thielemans as guest
The following tune, also composed by Milt Jackson, S.K.J. is performed by the pianist Kenny Kirkland who in that evening took the place that in the original combo was of McCoy Tyner
This last video presents a classic tune Afternoon in Pariscomposed by John Lewis for the Modern Jazz Quartet, here rappresented by Milt Jackson
A very interesting evening in which we can see a page of history of jazz.
