Playlist and Notes: 30 August 2022

With the beginning of the fall semester, summer is quickly coming to an end. The first set includes three songs that reminds us of the joy and thrills of summer, and the melancholy that creeps in as the weather gets a little cooler and the leaves begin to fall.  

Since this is my first show since the pandemic temporarily closed the university in March 2020, the second set on today’s show remembers three people who have died since that time: Chick Corea, Charlie Watts, and, just last week, the shocking news that Joey DeFrancesco, who recorded scores of albums of his own behind the organ, and as sideman with many performers, including Miles Davis, had passed. I will play more songs to remember DeFrancesco in the coming weeks. I also celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Charlie Parker and offer a heartfelt congratulations to Joni Mitchell in her triumphant return to the Newport Folk Festival in July.

Finally, after the seeing the film Elvis at the Cumberland Drive-In a few weeks ago, I was motivated to research some of the blues musicians who inspired Elvis Presley depicted in the film. Two women, in particular, stood out: Big Mama Thornton and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who each recorded music that have some have claimed are the first rock and roll songs. I would invite you to check out filmed performances by both women in the links below.

 

Summer

Zoot Sims – Summerset (4:16)

Red Garland Trio – Summertime (4:43)

Louis Armstrong – Summer Song (3:14)

 

Remembrances, Dedications, and Celebrations

Chick Corea – The Brain (7:28) (Died Feb 2021)

The Danish Radio Big Band & Charlie Watts – (Satis) Faction (6:10) (Watts died a year ago last week)

Joey DeFrancesco – Moanin’ (5:45) (died last Thursday 25 August, born in Springfield PA)

Charlie Parker Quintet – Scrapple from the Apple (3:00) Monday was 102nd birthday of Charlie Parker, who left us at the far-too-early age of 39 in 1955)

Herbie Hancock, featuring Joni Mitchell – River (2008) (5:38) – Michell reemerged about a month ago at the Newport Folk Festival, after recovering from a brain aneurism. 

 

Elvis the Movie

Big Mama Thornton – Hound Dog (2:51)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Strange Things Happening Every Day (2:46)

UB40 – Can’t Help Falling in Love (3:28)

Elvis Presley – Craw-Fever (3:46) will include in a future show. 

 

 

Videos to watch this week

Big Mama Thornton performing “Hound Dog” and “Down Home Shakedown” in 1965.

“Didn’t It Rain Children” performed in the rain, by Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Joni Mitchell singing “Both Sides Now” at the Newport Folk Festival on 24 July 2022.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Playlist and Notes 13 September 2022

  The death of Queen Elizabeth II last week reminded me of one of the great stories of jazz involving the great Duke Ellington. After meeting the Queen on a trip to Britain in 1958, during which they charmed each other, Ellington returned to the United States and thought about a way to express his gratitude to the young monarch. He began writing songs inspired by his trip and by nature. In 1959, he got his band together and began recording music at his own expense. Once the composition, entitled The Queen’s Suite , was complete he had a single gold record made and sent it to Elizabeth II with his compliments. During his lifetime the music was neither heard nor released to anyone else. It was only two years after Ellington’s death in 1974 that the music was released to the public. Today we listen to a couple selections from that recording. We have been a little heavy on the jazz side the last few weeks, so we are focusing on the blues in our second segment today. As we move into Septe
Read more

Playlist and Notes: 7 February 2023

On today’s show we have several themes and start some month-long retrospectives. In the honor of Black History Month we will profile some of the great blues singers during February, featuring two artists each week. In another segment, we will listen to jazz music from, and inspired by, Africa. But to start the show today, we begin with an acknowledgement that it is winter in Central Pennsylvania with a couple of songs about the season. Joey Alexander – Winter Blues Kieth Jarrett – Blackberry Winter Michael Brecker – Midnight Mood Blind Willie McTell – Statesboro Blues Mississippi John Hurt – Coffee Blues Ramsey Lewis Trio – You Been Talkin’ ‘Bout Me, Baby Moe Koffman – A Night in Tunisia Mulatu Astatke – Girl From Addis Ababa Black Flower – O Fogo Blues Tribute  We begin our survey of important blues artists with a person who is not that well known but highly influential: Blind Willie McTell: Born blind in 1901 to an unwed 14-year-old mother, who would die in 1920.
Read more