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 September, days are getting shorter and moods a little more somber. A couple of weeks ago we heard two important black female singers from the 1950s who influenced Elvis Presley. Today, we listed to a contemporary blues singer, Shemekia Copeland, who has a monumental 2020 release. The blues tell stories about overcoming hardships, sometimes these situations are sad. But the songs speak truth to power, and they are there to give us strength and make us feel better.

Finally, we devote the final segment of show to the different international sounds of jazz. Inspired by Canada issuing a coin featuring and honoring Montreal-born pianist Oscar Peterson, we hear from artists from France, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon as well.

Late Monday evening, after I finished the playlist, we were sad to learn of the death of Ramsey Lewis. I will have a tribute to him next week.

 

Playlist

Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – From The Queen’s Suite: Sunset and the Mockingbird (3:47) and The Single Petal of a Rose (4:06)

Shemekia Copeland – Walk Until I Ride (4:15)

Billy Bragg – I Ain’t Got No Home (3:34)

Robert Johnson – Ramblin’ On My Mind (2:25)

Blind Willie McTell – Searching the Desert for the Blues (3:05)

Poison Gardner – Eviction Blues (2:33)

Oscar Peterson - I Love Paris (2:13)

Arturo O’Farrill - Baby Jack (7:22)

Amina Figarova - All We Dance (5:37)

The Australian Jazz Quintet – September Song (4:08)

Ibrahim Maalouf – Lily (is 2) / Will Soon Be a Woman (4:59)

 

This week’s video: Woody Guthrie singing “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore.”

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