Itâs Halloweâen again, and so it must be time for the annual Straight No Chaser Spooky Song Showcase. Podcast 166 features a scary cross section of sinister titles, so click here to enjoy:  Eldar â âThe Exorcistâ from Virtue. Hopefully you listened to my interview with this 22 year old piano wizard, who announces himself as a major composer and performer with this new album.  Dom Minasi â âJust One More Biteâ from The Vampireâs Revenge. This 2006 release was inspired by Ann Riceâs âInterview With the Vampireâ novel. Guitarist Minasi writes with wit and just a touch of mayhem on this tune.  Steve Swell, Herb Robertson and John Gunther stand out on the track, as do Carol Mennieâs wordless vocals. Wayne Shorter â âWitch Huntâ from Speak No Evil. The penultimate Blue Note session â Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones. So good itâs scary.  Miles Davis â âPrince of Darknessâ from Sorcerer. Miles second great quintet recorded this Wayne Shorter tune in New York in 1967 - Davis on trumpet, Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. The title is a reference to Miles himself, and became a nickname of sorts for the notoriously moody artist.  

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Part two of the birthday boyâs podcast tributes comes with recordings made by Gordon Sumner himself, tapping into his jazz vein. He was quoted in 1985 when asked why he drafted jazz musicians for his backing band: "I want freedom and the privilege to surprise people. With this new band, I want to destroy the old stereotypes that have been built around me. I feel very at home with jazz. This new group has a jazz influence, but it's not a jazz band. It has a polarity of all the best of my music. I try to achieve the cross-pollination in music that happened in the 1960s." With that in mind, letâs listen to that band and a few others such as: Sting â âConsider Me Goneâ from Bring On the Night. When Sting decided to take his initial solo material on the road, he decided his backing band should have a jazz sound. The result was a lineup starring saxophonist Branford Marsalis, pianist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Omar Hakim (formerly of Weather Report), and Darryl Jones, (Miles Davis). Sting and Gil Evans â âStrange Fruit â from Last Session. Sting and legendary jazz composer/pianist/arranger Evans performed at the Perugia Jazz Festival on July 11, 1987. The concert turned out to be Evansâ final performance, as he died shortly thereafter. The repertoire for the show was Police hits alongside a wide array of covers ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Tony Williams to this Billie Holiday classic. The 19-piece ensemble featured George Adams on tenor sax, Lew Soloff on trumpet, Mark Egan on bass, and Branford Marsalis on tenor and soprano sax. The recording has never been released in the US. Frank Zappa â âMurder By Numbersâ from Broadway the Hard Way. Perhaps the strangest collaboration of Stingâs career came with Zappa in 1988, when he performed an unusual arrangement of "Murder By Numbers", set to the tune "Stolen Momentsâ by jazz composer Oliver Nelson, and for some reason "dedicated" to fundamentalist evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. Sting â  âMy Funny Valentineâ from Sting at the Movies, Sting has a soft spot for the standards. He has recorded  âSomeone to Watch Over Meâ and âMy One and Only Loveâ, among others. This track was recorded with pianist Herbie Hancock to play at the end of the Japanese film Ashura., directed by Yojiro Takita in 2005. Chris Botti featuring Sting â âWhat Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?â From To Love Again â The Duets. Sting has appeared on a number of Botti studio recordings, and was a guest on the trumpeterâs recent TV special turned DVD turned live CD. This classic ballad has lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and music by Michel Legrand. The recording on a 2006 Grammy award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist, the award shared by Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein, and Hector Pereira. Herbie Hancock featuring Sting â âSister Moonâ from Possibilities. It seemed a natural choice for Hancock to ask Sting to join him on this CD, which enlisted pop and rock performers to sing with a jazz band, often reimaging their own work.

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Rock musician Sting â born Gordon Sumner 58 years ago this month â is one of the jazzier pop stars of the past forty years. Although he reached fame first as the bass player of the punk rock-styled band The Police, his first professional gigs during college and during breaks from being a school teacher were in jazz groups. He played with local bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit in the Newcastle ara of England. His songwriting from 1977 to the present has tapped into jazz stylings from time to time, and his solo recordings have usually had jazz musicians involved in the sessions. At least two of his songs, âFragileâ and âFields of Goldâ, have to be considered candidates for New Standards,. The former has been recorded by, among others,  Kenny Barron and  Regina Carter, Billy Childs, The Daugherty McPartland Group, Freddie Hubbard and Cassandra Wilson. So here is another of my occasional  âJazz Does Rockâ series of podcasts, a âJazz Does Gordon Sumnerâ salute, with songs made famous by The Police and Sting, recorded here by:  Cassandra Wilson â "Fragile" from Glamoured. A poignant verion of the anti-war song that became something of an anthem after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.   Dianne Reeves â âEver Breathe You Takeâ from Blue Note Plays Sting. Two separate albums of Blue Note artists playing his music have been released., and Miss Reeves graces each of them with a Sting ballad. Here she sings The Policeâs biggest hit, with  solos by Bob Belden (who did the arrangements), Mark Ledford and Kirk Whalum. L Lynne Arriale Trio - "Wrapped Around Your Finger" from Now. Quietly, the Lynne Arriale Trio has been making expceptional music for a number of years, mixing standards, pop songs and jazz classics. This Police song kicked off the latest CD from Lynne Arriale on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Steve Davis on drums. Christian McBride - "Walking On the Moon" from Sci-Fi. This is one of my favorite albums from the polific McBride, mixing covers of Herbie Hancock with those of Steely Dan and the Police. This version comes across as a ballad rather than the reggae sound of the original, That's Jame Carter with the bass clarinet solo, and Ron Blake on tenor and soprano saxophone; Shedrick Mitchell's piano and Fender Rhodes; David Gilmore on guitar, McBride on bass and Rodney Green on drums complete the band. Kevyn Lettau - "Message in a Bottle" from Walking in Your Footsteps. In her own words: I first learned about The Police in the early 80's from my sister's old boyfriend. At that point I must admit I was a total Rock and Roll ignorant snob. If music wasn't either jazz, Joni Mitchell or old R&B, I couldn't have cared less! But when I really started to listen, I was blown away by the lyrics, the musicianship and the melodies, not to mention Sting's wonderful voice. I was very impressed, but still stayed with the other styles as far as my own singing and studying was concerned. Band members are led by smooth jazz star Russell Ferrante (Piano),  along with Mike Shapiro (Drums), Jimmy Haslip (Bass), Luis Conte (Percussion) and Gary Meek (Saxophone).

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âHeâs a genius beyond most young people Iâve heard.â-Dave Brubeck Heavy words from a jazz master, particularly when he is talking about 22 year old Eldar Djangirov, a keyboard player whose latest CD, Virtue, confirms that he is among the most talented players on the scene today. Born in Kyrgyzstan (what was at the time of his birth part of the Soviet Union), Eldar emigrated to the US wiht his family in 1998. In a short time, he became the youngest guest ever to appear on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" show. Signed to the Sony Classical label, he has released four CDs on the label.  I had the pleasure of speaking with him last week as he readied himself for a multi-night engagement at Yoshi's in Oakland, California, and Podcast 162 presents that conversation along with music from his releases, including: "Dream Songâ from Re-Imagination. Recorded three years later after signing with Sony Classical, this CD was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Eldar adds some electronic experiments, including the addition of DJ Logic on a few tracks. This recording is a solo piano piece, showing Eldarâs debt to Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea and Dr. Billy Taylor.  "Lullaby Fantazia" from Virtue.  While keyboard pyrotechnics are Eldarâs strength, this track shows off his soulful side, as he glides through the track with a graceful left hand and melodic right hand, reminiscent in sound to Keith Jarrettâs solo work.  âBlackjackâ from Virtue. Trumpet star Nicholas Payton joins the trio for this up-tempo number, weaving between the strong rhythm section of Ludwig Afonso (drums) and Armondo Gola (bass). Never afraid to move the number along at an accelerated pace, he adds electric keyboards to the sound, showing why he may be the finest young technician in jazz today. âMatrixâ from Handprints. At the age of 16, Eldar recorded this trio album with Gerald Spaits on bass and Todd Strait on drums. Composed mainly of standards, he covers Chick Coreaâs classic âMatrixâ. Corea is one pianist to whom Eldar is often compared. Not bad company!

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Every year, the Jazz Standard in New York presents a Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT), conceived and cuÂrated by acclaimed player, composer, and bandleader Dave Douglas. This yearâs FONT honors the great Bobby Bradford, who will travel from the West Coast to appear on at the Jazz Standard with different combos in weekend performances October 1-4, 2009. Other trumpeters appearing to salute Mr. Bradford will be Jeremy Pelt, Ambrose Akinmusire, Avishai Cohen, Eddie Henderson and David Weiss.   Bradford, who at age 75 stands at perhaps our greatest living avant-garde trumpeter, is best known for his work with saxophonist Ornette Coleman and clarinetist John Carter, both major figures in pushing the limits of their respective instruments. He has also led his own group, the Moâtet, and been a part of Charlie Hadenâs Liberation Music Orchestra. As an educator, Mr. Bradford has taught at Pomona College in California for four decades. His most famous student may be noted saxophonist David Murray, who will sit in with his former teacher on October 3rd and 4th.  Bradford will perform with a quintet and an octet, but he indicated when we spoke last week that the different band size would not create any special problems. âThe music is not scored for a particular instrumentation, so the tunes we play will be the same tunes each night. The additional players are really strong, and they enhance the performance considerably.â He added that finding scores for some of the music he played with the John Carter Octet was difficult, with a certain discrepancy existing in some of the written scores. The band â which each night will include Bradford on trumpet, Marty Ehrlich on saxophones and clarinet, and Andrew Cyrille on drums, supplemented by others â will get just one rehearsal on Friday afternoon, âThatâs asking a lot for anyone. No disrespect for New York players â these are the best you could have, but we want to play pieces like (John Carterâs) âCastles in Ghanaâ and that takes work.â I spoke with Mr. Bradford last week regarding the upcoming gigs, and while a scheduling error made a recording impossible, Podcast 162 is a tribute to Mr. Bradford and his music, including quotes from our interview and musical selections: Ornette Coleman â âDown by Lawâ from The Complete Science Fiction Sessions. Mr. Bradford chose âDown by Lawâ as a track he particularly liked from the CDs. However, he didnât care much about the remastered sound of the set. âIâm not much of what you would call an audiophile, when they change what we had before. Iâve listened to the original over the years, and played in my classes. So since those are the only records I made with Ornette, Iâm glad people who weren't familiar with the originals can discover the music.â The core of the Coleman band had been trumpeter Don Cherry, saxophonists Coleman and Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins. For these sessions, pianist Cedar Walton, guitarist Jim Hall, trumpeter  Bradford, vocalist Asha Puthi, and poet David Henderson, who narrated âScience Fictionâ were added. Mr. Bradford was pleased these sessions were reissued, but not because of the remastered sound. âIâm not much of what you would call an audiophile, when they change what we had before. Iâve listened to the original over the years, and played in my classes. So since those are the only records I made with Ornette, Iâm glad people who weren't familiar with the originals can discover the music.â   David Murray â âWoodshedetudeâ from Death of a Sideman. The record is under Murrayâs name, but Bradford wrote all the music, a suite in memory of his long time collaborator John Carter. He spoke fondly of this recording, which featured Murray on sax, Bradford on trumpet, Dave Burrell on piano, Fred Hopkins on bass, and Ornette alumnus Ed Blackwell on drums.  John Carter & Bobby Bradfordâs New Art Jazz Ensemble â âRosavitaâs Danceâ from Seeking. A 1969 session adding Nate Morgan on piano, Louis Spears on bass and Ndugu on drums to Carterâs clarinet and alto sax and Bradfordâs trumpet, creating a quintet to perform this driving Bradford composition. This album has not, to the best of my knowledge, been released on CD. Thanks to Inconstant Sol for the rip.  John Carter & Bobby Bradford - on âPortrait of J.B.G.â and âCircleâ from Tandem 1. A duo concert recorded  live at the  Piedmont Center for Arts in Worcester,  on April 30, 1982, the evening gave two giants of their respective instruments a chance to play separately and together. Here is a cornet solo by Bradford on âPortrait of J.B.G.â, followed by a duet.  Who or what is âJ.B.G.â. Bradford set me straight â âJohn Birks Gillespieâ. Were live duo performances exceptionally difficult for the two men? âWell yes, but you know we had spent hours playing together in that context. We didnât have that many gigs, but by playing together we developed a repertory of tunes to play. We didnât just start blowing! We had a book ready. In fact, we performed with a music stand in front of us many times.â I asked Mr. Bradford what advice he had for young jazz musicians. âTake a serious look at it (a career), and if you are going to narrow down the type of music you play you have to be ready to miss out on a lot of money. You can be real good in jazz, but there is no guarantee that youâll get the work you need to pay the bills. There are a lot of great musicians who would be deliriously happy if they could make $50,000 a year playing jazz. Thereâs a lot of competition. Even when youâre not working, you have to practice. If youâre lucky enough to work in someoneâs band, you are still expected to rehearse for free, even when thereâs no gig.â

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One of the more interesting acts playing this weekendâs free portion of the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival in Boston is percussionist Yoron Israelâs tribute to his friend and musical mentor, the late David âFatheadâ Newman. For much of the last decade, Israel anchored his touring bands, and recorded three CDs with him. Newman, a legendary saxophonist/flutist and composer, was a prominent member of the Ray Charles band in the fifties and sixties and a renowned bandleader in his own right thereafter. He passed away on January 20, 2009 at age 75. Israel will hit the stage at around 3:00 in Boston, leading a large ensemble, including the always exciting Curtis Fuller (trombone), Howard Johnson (baritone saxophone), Bill Easley (flute, tenor, and alto saxophones), Dave Leonhardt (piano), and John Menegon (bass).  Israel, Chicago born and now residing in Brockton, MA, is assistant chairman of percussion at Berklee College of Music in Boston. I got the chance to talk to him about his work with âFatheadâ, his role as bandleader and educator, and about the many musicians with whom he has recorded. Click here to listen to Podcast 161, which features the interview and music Yoron Israel has had a part in, including: David âFatheadâ Newman â âHere Comes Sonny Man" from Cityscape. This is the band that Yoron had in mind when he put together the tribute: Newman on sax and flute, Winston Byrd on trumpet, Howard Johnson on Baritone Sax, Benny Powel on Trombone, David Leonhardt on Piano, John Menegon on Bass and Yoron on Drums. Kenny Burrell â âIâm Falling for Youâ from Lotus Blossom.  The first of many great guitar players with whom Israel has made great music, this 1995 release has Burrell playing in a number of different settings. Here is one of the trio recordings, with Ray Drummond on bass and Israel on drums. Mark Elf â âDot.com Bluesâ from Trickynometry. Incredibly underrated,  Elf  has played with all the greats as a sideman ,Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Golson and the Marsalis Brothers to name a few. This Elf tune was later covered by Jimmy Smith on one of his final studio CDs. Abbey Lincoln â âWholly Earth â from Music is the Magic. Considering Ms. Lincoln recorded with (and married) Max Roach, being asked to sit in as her drummer is quite a compliment. Recorded live at Sweet Basil in New York City in 1993, the trio backing Ms. Lincoln on her composition are Rodney Kendrick on piano, Michael Bowie on bass and Yoron Israel on drums. Catch his solo on this showstopping finale. Kenny Burrell - "Soul Eyes" from Guiding Spirit. A different Burrell quartet featuring Yoron's "musical big brother" Jay Hoggard, the pride of Wesleyan University on vibes, Burrell on guitar, Marcus McLaurine on bass and Israel on drums. David âFatheadâ Newman â âI Canât Get Started â from Life. Newman was more than just Ray Charlesâ main horn man â he was capable of playing in so many different idioms, and was as accomplished on flute as he was on saxophone. Here he tackles a Gershwin tune, with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), John Menegon (double bass), and Israel (drums) backing him up.

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Going from headliner to artistic director, Terri Lyne Carringtonâs involvement with the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival has reached its apex. A native of Medford, a Boston suburb, her deep musical network and knowledge make her an ideal choice to lead BeanTown as it expands its scope and moves towards becoming one of the nation's premier jazz festivals.   She is no stranger to multitasking. She has received Grammy nominations both as a performer (for her solo album, Real Life Story) and as a producer (for the Dianne Reeves album, That Day). Her extensive touring career of over 20 years includes stints with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, and others. Among the acts she has recorded with are Diana Krall, John Scofield, George Duke, and James Moody. She appeared on Hancockâs Grammy winning CD Gershwinâs World, and Shorterâs High Life. Her most recent CD as a band leader is the celebrity-studded More to Say."This festival is a testament to Boston's reputation as a music hub and its dedication to jazz and producing and nurturing great artists," the noted drummer said in a written statement. "As a native and recent returnee to the area, I'm thrilled for this chance to give back to the community by throwing a big party for Boston. I hope people come out to fraternize with their neighbors, enjoy the delicious food, and hear some incredible music."  I spoke with Ms. Carrington last week, and so Podcast 160 is a shout out to the BeanTown Jazz Festival and Ms. Carrington, including musical selections from:  Friday Night Headliners:  David Sanborn â âSlam!â from  Closeup.  His blues roots go back to Woodstock in 1969. Yes, Sanborn was a member of the Butterfield Blues Band horn section, making him perhaps the only current jazz headliner to perform that weekend. Headlining on Friday night, Sanborn is capable of some terrific R&B soloing. Check out this scorching Marcus Miller composition, with Miller taking the bass and keyboards, with Sanborn on sax, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar.   Kevin Mahogany â âRoute 66â from You Got What It Takes.. Possessed of one of the great bass voices in jazz, Mahoganey should make quite an impression singing the blues Friday night. Here he is on a classic uptempo number.   Amina Claudine Myers appearing with Charlie Hadenâs Liberation Orchestra â âSpiritualâ from Dream Keeper.  A Haden composition dedicated to Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and Malcolm X is given a large ensemble performance, under the baton of Carla Bley. Solos on this number are by Ray Anderson (trombone), Branford Marsalis (sax), Charlie Haden (bass) and Ms. Myers is on vocals. Other standouts on the cut are Tom Harrell on trumpet, Paul Motian on drums and Joe Lovano on sax.  Saturday Acts include:  Donald Harrison â âDancehallâ from Nouveau Swing.   A graduate of Art Blaeyâs Jazz Messengers, Harrison produces great post-bop with a touch of New Orleans soul. This comes from one of my favorite Harrison release, with Christian McBride on bass, Carl Allen on drums, and Albert Wonsey on piano.   Joe Louis Walker â âUhhh!â from The Preacher and the President. A 1998 release on jazz label Verve,  the San Francisco native shows his debt to Delta and Chicago Blues with some down home playing.    And finallyâ. Terri Lyne Carrington â âNo Not One (For Helen)â from More to Say.  Her latest release is full of guest artists from Christian McBride to Everette Harp to Nancy Wilson. This track is a large group Afro-Cuban stomp of a number, featuring pianist Danilo Perez.

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Chico Hamilton is 88 years young today, and I had the pleasure of chatting with the legendary drummer last week. Podcast 159 is that interview, along with some of the most memorable music he recorded during his career that has covered the length of what he likes to call "contemporary music" of the last 8 decades. Gerry Mulligan Quartet- "Bernie's Tune". the first recording ever made for Pacific Records was cut in 1952 in Phil Turetsky's house in Los Angeles. The great "piano-less"quartet was Mulligan on baritone sax, Chet Baker on trumpet, Bobby Whitlock on bass and Chico on drums. Gerry Mulligan and his Ten-tette - "Walkin' Shoes" from Gerry Mulligan and his Ten-tette. Mulligan loved to play with different group sizes, including this large group whihc included Baker and Chico from his Quartet, along with West Coast standouts like Bud Shank (Alto Sax) and Bob Enevoldsen (Trombone). Chico Hamilton Quintet - "The Sage" from The Complete Pacific Recordings of Chico Hamilton Quintet. His first great quintet - Chico, Buddy Collette (saxophone), Jim Hall (guitar), Carson Smith (bass) and Fred Katz on cello. Chico Hamilton Quintet - "I'm Beginning to See the Light" from The Complete Pacific Recordings of Chico Hamilton Quintet. A young Eric Dolphy (saxophone) got his big break when Chico's brother discovered him and turned Chico on to his flute and sax playing. The rest of the quintet is John Pisano (guitar) Nathan Gershman (cello) Hal Gaylor (bass) and Chico. Recorded in Los Angeles April, 1958.  Chico Hamilton - "Forest Flower" from Man From Two Worlds. From Dolphy to Charles Lloyd, Chico has always been able to spot the top players. Lloyd on sax and flute, Hungarian guitar whiz Gabor Szabo, bassist Albert Stinson and Chico make up the band. Chico Hamilton - "Larry of Arabia" from The Dealer. Chico moved to Impulse! Records in the Sixties, and cut this classic with Larry Coryell making his recording debut on guitar. Chico on drums, altoist Arnie Lawrence, and bassist Richard Davis complete the band.

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