Great Live Moments - Michel Camilo

April 4, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: april 24, art tatum, bassist, Birthdays, drummer, happy birthday, Iridium, jazz blog, jazz record, latin heat, lincoln, lincoln goines, Listening Post, Live Music, michel camilo, native dominican republic, night in tunisia, pianist, piano trio, tea, trio sound, wbgo, wbgo blog

Happy birthday today to pianist Michel Camilo.
WBGO recorded Michel's trio at Iridium on April 24, 1997.
Michel Camilo, Bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer Cliff Almond had a killer piano trio sound. Listen to "A Night in Tunisia" from the WBGO Archives.

And do you know what inspired Michel Camilo to play jazz? Hearing Art Tatum play "Tea for Two." When Camilo was 14, he heard that jazz record in his native Dominican Republic. Since you cannot see Art Tatum magic on a record, and you can no longer see him play, you'll have to check out this re-performance of "Tea For Two."
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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James Moody at 83

March 27, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: bb kings, benefit, Birthdays, college information, cologne, daniel karcher, dropt, fundraiser, happy birthday, james moody, Jazz Alive, jazz legend, march 31st, Masters, monday night, music, newark new jersey, rest of the day, s song, scholarship fund, vignette, walt whitman, wbgo

I'm in the mood for Moody, simply because it's his birthday. Jazz legend James Moody, one of Newark, New Jersey's finest, turned 83 yesterday. Last year, WBGO celebrated Moody's contribution to music at our annual gala. Daniel Karcher and I created a video vignette for the award presentation. Here it is:

So next time you see Moody, wish him a happy birthday. Give him a hug, and you can wear his cologne for the rest of the day. I like to think that wearing Moody's cologne is like that line from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself - "A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt."

On a more serious note, you can see Moody and lots of his music playing friends on Monday night, March 31st at BB Kings. The concert is a benefit for the James Moody Scholarship Fund at Purchase College. Information about the fund and the fundraiser here.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Thumbs Up for Wes Montgomery

March 6, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: 1950s, algorithms, billy bauer, Birthdays, dead languages, electric instrument, guitarist billy, happy birthday, Listening Post, Masters, monk, nerds, plectrum, speakers, superhero, thumb, two minutes, Video, wes montgomery

Happy birthday today to Wes Montgomery. Any guitarist worth his or her salt has at least ONE album from Wes Montgomery, the master non-plectrist. No, I didn't invent that word, plectrist. It's actually derived from plectrum, which is what guitar nerds and speakers of dead languages call a pick. [Incidentally, another great guitarist, Billy Bauer, made a record in the 1950s called Plectrist. But I'm getting even more off topic here.]
Wes Montgomery, however, was a non-plectrist. He didn't use an external tool to pick the strings. He used his thumb. That's what makes Wes Montgomery's sound so identifiable - warm, casual, and about as 'natural' as an amplified electric instrument can sound without using algorithms or superhero powers.
Check out this video of Wes playing Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight." About two minutes in, you'll see the closeup on his hand. Not plectacular, but spectacular. - Josh

PS - Anyone have a favorite Wes Montgomery album, song, or solo?

© 2008 WBGO

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