Great Live Moments - Al Grey and Buddy Tate

April 14, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: al grey, baby josh, benny carter, buddy tate, count basie, herschel, lionel hampton, Listening Post, Live Music, man of the year, michael jackson, ones and zeros, resonance, Riff, saxophonist, sense of loss, stints, sweet basil, time magazine, traction, trombonist, vitality, wbgo

When I listen to swing music these days, I love it with a sense of loss, a disconnect. Nearly all of the swing legends are gone. This music has the feeling of a time that no longer exists, not that it ever did for me. I had to find it. Twenty-six years ago, however, swing still had some traction in our culture.
I would like to put myself back in that time. I'd be the coolest eight year old in the world, digging the scene at Sweet Basil. Trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Buddy Tate are playing "Undecided." I can't believe I'm hearing this.
Chances are, however, I was anticipating the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which came out in records stores the week after this recording was made.
As I listen to this performance from the WBGO Archives, I am reminded of the vitality of the swing era, and that the music still had resonance in 1982. Count Basie was still alive. So were a number of his associates. Tate was one of them. Grey another. Tate was the tenor player that had the unenviable task of replacing Herschel Evans in Basie's band. Al Grey joined Basie much later, but he had previous stints with Benny Carter and Lionel Hampton. These were swing men through and through.
So much seems different now. By the end of 1982, Time Magazine declared the computer as Man of the Year, the first-ever distinction for an object. These real men are gone, except for their music. Here I am in 2008, writing a blog entry on my laptop, trying to get closer to an analog era. How do I feel about it? Decidedly Undecided. All I know is that it's easy to get lost in ones and zeros, better to be found alive, and even greater to be swung....Tempus fugit, baby.
-Josh
PS That amazing photo courtesy of Rein. Check out her photostream.

© 2008 WBGO

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Legends of Jazz - 2007 NEA Jazz Masters

April 10, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: celebration, conversations, cool things, creators, curtis fuller, frank wess, Jazz Alive, jazz appreciation, Jazz Community, jazz master, jazz royalty, legends of jazz, music, nancy wilson, nea, pbs, pbs series, pianist, ramsey lewis, saxophonist, smithsonian, trombonist, Video

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. One of the many cool things about the Smithsonian's monthlong celebration has been online. The creators of the LEGENDS OF JAZZ PBS series put together a one-hour web special, hosted by 2007 NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis, that features conversations with and music by NEA jazz royalty - pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, trombonist Curtis Fuller, singer Jimmy Scott, Basie-veteran Frank Wess, and saxophonist Phil Woods. Nancy Wilson, herself an NEA Jazz Master, talks with Ramsey Lewis about his own half-century career. Find it here.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Great Live Moments - Kevin Eubanks

April 7, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: bassist, blazing trails, branford marsalis, cameron brown, guitarist kevin, jay leno, Jazz Alive, jazz forum, jazz guitar, jazz musician, johnny carson, kevin eubanks, Listening Post, Live Music, music director, robin eubanks, sf jazz, solo career, television career, tonight show with jay leno, trombonist, weeknight, wes montgomery

You may know guitarist Kevin Eubanks from the Tonight Show Band. Each weeknight, he sits in front of the band, acting as a comic foil for host Jay Leno. Kevin has actually been the music director for the show since 1995, when Branford Marsalis departed. Eubanks has been on the show since 1992. He even penned the show's closing theme song, "Kevin's Country."
Kevin Eubanks is a jazz musician by calling. In fact, music is genetically programmed into the Eubanks clan. Just ask trombonist Robin Eubanks, who is currently blazing trails with the SF Jazz Collective touring ensemble.
Check out Kevin on "Blues for Wes," a duet tribute to one of the heroes of jazz guitar, Wes Montgomery. This selection is a duet recording with bassist Cameron Brown. WBGO recorded it in 1983 at the Jazz Forum in New York. Johnny Carson was still the host of the Tonight Show. Kevin Eubanks was starting a solo career. His television career was yet to come.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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