Mark Harvey On The Duplex

I had an interesting session with trumpeter, pianist, composer, arranger, minister, writer, educator Mark Harvey on the 1/28/16 Duplex Mystery Radio Hour on WZBC. Check out Mark's book and CD here. 

Listen to the show HERE

Woody Herman "Mo-Lasses" from "The Swinginest" (1963) on Phillips 

Charlie Parker "Cool Blues" from "Charlie Parker at Storyville" (1988) on Blue Note 

George Russell "War Gewesen" from "George Russell/7 Classic Albums" on Real Gone Jazz 

George Russell "War Gewesen" from "George Russell/So What" (1987) on Blue Note 

The Mark Harvey Group "Tarot: The Moon" from "The Boston Creative Jazz Scene 1970-1983" (2016) on Cultures of Soul 

Thing "Road Through the Wall Pts 2,3" from "The Boston Creative Jazz Scene 1970-1983" (2016) on Cultures of Soul 

Stanton Davis/Ghetto Mysticism "Play Sleep" from "The Boston Creative Jazz Scene 1970-1983" (2016) on Cultures of Soul 

Baird Hersey and the Year of the Ear "Herds and Hoards" from "Herds and Hoards" (2016) on Cultures of Soul 

Herman's First Herd Radio Show

On the Duplex Mystery Jazz Hour, wzbc.org, 90.3 fm,  01/14/2016, we heard music from Woody Herman's First Herd. Great soloists include, Bill Harris, Flip Phillips, Pete Candoli, Margie Hyams, Dave Tough, Red Norvo, Shorty Rogers, with vocals by Woody and Francis Wayne.

LISTEN HERE 

PLAYLIST

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Apple Honey" (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Let it Snow" (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Laura" (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Back Talk" (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Caledonia"  (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Sidewalks of Cuba" Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe" (1942) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Fan It" (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Goosey Gander" (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Non Alcoholic" (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "I Wonder" Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Lady Mcgowan's Dream (Pt. I & II)" (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Northwest Passage" (Jazz, 1945) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Summer Sequence, pts 1-2"  (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Woody Herman and The First Herd "Woodchopper's Ball" (Jazz, 1946) on Columbia 

Jazz Re-Shaping Standards

Without jazz, would "standards" be standards? Fact is, jazz musicians took-and continue to take-a body of music rooted in late 19th and early 20th century musical conventions and re-conceive, rejuvenate and adapt them to changing aesthetics. 

I originally took this up in this post, showing how jazz made All The Things You Are a standard. I ran across an interesting website, www.jazzstandards.com, and I'm going to use the vast amount of data they've compiled about jazz standards to expand the concept.

According to that site, these are the top ten most recorded tunes in the jazz canon, along with the year of their composition. [Notice these are all 30's and 40's tunes. In fact, in the top 300, there are only a handful that were written after 1950-but that's another story]. To keep the length of the post down, I'll take the first five of these tunes and post the earliest recordings I can find in the original context and compare them with the earliest versions I can find in the jazz context. 

1. 1930 Body and Soul
2. 1939 All the Things You Are
3. 1935 Summertime
4. 1944 Round Midnight
5. 1935 I Can't Get Started

6. 1937 My FunnyValentine
7. 1942 Lover Man
8. 1930 What Is This Thing Called Love
9. 1933 Yesterdays
10.1946 Stella By Starlight


Body and Soul, written by Johnny Green for Gertrude Lawrence, was recorded by Helen Morgan in the same year it was written. The vocal has a rubato, recitatif quality to it, with plenty of vibrato. It fits comfortably in the stylistic parameters of the era; post-parlor music, with a bit of art song harmony and the heightened emotion of European cabaret. Morgan does the verse (the first section of the song before the chorus), which most jazz versions don't include; unfortunate, from my perspective. 


Louis Armstrong also recorded Body and Soul in 1930. Right away we have the parallel universe of jazz made manifest. The Armstrong version is clearly a dance record, with a steady swing rhythm section. He approaches the tune with some measure of emotional commitment, but he completely displaces the melody rhythmically and his rendition, both vocally and on his horn, opens onto a different world than that represented by Morgan's version.

Taking The Plunge

The Duplex Mystery Jazz Hour of 12/31/2015 featured some of the great plunger mute players in jazz.

LISTEN HERE

PLAYLIST

Johnny Dunn's Original Jazz Hounds "Hawaiian Blues" 1922 on Vocalion 

Johnny Dunn and His Band "What's the Use of Being Alone" 1928 on Vocalion 

King Oliver & His Dixie Syncopators "Wa Wa Wa" 1926 on Brunswick 

King Oliver & His Dixie Syncopators "Sugar Foot Stomp" 1926 on Brunswick 

Charles Johnson's Paradise Ten "The Boy in the Boat" 1928 on Victor 

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra "The Mooche" 1928 

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra "Black and Tan Fantasy" on Brunswick 1927

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra "Concerto for Cootie" on Victor 1940 

Hank Jones - Tyree Glenn Sextet "Lonely Moments" 195) 

Clark Terry, Quentin Jackson "Ol'zulu" from  Paris 1960 on Swing 

Al Grey "Nothing but the Truth" from "Snap Your Fingers"  1962 on ARGO 

Clark Terry & His Jolly Giants "Never" from "Clark Terry & His Jolly Giants" 1975) on Vanguard Records 

Rex and Cootie "I'm Beginning to See the Light" from "The Big Challenge" 1957) on Jazztone 

Duke Ellington "It Don't Mean A Thing" 1943 Film