This is a review of Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra. They appeared in concert at The Naples (FL) Philharmonic Center for the Arts on Sunday, January 25, 2009. I urge you to see them if they come anywhere close to your neck of the woods.

You would have thought you were listening to Duke Ellington in person.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, lead by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, rivals any big band–past or present–in terms of musicianship, inventiveness and precision. The program presented at the sold-out house at the Phil on Sunday evening was a varied one, stylistically and chronologically, but the spirit of The Duke was definitely in the air.

This group, and big bands in general, occupy a singular place in the jazz industry as of 2009. Indeed, the late trumpeter Maynard Ferguson was the last “name” leader of a regularly touring jazz big band. His death in 2006 marked the end of a time when big bands criss-crossed the country as much as 50 weeks out of the year, appearing in clubs, festivals, whatever ballrooms still existed, concerts, and in high schools and colleges. Though Ferguson may have been the “last of the road Mohicans,” big bands are still very much with us. Some have regular residencies in nightclubs and some are put together for special occasions. A select few, like Marsalis’ outfit are affiliated with cultural arts institutions, in this case, Lincoln Center. That sponsorship gives them a lucrative and secure home base, funds to commission original orchestrations, and enables them to tour a few months of the year.

The mission of the 12-year-old group, like the ideals of its leader, is a lofty one. It is dedicated to promoting the appreciation and understanding of jazz through performance, education and preservation.. By the concert’s end, there was no doubt that their mission, on every level, was successfully fulfilled. The performance was stellar, the audience learned plenty from it, and the orchestra demonstrated a reverence for jazz history.

The outspoken leader, who has often been criticized for his opinions on what jazz is and what jazz is not — and who the “real” jazz players were and are — has long been dedicated to making audiences aware of legendary artists like Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. He is tireless in his devotion to the music and the promotion of it, with the result being that he has brought the jazz tradition into the lives of thousands of people who may not have known about it, appreciated it or listened to it otherwise. Whether one agrees with his opinions or not, Marsalis has done more for the cause of jazz than anyone in the last 25 years. Just as one example, his participation in Ken Burns’ documentary on jazz for PBS helped bring the history of American’s only original art form into millions of homes.

But what makes Marsalis and the orchestra so impressive is that, despite their respect for jazz history, they do not dwell totally in the past.

The leader’s dedication to making jazz more accessible to a wide audience was evidenced by the compositions performed in the first half of the program. The theme? Nursery rhymes arranged for a jazz orchestra. Even the most ardent non-jazz fan had to recognize a song like “Rubber Ducky.”

But what a “Rubber Ducky” it was. As arranged by trombonist Vincent Gardner, this “Ducky” morphed into a slow, Latin-oriented cadence, replete with Ellington-like trumpet growls, and a nice, straight-ahead solo by Marsalis.

The venerable “This Old Man,” orchestrated in waltz time by reedman Walter Blandings, again showed the Ellington influence, highlighted by the reed section briefly doubling on clarinet, and a great tenor saxophone solo by Ted Nash.

“It’s Not Easy Being Green,” the gentle, Kermit the Frog anthem, was arranged by Ali Jackson, Jr. Surprisingly, Jackson is the band’s very musical drummer, and it’s refreshing to know that the song he chose to arrange was something sensitive, as opposed to a flag-waving drum feature. This was the first tune that didn’t sound like an Ellington arrangement. In fact, it was more Count Basie-oriented. Jackson, was a driving yet sensitive percussionist throughout the evening. His chart of “Being Green” nicely displayed his sensitive side.

Bassist Carlos Enriquez’ chart of “Brahams Lullaby” was another inventive opus that ended up in the loping, clave’, Latin rhythm, with a wonderful baritone saxophone solo by Paul Nedzela. Nedzela, who earned a Masters Degree from Julliard last year and has played with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Jr., to Benny Golson, has a huge and beautiful tone on the big horn. Like Ellington’s Harry Carney, who played baritone with The Duke for almost 47 years, Nedzela is really the player who gives this band its bottom and holds it together.

The band took a stylistic detour on Mr. Rogers’ “I Like to Take My Time,” arranged by saxophonist Sherman Irby. This was a conventional, west coast jazzlike swinger that could have been charted by Shorty Rogers.

Marsalis, who never, ever hogged the solo limelight, was featured on the last tune before intermission. He played a number of blazing choruses, with just rhythm section backing, on an unnamed tune that was based on the chord changes of the old swing stalwart, “Cherokee.” The trumpeter, who is equally at home playing classical music, writing opera, or recording with Willie Nelson, demonstrated here that he can and does swing with the best of them.

The second half of the program was devoted to the Lincoln Center’s re-creations and interpretations of some of the classic, but often neglected, orchestrations in jazz history. Marsalis prefaced this half of the program by saying, “Our country has not recognized the value of swing.” Be that as it may, The Phil audience surely did after the band’s performance of arranger Jimmy Mundy’s “Fiesta in Brass.” This 1930s era chart, written by a man who wrote for bands like Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman, sounded as fresh as today in the hands of the Lincoln Center Orchestra as it must have in the 1930s. Victor Goines tenor saxophone solo, much in the style of Ellington’s Paul Gonsalves, really swung this one.

Benny Carter, the legendary arranger and multi-instrumentalist who died at the age of 96 in 2003–and who was the last jazz musician to receive a Kennedy Center honor–arranged a version of “All of Me” in 1940. Carter was an expert at writing for reed sections, and almost 70 years after this was written, it is still nearly impossible to play. It holds up beautifully and is testament to Carter’s ageless talents. Pianist Dan Nimmer’s homage to Errol Garner and Vincent Gardner’s trombone solo were standouts.

Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington’s long-time arranger and alter-ego, made an arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” that utilized the rare talents of the Ellington band to their fullest This could have been Ellington playing at The Phil, as all the soloists sounded like the legends in Dukes’ band. Walter Blanding recalled Ellington saxophonists Ben Webster and Paul Gonsalves, alto saxophonist Sherman Irby echoed Johnny Hodges, and Sean Jones’ trumpet mimicked Cootie Williams. Duke would have been proud.

There’s nothing like a conventional blues to help rock any house, and saxophonist Ted Nash’s orchestration of “Blues in the Night,” written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, was right on house-rocking target. Nash’s influence as an arranger comes from beyond the swing era. He has evidently listened to writers like Thad Jones and Bob Brookmeyer, who are more concerned with voicings than sheer swing. The soloists, however, particularly a long and rocking one by saxophonist Victor Goines, really got The Phil audience going.

The closer was another Ellington tune, the relatively obscure “Braggin’ in Brass,” written in 1938, but “still hard to play,” said Marsalis. This fast, two-beat swinger featured muted trumpets and muted trombones in passages that were seemingly technically impossible to play correctly. Marsalis effortlessly soloed, in a few stop-time choruses above all the sections, and played with a sense of ease that made listeners feel there was nothing he couldn’t play.

Wynton Marsalis has few equals as a trumpeter and as a bandleader. Each and every one of his introductions served as mini-lectures on jazz history, and I’d bet more than one Phil audience member will be going out to buy an Ellington, Benny Carter–or Wynton Marsalis–CD tomorrow. The motto of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is ” bringing people together through swing.”

It did.

GORDON ‘WHITEY’ MITCHELL DIES AT 76

I am deeply saddened to report the death of Gordon “Whitey” Mitchell, who died of cancer on January 18th. JazzLegends.com visitors are more than familiar with Whitey’s work with The Gene Krupa Jazz Quartet. That particular edition of Gene’s group, which lasted through much of 1955, included Gene, Whitey, Bobby Scott and Eddie Shu. It was one of Krupa’s finest small units and fortunately, their concert sets at Jazz at the Philharmonic are well-preserved on CD.

Whitey performed with a bunch of other greats through the years, including Andre Previn, Mat Matthews, Gene Quill, Herbie Mann, Tony Scott and J.J. Johnson. He recorded one session as a leader in 1956, and two years later, recorded with his brother, bassist Red Mitchell, and trumpeter Blue Mitchell on something aptly called “The Mitchells. He left music in 1965 to work full time as a comedy writer.

As the story goes, several letters he wrote to Down Beat magazine came to the attention of no less than Lenny Bruce, who encouraged him to go into comedy writing. Starting in the mid-1960s, he began writing for some of the legendary programs in television history, such as “Get Smart,” “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family,” “Mork and Mindy,” “Good Times,” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” If you ever wondered why several of those shows seemed to be so hip, “Get Smart” in particular, now you know.

He moved to Palm Desert in the mid-1990s and began playing bass again. He was even better and more swinging than he was in 1955.

Some seasons back, I got a call from Whitey, who heard that I had some rare audio of the Krupa Quartet. We began talking on the telephone frequently, and I found him to be one of the most intelligent and literate folks I ever met. At the same time, I was thinking about going out to Palm Springs to do some archival video interviews with a bunch of industry people who relocated out there, including Marie Rich and Frankie Randall. Whitey spoke of how nice the jazz scene was in Palm Springs and Palm Desert, and that he had a great gig at a club there, which, if memory serves, was owned by a one-time Playboy Bunny. He said, “When you come out, get in touch and you’ll sit in.”

“Sit-in,” to me, were and are the magic words. My long-time personal and professional colleague (and jazz singing great) Joy Adams and I decided to get out there as soon as possible. Whitey and his wife, Marilyn, were charming. We spent a good deal of time in their lovely home, and also a good deal of time in the jazz club where he was playing with a certifiably swinging group.

One night at the club, it seemed that the creme de la creme of Palm Desert celebrity were seated at the table along with The Mitchells and us, including the legendary agent, Norby Walters and the equally legendary singer, Jack Jones.

I remember specifically that Jones didn’t crack a smile all night. Until, that is, Joy Adams sang. He told me later on in the evening, knowing that I wrote and co-produced the videos on Buddy Rich, that he never really got over Buddy’s death and was never the same afterward.

To be asked to guest at the drums with Whitey Mitchell, a giant of a player , was a singular honor, especially because he had played with Krupa and always said how much he loved Gene’s playing. He later told me how much he liked my playing and that there would always be work for Joy and me if we ever decided to move out to the desert.

After that, we lost touch. A month or two ago, someone told me he had written his autobiography, and I thought that would be an appropriate time to look him up again. I didn’t, and I’m sorry about it.

I’ll miss him. And so will jazz.

In 1939, bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw was at the absolute height of his fame, rivaling Benny Goodman for the “King of Swing” title. Shaw, in fact, was billed as the “King of the Clarinet,” and sparked decades of arguments as to who was the better player. So famous was Shaw that he was pegged to co-star in this 1939 opus, coincidently the same year Gene Krupa made his film debut as a leader. This is a pristine print of this real rarity, which stars Lana Turner, Lee Bowman, Richard Carlson and the great Shaw band, featuring a certain world’s greatest drummer.” The plot? A movie star/dancer gets pregnant just before she’s supposed to star in a new film, and the film studio institutes a nationwide collegiate search for someone to replace her. No matter. Shaw is fabulous, as is the band, and though he’s no Sir Larry, he’s not bad.

A MEMORABLE NIGHT FOR JAZZ

Since I’ve been writing these columns, I have frequently touted Naples, FL, as having one of the healthiest jazz scenes in the country.  The evening of Wednesday, January 14, was in indicative of this.  It was truly a night to remember for Naples jazz lovers.  And there are a lot of Naples jazz lovers. I’m posting my review of the concert in this space, as it would have been a night to remember for all fans of jazz.

STU SHELTON AND FRIENDS

Jazz aficionados packed the Unity of Naples Church  Wednesday in a memorable and swinging concert presented by noted area pianist, Stu Shelton.  Though most of these artists who performed-and there were ten of them in all-perform locally, there is  no doubt that their playing is as good or better than any “national”  artist on the jazz scene.  Gauging by the level of response from the sold-out house, the audience agreed.

Shelton presented a varied and satisfying program of swing, bop, and touches of modernism. The players on hand were presented in various groupings to spotlight their unique talents.  The only constant throughout was Shelton, who played for everyone.

The first three numbers-Milt Jackson’s”Bluesology,” Rame De Pal’s “I Remember April” and Lester Young’s swinger “Lester Leaps In”-featured drummer Patricia Dean, vibraharpist “Sir John” Jeffrey and bassist Dan Heck. “Sir John” was the certifiable highlight of this set.  His energy and sense of swing on the vibes often evoked Lionel Hampton and Terry Gibbs, but he remains, after years on the scene here, his own man. 

“Alone Together,” written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz; and Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s “My Shining Hour” featured an impeccable trio of Dean,  Dan Heck on guitar this time, and the maestro.  Heck, out of the Wes Montgomery school. was incredible, with impeccable technique and wonderful ideas.  

Cole Porter’s “Everytime We Say Goodbye,”  Bernice Petkere’s “Close Your Eyes” and Ellington’s venerable “Take the A Train,” were performed by the duo of Dean, singing and playing drums simultaneously, and Shelton. Dean is a real talent.  One of the few female jazz drummers around, and she’s a solid and tasteful player.  As a vocalist, she’s charming and sometimes recalls the young Nancy Wilson.

Another popular Naples vocalist, Rebecca Richardson, joined the group, with guitarist Heck returning, for a medley of “Nana” and “Daydream,” followed by the old Fats Waller stalwart, “Honeysuckle Rose. Richardson has a pure and beautiful tone that’s a joy to hear, and it was put to effective use in the hypnotic medley of Manuel De Salla’s “Nana” and Duke Ellington’s “Day Dream. 

After an intermission, singer Carla Valenti, Shelton and drummer John Lamb performed Billie Holiday’s fondly remembered “God Bless the Child,” done as an up-tempo swinger; Shirley Horn’s touching “Here’s to Life” and Ellington’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.”  Valenti’s commanding stage presence and obvious professionalism has won her a strong and devoted following in Naples for some years. She was and is clearly an audience favorite.

Stu Shelton introduced trumpeter Bob Zottola by saying how much Zottola has done and how hard he has worked to open up and expand the jazz scene in Naples.  Indeed, Zottola’s Expandable Jazz Band, with Shelton, saxophonist Jerry Zawicki, drummer John Lamb and Shelton, often works seven nights per week to consistently crowded and enthusiastic  houses.  This group’s repertoire comprises swing, bop and compositions from the “Great American Songbook.”  The three songs they played-Lennie Niehaus’ “Bunko,” Illinois Jacquet’s “Robbin’s Nest” and Clifford Brown’s “Tiny Capers”-were three great examples of tight, clean and swinging mainstream jazz.  Zottola’s range and ability to invent, night after night after night, is extraordinary.  Saxophonist Zawicki plays in a lovely Al Cohn/Zoot Sims style, devoid of exhibitionism, not heard too much these days.  He is taste personified.  Likewise drummer John Lamb, who always surprises with his refreshing drum breaks and attention to what the soloists-and the band-are playing.

Tenor and alto saxophonist Lou Califano was the next guest, and joined the group for three, certifiable jazz numbers, Joe Henderson’s Latin-flavored “Recordame,” Benny Golson’s “Blues March” and Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud.”  Stylistically, Califano comes out of the more modern, Sonny Rollins school of saxophone playing, highlighted by an amazing technique.  ”Blues March” really stood out on this set, with all involved simply rocking the house.  Even Jerry Zawicki was moved to honk a few times. 

Zottola, Shelton, Patricia Dean (back on drums) and Dan Heck (back on bass) performed a touching “I Thought About You,” mostly as a feature for trumpeter Zottola, before the grand finale.

The entire cast came on stage for the final tune, Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,” a fitting end to one of the most memorable nights in Naples music history.

Stu Shelton, who also serves as the Unity Church’s musical director, deserves a great deal of credit for every aspect of this concert, which was actually more like a mini-festival. He paced it beautifully and proved to be quite the genial master of ceremonies.  It all worked. Naples as a world-class city for jazz?  You’d better believe it.

Some changes are in the offing for 2009 at JazzLegends.com. My sincere thanks for the hundreds who have taken advantage of our “everything $10″ sale over the past few months. I ask for your understanding and patience. We have been deluged with orders, and are thankful for it, but it will take a few weeks to catch up. Remember, we have no inventory, per se, as every item is custom duplicated. While the $10 sale is over for the moment, we are only raising prices halfway, in that everything will be $15, with shipping remaining free all over the world. Many of you have also noticed that we are now using paper sleeves and no more stick-on CD/DVD labels. The paper sleeves are a cost-saving measure and also eliminate that pesky problem of cracked slimline cases. The stick-on labels were causing quality control problems. We listened to the experts who said that the labels, by and large, were at fault for problems in CDs and DVDs playing. We now think we’ve got it licked.

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I had the chance to see and to review alto saxophonist David Sanborn here in Naples. I was most impressed and very pleasantly surprised. Here is a link to the review that appeared in the Naples Daily News.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/dec/30/neapolitan-sanborn-proves-hes-more-just-smooth-jaz/

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Anyone with even a slight interest in drums and percussion should, without doubt, log on to www.DrumChannel.com. Now just out of the Beta testing phase, this superb site is developing and evolving into something almost indescribable. Ultimately, visitors will be able to access vintage film footage, interviews, master classes, lessons, access a vast library of biographies and discographies, and share ideas with other players all over the world, 24 hours per day.

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R.I.P. 2008

The jazz and popular music worlds lost an extraordinary amount of great ones in 2008. They will never be replaced. May they rest in peace.

Lew Spence, 87; composed “Nice ‘n’ Easy,” the Grammy-nominated Frank Sinatra song (Jan. 9)

Pete Candoli, 84; leading high-register jazz trumpet player, long-time “Tonight Show” band member, who often appeared in jazz contexts with his brother, Conte (Jan. 11)

Teo Macero, 82; forward-thinking reedman and controversial producer of jazz albums for Miles Davis and other leading artists in the 1960s and ’70s (Feb. 19)

Buddy Miles, 60; rock and R&B drummer and singer whose eclectic career included stints working as a sideman for Jimi Hendrix (Feb. 26)

Israel “Cachao” Lopez, 89; Cuban bassist and composer credited with pioneering the mambo style of music (March 22)

William F. Ludwig II, 91; son of the founder of Ludwig Drum Co. and a percussion industry pioneer in his own right. (March 22)

Gene Puerling, 78; leader of the innovative vocal quartet the Hi-Lo’s and a noted vocal arranger whose work influenced the sound of pop groups, including the Beach Boys (March 25)

Cedella Booker, 81; mother of Bob Marley who wrote two biographies of him and recorded two albums (April)

Jimmy Giuffre, 86; saxophonist, clarinetist and composer whose career included big bands (Woody, etc.) and minimalist trios. Perhaps the true father of “new age” music (April 24)

Humphrey Lyttelton, 86; jazz trumpeter who hosted the BBC radio game show “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.” Among the most popular figures in British jazz. (April 25)

Bob Florence, 75; bandleader and composer won Grammys and Emmys and almost single-handedly helped keep the big band genre alive. (May 15)

Bo Diddley, 79; a primal rock and blues musician who helped cast the sonic template of rock more than 50 years ago with a signature syncopated rhythm that became universally recognized as “the Bo Diddley beat” (June 2)

Bill Finegan, 91; an architect of the big band sounds of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller who later traded in commercial success to co-create the innovative Sauter-Finegan Orchestra (June 4)

Gerald Wiggins, 86; jazz pianist played with his trio and accompanied many great singers (July 13)

Jo Stafford, 90; a singer who was a favorite of soldiers during World War II (with Dorsey and singly) and whose recordings made the pop music charts dozens of times in the 1950s (July 16)

Joe Beck, 62; jazz guitarist who played with Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra and James Brown (July 22)

Johnny Griffin, 80; “the little giant,” who was once billed as the “world’s fastest saxophonist” (July 25)

Lee Young, 94; brother of Lester, a wonderful jazz drummer who played with Nat King Cole and was one of the first African Americans to integrate a studio orchestra (July 31)

Lou Teicher, 83; half of the popular piano duo Ferrante & Teicher who scored four Top 10 hits in the 1960s (Aug. 3)

Isaac Hayes, 65; seminal figure in R & B and soul music who wrote theme from “Shaft” (Aug. 10)

Jerry Wexler, 91; who coined the term “rhythm and blues,” discovered Aretha Franklin and helped bring African American music to a wide audience as a key executive of Atlantic Records (Aug. 15)

Johnny Moore, 70; a trumpeter and founding member of the Jamaican ska and reggae band the Skatalites (Aug. 16)

Buddy Harmon, 79; popular Nashville session drummer played on more than 18,000 recordings (Aug. 21)

Ralph Young, 90; vocalist was half of Sandler & Young singing team popular in the 1960s to the 1980s (Aug. 22)

Connie Haines, 87; big band singer who performed with Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the 1940s (Sept. 22)

Earl Palmer, 83; legendary session drummer (who started out playing jazz) played on dozens of rock classics including “Tutti Frutti” and “La Bamba” (Sept. 19)

Neal Hefti, 85; a former trumpeter, later arranger and composer for Woody, Basie, et. al. who wrote the memorable themes for “The Odd Couple” and ” Batman” (Oct. 11)

Levi Stubbs, 72; Four Tops frontman whose dynamic and emotive voice drove such Motown classics as “Reach Out [I'll Be There]” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (Oct. 17)

Dee Dee Warwick, 63; R & B singer who recorded hits in the 1960s and was a supporting singer for her sister Dionne Warwick (Oct. 18)

Dave McKenna, 78; a master jazz pianist, with Charlie Ventura, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman and as a soloist, who embraced the music of the Great American Songbook (Oct. 18)

Ray Ellis, 85; a versatile pop music arranger who wrote the charts for hits by the Four Lads, Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, Doris Day and Johnny Mathis (Oct. 27)

Mae Mercer, 76; a deep-voiced blues singer who spent much of the 1960s performing at a blues bar in Paris (Oct. 29)

Jimmy Carl Black, 70; original drummer for Frank Zappa’s band Mothers of Invention (Nov. 1)

Rosetta Reitz, 84; ardent feminist started record label for women in jazz and blues (Nov. 1)

Mitch Mitchell, 61; drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s, and one of the most influential rock drummers of all time. (Nov. 12)

Charles Ottaviano, 66; his intimate Van Nuys nightclub Charlie O’s developed a loyal following of jazz enthusiasts (Nov. 17)

Robert Lucas, 46; blues singer and former frontman for the ground-breaking, blues band, Canned Heat (Nov. 23)

Odetta Holmes, 77; folk singer was a voice of the civil rights movement and championed black history (Dec. 2)

Elmer Valentine, 85; co-founder Whiskey a Go Go, the legendary West Hollywood night club (Dec. 3)

Page Cavanaugh, 86; a pianist-singer whose trio was a popular nightclub and recording group, and a coach for dozens of singers (Dec. 19)

Eartha Kitt, 81; ageless, internationally famed, sultry song stylist (Dec. 25)

Freddie Hubbard, 70; one of the most influential trumpet players of all time (Dec. 29)