Kansas City Six (Buck Clayton, trumpet; Lester Young, clarinet; Eddie Durham, electric guitar; Freddie Green, rhythm guitar; Walter Page, bass; Jo Jones, drums), “Pagin’ the Devil,” 1938
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lagniappe
reading table
in blossoming trees
suddenly he’s hidden . . .
my son
—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
The great thing about the 21st century is that it’s so easy to leave.
Count Basie Orchestra (Don Byas, tenor saxophone; Harry “Sweets” Edison and Buck Clayton, trumpets; Freddie Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums, et al.), “Dance of the Gremlins,” “Swingin’ the Blues,” 1941
Has there ever been a finer hour of jazz—of music—on TV?
The Sound of Jazz(CBS), 1957*
(A couple excerpts have been posted previously—here and here—but until the other day I’d never seen the whole show.)
*With Count Basie (piano), Thelonious Monk (piano), Billie Holiday (vocals), Jimmy Rushing (vocals), Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone), Lester Young (tenor saxophone), Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone), Jimmy Giuffre (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Pee Wee Ellis (clarinet), Henry “Red” Allen (trumpet), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Vic Dickenson (trombone), Danny Barker (guitar), Freddie Green (guitar), Jim Hall (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), Jo Jones (drums), et al.
—Mudd Up! (DJ/Rupture, “new bass and beats”)
—Sinner’s Crossroads(Kevin Nutt, gospel) —Give the Drummer Some (Doug Schulkind, sui generis, Web only)
—Daniel Blumin
—Cherry Blossom Clinic (Terre T, rock, etc.)
—Antique Phonograph Music Program (MAC, “78s and cylinders . . . played on actual period reproducing devices”)
—HotRod (“Shamanic vibrational love frequencies for the infinite mind,” Web only)
• WHPK-FM(broadcasting from University of Chicago)
Beginning yesterday afternoon and continuing until noon Saturday, WKCR-FM, which broadcasts from Columbia University, is celebrating the centennial of Papa Jo Jones—the “greatest drummer who ever lived,” according to the station’s Phil Schaap—in the best possible way: they’re playing his music (with Count Basie, Billie Holiday, et al.), and nothing but his music, 24 hours a day. Breakfast, he’s on; lunch, he’s on; dinner, he’s on; bedtime, he’s on—and it’s all free.* Is this a great life, or what?
Here at MCOTD, we’re celebrating Papa Jo, too—with this clip, a favorite.
*****
He doesn’t pummel the beat, the way so many drummers do.
He pulls it out of the air.
Jo Jones (“Papa Jo” [as distinguished from “Philly Joe“]), October 7, 1911-September 3, 1985
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lagniappe
[W]hat really distinguished the great drummers I heard growing up, what really attracted me to men such as Sonny Greer, Chick Webb, Sid Catlett, Jo Jones and Kenny Clarke was that they all thought like composers, they all had their own way of hearing a band. They were all original thinkers who identified themselves when they played. And they stood out. They played like leaders.
—Max Roach
(Originally posted 8/5/10.)
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*“Free” is a bit misleading; it costs money to keep this daily miracle on the air, so, periodically, WKCR-FM solicits contributions. If you tune in and like what you hear, perhaps you, too, could kick in a few bucks.
Assuming Irene doesn’t crash the party, the folks at WKCR-FM (broadcasting from Columbia University)* will be playing Lester Young all day today and into tomorrow, when, at some point, they’ll make the transition to Charlie Parker, whose birthday is Monday. As I wrote last year: “Something happens—something delicious—when you surrender your ears and yourself to someone’s music for such a sustained period of time. Little by little, that musician moves in, taking up residence in your brain. Their distinctive voice becomes, for a time, inseparable from everything else you’re hearing and seeing and thinking and feeling.”
*Later note (2:45 p.m. [CST]): When I just checked, their website seemed to be down; you can also get them via iTunes (radio/college).
He doesn’t pummel the beat, the way so many drummers do.
He pulls it out of the air.
Jo Jones (“Papa Jo” [as distinguished from “Philly Joe“]), October 7, 1911-September 3, 1985
**********
lagniappe
[W]hat really distinguished the great drummers I heard growing up, what really attracted me to men such as Sonny Greer, Chick Webb, Sid Catlett, Jo Jones and Kenny Clarke was that they all thought like composers, they all had their own way of hearing a band. They were all original thinkers who identified themselves when they played. And they stood out. They played like leaders.