i saw some good jazz on youtube last night

[JSngry]

Damn, that clip still rocks my world!

[mmilovan]

The same with me - I'm delighted from first moment I saw it till now on (and believe me, I watched clip SO many times).

Besides clever bopish inspired arrangement (Paul Weston???) it is Jo Stafford who really "rocks" - she was the among them best!

I can clearly understand what Pres meant when he said Jo was his favourite singer:

Chris Albertson: …Jo Stafford?

Young: There you are! Yeah, I’ll go there.

Chris: Jo Stafford is your favorite singer?

Young: Yeah. And Lady Day. And I’m through.

Chris: But Jo Stafford doesn’t sing jazz, does she?

Young: No, but I hear her voice and the sound and the way she puts her songs on.

Pres oppinion was not "prepared" for that particular interview, he admitted the same thing years earlier when "remarked that if ever formed his own big band, the "boy" singer he’d want would be Frank Sinatra, and for the "girl," he’d try and secure Frankie’s old Tommy Dorsey band-mate, Jo Stafford."

The above mentioned blog describes with few words what really is so great about Jo:

The paradox of Jo Stafford’s vocal style is that her essentially “cool school” method -- which she developed long before the term came into use – manages to generate terrific heat. Her duets with fellow Columbia Records artist Frankie Laine could easily be described as hot! In characterizing her approach as cool, I refer to her phrasing (particularly in a jazz setting), to her minimal use of vibrato, and to her extremely admirable refusal to be what I call a “lyric wringer.” She gave her audience credit for having sufficient intelligence to follow a song’s narrative without having to be clobbered by bathos. She is a lyric interpreter of tremendous subtlety and nuance, whose warm tone lends shading to the material. The only obviousness in a Stafford performance is the singer’s ability and her joy in the music. Another felicity to be found in Jo’s manner of addressing lyrics is her close attention to her material’s dialectal identity; she clearly knew when to apply her flawless diction and equally when to drop her g’s.

It is interesting to emphasize that Jo was inspiration to Helen Merrill, if I remember correctly.

Edited May 7, 2007 by mmilovan

[mmilovan]

Once, Jim asked for original version of "Gentleman Is a Dope"...

So, here it is:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7bpts8

(sound quality is not my fault - it's worn to death record, transfered by someone).

Another thing.

During last few days I've listened to Capitol and Columbia records where Jo sung (usually) two choruses (those were sides with Paul Weston).

I've discovered that it is true we can call Jo jazz singer...

If you listen carefully you will notice structural alterations of the melody in second chorus, things that Billie Holiday always did.

For example, I listened to original "The Gentlemen Is a Dope", "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time", as well as material from around 1944.

Ever noticed that?

Edited July 16, 2007 by mmilovan

[mmilovan]

Here is the very same record with sound restoration and NR added...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/s4zuu5

[mmilovan]

Not Riddle. Doesn't look like him at all.

Almost looks like Gil. Almost...

Well, mistery solved - just found this written 6 days ago:

The guitar is George Van Epps. The lead trumpet is Conrad Gozzo. In the sax section is Matty Matlock & Eddie Miller. The Conductor is Al Pelligrini (pianist with Bob Crosby). Also in the band is 2nd trumpet Johnny Best and lead trombone Joe Howard. All fine west coast musicians who recorded with Bob Crosby, Paul Weston and many others. The tenor sax is Billy Usselton and the drummer is probably Nick Fatool and the bessist Morty Corb. This is from a TV show called "The Swingin Singin Years" hosted by Ronald Reagan.

Here:

[JSngry]

I continue to be floored by the total musicianship of every element of the performance in that clip. I mean, really, you can do things differently, but ain't no way you can do them better.

[mmilovan]

Interesting setting and Mel Torme at the drums:

[medjuck]

Damn, that clip still rocks my world!

I'm having trouble finding the clip-- probably my fault but the links keep taking me to a generic Youtube page. What Jo Stafford performance are we talking about? There seem to be several available.

[flat5]

Old thread. Links die.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Shelly Manne Quartet at Manne's Hole:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljaUyHfYUCA...ted&search=

Is that (as one poster has suggested) really Steve McQueen sitting there during Ray Brown's solo (9:20)? Kinda looks like him.

[mmilovan]

I'm having trouble finding the clip-- probably my fault but the links keep taking me to a generic Youtube page. What Jo Stafford performance are we talking about? There seem to be several available.

Here, uploaded again:

[medjuck]

Thanks so much. I really enjoyed this. Where do people find something like this to upload?

[mmilovan]

Thanks so much. I really enjoyed this. Where do people find something like this to upload?

These are DVD rips, mostly...

[JSngry]

I'm having trouble finding the clip-- probably my fault but the links keep taking me to a generic Youtube page. What Jo Stafford performance are we talking about? There seem to be several available.

Here, uploaded again:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jUFO2tUBV4c

Something else to watch...Jo's facial expressions - eyes, eyebrows, etc. - head & hand movements, & body rhythyms throughout that performance. Not one move is false, out of rhythm, or otherwise less than totally integrated into the performance of the song itself. It's nothing less than absolute perfection & unsurpassable professionalism.

SKILLS! Ain't no substitute for 'em!

[medjuck]

Thanks so much. I really enjoyed this. Where do people find something like this to upload?

These are DVD rips, mostly...

What DVD would this be on?

[JSngry]

Up one more time for this, the simple joy of endless perfection.

I don't think there's one neuron in this woman's body that is not totally feeling this without reservation.

[mikeweil]

Great - after watching this, what's the point of asking whether Jo Stafford was a jazz singer or not?

[BillF]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaj6QjQrAw