Sondheim meets Marsalis

[Larry Kart]

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/sondheim-and-marsalis-to-collaborate-on-show-for-city-center/

"The conceit of the show is that Mr. Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will arrange and interpret about two dozen of Mr. Sondheim’s romantic songs, all of which have some connection to New York City."

[Chuck Nessa]

And.........

[JSngry]

And.........

[Mark Stryker]

I saw this item last week and was intrigued because it's always seemed to me that jazz musicians have overlooked the possibilities in Sondheim. It's true that much of the material is not in standard form and is through-composed in ways that make the songs less ideal for blowing vehicles in the way of older standards. The harmonies have similar challenges with their roots in Britten, Rachmaninoff, Ravel. Still, with all the searching in recent decades for "new standards" these would be untapped resources by players willing to create arrangements with multiple sections, vamps, pedal-points or structuring different grooves for different soloists.

I asked Sondheim once why he thought his songs hadn't been explored by jazz musicians all that much and the way he put it was that they aren't easy to "open up" for improvisation unlike -- and this was the example he pulled out of the air, "How HIgh the Moon." He did say that he always liked the record "Color and Light," which was comprised of his tunes and he was especially complementary of Herbie Hancock -- he seemed to really appreciate the creativity and freedom. http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Jazz-Sketches-Sondheim/dp/B000002AUC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366986365&sr=8-1&keywords=sondheim+and+hancock+and+sony

Edited April 26, 2013 by Mark Stryker

[fasstrack]

Anyone Can Whistle is a good blowing vehicle. Pretty Women is a challenge. There is much in Sondheim for improvisors, you just have to dig in to the repertoire. Plus the man is so brilliant it can't hurt to study his craft, read interviews, etc.

[Christiern]

Well, that is certainly humdrum news.

[sgcim]

As I was looking at JALC's ad in the Times Sunday, which featured a very 'trendy-looking" photo of WM and very little else, it occurred to me that JALC is really not even about jazz in the first place; it seems to be about marketing a certain type of image for well-heeled NYers. The Sondheim concert is quite consistent with this.

I love the Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim LP, and have found the sheet music for the songs of his I like, but I just don't find it compelling to do instrumental versions of them. Joe Puma did "Lovely", so it can work, but they seem to be hard to divorce from the lyrics...

BTW Chris, I just saw the Bill Evans feature on "Jazz Set" on youtube the other day.

Was that a NY TV Show? When and what channel was it on?

Great show!

[fasstrack]

It was Chuck Wayne that played Lovely (on banjo!). Unless Puma recorded it also.

[sgcim]

yeah, it's on the "Shining Hour" CD with Hod and Red Mitchell. I used to catch them at Gregory's whenever I had a gig in Manhattan, although Frank Luther was the regular bass player. Now I just stand outside of the Bar Next Door, and puke on people as they walk out...

[JSngry]

Frank Luther?

[Christiern]

As I was looking at JALC's ad in the Times Sunday, which featured a very 'trendy-looking" photo of WM and very little else, it occurred to me that JALC is really not even about jazz in the first place; it seems to be about marketing a certain type of image for well-heeled NYers. The Sondheim concert is quite consistent with this.

I love the Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim LP, and have found the sheet music for the songs of his I like, but I just don't find it compelling to do instrumental versions of them. Joe Puma did "Lovely", so it can work, but they seem to be hard to divorce from the lyrics...

BTW Chris, I just saw the Bill Evans feature on "Jazz Set" on youtube the other day.

Was that a NY TV Show? When and what channel was it on?

Great show!

It was a weekly half-hour show taped in Trenton, NJ. 13 episodes were purchased and carried by PBS. Apparently, it also ran in Japan and perhaps elsewhere. I have always been a very poor business guy, so I don't even get royalties on my audio albums.

Here’s all the info I have on “The Jazz Set” TV series—a few shows are missing. Dan Morgenstern sat in for me on the first one (Randy Weston), because I took ill (auspicious start, eh?). The dates are taping dates (I was wrong, it was 1972, not ’71) and the personnel is in some cases incomplete:

February 2, 1972

Randy Weston

February 7

Roy Haynes Hip Ensemble

February 15

Larry Johnson (Blues singer/guitarist)

February 22

Clifford Jordan

Jordan (ts); George Coleman (ts); Stanley Cowell (pno); Bill Lee (bs); Al “Tootie” Heath (dms); Sheila Jordan and Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals).

February 29

Joe Lee Wilson

Accompanying group included Rashied Ali (dms).

March 6

Jimmy Heath All-Stars

Jimmy H. (ts); Curtis Fuller (tbn); Kenny Barron (pno); Bill Lee (bs); Al “Tootie” Heath (dms); Mtume (congas).

March 14

Rashied Ali Quartet

Carlos Ward (tenor sax); Dave Burrell (piano); Sirone Jones (bass); Rashied Ali, drums.

March 21

Ray Draper and the New Island Social Club

Ray (tuba, baritone horn, vocals and perc.); Atlee Chapman (valve tbn); Clive Stevens (sop and ts); Bu Pleasant (organ and voc); Stu Williamson (bs); Richard Crooks (dms).

March 28

Irene Reid

Don’t have info on accompanying group.

April 11

Sam Wooding

Wooding (pno); Louis Metcalfe (tpt); Jimmy Wright (ts); Jimmy Shirley (gtr); Al Drears (dms); Rae Harrison (voc). I later did a one-hour special with Sam and his big band, which was mostly an informal interview w. Sam.

April 11

Charles McGhee and The Gap

Charles McGhee (tpt). Don’t recall the rest of group.

April 18

Keno Duke

Keno (dms); Frank Strozier (ts); and others.

April 18

Joe McPhee

McPhee (tpt and ts); Clifford Thornton (tpt); Mike Kull (pno); Harold Smith (dms).

April 25

Lonnie Liston Smith

LL Smith (pno); John Gilmore (ts); Jazzbo Alexander (flute); Cecil McBee (bs); Norman Connors (dms); Ná Ná (congas and birimbau).

April 24

Jeremy Steig

Steig (flute); Gene Perla el-bs); Don Alias (dms).

May 2

Ted Curson

Curson (tpt and piccolo horn); Bill Barron (ts); Lee Scippers (vibes); Sam Jones (bs); Freddy Waits (dms).

May 9

Charles Mingus Sextet feat. Charles McPherson

Mingus (bs); Lonnie Hillyer (tpt); Bobby Jones (ts); McPherson (alto sax); John Foster (pno); Roy Brooks (dms).

May 16

Ray Bryant Trio

Bryant (pno); Harold Dodson (bs); Leroy Williams (dms).

May 23

Bobbi Humphrey

Humphrey (flute); Harold Mabern (pno); Bob Cranshaw (bs); Mickey Roker (dms).

May 30

Bill Evans Trio

Evans (pno); Eddie Gomez (bs); Marty Morrel (dms).

That’s all the info I could dig up. I don’t know how many of these tapes still exist—I only have a few, but I believe that PBS still has the master dupes of the 13 aired by them.

[sgcim]

Wow, thanks!

That may be the only video of Frank Strozier available anywhere.

JSngry-