Happy Birthday, Coleman Hawkins!

Coleman Hawkins – Cloudy (1961)

Coleman Hawkins (ts), Thad Jones (tp), Nat Pierce (p),George Duvivier (b), Osie Johnson (d) / Crown Records, 1961

Moanin’ turns 50!

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers – Moanin’ (LP version)

Benny Golson – tenor sax / Lee Morgan – trumpet / Bobby Timmons – piano / Jymie Merritt – bass / Art Blakey – drums

Recorded October 30th, 1958 for Blue Note Records

What’s interesting about this song besides its extremely catchy and memorable melody is the fact that Art doesn’t get to take a solo on arguably his most famous song. Even without the thunder, its a great tune, foot-stomping swing dipped in gospel soul. Here’s a live clip from a few years after the song was recorded with, in my opinion, the all-time great Messengers line-up:

Wayne Shorter – tenor sax / Freddie Hubbard – trumpet / Curtis Fuller – trombone / Cedar Walton – piano / Reginald Workman – bass / Art Blakey – drums

Great stuff!

Some Election Day Jazz Musings…

From Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” to Archie Shepp’s “Further Fire Music,” jazz and politics have often walked hand in hand, particularly during the civil rights era of the 1960’s. Most of those musicians would find it hard to believe that we stand at the doorstep of our first potential Black President.

If you haven’t gone out to vote today, please do so. And keep the great power of this music alive in your mind when you do so…

Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln – We Insist: Freedom Now Suite