Oregon Jazz Central: 53. OJC September 12 2015

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Live music is best.

Today’s show.

Miles Davis - Fall

Stanley Turrentine - Sunny

Art Blakey - Blues March

Moanin' includes some of the greatest music Blakey produced in the studio with arguably his very best band. There are three tracks that are immortal and will always stand the test of time. The title selection is a pure tuneful melody stewed in a bluesy shuffle penned by pianist Bobby Timmons, while tenor saxophonist Benny Golson's classy, slowed "Along Came Betty" and the static, militaristic "Blues March" will always have a home in the repertoire of every student or professional jazz band. "Are You Real?" has the most subtle of melody lines, and "Drum Thunder Suite" has Blakey's quick blasting tom-tom-based rudiments reigning on high as the horns sigh, leading to hard bop. "Come Rain or Come Shine" is the piece that commands the most attention, a highly modified, lilting arrangement where the accompanying staggered, staccato rhythms contrast the light-hearted refrains. Certainly a complete and wholly satisfying album, Moanin' ranks with the very best of Blakey and what modern jazz offered in the late '50s and beyond. —all music.com

Sonny Rollins - Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye

Charlie Byrd - Samba Torto

Diana Krall - Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby

Howard McGhee - Groovin’ High

Mel Tormé - La Jolla

Mel Tormé's California Suite originated in 1949 and was the first blossom of his interest in composing and expanding the palette of traditional pop beyond crooning. Recorded while he was at Capitol, the original conception was a 20-minute piece recorded with the help of arrangers Billy May and Neal Heftiplus Peggy Lee on vocals. In response to support from fans and his next label, Bethlehem, Torméexpanded California Suite to a full LP eight years later. His new friend, Marty Paich, gave the arrangements an upbeat feel, splendidly evoking the go-go '50s. Though many tracks border on that cagey territory between a pep rally and a tourism commercial, the music is bright and bouncy, with Tormé gliding over the arrangements with sheer grace and even finding time to get in an occasional dig at Californian sensibilities ("That's not smog/It's just heavy dew"). Though the titles are a bit silly -- he had lately been inspired by Johnny Mercer -- Tormé saves the album with some of the best compositions of his career. He flirts with song structure (sounds inspired more by musical comedy than traditional pop) and writes clever lyrics that reveal a layer beneath the superficiality of the song titles. He also sounds in what could be the best voice of his entire career, rivaled only by Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire or Swings Shubert Alley. In essence, Mel Tormé's California Suite perfectly evokes many of the qualities (positive and negative) that characterized the '50s in Southern California -- a region breathless with anticipation of a glorious future, anxious to start consuming everything an American family should, and just a bit giddy with all the splendor. —all music.com

Ella Fitzgerald - Hard Hearted Hannah