Sonny @ 80....almost

Is this the look of an 80-year old?

Testament to the endduring power of jazz' "Saxophone Colossus" Theodore Walter 'Sonny' Rollins, who turns 80 on September 7, 1930.

To great acclaim and adoration, but with little fanfare of his own, Sonny Rollins has built a jazz iconography as instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and thought-leader over a career that spans 7 decades.

Born in New York City (to parents who had emigrated from the Us Virgin islands),he grew up in Harlem not far from the Savoy Ballroom, the Apollo Theatre, and the doorstep of his idol, Coleman Hawkins. After early discovery of Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong, he started out on alto saxophone, inspired by Louis Jordan. At the age of sixteen, he switched to tenor, trying to emulate Hawkins. He also fell under the spell of the musical revolution that surrounded him, Bebop.

Still Bitchin' (That Means Great) After all these years

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From my former writing home, Jazz Times

"Four decades have passed since Bitches Brew was released in 1970, and Columbia/Legacy Records is marking the occasion with a new box set, Bitches Brew: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. The set includes two CDs containing the landmark recording in its original eight-track studio mix plus alternate takes and single versions, a 180-gram vinyl replica of the original double-album, a DVD of a 1969 Copenhagen concert, an audio CD of a 1970 Tanglewood performance, a booklet and more memorabilia"

http://jazztimes.com/articles/26369-miles-davis-forty-years-of-freedom

As the Smoke Trails upward

Farewell to a great jazz photographer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/arts/music/18leonard.html?_r=1

His Dexter Gordon Pic (shown here) is one of my all-time faves

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

THERE WERE three musicians on stage before a near full house at RedBones the Blues Café, Braemar Avenue, New Kingston, on Friday evening - one bass guitarist, one drummer and one keyboard player.

However, the music Maurice Gordon, Deleon 'Jubba' White and Harold Butler respectively made was more than their number, the last especially being the focal point of the evening billed as 'Harold Butler and Friends'.

And near the end, before the encore of What's Going On, Gordon, who did almost all the talking that night, said: "the Butler himself, Mr. Harold. He did it. He did it."

And he had, rocking and smiling on Fly Me to the Moon in the first segment of the concert, mouth open as he played, then sitting quietly and looking at Gordon and White in turn as they took solo turns.

Excellent playing

Butler started off Feel Like Making Love, playing very softly near the end of Gordon's solo run on bass, then compressed his lips as he played lower and lower notes, leaning in the direction of his right hand as it moved away from his body and then returning to an upright position as the song ended.

The trio went into Reggae with Money Maker, which started off with drum and bass, Butler first playing with his left hand only, then his right, then both. He rocked in his seat as Gordon rocked back on his right leg, poised on the ball of his left foot, closed his eyes and let the bass go and, in the end, White tinkled on the cymbals, Gordon laid down the bassline and Butler's fingers danced as they took the volume down and down and down.

Gordon announced a special tune and there was applause as Love Me Forever, Butler's composition, originally sung by the late Cynthia Schloss, was recognised instantly.

The music intensified from its calm beginning and, as it hit a peak, Butler swept the keyboard from the high notes down and then the low notes up, then came the calm playing again.

Intermission song

After a half-hour intermission, the trio returned with Gordon lodging a complaint about the difficulty in opening a bank account for Butler, what with the bank's requirements for a Justice of the Peace and accounting for the source of funds.

It was back to music with The World Is A Ghetto, Butler's tongue sticking out on the second post-intermission song. He sat with his hands in his lap, watching Gordon and White as they combined bass, hi-hat and rimshot, his hands darting up and forward intermittently to play a few notes.

On Blue Velvet Butler swept his hand across the keyboards from the higher notes once, then twice, thrice and then a fourth time in succession, then the trio went very slow on Midnight in Vermont.

A diner from Norway ditched her cutlery and took to the microphone for Summertime, her little black dress serving both activities nicely.

She started out high and the applause came after the second line, her hands moving from their hanging position to more expressive positions as the song progressed.

But there was someone in the audience who was not satisfied.

Good ol' summertime

"When you play Summertime uptempo you know what's what!" he shouted.

Gordon shaded his eyes against the stage lights and demanded who was speaking.

"Every time we play somebody is shouting about Sunmertime," he said good-naturedly and, without announcement, the three duly delivered the uptempo version of the song.

"OK? OK?" a smiling Gordon demanded of the shouter when it ended.

"We're going to take one step ahead on the next song," Gordon said and the Butler composition, sung by Beres Hammond was duly delivered the reaction from the audience did not indicate recognition of the outstanding song.

Woman No Want No Bangarang and Kiss Me Once kept the Jamaican flavour going and, on the uptempo closing note, the shouter became the dancer, literally talking to the floor in front of a large fan whirring against the summer heat.

"Never you on the floor while ago? What happened? You had a seizure?" Gordon asked before the encore.

"The Butler Did It" again on VP

Our second HB entry for the day, comes courtesy of the Gleaner and VP Records

THE BUTLER Did It, the 1978 album, featuring troubled keyboardist Harold Butler at his creative best, will be reissued next month by VP Records. This marks the first time the set will be released on compact disc.

A release from VP said The Butler Did It will be released on August 28. It is part of the Queens, New York company's extensive reissue roster, which also includes titles from producers Joe Gibbs and Henry 'Junjo' Lawes.

The new-look, The Butler Did, It has 13 songs, some written or arranged by Butler and performed by artistes who recorded mainly rhythm and blues-type reggae.

Among these artistes are Cynthia Schloss whose Love Forever is on The Butler Did It. Other songs include Beres Hammond (One Step Ahead), Ernest Wilson (Let Love Be Your Right-hand Man) and Pam Hall and Orville Wood (Book of Life).

Those songs were released in the late 1970s when Butler was an in-demand session musician, arranger and producer. The Butler also contains, Crying In Soweto, Butler's moving tribute to the South Africa township which was a hotbed of activity during the years of apartheid in that country.

Harold Butler is from a musical family. His older brother, Leslie, was also a noted keyboardist who played at the prolific Federal Studio in the 1960s and 1970s.

Leslie's younger brother followed in his footsteps, recording and touring with Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Culture and Judy Mowatt. Harold Butler played on some of the seminal reggae albums of the 1970s and early 1980s, including Culture's Two Sevens Clash and Mowatt's Black Woman.

In recent years, Butler has recorded and performed with guitarist Maurice Gordon at jazz events, including Jazz In The Garden, and at the Red Bones Blues Café.

"The Butler" mini-bio

Pianist, composer, arranger, and producer Harold Butler is one of Jamaica's finest musical talents whom throughout his career has performed, composed, arranged and produced some of Jamaica's most popular music. As a pianist, Butler has recorded, worked and toured with a long list of musicians including Bunny Wailer and Jimmy Cliff.

He has recorded, co-produced and produced with and for some of Jamaica's best musicians and singers. Hits for singers include Pam and Woody (Book of Life), Beresford Hammond (One Step Ahead), Cynthia Schloss (Love me Forever) and Ernest Wilson (Let True Love Be). His solo albums, which include and feature both vocal and instrumental tracks, are: The Butler Did It, My Life : Part 1, Meditation Heights, African On My Mind, and the soundtrack for the movie Children of Babylon.

Jason Moran - Jazz Iz.........not ded!!

Jason Moran

From new website called made possible. Check it.

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"Abby's Road" : RIP Abby Lincoln

Link to a ABC news obituary about the exemplary jazz singer and civil rights activist Abby Lincoln.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=11408648&page=1

What the Butler did: A List of credits

As a pianist, Butler has recorded, worked and toured with a long list of musicians including Bunny Wailer and Jimmy Cliff. His older brother, Leslie, was a keyboardist who played at the Federal Studio during the 1960s and the 1970s. Another brother has recorded and toured for Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Culture and Judy Mowatt.

He has recorded, co-produced and produced with and for some of Jamaica’s best musicians and singers. Hits for singers include Pam and Woody (Book of Life), Beresford Hammond (One Step Ahead), Cynthia Schloss (Love me Forever) and Ernest Wilson (Let True Love Be). His solo albums, which include and feature both vocal and instrumental tracks, are: The Butler did it, My Life : Part 1, Meditation Heights, African On My Mind, and the soundtrack for the movie Children of Babylon.

During the 70's he recorded for the most important Jamaican artists and producers. The list of artists he played for is huge and we want to remember a few names at least. As a keyboardist he played for Beres Hammond, Bunny Wailer ("Black Heart Man"), Culture ("Two Sevens Clash" and "Cumbolo"), Delroy Wilson, Dennis Brown ("Visions Of Dennis Brown"), The Meditations ("Guidance"), Sylford Walker, Toots & Maytals. As a pianist he played for Cedric Im Brooks ("United Africa"), Derrick Harriott, Ernest Ranglin, Ken Boothe. As an organist he played for Joe Gibbs ("African Dub All-Mighty" and "African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3"), Pablo Moses, Trinity ("Three Piece Suit"). On synthesizer, he played for Beres Hammond, Ken Boothe. And finally we must remember him on melodica for Judy Mowatt's "Black Woman".

His solo albums are: "The Butler Did It", "My Life : Part 1", "Meditation Heights", "Africa On My Mind", and the soundtrack for the movie "Children of Babylon". By the late 80's some mental problems forced him to retire from the activity, but in recent years he has reappeared onstage with good acclaim. The present set collects some material recorded around 1978. The mood is quite puzzling. The recipe is made of Jazz, some light Roots, Soul and some so called African reminiscences on the background. The tracks are basically instrumentals, in some cases sustained by vocals and chorus. Apart from some tracks listed below, this risky mixture of sounds and atmospheres is uncertain and at the end almost disappointing. On nine tracks emerge "Liberation" (featuring Beres Hammond), "South Africa", "Crying In Soweto" and "Out Of Bondage" as a great Jazz track. The album was produced by Herman Chin Loy and recorded at his legendary Aquarius Studio. It was engineered by Mervyn Williams and Stephen Stanley; and mixed by them with the addition of Boris Gardiner

Credits

Appears on

* Children Of Babylon
o Pass The Fire
o White - Slave Lament (Trad.)
* Jah Children Invasion
o Dedication Rock
* Real Authentic Reggae Volume One
o Smile Orange Reggae

As a musician
Keyboards

* B.B. Seaton - I'm Aware Of Love [1979]
* Barry Biggs - Sincerely [1977]
* Beres Hammond - Let's Make A Song [1981]
* Bunny Wailer - Black Heart Man [1976]
* Culture - Cumbolo [1979]
* Culture - Two Sevens Clash [1977]
* Dean Fraser - Black Horn Man [1978]
* Delroy Wilson - Sarge [1976]
* Dennis Brown - The Best Of Dennis Brown Part 2 [197X]
* Dennis Brown - Visions Of Dennis Brown [1978]
* Harold Butler - Gold Connection [1978]
* Lord Laro - Yu Have Fe Dread [198X]
* Meditations - Guidance [1978]
* Sylford Walker - Nutin Na Gwan [1975-79]
* Toots & Maytals - Live At Reggae Sunsplash [1982]
* Toots & Maytals - Toots Live [1980]
* Various Artists - Jah Children Invasion [1983]
* Various Artists - Jah Children Invasion Chapter II [198X]
* Various Artists - United Dreadlocks Vol 1 [1977]
* Various Artists - United Dreadlocks Vol 2 [1980]

Piano

* B.B. Seaton - Colour Is Not The Answer [1976]
* Beres Hammond - Soul Reggae [1976]
* Cedric Im Brooks - United Africa [1978]
* Cedric Myton & Congo - Image Of Africa [1979]
* Cedric Myton & Congos - Face The Music [1981]
* Congo - Congo Ashanti [1979]
* Derrick Harriott - Reggae Disco Rockers [1979]
* Derrick Harriott & Revolutionaries - Reggae Chart Busters Seventies Style [1977]
* Ernest Ranglin - Ranglin Roots [1976]
* Harold Butler - Africa On My Mind [1978]
* Harold Butler - Gold Connection [1978]
* Joe Higgs - Unity Is Power [1979]
* Ken Boothe - Blood Brothers [1976]
* Meditations - Greatest Hits [197X]
* Pat Kelly - Lonely Man [1978]
* Prince Junior - On Top [1980]
* Ruddy Thomas - First Time Around [1981]
* Toots & Maytals - Just Like That [1980]
* Toots & Maytals - Knock Out ! [1981]

Organ

* Audley Rollens - Role Model [1984]
* B.B. Seaton - Colour Is Not The Answer [1976]
* Cedric Myton & Congo - Image Of Africa [1979]
* Cedric Myton & Congos - Face The Music [1981]
* Congo - Congo Ashanti [1979]
* Derrick Harriott - Reggae Disco Rockers [1979]
* Harold Butler - Africa On My Mind [1978]
* Harold Butler - Gold Connection [1978]
* Jerry Johnson - For All Seasons [198X]
* Joe Gibbs - African Dub All-Mighty [1975]
* Joe Gibbs - African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 [1978]
* Joe Gibbs & Professionals Featuring Errol Thompson - No Bones For The Dogs [1974-79]
* Ken Boothe - Blood Brothers [1976]
* Pablo Moses - Tension [1985]
* Trinity - Three Piece Suit [1977]

Synthesizer

* Beres Hammond - Soul Reggae [1976]
* Harold Butler - Africa On My Mind [1978]
* Ken Boothe - Blood Brothers [1976]
* Ruddy Thomas - Reggae By Ruddy Thomas [1983]

Strings Synthesizer

* Derrick Harriott & Revolutionaries - Reggae Chart Busters Seventies Style [1977]
* Harold Butler - Gold Connection [1978]
* Willie Lindo - It's Not Too Late [1977]

Melotron

* Derrick Harriott - Reggae Disco Rockers [1979]

Electric Piano

* Congo - Congo Ashanti [1979]
* Harold Butler - Gold Connection [1978]

Melodica

* Judy Mowatt - Black Woman [1980]

Serving Up "The Butler"

he's had some up and down times, for sure, but one thing has never waned: Harold Butler's master of the piano; his staggering range of material and sensitivity and soulful connection to the music.
Starting next week, extensive coverage on the life and times of Jamaica's piano man.


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Barb Jungr CD review: The Men I Love

While in no way denigrating the preceding tunes, to get a full feel for the transformative powerof Barb Jungr's musical and vocal vision, go straight to the final track on this CD, Geln Campbell's "Wichita Lineman". To hear her alternately draw in tenderly and unfurl the tune - ably aided by pianist Simon Wallace - is a wondrous experience.

Indeed, its one of many on what is a well crafted, but soulful, intimate and contemporary sounding set that should resonate equally with jazz vocal purists (although the material in the truest sense is not jazz, no matter), coffeehouse hipsters or nightclub veterans.

Whether individual tuiens, like the Monkees' "I'm A Believer" or medleys like "This Old Heart of Mine-Love Hurts" the Brit chanson gets inside the song, a cliche, we admit, but if you follow my directive at the beginning of this review it should become obvious. Her empahty is clear on the Holland-DOzier-Holland classic. When Jungr coos the "I love you-ou-ou" line first made famous by the Isley Bros. all the palintive yet defiant commitment of the origianl is magically transposed.

Separate from the vocal hijinks, the album also succeeds musically. While most of the material is taken at an easygoing ballad pace, those expecting lullabies will be wowed by subtle shifts in tempo and the varied sonic palette that Jungr and Wallace have put together. One of this writer's favourite pop songs is Briab Eno and David Byrne's "Once In A Lifetime" a song I thought it would hard, if not impossible to successfully update. But here, Jungr's lyrics are gently dunked amid a swirl of sometimes Oriental, sometimes Southwestern sonic patches. Also she makes good use of the song's refrains and repeated phrases ("Same as it ever was" is one example)to transport the listener into an experience with even more gravitas than the original suggested.

As another reviewer has stated "Jungr needs no added ingredients to improve her communication of the intense feelings contained in these great songs." Given this lush attention, her "men" should be feeling pretty stoked - same goes for music lovers everywhere

Track listing:Once in a Lifetime;
I'm a Believer;
Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache;
Night Comes On;
Can't Get Used to Losing You / Red Red Wine;
The River;
I Saw the Light;
This Old Heart of Mine / Love Hurts;
Everything I Own;
You Ain't Going Nowhere;
My Little Town;
Wichita Lineman

www.barbjungr.co.uk


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