Jazz music vocalists: genius
by Warren
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Without Music…
…why go on?
Have some Sheila Jordan. Steve Elman introduced me to her music years ago and I have always been a big fan of her work. She never over-sings…and always communicates perfectly.
A tribute to Billie Holiday
Sheila Jordan grew up in Summerhill, Pennsylvania before returning to her birthplace in 1940/41 playing the piano and singing semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. She was influenced by Charlie Parker and was part of a trio called Skeeter, Mitch and Jean (she was Jean) which composed lyrics to Parker’s Arrangements. Sheila also claimed in her song “Sheila’s Blues” that Charlie Parker wrote the song, “Chasing the Bird” for her, as she and her friends were known to chase him around the jazz clubs in the 1940s.
In 1951 she moved to New York and started studying harmony and music theory taught by Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus. From 1952 to 1962 she was married to Charlie Parker’s pianist Duke Jordan.
In the early 1960s she had gigs and sessions in the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, where she was performing with pianist Herbie Nichols,[3] and was working in different clubs and bars in New York.
In 1962 she was discovered by George Russell who did a recording of the song “You Are My Sunshine” with her on his album The Outer View (Riverside). Later that year she recorded the Portrait of Sheila album (recorded in September 19 and October 12, 1962) which was sold to Blue Note.[4]
Wiki
1992. Her brilliant duet with bassist Harvie Swartz: “Let’s Face The Music And Dance,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to (the Bass).”
I greatly enjoy her handling of folk and traditional material. This is her version of “The Water Is Wide.”
Ornette Coleman…
…is a genius.
His “Harmolodic Ballet,” titled “Architecture in Motion.”
I wish I knew who the tabla player was.
India Indian music music: genius Mallikarjun Mansur
by Warren
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So Much Beauty
Mallikarjun Mansur, singing Ek Nishad Bihagada and Nat Bihag.
India Indian music music: genius khyal Krishnarao Shankar Pandit
by Warren
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Amazing. Just Amazing.
More Krishnarao Shankar Pandit.
Here is his magnificent Devgandhari:
And another morning raga, Deshkar. His audacity of imagination is fully evident here, for example in his excursions into the lower register — Deshkar is usually considered to dwell exclusively in the upper range, so it’s quite a feat to sing in the basement without making it turn into Bhoopali.
And finally a bhajan in Raga Pilu, the oft-heard “Raghubir tum ko mori laaj.”
More to come.
environment music: genius Pete Seeger
by Warren
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WWPD?
Write a song. That’s what.
India Indian music music: genius Gwalior gharana improvisation khyal Krishnarao Shankar Pandit
by Warren
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Krishnarao Shankar Pandit: Raga Darbari Kanada
One of the greatest recorded performances of Hindustani music, this 30-minute gem comes from 1957, when Krishnarao Shankar Pandit was in his prime. The force and power of his improvisations are astonishing; there is nobody else in Hindustani tradition who can imagine some of the things he comes up with, let alone execute them with such verve and clarity.
Anokhey Lal, who was known for his brilliant and supportive theka, is accompanying on tabla. The violinist is not credited. Any thoughts?
Enjoy.
Profile: Dominique Eade
I first heard Dominique Eade sing around 1980, when Matt Darriau and I had put together a short-lived big band. She sang on one or two of the charts, and I was bowled over by her musicianship. I still am, and I find it amazing that we have not shared the stage since then. Thirty years, huh?
This post duplicates the information about Dominique on the “Singing For The Planet” page, but it includes some music. Listen. She’s an extraordinary artist.
About Dominique Eade
Since her arrival in Boston in the late 1970s, vocalist and composer Dominique Eade has stood out as a musician of exceptional quality. Combining conceptual daring with superb technique, she has won admirers around the world for her fearlessness and artistry.
Dominique Eade — “Go Gently To The Water”
Jazz music: Billie Holiday genius
by Warren
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Billie Holiday, Just Because…
“The Blues Are Brewing” with Louis Armstrong
Billie Holiday (born Elinore Harris;[1] April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed Lady Day[2] by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Above all, she was admired all over the world for her deeply personal and intimate approach to singing.
Critic John Bush wrote that she “changed the art of American pop vocals forever.”[3] She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably “God Bless the Child”, “Don’t Explain”, “Fine and Mellow”, and “Lady Sings the Blues”. She also became famous for singing jazz standards including “Easy Living” and “Strange Fruit”.
music: genius Ray Charles
by Warren
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Feeling Like Some Ray Charles This Morning
Yeah, Ray was a Republican. Nobody’s perfect. I’ve got a lot of work to do, so I’m not going to bother with wiki excerpts and biographical snippets. Just three excellent songs.
Education Personal Warren's music: Brother Blue genius memorial storytelling
by Warren
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Remembering The Greatest Storyteller in the World
Today was the memorial service for The Greatest Storyteller in the World. Hundreds of storytellers, musicians, dancers, artists, poets, professors, politicians and just plain folk gathered at Boston’s Cathedral of Saint Paul to celebrate the life and times of Brother Blue — The Greatest.
Brother Blue, aka Hugh Morgan Hill, died peacefully at home on November 3, 2009 at the age of 88. An internationally renowned storyteller, mentor to hundreds, inspiration to thousands…Brother Blue’s life exemplified his passionate belief that telling and listening to stories changes the world. His stories have changed the worlds of everyone who heard him.
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Brother Blue — Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill.
I was part of the memorial, held in Boston’s Cathedral of Saint Paul. I drove in with my tamboura and got stuck in traffic, but I was unable to curse my fate, for I was going to sing for Brother Blue, a man whose personal clock moved on mythic time.