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A jazz-waltz kind of week...

You Do Something to Me from The Bridge

Sonny Rollins is a mater of melody, perhaps even surpassing Ella Fitzgerald's masterful singing of this Cole Porter-penned standard. As for Jim Hall's guitar solo, I could take it or leave, but Rollins is phenomenal here. Rollins always was a the saxophone colossus when it comes to gentle swinging numbers or ballads. 

But Not For Me

A favorite standard of mine done right by Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. Infinitely better than Chet Baker's take, although I do like Baker's vocals. Now, an ideal combination would have been Miles and his band backing Baker singing the best standards. 

Glorified Calypso

Ware's moving tribute to Sonny Rollins, who helped popularize calypso in the jazz idiom, is new to me but worthwhile. The drummer on this track is actually reminiscent of the rhythms on Joe Henderson's "Caribbean Fire Dance," but still a lovely tribute to a 'colossus' of jazz. 

Abbey Lincoln's That's Him!

Abbey Lincoln’s 1957 That’s Him! is a wonderful delight. Opening with the slow, “Strong Man,” where Lincoln sings about her love for a large, dark, muscled, and shining man who folds around her. “Hair crisped tight and curly and cropped kinda close” indicates beyond a doubt, that Lincoln is singing in honour of the black male physiognomy, which, in 1958, was quite unheard of for lyrical material. In addition, her light-hearted tone and with the fun, black conscious lyrics from Oscar Brown, is enhanced by some soloing spaces for Kenny Dorham and Sonny Rollins, the latter going first through melodious runs. “Picture a lover like this” is Lincoln’s obvious, and rather direct, appreciation of black love. Thus, even before her closer relationship and marriage with Max Roach (who drums on this album), Lincoln was already engaged in her own pro-black sentiment and art, as well as choosing material that she would want, not predominantly white standards or apolitical work. “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” is another love song for a man, but with perfect piano comping while she lithely exudes notes through the mountainous curve of the song’s melody. “When he kisses me it’s Christmas everywhere” also indicates her willingness not to shy from sensuality, especially when her voice rises and falls. The question of a reciprocated love is still unknown, alas, but perhaps the potential unrequited love only improves the song until Rollins blows away another pretty solo. Then Lincoln’s soaring, unique voice also rises, becoming louder while maintaining the melismas necessary  to keep things from becoming boring. As one would expect from a jazz vocalist who can actually sing and emote, the listener is overcome with desire for Lincoln’s Joe to return her love.

She even pays tribute to Billie Holiday, singing “My Man” and “Don’t Explain.” The former is similar to some of Holiday’s 1950s recordings, with a very bare arrangement, centred on piano and voice. It’s a song full of despair, distress, and, clearly, self-inflicted domestic abuse to a certain degree since Lincoln, like Holiday, sings, “What’s the difference if I say I’ll go away when I know I’ll be back on my knees someday.” The band does a great job, however, providing the necessary atmosphere for the heart-breaking piece. Somehow, “Tender As a Rose,” a standard on a woman’s beauty, is just Lincoln’s vocals, and it evades the realm of boredom! Lincoln, always experimental and a risk-taker , does quite well without the band, showing that her voice stands alone. Next, “That’s Him!,” the title track, is another torch ballad love song, but one in which Lincoln defiantly proclaims who the man she loves is, instead of allowing herself to be claimed or described as an object of desire in some other songs. “Wonderful world, wonderful youth, that’s him, that’s him” and the stunning band accompaniment, such as Dorham’s muted trumpet, keeps things interesting, too. Lincoln, near the song’s end, injects some blues phrasing, too, showing individuality and her own personality in her interpretation of standard material. For “I Must Have That Man,” another standard well-sung by Holiday, begins with just percussion in response to Lincoln’s vocals. Another song obviously about love for a man, has Roach swinging joyously and the rest of the band joins it, adding some bop to the standard fare while Lincoln’s vocal phrasing, almost conversational, keeps up until Dorham’s solo. Then, after the instrumental break, Lincoln sings while the horns and piano provide back-up, sounding exquisitely jazzy with a big sound, reminding me of some of the songs from Dinah Jams. Despite Lincoln’s desire for a man who may reject her, the song gives the impression that she will be fine, however, if she does not have him, perhaps reflecting her boredom with so many of the misogynistic torch songs and ballads female jazz singers have been forced into recording, though the alternate take, in my opinion, is more soulfully bluesy with band accompaniment after the instrumental. Regardless, Lincoln makes it quite clear at the end she will have that man, and not be helpless and wait for male authority.

“Porgy,” standard material from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, is another ballad, which excels. With well-written lyrics from Gershwin, the song is delightful to hear. The instrumental improvisation from Dorham’s trumpet is ‘cute’ as well, though Lincoln’s vocal remains the highlight by far. “He’s got a good kind of love for me, changing my style and way of living, glad I stopped taking and starting giving, I got a man, I got Porgy now.” The alternate take surprisingly seems to feature even more melisma and fervour. The penultimate track, “When a Woman Loves a Man,” is a standard with sexist lyrics about how a woman in love wants to live her life for her man while men do not practice love that way. Nevertheless, things turn out to be a little bluesy with the band accompaniment, especially Sonny Rollins playing behind her and the pianist. “She’ll just string along all through sick and thin ‘til his ship comes in” continues the theme of the selfless, woman in love, who will be the first to praise him when he’s going strong, the last one to blame him when everything’s wrong, it’s such a one-sided game they play, but women are funny that way.” It’s hard to believe Lincoln ever believing this drivel, but she sings it in a seemingly sarcastic way with the moving band, showing off her blues shout at the song’s end. But all good things must come to an end, and “Don’t Explain,” by Billie Holiday, a song for a lover cheating on her, continues the theme of the selfless, tragic lover abused and scorned by men. Dorham and the bassist perform exceedingly well, here, particularly the former’s smooth solo. The walking bassline, soft swing, and Dorham’s mournful trumpet create an atmosphere of hushed talk, silent rage, and torn love. Thus, though not quite reaching the heights of Abbey Is Blue, this album is a powerful reminder of Lincoln’s already unique voice and style.

St. Thomas and Summertime: Converging Caribbean Influences In Rollins and Mingus

Charles Mingus recorded a funky, Latin-esque version of "Summertime" by Gershwin with Dannie Richmond and Hampton Hawes on piano. Check it out here. In it, Dannie Richmond plays a breathtaking Afro-Caribbean drum solo quite melodic. It seems likely that Richmond (and Mingus) were listening to Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus which was released in 1956, a year before Mingus's Trio album with Hampton Hawes and Dannie Richmond came out. Listen to Max Roach's solo on "St. Thomas" here and see what I am talking about. "St. Thomas" is based on a calypso tune called "Fire Down There," and I have written a previous blog post about the song that can be found here. Hilariously, Louis Farrakhan recorded a version of "Fire Down There" during his calypso singer days, but I have not be able to locate that on youtube to share...Anywho, if you listen closely, you can tell that Dannie Richmond was listening to Roach as well as Afro-Caribbean percussion. The drums are tuned in such a way and played in a polyrhythmic style that suggests the drummer is playing with the melody and engaging in dialogue with himself. In addition to Richmond's drumming on "Summertime," Mingus takes the listener down a "Latin path" with his ostinato playing. Like "St. Thomas," the song also switches between standard African-American jazz swing, and the Afro-Caribbean rhythms, particularly during Hampton Hawes's piano solo.

Sonny Rollins and Max Roach. The latter played on Saxophone Colossus.

In addition to influences from "St. Thomas" and Caribbean calypso, I argue Mingus was also listening to "Night in Tunisia" and Latin jazz more broadly. Listen to Mingus, Bud Powell, Gillespie, Parker, and Roach play "Night in Tunisia" here for an example of Mingus playing in the Latin jazz vein. The stylistic variation and back-and-forth between the straight swing and Cuban rhythms lacks the seamlessness of later forms of Latin jazz, which can also been seen in "Summertime." Nevertheless, it is clear that Mingus was taking influences from "Tunisia" and "St. Thomas" in his own rendition because of the obvious debt Richmond owes to Roach's solo on the latter song but also the fusion of Latin themes and rhythms (as well as the Latin ostinato from Mingus) that Gillespie helped popularize with songs like "Night in Tunisia."

The Origin of Sonny Rollins' St. Thomas

The unforgettable "St. Thomas" from Rollins' Saxophone Colossus is a great example of a jazz musician tapping his Caribbean roots. Rollins is the child of Caribbean immigrants from the Virgin Islands, and his mother's family came to the Virgin Islands from Haiti, if I remember correctly. St. Thomas is also one of the islands within the Virgin Islands, so although the song is of calypso origin, it's dedicated to the homeland of Rollins' parents.

In truth, Rollins was not the first to record the song. Better known as the calypso tune "Fire Down There" (with obvious sexual metaphors), it was recorded by Louis Farrakhan back when he was a calypso singer in the early 1950s and jazz pianist Randy Weston, who is also of West Indian (Jamaican) heritage. Now when Rollins has endeavored to explain the origin of the song, he claimed his mother sang it to him as a nursery rhyme. On another occasion, when interviewed Rollins stated the song came from a Danish song (Denmark had Caribbean colonies so it's not too far-fetched for a Danish song to spread in the Caribbean region). As previously stated, the song is "Fire Down There" and its most likely an original composition in the calypso style that became popular in Jamaica, Trinidad and perhaps other Anglophone Caribbean islands, such as the Virgin Islands.

Here is the earliest jazz recording of the song. By Randy Weston and titled "Fire Down There." Recorded in 1955, one year before Sonny Rollins recorded it for Saxophone Colossus. 

Here is the classic Sonny Rollins recording of the tune in 1956 which features great drumming from Max Roach.

And a live performance of the tune in the 1960s or round about then

Ska version of "Fire Down There" by The Skatalites in the 1960s

http://yankeedollar.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/helan-gar-dey/ Excellent site tracing the origins of St. Thomas

Here is a collection of unreleased Fela Kuti highlife recordings. The second track quotes part of the melody of "St. Thomas."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7CyDi5dTk&feature=related