Drummer Eddie Marshall

The Consumate Sideman
Friday, May 29, 2009

Eddie Marshall is perhaps one of the most talented, yet under recorded artists in the jazz idiom today. As both a drummer and a composer, his tasteful rhythmic support and compositional skills have been criminally underutilized on disc, leaving him adrift in a medium that could sorely benefit from having a complete musician of his caliber and refined taste. His standing may be a result of his own modest, laid back personality which shows no use for 'stardom,' but perhaps more so because of his insistence on remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area where despite the presence of Fantasy Studios, is not presently a recording center for the industry. But this is not to imply that Marshall is necessarily underemployed mind you. Not by any stretch of the imagination. He continues to lend his talents to many diverse and far reaching projects, while also spreading the wealth by teaching jazz music to a new generation of young adults and children, a passion he's embraced from early on in his career. Yet when it comes to a recorded legacy, his footprint while impressive, remains a relatively negligible one.

For nearly fifty years now, Marshall has done his utmost to keep the jazz flame alive west of the Mississippi River. One of the true guardians of Bay Area jazz, Eddie has not only been a consistent force, but a welcomed presence in the local scene despite his self-effacing claim that he's "just a drummer who has played with quite a lot of jazz celebrities." Humility aside, there is a certain amount of truth in that statement however. For instance, in the 1970's when he was the house drummer at the defunct, Keystone Korner, he supplied tasteful accompaniment for the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Mariano, Sam Rivers, Eddie Harris, and many, many others. He's also held a long standing musical camaraderie with Toshiko Akiyoshi, as well as a more than satisfying working relationship with Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby McFerrin, and the late, Stan Getz. On disc, he can be heard with diverse artists such as John Handy, Kenny Burrell, Archie Shepp, Ahmad Jamal, John Klemmer, and even The Pointer Sisters. It's an impressive resume all around, yet the mention of his name outside of jazz circles just might raise a question mark in the form of a blank stare.

Outside of the late Billy Higgins, Marshall is easily among the most tasteful drummers that any band leader could ever desire. Never a showman, Eddie is a presence that is almost felt rather than heard. His subtle rhythmic propulsion is the glue that holds the music together, there to support the soloists with a solid foundation of swing without ever stepping on their toes. Yet when he is called into the spotlight, he is more than capable of delivering the goods, sending it Federal Express and wrapped with a stylish bow on top. Any band player can tell you that if the drummer is off, the entire feel is lost and muddled. Eddie Marshall is never off. He is a consummate sideman, there when you need him with encouragement and support like he's your best friend in the world. It's no wonder then that he is in continual demand by many of the greatest players in jazz today from Marlena Shaw to Cedar Walton, Charles Llyod, Julian Priester, and others.

Among his finest recorded moments in my opinion, are those with vibraphonist, Bobby Hutcherson. Marshall was a member of Hutcherson's working and recording band through a particularly rewarding period in the latter's career, and Hutch in turn lent his talents to Eddie's first of only two recordings as a leader, the delightful 'Dance Of The Sun,' which was released in 1979. Before this fruitful association, Marshall was perhaps best known as a co-founder of the seminal fusion group, The Fourth Way along with Mike Nock, Michael White, and Ron McClure, an underrated band that never attained the commercial success of their electrified counterparts. Both ensembles represent the most enduring and best documented of Marshall's recorded output, and both are featured extensively in the mixes below with each set showcasing the two bands separately. But the centerpiece (in addition to his most excellent playing) is really Marshall's own compositions. It's unusual for a drummer to compose pieces of such sophistication, yet Marshall (who possesses formal training) is an accomplished writer whose works are simply superb, and truly deserving of greater acclaim. These pieces are marked with an asterisk for easy identification. The tracks in the first set are all from Marshall's work with Hutcherson, both as a leader and as a sideman. The second set features Marshall's contributions to Mike Nock and The Fourth Way when he was a member of that band. It should be noted that Eddie also recorded Almanac with Nock, along with Bennie Maupin and Cecil McBee, but the recording is currently out of print, and unfortunately not in my collection. In time, Marshall eventually released his second date as a leader in 1999, a mere 20 years after the first with 'Holy Mischief.' Although I don't possess a copy of this either, I have heard it and can testify to it's greatness, and I would highly recommend your seeking it out. Copies can be purchased directly from Eddie at his website.

In writing this, it has brought to mind for me just how much of a likable and deserving guy Eddie Marshall really is. And upon listening once again to the conversation that we recorded many years ago, I am also reminded of his openness, as well as his taste for adventure by placing himself in new musical situations and surroundings. To keep himself fresh, Marshall has involved himself over the years in desperate projects from funk to theater, classical to rhythm and blues, and even a stab at punk rock as he comically describes in the interview below. One of the tastiest drummers in music today, allow me to present to you the many talents of Eddie Marshall.

Eddie Marshall

1.) The High Priestess Of Gone*
2.) The Stroll*
3.) Dannielle*
4.) But I Refuse To Come Down*
5.) Andre*
Taken from 'Dance Of The Sun' with Eddie Marshall as leader

With Bobby Hutcherson
6.) Why Not
7.) Little B's Poem
8.) 'Til Then
9.) Houston St., Thursday Afternoon
10.) Waiting

Taken from Bobby Hutcherson dates with Bobby as leader, and featuring Eddie Marshall



Eddie Marshall with Mike Nock

1.) Every Man's Your Brother
2.) Sparky
3.) Bucklehuggin'
4.) Openings
5.) Gemini
6.) Mechanical Men
7.) The Sybil
8.) Sun And Moon Have Come Together
9.) Blues My Mind
10.) Farewell, Goodbye
11.) Skiffling
12.) Strange Love
Taken from The Fourth Way
13.) Wax Planet
14.) Hobgoblin
Taken from The Mike Nock Underground


The Eddie Marshall Interview



Source material for 'Eddie Marshall With Bobby Hutcherson' comes from the following recordings:
Dance Of The Sun/Eddie Marshall (1979)
Knucklebean/Bobby Hutcherson (1978)
The View From The Inside/Bobby Hutcherson (1977)
Waiting/Bobby Hutcherson (1976)

Source material for 'Eddie Marshall With Mike Nock' comes from the following recordings:
The Fourth Way/The Fourth Way (1969)
Sun And Moon Have Come Together/The Fourth Way (1970)
Between Or Beyond/The Mike Nock Underground (1970)

The two music samples come from Eddie's participation with:
Bebop And Beyond/ST (1984) and Larry Vuckovich/City Sounds, Village Voices (1982)

For more info on Eddie Marshall, please visit his website.

The Best Beat Combo You've Never Heard

The Rationals Of Ann Arbor, MI
Friday, May 22, 2009
(For Leonard and his Red Telephone)

The greater Detroit area has always been a hot bed for outstanding musical talent. In the jazz idiom, the Motor City gave us the likes of Kenny Clarke, Yusef Lateef, Tommy Flanagan, Elvin Jones, Curtis Fuller, and Donald Byrd. Along with them, the list also includes Paul Chambers, Jimmy Garrison, Pepper Adams, Bennie Maupin, Frank Rosolino, Kenny Burrell, and of course the members of the Tribe collective who were featured in these pages previously. Additionally, nearly all of the early Motown artists were born and bred in the city as well, and you're no doubt familiar with many of the names in that talented crew. Detroit City also gave us soul shouters like Barrett Strong, Jackie Wilson, and Hank Ballard, along with the ultimate funkster and super freak, George Clinton. In the well documented rock arena, the gritty Motor City spawned the kick ass, all out assaults of The Stooges, MC5, The Amboy Dukes, Scott Richard Case (a.k.a. SRC), and The Up, not to mention Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and many others. The trend continues even today to include new additions such as The White Stripes and The Detroit Cobras. But one of the absolute greatest bands to emerge from the cultural triangle of Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti (home to three major university's within a 40 mile radius) were a Beat group that failed to reach the same level of national acceptance as their contemporaries ---- the fabulous Rationals of A2, Michigan. Although huge among their regional audience, the band quite regretably never succeeded in moving up to the next level, leaving them to remain a mere (but beloved) footnote in the annuls of Midwestern rock n' roll. Forming in 1962, singers/guitarists Scott Morgan and Steve Correll led what was to become one of the saddest tales of an extraordinary band that managed to only flirt with stardom, never quite managing to find wider acclaim outside of their immediate environs. The story is a convoluted trail of mismanagement, bad luck, legal quagmires, and poor timing, but I'll try to explain it nonetheless.

Along with ? and The Mysterians and Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels before them, The Rationals were among the first of their regional peers to emerge from the garage and into the spotlight in the mid-1960's, an exciting proto-punk/blue-eyed soul teen combo who grew up amidst the heady milieu of British Beat and Motown Soul. The perfect Mod band, complete with crunchy guitars, moptops, smart matching suits, soulful crooning, and plenty of attitude in the form of teenage angst. Born in the age of AM radio, The Rationals were primarily a singles band, producing the bulk of their recorded output for a variety of small labels with zero promotion and poor distribution, travelling to neighboring towns to play weekend sock hops and all ages dance halls, hawking their platters to local radio stations along the way in the hope of breaking one of their 45's to a broader listening audience. In frontman, Scott Morgan, the band was blessed with a powerful lead singer who not only had pipes, but also the necessary charisma to front the perfect pop combo, an worthy adversary to Steve Marriott and Rod 'The Mod' Stewart.* Young guitarist, Steve Correll had already done his homework absorbing the flair of greats like Pete Townshend, Dave Davies, and Creation's Eddie Phillips to become a Stateside equivalent. Adding the underpinnings of bassist, Terry Trebandt and drummer, Bill Figg, the rhythm section supplied the propulsion and groove that allowed the quartet to easily vacillate between wild rave-ups and spirited R&B, employing Beatle-esqe harmonies behind the expressively emotional crooning of Morgan, a righteous soul man if ever there was one. Harboring the ultimate garage band approach, The Rationals could potentially be categorized as an amalgamation of the best of The Small Faces, The Kinks, early Who, The Young Rascals, The Yardbirds, and pre-psych Pretty Things, as well as offering a healthy dollop of Stax/Motown soul. A dream jukebox of danceable, sweaty, pumped up, soul stirring, ass shaking, kinetic energy primed to explode at any moment! Yet recognition outside of the Tri-City area remained elusive for them, largely as a result of their well intended, but misguided management who kept them locked into the same stylistic bag at a time when others were morphing into grungy Stooges, or quasi-psychedelic prophets.

The band soldiered on however (still a favorite among their local following) and over time, managed to appear on countless occasions as an opening act at the fabled Detroit Grande Ballroom, sharing the stage with the créme de la créme of the era. They were also able to transcend a few of their setbacks to record a full length album when they eventually manged to break ties with their management, releasing a self titled LP for the Crewe label. Again however, poor promotion and spotty distribution prevented it, and them from finding the elusive stardom they so justly deserved. While their peers were growing in stature, The Rationals found themselves with too little, too late. As the major labels swooped through Detroit handing out contracts to anyone with more than an ounce of talent (those mentioned previously being the exception), Scott, Steve, Terry, and Bill had to swallow the most bitter of pills --- the acceptance that they were a crack band who through no fault of their own had managed come up a day late, and a dollar short. The first to emerge, but the last to succeed. By 1970, the band called it quits, demoralized and dejected after eight long years in the rock n' roll trenches, having gone from high school garage band to seasoned pros able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best. For those who have fond memories of the band, the saddest part surrounding the rich history of The Rationals is that their recorded legacy has never been officially compiled or reissued, not even to this very day. Locked up in litigation over ownership rights, the early singles and the LP have sat languishing somewhere in a vault, never to be heard again. And this despite reissues from a myriad of sub-par garage/punk/soul bands that also flourished during the era with not 1/10th the talent or excitement of The Rationals. If not a criminal oversight, the holding back of their music is certainly an unfortunate and unforgivable one. The Rationals were an exceptional band --- young, brash, electrifying, and extremely musical. It's time to step up to the plate and rectify this wrong once and for all. Overlooked in their lifetime, The Rationals were too great a band to be forgotten, and their recorded legacy can no longer afford to be neglected.

About The Music

The music included in the sets below is not entirely new in the blogging community. I was able to obtain many of the singles for the 'Anthology' set from Bruunski Beat and Pablo 'Pochola' Cazorla's Garage Music site. Mucho gracias, amigos. I'm not exactly certain just who might have been responsible for gathering them all up, but someone, somewhere in their infinite wisdom saw fit to collect as many of The Rationals 45 rpm releases that were available, and transfer them into a digital format (unofficially, of course). It should be noted that they are direct transfers from the original singles and therefore reflect varying degrees in vinyl quality. But what they may lack in fidelity is more than compensated for in the sheer vitality of the performances. For instance, check out 'Turn On,' which in reality was a simple radio jingle for an Ann Arbor men's shop called Danby's. Despite it's intent, the band tear into it like a house on fire, snarling their way through the two minute song as though their lives depended upon it. It's an incredible, and quite memorable listen. And although a few more singles are additionally available, I've only included those that are the most listenable (in terms of audio quality). I've also included a few tracks from The Rationals self titled LP which comes from my own library, and for which I'm proud to say has been in my possession since it's initial release some 30 years ago. Furthermore, I found two audio only performances on YouTube ('Hold On Baby' and 'Monkey Time') that came from a very small window in the 1990's when the band briefly reunited to play a benefit for the family of the late Rob Tyner, former lead singer for the MC5.

In addition to the extremely listenable and funky cover tunes they included, the Crewe LP was the last official recording by The Rationals, and it demonstrated a growing maturity in their original songcraft and playing abilities, and gives a slight nod of the head to the psychedelia of the day. Beyond the use of an ocassional special effect, the 'period' touch to which I elude manifests itself primarily in the form of each track having been loosely linked together with instrumental excerpts from the LP's finale, the exquisite 'Ha-Ha.' It's a simple gimmick, but hardy psychedelic. Rather, the record on a whole actually plays like a marvelous demo recording that showcases the many strengths and styles the band had mastered through the years. Listening to it today in hindsight can only make one wonder just what greatness they might have been able to accomplish had they been giving the budget, production, and the all necessary morale to continue on. But all in all, it's a superb LP. A real time capsule, and the type of record that would never get made today. It, along with the bands singles is music that is simply too good to forget as they're conceivably among the most exciting Beat combo you'll ever get to hear. Their catalog truly needs to be lovingly compiled and made available once again for the digital age, but until that day arrives ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Rationals as best I can.

*Morgan was actually tapped to replace Al Kooper in Blood, Sweat & Tears when Kooper left the band, but Morgan's loyalty to The Rationals, along with his friendship with Kooper prevented him from accepting. Who knows if the future of that band would have turned out differently had Morgan accepted the invitation.

Anthology

1.) Not Like It Is
2.) Temptation 'Bout To Get Me
3.) Handbags & Gladrags
4.) Something's Got A Hold On Me
5.) Barefootin'
6.) Feelin' Lost
7.) Little Girls Cry (Deon's Song)
8.) Respect
9.) Leavin' Here
10.) I Need You
11.) Look What You've Done
12.) Sing
13.) Gloria
14.) Poor Dog
15.) Turn On
(Danby's Men Shop Spot)
16.) I Need You
17.) Zippity-Do-Dah
18.) Leavin Here '67
19.) Out In The Streets
(Sing reissued as an instrumental)
20.) Smokestack Lightnin'/Inside Looking Out
21.) Hold On Baby
22.) Monkey Time


The Rationals

1.) Barefootin' (Segue)
2.) Temptation 'Bout To Get Me (Segue)
3.) Guitar Army (Segue)
4.) Something's Got A Hold On Me (Segue)
5.) Deep Red
6.) Sunset (Segue)
7.) Glowin' (Segue)
8.) Handbags & Gladrags
9.) Ha-Ha

Iron Oxide And Digital Dust

Frank Zappa's 
Musique Concréte And Synclavier Compositions,
The Abnucleus Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra
And The Mothers Of Invention,
Plus His Aposotolic V/Blorch Injector,
 Variable Speed Oscillation And
The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort
 All Reconstructed
(And In Some Cases, Partially De-Constructed)
As A Brand New Project/Object
 Friday, May 15, 2009



About The Music

As loosely quoted from Neil Slaven's, 'Electric Don Quixote,' "the project/object was the means by which Frank Zappa incorporated every aspect of his work into an undefined grand design." This means that every sound, every song, every record, every performance, and even the little incidentals were all integrated into a unified whole, held together by Zappa's 'conceptual continuity.' In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Zappa explained it further stating, "It's all one album. All the material is organically related. If I collected each of the master tapes, I could take a razor blade and cut them all apart. Then I could put them back together in a different order and it would still make one coherent piece of music that you could listen to." Because of his notions surrounding conceptual continuity and the project/object concept, Zappa's oeuvre has proven to be one of the most fun, and fascinating to piece together in any variety of configurations while still having it make sense to the enlightened listener. And this is what I have set out to accomplish with the set below.

Despite his enormous catalog, Frank's musique concréte and synclavier compositions have always been among my most favorite in his extensive songbook, excluding of course any performance from the original Mothers of Invention. So when I started this project, my intentions were simply to compile those works into one straight up comprehensive mix. Nothing fancy, just a simple overview. But as I began to ponder Zappa's theories, I decided instead to create an entirely new project/object based on my original idea. Utilizing all of the components listed above in the subtitle, I reconstructed them all into a 'unified whole,' paying keen attention to variances in tempo, ebb and flow, conceptual continuity, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Jeez, does anybody really care? Well yeah, I suppose I do. But that's only because it was me who pieced the damn thing together. But really, this isn't a dissertation or a Master's thesis now, is it? No, it's just a another music blog that the world could easily live without, so who needs the analytics? Statistics are a bore. Anyway, I also decided to include one or two short orchestral works just for kicks, but they do work in with the overall theme. So where was I? Oh yeah, reconstruction and all that ---- challenging, fun-filled entertainment for the entire family.

Where I really began treading on shaky ground was when I took license to actually de-construct a few of Frank's pieces. After all, who am I to tamper with someone else's material, let alone a Master's? But I really wanted to test Zappa's contention that if one were to "take a razor blade and cut (his material) apart, then (one) could (conceivably) put them back together in a different order and it would still make one coherent piece of music that you could listen to." It's one thing to assemble a cohesive set of music from divergent sources, but to create a wholly new piece of music from those same sources is quite another. I primarily took that liberty with 'Lumpy Gravy' and 'What Is That Doing In Here?,' the latter being an outtake from the same sessions that was recently released on the 'Lumpy Money' three disc set. In doing so, I constructed a seven part suite entitled, 'The Lumpy Ingredients,' which although may sound similar to what you've come to know (if you're already familiar with Zappa's original composition) is actually an entirely new piece rearranged using the native segments, plus a few new herbs and spices. But maybe I'm giving myself more credit than I actually deserve. I certainly don't claim any authorship or copyright on what I've constructed. It's merely creative assemblage as any good sound editor can do. What it's meant to be is Frank's music and concept put to the acid test, and successfully, I hope. I'd like to think that if he were still with us today, he might actually approve. But I seriously doubt it. I might also hope that those of you who are purists, as well as the members of the Zappa Family Trust will additionally not take issue with the latitude I've taken, but rather applaud it for further demonstrating with my most sincere and loving respect, Frank's wonderful musical legacy, and his notions of conceptual continuity and project/object. Having just stated my reverence, I should also point out that I additionally changed a few song titles. Did I forget to mention that? Call me a sacrilegious heathen. I don't mean to be. I'm enamored with Frank's musical genius. Really, I am.

Iron Oxide & Digital Dust

1.) The Original Duke Of Prunes
2.) "A Heck Of A Little Teenage Opera"
 [Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme/The Birth Of Captain Beefheart]
3.) Power Trio Segment From 'Saints & Sinners'
4.) Bossa Nova Pervertamento
5.) Put A Motor In Yourself
6.) Toads Of The Short Forest
7.) Amnerkia
8.) A Pound For A Brown On A Bus
9.) The Dick Kunc Story
10.) The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny
11.) Get A Little Pig With Wings
[Get A Little (Intro)/A Pig With Wings]
12.) The World's Greatest Sinner Meets The Mother People
 [World's Greatest Sinner/Mother People]
13.) Navanax
14.) Does This Kind Of Life Look Interesting To You?
[The Living Garbage Truck/A Typical Sound Check/"This Is Neat!"]
15.) The Big Squeeze
16.) Basement Music #1
17.) Weasels Ripped My Flesh
18.) The Lumpy Ingredients Suite
 Part One: How Did That Get In Here? 
[How Did That Get In Here?, Pt.1: Lumpy Gravy Outtake Featuring 'Oh No']
19.) Part Two: Linda Ronstadt & FZ Shill For The Remington Electric Razor
20.) Part Three: A Bit Of Nostalgia For The Old Folks
21.) Part Four: How Did That Almost Chinese Bored Out 90 Over Get In Here?
[HDTGIH?, Pt.2: Lumpy Gravy Outtake/Bored Out 90 Over/Almost Chinese]
22.) Part Five: The Girl In The Magnesium Dress
23.) Part Six: Why Is That Still In Here?
[HDTGIH?, Pt.3: Lumpy Gravy Outtake]
24.) Part Seven: Gravy Drippings [The Lumpy Variety] 
[LG: Switching Girls/Another Pickup/I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again (Excerpts)]
25.) Randomonium
26.) Opus 1, No. #3, 2nd Movement, Presto
27.) Night School
28.) A Dwarf Nebula With Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague
[Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula (Pt.2)
Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague (Pt. 2)]
29.) Lonely Little Girl [Single Version (Extended Remix)] 
[Lonely Little Girl (LP & 45)/Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance]
30.) Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
31.) Golden Arches 
[The Legend Of The Golden Arches (Pt.2)]





The source material for 'Iron Oxide & Digital Dust' comes from the following recordings:

Lumpy Gravy (1967)/We're Only In It For The Money (1968)
Uncle Meat (1969)/Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)/The Perfect Stranger (1984)
Francesco Zappa (1984)/Jazz From Hell (1986)/'Tis The Season To Be Jelly (1991)
Playground Psychotics (1992)/Civilization, Phaze III (1994)
The Lost Episodes (1996)/Mystery Disc (1998)/Lumpy Money (2009)

My Mother's Eyes

Tracing The Lineage
Friday, May 08, 2009

When my mother emigrated to America from her hometown in Italy, she entered the corridors of Ellis Island in search of promise, a new home, and a new life. Young Jean Gloria Mancini presented her papers to the immigration authorities as instructed, and was then asked to state her name for the official registration. With her thick Italian accent, she willingly obliged. "Mancini," she declared, "Jean Gloria. Age 19." The government agent scribbled madly in a ledger, and again on her entry forms. After thoroughly reviewing her paperwork, he then sent her own her way into the bustling streets of New York City with a dismissive nod of the head, mumbling insincerely, "Welcome to The United States of America." It was only sometime later when she sought to apply for citizenship that she discovered there had been a glaring mistake. Mancini as heard through her Italiano intonation had been incorrectly interpreted as Mangini. You see, Man(g)ini is a distinctly Americanized bastardization of the name Man(c)ini. As spoken by an Italian, the ci in Mancini is pronounced with a ch inflection, therefore becoming Manchini. With her inherent accent, Manc(h)ini was then thought to be Mangini, and from that point forward she was not only given entrance for the new life she came to commence, but was also christened with a new name. A misleading name that sounded almost something like an Italian hoagy instead of a pretty, young girl --- Jean Mangini. Later, she again adopted another new name, although this time it was by choice rather than misconstruction. That was when she met the hip fella who became her husband. That fella of course was my father, a great man himself whose taste in music I've previously spoke of in these very pages.

Throughout my life, I've often been told of my resemblance to Jean Gloria. Specifically that I possess my mother's eyes, large brown orbs that radiate with kindness, wisdom, and a certain sadness that comes with the burden of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulder's. Eyes that emit an old world Mediterranean quality that speaks of hard work, pride in family, and the Italian/Christian woman's ethic of always putting the needs of those around her well above those of her own at whatever cost. I see the similarity myself when I catch my reflection in a mirror, and I'm proud to carry her looks, although I rarely perceive the caring qualities in my own eyes that are held in hers. Sadly, all I see are downcast windows to my own soul. Dark, tired, puffy, and often appearing forsaken with the shades pulled down.

Like my father, my mother too has an exceptional ear for music. Though neither possess a formal background, they both appreciate good sounds and welcome them with enthusiasm. While my father's taste leans strictly towards jazz, my mother's preferences tends to run a bit more eclectic, embracing everything from country western and swing, to rock, jazz, soul, and r&b. And I must say, that which she does embrace is always exceptional, and in my opinion, rather sophisticated. In tribute to Jean Gloria Mangini this Mother's Day, I'd like to feature some of those very sounds that have always managed to bring a smile to her face, as well as a gleam to those sad eyes of hers that I now carry too. I hope that you'll like them as well. The sounds, I mean.

My Mother's Eyes

1.) Yearnin'/The Three
(Joe Sample, Ray Brown & Shelly Manne)
2.) Poinciana/Ahmad Jamal
3.) Paper Doll/The Mills Brothers
4.) This Is Always/Cal Tjader
5.) You're Stronger Than Me/Patsy Cline
6.) The Gypsy/Doug Sahm
7.) My Mother's Eyes/Sonny Stitt
8.) News From Up The Street/Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
9.) I Cried Last Night/Charles Brown
10.) I Do It For Your Love/Bill Evans & Toots Thielemans
11.) Penthouse Serenade/Marianne Faithfull
12.) San Antonio Rose/Vassar Clements & David Bromberg
13.) Baby Mine/Bonnie Raitt & Don Was
14.) Malibu Breeze/Richie Cole
15.) Gypsy Woman/The Impressions
16.) When The Sun Comes Out/Art Pepper

2 X 2

In The Long Form
May 01, 2009
No.#5 in a series


1.) Yesternow/Miles Davis
with Herbie Hancock/John McLaughlin/Steve Grossman
Michael Henderson and Billy Cobham
Engineering, Production, and Construction by Teo Macero
Taken from 'A Tribute To Jack Johnson'/Columbia Records

Miles Davis' 'Jack Johnson' soundtrack is generally overshadowed by the mysterious soundscape of 'In A Silent Way,' and of course the groundbreaking, 'Bitches Brew,' both of which proceeded the 1970 soundtrack to William Cayton's film of the same name. Although Miles entered the studio in April of 1970 with the musicians listed above to record 'Yesternow,' the track additionally contains leftover excerpts from 'Shh/Peaceful,' which was recorded the previous year, and features Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, and Tony Williams.

This is where the magic of producer, Teo Macero comes into play. Miles often during this period would merely lay down the raw material for an album, leaving it up to Macero to find a way of piecing it together to work as a unified piece. Through countless hours of listening and editing, Macero would take those components and fashion them into the final product that we would eventually come to accept as the completed masterwork. And masterworks the were, weaving disparate elements into a cohesive, and listenable whole.

'A Tribute To Jack Johnson' largely fell through the cracks upon its release, but has gone on to rank as another fascinating stepping stone in Davis' on-going quest for 'New Directions In Jazz.'

2.) Sex/The Necks
with Chris Abrahams/Llyod Swanton and Tony Buck

Taken from 'Sex'/Private Music

Hailing from Down Under, The Necks have made an art form out of the creation of beguiling, hypnotic minimalism. The missing link perhaps between trance and jazz improvisation. With slow building, ever evolving rhythms that flow like a river, The Necks musical current rolls unhurriedly over the rocks and boulders, sand and rubble to slowly unveil the kinetic energy that runs beneath the surface, occasionally allowing the mysteries below to rise to the top, only to submerge again and wash away. Mesmerizing, bewitching, and a perfect accompaniment to the proceeding track.

.

2 x 2 (In The Long Form)