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Los Angeles Jazz Scene
JAZZ AROUND TOWN - FEBRUARY 2010
TWO RECENT CONCERTS
Of all of the groups that emerged during the Retro Swing movement of the 1990s, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is one of
the most durable of the survivors. The group, expanded from seven pieces to nine, is fronted by one of its founders,
guitarist-singer Scotty Morris. The band put on an exciting high energy show at Disney Hall on New Year's Eve that did
not let up for a moment. Since its most recent CD is a tribute to Cab Calloway (How Big Can You Get?), some of the
songs are associated with Cab including “Calloway Boogie,” “Reefer Man,” “The Old Man Of The Mountain” and of
course “Minnie The Moocher.” Other tunes included “I Want To Be Just Like You” (Louis Prima's feature in the Jungle
Book), the group's two trademark songs “You And Me And The Bottle Make Three (Tonight)” and “So Long, Farewell,
Bye Bye,” and a variety of jump tunes. Each of the five horn soloists had their chances to shine, particularly the
impressive high note trumpeter Tony Bonsera, the lyrical trumpeter Glen “The Kid” Marhevka, trombonist Alex
Henderson, and the honking but versatile tenor-saxophonist Karl Hunter. A trio of scantily-clad female dancers were
used quite effectively on three numbers, particularly “Minnie The Moocher,” and throughout the night Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy performed music that was near the intersection of swing, jump and early rock & roll. It was quite fun.
Trumpeter Miles Evans recently debuted his new group named after his late father (the Gil Evans Band) at Catalina's.
Actually there were only a few hints of Gil Evans' music so perhaps at this time the band should be known as the Miles
Evans Group. In any case, the playing by the septet (Evans, Bob Sheppard on reeds, guitarist Oz Noy, keyboardist
Larry Goldings, electric bassist Daryl Jones, drummer Kenwood Dennard and baritonist Pablo Guerrero who mostly
played ensembles) was full of fire, spirit and high musicianship. The music was essentially 1970s fusion with some
funk, hard bop and freer sections. The group performed “Stone Free” (with Sheppard sounding a bit like Joe
Henderson), “Them Changes,” “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” and a pair of Jaco Pastorius songs (“Dania” and “Teen
Town”). The rhythm section, driven by Jones, was outstanding, Evans took some fine solos (inspired by Freddie
Hubbard, and the band showed great potential.
DVD ROUNDUP
The six-DVD set Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz & Swing is a remarkable collection of short films, mostly dating from
1931-42. First the bad news. The packaging is largely nonexistent beyond the cover. There is no book or liner notes,
and the only information that one gets is the listing of the short's titles on the back cover. When it comes to identifying
soloists, viewers are left on their own. Why the folks at Warner Archives would go to the trouble of reissuing this often-
priceless material and not even give basic information is hard to understand.
63 complete shorts are included. They are fully restored and the quality of the picture and sound is great. The first
disc has Roger Wolfe Kahn's band in The Yacht Party (with an uncredited Artie Shaw taking a hot solo six years
before he became famous), The Audition (with singer Hannah Williams) and nine shorts that were part of the Ramblin'
Round Radio Row series during 1932-35. The latter has cameo appearances by a lot of performers (mostly singers)
along with weak comedy. The Boswell Sisters, Kate Smith and Baby Rose Marie are most memorable.
The second disc has shorts by African-Americans with appearances by the Nicholas Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney,
the Claude Hopkins orchestra with a young Roy Eldridge, Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Ethel Waters, Sammy Davis Jr.
(as a child) and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (who has a lengthy tap number on “King for A Day).
The other four CDs are comprised of band shorts from the swing era. Featured are the orchestras of Artie Shaw (his
best moments on film), Isham Jones, Ben Pollack, Red Nichols, Harry Reser, Jimmie Lunceford, Cab Calloway, Jimmy
Dorsey, Glen Gray and Stan Kenton among others. Jamming The Blues with Lester Young is here along with an
exciting appearance by Eddie Condon and Bobby Hackett on Saturday Night Swing Club.
Despite the packaging, Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz & Swing (available from wbshop.com) is essential for all jazz on
film collectors.
Don Ellis was a unique musician. A trumpeter, bandleader and arranger-composer, Ellis was a pioneer in mixing
together jazz with classical music, an innovator in utilizing a quarter-tone trumpet and electronic attachments on horns,
one of the first jazz musicians to utilize rhythms and melodies from India, Turkey and the Middle East, and arguably the
leader of the first jazz/rock fusion orchestra. Best remembered for his band's mastery of unusual time signatures
(including 15/16, 9/4 and 33/16), Ellis' early death (in 1978 when he was just 44) has resulted in him being a bit
forgotten. The 68-minute film Electric Heart, which was put together lovingly by John Vizzusi, is quite intriguing. A
variety of Ellis' sidemen and his former boss Maynard Ferguson tell interesting stories (particularly pianist Milcho
Leviev) and many aspects of Ellis' short but productive life are covered.
On the minus side, other than “Bulgarian Bulge,” the performance footage tends to be brief and missing from the main
film are Ellis' two most famous songs: “Indian Lady” and his trademark 7/4 romp “Pussy Wiggle Stomp.” Nothing is said
about Ellis' first successes as a big band leader, the chronology is confusing, and some of his innovations (such as
the unusual instrumentation of his various bands) is overlooked, as is the fact that he also played drums with his
orchestra. But there is a great deal here (including quite a few extended interviews in the bonus section) and a new
appraisal of Don Ellis' accomplishments is so long overdue that Electric Heart (available from www.donellisfilm.com)
helps to fill the gap and is well worth seeing. Now if only the Don Ellis Orchestra's filmed appearance at the 1969
Concord Jazz Festival could be released in full.
A series of hour-long jazz documentaries produced for the Masters Of American Music series and aired on PBS in the
early 1990s have been reissued on DVD and made available by Naxos (www. naxos.com). Three focus on specific jazz
greats and each is rewarding. Lady Day: The Many Faces Of Billie Holiday is a definitive portrayal of Billie Holiday. It
de-emphasizes Lady Day's difficulties in her personal life and instead focuses on her musical career. Such luminaries
as Carmen McRae, Milt Gabler, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Buck Clayton, Annie Ross and Mal Waldron talk about
Holiday's life, and their comments alternate with film clips from her career. The Billie Holiday story is told factually and
in a matter-of-fact manner, showing that the truth is often more interesting than the usual sensational fiction. In
addition to the more familiar film clips (including “Fine And Mellow” although not Holiday's 1950 short with the Count
Basie Septet), some fairly rare television appearances from 1958-59 add to the DVD's value.
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph Of Charlie Parker was originally released in conjunction with Gary Giddins' book
Celebrating Bird. Giddins wrote and directed this excellent documentary. All of the silent footage of Parker is included
along with his TV appearance with Dizzy Gillespie, playing “Hot House” in 1952. Interviews with such notables as Jay
McShann, Dizzy Gillespie, Leonard Feather, Roy Haynes, Frank Morgan and two of Bird's wives result in storytelling
that is often heartwarming and witty, filling in the life story of a remarkable and complex if tragic genius.
Thelonious Monk: American Composer does justice to the life and music of Thelonious Monk. There are many film
clips along with comments from Barry Harris, Billy Taylor, Ben Riley, T.S. Monk and Monk's sister Marion White that
help unravel the mysteries behind Monk's life and music. Although not quite on the level of Straight No Chaser, this
film is also recommended.
A major contrast is the 98-minute The Story Of Jazz, which sort of attempts to cover the first 90 years of jazz history.
Those viewers who are familiar with Ken Burns' Jazz will be surprised to find nearly all of its ideas and faults included
in this earlier and much briefer film. Even some of the interviews are the same as Burns used. The premise of The
Story Of Jazz (written by Chris Albertson who should have known better) is that jazz's golden age was 1925-65 and
little of the music that took place afterward is worthwhile. Emphasizing the 1920s and '30s, this documentary either
writes off or does not mention cool jazz, hard bop, soul jazz, dixieland, the avant-garde (other than Ornette Coleman)
and white musicians (other than Bix Beiderbecke). The 1970s and '80s are largely skipped. before there is a
surprisingly optimistic finish. Fans of Ken Burns Jazz may want this much less expensive alternative but few others will
be interested in the incomplete and often inaccurate film, which is riddled with errors and omissions.
Finally, Diana Krall's Live In Rio (available from www.eaglerockent.com) is a two-DVD set that is beautifully
photographed. The first DVD, which features Krall with her current quartet (guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John
Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton) plus a quiet orchestra on some selections, is fine but rather predictable,
particularly for those who already own her Live In Paris DVD. The repertoire has her usual swing standards (including
a rapid “I Love Being Here With You,” “Let's Fall In Love” and “Frim Fram Sauce”) plus a few Brazilian jazz tunes.
However the second DVD, while repeating many selections, has some surprising moments. Eight songs played at a
benefit concert in Toronto (including six heard on the first DVD) are unusual in that Krall is featuring as a solo singer-
pianist, giving her a chance to stride a bit and also utilize silence on the ballads. Three songs from Madrid have her
joined by Wilson and an unidentified bassist and drummer while two from Lisbon have guitarist Russell Malone in the
group in an unexpected reunion. There are also four songs from “the Rio Roof Top Session” without a piano that have
Krall, Wilson and Hamilton informally performing numbers in a noisy lounge. Add in an interview section plus two
videos and there is a great deal of material that Diana Krall's fans will definitely want.