For Jazz Friday this week, I’d like to feature one of my favorite pianists of all time, Bill Evans (website)(Wikipedia). Evans was one of the pioneers of the modal jazz movement and a significant influence on Miles Davis with the Kind of Blue album (iTunes)(Apple Music), the best-selling jazz album of all time. I once read an article about how Davis used to call Evans just to ask him to play the piano over the phone. I believe it. I think Evans’s collaborations with Davis were some of his best, but Evans also did some pretty remarkable stuff in his solo career. One of my favorite compositions from Evans is “Waltz for Debby” (iTunes)(Apple Music). It has a little lilting melody that just makes you smile.

After leaving Miles Davis, Bill Evans had a solo career including several groups he put together through the rest of his life. No matter whom he played with, however, the music always showed his influence in those wonderful impressionist-inspired modal tones and themes. Aside from his work on the Kind of Blue album, my next favorite album from Evans is The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (iTunes)(Apple Music). That album gets a lot of play in my library.

Joey Alexander, the jazz piano prodigy that continues to surprise me, released a new album, Joey. Monk. Live!, (iTunes)(Apple Music) where he played music from Thelonious Monk. I’ve written it before but I can’t get over how Joey plays with so much fire. I’ve heard a lot of prodigies that are technically excellent but yet their music still lacks soul. That’s not the case with Joey. This is a great album for the weekend.

If you’re building up your library of jazz standards, you definitely need tot add Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage (iTunes)(Apple Music) to the list. Maiden Voyage was the name of Herbie Hancock’s 1965 album and the title track. The song has a great sort-of motion feel to it. Herbie explained once that his idea of this song was to capture “the splendor of a sea-going vessel on its maiden voyage.” I can see that.

To me, Maiden Voyage is a bit of sublime modal, post-bop jazz that some days is exactly I need. I particularly like the way George Coleman goes a bit off the rails at the end of the sax solo but, of course, I would.

If you are interested in jazz and you’ve never fallen down the Herbie Hancock rabbit hole (Wikipedia), you probably should. He’s remarkably talented and, by all accounts, a swell guy (and a bit of a geek). 

Recently I was riding in my daughter’s car and she was playing the soundtrack from Baby Driver  (iTunes) (Apple Music) and this song came on that blew my mind a little bit. After a little investigation, I discovered it was a jazz band from the late 60’s and early 70’s from Houston Texas known as the Kashmere Stage Band. Further investigation revealed this was not a band formed of seasoned professionals but instead high school kids. Bandleader and teacher Conrad O. Johnson wrote arrangements for his band that were a unique mix of jazz and funk and he got such a sound out of his band. It just makes you want to dance. It’s a crazy story that eventually became the subject of a documentary film, Thunder Soul, (YouTube) produced by Jamie Foxx. You don’t have to go that deep if you don’t want to, however. Just stream or buy their album, Thunder Soul, and prepare yourself for some big band jazz, unlike anything you’ve heard before. 

Ricky Dover, Jr. tweeted Thelonious Monk’s bandstand notes from 1960. Great stuff … for anybody. You dig?

This edition of Jazz Friday features composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn (Apple Music) (Wikipedia). Billy started his musical career as a classical music enthusiast and wanted to become a classical composer. This never came to fruition, partly because racism. Eventually, however, Billy found a love for jazz and brought his classical music knowledge to jazz. He wrote Lush Life while still in high school!

In 1938 Billy met Duke Ellington which resulted in a collaboration that lasted the rest of his life. Strayhorn’s musical sensibilities fit perfectly with Duke’s vision for his own orchestra. As Duke later explained, “Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine.”

Billy Strayhorn, a diminutive, mild-mannered, unselfish, and openly gay man in a time of extreme prejudice, is a jazz legend. Just a few of his songs are Take the ‘A’ Train (iTunes),Such Sweet Thunder (iTunes), and Chelsea Bridge (iTunes). I love listening to Billy Strayhorn jazz. There is a level of subtlety in it that you won’t find many places. His sense of harmony and syncopation, mixed with that original love of classical music combine to make something special. Billy and Duke also collaborated to write the music score for the motion picture, Anatomy of a Murder (iTunes). This was the first African-American-written score for a motion picture.

There’s a lot of great Billy Strayhorn music out there but if you’d like to just get one album, I’d check out Masters of Jazz – Billy Strayhorn (iTunes).

Last Jazz Friday I wrote about prodigy Joey Alexander and received a lot of feedback from readers that are now Joey Alexander fans. So this time I thought I’d cover another prodigy, Jacob Collier. Jacob’s parents are both musicians with the Royal Academy of Music in London and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

In addition to the ability to play the keyboard and just about any stringed instrument, Jacob has a 4-octave voice. In 2011 he went viral with his YouTube video rendition of Pure Imagination. My favorite, although, is Fascinating Rhythm. Jacob is ridiculously talented and at just 22, understands harmony in ways that I’ll never figure out in my lifetime. He’s now working with Quincy Jones and I expect we’ll be hearing more from Jacob in the future.

I wrote up Joey Alexander, the 13-year-old Indonesian jazz prodigy pianist earlier this year. Joey just released a new album, Countdown (Apple Music)(iTunes), The last time I wrote about Joey, I explained that he is more than just technically proficient. He also plays with his heart. You can hear that even more in the new album. This album is full of John Coltrane music (another Jazz Friday alum) and it’s delicious from beginning to end. 

My favorite track is Countdown (Apple Music)(iTunes). I wouldn’t however listen to that track while driving. I could see myself accelerating to 100mph during the piano solo.

Over a year ago I was talking to my pal Victor Cajiao and he told me he was making an album. From a lot of people I’d hear something like that and smile and wonder if he truly knew what he was getting himself in for. With Victor, I immediately knew that not only would he finish the album, he’d make it great. Victor delivered with Surrender. It’s a fusion jazz album extremely well done. You can get the album at CD Baby. I really enjoyed reading Victor’s description of the tracks as I listened. Of course you can download the album in MP3, but you can also download in FLAC if you like because Victor’s a nerd just like the rest of us.

Following up on this morning’s post with the youngest ever home screen post, I thought I’d point out a rising star in the Jazz Community. Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander (Wikipedia) has been getting a lot of praise for his debut album, My Favorite Things (iTunes). As a new artist, he shows remarkable sensitivity. He’s not a show off and plays with subtlety. I particularly like the way he’s listening to the bass and drums and mimics their riffs in his solos. It is something that a lot of artists never quite get right and he seems to do intuitively. 

By the way, Joey recorded My Favorite Things  when he was eleven. Now he’s the ripe old age of twelve.

In the musical world, prodigy, is usually used for someone that becomes technically proficient at a very young age. I’ve seen “prodigy” jazz musicians that could nail an exact copy of something great from someone else. Rarely do you see someone Joey’s age bring their own voice and soul into the music. Joey does and that’s what makes him so amazing. I can’t wait to see where he goes with jazz as he grows older.