Here is a short one for you. At some point, Gerry Mulligan and Dave Brubeck got together to record Santa Claus is coming to Town (iTunes). I’ve been unable to figure out exactly when they did the session but it shows up on several Christmas albums including Santa’s Bag (iTunes). It’s two of my favorite jazz artists playing one of my favorite Christmas tunes. You can’t go wrong.

Alto Saxophonist Phil Woods was an animal. I saw him for the first time in the late 70’s and it changed the way I thought about the saxophone forever. Phil played so fast and hard that it reminded me of a running out of control and always about to fall on my face. But Phil never fell down. 

Some called him the “New Bird” because of the way he played so intensely like Charlie Parker. (He also was married to Bird’s widow.) I always thought of him as the jazz-hippie because I was introduced to him during his long-hair phase. For awhile, Phil lived in France and recorded avant-garde jazz with a group called the European Rhythm Machine. (A nice example of this music is their song, Chromatic Banana.) By the 70’s, Phil moved back to the United States, returned to more straight ahead jazz, and got a haircut.

Phil also played sax for many popular artists including Billy Joel and Paul Simon. Whether playing upbeat or a ballad, Phil Woods always played intensely. My pick, his Live at the Village Vanguard is on iTunes and features him powering through Webb City and equally nailing a ballad as only Phil could in Prelude to a Kiss. Like a lot of jazz artists, the best Phil Woods recordings are those made before a live audience.

Phil passed away last week at the age of 83. The below video is of Phil playing in Lincoln Center a few years ago. Even in his 80’s Phil Woods still could swing his ass off.

I’m not sure how this happened but I’ve never featured one of my very favorite albums in the Jazz Friday series, Kind of Blue. This album was groundbreaking and still, after all these years, amazing. I like this album so much that I spent half an hour jabbering about it with Myke Hurley this week on Inquisitive. Go check it out and go listen to Miles Davis on Kind of Blue.

Today is Disneyland’s 60th birthday so I though I’d pick a Disney-related jazz track. One of my favorites is Alice in Wonderland, by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This track is on an album full of Disney tunes called Dave Digs Disney from 1957. The Dave Brubeck quartet was one of the pioneers of the West Coast Jazz movement and is one of the most distinctive in jazz with Paul Desmond’s lilting melodies on Alto Sax and Dave Brubeck’s harmonics on Piano. Alice in Wonderland delivers on all counts.

Art Pepper was one of the most influential alto saxophonists in the 50s and 60s and considered one of the founders of the West Coast Jazz movement. As a Californian, I’m a fan of West Coast Jazz in general and Art Pepper in particular. There was a lightness to his sound that is delightful. Unfortunately, Art had a lifelong heroin problem and, frankly,  a rough life including several prison stints. There is a great documentary about Art Pepper, called Art Pepper: Notes from a Jazz Survivor. Over the Rainbow (iTunes) is a great Art Pepper track because he plays the whole thing solo and really stretches out. 

Dexter Gordon is most famous for the way he plays his tenor saxophone. He was also quite accomplished, however on the soprano saxophone. In 1986, Dexter starred in a movie about an aging jazz musician in Paris in the 50s. The movie was called ‘Round Midnight and did very well. Dexter received an Academy award nomination for his role. (It was also what my wife and I watched on our first date.)

There was so much great music in this movie that they made two soundtracks. My favorite is the second, The Other Side Of ‘Round Midnight.

I used to have a jazz playlist that I often used whenever I was playing with my girls when they were little. I have a vivid memory of playing with my oldest daughter on a windy day with this song playing in the backyard. As a result, I smile every time the song comes on my playlist.

Setting aside my own sentimentality, Tivoli is a sort-of rolling waltz with Dexter Gorden pushing through the melody on his soprano sax and getting the solo just right. Cedar Walton on piano plays a brilliant counter point to the melody and Mads Vinding on bass does this trick as the song gets rolling where he holds the tempo back just ever so slightly, like reigning in a comfortable horse on a country stroll. Tivoli is a really great song and a nice start to your weekend. You can get it on iTunes here.

In 1963, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto started a bossa nova sensation in jazz with their Getz/Gilberto album (iTunes)(Wikipedia). People went crazy for this album and particularly its first track, The Girl from Ipanema.

This is a rare jazz song that entered the pop charts, peaking at number 5. While the song is not nearly as edgy as some of my other Jazz Friday recommendations, The Girl From Ipanema (and most of the rest of this album) is still great music. Stan Getz, who had some serious jazz chops, seemed to just get the type of throaty, understated solo required by bossa nova. Moreover, I think Astrud Gilberto’s vocals are perfect for bossa nova. From the too-much-information department, I fell in love with Astrud Gilberto the first time I heard her voice. To this day I have never seen her picture because there is no way she could live up to the image in my my mind. Happy Friday everybody.

Usually, when jazz people try to cover pop songs, things get ugly. Not so with this charming video from Kate Davis and the Postmodern Jukebox playing Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass”. I wasn’t familiar with Kate Davis until I stumbled across this video but now I’m a fan. You can buy the track in iTunes.

With this last Jazz Friday post before Christmas, I’m going to feature one more holiday song. You can’t think of the Peanuts without hearing Vince Guaraldi’s amazing music. Vince (Wikipedia) was an accomplished jazz musician with a career entirely outside of the Peanuts. By far, my favorite Guaraldi album is the Charlie Brown Christmas album and on that album, my favorite track is Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental). I love the melody, the pacing, and the chord changes. This song represents the whole package. A lot of people have covered this song in past years. My current favorite is this one by Diana Krall. However, in my mind nothing beats Vince Guaraldi’s original.

There is a jazz classic, called Night in Tunisia written by Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Paparelli in 1942. It’s a great song that starts with this sort-of desert vamp that’s infectious. The bass line really sells it. According to Wikipedia, Night in Tunisia is available on 500 different currently available CD’s. If you play the below YouTube clip you’ll probably recognize it. 

I love this song but for me the story goes deeeper. Back when I was a teenager and obsessed on jazz while surrounded by a group of friends that also obsessed on jazz, we often talked about “the break”. The break is a portion of Night in Tunisia after they finish the first run-through of the melody. Before the first soloist starts, the band comes to an abrupt stop and the soloist gets a few bars of silence to perform the be-bop equivalent of shredding. In the above recording, the break is played by Charlie Parker at the 1:18 mark. It’s glorious. My jazz-nerd pals and I would always challenge each other to see who could “break” better. To this day, every time I listen to this song I always stop what I’m doing when the song gets to the break and smile.

There are several notable breaks worth mentioning. In addition to the one by Charlie Parker (iTunes), I’d also recommend checking out Ella Fitzgerald’s break (iTunes). Finally, for fun, you should watch Dizzy play Night in Tunisia below. He brought so much joy to jazz. Also, Arturo Sandoval crushes the break at 1:50. If you watch the whole video, there are several breaks. At the end, Dizzy explains how he wrote the song. I’m pretty sure you’ll smile at least once while watching.