Regardless of what you are doing on Valentine's Day, this album has enough love to get you by, be it together with someone else or all alone. This album for me is a reminder that one of the most avante-gard and forward-thinking jazz musicians ever was also just one of the best. It's an example of him not doing something particularly new - just doing something amazingly well.
Today or anytime really, treat yourself to this.
-P
In the spirit of our upcoming live events that are all about sharing some favorite dance clips- this is the finished product video of the International Lindy Hop Championship's Invitational Solo Jazz Finals. I was honored to get an invite and dance alongside and against some amazing dancers from around the world. The entire event was virtual last Fall. What a HUGE undertaking!
Instead of having a standard one-after-the-other dance contest- they decided that this division would be battle style, originally planned for us to virtually go head to head live on Zoom just 2 weeks before the big event. Well as everyone knows Zoom doesn't always cooperate and after the first round of the finals took 2x longer than was planned for all 4 rounds, we ended up submitting our dancing for rounds 2, 3, and 4 later on, without knowing if we'd make it or not.
It was a real personal challenge for me. I feel like I'm not the best technician of the bunch by a long shot, but my superpower is reacting to other dancers' ideas. Here I was alone with a camera, not even knowing who I was going to be battling on screen (plus being pandemic out of shape didn't help). It's the kind of thing I could talk myself out of but I'm glad I didn't. It's a privilege to be invited and I don't want to take that for granted. My one lifeline was listening to the music, made by me and my band especially for the contest. It always brings a smile to my face when I hear a great solo and I think of my friend who is playing it.
After the Zoom idea didn't work I had no idea how the final video would turn out and MAN, I was blown away. It was so fast paced and exciting I didn't even have time to cringe as all dancers do when they see themselves. It was just super hype with lots of good dancing. I was genuinely dance-excited after watching it, a feeling I haven't had enough of during the pandemic. If you haven't seen it yet, get ready for a whirlwind.
-N
Here's another gem on the Jazz with Jarvis YouTube channel. It's a live TV show with some really great players from the swing era. The video quality is pretty low, but the music is great. You can watch the whole thing via this link and here's the info from the video:
Personnel: Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax,
Alex Templeton - piano
Roland Hanna - piano
Johnny Windhurst - trumpet
Tyree Glenn - trombone
Hank D’Amico - clarinet
Theodor Charles - vibraphone
Mary Osborne - guitar
Morey Feld - drums
Art Goldberg - bass
Maxine Sullivan - vocal
Air Date: September 18, 1958
Jazz Party, also known as Art Ford's Jazz Party, was a TV series featuring Jazz musicians on WNTA-TV in New York City, and which aired on Thursdays at 9pm ET from May 8, 1958 to December 25, 1958. It was a more music-focused continuation of Art Ford's Greenwich Village Party, arguably the last series to appear on the DuMont Television Network, which ceased operations on 6 August 1956, though only broadcast on WABD as that station was becoming WNEW-TV after the sale of the DuMont-owned stations to Metromedia.
The 90-minute shows, hosted by Art Ford (1921-2006), were distributed by the NTA Film Network. The shows were also aired on Armed Forces Television. All episodes were filmed in a New Jersey studio, except for the final episode, which was recorded August 11, 1958 in New Orleans, and aired on December 25.
Musicians who appeared on the series included Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Henry "Red" Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Marty Napoleon, Georgie Auld, Buster Bailey, Vinnie Burke, Roy Eldridge, J. C. Higginbotham, Les Paul, Dick Hyman, Anita O'Day, Connee Boswell, Mae Barnes, Chris Connor, Sylvia Sims, Mary Osborne, Teddy Charles, Harry Sheppard, Maxine Sullivan, Alec Templeton, Abbey Lincoln and many others.
1.) Introduction 00:00
2.) I've Found a New Baby (Jam Session) 1:50
3.) Jeepers Creepers (Tyree Glenn) 10:40
4.) Ace In The Hole (Maxine Sullivan) 14:00
5.) Lover Come Back To Me (Roland Hanna) 17:16
6.) This Can't Be Love (Hank D'Amico) 22:11
7.) Moonglow (Alex Templeton) 25:02
8.) Pennies From Heaven (Johnny Windhurst) 32:18
9.) I Can´t Get Started (Maxine Sullivan) 36:53
10.) Just You, Just Me (Coleman Hawkins) 39:55
