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Count Basie A telling moment in this terrific
Jazz Casual program occurs very early on, when host Ralph J. Gleason asks Count Basie the name of the first piece that the pianist-bandleader and his small group played. "I don't know," says Basie with a laugh. He's not being flip. "I Don't Know," as it eventually became known, is, like most of the other music Basie and company play here, nothing more or less than a blues jam, improvised on the spot. The "casual" label has never been more appropriate, as this 1968 performance finds Basie at his most relaxed. He smokes a lot. He talks a lot: about the influence of Duke Ellington and such legendary pianists as Fats Waller, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis; about the genesis of "One O'Clock Jump," the Basie band's signature tune; and about his own playing style, which he self-effacingly calls "dated." And, best of all, he plays a lot, accompanied by the superb rhythm section of Sonny Payne on drums, Norman Keenan on bass, and the redoubtable Freddie Green on guitar. "I never get tired of playing the blues," Basie tells Gleason, and in the hands of these pros, you'll never get tired of listening to it. Basie's blues are inimitable: effortlessly swinging, completely cool, at once laconic and driving, danceable, humorous, just unmistakably right, with the rhythm players always on the beat and Basie himself the master of what not to play. This is great stuff, and highly recommended.
--Sam Graham Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie--trumpeter, bandleader, entertainer--was 43 and still at the peak of his powers when he appeared with his quintet on Ralph J. Gleason's performance-interview TV program, Jazz Casual, in early 1961. And while his style had become somewhat cooler since the days when he and Charlie Parker led jazz's bebop revolution, this four-song set is as identifiably Dizzy as his trademark up-tilted horn and ballooning cheeks. The tunes, from Benny Golson's mid-tempo "Blues After Dark" to Dizzy's own "Lorraine" (with an exotic, sinuous melody reminiscent of his more famous "Night in Tunisia"), are invariably swinging, with fine solo turns by Gillespie, saxophonist-flutist Leo Wright, and a pianist named Lalo Schifrin. That's the same Lalo Schifrin who within a few short years would achieve pop music immortality by composing the Mission: Impossible theme. --Sam Graham
John Coltrane
It might not seem like much: 30 minutes, three tunes, four musicians on a bare- bones soundstage. But this is John Coltrane, and any opportunity to see the legendary saxophonist at work is something to be savored. That's especially true with this January 1964 television performance. Some five years after his membership in Miles Davis's immortal Kind of Blue group, he was well past playing the usual standards and ballads; at the same time, he had yet to explore the outer reaches of the avant-garde. Joined here by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones--the classic Coltrane quartet, and undoubtedly one of the most important and influential groups in jazz history--he works his way through three numbers that were familiar components of the Coltrane repertoire: Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," which finds Trane on soprano sax and features a typically dynamic Tyner solo; "Alabama," a Coltrane original with a brooding, droning intro and conclusion sandwiched around the middle section's slow, swinging groove; and "Impressions," the modal touchstone, which at nearly 14 minutes long gives all four musicians plenty of room to stretch out.
Playing the tenor horn here, Coltrane is typically restless and searching, volcanic and commanding. It's not necessarily pretty, especially when he is backed only by Jones's angry, explosive polyrhythms, but the power is undeniable. The fact that Coltrane says nothing (all other Jazz Casual guests were interviewed by host Ralph J. Gleason) is immaterial; what could he say with his voice that he hadn't already said with his horn? --Sam Graham
From the Back Cover
Count Basie: Count Basie performs here in a quartet context. The casually attired, chain-smoking legend improvises on the spot and reminisces with producer/host Ralph Gleason. He shows you a side of himself that completes the picture of one of the godfathers of jazz. (Air date: May 6, 1968)
Count Basie, piano; Sonny Payne, drums; Norman Keenan, bass; Freddie Green, guitar.
Performances: I Don't Know (3:46); Handful of Keys (:25); Untitled (1:51); Squeeze Me (1:41); Twenty Minutes After Three (3:58); I'm Gonna Love You as Long as I Live (1:18); If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight (1:02); National Educational Television Blues (2:54).
Dizzy Gillespie: The usually ebullient Mr. Gillespie is rather reserved here, but as always his playing is stunning. He would continue to play well into the '90s, but his middle-period work, as captured in this Jazz Casual episode, is remembered fondly by many as some of his most imporatant and enjoyable. (Air date: January 17, 1961)
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, trumpet; Lalo Schifrin, piano; Leo Wright, saxophone; Chuck Lampkin, drums; Bob Cunningham, bass.
Performances: Norm's Norm (4:26); Lorraine (3:42); Blues After Dark (7:08); Tocatta from Gillespiana (4:58).
John Coltrane: It was his comfort with, and trust in, Ralph Gleason that got John Coltrane to perform on this show. For those of us who saw him live in his prime, this is a pleasant reminder of just how magnificent and singular an American artist John Coltrane was. For many, the "golden age" of jazz came to an end when Trane died at so young an age. (Air date: January 4, 1964)
John Coltrane, saxophones; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums.
Performances: Intro theme: National Educational TV Blues (:25); Afro Blue (7:11); Alabama (5:59); Impressions (13:51).
