Recently in Flashback Friday Category

Ella Fitzgerald - These Are The Blues (listen here!)

It is a hard to believe that this great lady left us 10 years ago. I have not even heard much buzz around the jazz community this month. It was shortly after her passing that a friend introduced me to this wonderful album, These Are The Blues.

My own Ella experience up to this point had been swinging standards and beautiful ballads. On this 1963 recording, Ella travels down a different road, the blues. Most of the songs for this album were written in the 1920's and performed by blues greats Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Ma Rainey. Ella brings a magic that is all her own to these timeless classics.

Ella sings this lyric in "St. Louis Blues." I love the suggestiveness of it. It tell you enough without giving it all away. It is followed by the signifying "Hear Me Talking to Ya." She opens the album with Bessie Smith's "Jailhouse Blues." As you listen to the song, you might not expect Ella to sing such an "adventurous" song but she wholeheartedly embraces the blues like she has embraced every genre of music that she has sung. I first heard Aretha sing "Trouble in Mind." Ella's rendition starts off simmering and swings into a boiling kettle. She also sings "Down Hearted Blues" in similar style.

A common theme is the call and response between Ella and her sideman especially Wild Bill Davis on the organ (he was one of my dad's favs.) Davis' introduction on "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down) sets the tone for song as he frames Ella's notes impeccably here and throughout album. She is also joined by jazz greats Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Gus Johnson on drums. The liner notes of this album include "Historical Note - The Blues" by Frederic Ramsey, Jr. It excellent history lesson on the evolution of the blues.

Ella will always hold a special place in my musical heart. I first saw her perform when I was eighteen at the Chicago Jazz Festival. It was an amazing experience that I have never forgotten.

Enjoy your music!

It has been a little over three months since Luther passed on July 1. I was in Chicago's O'Hare Airport with my mom when I got the news from a friend. I was totally stunned. I was really hoping he would pull through and make a full recovery but I guess God had other plans for him. I likened his death to having the impact of losing Nat King Cole in the sixties for both were such great crooners of their day and adored by everyone. As there will never be another Nat King Cole, there will never be another Luther Vandross.

I remember buying Never Too Much on a Sunday in the fall of 1981 and I could not wait to get home to play it. It was so soulful that my parent's enjoyed it as well. I played it over and over again. By this time "House Is Not A Home" and the title track "Never Too Much" were all over the airwaves. Having been a background vocalist himself for such greats as David Bowie and Roberta Flack, Luther knew the importance of having tight vocal harmonies supporting him. You hear this on "Never Too Much", "She's A Super Lady", "Don't You Know That", and my favorite song, "You Stopped Loving Me" which I first heard Roberta Flack sing on the "Busting Loose" movie soundtrack (I lost my cassette of that soundtrack!!!) "A House Is Not A Home", a Bacharach/David composition made popular by Dionne Warwick in the sixties, has become a timeless Luther classic.

He later produced Dionne's How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye album which yielded a duet between them on the title track and other gems like "So Amazing" and "What Can A Miracle Do." Luther's love for the great songbirds was evident in the pairing of Dionne and The Shirelles on the classic "Will You Still Love Me Tommorrow" to close out the album. Luther also spun his magic on two of Aretha's early 80's albums, Jump To It and Get it Right. Oooo, future flashbacks.

Before his solo debut, I remember Luther singing on Change's hits "Searching" and "The Glow of Love." I later learned that he did vocal arrangements for both Chic and Change. Again, the tightness of harmonies is very evident. Luther was also on Quincy Jones' Sounds...And Stuff Like That album. He sang a beautiful duet with Patti Austin on "I'm Gonna Miss You" and he and Gwen Guthrie lead the heavenly choir on "Taking It To The Streets."

In addition,"there was no concert like a Luther concert cuz a Luther concert don't stop." It was truly concert par excellence. They were always well choreographed, his background singers were gorgeous, and the music was sensational. I saw him in concert in Chicago not long after the Forever, For Always, For Love album was released in 1982. It was an amazing show and I can still picture it in my head today. He had a great sense of humor as well. I remember at one point during singing "Bad Boy/Having A Party", Luther had a pretend bucket of chicken in his hand which was in reference to the jokes Eddie Murphy had made about him.

The above photo is from a Luther tribute in Chicago sponsored by radio station V-103. Droves of people came out to sign the giant cards that were being sent to Luther's mother in rememberance of her son and the music he gave the world.

Great music never dies. It just lives on in our hearts forever. Thank you, Luther!

Enjoy your music!

Faith to reach the unreachable
Faith to fight the unbeatable
Faith to remove the unmovable
Faith that stands the invincible
Faith that can conquer anything

Faith that sees the invincible
Faith that expects the incredible
Faith that can conquer anything

This flashback was inspired by my friend, Kim. She recently asked if Vanessa Bell Armstrong's gospel classic "Faith That Conquers" from her Chosen album could be found on CD.

Despite her success, Vanessa Bell Armstrong's first two album, Peace Be Still (1983) and Chosen (1984), are very hard to find on vinyl and are not available on disc. There is a greatest hits CD on Muscle Shoals Records which features some of the songs from both these albums but "Faith" is not included. I can remember searching everywhere for these first two albums and I finally found them in 1988 in a gospel record store on 79th and Prairie in Chicago. "Faith That Conquers" was one of my earliest introductions to her music in the 80's. Chosen also included the gospel gems, What He's Done for Me", "Nobody But Jesus", "There's A Brighter Day", "Teach Me O Lord" and "Walk With Me." There was one other album, Following Jesus on the Muscle Shoals Gospel Sound Records label and it came out in 1986. The first two albums were on the Onyx International label and distributed by The Benson Company. My guess is that Muscle Shoals probably has the masters for Vanessa's first three albums sitting on the shelves while us fans are just aching to hear "Faith" again. A little bit of "Faith That Conquers" can be found as "Vanessa's Medley: What Shall I Render/Faith/Nobody But Jesus/For God So Loved The World/Peace Be Still/The Denied Stone" on her The Secret is Out album from 1995. So all my gospel fans out there, let's see if we can get these albums reissued on compact disc! If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

As I was researching Vanessa's music, I found a 1995 album from her sister, Charlene Bell, entitled Just Praise. I have had this album on heavy rotation for the last month. 4 of the 10 tracks on this album feature Charlene, Vanessa, and their sister, Margaret Bell on vocals. The rest of tracks are angelically sung by Charlene backed by a heavenly choir. After hearing it, I could not help but wonder why they do not record and tour together as a group. Margaret and Charlene have sung background vocals on most of Vanessa's albums. By the way, Margaret Bell made a solo album entitled Over and Over in 1991.

Enjoy your music!

Update: I found Vanessa's first 3 albums available on cassette on the Malaco Music Group website. Maybe we need to send a few emails to the Malaco contacts to encourage them to release these albums on disc.

Shirley Horn - vocals and piano
Joe Benjamin - bass
Lewis Powers - bass
Harry Saunders - drums
Herbie Lovelle - drums

The year would not be complete without one more Flashback Friday. This album is commonly known as Embers and Ashes but its actual title is Embers and Ashes - Songs of Lost Love Sung by Shirley Horn. I was finally able to get a copy of this album after about 5 years of casually searching and it was definitely worth the wait. I first saw it on eBay for $140 a couple of years ago and it would occasionally appear but never within my price range until earlier this year. To date, it is only available on vinyl but hopefully it will eventually be reissued on CD with alternate takes and extra tracks that were not included on the original pressing. Check either eBay or gemm.com for the album.

Ember and Ashes was Shirley Horn's first album recorded on Stere-o-craft Records in 1960 when she was 26 years old. As I listened, I was amazed by her vocal phrasing, use of space, and chord structure on the piano. She sang and played like a seasoned professional even at an early age. Much of the richness in her music today was in the making very early in her career.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the album's liner notes written by Jazz DJ Mort Fega:

As a disc jockey, I listen to just about every new release, and believe me, there seems to be a bottomless font from which the new releases spring. I've been searching, all through this incessant outpouring, for new singers, vocalists who sing well enough to challenge the hierarchy of those who have "arrived", and for the most part, my search has been completely unrewarding. It has gotten to the point where I'd be satisfied to find a new singer who stays in tune, and who doesn't feel the necessity to "gimmick" up his or her delivery, just for the sake of getting a different sound.

I can confess now that I approached this album, as I have all the others that preceded it, with that "here we go again" attitude, but after listening to only one or two tracks I thought I detected a sense of fulfillment; and after listening to the test pressing all the way through, I felt certain that Shirley Horn is going to make it, and make it for all who enjoy good singing, jazz and pop devotees, alike. You see, Shirley Horn can sing! She can sing in tune, with a straight-forward, "un-gimmicked" style that is completely musical, so she has to make it.

It is fascinating how the criticisms of music of the past still hold true today in current music and yet, Shirley's music shines ever more brightly with time.

Every track on this album is a precious gem. She opens Side A with the mid-tempo "Like Someone in Love", then shifts to her trademark slow tempo on "He Never Mentioned Love." Her words paint the listener a picture of a beautiful romance that reached a climatic peak then came crashing down, breaking with into tiny pieces. Her instrumental of "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise" showcases a bit of her early classical music training then opens into a swinging beat. If you listen closely, you can hear finger snaps toward the end of the track. On "I Thought About You", Shirley and the bass player are in step with each other as she precisely frames each of her notes while the drummer creates magical brush strokes which embellish this lush track. She picks up the pace on the whimsical "Mountain Greenery" and closes out the side with her reading of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child." She embraces this classic tune as her own without taking away any of its original integrity.

Shirley opens Side B with the poignant ballad "Blue City." She starts off on solo piano and does a echoing on the ending words of a couple of verses then her trio comes in adding color to this dreamy ballad. She swings sweetly on "Day by Day" and it is followed up by my personal favorite ballad on the album, "If I Should Lose You." I guess I am a sucker for a great, "hang-your-heart-out-to dry" lyric and with Shirley's gentle touch and caress, it can melt your heart.

If I should lose you
The stars would fall from the skies
If I should lose you
The leaves would wither and die

I gave you my love
But I was living a dream
And living would seem in vain
If I lost you

"Wild is the Wind" has a percussive rhythm as a backdrop for Shirley's breathy vocals. The drummer provides sounds of the wind with his malletts on the cymbals. "Come Rain or Shine" has a natural build as she effortlessly conveys this melody. She ends the album with the mid-tempo "Just in Time." The track opens with a nice bass solo which sets the mood for the rest of the song. The liner notes do not really tell which bass player or drummer played on each track but, in any case, the rhythm section was superb.

Shirley Horn has been making headlines recently with being honored at the Kennedy Center earlier in December and as an 2005 Fellowship Recipient of the National Endowments of the Art Jazz Masters Fellowships. She will be playing the Le Jazz Au Bar in New York City from January 6-9. These concerts will be used for her live album expected to be released in May 2005. Listening to her vast body of music, it is evident why she is a musical treasure. Enjoy your music.

Related Articles

NYTimes.com: A Veteran Song Stylist Swings to Her Own Beat
WashingtonPost.com: The Tender Notes of Shirley Horn
WashingtonPost.com: At Kennedy Center, a Heartfelt Tribute to Shirley Horn

They don't need these dresses
They don't need no jewelries'
They don't their hair
These women can sing!

- Sylvester

My first exposure to Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes Armstead was when they were singing background vocals for Sylvester on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in the wee small hours of the morning back in 1978. They were all in flowing frocks with glittery head pieces. I remember their powerful background vocals on Sylvester's hits "Dance With Me in the Disco Heat" (especially Izora bellowing "Get on your feet and dance to the beat and jam...") and "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real." I remember sitting on the porch late at night, listening to the quiet storm radio, and listening to Martha sing her heart out on "Taking Away Your Space." Yet, it was in 1983 when I really got to know the music of Two Tons O' Fun. A friend let me borrow a cassette of their 1979 self-titled album. This is back when the early Sony Walkman cassette players were all the rage. I nearly wore out the cassette listening to the lyrics of "Earth Can Be Like Heaven":

Life is a see-saw
Up and down
It spins and it turns on
Like a merry-go-round
What you do comes back to you
To yourself always be true, cuz...

Earth can be just like Heaven
When you know you're truly livin'
Live and share with one another
Love each man as your brother

The words from "Earth Can Just Like Heaven" still ring true today. It will always be my favorite of all their music. The lyrics were meaningful and infectious without being gimmicky and if you heard it on a big dance floor, you could have your own slice of heaven. "Make Someone Happy Today" was another feel good song. "Taking Away Your Space" was a quiet storm hit and showcased Martha as a solo balladeer and "One-Sided Love Affair" speaks for itself with it driving beat and signifying lyrics. We flip over to Side A and it opens with the catchy dance classic "Do You Wanna Boogie, Huh?" followed by another favorite, "I Got The Feeling" which featured Izora on the lead. "Just Us" was always the song you heard near the end of the night in the club. It was mellow with a nice rhythm. "Gone Away" gave Martha the opportunity to soar like a beautiful sparrow. There was church in their sound with Martha high up in the rafters with her angelic voice while Izora could shake the ground from under you with her husky, pot-liquored tones. I also learned that Izora was also a classically trained pianist and sung arias.

Martha and Izora did one more album, Backatcha, as Two Tons O' Fun before going to Columbia Records as The Weather Girls. They recorded albums, Success(1983), which yielded their biggest hits, "It's Raining Men" and "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas"), Big Girls Don't Cry(1985), and The Weather Girls(1988). Their last two albums produced a few small hits but never captured the magic and production savvy of their earlier albums. Martha later pursued a solo career and Izora continued the Weather Girls with her daughter, Dynelle Rhodes.

I had the pleasure of seeing The Weather Girls in concert in 1986 at the the Vic Theatre in Chicago for $10. They gave a spectacular performance and it was definitely a fun concert. In recent years, I was always hoping for a Two Tons O' Fun/Weather Girls reunion tour or recording. Unfortunately, Izora passed earlier this year. She will be greatly missed but her sound with live on forever.

Enjoy your music.

P.S. If you are looking for Two Tons O' Fun/Weather Girls music, please check out the listings for Two Ton O' Fun and Weather Girls on www.gemm.com.

Everyone has their favorite Ashford & Simpson song. Maybe it was Marvin's, Diana's, or Jocelyn's version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Marvin & Tammy's "You're All I Need to Get By", Aretha's "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", Diana's "The Boss", Ray's "Let's Get Stoned", Chaka's "Clouds" or "I'm Every Woman", Quincy's "Stuff Like That", Gladys' "Landlord" or even Stephanie's "Keep Away Girls." Of course, Nick and Valerie have had countless gems of their own including "Is It Still Good to Ya", "Tried, Tested, and Found True", "Stay Free", "Nobody Knows", "It Seems to Hang On", "Love Don't Make It Right", "So, So Satisfied" (one of my favorites), and "Over and Over." The mighty Nick-O-Val songbook kept spinning out the hits.

This was a tough flashback because there are some many great A&S album. I have been carrying Send It around with me for the past month then last week I pulled out four other albums and played them. They brought back a flood of memories of summers growing up in Chicago in the late 70's and early 80's. One of my favorite A&S songs was the classic dance instrumental "Bourgié Bourgié" (rollerskaters and party people wave your hands!!!) from Send It, which featured Valerie on piano. A couple of years later, "Bourgié Bourgié" got lyrics and was on Gladys Knight & The Pips' About Love album which Nick and Valerie produced. Other tracks on Send It included "By Way of Love's Express", "Don't Cost You Nothing", "Send It", and "Top of the Stairs."

One of the first concerts I attended was an Ashford & Simpson concert at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago in 1982. They were sensational and so intertwined in their love and music that you could feel it. I saw them again a couple of years later. One of the most special moments for me was when they visited my church in Chicago in the late 90's. We did not expect them to sing then Valerie got up and sang a couple verses of the gospel hymn "The Angels Keep Watching Over Me" and I could have just laid out in the floor. She was awesome and gorgeous too!

I promise not to stay away so long. Enjoy your music!

I'm trav'lin' light
Because my man has gone
So from now on
I'm trav'lin' light
He said goodbye
And took my heart away
So from today
I'm trav'lin' light

No one to see
I'm free as the breeze
No one but me
And my memories
Some lucky night
He may come back again
So until then
I'm trav'lin' light

It was a spring of 1994 when I first heard this album played in a used records store in Oak Park, Illinois where I lived at the time. I had just gotten to know Shirley's music in the last couple of years and I was buying every one of her records that I could find. "Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues" was playing and I turned to ask who was singing only to find out it was Shirley's 1965 ABC-Paramount recording, Travelin' Light. I continued to listen and was instantly in love but it was the store's only copy of the recently reissued album. After a little coercing (begging), I got the store to sell me the disc and I went home a very happy man. This was now my earliest record on which Shirley sang and played piano. On her previous albums, Loads of Love/Shirley Horn with Horns, she only provided vocals while piano was played by Hank Jones and Jimmy Jones.

On the opening title track, Shirley takes it slow, making a statement with each word, letting you know the romance has ended and she will be "Travelin' Light." You immediately hear how her voice and piano are so closely intertwined in her vocal phrasing and chord structure. She is intimate and personal. "New York on Sunday" picks up the pace a bit and inspired my desire to go to see the New York City she sang about. "I Could Have Told You" is a beautiful ballad with "I told you so" theme as she watches a former love have his heart broken by a new romance. She swings on "Big City" and brings it back mellow on "I Want to Be With You" punctuating her words with sweet melodies. "Some of My Best Friends Are the Blue" is bluesy but you will need a double scotch on the rocks when Shirley does a trembling piano swell followed by silence on the dirge "Someone You've Loved." There is a finger snapping coolness on "Don't Be on the Outside" and "You're Blasé is pretty much to the point but Shirley's reading of it takes it just a little further. "Yes, I Know When I've Had It" is a swinging tribute to the end of a romance. There is a sly playfulness on the ballad "Confession" and if you are not listening carefully you will miss the ending phrase "I always go to bed at 10, then go home at 4." Shirley closes the album with a bossa nova treatment on the Lennon-McCartney ballad "And I Love Him."

Shirley band's for this album included Marshall Hawkins on bass, Bernard Sweetney on drums, Joe Newman on trumpet, Frank Wess on flute & alto sax, Jerome Richardson on flute, and Kenny Burrell on guitar. Johnny Pate provided brass arrangements on several tracks. They compliment Shirley's style of singing and playing very well.

On May 1, Shirley celebrated her 70th birthday. She has been making beautiful music for over 40 years and I dedicate this flashback to her.

"Here's to life. Here's to love. Here's to you."

Enjoy your music and have a safe holiday weekend!

Additional Resources

Rebroadcast of a Shirley Horn interview on The Connection in 2002
Shirley Horn Discography

I had been enjoying the music of keyboardist Bob James and saxophonist David Sanborn for a few years before they joined forces on the Double Vision album in 1986. This outstanding collaboration was a top seller and brought them each a Grammy award.

The tracks "Maputo" and "More Than Friends", both written by Marcus Miller, became instant favorites on the quiet storm and smooth jazz radio formats and are still heard years later. Al Jarreau brought his mellow vocals to the classic "Since I Fell For You." "It's You" was orginally recorded on David Sanborn's 1981 Voyeur album which featured Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, Kasey Cisyk, and Lani Groves on background vocals. The updated version felt a little naked without the vocals but it was still good. The duo closed out this great album with the classic ballad "You Don't Know Me."

In addition to their own exceptional musicianship, they were joined by some stellar musicians including Paul Jackson, Jr., Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, and Paulinho da Costa.

Enjoy your music.

This album is special for so many reasons. Roberta celebrated 25 years for Roberta Flack as a recording artist with Atlantic Records. The album conveys so many different moods and emotions from the beginning, middle, and end of romance. It is probably one of her best recordings and least known. On a personal level, it is in my top 25 personal favorites, I love playing this album, and if I were stuck on a desert island far away, I would want this album with me. A friend and I were recently discussing the music that tells the stories of our lives and I could not readily think of an album/artist that conveyed anything about my life then I remembered how Roberta and her music have really touched my heart over the years. I purchased this album during a period of transition in my life. I was finally getting settled in California. I had just gotten a CD player installed in my car and this album was one of my purchases on that momentous weekend. Like a kid with a new toy, I had to play it in the car as soon as I left the store. It was a warm fall night in early October and hearing Roberta's sweet voice just made it perfect.

Roberta covered the music from the many aspects of her life and wove them into a beautiful tapestry. She takes the classics and brings them alive in her own soulful way. She opens with her poignant reading of Al Green's Let's Stay Together." Next, she tells us about "Sweet Georgia Brown" and let's us know that the "Thrill is Gone." She pauses for a moment in "It Might Be You" to ask "Must I stop doing the things that I love to do, for you, with you, so you can respect me? See my needs?" That's powerful. Another gem is Stevie Wonder's "Looking for Another Pure Love." Also included are "I Don't Care Who Knows (Baby, I'm Yours)", "Prelude to a Kiss", "Angel Eyes", "Tenderly" and my favorite, "Cottage for Sale." There are also a couple of Rodgers & Hart classics, "Isn't It Romantic" and "My Romance." She closes with "You'll Never Know ('Til You Let Go.) Every song feels hand-picked for Roberta.

Roberta Flack is on the top of my list for artists that I really want to see in concert. I missed seeing her in Long Beach and San Diego last summer. I am keeping a close eye on Pollstar and if she comes to California this year, I will definitely be there. I also heard that she was going to have some new music coming out but I have not seen or heard anything lately.

I dedicated this flashback to my favorite super-mom, A.J., who celebrates her birthday on 03/30.

Enjoy your music.

"You can't get to no better days
Unless you make it through the night"

Sometimes you find just the right album cover but when you can't, a great photo and fitting quote always works. I was 24 when I first heard Dianne Reeves' self-entitled 1987 Blue Note release, Dianne Reeves. I fell in love with her music and have been a faithful listener ever since. She travels down many roads in her music and tells her stories so wonderfully. One moment she is soaring through "Sky Island" and then she pauses to tell us about "Better Days" (aka "The Grandma Song") and meeting up again with her beloved grandmother. I can remember there was such a demand for the song in one of her early concerts, that she sang it twice. One of my favorite songs for quiet reflection is the poignant ballad "I'm O.K." and then there is her beautiful reading of the Ellington classic "I've Got It Bad And That Ain't Good." The playful scatting and that burst of laughter at the end of "That's All" lets you know that she truly enjoys her music. Also included on album are the gems "Harvest Time", "Chan's Song" (Never Said) which was penned by Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, and "Yesterdays."

She is joined on this early album by some wonderful musicians including her cousin, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Billy Childs, Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Washington, and Paulinho da Costa. I am sure they saw the greatness, grace, and beauty back then that we see in her today. Whether she is scatting a joyous melody or chanting over an African rhythm, she does it with a style and finesse that come from deep within her soul.

Her latest Blue Note release, A Little Moonlight, brought her another Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, which is her 3rd in a row. Grammy or not, it is a fine album. Both of these albums will set the mood for any romantic evening, even Valentine's Day. :) Enjoy your music.

Sample Tracks

1. Sky Islands
2. I'm O.K.
3. Better Days
4. Harvest Time
5. Chan's Song (Never Said)

Check out the Dianne Reeves Electronic Press Kit and Discography