I took this photo of Etta James on very warm Sunday afternoon in September at the Russian River Jazz Festival in 2006. She was serving up her music hot and pulled no punches. This is how I will remember her.

Two of my favorite Etta James releases were from the mid 90′s. She did an excellent album of jazz standards, Time After Time, and a tribute album to Billie Holiday, Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday. Both albums are fine examples of how Etta could sing anything exceedingly well.

Rest in peace, Miss Etta James.

Photo Credit: James Knox

Collin Artists is proud to announce that jazz vocalist/pianist, ANDY BEY is a finalist for a prestigious 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award in the category of: Male Singer of the Year.

Professional members of the Jazz Journalists Association will vote on nominees in 41 categories celebrating excellence in jazz music, production, presentation and digital, print, broadcast and photographic journalism. The representative honorees – “winners” — will be announced at a JJA event on Monday, June 14 from 3:30 to 6:30 PM at City Winery, 155 Varick Street (at Vandam) in New York City. The JJA’s annual “A Team” list of activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz will also be announced shortly.

We are pleased that Andy Bey’s works are being celebrated by the 400+ member JJA, a non-profit 501(c)(3) professional organization, which has promoted excellence in an Awards format for the past 13 years.

Don’t miss a rare appearance by Andy Bey’s trio! They will perform on Thursday, May 13 – Sunday, May 16, 2010 at Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, NY, NY 10016, 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM nightly, with an additional set beginning at 11:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. For information contact 212-576-2232.

BOOKINGS:-
Barbara Collin
Collin Artists
323-467-4702 o
collinartists@sbcglobal.net
www.collinartists.com

R.I.P. Teddy Pendergrass – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/arts/music/15pendergrass.html

Soulful crooner Teddy Pendergrass was much apart of my musical landscape when I was growing up in Chicago. As explained in the article, his message was erotic without telling you everything, unlike today’s young crooner.

R.I.P. Ed Thigpen – http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/01/ed_thigpen_remembering.html

Jazz legend Ed Thigpen best for his recordings with legendary pianist Oscar Peterson. He also recorded, played or toured with Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Cootie Williams, Billy Taylor and many others.

ERNESTINE NEEDS YOUR HELP

Dear Friends,

We hear stories daily of people who are being forced to foreclose on their homes and it is truly heartbreaking. Recently, celebrities such as Ed McMahon and Evander Holyfield are in foreclosure. Unfortunately, that is a reality for many in this troubled economy and now, it has affected our own living legend, the incomparable Ernestine Anderson who is a four-time Grammy Nominee. We are reaching out and seeking support to help Ms. Anderson save her home, where her family has lived since 1946, in Seattle’s Central District. Any financial contribution to avoid this misfortune will gladly be accepted. An account has been set-up for her at Bank of America in Washington State under the name of “The Ernestine Anderson Fund”. You can go to any Bank of America to make a donation to this fund. People who live outside of Washington State may also make a donation at Bank of America. Please let them know to reference:

Bank of America – Washington State for “The Ernestine Anderson Fund”.

Checks can also be mailed to:

The Bank of America
“The Ernestine Anderson Fund”
1201 East Madison,
Seattle, WA. 98104

Ms. Anderson has exhausted all resources and she has until June 30th to raise at least $45,000 or her family home will be foreclosed. Any additional money raised will be used to assist Ms. Anderson to offset the existing mortgage of this property which will give her peace of mind in the future. Without our financial support, her home is scheduled to be auctioned off on July 11th. We appeal to everyone who has been touched by Ms. Anderson’s artistry, to join us in this effort. As 2008 marks Ms. Anderson’s 80th birthday – a true milestone, we hope that as a community we can rally and give back for all the gifts she has bestowed on so many.
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone and everyone who is willing to help. We need everyone’s support now as the clock is ticking.

With much gratitude and sincere appreciation,

Nancy McKernon
Publicist

Photo Credit: www.ernestineanderson.com

Here’s something you don’t want to miss, or if you need to, make sure to record to view later.

In the recent news are articles on the seven-part series of “The War,” directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, with the first episode, “A Necessary War,” to air Sunday, September 23, at 8 p.m. on KQED.

The Local War Programs, Bay Area documentaries produced by KQED & KTEH to air along with the Ken Burns series, includes original musical compositions by our own jazz legend, FRANK JACKSON.

What KQED knew was that Frank’s music/sound would be an ideal fit, that he was a resident of the San Francisco’s Fillmore Jazz District from the early 1940s and they learned after approaching Frank to compose the music that he also was a WW II veteran stationed in Saipan – the Mariana Islands.

KQED’s “The War: Bay Area Stories,” tells the diverse stories of local veterans and citizens, 60% of the music is composed by Frank Jackson, which airs Friday, September 21, at 9 p.m. Along with Frank’s intro and closing music, his compositions were utilized throughout the documentary. Also airs on KQED World: visit www.kqed.org/dtv for details.

*** SO remember to watch KQED – Friday, September 21, at 9 p.m. – Channel 9 in most areas ***

KQED’s “WW II Hispanic Soldiers,” explores the stories of Latino servicemen who answered the country’s call during the World War II, and Frank’s intro and closing and one of his original songs (performed with Latin instruments), airs Monday, September 24, at 10 p.m.

Produced by KTEH, “The War: Nisei Soldiers,” focuses on Japanese American veterans in the South Bay and Central Coast. “The War: Soldados,” which tells the story of the South Bay’s Latino community, includes Frank’s intro, closing and one of his original songs (Nisei Soldiers: performed with Japanese instruments), airs Saturday, September 29, at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Please make an effort to view these powerful local documentaries and see if you can figure out along the way, was that Frank we were listening too.

Enjoy & Please Take Good Care.

Kathy & Frank Jackson
Kasis Records, LLC
SF, CA USA

Photo of Bay Area Jazz Legend Frank Jackson and his wife, Kathy, at the 2006 Vallejo Jazz Festival by James Knox.

From Associated Press
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 10, 2:25 AM ET

WASHINGTON – The lady is a stamp! The U.S. Postal Service honors the First Lady of Song — Ella Fitzgerald — with her own postage stamp Wednesday.

ADVERTISEMENT
The 39-cent stamp is being released at ceremonies at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, and will be on sale across the country.

People who don’t know about her will see the stamp and think: “What makes this person special? And perhaps find out about the person and about the music,” said her son, Ray Brown Jr.
Fitzgerald wasn’t self-important, perhaps reflecting the values she sang about in the Rodgers and Hart song “The Lady is a Tramp”:

“I don’t like crap games, with barons and earls. Won’t go to Harlem, in ermine and pearls. Won’t dish the dirt, with the rest of the girls. That’s why the lady is a tramp.”

Phoebe Jacobs, executive vice president of The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and a longtime friend of Fitzgerald, described the singer as “a very private lady, very humble.”

After Fitzgerald confided in 1961 that she had never had a birthday party, Jacobs gathered a star-studded collection of people for the special event. The party was a secret, so Fitzgerald was told to dress up because there was a television interview.

When the lights came on she took her pocket book and hit me on the shoulder,” Jacobs recalled. “She was like a little kid, she was so happy.”

Fitzgerald was a baseball fan and the guests included her favorite player, Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle. They embraced and traded autographs.

Fitzgerald’s appearance on a stamp comes less than a year after Mantle was featured among baseball sluggers.

Born in Newport News, Va., in 1917, Ella Jane Fitzgerald moved with her mother to Yonkers, N.Y., as a youngster and began to sing and dance from an early age. She began winning talent competitions in the early 1930s and was hired to sing with Chick Webb’s band.

She later became famous as a scat singer, vocalizing nonsense syllables, and performed with most of the great musicians of the time. She recorded the song books of such composers as Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Johnny Mercer.

Over the years, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards and many other honors, including the National Medal of Arts, presented to her in 1987 by President Reagan.

Contact: Maria Halyna
2937 Mission St.
San Francisco CA, 94110
415-368-9485
mariahalynanew@yahoo.com
www.savannajazz.com

An interview with legendary Donald “Duck” Bailey for Black History Month

San Francisco, CA – February 20, 2006 – Performing on the 23rd and 24th at Savanna Jazz, Donald “Duck” Bailey has performed in the Chet Smith Orchestra, backed up Jimmy Smith, played the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1999, toured with the gifted Robert Stewart, and teaches at the Acme Music School in Oakland where some of the kids can barely touch the ground and they’re already hitting those drums.

Donald says the California be-bop sound isn’t the Oakland be-bop sound and it’s still different than the Philly be-bop sound. In fact, when he played with Chet Smith, who is from Philly, he said they “got a different beat in the East. It’s a different kind of be-bop.” He loves playing with the current group of younger players, because they still surprise each other as they try to find new sounds, add to their standard list of songs. Donald says, he plays his brother Morris Bailey’s songs (writer-arranger for many Philly records) and he’ll play 8 of them at the Generations in Jazz event at Savanna Jazz this Thursday and Friday, some of which he’ll play keys and let Michael Lansford sit behind the kit.

A very interesting jazz musician who still encourages his students and fans to listen to Thelonius Monk, Benny Goldson, John Coltrane, Max Roach and Charlie Parker.

To contact Donald “Duck” Bailey before the show, reply by email or call 415.601.6073.

Savanna Jazz proudly presents Feb 23rd & 24th, 2006 at 8:00 pm an explosive 2-night event entitled “Generations In Jazz” with Elder Statesman and Master Percussionist Donald Bailey Quintet and from NYC Drummer Winard Harper and his Sextet. This is an unprecedented concert of generational excellence in Jazz. In keeping with the educational mission of Savanna Jazz, a quintet of high school students will open the events both nights. We look forward to your support of Live Jazz”.

Savanna Jazz, 2937 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel; 415-285-3369
www.savannajazz.com

Maria Halyna
Publicity/Public Relations/Promotions/Artist Development/Booking
415.601.6073
fax 415-358-8632

Independently Owned and Operated

This is one of the best quotes that describe the magic of Shirley Horn’s music. The past few weeks have definitely been an education for me in Shirley Horn’s music. Thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support on this project. Preparing the final disc in My Shirley Horn Box Set was quite a challenge because her music pulls me in every direction. I thought about doing all ballads for the last disc but I like mixing her swinging tunes with her signature ballads. I originally wanted to put just 15 songs on each radio blog but as I would create the playlist, another song would pop in my head that I would just have to include. I created this playlist a few weeks ago so I would at least have a framework in place. I knew which songs I wanted to begin and end with but it was the selection of the songs in between start and finish that kept me scratching my head. Over the course of this adventure, I have managed to pull at least one song from almost every Shirley Horn CD I own. Hopefully, more of her music will be released from the vaults especially her first album, Embers and Ashes, which recently sold for $177.50 on eBay. I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have enjoy sharing it. If I have missed one of your favorites, don’t worry for I will be sharing more of Shirley’s music in future radio blogs. Now sit back in your home or cubicle, turn the lights down low and enjoy the “whispery voice that conjured cashmere and cognac”, Ms. Shirley Valerie Horn.

My Shirley Horn Box Set – Disc 4 (listen here!)

01 – Shirley Horn – “The Music That Makes Me Dance” from You Won’t Forget Me (1991) – There is a natural build to a Shirley Horn ballad that is demonstrated here. She introduces the verse and each time she repeats it, there is a little more intensity until it reaches the boiling point but she never breaks a sweat. Just as quickly she brings the fire back down to simmer without missing a beat.

02 – Shirley Horn – “Come Dance With Me” from You Won’t Forget Me (1991) – This is the companion song to “The Music That Makes Me Dance.” The pairing of the two songs is quite exquisite. Shirley originally recorded this song on her Shirley Horn with Horns album released in 1963.

03 – Shirley Horn – “Green(It’s Not Easy Being Green)” from Light Out of Darkness: A Tribute to Ray Charles (1993) – We commonly know this as the “Kermit the Frog” song but Shirley was inspired to record it after hearing Ray Charles sing it. From the liner notes she says: “I didn’t pay too much attention to it until I heard Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street do it then I heard Ray do it. It was then when I started to think about the lyric”, recalls the singer. “Look at my house – it’s green, but it’s not just because I love the color green. The lyric goes: ‘Green is the color of the leaves/Green can be cool and friendly-like/Green is big like a mountain, deep like the ocean and tall like a tree/Green is all there is to be.’ Why not be green? I listen to the lyrics because they are so important to me – because I’m green.”

04 – Shirley Horn – “That Old Black Magic” from Loads of Love + Shirley Horn with Horns (1963) – I love the way this song fades in with Shirley’s sultry vocals over a very nice bossa nova groove.

05 – Shirley Horn – “How Long Has This Been Going On” from Softly (1988) – For this beautiful ballad, Shirley chose to sing an alternate lyric that was written for Audrey Hepburn to sing in the 1957 movie “Funny Face.”

06 – Shirley Horn – “I’m Old Fashioned” from A Lazy Afternoon (1978) – This swinging tune comes from her first of four albums for SteepleChase. It features Buster Williams on bass and Billy Hart on drums.

07 – Shirley Horn – “So I Love You” from Close Enough for Love (1989) – This was the premiere of this song with music and lyrics by Carroll Coates, who wrote “London by Night” and the lyric for Peter Nero’s “Sunday in New York” (which Shirley recorded on her Travelin’ Light album.)

08 – Shirley Horn – “I Just Found Out About Love” from You Won’t Forget Me (1991) – Another swinging tune from this great album. Shirley accompanies herself on piano incredibly well but that is a given (big grin!!)

09 – Shirley Horn – “A Taste of Honey” from Where Are You Going? (1972) – This song opens showcasing Shirley classical training then shifts to a rhythm that is reminiscent of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” and closes with a quiet verse that is as sweet as honey.

10 – Shirley Horn – “You’d Be So Nice To Home To” from All Night Long (1981) – Shirley and her trio recorded this Cole Porter tune at the Northsea Jazz Festival in Holland.

11 – Shirley Horn – “In The Dark” from Loving You (1997) – The last time I saw Shirley in concert earlier this year, she paid tribute to Ray Charles with a spirited version of this song.

12 – Shirley Horn – “Just In Time” from I Love You, Paris (1994) – The piano intro on this jaunty tune is very similar to “Nice ‘n’ Easy.” Shirley recorded this song during her 2 and 1/2 hour concert at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France on March 7, 1992.

13 – Shirley Horn – “I Wanna Be Loved” from Close Enough for Love (1989) – Shirley smolders on this Johnny Green-Billy Rose-Edward Heyman standard. She sings “I feel like acting my age. I’m past the stage of merely turtledoving.”Now can someone tell what “turtledoving” means? I imagine it to be one of those polite words of the golden age to describe romance.

14 – Shirley Horn – “Our Love Is Here To Stay” from I Thought About You: Live at Vine St. (1987) – A Gershwin gem from her debut Verve album.

15 – Shirley Horn – “I Got Lost in His Arms” from Your My Thrill (2001) – Shirley orginally recorded this Irving Berlin tune on her Close Enough for Love album. For this rendition, Johnny Mandel clothes her vocals with beautiful orchestration.

16 – Shirley Horn – “Loads of Love” from But Beautiful – The Best of Shirley Horn (2005) – After listening to this song and hearing Shirley say “well, that’s it”, I imagine this to be the closing song for one of her nights of live recording at Au Bar in New York City in January 2005. You can tell she was having a fun time on this tune. She originally recorded this Richard Rodgers song on her Loads of Love album so it is great to hear her fresh take on this classic song.

17 – Shirley Horn – “Dindi” from All of Me (1987) – Shirley handles this Jobim classic with velvet gloves. She also has a beautiful piano solo. This album is a Japanese import and I was able to find it on eBay.

18 – Shirley Horn – “I’ve Got Plenty O’ Nothin’” from I Remember Miles (1998) – Shirley received nine consecutive Grammy nominations for her Verve recordings and received a Grammy for this tribute album to her friend and mentor, Miles Davis. This album includes mostly ballads but Shirley swings here. Roy Hargrove is featured on trumpet.

19 – Shirley Horn – “Blue in Green” from I Remember Miles (1998) – There is poignant moment in this instrumental ballad when Shirley pauses and sings, ” honey from a horn so sweet” which expresses her love for Miles Davis. You could easily imagine her voice as horn.

20 – Shirley Horn – “May The Music Never End” from May the Music Never End (2003) – A very reflective title song that conveys a powerful message, “may the music never end.” It was composed by Artie Butler who also composed “Here’s to Life” which has become Shirley’s signature ballad.
Thank you Shirley!