Artist - Tune - Album
Eric Dolphy - Juggin’ Around - Eric Dolphy
Mike Nock, Bennie Maupin, - Double Split - Almanac
Cecil McBee, Eddie Marshall
Oscar Peterson - Ellington Medley - Digital at Montreux
Chaka Khan, Lenny White, Chick Corea, - All Of Me - Echoes Of An Era
Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke
Jeff Beck - Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers - Blow By Blow
Julius Hemphill - Leora - Julius Hemphill Big Band
Pat Martino - Line Games - Joyous Lake
Oregon - The Rapids - Oregon
Hugh Masekela - In The Marketplace - I Am Not Afraid
The Heath Brothers - Mellowdrama - Passing Thru…
Joan Armatrading - The Weakness In Me - Walk Under Ladders
Branford Marsalis - Love Stone - Renaissance
Michal Urbaniak - Circular Road - Serenade For The City
Nina Simone - I Shall Be Released - To Love Somebody
The ode to musical styles past and present that introduces Jazz Gumbo in “Music Evolution” by Branford Marsalis and Buckshot Lefonque.
Playlists for all past Sets of Jazz Gumbo will be found at
jazzgumbo.blogspot.ca
This set was broadcast and recorded shortly after the passing of Hugh Masekela on January 23rd. I never got to see Masekela live, but enjoyed his music from the time of his big hit in the 60’s with “Grazing In The Grass”. The album I played from here, “I Am Not Afraid” has been a favorite for decades.
It was only after years of listening to his music, and that of his countryman Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as Dollar Brand), and later to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, that I came to recognize the particular South African-ness of this music. There’s a beautiful melancholy in it that evokes a depth of feeling. It’s music that – like the tune I played this night – can’t help but tell a story. It’s just so full of life and memory.
How many of the musicians who contributed to this Set have passed, I couldn’t say. Oscar Peterson passed not so many years ago, and in tonight’s offering he makes a dazzling tribute to Ellington, who passed long before him, and to Billy Strayhorn, who wrote “Lush Life”, one of the sweetest, most melancholy tunes ever written.
What a thing it must be to leave music behind, and to forever be able to touch hearts with melody and harmony and rhythm, as these great musicians have done. They spread joy, they spread love, and so remain deeply engaged with life.
Thrive!
Kirby Obsidian
