All that Jazz

The South Bank Show Originals: Courtney Pine
The Londoner was interviewed in 2000, and related his story, how he soon swapped his 1st instrument, a recorder, for a saxophone. He was offered a place playing in Art Blakey's band, but he turned it down to concentrate on his own work. Apparently, the tiresome Marsalis brothers still hold that against him, which in my view makes it the right choice. He made his solo debut album in 1986, has his own home studio in North London, and feels a product of multi-cultural London influences. No mention of being in Doctor Who, of course, but never mind

Diana Krall: Live in Rio
TWO HOURS. Achieved by singing songs in a low, slow drawl, here with the occasional bossa nova beat. She paid lip service to Nat King Cole, but she seemed to have as much reverence for his songs as anybody else's. A pleasant show from Viva Rio, 2009, and her trick of swapping genders in songs (The Boy From Ipanema, I've Grown Accustomed To His Face) worked better here than I'd expect it to with most performers.

Norah Jones: Live from the Artist's Den
From the Green Building, Brooklyn, on May 8, 2012. Noah belts out the hits (presumably), and sounds like Lana Del Rey (OK, vice-versa). I'm bemused to think that a decade ago, Norah was considered maybe the coolest female performer in the world, and hasn't been judged that in a very long time. Odd. Nice show, mind.

The Great Songwriters: Norah Jones
She was inspired by her mother's record collection, and imitated her favourite singers, like Aretha Franklin or Billie Holliday. She was drawn to jazz, and went to a Performing Arts High School. She developed her sound after starting to write songs. She was drawn to sad songs, and praised Dolly Parton. Feels that songs evolve on their own. Tries to keep setlists fresh and loves reading books, but she's less involved with social media.

Jay Leno's Garage
Anthony Kiedis discussed how riding motorbikes helps him write songs. More interestingly, the great Herbie Hancock talked about the AC Cobra he bought with his 1st big royalty cheque, and what Miles Davis felt about it (Miles preferred Maseratis).

HARDtalk: Nina Simone
This BBC series is celebrating its 20 year mark with a few repeats, and a 1999 chat to Nina Simone certainly rates. She met Nelson Mandela, of whom she speaks highly, she knew Martin Luther King, ditto. The FBI had a file on her. Her first musical love with Bach. She had a very poor background, but was a child prodigy who could play the piano at the age of 3. She respects many faiths rather than a single one. She couldn't stand Billie Holliday, and left the USA in 1972 over racism, and was not planning to return. She was also angry that many record companies were bootlegging her career and not giving her proper money (she fired a gun in one meeting about it). She studied yoga for 21 years.

Omnibus: Ella Fitzgerald at Ronnie Scott's
From 1974, a steady hour or less of material, with some fill-in banter. But at least she did songs I'd heard of, which is a nice change. She paid tribute to guys like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, and said it was her first time in a London nightclub for many years.

Secret Knowledge: Nina and Me
Tiresome but short effort with Laura Mvula visiting New York to retell the saga of how a piano prodigy called Eunice developed her act and her political conscience. She went to the Julliard school in Harlem, and later in Greenwich Village. Mississippi Goddam remains a powerful anthem for the times.

All Night Long
1960 film with Richard Attenborough running a small club and celebrating the 1st wedding anniversary of friends who happen to lead a jazz band. But their drummer, Patrick McGoohan wants to break out and form his own band, and take the celebrating bride with him. To this end, he sets up doubts in the husband's mind & so on. Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck and other genuine jazzers play on quite a lively soundtrack.

BBC Proms '17: Charles Mingus Revisited
Jules Buckley conducts the Metropole Orkest, with various guests such as singer Kandace Springs, as they run through well over an hour of material in celebration of the great man.

Needle Time: Courtney Pine
Roy Wood, of all people, inspired him to take up the saxophone, by which time he'd already started on the recorder and progressed to the clarinet. He toured in a reggae band from the age of 16, but was always drawn to jazz, though he also works in R&B. He's carved a successful career, sessioned for Mike Oldfield, did his 1st LP in 1986, but was keen to be a composer in his own right. He learned the bass flute for his new LP, which features Omar on several tracks. He had to fill in during the Free Nelson Mandela Concert because Stevie Wonder had to delay. He's met Mick Jagger, Herbie Hancock, Dionne Warwick and others. He doesn't play guitar, but he has got his own studio, and as many as 10 projects on the go. And still no mention of being in Dr Who...

Femi Temowo - Orin Meta - Live at Under The Bridge
Unsure what year this was, but it was a lengthy set of pleasant enough music, from this British-Nigerian jazz guitarist. One song featured the vocals of Xantone, but I've never previously heard of him before either.

Yolanda Brown - April Showers, May Flowers - Live Sessions
Shot at Under The Bridge, Chelsea, London, she's a double-MOBO winning saxophonist, but a couple of tracks featured vocals. Pleasant enough.

Legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela died at the age of 78. Which led to a repeat from 2015 of:

HARDtalk: Hugh Masekela
Zainab Badawi handled the interview, running through his childhood help from Father Trevor Huddleston who paid for his 1st trumpet, to his life in LA in the 1960s, where he escaped a culture of alcoholism at home, to find harder drugs available. He married Miriam Makeba for a while. He was unable to return safely to South Africa, even when his mother died in 1978. The change of regime in 1990 did bring him back, but he fears now little has really changed there, even with a vote.

RIP

Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa
Another repeat in tribute, this time from 2010, mixing Hugh recounting his story, with gig footage from a 70th birthday concert at the Barbican in London, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Francois-Xavier Roth. Stimela included him imitating a train, and Grazing In The Grass was apparently his big hit record.

The South Bank Show Originals: Jamie Cullum
From 2004, with the team spotting him early, but finding that his fame overtook them, and their show became one of many. He brought entertainment back to jazz, and made the purists cross in the process. But he learnt tricks from old hands, and talked of standards rather than cover versions, which does sound better, and had been gigging from the age of 16. These days he's a DJ on Radio 2.

The Jazz Ambassadors
In the mid-1950's, US President Eisenhower was pushed by senator Adam Clayton Powell Jr to set up a travelling band of cultural ambassadors, which in practice turned out to be jazz musicians. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the first big names to join on, but things went up a gear when Louis Armstrong enlisted. However, racial tensions back home led to him pulling out. Duke Ellington and later Dave Brubeck also had a go. Trips were made to the Middle East, parts of Africa, and even Russia. But the untimely death of JFK led to the end of the program, just at a time when they might have done more good.

Hairy Bikers' Mississippi Adventure: Jazz
New Orleans of course, with Dave expressing a dislike for jazz. They visited Bourbon Street in the French Quarter and met trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, then to Mardi Gras World to see how floats are put together, then Mamita's (in a fire station) to talk about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the Spotted Cat Music Club to watch the Little Big Horns (where Dave started to feel the love at last), and finally onto the Natchez steamboat. There they served some of the food they made earlier in the show, including jambalaya, hot beef tamales and Bananas Foster.

Live From Abbey Road - Classics - Herbie Hancock
In 2007, the legend was promoting a tribute album to Joni Mitchell, where here he was helped out by Corinne Bailey Rae and Melody Gardot. He didn't say anything, but Corinne was flattered to work with Herbie, who keeps up to date and doesn't get left behind. The other part of the show saw Randy Crawford from 2006, doing Street Life (what else?) with jazz pianist Joe Sample.

Band of Thieves
Curious early 1960s movie with Acker Bilk on clarinet as a band leader whose trad jazz line-up are all in prison. This being a caper, they first make a name touring other prisons, and after release, they reform to work in a club/café. Then they're persuaded to front a tour which combines with a series of safe robberies. In many ways, you couldn't make a film like this now, even if you wanted to. But there's plenty of music, including this number:

All I Wanna Do Is Sing

Discovering: Rhapsody In Blue
Shown in accord with the final of some Jazz competition, this tribute to George Gershwin's masterpiece spent 2/3 of its time running through what was great about it, before the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performed it to prove their point. Brief archive footage of George himself, and his sister Frances elevated this somewhat, as pianists and clarinettists talked about its value to them, and its radical improvisations, also how frequently it was (and remains) performed by others.

Jazzology, with Soweto Kinch
From New Orleans to Harlem, and with some younger British inclusions, eg Courtney Pine, this was much the usual story of how jazz originated with black slaves, and how some modern players are trying to drop the name jazz because of negative connotation 

Merry Christmas, Baby - with Gregory Porter & Friends
This new show saw Porter ascend to the top spot, around which Corinne Bailey Rae, Courtney Pine, and others circulated. Jacob Collier, who I had forgotten slating during his Proms show in the Summer, was also present. They did a few typical Christmas tunes, but also some less obvious ones, such as the titular effort, which were fresher for not having been played to death over the past month.

Bright Light, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities - New York 1951
The last part of this series looked at David Ogilvy's advertising, Jackson Pollock's painting, Marlon Brando's acting, Jack Kerouac's writing, and Thelonious Monk's hits "Straight No Chaser" which was part of the Bebop craze, and which his son (interviewed) felt earned him a tag as the "father of modern jazz". Monk was wrongfully arrested for heroin possession in August and served a 2 month jail term, so even in a year of triumph, there was still a downside.

Norah Jones In Concert - Baloise Session 2016
She started on piano, spent the middle of the gig on guitar, before returning to the piano, and then a final encore on acoustic guitar. She mumbled rather a lot of words, which is both irritating and confusing. She plays well and sings very well, and I would like to have enjoyed more of it.

Gregory Porter - Don't Forget Your Music
A lengthy career piece from 2014, around the time of his 3rd album, for which he won his 1st Grammy (having been nominated unsuccessfully for both his previous ones). He made a modest start, made good connections, and his voice won him supporters in the UK, Russia and elsewhere, if not always at home in the USA. Jazzers liked his work, but he was at home performing at the Royal Albert Hall, or doing a guest spot in Ibiza. Plus he writes a lot of his own stuff. So the future ought to remain bright.

Top Gear - Gregory Porter
By fluke, Gregory was this week's guest on the top-rated driving show. He spoke of his car history, how driving in Brooklyn has its own rules, his Nat Cole tribute album, and a brief spell as Rolls Royce ambassador which involved doing a spot at a factory, even though he prefers Bentleys. Nice guy, really.

Gregory Porter - Live In Berlin

At the Philharmonic Concert Hall, May 2016, to be more precise. He did a steady hour or so of material, has an impressive voice too, and a good band.

Off Camera with Sam Jones - Don Cheadle
He talked about a film he made called Miles Ahead, which seems to have been a Miles Davis biopic which took 12 years to get done from scratch. He knew the trumpet, and he found the experience of directing his 1st film as terrifying. Also that he didn't see it as the sort of biopic in the usual idea of one, more the film that Miles himself would have approved of. Did sounds worth checking out.

Buble!
Michael the Canadian gets his own show, with performance mixed with him relating his story. It seemed a tribute to his grandfather, who inspired and supported him. He talked about his writing, and his piano playing (the one being somewhat better than the other).

Jazz 625
One-off revival of a 1960s brand, with Andi Oliver on presenting duties, and linking new live performances from Gregory Porter, Jacqui Dankworth and others, plus archive footage of Duke Ellington and others, as well as a special piece from Charlie Watts. I'd think there was enough material to make a series, but whether that would make it to screen is another matter.

Sound of Redemption - The Frank Morgan Story
His father was a musician in the Ink Spots, but he took up the saxophone and hero-worshipped Charlie Parker. Unfortunately, that took in a heroin problem. Even after Parker died, Morgan was in and out of San Quentin with his habit (and he got through 8 wives). He did clean up eventually and died in 2007. As well as the chattering, there was footage from a tribute concert held at SQ, MC'd by Delfeayo Marsalis. The highlight was Grace Kelly's version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.