Oh, what a JAZZ evening we had on this first Thursday of Spring, 2022.    

First off, I want to thank everyone that joined in the session.  We had a full array of listeners from all over the country.  And for the very first time, we had a  couple of Vinyl Listeners from across the pond.  Two listeners, Chris and Tod, joined in, all the way from London, England.  What a pleasant surprise. Everyone was encouraged and we used the Zoom chat feature to introduce ourselves and for conversations during the session.  A few listeners played selections from their turntable.   

We opened by acknowledging Women’s History Month. It seemed like that it set the tone for the evening. We started the evening with;   

Brazilica  by jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis from the album Salongo, released in 1976.    I briefly mentioned to the listeners that we have had conversations in the past about Jazz genres. A question was asked prior to the session about what type of jazz we would be playing. I responded that in a few sessions I presented in text that showed there were over forty-five sub-genres of Jazz.  We will be playing whatever our DJs interpretation of Jazz. With that, I listed the more than 45 Jazz genres in the Chat.    

We talked and acknowledged that this is Women’s History Month. DJ Zach McGants mentioned that he would be playing only female artist during the session, and he started with;  

We’ll Be Together Again  by Vi  Redd from the album Lady Soul. Redd is a vocalist and saxophone player. She has a smooth and  sexy voice, like Billie or Sarah.  That was followed by;  Nick. 

Everything Must  Change  by  Nina Simone. Played by Dr Nick.  He stole one my planned selections. But how can you get through Women’s History Month and Jazz without someone mentioning Nina.   

African Dance  by  Muriel  Grossman alto saxophone. A spiritual Jazz selection from her latest album Union, played by Elliot Simon. That was followed by;   

Round Midnight  by James Moody saxophone. I selected this tune and asked everyone to guess the title song. Our listener from London, Todd chatted in the song name and texted about his first time hearing this song. After the song was over, Tod came in on video and told us of the first time hearing this tune coming from another room when he was in college, 20 years ago. He did not discover the name and composer until sometime later.    

Exactly Like You  by vocalist Abbey Lincoln, from the 1958 album It’s Magic. She had ties to the DC area with musicians that she met through Betty Carter.   

Messy Bessy, an original tune by Shirley Scott on the Hammond B3 organ. The album is titled Something with a full range of star musicians performing with her.   

Get Ready from the album Just Ella by Ella Fitzgerald and Eric Gale 1968/69. This is late Ella and her encouragement from Eric Gale to get in into R&B during this period of her life. If it’s R&B (or anything else) sung by Ella, it has to be Jazz. There were other contemporary songs on this album.   

Catching the Sun by Spyro Gyra from their 1980 release by the same name. A remarkably familiar Jazz tune.   

Without Your Love I Will Die  by the Blackbyrds. The player of this tune, Michelle, mentioned that the title is something that every woman wants to hear. This is a smooth jazz tune with hints of R&B.   

In honor of Women’s History Month, I was going to play the entire side of the Baltimore album by Nina Simone. However, that was sabotaged by Dr. Nick with the playing of “Everything Must Change”.  That was to be the album  Baltimore by Nina.  So, the next selection played was;   

Baltimore by Nina Simone - 

We had a first time Listener and friend, Velva Spriggs, who joined in. Velva is a music lover, and she paid a tribute to radio station WPFW in DC. Velva, who lives in DC, is a Social Worker, professor/educator, and an advocate for children and families.   

Around 6:30 we raised a glass to remember and honor those we have lost from this earth. To give thanks to awakening this day. And look forward to the days ahead, to grow and to learn. May we have peace in the days ahead. We also recognized a few musicians whose birthday was in the month of March; Quincy Jones, George Benson, Harry Belafonte, Ornette Coleman, Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Sly Stone, and Sarah Vaughn.  The next selection;   

Night In Tunisia  by  Chaka Khan    

The next selection played was;   

Broken Hearted Melody by Sarah Vaughn from the album The Magic of Sarah album. Elliot showed us a copy of Ella first album titled. Sarah Vaughn. The next song;   

Mean To Me  by Morgana King, former actress, turned jazz singer.   

Bumpin On Sunset  by  Wes Montgomery. Can’t go wrong with Wes Montgomery.   

We ended the session with a bit of comedy from the legendary humorist and activist, Dick Gregory, with a selection from his 1973 “Caught in the Act” album, wherein he talks about quitting the night club circuit.   

We ended with our Goodbye’s.  A Great Time Was Had By All.  I hope to see you on our next Vinyl Listening session, hopefully in April.   

Earl  Jackson  -  The Vinyl Listening Lounge Club