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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     

On a mild winter day in northwest DC, the Vinyl  Listening Club hosted a JAZZ Only vinyl session.  The vinyl session consisted of mostly first-time visitors. The remaining listeners were there for the second time. 

Where Were My Regular Vinyl Listeners?

Despite their absence, the music and musicians presented were just as impressive as ever. The conversation was highlighted by newcomer Elliot Simon, jazz reviewer for All About Jazz, an online Jazz site that reports on Jazz from around the world. 

We started off the set with;

1. At Last -- Urbie Green

Urbie Green is not highly known by the general public, but he was a well-rounded trombone jazz artist playing many styles of jazz from the 50’s up into the 90’s. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than two dozen albums as a soloist and was highly respected by his fellow trombonists and other great musicians. Green's trombone sounds were noted for its flawless warm, mellow tone, where he was more fluent than most trombonists. He played in major jazz festivals, motion picture soundtracks, concert halls, nightclubs, radio, television and the White House. 

2. Dolphin Dance - Ahmad Jamal

3. The Message – Illinois Jaquet

4. Polka Dots and Rainbows - The Jazz Crusaders –

This song was one of the top 100 most-frequently recorded jazz standards

5. Swinging Shepherd - Ella Fitzgerald

6. Modern Man - Stanley Clark

7. No Fears In The End - Grover Washington

Throughout the evening there were numerous conversations around the music and musicians being heard. We revisited a previous session conversation around the types of Jazz. We viewed a web site that listed over 50 Jazz genres. 

8. Brite Piece – Elvin Jones

9. I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts - Ray Charles

10. Walk On By – Stanley Turrentine

11. Ode To Chicken George - Charles Earland

12. I Wish - Charles Earland

13. Searching – Roy Ayers

14. Hummin – Cannonball Adderly

15. But I Was Cool – Oscar Brown

16. Gemini – Jimmy Heath & Percy Heath

17. Swallow Each Other Alive – Amanda Monaco

We were introduced to an album by Amanda Monaco, a NYC-based Jazz Guitarist. This is an unusual album in that the music was inspired by rabbinical texts from the 3rd century.  A little bit jazz, a little bit metal, a little bit funky, with timeless lyrics in Hebrew and Aramaic. 

We ended the session with,

18. Love Island - Deodato

A Great Time was had by All. Much thanks to Sotto for their hospitality. Looking forward to seeing you at our next event. Stay tuned. Follow us on the social media sites.