All That Jazz ...

[Sushant Sharma]

Lee Morgan The Rajah recorded mid 60s and released posthumously in the mid 80s. The tonepoet release (that I can't afford) recently, peaked my interest in this album. The album opener 'The Pilgrims Funny Farm" is a song by Cal Massey (once again) and is a stand out for me though there are multiple other great tunes on the album.

The funny bit is the liner notes and here are some excerpts " Mobley levitates above the swaying elephant beat, Morgan the head Mahout, prods, punches and trills...Walton shows he has bathed in the holy, blues waters. Lee and Hank Mobley trade choruses that will heat up the inside of your turban". Besides these lines, I don't see any other Indian connection at all in the playing.

 

[harry123456]

Bobby Hutcherson and Harold Land - Ummh. Nice mix of Jazz and Funk.

 

[Nikhil]

Lee Morgan The Rajah recorded mid 60s and released posthumously in the mid 80s. The tonepoet release (that I can't afford) recently, peaked my interest in this album. The album opener 'The Pilgrims Funny Farm" is a song by Cal Massey (once again) and is a stand out for me though there are multiple other great tunes on the album.

The funny bit is the liner notes and here are some excerpts " Mobley levitates above the swaying elephant beat, Morgan the head Mahout, prods, punches and trills...Walton shows he has bathed in the holy, blues waters. Lee and Hank Mobley trade choruses that will heat up the inside of your turban". Besides these lines, I don't see any other Indian connection at all in the playing.

My father in law was telling me that quite a few American jazz musicians used to visit India in the 60s and 70s.
Usually while serving time in the US Army en-route to postings in different parts of Asia.

It's hard to know what influenced them during their brief visits to the old Calcutta and Bombay.


.

 

[Sushant Sharma]

My father in law was telling me that quite a few American jazz musicians used to visit India in the 60s and 70s.
Usually while serving time in the US Army en-route to postings in different parts of Asia.

It's hard to know what influenced them during their brief visits to the old Calcutta and Bombay.


.

That's an informative little nugget. We always see the going ons in Europe and France etc. Would be nice to see what exactly was happening here in India with regard to American Jazz musicians. Thanks for sharing that.
The Pim Jacobs album I just sampled. It's buttery smooth no frills and sit back and enjoy beautiful trio setting. Great choice if of standards as well. Thanks

 

[panditji]

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I just absolutely love his version of Canadian Sunset which I discovered in some Woody Allen movie...

 

[panditji]

My father in law was telling me that quite a few American jazz musicians used to visit India in the 60s and 70s.
Usually while serving time in the US Army en-route to postings in different parts of Asia.

It's hard to know what influenced them during their brief visits to the old Calcutta and Bombay.


.

The US State Department used to send them to India to encourage interaction between the people.. Part of their soft diplomacy..

 

[harry123456]

My father in law was telling me that quite a few American jazz musicians used to visit India in the 60s and 70s.
Usually while serving time in the US Army en-route to postings in different parts of Asia.

It's hard to know what influenced them during their brief visits to the old Calcutta and Bombay.


.

Made me wonder if this beauty from his best Album was inspired by one of Horace's visit to India. Here is what i found on the web.

Quote

"On the other end of the artistic spectrum is the Horace Silver Quintet’s Calcutta Cutie. The track was a part of the hard bop jazz pianist’s famous album Song For My Father from 1964. Many of Silver’s compositions from the mid-sixties are quite funky with an infectious groove. Calcutta Cutie is much more restrained; a slow, atmospheric track, Silver, who had never been to Calcutta, apparently wanted an Indian flavour, similar to one of his earlier compositions, The Baghdad Blues. A nice touch is provided by drummer Roy Brooks, on the finger cymbals, which sound quite like the ones used for religious ceremonies in Bengal."



Horace Silver - Calcutta Cutie

 

[Nikhil]

Sushant,

You might find this an interesting read.

Take Five Comes Full Circle – Taj Mahal Foxtrot

www.tajmahalfoxtrot.com

Bombay and Calcutta had a serious jazz scene back then. Notably this excerpt:

" ... for Indian jazz fans with long memories, this version of Take Five seems to bring it all back home. Ever since the tune was released in 1959, Indian jazz musicians have maintained that Take Five was the direct result of a lesson Indian jazz drummer Leslie Godinho gave Brubeck’s percussionist Joe Morello in a hotel room in Delhi in 1958. Godinho, the story goes, taught Morello how to play the 5/4 time signature that is the foundation of Take Five."


.

 

[Sushant Sharma]

Sushant,

You might find this an interesting read.

Take Five Comes Full Circle – Taj Mahal Foxtrot

www.tajmahalfoxtrot.com

Bombay and Calcutta had a serious jazz scene back then. Notably this excerpt:

" ... for Indian jazz fans with long memories, this version of Take Five seems to bring it all back home. Ever since the tune was released in 1959, Indian jazz musicians have maintained that Take Five was the direct result of a lesson Indian jazz drummer Leslie Godinho gave Brubeck’s percussionist Joe Morello in a hotel room in Delhi in 1958. Godinho, the story goes, taught Morello how to play the 5/4 time signature that is the foundation of Take Five."


.

Definitely an interesting read, that article, thanks. That mridangam with jazz drums is so cool. There's also the trip to Turkey the band took and also if I remember correctly, I watched something on YouTube or read somewhere the slight disagreement on Joe Morellos solo on take 5 between Brubeck and Desmond or was it the length of that solo and yeah in an interview Joe Morello says,

Also on 'Castilian Drums' you rub your thumb across the snare batter, like a conguero.

"The inspiration came basically from the Indian things, with the fingers and the edges of the drums. I saw a lot of tabla players. The musicians sat there, nobody would play until the drummer arrived - everybody was bowing to this guy. We deliberately wanted to see music that was so different from our things, you know?"

With regard to concerts/ visits, I could find Armstrong, Ellington, Jack Teagarden and Mahalia Jackson and of course Brubeck who played here in India (Bombay).

 

[Nikhil]

Another fantastic recommendation from @sameer kumar

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[Jayant_S]

View attachment 57537Lee Morgan The Rajah recorded mid 60s and released posthumously in the mid 80s. The tonepoet release (that I can't afford) recently, peaked my interest in this album. The album opener 'The Pilgrims Funny Farm" is a song by Cal Massey (once again) and is a stand out for me though there are multiple other great tunes on the album.

The funny bit is the liner notes and here are some excerpts " Mobley levitates above the swaying elephant beat, Morgan the head Mahout, prods, punches and trills...Walton shows he has bathed in the holy, blues waters. Lee and Hank Mobley trade choruses that will heat up the inside of your turban". Besides these lines, I don't see any other Indian connection at all in the playing.

Wow Sushant! Such serendipity on this album. I've been listening to a lot of Lee Morgan recently and the TP reissue of Rajah was too tempting to pass up. I've resisted all the other fabulous (albeit expensive) Tone Poets but gave up with this one
You're so lucky to own an OG

 

[Sushant Sharma]

Wow Sushant! Such serendipity on this album. I've been listening to a lot of Lee Morgan recently and the TP reissue of Rajah was too tempting to pass up. I've resisted all the other fabulous (albeit expensive) Tone Poets but gave up with this one
You're so lucky to own an OG

We seem to be birds of feather @Jayant_S This is a mint copy but not an original. It's a 84 French reissue, that the londonjazzcollector rates not very well. Great album and I am happy I have it. Someday I will bring it over and we can see how they both play. What's 5000 Kms. Haha. Good to see you post after a bit.

 

[Jayant_S]

We seem to be birds of feather @Jayant_S This is a mint copy but not an original. It's a 84 French reissue, that the londonjazzcollector rates not very well. Great album and I am happy I have it. Someday I will bring it over and we can see how they both play. What's 5000 Kms. Haha. Good to see you post after a bit.

Yes we definitely have shared music taste
This is only the second TP I own so far, but if they're all like this, they're really hard to resist. Impeccable pressing quality, thick glossy gatefold cover.
Do come over when things are back to a semblance of normalcy.
In fact, I'll come visit you in the hills. Makes for a perfect setting to go though your treasure trove!

 

[moktan]

Catfish John …delightful Jerry Garcia ….

 

[sameer kumar]

 

[coaltrain]

View attachment 57537Lee Morgan The Rajah recorded mid 60s and released posthumously in the mid 80s. The tonepoet release (that I can't afford) recently, peaked my interest in this album. The album opener 'The Pilgrims Funny Farm" is a song by Cal Massey (once again) and is a stand out for me though there are multiple other great tunes on the album.

The funny bit is the liner notes and here are some excerpts " Mobley levitates above the swaying elephant beat, Morgan the head Mahout, prods, punches and trills...Walton shows he has bathed in the holy, blues waters. Lee and Hank Mobley trade choruses that will heat up the inside of your turban". Besides these lines, I don't see any other Indian connection at all in the playing.

Luck you! Been trying to find this album on CD for ages
Too many albums with Lee Morgan to take a snap. Instead, here’s a list of LM Blue Notes from my collection, including other albums he’s played on - marked with a dot. You can’t have too much Morgan!

 

[coaltrain]

Bobby Hutcherson and Harold Land - Ummh. Nice mix of Jazz and Funk.

Massive BH fan here! Always happy to spread his music
As above, some other Blue Notes with Hutch you may enjoy:

 

[coaltrain]

The US State Department used to send them to India to encourage interaction between the people.. Part of their soft diplomacy..

Totally spot on. Here are two of them:

 

[coaltrain]

Made me wonder if this beauty from his best Album was inspired by one of Horace's visit to India. Here is what i found on the web.

Quote

"On the other end of the artistic spectrum is the Horace Silver Quintet’s Calcutta Cutie. The track was a part of the hard bop jazz pianist’s famous album Song For My Father from 1964. Many of Silver’s compositions from the mid-sixties are quite funky with an infectious groove. Calcutta Cutie is much more restrained; a slow, atmospheric track, Silver, who had never been to Calcutta, apparently wanted an Indian flavour, similar to one of his earlier compositions, The Baghdad Blues. A nice touch is provided by drummer Roy Brooks, on the finger cymbals, which sound quite like the ones used for religious ceremonies in Bengal."



Horace Silver - Calcutta Cutie

Liner notes from the album:

 

[Fiftyfifty]

Luck you! Been trying to find this album on CD for ages
Too many albums with Lee Morgan to take a snap. Instead, here’s a list of LM Blue Notes from my collection, including other albums he’s played on - marked with a dot. You can’t have too much Morgan!
View attachment 57596View attachment 57597

Lee will be proud of you!