James Moody - Rest In Peace

Saxophone Master James Moody has passed away at age 85. Moody's greatest claim to fame, of course, was MOODY'S MOOD FOR LOVE, loosely based from the song I'm In the Mood For Love.

Links to some of my favorite Moody performances:

Cherokee and The World is a Ghetto - on flute

First Thing in The Morning

The Making of MOODY'S MOOD FOR LOVE

and of course the song: MOODY'S MOOD FOR LOVE

and an awesome remake by Take 6 and Patti Austin

Thank you for sharing...

Happy 90th to Dave Brubeck....

Happy Birthday to Dave Brubeck. I meant to do this yesterday. Better late than never...like he will ever read this...

Who among us doesn't LOVE the standard Take 5...Take 5 and enjoy...

Bach to Blues

I think part of the reason I’ve had such a hard time catching the blog back up is because I owe someone a review of his album. I don’t know if I really believe in karma to that level but I do feel a kind of way about not offering this review months ago when the gentleman asked me too. Don’t get wrong, it’s not because I didn’t listen to it - it even got space on the Ipod. It’s just because I didn’t finish writing my review.

I received an email from Dave Leonhardt inviting me to review his record. Mr. Leonhardt honed his chops with the likes of Jon Hendricks and the incomparable David "Fathead" Newman. He's produced and arranged and performed with for Stan Getz, Slide Hampton and Lewis Nash. Needless to say, he's got alot of good music infused in his playing.

I read the title BACH TO BLUES and knew instantly what the theme was – of course that’s not hard to figure out. So I was interested in what I was about to listen too. I admit that I love music that makes me think. But as I read the title of the songs and saw that they were direct copies of Bach song titles, I pushed the play button with a little fear of being disappointed. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear Bach’s music with a swing beat. I was pleasantly surprised! This isn’t that! Well not really that…

I wanted to go into this recording with an open mind. I wasn’t familiar with Leonhardt or his music so I didn’t read his included bio. I downloaded the record and listened to the music. Basically, what Leonhardt does here is to use the themes from Bach’s music and comment on them in his own way.

I was only slightly familiar with most of the tunes. I really enjoyed his take on Ava Maria. He kept it a ballad of course, however a well placed minor third here and well placed seventh there made for beautiful song.

All and all I like this record alot. I like to refer to this album as "dinner music". It’s soft, unimposing but gives the right vibe for a delicate evening in front of the fireplace or over Merlot, T-Bone and conversation.

Thanx Dave for offering me this record. It has certainly been a joy to experience.

Electric J

The day before Halloween, I got a treat.

An interesting fact, well at least to me, I have three saxophone heroes Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane. There are three saxophone players in Dallas, that I’ll go most anywhere to hear play: Shelley Carrol, Keith Anderson and JASON DAVIS.

My sister had her 40th birthday party and it featured Mahogany and the Jam Box band featuring musical director Jason Davis (I suggest he’s the feature).
I first met this cat playing at the South Dallas Cultural Center monthly jam sessions. I was mesmerized listening to him play. And there hasn’t been a time when I haven’t been impressed every time I hear him play. He told me his email address was Electric_J @... It could be only one reason I remember that and that is because the cat is just that…electric. I have never not seen Jason turned up to 100 when he’s playing his horn.

Jason is one of the best musicians this city has to offer. I suggest you get by to see him whenever you can.

Check his trio out November 1st at Buttons in Addison. And Mahogany will be there November 6th.

Also, hit his website: www.jasondavisjazz.com

Blue Shoes & Jump Blues

Fall is upon us. I have a pair of suede shoes that I’ve had for about 10 or 15 years that I love. They are light tan in color. So you can imagine that after 15 years, they’ve lost their luster – if that’s a word that can used to describe suede. The style of the shoe is still very classic. The upper, sole and the heel are in phenomenal condition. They just aren’t pretty anymore. I took them to a shoe shop and the cobbler wouldn’t touch them when I asked if he could clean them. So, I’ve decided to try to dye the shoes. How hard would it be to find some suede dye and bring life back to one of my all time favorite pair of shoes? I googled “Blue Suede Shoe Dye” and look what I found…WOW! My eyes bugged and my heart skipped a beat. These were some of the most beautiful shoes I’ve ever laid eyes on.

There’s an HBO movie called LACKAWANNA BLUES that I love. There’s a scene that features MOS DEF as a Jump Blues artist. And during the performance, the narrator laments how the Saturday Juke Joint night was a chance for the party-goers to show off their shoes – “Nothing compares to the shoes…” The scene in the movie was the first thing I thought about when I saw the shoes.

So what does any of this have to do with SonicVibrations? Well I’m glad you asked. JUMP BLUES.

Jump Blues is another jazz child that features up-tempo blues. Most of its origins are usually attributed to artists like Count Basie and Lionel Hampton; but also, one of my favorite artists, the incomparable Louis Jordan who brought us the story of Beans and Cornbread having a fight. Oh, you remember the little childhood diddy: “Beans and Cornbread had a fight, Beans knocked Cornbread out of sight”! If you’re still not sure you’ve heard the music before, think of the dance the Lindy Hop or Fred Sanford singing Flat Foot Foogie with the Floy Floy…Well I couldn’t find his version…but enjoy The Count doing his thing.

So now, I’m in a bit of quandary. Do I dye my well-worn broken in shoes? Or, do I purchase a pair of the beautiful shoes above? Or, do I do both? Whatever I decide, I’m sure I’ll keep loving and listening to Jump Blues and looking for somewhere to dance in my blue suede shoes…

Saturday Nite Wind Down: Scotch & Soul

So. I’ve had a million and one things to do today. Finally, I have a chance to sit down, be still and enjoy my favorite pastime, listening to a funky ass tunes…tonight it’s via the computer. As I peruse the i-net reading the news and some of my favorite blogs, I’m also sitting here contemplating getting my wallet and copping a copy of THE COOL REVOLUTION on CTI Records – a 40th anniversary compilation record. As I pull the track listing, it has occurred to me that most of the singles pulled together for this compilation, I already have. I didn’t realize that so many of the artists I enjoy have recorded on CTI. Artists like Ron Carter, Yusef Lateef, George Benson, Chet Baker, Hank Crawford, Bob James, Hubert Laws, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, and Idris Muhammed among others.


Another of my new favorite things is scotch. Though I don’t drink very often, I’ve come to enjoy the occasional after work drink or the evening wind down taste. Some years ago, I started drinking J & B Scotch Whisky and then became a fan of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Black Label as opposed to Red, Green, Gold, Blue, or Swing…in all honesty, I don’t know if I’ve ever been anywhere where Swing was available. Now that I've tried Macallan, I really like.

Putting these two things together, Scotch and Soul Jazz, just works.

It’s late on Saturday night when I’m writing this, I hope when you read it you’ll consider having a wind down libation. I suggest The Macallan 10 Year Old and the following CTI Records soundtrack:


Saturday Nite Scotch & Soul
Sugar – Stanly Turrentine
Red Clay – Freddie Hubbard featuring my all time favorite Joe Henderson
Westchester Lady – Bob James
I Had a Dream - Hubert Laws
Mr. Magic – Grover Washington Jr.
Piece of Mind – Irdris Muhammed
Nautilus – Bob James
Nubian Lady – Yusef Lateef – Okay…this is not a CTI recording…but it’s one my favorites by Yusef

Since I’m not a big fan of compilation records, I’ll continue to mull over this purchase. But I know I need the proper glasses for The Macallan…maybe these or these.

Happy Birthday Diz...

For real...since May? It's way too long since I've been here last. I have a million and one things going on...but, again, I'm going to make this a priority again.

I must apologize to several artists who sent me their records with my promise to review them. I did the reviews but publishing them became more of a task than I was ready to handle. I will still get those reviews in over the next week.

I've decided to spend a lot more time on the many facets I would like for sonicvibrations to be. So those of you who continue to check me out, keep doing so. I think you will be happy with the new product.

Happy Birthday Dizzy Gillespie!

Google did a great tribute!