SpacewaysJan 9, 2023

Rewatching the Ken Burns Jazz series as it happened to be on telly, nice that Fletcher Henderson gets a good mention. Henderson's is my favourite early big band.

I was thinking about great last recordings by folk recently. Fletcher Henderson Sextet (1950) is a really nice live set. Sad to think he was gone not long after. Plus it's got Lucky Thomson on it! Anything with Lucky on is guaranteed to be good.

#LastRecordings
#FletcherHenderson
#LuckyThomson
#Jazz

Soft winds
https://youtu.be/9Fc9qyNZ9b0

Soft Wind

YouTube
Show threadSpaceways

Thinking about Lucky Thomson. His last studio recording, I Offer You (1973), is well worth a listen. I like his sound with Cedar Walton on electric piano. Something a bit different to his earlier recordings. Lucky still sounds so good. One of the greats gone too soon.

#LastRecordings
#LuckyThomson
#Jazz

Sun Out
https://youtu.be/nzaIxOjoxkU

Lucky Thompson - Sun Out

YouTube
Jan 9, 2023 at 3:49pmWeb
Show threadSpacewaysJan 11, 2023

Last studio recording from Hank Mobley.

Cedar Walton/Hank Mobley Quintet - Breakthrough (1972)

It's like the last chapter in a favourite book. It's not how anyone would have wanted it to end but wow what a completely wonderful story Hank gave us.

Hank's playing at the end was searching for something. He'd moved away from his early playing style but was still always Hank. He sounds raw. It's a tough listen at times.

#LastRecordings
#HankMobley
#Jazz

Summertime
https://youtu.be/9MuTIX-XvVE

Summertime

YouTube
Show threadSpacewaysJan 11, 2023

Thinking about Breakthrough! It must have been a hard session for them. Just 3 days after the death of Lee Morgan.

Hank recorded Summertime a few times in the last years.

Here's the only known footage of Hank playing live. Copenhagen 1968. I could watch this forever

#HankMobley
#Jazz

https://youtu.be/_DTJTjC0fpA

Hank Mobley Video

YouTube
Show threadSpacewaysJan 12, 2023

Vibraphone player Walt Dickerson's recording career spanned 20 albums from two periods 61-65 and then 10 years later 75-82.

Everything he recorded is enjoyable, the later stuff is a little more out there. His last album Life Rays (1982) is maybe my favourite. He revisits It Ain't Necessarily So as the final track. It's wow. He is light on dark days for me.

Walt Dickerson (vib)
Sirone (b)
Andrew Cyrille (d)

#LastRecordings
#WaltDickerson
#Jazz

It Ain't Necessarily So
https://youtu.be/eaS8wJCCnkw

It Ain't Necessarily So

YouTube
Show threadSpacewaysJan 13, 2023

I'm enjoying going through #LastRecordings.

Andrew Cyrille, who played on Walt Dickerson's last album also played on Sun Ra's last studio recording. Sun Ra recorded with Walt as well.

Billy Bang - A Tribute to Stuff Smith (1992)

It was close to the end for Sun Ra's time on planet earth. Though his playing isn't as strong as it once was, I still like the album very much.

Nice version of Deep Purple, which Sun Ra also record with Stuff Smith way back in 1948.

#Jazz

https://youtu.be/tOsvrg0X0io

Deep Purple

YouTube
Show threadSpacewaysJan 13, 2023

1948 recording of Deep Purple. Sun Ra with Stuff Smith.

44 years before he recorded it again with Billy Bang on his last recording session. A nice song to bookend his recording career.

Sun Ra plays Solovox on this one.

#SunRa
#Jazz

https://youtu.be/nn7fX2PtK00

Deep Purple

YouTube