Charles Mingus – “Duet Solo Dancers”
Set back your clocks (if you’re in America but not Arizona), brew up some dark coffee, sit back, and take in the fresh air. It’s undeniably autumn now. The weather is nippy, the trees are browning, and the air outside smells just like your grandparents’ fireplace. To celebrate the occasion (and the wonderful tradition of the genre itself), we are kicking off Jazz Week at Something For The Ladies. An entire week of modern, classical, and experimental jazz songs chosen by our well-versed contributors. We hope this will help keep your autumn delightfully smooth.
If you have a favorite jazz song or artist you want to contribute, feel free to let us know.
Charles Mingus
Duet Solo Dancers
Ella Fitzgerald - Live Scat Singing Performance (1969)
Ella Fitzgerald was a talented and versatile jazz singer whose work spans across more than half of a century. She’s most notable for singing music by the likes of Duke Ellington, James Mercer, and many more in her ‘Songbook’ series. In this live recording, however, she does something much more raw: scat singing, impromptu vocalization that shares the jazz philosophy of artistic expression. Listen as she closes her show with six minutes of improvisation, wowing and amusing the crowd as she goes. It’s no surprise that Ms. Fitzgerald was the best scat singer in the business.
Thanks to elchoko for sharing this live performance with us for jazz week. If you have a jazz piece that you’re dying to see up in lights this week, please let us know. We don’t bite.
Ella Fitzgerald
A Live Scat Singing Performance (1969)
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery – “Mellow Mood”
In the sixties, these two jazz performers of significant stature united to record two collaborative records: Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, with this particular song coming from the latter (and the arguably more mellow) of the two. Smith dominates the organ in this piece, almost slamming on the keys at points, but still leaves adequate breathing room for Montgomery’s guitar-plucking to shine through as well.
We’d like to thank clocksanscraftsman for their contribution to jazz week. If you have a song you want featured this week, let us know.
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery
Mellow Mood
Art Tatum, man. He’s one of the greatest jazz piano players to ever live and blind to boot. His technically skill is just staggering. Just sit back, imagine a dark jazz club, listening to this man tear up the keys.
It’s jazz week at Something For The Ladies. Feel free to embrace the occasion and suggest your own favorite jazz pieces.
Art Tatum
Tiger Rag
