From the Archives – A Morning of Jazz – Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly – Smokin’ at the Blue Note!

By ekkarn June 30, 2014 June 30, 2014 Uncategorized

Last night when I was sifting through my vinyl collection I came across the Wes Montgomery album Willow Weep For Me, Finding that album reminded me of this post I had written a while ago. I read the liner notes for the album which has always been a favorite and discovered that in the summer of 1968 Verve Records discovered previously unreleased tracks and the seven that are included on Willow Weep for Me were recorded at the same booking at The Half Note in Greenwich Village! In the notes Richard Lamb writes:

The Half Note is one of the last remaining landmarks of a legendary era. A real “jazz joint” a room where come to hear jazz and actually listened.

For a buck, you can have a beer at the bar while you listen to Zoot and Al. Gary McFarland is probably sitting on the next stool with Blossom and Mingus and maybe even Mathis scattered at the tables.On any evening several “names” will stop by…..

The point is , when Wes and Wynton sat down and dug in, they knew they were playing for their people. And they played -perhaps heavier than you ever heard them

Which is probably why these two albums are so great. Here is my original post about the album…..

So this morning was as jazzy kind of morning as I was out and about doing some errands I had Smokin’ at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly playing on the iPod! The album was recorded live in late June 1965 at the Half Note Club in New York City, and September 22, 1965 at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and released by Verve.

The album features Montgomery teamed with the Wynton Kelly Trio. The Wynton Kelly Trio is basically Kelly with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Cobb and bassist Paul Chambers had already appeared on other Montgomery albums for Riverside Records such as Bags Meets Wes and Full House.. Both of those great albums are in my collection. Kelly had worked with Montgomery previously but in 1965, he began his association with the Wynton Kelly Trio in the summer of 1965. Together they toured the major jazz clubs in the US and also appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival on the afternoon of Sunday, 4 July. Kelly also appears with Montgomery on the album Willow Weep For Me another favorite album of mine and the track “Four on Six” is included on both albums!

The opening thirteen minute track “No Blues,” is phenomenal as both Montgomery and Kelly soar. The track was a cornerstone of the Miles Davis Quintet with Hank Mobley, circa 1961. The other four tracks on the album are just as good. “Unit 7” and “Four on Six” have become jazz standards based on their recording on this album!

The great Pat Metheny has said, “I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery’s Smokin’ at The Half Note.” In addition, Metheny stated to the New York Times in 2005 that the solo on “If You Could See Me Now,” from this album is his favorite of all time.

Allmusic jazz critic Jim Smith called the album “essential listening for anyone who wants to hear why Montgomery’s dynamic live shows were considered the pinnacle of his brilliant and incredibly influential guitar playing.” and wrote that “Montgomery never played with more drive and confidence, and he’s supported every step of the way by a genuinely smokin’ Wynton Kelly Trio.”

Finally Stuart Nicholson of Jazz Institute of Chicago can tell you more of the details about the album than I ever could. I know is that I love what I hear and this album will be played whenever I need to hear a little great guitar and piano!

Here’s Wes with “Round Midnight”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm17yw__6U&w=480&h=390]

Re-Exploring Jimmy Smith – Jimmy Smith’s Greatest Hits! (video)

By ekkarn June 28, 2014 June 28, 2014 Uncategorized

By the time I became familiar with the music of Jimmy Smith in 1969, Jimmy had already recorded thirty-one (31) albums on the Blue Note label and an addition 25 albums on Verve! So I started with a Greatest Hits Album that covered the Blue Note years. The condition of the album cover may give you an idea of how much the album has been used over the years! Anyway the other day I was sifting through my vinyl albums, saw it, cranked up the turntable and gave it a listen. I picked out the side 4 of the second side of the disk to of the album. Actually. that side of the album was not in too bad of shape!!Anyway I gave it a listen and the trumpet on the second track caught my attention the track title was “Flamingo” and the trumpet player was Lee Morgan!! Damn! I knew him way back when!! Then I started to look at the rest of the two-disk album and I found out that I knew several of the musicians that I’ve written about lately, way back then!! Here’s a table……

Track	Title	Artists
Side 1-1	All Day Long	Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone Kenny Burrell – guitar Art Blakey – drums
Side 1-2	The Champ	Thornell Schwartz – guitar Donald Baily – drums
Side 2-1	The Sermon	Lee Morgan – trumpet Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone Kenny Burrell – guitar Tina Brooks – tenor saxophone Art Blakey – drums
Side 3-1	Midnight Special	Stanley Turentine – tenor saxophone Kenny Burrell – guitar Donald Baily – drums
Side 3-2	When Johnny Comes Marching Home	Quentin Warren – guitar Art Blakey – drums
Side 4-1	Can Heat	Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone Quentin Warren – guitar Art Blakey – drums
Side 4-2	Flamingo	Lee Morgan – trumpet Kenny Burrell – guitar Art Blakey – drums
Side 4-3	Prayer Meetin’	Stanley Turentine – tenor saxophone Quentin Warren – guitar Donald Bailey – drums

Of course Jimmy Smith appears on all of the above tracks! Conspicuously, absent are any bass players, Jimmy Smith’s pedal bass lines take over those functions!! I also have provided links to articles I have written about a few of the players!! Bottom line the album has been played a lot over the years, the list of musicians has not been read for MANY years so I forgot I knew a lot of these guys way back when, if you get a chance check out some of the tracks on the original Blue Note recordings, I know I am!! And I need to check out Quentin Warren’s guitar some more!! Here’s a 1964 of Jimmy Smith performing a portion of “The Sermon” BBC TV Jimmy Smith – Hammond Organ; Quentin Warren – guitar; Billy Hart – drums

2014 Reads – How to Write Short has an impact on reading Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone!

By ekkarn June 19, 2014 October 22, 2025 Branches Books

Last night with music from the Hank Mobley Quintet playing in the background, I finished Daniel Woodrell’s great novel Winter’s Bone. While the book is not classified as a mystery, the plot of the novel centers around a big one. Where’s Jessup? Jessup is the meth cooking father of the book’s central character, 16 year-old, Ree Dolly. Ree has a big problem, if her Pa doesn’t appear for a court date, Ree and her two brother’s, and Ma could lose their family home, which Jessup posted as collateral to make his bail. So Ree sets out, braving the bitter Ozark winter, searching the hills for her father. But many of the tight-lipped inter-related folks, who live in the hills, live on the wrong side of the law, and would rather fight than give up their secrets. But Ree needs to push on, for her home and the ones who are in her care, but will she be able to live with the answer??

Now I could go on and on about the wonderfully drawn-out characters in the book, from Uncle Teardrop to Ree’s Mom, and the various themes, but I want to focus on another aspect of the book and that is Woodrell’s prose.

I started reading Winter’s Bone (Book 12 of 2014)the day after I had finished Roy Peter Clark’s book How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times.(Book 11) Clark’s book focuses on the need to write short in today’s fast paced world, of Twitter, Facebook and the rest of social media. The book is filled with examples of short writing including; tattoos, advertising slogans, epitaphs and Tweets! The first Chapter is Collect Short Writing, which I had no problem doing while reading Winter’s Bone. Throughout the book, I marveled at how Woodrell packed so much punch, in so few words! My awe started with the book’s opening sentence….

Ree Dolly stood at the break of dawn on her cold front steps and smelled the coming flurries and saw meat.

So what did that sentence tell me. First, it’s morning, it’s cold, it’s going to snow and I’m somewhere meat hangs on trees, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more!!

Several of the examples of writing short that I noticed opened chapters….

She became ice as she walked.

The needed skill was silence.

Hillsides knit with ice came apart.

Then there were longer sentences that just blew me away….

A picnic of woods fell from Gail’s mouth to be gathered around and savored slowly

Ree waited kneeling for several minutes, kneeling as raised hopes fell to modest hopes,slight hopes, vague hopes, kneeling until any hope at all withered to none at all between her pressing hands.

I guess the question is would I have noticed these short gems, had not just read How to Write Short. probably not, so thank you Mr Clark!!

Summarizing, great book, full of unforgettable characters, and fine writing, read it!! If you do read, it be on the lookout for those powerful short sentences

NYPD Puzzle by Parnell Hall -(Puzzle Lady #15)

By ekkarn June 17, 2014 February 20, 2026 Books-Fiction, Roots Books

NYPD Puzzle by Parnell Hall – (Puzzle Lady #15)

Through the years, one of my favorite mystery series has been Parnell Hall’s Stanley Hastings books. Looking at my Goodreads shelf, I see there are 18 in the series — and I’ve read all but one! (Note to self: finally read Caper — I could have sworn I had??) That’s not the case with Hall’s Puzzle Lady series. There are 15 entries, and I’ve only read three (#1, #8, and #15). The most recent for me was NYPD Puzzle, which also became book #11 on my 2014 reads list.

Why Fewer Puzzle Lady Reads?

I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s because I felt a little resentful that Parnell seemed to forget Stanley and preferred the Puzzle Lady, Cora Felton. Between 1987 and 1998, Hall wrote 13 Stanley Hastings mysteries. Then, starting in 1999, the Puzzle Lady books appeared annually throughout the 2000s, while there were sometimes four-year gaps between Hastings novels. Probably the Puzzle Lady was just more popular — and more profitable. (It’s the same reason Linwood Barclay abandoned Zack Walker in favor of standalones, which I grudgingly admit turned out better. But what do I know…)

The Mystery

NYPD Puzzle is a quick, fun cozy mystery. Attorney Becky Baldwin hires Cora to accompany her to New York to meet a new client. When they arrive, they find the man dead with a crossword puzzle on his chest. Cora hears the killer in the next room, barges in, shoots, misses, and watches the suspect escape out a penthouse window — leaving her standing with a smoking gun. Is it the murder weapon? The police can’t prove otherwise — the bullet is too badly damaged to rule it out. Suddenly, Cora’s a prime suspect.

Cora, along with NYC Sergeant Crowley and others, sets out to clear her name. The killer plays cat and mouse, leaving crossword puzzles and even some Sudoku (created by Will Shortz!) between New York City and Bakerhaven. Another body drops — the Bakerhaven Town Clerk, with whom Cora just happened to argue. The twists and turns pile up as Cora fights to prove her innocence and unmask the murderer.

What I Enjoy

Cora Felton is a fun character, always ready with a wisecrack. Hall’s humor shines through her dialogue, and the supporting cast — Sergeant Crowley and Chief Harper of Bakerhaven — provide plenty of friction and comic relief as they bicker over protecting Cora. She isn’t worried, though. After all, she has her guns… but will that be enough?

Bottom Line

NYPD Puzzle captures exactly what makes the Puzzle Lady books fun: witty dialogue, cozy mystery pacing, and playful puzzle tie-ins. It’s not as dear to me as the Stanley Hastings series, but it’s still a lighthearted, entertaining read that fans of humorous mysteries will enjoy.

← Back to Parnell Hall Author Page

Stone Cold – C J Box -Nate’s Out for Blood!

By ekkarn June 10, 2014 April 5, 2026 Books-Fiction

C.J. Box — Stone Cold (Joe Pickett #14)

Some writers take pages to hook you. In the latest Joe Pickett novel, C.J. Box does it in the first paragraph: Nate Romanowski shoves a drift boat into the Bighorn River and heads downstream toward the mansion of the man he intends to kill.

If this is your first Pickett, you’ll admire the crisp, descriptive prose. But if you’ve read a few (in my case, all but one of the first fourteen), you have the same “uh-oh” reaction I did: “Nate is going to murder someone.” That’s not going to end well.

Nate is Joe’s shadowy friend—he shows up when Joe needs him most—but he’s also on the run from the feds. Is that why he’s rowing toward a kill?

The Joe Pickett Connection

Meanwhile, Game Warden Joe Pickett gets a special assignment from Governor Rulon: look into billionaire Wolfgang Templeton, who’s buying up Medicine Wheel County and may be running a murder-for-hire ring for the ultra-wealthy. Joe is told to observe, not get involved (sure, Jan). It turns personal when a grainy video from a victim’s home seems to show… Nate.

On the home front, Joe’s daughter Sheridan, an RA at the University of Wyoming, calls about a resident: a mysterious guy in a long black coat who spends all night on violent, shoot-’em-up video games.

So Joe heads to Sand Creek Ranch, with Templeton on one side of the board, Nate on the other, and Sheridan giving him one more reason to worry.

The action is fast and the pages fly, as they do in the best Pickett novels. The characters keep evolving (fourteen books in), and Joe’s moral compass still points true. Nate’s? Not so much.

Should you read it?

Hook: Cold-open with Nate on a kill mission.
Plot engine: Billionaire land grab + possible contract killings.
Series payoff: Joe/Nate relationship tension turned up to 11.

Tip: New to the series? Read a few earlier books first so you can fully appreciate the Joe and Nate dynamic.

Series Links

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Goodreads:Joe Pickett Series

About C.J.Box

Charles James Box Jr. is an American author of more than thirty novels. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several standalone novels, and a collection of short stories.

Visit C.J.Box page

If you like the family and character connections in this series…

A Family Video made for My Cousin – Music “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” – The Strawbs – Sandy Denny

By ekkarn June 4, 2014 October 22, 2025 Daily - Life

Yesterday was not a good day for a variety of reasons and tonight as I sat at the computer I thought I need some laughs! So I went to Youtube with the intent of finding a funny video and when I got there I got distracted – big surprise there! . Because I found one of my first drafts of a video, I was making for my cousin Marti’s 60th birthday party. In the video I used a variety of pictures Marti at various ages along with photos of my father and his brothers Arthur, (Marti’s father) and Kenny. I’m in several of the pictures with Marti. I used The Strawbs “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” featuring the vocals of Sandy Denny. when I got done this draft my wife thought it was a little too depressing so I changed the final version. If I ever find that I’ll post it but for now here’s the first go round and by the way I still need a laugh!! Now maybe even more!!

The photos at the beginning of the video our of our grandparents and a couple of our great grandparents on both the Karn and the Meyer sides. Here they are with captions explaining who they are…..

Maternal great-grandfather Herman Meyer born in Germany	Maternal great-grandmother Helene Wendel Meyer born in Germany
Pauline Hechler Karn my paternal great-grandmother born in Switzerland.	Grandparents – Edward Karn and Charlotte Meyer Karn

Herman Meyer was born in Koningswalde, Saxony, Germany in 1871 and was a member of the King’s guard before he married Helene. He came to the US in 1911 a year before the rest of the family made the trip in September of 1912. In the US he was a nurseryman and worked at Dreer’s Nursery. As part of the work he took care of the landscaping at the Zurbrugg house in Delanco, NJ, which is where he is standing in the picture.

Helene Wendel Meyer was I believe born in Dresden, Germany in 1880. She had two sisters Frieda, and Elsie and a brother Moritz. Both Frieda and Elsie came to the US, Frieda married Hugo Doelling and lived in Philly and Delanco, while Elsie married Curtis Schrier and eventually settled in the Bethlehem, PA, area. Herman and Helene had three children daughters Irmmagard and Charlotte and a son Albert.

Pauline Hechler Karn (Grissie) was born in Switzerland and came to the US in the 1880s with her parents Daniel and Suzanne Hechler and her brother Gustav. Pauline married Henry Karn and they had five children, Emma, Anna, Charles, Harry, and my grandfather Edward. They lived in Delran and Moorestown.

Edward H. Karn Sr. married Charlotte Meyer. Edward farmed on Creek Road in Delran up until 1939 when they left the farm. After that he farmed in Willingboro until he had a series of heart attacks. Edward and Charlotte had three sons my father Edward H Karn, Jr was the oldest, followed by Arthur and then Kenny…….the video was made for Marti the oldest daughter of Arthur and Pauline(Polly) Karn. Their youngest daughter is Arlene. Both Marti and Arlene live in South Carolina.

All this is part of my know your past so let’s see we are a large part German on both the Meyer and Karn side (Henry was born in Germany too), with a bit of Swiss thrown in. Maybe that’s why I’m partial to those German prog rock bands????? I know that my father’s first cousin Eleanor, daughter of Irma, always was very proud of her German heritage and always belonged to German-American clubs!!

Here is the video…..sorry about the title page, hope you like it!! And if anyone from Konigswalde or Dresden reads this and know anything about my ancestor’s please let me know!!!

This Day in Music – May 31, 1972 – Happy Birthday – Christian McBride!!

By ekkarn May 31, 2014 May 31, 2014 Uncategorized

Jazz Bassist Chrsitian McBride celebrates his 42nd birthday today.!Christian McBride was on May 31, 1972 in PHILADELPHIA, PA!….From Wikipedia… ….His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride’s early mentors. He is regarded as a virtuoso, and is one of the most recorded musicians of his generation, having appeared on over 300 recordings as a sideman. He is also a 3-time Grammy award winner.Full Biography As is the case with many newer jazz artists, I only discovered the very talented Mr. McBride last year! Below you’ll find several posts that I’ve written since September about the fantastic Mr. McBride! Happy Birthday – Christian McBride!!
From the Archves
Sunday Morning Jazz from the Christian McBride Trio – Out Here So yesterday I was browsing around for new releases and came across bassist Christian McBride’s latest from his Christian McBride Trio, *Out Here*. I gave it a listen and I now have a new jazz artist’s music to explore, because the album is great. The trio consists of McBride on bass (duh), Christian Sands on piano, and Ulysses Owens, Jr. on drums. READ MORE	People Music – from Christian McBride and Inside Straight This morning I was in jazz mode and listened to the Christian McBride & Inside Straights release People Music. The album was released in May of this year. Inside Straight has everything I enjoy in jazz, lively vibes from Warren Wolf, piano from Peter Martin and smooth saxophone from Steve Wilson, All supported by the solid bass lines of Christian’s bass and Carl Allen;s drums.on the majority of the songs. On a few of the songs the piano duties are manned by Christian Sands and Ulysses Owens, Jr. handles the drums. Both are considered members of the Inside Straight family.READ MORE
Late Night Jazz from Russell Malone, Christian McBride and Benny GreenOk so after writing about Christian McBride tonight, I was looking around YouTube and I saw this video of a performance of one of my favorite Wes Montgomery tunes, “Jingles”! The trio performing it was composed of Christian McBride on bass, Benny Green on piano and Russell Malone on guitar. I have recently learned a little about Christian McBride but I don’t know much about Malone or Green. Anyway,I watched the video and I was floored! Malone is outstanding on guitar as is Green on piano, but the driving force behind the whole 14 minutes on the tune is the phenomenal bass playing of McBride!1 He just doesn’t stop!!READ MORE

Book No. 8 of 2014 – Wallace Stroby’s Cold Shot to the Heart (Crissa Stone #1)

By ekkarn May 27, 2014 May 27, 2014 Books-Fiction

Oh Boy! I finally read a book quickly and increased this years book’s read total all the way to eight!! (He says with a sarcastic sneer on his face and tone in his voice). The book was Cold Shot to the Heart and is book #1 in the Crissa Stone series from Long Branch, New Jersey native Wallace Stroby. They always say that you should write about what you know and what would a former writer for the Newark Star-Ledger know better mob related crime! (typed with Jon Stewart’s mob voice ringing in my ears!)

See Crissa is not a PI or a cop rather she is a career criminal. When the reader meets Crissa, she and her crew are robbing a store whose sign reads – CHECK CASHING MONEY TRANSFERS PAY DAY LOANS, a fine upstanding facility doubt! The job went well but the take was not what her team expected. When she comes home to New York City, she learns that her lover and partner Wayne, who is three years into a seven-year sentence is coming up for parole He may gain his parole, if Crissa can get 250 grand in the hands of Texan, who may be able to grease the wheels enough, to make it happen.

So when Crissa is asked to join a three-man crew to boost an illegal poker game in Miami, that may have a million dollars on the table, it seems like a no-brainer. And up until Crissa money in hand, hears gunshots coming from the room that she just left it was and then, all hell breaks loose in the form of Eddie the Saint, a hit-man recently released from prison, who is soon on the trail of the money. Bodies start to pile up and Crissa is in for the fight of her life!!

This was a quick read, with some well-developed characters, i.e. Crissa, and plenty of action to keep the pages turning. When I finished the book I was ready for book two Kings of Midnight. So check it out!

Links

Wallace Stroby at: Goodreads
Amazon

This Day in Music – May 25, 1960 – In Philly – Jazz Trumpeter Wallace Roney was born! (video)

By ekkarn May 25, 2014 May 25, 2014 Uncategorized

Today is the great Miles Davis‘ birthday. He shares his birthday with the only trumpet player that he ever mentored Wallace Roney. Wallace was born in Philadelphia in 1960 So he is too young to have experienced 1960, which was the year that former Whiz Kids manager re Eddie Sawyer resigned as the hapless Phillies’ manager after a 9-4 opening day loss to the Reds and said.: “I’m 49 years old and I want to live to be 50.” But I digress so it’s back to Wallace.

It was discovered when he was 4 years old that Wallace had perfect pitch (which the Phillies didin’t have as they choked in the clutch and lost the pennant to the Cards- sorry). After beginning his musical studies at Philadelphia School of Music, by the time he turned 7 he was studying with Sigmund Herring of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He studied with Herring until Herring’s death in 1980. Along the way Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie provided young Wallace instructions.

From 1985 until his passing in 1991 Miles Davis was Wallace’s music instructor, mentor and friend helping to challenge and shape Wallace’s creative approach to life. In 1979 and again in 1980, Wallace Roney won the Down Beat Award for Best Young Jazz Musician of the Year. In 1989, and again in 1990, Wallace won Down Beat Magazine’s Critic’s Poll for Best Trumpeter to Watch.

In his career as a leader, which started in 1987, Wallace has released 18 albums. He has also served as a sideman on 6 albums, recording with such greats as Art Blakey (replacing Terrence Blanchard), Dizzy Gillespie and Tony Williams. He has also been an important member of the following musician’s bands: Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Walter Davis Jr., Herbie Hancock, Jay McShann, David Murray, McCoy Tyner, and been a featured soloist with Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Curtis Fuller, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell

And to think that I missed all that and only discovered Wallace’s music a few months ago! What a putz I am! So in an effort to start catching up, since his latest release Understanding is not on either Spotify or Mog. I went to AllMusic to see which of the albums Spotify did have were the best. It seemed that just about all the albums had a four-star rating, so I went with the oldest album available, Misterios released in 1994. I made that album the soundtrack on the drive down to babysit my grandson, Oliver, this afternoon and evening! Now it probably not the best road trip album, because it is mostly ballads. AllMusic labels the album’s moods as dreamy, yearning and sentimental. But while the album didn’t perk me up, it did make for a very relaxing drive!

The album contains a variety of ballads from the likes of Lennon & McCartney, Dolly Parton, Egberto Gismonti, Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny. The album is dominated by Wallace’s great sounding trumpet and arranger Geri Allen’s, (who does a great job by the way with the arrangements, in this no nothing’s opinion anyway) piano. Occasionally, some great drumming can be heard, provided by Eric Allen, and some tenor sax from Antoine Roney, along with a variety of strings on a few tracks. Overall, it was a great introduction to Wallace’s music, which I hope to explore in more depth, as I continue my jazz education!!

So turn the lights down low, oh before that let’s wish Wallace a happy 54th birthday!! and enjoy Pat Metheny;s “In Her Family” from the album Misterios….

This Day in Music – May 24, 1941 – Jazz Organist Charles Earland was born in Philly!!

By ekkarn May 24, 2014 May 24, 2014 Uncategorized

I browse the daily listing of jazz birthdays each day not only for whose birthday it is that particular day, but also to discover new music. Many times I select who I read about by the instrument they play. Other times I select someone with a foreign sounding name, figuring that will lead me to explorations of jazz music beyond America’s shores. Tunisian born Wajdi Cherif is a perfect example of this type of choice. I read about, and spent time listening to Charles Earland’s music this morning, based on the instrument he plays – Hammond B3 organ!!

Charles Earland was born in Philadelphia on May 24, 1941. He began his jazz journey playing saxophone and played baritone sax, while in high school in a band that featured fellow Philadelphians Pat Martino on guitar, Lew Tabackinon tenor, and future teen idol, Frankie Avalon on trumpet! After playing in the Temple University band Earland toured with Jimmy McGriff for three years. It was after he was let go by McGriff that Earland switched to playing the organ and formed an organ trio that featured Pat Martino on guitar and drummer Bobby Durham. He released his first albums for Choice in 1966. In 1968 and 69 Earland was a member of Lou Donaldson‘s band, after which he signed with Prestige as a solo artist. His first release for Prestige was Black Talk and that was the album that I listened to, and loved, this morning. The tracks on the album were effective jazz covers of hits of the time. Scott Yanow at AllMusic writes this about the album….

This CD reissue of a Prestige date is one of the few successful examples of jazz musicians from the late ’60s taking a few rock and pop songs and turning them into creative jazz. Organist Charles Earland and his sextet, which includes trumpeter Virgil Jones, Houston Person, on tenor and guitarist Melvin Sparks, perform a variation of “Eleanor Rigby” titled “Black Talk,” two originals, a surprisingly effective rendition of “Aquarius,” and a classic rendition of “More Today Than Yesterday.” Fans of organ combos are advised to pick up this interesting set. AllMusic

After listening to the album, I heartily agree!! Earland went on to record eight more albums for Prestige, one of them featuring young then unknown Grover Washington Jr. He then switched to Muse, followed by a switch Mercury and Columbia. By the mid-70s, as the audience for organ trio music was dwindling, Earland teamed with his wife singer/songwriter Sheryl Kendrick to produce a series of pop/disco albums. His wife’s death from sickle-cell anemia in 1985, left him despondent and it was several years before he shed his grief and brought himself and his Hammond B3 back to his roots, recording two soul-jazz albums on Millstone and then several on the Muse label before his untimely death from heart failure after a gig in Kansas City in 1999. He was only 58 years old!!.

Richard S. Ginell at All Music writes this about Earland’s organ styling….

….Earland came armed with his own swinging, technically agile, light-textured sound on the keyboard and one of the best walking-bass pedal techniques in the business. Though not an innovative player in his field, Earland burned with the best of them when he was on. Read More

So Happy Birthday to Charles Earland and let’s listen and watch Charles and George Duke perform “When Johnny comes Marching Home” ….while this song isn’t from Black Talk I thought it was great to hear Charles and watch him perform!!

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Author: ekkarn