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Sound Ideas #21 - Musical Joy
Welcome to an hour of musical joy. Thanks for listening in.
Artist Track Album
Bob Dorough Where is the Song? Too Much Coffee Man
Art Blakey Weird-O The Jazz Messengers
Arturo Sandoval Sureña My Passion for the Piano
Jane Monheit Dindi Never Never Land
Count Basie Kansas City Shout Chairman of the Board
DIzzy Gillespie Minor Walk Greatest Hits
Woody Hermand Sinbad the Sailor Jazz Collector Edition
Stan Kenton Decoupage Kenton '76
Steve Ray Vaughan Stang's Swang Couldn't Stand the Weather
Karrin Allyson Lightning (Lazy Bird) Footprints
Richie Cole Waltz for a Rainy BeBop Evening New York Afternoon
Bob Dorough Better than Anything Just About Anything

One distinctive voice throughout decades of bebop and beyond is that of Bob Dorough. He’s been sharing his wit, wisdom, and tickling of the ivories for as long as I can remember, and a decade or two before that as well. In his early nineties, he is still with us, a hipster voice, and musical talent in a rarified circle of jazz stalwarts. Whether it’s the classic jazz song Better than Anything, or Conjunction Junction, that taught a generation and more about English grammar, Bob’s whimsical, personal style, is a jazz gift that keeps on giving.

Our second set features classic hard bop, a taste of Latin piano, and a Latin jazz standard. Spanning five decades, this set still flows easily one chart to another. The fingers of song fitting perfectly into the proverbial jazz glove.

Shifting gears to large ensembles we hear from four big bands that had lasting impact on jazz overall and big bands in particular. The feel good rhythm of Basie, the harmonic embellishment of Gillespie, the determined ensemble work of Herman, and the cerebral yet soulful creativity of Kenton all remind us how important each of these musicians were in the past, present, and future of jazz.

Our final set concludes with an upbeat mindset spanning three artists each who made an initial impact in three different decades. Stevie Ray Vaughan rekindled mainstream interest in the blues in the 1980s, as Richie Cole was the keeper of the flame for bebop during the 1970s, and Karin Allyson blossomed in the 1990s as one of the more memorable vocalists in that decade. Of course, we end where we began with the hipster himself, leaving us with more proof that time spent with Bob Dorough can be better than just about anything.