Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun
Showing posts with label Lee Morgan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lee Morgan. Show all posts

Saturday, November 12, 2011

THE WEEKENDER :) COOL

JAZZ MEMORIES
AND
A TALENTED BRO
Last weeks posting of Dave Brubeck's Take Five
and attendant memories, brought one more from the back
of the brain.
I wish I could remember his name, but I am grateful
to an upperclassman  who lived on my freshman
dorm floor. He walked with a brace, the result of
polio, so he had a single room near an exit. With the
extra space he had converted it to a "pad" complete
with shelves, a chair, lamps and a stereo system.
The room was full of jazz albums and on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, when most of us were doing the kind of things college freshmen did, he had his door open and the jazz was wailing.  There were no complaints, though he always made sure he was not interrupting study.
Not a likely event!
A few of us would gather into his room and he would
pick tunes and give us a little tutorial.  One of his
favorites, and already one of mine was the
piece the THE WEEKENDER :) offers for your
Saturday Groove.
  and one more cool thing
About a year ago a group of fraternity brothers who
have stayed in touch, re-connected with Steve
who was a married senior our freshman year.
Steve Clippinger has had a marvelous
career as an artist.  Part of the joy 
in getting to know Steve is to see
his incredible body of work.
Here's a WEEKENDER :) bonus
See you down the trail.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

THE WEEKENDER:) TAKE FIVE

THE CLASSIC
Dave Brubeck's TAKE FIVE took me out of a rock and
pop world into jazz back in high school.  I found a 
jazz station on the dial and was hooked, though my
buddies barely tolerated it on my car radio. 
I enjoyed being able to punch back and forth between say,
Satisfaction by the Stones and and Sidewinder by Lee Morgan. When they drove it was all Beatles, Stones,
Beach Boys, Dave Clark Five, etc.  That was fine
but jazz held a special allure.
As a school kid I worked in the downtown area of Indianapolis  as a "stringer" and gofer for the Indianapolis Times and as a board operator for a "fine music" FM station headquartered in an old hotel.  Well the jazz station was on the top floor of another hotel that I passed on my commute.  I'd stop by that hotel, buzz at the studio door and be ushered into warren of an album filled rooms. 
"Look around kid, see what you like." 
The DJ's were not like the
pop star jocks at the rock stations.  These guys were older, both black and white, musicians themselves and
somewhat tickled that a white middle class kid
was hooked on jazz.  
It all started when I first heard Brubeck's piano and Paul Desmond's sax.  
So the Weekender :) wants you to dig it.
See you down the trail.