Okay, so I have been missing a lot of Ken Laster's In the Groove: Jazz and Beyond, lately. Whoever said that time is money got it wrong. Time is Music. Anyway, I have been trying to catch up by throwing a lot of Ken's podcast on discs (mp3) and I listen to it whenever I get in my car.
Yesterday as I drove to work I heard his podcast "3 Nights in NYC". The first cut was 'Moanin' by the Mingus Big Band, from the album Live At Jazz Standard. I am not generally a big band fan, but this one grabbed me by the short and curlies and lifted me right out of my seat. Yes, I cried out! It was magnificent. Here is the lineup:
- Randy Brecker,
- Kenny Rampton and
- Earl Gardner, Trumpet
- Wayne Escoffery and
- Abraham Burton, Tenor Saxophone
- Vincent Herring, Alto Saxophone
- Douglas Yates, Alto, Soprano Saxophone and Flute
- Lauren Sevian, Baritone Saxophone
- Ku-Umba
- Frank Lacy and
- Conrad Herwig, Trombones
- Earl McIntyre, Bass Trombone and
- TubaDavid Kikoski, Piano
- Boris Kozlov, Bass
- Jeff "Tain" Watts, Drums
This album is superb. I am playing 'Moanin' and 'Song with Orange', one of my favorite Mingus compositions. Just to show that Ken and yours truly are on the same wavelength, Ken also playing a piece by Jonathan Blake. I just put a piece from Blake's new album The Eleventh Hour on my playlist this week.
Laster's Jazz and Beyond is the best jazz podcast I have ever found. Subscribe!
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