Jazz for aficionados

What would a thread be without its OP?  As nsp suggests, the power of positive thinking is not to be underestimated.  

Some tunes become a type of anthem for instrumentalists.  Among tenor players and within the tenor saxophone world ”Invitation” is one of those tunes; up there with “Body and Soul” as ultimate vehicles for players to demonstrate their true musical mettle.  The reasons that certain tunes achieve this status is not only that they are great tunes in their own right, but also because they often “lay” really well on the instrument and there has often been an important recording of it by one of the great players on the instrument.  The importance of Coleman Hawkin’s famous recording of “Body and Soul” is well known.  Coltrane’s “Invitation” has been the standard setter for contemporary (post-Coltrane) tenor players.  Great tune!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xC6wo9Jqey0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oqB-sz2SBsg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F-el0Sblhsg

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxbaEOEqUQ0




Lyrics for Invitation sung by Dinah Washington



      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyp1yvSBq5I


     

You and your smile
Hold a strange invitation
Somehow it seems

We've shared our dreams
But where?

Time after time
In a room full of strangers
Out of the blue
Suddenly you are there

Wherever I go
You're the glow of temptation
Glancing my way
In the gray of the dawn

And always your eyes
Smile that strange invitation
When you are gone
Where oh, where have you gone?

How long must I stay
In a world of illusion?
Be where you are
So near yet so far apart

Hoping you'll say
With a warm invitation
Where have you been?
Darling, come in into my heart

Wherever I go
You're the glow of temptation
Glancing my way
In the gray of the dawn

And always your eyes
Smile that strange invitation
When you are gone
Where oh, where have you gone?

How long must I stay
In a world of illusion?
Be where you are
So near yet so far apart

Hoping you'll say
With a warm invitation
Where have you been?
Darling, come in into my heart



Without a doubt, Dinah Washington sings the best version of this song. While others may have more beautiful voices, this song is about mystery and "drama", which Dinah's voice adds.

Picture yourself in a lounge, alone in a roomful of strangers, and there is a striking lady about four stools down, wearing a big black floppy hat that adds to her mystery.

You glance at her to confirm her aura. Then you catch her glancing at you. Shortly after that, she leaves; leaving you with her aura, and the desire to see her again.

A week later, you are in the same lounge, on the same bar stool, and again she's about four or five bar stools down; this time the big floppy hat is straw. Sneaky guy that you are, you decide to get a good look at her in the mirror behind the bar; low and behold, that's where your eyes meet, and she smiles, the hide and peak game is over.


There is no doubt in my mind that Dinah actually lived this scene by the way she sings the song, plus the fact that she lived life with all the zest a nice lady could manage.

Mary J., I don't know how to recreate this scene for you, other than to make you the striking lady wearing the big black floppy hat.

Thanks so much 0-10, made my day.

All our souls will fly away sometime , my time is not far away and all I will get for a send-off is the Army’s dog ,"Caissons Go Rolling Along" .Marines and Sailors do a lot better as "Marines Hymn" and "Anchors Away"are both quite stirring .

But, truth be told my friend, you get the best of the bunch , "The Wild Blue Yonder " played by the Magnificent USAF Band !

Schubert, I hate to admit it, but our minds are in sync; maybe we'll meet, and discuss many things including fools and kings.

One of my "go to discs"   Krupa and Rich:


Krupa and Rich and look at the other players!

On this CD reissue, drummers Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich only actually play together on one of the seven songs, a lengthy rendition of "Bernie's Tune" that has a six-minute "drum battle." Krupa and Rich do perform two songs apiece with a remarkable all-star band consisting of trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, tenors Illinois Jacquet and Flip Phillips, pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown. Each of the principals get some solo space, giving this release more variety than one might expect. In addition there are two bonus cuts from a Buddy Rich date that feature the drummer with trumpeters Thad Jones and Joe Newman, tenors Ben Webster and Frank Wess, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and rhythm guitarist Freddie Green. Excellent music overall if not quite essential
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e75c21Nfav0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnyRUIgOKLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be0kO8aJ6B8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoCuRJzhpLA