The Gone Sounds of Jazz with Sid Gribetz

Wardell Gray

Wardell Gray is a “forgotten tenor”, one of the lost masters of modern jazz.  Many critics aptly classify his style with a label of “Easy Swing”. This distinctive feature is a felicitous facility that imparts a rhythmic grace while maintaining an intensive communicative attack that conveys a soulful message.
 
Gray was born in Oklahoma on February 13, 1921 just a few months before the Tulsa massacre, and he lived in the “Deep Deuce” African-American neighborhood of Oklahoma City.  His family moved to Detroit when he was nine years old.  Gray was raised and came of age in the Motor City.  He learned great lessons in his formative years at the legendary Cass Tech High School and as a player in Detroit’s then-vital jazz scene.  Gray attracted the attention of Earl Hines, who hired him to be the featured soloist in his big band from 1943-1946.
 
Wardell left Hines to settle in Los Angeles, where he became a pivotal figure in the excitement of post war California jazz, in the raucous jam session development of west coast bebop when Bird was in the air.  Gray was often featured in musical battles with his friend Dexter Gordon.  Gray’s records with Dexter, “The Chase” and later “The Hunt”, and others, were big sellers and epitomized this excitement, fueling the drives of Jack Kerouac On The Road.
 
By the end of the decade, Gray’s reputation led to his engagement in the bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie, but perhaps the timing was off – he was with Goodman when Benny attempted to make his band bop-influenced, and Gray’s major accomplishments with Basie were in the brief period when the Count down-sized his big band to an octet.  In the late 1940's, Gray also appeared on key sides with Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro, and Tadd Dameron.
 
Later, Wardell made a few small group recordings for Prestige Records, most notably his composition “Twisted” and Art Farmer’s “Farmer’s Market”.  With Annie Ross’s hip lyrics, these songs remain a big part of our repertory to this day.
 
In the 1950's Wardell drifted away from major popular attention, but he remained active and was poised for a comeback when Benny Carter hired him to participate in a new band which would integrate the Las Vegas casino entertainment.  However, on opening night in July 1955,  Gray was killed at the age of 34, and his body found in the Nevada desert, under mysterious circumstances subject to various innuendos and yet to be solved.
 
originally broadcast October 8, 2017; re-broadcast February 14, 2021

Nat King Cole

Before Nat King Cole became “Nat King Cole”, he was a swinging and influential jazz pianist.  Additionally, he popularized the innovative format of the piano-guitar-bass trio which heralded an elegant “chamber jazz” style.  This program focuses on these jazz sides of his career, as well as recordings made with Lester Young, Harry Sweets Edison, Illinois Jacquet and other jazz greats.But fear not, I’ve kept a batch of shifafa on the side and also include some popular vocals for a fun and easily enjoyable five hour presentation.
originally broadcast March 17, 2019

Bird-Prez

The "Bird-Prez Birthday Broadcast", a 72 hour (and some years longer) marathon celebrating Lester Young and Charlie Parker around their birthday anniversaries, August 27 and August 29, is a long standing tradition at WKCR, and it is among our listeners' favorites.
On the middle, swing, date, August 28, we play mixtures of Bird and Prez. 
Here is my segment from the 2025 edition. It starts with an hour of casual listening of 1950's Mercury/Verve recordings of the two saxophonists. Then I discuss the impact of episodes of breakdowns suffered by Charlie Parker and Lester Young, Bird’s commitment to Camarillo Hospital in 1946 and Lester’s treatment at Bellevue in November 1955, and their music upon refreshing recoveries; and finally a 58 minute treasure contrasting recordings of American Popular Songbook items by each, “Oh, Lady Be Good” and many more.

Junior Cook

Herman “Junior” Cook was born on July 22, 1934 in Pensacola, Florida.  The tenor saxophonist came of age with the soulful aspects of modern jazz in the late 1950's.
Cook’s first major engagement was with the classic Horace Silver Quintet, from 1958-1964.  Teaming with trumpeter Blue Mitchell as the front line, Cook contributed to the lasting legacy of the “Horace Silver sound” and the enduring LPs such as “Silver’s Serenade”, “Blowing The Blues Away”, Finger Poppin’”, “Horace-Scope”, “The Tokyo Blues”, and more.
After leaving Silver, Cook also appeared together with Mitchell on various records on the Blue Note label.  In the 1970's and 1980's, Junior Cook kept the hard-bop flame alive, often in groups co-led with Bill Hardman which performed frequently in New York, and elsewhere.  They also made many records on the Muse and Steeplechase labels.
Cook was a key figure on the New York scene during this time, and he served as a mentor to many younger musicians.  He died of cancer in 1992 at the age of 57.
Cook’s tenor saxophone combined a wistful tender lyricism and harmonic grace with the hard driving soulful attack attendant to his genres.  His individual sound should have lasting appeal.
originally broadcast January 13, 2019; rebroadcast September 12, 2021

Roy Eldridge 2

WKCR has a long standing tradition of celebrating Roy Eldridge, “Little Jazz”, with a marathon 24-hour broadcast tribute every year on the trumpet giant's birthday anniversary, January 30.
To close the 2019 edition, I presented a rousing set of highlights of Roy’s career from 1941-1970 for casual listening.  It ranges from Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw to the Newport Rebels and The Nifty Cat, with plenty in between.  75 minutes.

Charles Earland

Charles Earland is one of the primary “Hammond Heroes” of the original generation of soulful jazz organists on the B-3.Earland swings brightly with his easy-going, syncopated, dance able rhythms on great pop tunes, but that sets things up for his hard-driving intensity on searing, adventuresome numbers.  His dynamic power earned his nickname “The Mighty Burner”.Born in Philadelphia on May 24,1941, Earland originally played the saxophone in Philly and then with Jimmy McGriff’s band for several years. Earland taught himself to play the organ by watching McGriff, and then left that band to start his own career as an organist.He got his major start with Lou Donaldson on Lou’s hot Blue Note recordings in 1968-9.  Earland then emerged with his own big hit record of “More Today Than Yesterday” on Prestige in 1970.  He had continued great success for many years with compadres ranging from Grover Washington to Houston Person, in jazz, soul, and funk.  Earland eventually settled in Chicago.He studied for the ministry, adding spiritual themes to his music while still keeping the torch for great swinging jazz. Earland went on to record many more records for Milestone, Muse and HighNote, and nurtured a touring band with young greats such as Eric Alexander and Jim Rotondi.Earland died from heart failure at the early age of 58 in 1999.
 
originally broadcast July 27, 2025

Sonny Clark

Sonny Clark was a pianist with a bluesy sound combined with crisp and swinging technique.  His style also embodied an element of “cool” suited to the modern jazz of his period.  As a composer, his songs were angular and sophisticated, but melodic enough to be accessible.  Many of his tunes, such as “Sonny’s Crib” and “News For Lulu”, endure in the standard jazz repertory.
Conrad Yeatis “Sonny”Clark was born in western Pennsylvania in 1931 and raised in the Pittsburgh area, a hotbed of jazz.  After high school, Clark moved to California to begin his career as a professional musician and became active on the West Coast scene.  He made his first record with Teddy Charles and Wardell Gray in 1953, and Clark next joined clarinetist Buddy DeFranco’s regular working combo from 1954-56.
Clark moved to New York City in 1957, and there he established himself in just a couple of years as a leading pianist, composer, and accompanist in the heyday of the “hard bop” groove.  He appeared on numerous records on the Blue Note label, with his relaxed touch inspiring classic sides by the likes of John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Curtis Fuller, plus his own albums such as “Cool Strutting” which are still best sellers in Japan.
Sadly, beset more than others with the ravages of drug addiction, and suffering other health problems, Clark was inactive for a time, but returned to the Blue Note fold in the early 1960's  for superb sessions with Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, and others.
He eventually succumbed to his ailments and died on January 13, 1963 at the age of 31.
originally broadcast June 7, 2015
 
 
 
 

Louis Armstrong 3

From the 2025 Fourth of July Louis Armstrong traditional WKCR special, here’s a segment starting with 85 minutes or so of a casual listening potpourri of the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, a Fleischmann’s Yeast radio show, and other diverse goodies, followed by a curated survey of Armstrong’s 1929-1932 OKeh recordings of popular songs, also about 85 minutes’ worth.  Oh memory!

Charlie Rouse

Here’s a five hour treat of Charlie Rouse.
Best known for his long association with Thelonious Monk in the 1960's, tenor saxophonist Rouse also had an extensive and varied career in modern jazz.  He expressed a tone of warmth and lyrical sensitivity on his horn, which lent a suave element to the rhythmic and harmonic creativity of his performance.  Rouse was born in 1924 and raised in Washington, DC.  He came of age as bebop began to flower, and made important early records with Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro and others.  Mentored and influenced by Ben Webster, Rouse also played in Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, was a member of Duke Ellington’s organization in the late 1940's, and Count Basie’s Octet.  In the 1950's, after engaging in gigs ranging from Clifford Brown to rhythm and blues bands to trombonist Bennie Green, Rouse partnered with the French horn player Julius Watkins to form an adventurous chamber jazz group “Les Jazz Modes”. Rouse joined Monk in 1959 and was in the regular working combo until 1970.  Rouse’s style complemented Monk’s ingenuity, and they forged an intuitive collaboration that incisively presented the Thelonious sound.  After some time away, Rouse became a significant player on the jazz scene, especially with the cooperative quartet “Sphere” with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, and Ben Riley in the 1980's.  However, stricken with cancer, Rouse died in 1988 at the age of 64. originally broadcast October 16, 2016 

Lambert Hendricks & Ross

This program presents the vocal magic of  Lambert Hendricks and Ross.Lambert Hendricks and Ross brought the art of ensemble group vocals to a higher level.  Bebop singers Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross each individually were pioneers of vocalese, the style of writing lyrics to recorded instrumental solos to create new songs.  The synergy of the group was even more remarkably creative.Dave Lambert already had What’s This?, Annie Ross had Twisted, and Jon Hendricks had his start with King Pleasure, among other early impacts on the scene.  Then Dave and Jon were working on a project of a vocal chorus Basie album when they chose to combine forces with Annie Ross to replace the choir idea with just a trio.  Their 1957 LP “Sing A Song Of Basie” was an immediate hit.  It was followed by so much further popular success that when signed by Columbia Records it was no exaggeration to be billed “The Hottest New Group in Jazz”, and Hendricks was dubbed “The Poet Laureate Of Jazz”.They swung emphatically, wrote literate and witty lyrics, fluidly blended their ensemble singing, and had distinct, great, individual voices.Their vocalese lyrics to so many other songs of Ellington, Horace Silver, and more, have become classics of the genre.  
 
The group stayed together until Annie Ross departed in 1962.  LHR left a magnificent legacy that is explored in this five hour presentation.
 
originally broadcast June 22, 2025