Jazz Legends

What Makes A Good Jazz Tune?

Occasionally, jazz musicians are asked to play certain requests that don’t really fit into our stylistic framework. Today, we’re going to make an effort to explain why that is. Some tunes not originally intended to be played in a jazz style fit easily into one, and some don’t, and we’ll try to explain why that is.

Freddie Hubbard

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (born April 7, 1938) was one of the most gifted and technically proficient of any of the jazz trumpet players of his generation. His fiery, athletic, harmonically rich, seemingly effortless style influenced virtually all trumpet players who came after him. Serving his apprenticeship with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, his compositions provided a springboard for that group as well as his own groups, and he was a popular sideman on quintessential recordings by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many other jazz greats.

Lee Morgan (Round 2)

Trumpeter/composer Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938) first rose to national prominence as a teenager with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. Becoming one of the most prominent hard bop trumpet soloists, he spent years with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, eschewing forming his own bands even as he issued numerous recordings as a leader in his own right. His recording of his tune "The Sidewinder" became an unexpected hit for Blue Note Records, leading to a scramble of the label to replicate that success for years after, with no success. Morgan was tragically struck down at the age of 33 in 1972, after an altercation with his common-law wife during a gig in NYC, cutting short what was a mercurial career for the influential trumpet player.

Hank Mobley (Round 2)

Tenor saxophonist/composer Hank Mobley (born July 7, 1930) has been described as one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era. Even though his career included stints with Miles Davis, Max Roach, Horace Silver and recordings with most of the greatest players of his generation, addiction and poor health adversely affected his life, leading to homelessness and an early death at the age of 55. He left behind a legacy of wonderful recordings and compositions, and has influenced myriad players to this day.

Kurt Weill & Vernon Duke

Kurt Weill (born March 2, 1900) and Vernon Duke (born Vladimir Dukelsky, October 10, 1903) were both European born composers who composed “serious” concert music before emigrating to the United States and becoming two of the greatest exponents of American popular song. Kurt Weill felt strongly that music should have a political point of view, his "Three Penny Opera" and "Mahagony", both composed in Germany before he emigrated to the United States are biting social commentaries on the drawbacks of capitalism run amuck.
 
Vernon Duke wrote concert music throughout his career under his birth name. His music was commissioned by Diaghalev for his ballet company that also commissioned Stravinvisky’s groundbreaking work, as well as Koussevitsky for the New York Philharmonic. He had a close personal relationship with Russian composer Prokofiev. His Broadway career was no less stellar, over the course of 30 odd years they produced a number of songs that have become standards in the great American songbook.

Chick Corea (Round 2)

Pianist/composer Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is widely considered one of the most important pianists of the post Coltrane era. A prolific composer, a great many of his tunes have become jazz standards as well. His association with Miles Davis in the 1960’s lead to the birth of jazz fusion, and his various groups remained on the cutting edge of the music throughout his career. He was honored with 28 Grammy awards, and was nominated 72 times.

Cole Porter (Round 2)

Composer Cole Porter (born June 9, 1891) was something of an anomaly among songwriters of the Tin Pan Alley era. Born to an affluent Indiana family, songwriting was initially just a hobby for him, but he soon parlayed his gift for penning witty urbane lyrics and totally original melodies and harmonies into one of the most important creative voices in American popular songwriter.

Tom Harrell (Round 2)

Trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer/arranger Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) has been critically acclaimed for most of his career. Starting as a sideman with Woody Herman, Horace Silver and Phil Woods, he has gone on to lead his own groups and record wonderful original music on dozens of recordings. His prolific creative output is made even more astounding considering he suffers from schizophrenia and has only one lung. His lyrical, original compositional style is completely original and immediately accessible.

Arthur Schwartz

Songwriter Arthur Schwartz(born Nov 25, 1900) was trained as a lawyer, but encouraged by friends George Gershwin and Lorenz Hart, soon abandoned that career and became a successful popular songwriter. His tunes are featured in several Broadway shows, and many of his tunes are favorite vehicles for jazz musicians due to their interesting harmonic structure. His longtime lyricist, Howard Dietz, a collaborator with composer Jerome Kern, initially rebuffed Schwartz’s entreaties to write with him, but by 1927 relented and their partnership produced many songs that are much loved contributions to the Great American Songbook. 

Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan (born April 6, 1927) is possibly the best known baritone saxophonist in jazz, but he has also recorded on soprano and tenor saxophones, clarinet and piano. He is a prolific  composer and arranger, contributing scores to the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool nonet, the Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton bands, and his own Concert Jazz Band in the early 60s and 80s. His innovative piano-less quartet with trumpeter Chet Baker was the accidental result of the piano having been put into storage at the club where the group made its debut, and the group’s spare, lyrical, contrapuntal style immediately became emblematic of the west coast jazz style.