AN APPEAL TO PRESERVE OUR CULTURE

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

AN APPEAL TO PRESERVE OUR CULTURE

.

When you're writing about jazz (especially bebop and hard jazz) sometimes you feel like you're writing to yourself.  But I never allow myself to forget that this is Black culture that we're talking about here, and certainly one of the greatest art forms that has ever been bestowed upon humanity that the establishment is trying to bury . . . but not on my watch. 

.

I’m a lifelong musician who’s been devoted to jazz every since I was a child, and I take great pride in what jazz has contributed to the Black community, America, and the world. I also have a deep devotion for my culture. For both of those reasons I’ve decided to devote much of my waking hours to the promotion of a woman who I’m convinced is highly significant to what Black people represent as a culture and as an artistic force in the world. Her name is Rita Edmond, and she’s come along at just the right time, because the jazz world really needs someone like her now. But due to the dumbing down of America, and our mindless embrace of the frivolous, our elitist media is completely ignoring her, and it’s a slap in the face of jazz.  It’s, literally, like ignoring Sarah Vaughan.

.

But this situation is not just a result of the White establishment alone. It’s also a result of what many Black people have allowed themselves to become. It’s sad that I should even have to make this appeal for an artist of this caliber. In the past, jazz flourished because musicians promoted one another.  Back in the day Jimmy Heath would have told a promoter or club owner, “If you like me, you’ll also like a guy by the name John Coltrane. You need to check him out.”  As a result they both flourished, because Jimmy did that in the name of jazz.  He had enough sense, and devotion to our culture, to recognized that by promoting Trane, he was also promoting jazz, and by promoting jazz, he was also promoting himself.  Thelonious Monk even went to jail for Bud Powell to prevent Bud from being barred from playing in New York, because Monk knew that Bud was good for jazz, and at that time the public had yet to catch up with what Monk himself was doing. 
.
But today the attitude seems to be, “I've got mine, so you’re just gonna have to struggle like I did.” Many even go so far as to HIDE possible connections - and then we wonder why our cultural traditions simply disappear. The very last thing we should want is for someone like Rita Edmond to be a secret, because she’s not just another singer; she’s without a doubt one of the most significant jazz divas alive in the world today.

.

As Black people, we’ve  got to start recognizing our priorities.  Again, this is our CULTURE we’re talking about here, and the failure to promote it whenever, and however we can, only serves to diminish it. Yet, many Black people fail to support the very best in who we are.
.
Rita has only one stumbling block in demonstrating to the world the brilliance of our people  - when it comes to the Black culture, the American media has conditioned us to fixate on only one thing, the booty-shacking frivolity of entertainment.  Now, I’m not criticizing entertainment - I love watching Beyoncé shake her assets - but a culture has to be recognized for more than just shaking its booty to gain and maintain the world’s respect. It was the dazzling technical abilities of people like Dizzy, Bird, Monk and Miles that made the world begin to recognize that there was much more to Black people than the slow-minded Stepin Fetchit-like people in which we had previously been portrayed. Thus, it was the seriousness of jazz as an art form that brought the Black culture into the modern world, and today musicologists at universities and conservatories all over this planet are still scratching their heads and trying to figure out what Bird was doing over 60 years after his death. 

.

In that regard, people in nations as far flung as Russia and Thailand have thrown flowers at Rita’s feet. Fans traveled to Thailand from as far away as Japan just to hear this lady sing. When she left Russia people met her at the train station with roses, and a young piano prodigy (whose father brought him to several of Rita’s performances, and thereafter, took her to visit the Kremlin and indulged in snowball fights) ran up and hugged her. And in Israel, a quadriplegic, who was paralyzed from the neck down, had them bring him - in his bed! - just to hear this fabulous diva sing.
.
The people of these other lands give Rita that kind of love because they appreciate excellence, and they recognize that Rita Edmond is a part of a great tradition.  They haven’t been subjected to America's Trump-like Hillbilly mentality towards Black culture, so they see this woman for what she really is - a world-class talent. Rita Edmond is not just an entertainer . . . she’s an ARTIST - and one of the world’s greatest. But in spite of that fact, the American music industry treats her like she's some frog singing on a subway platform for change. So don't allow some tone-deaf accountant to sit behind a desk and define your culture. Trust your own ears and listen to this fabulous diva for yourself.  Check this lady out!

.

SO WHO IS THIS RITA EDMOND?
WELL, I COULD TELL YOU SHE'S ELLA, SHE'S SARAH, DINAH,

OR NANCY WILSON,

BUT INSTEAD OF TELLING YOU, I'LL SHOW YOU.

.

EMBRACEABLE YOU - WYNTON MARSALIS

.

EMBRACEABLE YOU - RITA EDMOND

.

HERE'S TO LIFE - SHIRLEY HORN

,

HERE'S TO LIFE - RITA EDMOND

.
IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - KING PLEASURE

.

IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - SARAH VAUGHAN

.

IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - RITA EDMOND

.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - DINAH WASHINGTON

.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE - RITA EDMOND

 .

SUNNY - RITA EDMOND

.

Ms. Rita Edmond -The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

.

So if you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

.

Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there, but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

.

You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

.

Along with this piece I've attached four links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) ,  ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’, and 'Sunny' - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

.

‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities to listen to with a dry eye.  Artie Butler - the multi-Grammy Award winning composer (and Barbara Streisand's musical director) - said of Ms. Edmond, "Rita Edmond knows exactly what to do with a song like 'Here's To Life.' She brings the listener into the music as she sings, making you feel she's singing just for you. That's indeed a gift."

.

'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

.

Rita Edmond and Phil Woods Protégé
and International

Jazz Great, Robert Anchipolosky

Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

.

I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She's also regularly accompanied by Nancy Wilson's keyboard player, Llew Matthews, who has also played with legendary jazz giants such as Jackie McLean and Woody Shaw, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass.  So Rita is regularly being tested by fire, and she literally dances through the flames with blissful abandon.

.

Earlier this year Ms. Edmond toured Russia, bringing the house down with the late Phil Woods' protégé, Robert Anchipolosky, and at this writing she's wrapping up a three month gig at  the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where she's doing her part to show jazz lovers, politicians, and  ambassadors from all over the world what we bring to the table.  She's also just completed a project with  her good friend and fabulous sax player, Dale Fielder, "Resiliance,"on the Clarion Jazz label that's monstrous. While very contemporary in it's concept, the quality of musicianship is a throwback to the way the big boys used to do it. 

.  

Ms. Edmond approaches jazz like she's been here before. It's like she walked on stage fresh off 52nd Street. For that reason, whenever I hear her sing it makes my eyes moist, because I can here Ella, Sarah, and Dinah,  whispering softly in the background, "Show 'em how it's done, baby girl." And she has a natural musical kinship to Dexter Gordon, whether she's singing a ballad or swinging, and when you're as familiar with Dexter Gordon's music as I am (his family lived two blocks away from my grandparents, and my mother went to Jefferson High School with him), it's a scary thing to watch. Her approach to phrasing and the feeling she evokes is the exactly the same kind of feeling that Dexter had on his tenor.  When I first played Dexter doing "You've Changed" for her, she said, "Hey!  He sounds just like me!"  I had to laugh. I told her, "No, Rita, You sound just like HIM."  But her reaction to the tune is understandable.  Dex recorded "You've Changed" when Rita was a baby, but her father, who started her singing  and dragged her around to sing for anybody who would listen when she was a little girl, was a jazz fanatic, so she might have her Dexter while she was still in a bassinet,  and with her ears, and her affinity for jazz, she never forgot it.  So Dexter has just become a part of her, waiting in the wings to express himself - and he does just that, with every phrase she sings.

Rita with the former Australian Ambassador,

Ireland Ambassador, and the

Portuguese Ambassador

But in spite of her talent, Ms.  Edmond is a very innocent sort, whose emotions are always very close to the surface - I think that may be the key to the beauty of her musicianship - but again, in spite of her unassuming manner, when she picks up a mic someone else emerges.  Just the touch of a mic seems to transform her. It gives her a  tremendous confidence, sophistication, and a unique sense of individualism that serves to produce a flawless musical delivery - a delivery that seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town,” and I say, it’s about time!

.

PS: I don't want to get spooky here, but something  just happened that made my blood run cold. I didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to mention it in the context of this article, but it was such a coincident that I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it.  As I was writing about the kinship of the music of Dexter Gordon and Rita Edmond, before I posted I received a contact. It was from Dexter's widow, Maxine Gordon (or as Dex would call her, "Lady Gordon").  My last contact with her was over two years ago, so that was one hell of a coincident . . . or was it? 

.

YOU'VE CHANGED - DEXTER GORDON

.

YOU'VE CHANGED - RITA EDMOND

.

SPEAK ON IT, RITA!!!

.

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty (UPDATE)

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

PROLOGUE

AN APPEAL TO PRESERVE BLACK CULTURE

.

I’m a lifelong musician who’s been devoted to jazz every since I was a child, and I take great pride in what jazz has contributed to the Black community, America, and the world. I also have a deep devotion to my culture. For both of those reasons I’ve decided to devote much of my waking hours to the promotion of a woman who I’m convinced is highly significant to what Black people represent as a culture, and as an artistic force in the world. Her name is Rita Edmond, and she’s come along at just the right time, because the jazz world really needs someone like her now. But due to America’s current self-serving environment, its elitist media is completely ignoring her, and it’s a slap in the face of jazz. It’s, literally, like ignoring Sarah Vaughan.
.
But this situation is not just a result of the White establishment alone. It’s also a result of what many Black people have allowed themselves to become. It’s sad that I even have to make this appeal for an artist of this caliber. In the past, jazz flourished because musicians promoted one another. Back in the day Jimmy Heath would have told a promoter or club owner, “If you like me, you’ll also like a guy by the name John Coltrane. You need to check him out.” Jimmy would do that in the name of jazz, because he recognized that by promoting jazz, he was also promoting himself.  Thelonious Monk even went to jail for Bud Powell to prevent Bud from being barred from playing in New York, because Monk knew that Bud was good for jazz. But today the attitude seems to be, “I got mine, so you’re just gonna to have to struggle like I did.” Many even go so far as to HIDE possible connections - and then we wonder why our traditions are disappearing. So the very last thing we should want is for someone like Rita Edmond to be a secret, because she’s not just another singer; she’s without a doubt one of the most significant jazz divas alive in the world today.
.
As Black people, we’ve  got to start recognizing our priorities. This is our CULTURE we’re talking about here, and the failure to promote it whenever, and however, we can only serves to diminish it. Yet, many Black people fail to support the very best in who we are. Rita has only one stumbling block - when it comes to the Black culture, the American media has conditioned us to fixate on only one thing, the booty-shacking frivolity of entertainment. I’m not criticizing entertainment, but a culture has to be recognized for more than just shaking their booty to gain and maintain the world’s respect. It was the dazzling technical abilities of people like Dizzy, Bird, Monk and Miles that made the world begin to recognize that there was much more to Black people than the slow-minded Stepin Fetchit-like people in which we had previously been portrayed. Thus, it was the seriousness of jazz as an art form that brought the Black culture into the modern world, and musicologists at universities and conservatories all over this planet are still scratching their heads and trying to figure out what Bird was doing over 60 years after his death. 
.
In that regard, people in nations as far flung as Russia and Thailand have thrown flowers at Rita’s feet, fans have come to Thailand from as far away as Japan just to hear her sing, and when she was leaving Russia people met her at the train station with roses, and a young piano prodigy (whose father brought him to several of Rita’s performances) ran up and hugged her. These people gave her that kind of love because they recognize and appreciate excellence, and they know that Rita is a part of a great tradition. But most importantly, these people haven’t been subjected to the Hillbilly mentality of America’s attitude towards Black culture. So they see this woman for what she is - a world-class talent. Rita Edmond is not just an entertainer . . . she’s an artist - and one of the world’s greatest.  Check her out for yourself:
.
Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
.

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2016/08/presenting-ms-rita-edmond-meet.html

.

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - Meet The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty

.

If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

.

Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there , but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

.

You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

.

Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) , and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

.

‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities to listen to with a dry eye.  Artie Butler - the multi-Grammy Award winning composer (and Barbara Streisand's musical director) - said of Ms. Edmond, "Rita Edmond knows exactly what to do with a song like 'Here's To Life.' She brings the listener into the music as she sings, making you feel she's singing just for you. That's indeed a gift."

.

'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

.

Rita Edmond and Phil Woods Protégé
and International

Jazz Great, Robert Anchipolosky

Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

.

I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She's also regularly accompanied by Nancy Wilson's keyboard player, Llew Matthews, who has also played with legendary jazz giants such as Jackie McLean and Woody Shaw, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass.  So Rita is regularly being tested by fire, and she literally dances through the flames with blissful abandon.

.

Earlier this year Ms. Edmond toured Russia, bringing the house down with the late Phil Woods' protégé, Robert Anchipolosky, and at this writing she's wrapping up a three month gig at  the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where she's doing her part to show jazz lovers, politicians, and  ambassadors from all over the world what we bring to the table.  She's also just completed a project with  her good friend and fabulous sax player, Dale Fielder, "Resiliance,"on the Clarion Jazz label that's monstrous. While very contemporary in it's concept, the quality of musicianship is a throwback to the way the big boys used to do it. 

.  

Ms. Edmond approaches jazz like she's been here before; it's like she walked on stage fresh from 52nd Street. For that reason, whenever I hear her sing it makes my eyes moist, because I can here Ella and Sarah whispering softly in the background, "Show 'em how it's done, baby girl." And she has a natural musical kinship to Dexter Gordon, whether she's singing a ballad or swinging, and when you're as familiar with Dexter Gordon's music as I am (his family lived two blocks away from my grandparents, and my mother went to Jefferson High School with him), it's a scary thing to watch. Her approach to phrasing and the feeling she evokes is the exactly the same kind of feeling that Dexter had on his tenor.  I played Dexter for her doing "You've Changed," and she said, "Hey!  He sounds just like me!"  I had to laugh. I told her, "No, Rita, You sound like HIM."

Rita with the former Australian Ambassador,

Ireland Ambassador, and the

Portuguese Ambassador

But in spite of her talent, Ms.  Edmond is a very innocent sort whose emotions are always very close to the surface - I think that may be the key to the beauty of her musicianship, but in spite of her unassuming manner, when she picks up a mic someone else emerges.  Just the touch of a mic seems to transform her. It gives her a  tremendous confidence, and a unique sense of individualism that serves to produce a flawless musical delivery - a delivery that seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town,” and I say, it’s about time!
.
PS: Something just happened that made my blood run cold. I didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to mention it in the context of this article, but it was such a coincident that I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it.  As I was writing about the kinship of the music of Dexter Gordon and Rita Edmond - before I posted - I received a contact. It was from Dexter's wife, Maxine Gordon (or as Dex would call her, "Lady Gordon").  She sent me a friend request.  My last contact with her was over two years ago, so that was one hell of a coincident . . . or was it?  

.

.

Embraceable You (Live) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc

.

It Might As Well Be Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE
.
You Don't Know What Love Is
https://youtu.be/RKPY2gA24PI?t=18

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sphere: Related Content

Echoes of An Era: The Fabulous Quincy Jones

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

ECHOES OF AN ERA: THE FABULOUS QUINCY JONES

*

Quincy Jones is one of the last truly GREAT composers and arrangers to come out of jazz or any other form of music in quite some time. NOBODY is greater, and no one ever has been. He stands among Ellington, Basie, Mancini, and Gershwin in complete comfort, so we can't honor this musical giant enough. The fact is, Quincy's genius, like the genius of Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, and John Coltrane, makes him not only a musical giant, but very easily elevates him to the stature of one of the greatest men who's ever lived.
.
Yes, we already recognize him as a celebrity, but he’s much more than just that.  Due to our contemporary philosophy of "de-education" - or the dumbing-down of society - even in his celebrity many of us fail to recognize Quincy’s true stature as an artist and what he represents to the history of humanity as a whole. Quincy Jones is not just famous, he's an icon of the arts of a historic stature, and we should all recognize and honor such greatness within our midst, because there is nothing of more value to humanity than those who have achieved Quincy’s level of excellence, greatness, and accomplishment.
.
People such as Quincy enhances all of humanity. They serve as living testaments to what mankind is capable of at our best. Their contributions represent the ultimate political, spiritual, and moral statement of humanity as a whole. They stand as a constant reminder of what man can, and should be, and the kind of excellence that we should all strive to achieve.

.
So I dedicate these lyrics as my tribute to a GREAT man, a great artist, and to one of his greatest compositions, a composition that serenaded me as a mere child of 12, and I love it just as much today as I did then. I was incapable of expressing how much I appreciated the beauty that Quincy and his cohort, the late great saxophonist, Phil Woods, brought into my life back then, but hopefully, I can do it now.
.
To Quincy Jones, a musical genius who has managed to achieve the ultimate in the human endeavor . . . immortality.
.

QUINTESSENCE

(The Fabulous Quincy Jones - Recorded Dec. 22, 1961)

*

*
I____ love the sound____ of maestro Quincy Jones____.

His music____ is so____ divine______.

When I sing____his songs____ I know I can’t____go wrong,

because I’m filled____with the soul____of Quincy Jones______.

*
Q’s____serenades_____ are always so refined________
 The mel-o-dies linger____ on_____.

They sing of love for you____from a guy_______ known

as "Q"_____,

A name____that will always_______ sing for

you______.

.

DUKE ELLINGTON

*

And then when Phil____ begins to play,

Quin-tes-sence in his own____and special way____

he seems to know_____exactly what the Q had to say.

They sung about jazz and love\ and of \ling___er___ing

Sunsets__________,

then______ blessed the dawn________with this song__________.

.

*

They sung of love\ and when your heart is full,
trem-bl-ing lips\ beneath a mistletoe____

they made my heart____ stand still_______.

So when I sing____ this song____ I know I\Just\ can’t____ go wrong______,

because it flowed____ from the pen ____ of 



Maestro Quincy Jones______.
.

COUNT BASIE

*

I____ love the sound____ of maestro Quincy Jones____.

His music____ is so____ divine______.

When I sing____his songs____ I know I can’t____go wrong,

because I’m filled____with the soul____of Quincy Jones______. 

*


FRANK SINATRA
*

And then when Phil began to play\he sung it in____ his own and special way_____,

 and he said, \"Maestro\ . . . I just love this mel-o-dy that you've laid,"  

then picked up his horn and started to

soar________like an angel__________,



and joined____ the immortals____ in fame_____.
.

*

Genius like this\ you never see no more____, kissed

 by the Gods\ as they walk through the door; 

A genius where time____stands still___________.

So as I sing___ this song______I know I____

 can’t________ go wrong_________, 

because I am wrapped\ in the soul_____ of Maestro____ Quincy Jones______.
.



MICHAEL JACKSON 

*



Beauty is Q's genre, 
and
our heartstrings is his ax. 

*

THE FABULOUS,
QUINCY JONES!

©2014 Eric L. Wattree



 *
QUINCY DELIGHT JONES

BIO

Eric L. Wattree 

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.



Sphere: Related Content

A Message From Beyond

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

A Message From Beyond

.

To Rita with love:
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We hear you, baby, so don’t ever let ‘em turn your head. You’ve got to expect the ugliness, the struggle, and the adversity. We all went through it. Some people think jazz is anything with a saxophone in it. They don’t understand. They don’t realize that Jazz is much more than that. Jazz is a way of life - it’s an attitude, a demeanor, and an outlook toward reality. That’s why things are so rough on you, because you’re one of us, one of the chosen ones; one who’s been chosen to relate our view of reality to a clueless world. We understand that can be a very heavy burden to bear, but we’re all watchin’, and we’re all very proud of the way you’re carrying that torch - our torch . . . with such grace, beauty, and majesty. You’ve brought 52^nd Street back to life - and with your every note, you bring us back to life. Yeah, we’re watchin’, baby girl, and lovin’ it - and we’re lovin’ you.
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So just close your eyes and sing your song, baby. "Close your eyes, and rest your head on my shoulder and sing . . . Just sing your song, baby girl, and don’t worry about a thing. Just close you eyes and pay your dues. We gotcha."
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That was Sarah. You’ve got her eyes moist - and that’s not an easy thing to pull off with Sassy.
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-The Chosen Ones

 

Presenting Ms. Rita Edmond - The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty
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If you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond on Youtube. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.  She's currently working on her third CD, but even on her first CD, she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today. I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist, but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.

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Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there , but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.

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You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few. But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.

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Along with this piece I'm attaching three links to make my point - ‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) , and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ - and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.

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‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities and then managed to survive to continue to fight the good fight, to listen to with a dry eye.

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'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also show an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And after the piano solo, notice the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it, because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work. 

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Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.  But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.

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I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of ‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless, it deserves a mention. On that tune Ms. Edmond displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary - her growing chops as a scatter and her ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums - and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. So here, Rita is being tested by fire, and she literally danced through the flames with blissful abandon.

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So in spite of Ms. Edmond’s unassuming manner, whenever she picks up a mic, her tremendous confidence, individualism and flawless delivery seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town” - and I say, it’s about time! 

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Related Post
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Rita Edmond: A Glance At Destiny
(Article)
http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/11/ms-rita-edmond-glance-at-destiny.html
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Embraceable You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SZXO9-jrc
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It Might As Well Be Spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXzYTrrCVE
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Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Ewattree@Gmail.com

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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Jazz: The Music of Serious Black Minds

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Jazz: The Music of Serious Black Minds
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Dexter Gordon

I’d like to take a minute to play you an essay, a little intellectual funk, from a Black perspective. Listen for Ray Brown’s struttin’ bass line beneath my words, because if you listen closely, you can hear him struttin’ down Central Avenue, past the ghost of L.A.’s Dunbar Hotel, the Brass Rail, and down the streets and alleyways of Harlem, New York, in a slow and funky blues.
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It was listening to this big-city blues drenched in the language of jazz as a kid, that initially turned the lights on in my head. It was while listening to people like Bird, Miles, Trane, Jackie McLean, Dexter Gordon, and the other denizens of the jazz culture, that it became clear to me that a people who could produce this kind of excellence could do anything. I then began to explore the claim that we hadn’t, and the resulting knowledge - which I'm still accumulating - has served to broaden both my consciousness, and my horizons.

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Today, I even base my writings on Charlie Parker solos. First, I lay-down a foundation, by thinking outside of the box and questioning conventional wisdom. Then I lay-out the chord progressions of my theme, by beginning to tell the people what I think they NEED to hear, instead of trying to become a star by regurgitating what they WANT to hear. I then elaborate, expand, and substantiate in a flourish of thoughts from a Black perspective, which lays out the landscape as I see it, in a slow and funky blues.
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So, yes, I always instill the essence of bebop into my prose, because as I see it, that’s who we are. Our consciousness is the music of our minds, so going through life trying to play Mozart, or a variation thereof, is a gross waste of time. It’s just not us, and we will never achieve our full potential as a people by playing someone else’s tune. We’ve got to stick to a slow and funky Blues, because that's what we know - and that’s who we are.
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Now, about Jackie:

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When Jackie McLean first appeared on the scene he swung it like nobody else;
He stood all alone, with that bittersweet tone, owing nobody, only himself.
With his furious attack he could take you back to the beauty of Yardbird’s song,
but that solemn moan made it all his own, as burning passion flowed
lush from his horn. Hearing "Love and Hate" made Jazz my fate, joyous anguish
dripped blue from his song. He both smiled and cried and dug deep-down inside,
until the innocence of my childhood was gone.
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He took me to a place that had no face, I was so young when I heard his sweet call,
but he parted the fog and in no time at all, a child of bebop sprung fully enthralled.
As I heard this new sound, and embraced the profound, childish eyes now saw as a man; I stood totally perplexed, but I couldn’t step back, from the hunger of my mind to expand.
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I saw Charlie and Lester, and a smiling young Dexter, as I peered into Jackie’s sweet horn; it was a place that I knew, though I’d never been to, but a place that I now call my home.
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Buster, let me hear you strut, - Da doom da doom doom da da da doom doom doom . . . Now, take us on outta here, Sarah.

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Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Caesar the Balladeer: A Friend Destined For the Stars

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Caesar the Balladeer: A Friend Destined For the Stars

As I sit here poised to write the liner notes for what is sure to become the beginning of an era, I can’t help but reminisce over the first time I heard Caesar’s magnificent voice over five years ago. It was in the wee hours of the morning as I casually strolled down the avenues and musical alleyways of the internet, as I’m prone to do at that hour in the morning.
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But on that particular morning, as I strolled awash in the lush sounds of Bird, Dexter Gordon, Lorez Alexandria, and Sarah Vaughan, I began to hear the faint sounds of a voice that I’d never heard before, as it caressed the opening chorus of the beautifully haunting "I wish You Love." The tune itself was always one of my favorites. It had previously been done to exquisite perfection by the late Gloria Lynne, but this voice . . . this voice that I was only now hearing for the first time, could only be described as . . . breathtaking.
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It expressed the type of excellence, attention to detail, and depth of feeling that I assumed had died with the great artists of the past. While it celebrated the suave sophistication, perfect diction, and round velvet baritone sonance of Nat King Cole, it was deeper, more in the range of Arthur Prysock or Billy Eckstine, yet, with the intimate Earthiness and modern appeal of Luther Vandross. But that said, there was absolutely no doubt who had influenced this voice. It represented a vibrant and passionate tribute to the life, times, and artistry, of the fabulous Nat King Cole. Just to hear it put the chill of reminiscence in the air.
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Caesar was born, Irvin R. Caesar, in Chicago, Il. He's a graduate of Southern University, and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He began his professional music career at the very top, opening for such people as George Duke, Stanley Clark, Al Jareau, Lou Rawls and Herbie Hancock.
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Later he auditioned for Julio Iglesias at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Naturally, he nailed the audition to become the only baritone vocalist to perform with Iglesias - the world renowned romantic icon who has sold over 300 million records - on his Tango World Tour, and with good reason. Caesar’s soulfully romantic baritone voice has the capacity to turn some of the greatest ballads ever written into pure honey that he then pours with abundance at his audiences’ feet. So Caesar is not just another crooner, he’s a world-class masseur who specializes in turning the soul of the listener to putty in his well-forged and expert hands, and this CD is graphic evidence of that fact.
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As promised, the current CD is Caesar’s rendering of some of the most timelessly beautiful ballads that has ever been written, and done only as Caesar can. They include, I wish you Love, Autumn Leaves, Mona Lisa, My Funny Valentine, Nature Boy, Quiet Nights, the Very thought of You, and many more - and Caesar literally owns every note and nuance on every tune.
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The most pervasive quality that characterizes this entire effort, aside from the flawless musicianship and arrangements throughout, is how perfectly they’ve managed to blend the old with the new. Virtually every tune on the CD has long since been established as a timeless standard, and their stature in the annals of jazz has been meticulously respected. But Caesar and his cohorts were not the least bit timid about slapping on a new coat of paint to make them glisten like new.
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In addition, the project has a pronounced international sophistication to it, because Caesar is an international personality. Prior to launching his musical career, and upon obtaining his degree in Business Management from Southern University, Caesar went on to work as a Procurement Officer, and then Operations Manager, for American Manufactures in Houston, Texas. They provided humanitarian assistance to over 40 countries around the world. Then he went to Islamabad, Pakistan as a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He worked to provided humanitarian assistance to Afghan rebels, who were then at war with the Soviet Union. So Caesar sings in several languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Japanese.
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"Autumn Leaves" is a perfect example of the cross-cultural flare of this magnificent crew. The tune begins with Peter White’s winsome, and beautifully ethereal caress of his classical guitar. He sets the stage perfectly. You can literally see him in your mind’s eye, casually leaning back on the veranda of some exotic location, lovingly strumming his guitar under a starlit sky. Then Caesar makes his entrance with a soft, airy hush, reminiscent of Luther Vandross. He starts the song at the bridge, softly singing in Japanese. Then when they reach the first chorus, the band slips into a slow and laid-back Bossa nova, Caesar transitions into English, and then they escort us on a journey that makes the heart soar.
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The CD is very much like that throughout, taking us on one romantic journey after another. Thus, this is not just a good musical effort - it’s a GREAT one. With this project we may very well be witnessing the birth of a voice that will speak to the ages. So when you listen to it, listen with reverence - and remember the moment, and what you were doing, when you heard first it, because you're sure to be discussing it with others in years to come.
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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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