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“All of me” August 24, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1946 through 1960, Cool, Jazz, Movies, Music.
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What do the Muppets, Pia Zadora, Django Reinhardt, Jimmie Scott, Billie Holiday, Anne Murray, Willie Nelson, Johnnie Ray, Redd Foxx, Louis Armstrong, Paul Whiteman, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Belle Baker, NOFX, Frank Sinatra and Mildred Bailey have in common?

They all covered this …

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“Chattanooga Choo Choo” February 10, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Dance, Jazz, Movies, Music, Nicholas Brothers, Swing.
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From Sun Valley Serenade (1941), an intro by the Glenn Miller Orchestra segues into …


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“I Got A Gal In Kalamazoo” February 9, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Dance, Jazz, Movies, Music, Nicholas Brothers, Swing.
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A year after Sun Valley Serenade, Glenn Miller, the Nicholas Brothers and Harry Warren and Max Gordon continue their survey of songs about American cities with funny names …

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“Lucky Numbers” February 8, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Dance, Jazz, Movies, Music, Nicholas Brothers, Swing.
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From The Black Network, a 1936 short, fifteen-year-old Harold and twenty-two-year-old Fayard Nicholas perform “Lucky Numbers” by Cliff Hess.


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Adelaide Hall and the Nicholas Brothers February 7, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Dance, Movies, Music, Nicholas Brothers, Swing, Theater, Vaudeville.
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From 1935, the VitaPhone short “An All-Colored Vaudeville Show” …

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“Alright” February 6, 2008

Posted by Jeff in Cab Calloway, Dance, Music, Nicholas Brothers, R&B.
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Somebody involved with Janet Jackson’s 1990 music video Alright had a nice sense of cultural history …

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“Jumpin’ Jive” February 5, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Cab Calloway, Dance, Jazz, Movies, Music, Nicholas Brothers, Swing.
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This clip from Stormy Weather (1943) features Calloway and his orchestra, and the amazing Nicholas Brothers (Harold and Fayard).


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Bon anniversaire, Stéphane January 26, 2008

Posted by Jeff in Cool, Jazz, Music, Swing.
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Today would have been the one hundredth birthday of the greatest jazz violinist of all time.

Above, from 1991, the eighty-three-year-old Stéphane Grappelli performs “How High The Moon” by Nancy Hamilton and Morgan Lewis, accompanied by McCoy Tyner on piano, Marc Fosset on guitar and Jean-Philip Viret on bass.

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“Did you ever meet that funny reefer man …” January 24, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, Cab Calloway, Jazz, Movies, Music, Swing.
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In this clip from International House (1933), the strangest film W. C. Fields ever made (and that’s saying a lot), Cab Calloway And His Orchestra, featuring the legendary Al Morgan on bass, perform “Reefer Man” on television.

No, I’m not making that up.

And shut up with the reefer jokes.

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“Some Skunk Funk” January 20, 2008

Posted by Jeff in Cool, Jazz, Music, R&B.
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The Brecker Brothers …

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“Jasper In A Jam” January 15, 2008

Posted by Jeff in 1946 through 1960, Cartoons, Jazz, Movies, Music, Peggy Lee, Puppetoons, Swing, Zook.
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From 1946, a George Pal Puppetoon featuring Charlie Barnet and Peggy Lee, and designed by Reg Massie.

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“Take Love Easy” January 11, 2008

Posted by Jeff in Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz, Music.
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From 1974, Ella Fitzgerald and my favorite of her many accompanists, the guitarist Joe Pass. The song, with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by John LaTouche, is featured on Take Love Easy, the first of four albums they recorded together.


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Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007 December 26, 2007

Posted by Jeff in 1946 through 1960, Cartoons, Cool, Ella Fitzgerald, In memoriam, Jazz, John Hubley, Movies, Music.
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Oscar Peterson

One of the greatest jazz pianists of all time passed away on Sunday.

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Ella sings “Them There Eyes” December 19, 2007

Posted by Jeff in Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz, Music, Swing.
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From 1965, featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano, Tommy Potter on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.

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