Red Norvo: The Secret Session
American xylophone player and vibist, Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville) played in the bands of Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, Charlie Barnet and Woody Herman and recorded with Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Dinah Shore and Mildred Bailey, the last of which he married. He also led his own ensembles, including trios with Charles Mingus and Tal Farlow and in 1942 put together a septet. In that same year, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians over non-payment of royalty payments closed all recording studios. Not to be outdone, Norvo persuaded a technician to surreptitiously let his band into a studio at night to make a recording. Now, 84 years later we can hear what it sounded like for the first time.
Norvo’s new septet comprised keen young musicians who would later become stars in their own right – Shorty Rogers was on trumpet, Eddie Bert trombone, Aaron Sachs clarinet, Clyde Lombardi bass and Specs Powell on drums. Hank Kahout is thought to have been in the piano chair. The eight tracks last just over 45 minutes and include Sullivan & Ruskin’s I May Be Wrong (1929), Art Hickman’s Rose Room (1917), Irving Berlin’s Russian Lullaby (1927), Pettis, Meyers & Schoebel’s Bugle Call Rag (1922) and George Gershwin’s Liza (1929).
The album will doubtless be a collector’s item due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the recording. The artists are clearly proficient in their delivery but sound quality is not always the best. You can listen and be the judge of this yourself here.
Discography
One Note Jive; Speculatin’; I May Be Wrong; Keep Smilin’; Rose Room; Russian Lullaby; Bugle Call Rag; Slender,Tender and Tall; Optical Illusion Pt.1; Liza (45.26)
Norvo (x); Shorty Rogers (t); Eddie Bert (tb); Aaron Sachs (cl, as); Hank Kahout (p, possibly); Clyde Lombardi (b); Specs Powell (d). USA, 1942.
Dot Time Records DT8023
Jesper Thorn: Stille
Danish double-bassist Jesper Thorn lives in Copenhagen. He studied with Arild Andersen, Anders Jormin and Jesper Bodilsen at the city’s music conservatory and has worked with Palle Mikkelborg, Ralph Alessi, Lars Jansson and Alex Riel among others. Thorn’s fourth album, Stille (meaning quiet or calm in Danish) follows Big Bodies Of Water in 2016, Boy in 2020 and Dragør in 2023. He’s joined in his new recording by longtime colleagues, Maj Berit Guassora on trumpet and flugelhorn, Cecilie Strange tenor saxophone, Marc Méan piano and Andreas Bernitt on violin.
The album’s title refers to the search for peace and quiet in a noisy world. Its eight pieces, all composed by Thorn, comprise a series of instrumental commentaries on the world we live in. The first, Fragmentarium, is about a fleeting moment of beauty and calm in a period dominated by fear and uncertainty. Run was written as destructive wildfires coursed through California last year. In contrast, Stilleben came to the bassist during a morning of domestic peace after sending his son off to school. Concession was written on waking up to the disastrous news that Trump had been elected president instead of Kamala Harris and Recover is a hymn to resistance, keeping up the fight after a lost battle. Rebuild continues that theme.
Overall, this is a profound and personal meditation on the quest for calm and meaning in an often noisy and fast-moving world. The music is at times mesmeric. It successfully balances melancholy with hope and is exquisitely performed throughout. For a taste, you can listen to Fragmentarium and other tracks here.
Discography
Fragmentarium; Run; Such Is Fate; Stilleben; Concession; Recover; Rebuild; Shimmering (for MM) (42.46)
Thorn (b); Maj Berit Guassora (t, flh); Cecilie Strange (ts); Andreas Bernitt (vn), Marc Méan (p). Copenhagen, 31 March 2025.
April Records APR156CD
Wild Blue Herons: It’s All About Love
Pianist Bill Sample and vocalist Darlene Cooper, both Canadians, formed the duo Wild Blue Herons in 2017. Their first album, On The Outside, came out the same year followed four years later by You And I. Meantime, Cooper released a debut solo album, Soul Connections, while Sample released an album of instrumental compositions with his trio and a solo-piano Christmas album.
Cooper has directed the Marcus Mosely Chorale for several years and currently leads a series of gospel-style workshops exploring the genre’s history. She’s collaborated with Eric Bibb, his father Leon and Dee Daniels amongst others. Her husband, Sample, was one of Diana Krall’s first piano teachers and has performed with Ray Charles, Art Pepper, Mel Torme and Robben Ford.
The pair’s latest recording blends funk, jazz, gospel and contemporary pop. Four of the 13 songs are composed by Sample, one is by Cooper, seven are by both and there’s an arrangement of You Are My Sunshine that was penned by country and gospel singer Jimmie Davis in 1940.
The couple are accompanied by seasoned musicians whose résumés include work with Van Morrison, K.D. Lang and Tom Cochrane. In describing the album, Sample says “We’ve been more of a straight ahead jazz band with some funky sides to us but now we’ve really gone full out ‘funky jazz’.” Cooper adds “We both had in common Earth Wind And Fire, Average White Band, Chicago, Tower Of Power – all those types of band. We’re sort of coming back to that – with a bit of jazz as well.” She relays that most of the songs have something to do with love but also “a lot are about living life to the full as we’re of that age where life is short”. There’s a message there somewhere.
Discography
Mr Wiggly; Live in the Moment; Under My Skin; Whatcha Gonna Do With Your Life; It’s All About Love; Easy As Pie; Someday; Won’t Let You Steal; Bebop; Don’t Want This Heart; You Are My Sunshine; There Will Be Joy; Honey B (59.41)
Darlene Cooper (v); Bill Sample (p, elp, org); Steve Hilliam (ts); Jim Hopson (tb); Tom Keenlyside (f); Tim Porter (g); Miles Foxx Hill (b); Randall Stoll (d); Dawn Pemberton, Jane Mortifee (backing v). Vancouver, 2025.
wildblueherons.com
