Deep Jazz: Little Sunflower

You dig Jazz? Then here's a delightful ditty by Munich, Germany based bass player Jerker Kluge and his collective called Deep Jazz, who draws inspiration from the Blue Note and Impulse catalogs from the 1950's and 1960's.

"Little Sunflower", originally composed by Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, with lyrics written by Leon Thomas, was covered on Deep Jazz's The Meeting, which dropped in January. They have already got a big thumbs up from Gilles Peterson by him spinning this tune on his "All Winners Show" and considered this as one of the best tracks of 2011. Deep Jazz is giving away this tune for FREE. As always, be sure to show support for good art by purchasing their bodies of work.

Gábor Szabó: Witchcraft

Gábor Szabó
(March 8, 1936 - February 26, 1982)
Earlier today I was listening to my copy of The Best of Gábor Szabó on vinyl. For a beautiful spring day that it was, it made my afternoon seem brighter. This Hungarian native was big on simplicity. And with simplicity, it helped to breed a genius on guitar in his own right in the world of Jazz. Although not known by many, he has a catalog of more than 20 albums and has also been a sideman for Chico Hamilton, Paul Desmond, Coke Escovedo, Steve Allen and Charles Lloyd. In 1969, he recorded Lena & Gabor with Lena Horne on his short lived Skye record label.

The tune I wish to share today is rather interesting, to say the least. "Withcraft", recorded in 1966 and composed by Cy Coleman, hosts a group of serious musicians. Szabó on guitar of course, with a helping hand from Ron Carter on bass, Chico Hamilton on drums, and percussionists Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja. It was originally released on Szabó's Spellbinder album.

Happy Birthday: Alice Coltrane

Alice Coltrane
(August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007)
Alice Coltrane was a Jazz composer, pianist, organist and one of the few harpists in the genre. She was also the wife of saxophone colossal John Coltrane and mother of Ravi Coltrane.

Coltrane recorded and released 22 albums on Impulse!, Columbia and Warner Bros. and was a sideperson for John Coltrane, Terry Gibbs, McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson. Being a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, the majority of her compositions were centered around her beliefs.

Hip-Hop/Electronic roducer Flying Lotus is a nephew of Alice Coltrane.