H ey JazzBluesHeads!
I recently taught an online seminar on jazz blues and one of my main areas of focus was Miles Davis’ tune “Pfrancing.” First off, what does that title mean? It behaves like a misspelling on steroids but other than that it’s a fantastic blues tune with Miles, Wynton Kelly, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. It’s on the Someday My Prince Will Come recording. Great solos by all but Hank’s tenor solo in particular hit me and that’s what we talked about in the seminar — the nuts and bolts of maybe why he did what he did.
I’m listening again now as I type and it upgrades the SpragueLand office vibe immensely.
For this week’s live music we’re playing tomorrow evening (Tuesday) at the RB Library. It’s a free concert (but they do try to inspire donations) and it’ll be me and the gang traversing that wide array of songs and styles that touch us the most. I hope you can join in and look below for the fine print.
Today we’re releasing the last of the PS Plays Coltrane vids with Duke Ellington’s masterpiece “In a Sentimental Mood.”
This song starts off by heading up the minor pentatonic scale and the way the melody plays with the chord changes is brilliant. Next, the release of the bridge in a new key clears the air. Coltrane recorded this on the Duke Ellington and John Coltrane Impulse release and if you don’t have that album hunt it down — it’s one of the greats!
Our version has a little Bob Marley influence that creeped in. Hope it’s agreeable…
adios friends, Peter