Once in a life time

How cool was Tony Williams? When he was 17, he was a prodigy behind the drums, propelling Miles Davis's legendary mid-'60s quintet, which was probably the best aggregation of talent Davis ever had. He was also a budding jazz composer in his own right, creating sophisticated pieces like this one here. (And he had the tastefulness to not even pick up his sticks for it!) His Life Time album is just as essential as any other '60s Blue Note classic. Which makes it unfortunate that Williams spent his adult career being a whole lot less cool with a bunch of dubious Fusion albums, and staining the luster of that record by using it as the band name for those dubious albums. Like the proverbial high school football star, Williams never bested his teenage self. So it goes. At least we can enjoy the high water mark now.

Tony Williams — Barb's Song To The Wizard

Initials BB

Well, sorry but it's true. If you're beautiful, stylish, and charismatic, you can have a crap voice and still be a pop star. What's more, you might even convince good songwriters to create vehicles upon which to build your mystique. And years later, many might look back fondly at the era you accidentally helped define. C'est la vie.

Brigitte Bardot — Une Histoire de Plage

Brigitte Bardot — A La Fin de L'été

A snaky groove

I'm not a big fan of spotlighting standards, but then this one came on the stereo on a recent cold evening while I was quietly reading at home, and suddenly, it was blammo! Living room dance party featuring myself and my wife, who is more than forgiving/amused about my spontaneous dance moves. Isn't that what jazz is all about, after all?

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

My dad is one day better than Jesus

Humbug! Christmas is a prelude. For me, the real deal is 12/26—my dad's birthday. And this year is an actual milestone for him (hint: starts with 6, ends with 0). But since Songblague observes the Sabbath (or at least cherishes the nondenominational sacredness of the weekend), dad gets his song a day early. For those of you having Christmas cocktail parties, I'd say throw this one in the mix. It's bubbly!

Horace Silver - Song For My Father

Well, happy season, friends! Songblague is taking the rest of the year off. Lots of good stuff brewing in my head for 2010, so we'll be coming back strong on 1/4. Meanwhile, I'm starting to put together an end-of-year mix, which I'll post once it's fit for your excellent ears.