AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bill Frisell

Artist:Bill Frisell

Song:Moon River

Album:When You Wish Upon a Star

I have written about jazz guitarist Bill Frisell before. But he's so versatile and records so many different kinds of music, he's kind of hard to classify. This recording of Henry Mancini's Moon River is from the 2016 album When You Wish Upon a Star. It's an album of movie themes. Frisell studied with Jim Hall at Berklee in Boston. Hall is probably his main influence and Frisell has mostly stuck with acoustic guitar. Frisell's big break came in 1982 when Pat Metheny was unable to make a recording session and he recommended Frisell to drummer Paul Motian. Frisell became ECM Records' in house guitarist through the 80s and recorded three albums for ECM. He also worked a lot with John Zorn in his band Naked City and also Paul Motian and Joe Lovano. Then Frisell signed with Warner's Nonesuch label in 1989 and recorded for them for twenty years. And that is when most jazz fans got to hear Frisell on albums like Have a Little Faith (1992) and This Land (1994). Since leaving Nonesuch in 2009, Frisell has recorded for Savoy, OKeh and he currently records for Blue Note. He first recorded Moon River on the 2001 album Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones. That album is out of print. But when I saw that Frisell recorded an album of movie themes and that was more interesting anyway. Of course Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer wrote Moon River for the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. Star Audrey Hepburn sang it in the film and it won a Best Original Song Oscar. Andy Williams performed it on the Oscar broadcast. It's generally considered to be his signature song though it was never released as a single. The album When You Wish Upon a Star is on OKeh and was produced by Lee Townsend who was recommended by Charlie Haden's daughter Petra Haden who sings on this album. Other musicians are Eyvind King on viola, Thomas Morgan on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Morgan and Royston have toured with Frisell. I know there are jazz fans who like jazz versions of movie themes so this would be of interest to them. As I said, Frisell currently records for Blue Note and he released an album in Feb. 2026. He will appear at Birdland in New York with Ron Carter in October. Then he will tour Europe. Here's Bill Frisell with Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston performing Moon River at the 2025 Jarasum Jazz Festival in South Korea. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Richard Elliot

Artist:Richard Elliot

Song:When a Man Loves a Woman

Album:The Best of Richard Elliot

Saxophonist Richard Elliot was a member of Tower of Power in the 80s. Since leaving the band, he has had a lot of success in the Smooth Jazz market. Elliot recorded for Blue Note in the 90s. This 1989 cover of the Percy Sledge classic When a Man Loves a Woman is one of his most popular recordings. he was born Jan. 16, 1960 in Glasgow, Scotland but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was three. He played clarinet as a child and switched to saxophone as a teen. Elliot was a fan of Motown and Philadelphia International. So he moved to Detroit in 1972 and toured with Natalie Cole and The Pointer Sisters. Elliot returned to Los Angeles and while touring with Melissa Manchester, he also played in the fusion band Kittyhawk led by guitarist Daniel Bortz. Elliot played lyricon and saxophone. After Kittyhawk released two albums on EMI America, Elliot left to join Tower of Power in 1982. He also worked with Yellowjackets, recorded his first solo album in 1984 and played sessions. The 1989 album Take to the Skies was one of three albums that Elliot recorded for Intima Records which was owned by Enigma Records with Capitol distribution. After Elliot had success with his recording of When a Man Loves a Woman, he signed with Capitol owned Blue Note Records. Elliot wrote and produced most of the songs. Musicians were Alan Hinds on guitar, Naoki Yanai on bass and Bob Harsen on drums and percussion. I think this was his band at the time. Elliot played keyboards and sax. Bobby Caldwell and Marilyn Scott were special guests. You can get When a Man Loves a Woman on this budget comp. Elliot recorded for Blue Note until 2001. He currently records for Shanachie meaning he owns the recordings. Shanachie is strictly a distributor. Elliot's latest album was released in 2024. Like many Smooth Jazz artists, Elliot is always touring and he does a lot of Smooth Jazz Cruises. Here's Richard Elliot performing When a Man Loves a Woman on the German TV show Ohne Filter. There's a video for When a Man Loves a Woman but Elliot barely appears in it. So I prefer this.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Marcin Wacilewski Trio

Artist:Marcin Wasilewski Trio

Song:Cinema Paradiso

Album:January

Polish jazz pianist Marcin Wasilewski is a protege of Polish jazz trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. So not surprisingly, Wasilewski's music is similar to Stanko's and he also records for ECM Records. So if you like minimalist jazz, this could be for you. I find it to be a little too minimalist. But that seems to be true of ECM's music in general. ECM owner Manfred Eicher likes this style so it's not changing. Wasilewski was born Nov. 11, 1975 in Slawno, Poland. He started playing piano at age seven and studied classical music in high school. But he got into jazz and at age 13 formed the Simple Acoustic Trio with friends Slawomir Kurkicwicz on bass and Michal Miskiewicz on drums. These three have played together ever since and they are still together. After self releasing a couple of albums, Stanko hired them to tour and record. After recording three albums with Stanko, Wasilewski signed with ECM and released the 2005 album Trio. This cover of Ennio Morricone's theme from the film Cinema Paradiso is from the 2008 album January. Wasilewski wrote half of the ten songs. The covers are not standards and includes a cover of Prince's Diamonds and Pearls. This album is available as a digital download. As I said, this trio is still together. Their last two albums have been with tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Lovano has recorded for ECM since 2019. The album Homage was released last year. They are currently touring at home and in other European countries. They toured the US in 2024. Obviously, they are a much bigger deal in Poland. Here's the Marcin Wasilewski Trio performing Cinema Paradiso. 

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Canton Jones

Artist:Canton Jones

Song:Be Healed

Album:Dominionaire

Canton Jones is a gospel artist who writes and produces on his own label. He sometimes raps and his songs can be controversial as he sometimes covers social issues. He was born Jan. 9, 1977 in Deerfield Beach, FL. which is near Miami. As a child, he sang in his father's vocal group. And by age 16, he was writing and producing for others. Jones attended Morehouse College in Atlanta where he joined the Morehouse Glee Club. They sang for celebrities, at the 1996 Olympic Games and held the first ever gospel concert at The Pentagon. Jones' girlfriend at the time who became his wife took him to World Changers Church International led by televangelist Creflo Dollar. Jones says that in his three years there, he grew as a Christian and rededicated his life to Christ. He started his own label CAJO International and released the 2002 album 20 Years, 3 Months and 12 Days followed by the 2004 album The Password. He also appeared on rapper Lil iROCC Williams 2004 album The Sequel and performed the song You and Me on the various artists comp Holy Hip-Hop: Taking the Gospel to the Streets. He was in the World Changers Church choir and a youth pastor signed him to the church's record label Arrow Records with EMI Gospel distribution. After three albums for Arrow, Jones returned to his own label and released the 2011 album Dominionaire. As with all his albums, Jones writes and produces everything. Special guests include Dietrick Haddon. This 2CD album is available on CD. He followed this with a live album and DVD. Jones continues to record and perform. His latest album The Promise Notes (Love Stories from the Word) was released earlier this year. Here's Canton Jones performing Be Healed from the Dominionaire DVD.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bill Evans

Artist:Bill Evans

Song:Emily

Album:Quiet Now: Never Let Me Go

This is part of My Jazz for Beginners series complete with an affordable comp and a performance video. A while back, I wrote about pianist Bill Evans' Riverside albums. He recorded for Riverside from 1957-62 and recorded for Verve until 1969. Riverside was having financial problems and declared bankruptcy in 1964. At the time, Evans was not in good condition. The 1961 death of bassist Scott LaFaro put Evans in a tailspin and his heroin addiction got worse. His girlfriend Elaine Schultz was also an addict. They moved to his parents house in Florida and both kicked the habit. So now he's looking for a new label. Norman Granz sold Verve to MGM in 1960. The man in charge at Verve was Creed Taylor. There's no question that Taylor is a more commercial producer than Riverside's Orrin Keepnews. But Evans had to record somewhere and Verve was better than most other options. After Evans appeared on the 1962 album Empathy with Monty Budwig on bass and Shelly Manne on drums, Evans signed with Verve. His first album for Verve was the 1963 album Conversations with Myself. This is solo piano with overdubs. I know that will drive some jazz fans crazy. But the album was very successful and it won a Grammy. With that success, it's not surprising that Taylor wanted to do a sequel. That was the 1967 album Further Conversations with Myself. As with the first album, this is solo piano with overdubs. Helen Keane produced. She produced many jazz artists. Emily was the most popular song from this album as it wasn't a well known song. Johnny Mercer and Johnny Mandel wrote Emily for the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily but it wasn't used in the film. Frank Sinatra and Jack Jones recorded the song. Then Evans recorded it and so did Paul Desmond in 1969. Both performed Emily for many years. You can get Emily on this comp which is available as a digital download. The most significant event for Evans was when he met bassist Eddie Gomez in 1966. Drummer Marty Morell joined in 1968. They were together until 1975. So I might look at that trio in the future. Here's Bill Evans with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell performing Emily.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frank Sinatra Count Basie

Artist:Frank Sinatra Count Basie

Song:The Best Is Yet to Come

Album:The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings

It's likely that if Frank Sinatra had stayed with Capitol Records, he would have never recorded with Count Basie's band. He recorded two studio albums with Basie and The Best Is Yet to Come is probably Sinatra's best known recording from those two albums. The song was a regular part of Sinatra's repertoire despite not being released as a single. Sinatra was feuding with Capitol Records VP Alan Livingston over creative control. He tried to buy Verve Records from Norman Granz. But they couldn't work out a deal and Granz sold Verve to MGM. So he started Reprise Records in 1961. He ran the company himself at first. But most of the artists signed to Reprise were nostalgia acts and didn't sell. So Sinatra sold Reprise to Warner Bros. in 1963 and Mo Ostin made the label successful by signing contemporary artists. Sinatra still recorded for Reprise and he continued to have commercial success until his first retirement. Creative control was the main reason Sinatra started Reprise in the first place. So he got to do what he wanted. And what he really wanted to do was record with jazz bandleader Count Basie and his orchestra. The album Sinatra-Basie: A Historical Musical First was released in 1962. Neal Hefti was Basie's arranger at the time. The songs are mostly standards including a couple that Sinatra had previously recorded. The Best Is Yet to Come is from the 1964 album It Might As Well Be Swing. This is generally considered to be the better album of the two mostly because Quincy Jones was brought in to write the arrangements. This was the first time Jones had worked with Sinatra. Sinatra and Basie did some shows together and a live album was released in 1965. The Best Is Yet to Come was written by jazz pianist and composer Cy Coleman and his longtime partner Carolyn Leigh for Tony Bennett's 1962 album I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Others to record the song were Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Blossom Dearie. Sinatra continued to perform The Best Is Yet to Come and and it was the last song in his final performance on Feb. 25, 1995 at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom. It was also etched on Sinatra's original tombstone though that was changed a few years ago. Both Sinatra Basie albums were released on one CD and that is available as a digital download. Here's Frank Sinatra performing The Best Is Yet to Come on the CBS TV special The Milestone Birthday Special. This was filmed at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sinatra's birthday Dec. 12, 1979.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ralph Alessi

Artist:Ralph Alessi

Song:Chuck Barris

Album: Baida

Jazz trumpeter Ralph Alessi straddles the line between progressive jazz and avant garde. He currently records for ECM Records. The 2013 album Baida is probably his best known album. He is also a very busy sideman and an educator. He was born Mar. 5, 1963 in San Francisco. His parents met as performers at the Metropolitan Opera. His father Joseph Alessi Sr. was principal trumpet for 15 years. His mother Maria Leone sang in the chorus. His brother Joseph Alessi plays trombone in the New York Philharmonic. The Alessi brothers took trumpet lessons as children. As a teen, Ralph Alessi played with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera. He attended the California Institute of the Arts where he studied with legendary bassist Charlie Haden. Alessi earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz trumpet and a Master of Fine Arts in bass. He played with Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and saxophonist Bill Perkins and pianist Ralph Strazzeri. Alessi moved to New York City in 1990. He recorded as a sideman with avant garde saxophonist Steve Coleman. After releasing a 1999 album on his own label, he released three albums on Ravi Coltrane's RKM label. The two became friends in school. Alessi also recorded for the European labels CAM Jazz and Clean Feed. Meanwhile, Alessi founded The School for Improvisational Music in Brooklyn and has taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. Alessi signed with ECM for the 2013 album Baida. ECM owner Manfred Eicher produced the album. Musicians are Jason Moran on piano, Drew Gress on bass and Nasheet Watts on drums. Supposedly, Alessi named the song Chuck Barris after The Gong Show host because Barris wrote in his autobiography that he was a secret CIA operative. So the title is a joke. This album is available as a digital download. Alessi left ECM for a while. But he returns to the label with the 2026 album A Sun That Never Sets featuring his brother Joseph Alessi on trombone. Alessi is not touring right now. He was on tour earlier this year. I am sure he will tour in 2027. Here's Ralph Alessi with Gary Versace on piano, Drew Gress on bass and Nasheet Watts on drums performing Chuck Barris in Muri, Switzerland Mar. 20, 2016.