"Moanin'" by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Dust off your head charts and brush up your best licks, cause it's time to wade into the warm, welcoming waters of jazz. NOW ON PATREON Strong Songs now has a Patreon! If you liked this episode (or, you know, any of them), we hope you'll consider supporting the show. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/strongsongs MOANIN' This episode's Strong Song is Bobby Timmons' gospel-tinged "Moanin'," from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1959 album of the same name. Kirk zooms out a bit more than usual to talk about jazz small-group arranging, how a great solo is constructed, how jazz song-form works, and how (hopefully) to have a better appreciation for what's going on on a given jazz recording, even if you don't play. He also talks about anime. Band/Artist: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Album: Moanin', 1959 (recorded in 1958) Composed by: Bobby Timmons Personnel: Lee Morgan, trumpet; Benny Golson, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie Merritt, bass; Art Blakey, drums Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify ------ ALSO FEATURED: "Freddie Freeloader" by Miles Davis from Kind of Blue, 1959 Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify -- "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane from Giant Steps, 1960 Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify -- "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder from Songs in the Key of Life, 1976 Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify ("I Wish" was also featured on a 2018 episode of Strong Songs) -- "Jordu" by Duke Jordan from Clifford Brown and Max Roach, 1954 Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify -- "Cherokee" by Ray Noble as performed by Clifford Brown on Study in Brown, 1955 Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify -- "Tank!" by Yoko Kanno from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack -- The wonderful anime Kids on the Slope, streamable on Hulu and Crunchyroll. ———————————— NEWSLETTER/MAILING LIST Sign up for Kirk's mailing list to start getting monthly-ish newsletters with music recommendations, links, news, and extra thoughts on new Strong Songs episodes: https://kirkhamilton.substack.com/subscribe STRONG MERCH! Visit the Strong Songs merch store for some very cool t-shirts, mugs, totes, and more: store.strongsongspodcast.com