Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

jazz

Live At The Purple Pit – An Interview with Nutty

It all started with the familiar opening notes of “Take Five”. It was a lazy day off in 2012 and I was doodling at my art table with the sounds of Cocktail Nation with Koop Kooper in the background. Because the room reverb was slightly flat in the recording, I knew this version of “Take Five” wasn’t The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s original. And I was...

Lounge Gothic – A New Music Genre Begins to Emerge

In the Atomic Age retro scene, there have always been folk with a taste for the gothic. You can thank The Cramps. One of the first punk acts to use the word “gothic” to promote themselves in the 1970s, The Cramps went on to influence what would eventually become the post-punk Goth scene. However, unlike Siouxsie and The Banshees, Bauhaus, and other Goth scene progenitors,...

Appreciating Exotica Jazz
Written by Jessie Desmond in Music

Appreciating Exotica Jazz

Exotica jazz is no longer well-known to the average joe. It’s a genre of jazz that is based on exotic locales and sounds that emerged after WWII, predominately within the span of the 1950s to mid-1960s. The music was influenced heavily by Asian, tropical islands, South American, and African sounds, whether native beats or sounds of nature. Many men and women musicians emerged after the...

Jazz for the Jet Set
Written by Steven Padal in Music

Jazz for the Jet Set

Dave Pike has created this swell recording for all those swingin’ bachelors. Herbie Hancock plays the keyboard along side Dave Pike’s vibraphone. Bobby Hebb had wrote “Sunny” and introduced it in this album, which was later released for hundreds of additional recordings. This album reminds me a little of Cal Tjader, who was the creator of Acid Jazz. Some of my favorite recordings are “Blind...

Electrified Christmas
Written by Steven Padal in Music

Electrified Christmas

Electrify your Christmas music mix with some Hammond organ sounds! Jimmy Smith originally was a pianist and later became an organist in the early 50’s. Smith signed on with Verve Records in the 60’s and had the opportunity to collaborate with the great Lalo Schifrin and Wes Montgomery. Don’t be mistaken; Jimmy Smith’s style is not your typical funeral or church organ music. His jazz...

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – Three Jazz Vocalists

Lady’s and gentlemen, grab your partner, cause it’s time for some be-boppin’! Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross are three jazz vocalists that formed in 1957. The trio unfortunately were not active for many years and ended their trio in 1962. Though, Ross was replaced Yolande Bavan in 1962 and continued through 1964. The trio have strong and powerful vocals that flow well with...

Video
Written by Christopher in Film

An Homage to Louis Armstrong

Shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond as a modern re-imagining of early silent film, LOUIS is an homage to Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, beautiful women and the birth of American music. The grand Storyville bordellos, alleys and cemeteries of 1907 New Orleans provide a backdrop of lust, blood and magic for 6 year old Louis (Anthony Coleman) as he navigates the colorful intricacies of...

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