May 8th 1945 marked the victory over Germany and the axis powers iin 1945. Well, in eastern Europe it was already May 9th so they celebrate that day instead. I thought I would be fun to take a trip back to that time and play some of the music. Keith Jarrett was born on that exact day in 1945 and Richard Groove Holmes had his birthday eralier in the week.
Misty
One of Richard “Groove” Holmes most iconic records is his hard swinging version of Misty. It so embodies the soul jazz era and the first thing I want to play in his honor.
The girl from Ipanema
The first Groove Holmes record I got was “Living soul” and that record pretty much knocked me off my feet. On that album there’s a version of “The girl from Ipanema” that I think is really cool. So, another tune for Groove!
Stompin’ at the Savoy
In 1945, Django Reinhart released a record named “Paris 1945” that he recorded with American musicians. One of the songs of the album is “Stompin at the Savoy”. A tune that I have always liked and a nice addition to this set.
Sentimental journey
One of the most popular songs of 1945 was “Sentimental journey”. I thought was was fun also because of the sentimental nature of this stream’s theme.
Endless
When I just had started playing jazz, a friend of mine and me used to listen the a Keith Jarrett record that he had. I didn’t remember the name of the album or any tune but I there was one tune that we would listen to over and over. I so started browsing the Keith Jarrett catalogue, which is quite hugh. But I had a faint idea of how the album cover looked like and recognized it when I saw it in my search. Turns ouy the album was a live recording for Denver, Colorado and the song was called Endless. A nice meditative tune one can just be with while playing.
Star Wars funk
This week also had May 4th, Star Wars day. Being an old Star Wars fan (but only the first three movies made) I thought it would be fun to do something with that. I remember from when I was little a funk/disco version of the Star Wars theme. And so I did a version inspired by that.
Er hat ein knallrotes gummiboot
As you may have noticed, I like diversity and surprise in the repertoire. May 8th is also the birthday of my friend Patrik who has the Swedish Hammond agency. At demos and such we have often played this song like Klaus Wunderlich. Such a fun addition to the set.
Up and away
I used to do a lot of recordings from the Swedish Hammond office, trying out various organs. Some of them has really become popular. The song “Up and away” originated from a clip called “Groovin’ on a B3 -69” and that was a nice ay to end the set.
Over the rainbow
A calm encore to cool things down. This song is also featured on Groove holmes “Living soul” album and I’ve been playing it a lot over the years.
Hope you enjoyed the steram and see you at the next!
