Moody 4B
Encyclopedia
Moody 4B is an instrumental
album released by jazz
musician James Moody
. The album was released in 2010 on IPO Recordings, Moody's fifth release on the label, and was produced by Michael Patterson, Bill Sorin was executive producer. It won the 2011
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
.
Moody 4B was recorded in July 2008 in New York City
. Work began one day after completion of Moody's 2009 release Moody 4A. He employed the same musicians for both recordings; pianist
Kenny Barron
, bassist
Todd Coolman
, and drummer
Lewis Nash
with Moody on tenor sax
. The album consists of reworks of seven selections from the Great American Songbook
and jazz standard
s plus two originals composed by Barron, "Nikara's Song", and Coolman, "O.P. Update".
In February 2011 Moody 4B won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group. Moody had previously recorded over fifty solo album
s and been nominated for several Grammies but the win was his first. The award was given two months after Moody died as a result of pancreatic cancer
. The other nominees in the category were Positootly!
by John Beasley
, The New Song and Dance by The Clayton Brothers, Historicity by the Vijay Iyer Trio
, and Providencia by Danilo Pérez
. During the Grammy telecast Moody was featured along with other recently deceased musicians in a tribute montage.
"too good and literate to be denied high accolades".
All About Jazz
published three reviews of the album by Warren Allen, Edward Blanco, and Dan Bilawsky. Allen called the album a "a healthy dose of good swing by the best in the business". He called the two original numbers "sweet and catchy enough to fit seamlessly into the program" and closes by saying the recording "simply sounds like good jazz should". Blanco closed his review with "At 85 years young, James Moody keeps churning out some of the best straight ahead jazz in the business." Lastly, Bilawsky called the set "a fine edition to the catalog of one of the most enduring and important saxophonists in jazz".
Andrea Canter called the album "a monster quartet outing" in Jazz Police, going on she wrote that "each musician shines although perhaps none more than the leader".
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
album released by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician James Moody
James Moody (saxophonist)
James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
. The album was released in 2010 on IPO Recordings, Moody's fifth release on the label, and was produced by Michael Patterson, Bill Sorin was executive producer. It won the 2011
53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
Overview
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Work began one day after completion of Moody's 2009 release Moody 4A. He employed the same musicians for both recordings; pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Todd Coolman
Todd Coolman
Todd Coolman is a jazz bassist residing near New York City.Since moving to New York in 1978, he has performed with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman. Coolman recently recorded “Lexicon”...
, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Lewis Nash
Lewis Nash
Lewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz. and has played on over 400 records by musicians, earning him the honor of being named Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in it's May, 2009 issue...
with Moody on tenor sax
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
. The album consists of reworks of seven selections from the Great American Songbook
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
and jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
s plus two originals composed by Barron, "Nikara's Song", and Coolman, "O.P. Update".
In February 2011 Moody 4B won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group. Moody had previously recorded over fifty solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
s and been nominated for several Grammies but the win was his first. The award was given two months after Moody died as a result of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
. The other nominees in the category were Positootly!
Positootly!
Positootly! is an album by pianist John Beasley. The album was Beasley's second for Resonance Records, and featured an eclectic combination of styles, including straight ahead jazz, soul jazz, bossa nova and nuevo tango. In 2010, Positootly! was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz...
by John Beasley
John Beasley (musician)
John Beasley is an American composer, pianist, producer, and arranger who has recorded and performed with musicians such as Miles Davis, Steely Dan, Chaka Kahn, James Brown, Spice Girls, Dianne Reeves, Ry Cooder, Chick Corea and Sérgio Mendes, Freddie Hubbard, John Patitucci, Queen Latifah, and...
, The New Song and Dance by The Clayton Brothers, Historicity by the Vijay Iyer Trio
Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer is a jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, producer, electronic musician, and writer based in New York City.-Biography:Born in 1971 and raised in Rochester, New York, Vijay Iyer is the son of Indian Tamil immigrants to the US. He received 15 years of Western classical training on violin...
, and Providencia by Danilo Pérez
Danilo Pérez
Danilo Pérez is a Panamanian pianist and composer.-Early life:Danilo Pérez was born in Panama in 1965. He is considered one of the finest contemporary pianists and jazz composers of our era....
. During the Grammy telecast Moody was featured along with other recently deceased musicians in a tribute montage.
Reception
Michael G. Nastos of Allmusic called Moody 4B a "safe concession to mainstream jazz" and that Mood "has still got it". He called Moody's sax play "polished and graceful" and his sidemenSideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
"too good and literate to be denied high accolades".
All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
published three reviews of the album by Warren Allen, Edward Blanco, and Dan Bilawsky. Allen called the album a "a healthy dose of good swing by the best in the business". He called the two original numbers "sweet and catchy enough to fit seamlessly into the program" and closes by saying the recording "simply sounds like good jazz should". Blanco closed his review with "At 85 years young, James Moody keeps churning out some of the best straight ahead jazz in the business." Lastly, Bilawsky called the set "a fine edition to the catalog of one of the most enduring and important saxophonists in jazz".
Andrea Canter called the album "a monster quartet outing" in Jazz Police, going on she wrote that "each musician shines although perhaps none more than the leader".
Track listing
- "Take the A Train" (Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
) 4:30 - "Hot House" (Tadd DameronTadd DameronTadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
) 9:11 - "Speak LowSpeak Low"Speak Low" is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical One Touch of Venus . The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo and his orchestra, with vocal by Billy Leach...
" (Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Ogden NashOgden NashFrederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
) 6:27 - "Polka Dots & MoonbeamsPolka Dots and Moonbeams"Polka Dots and Moonbeams" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1940. It was Frank Sinatra's first hit recorded with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra...
" (Jimmy Van Heusen) 9:50 - "I Love YouI Love You (Cole Porter song)"I Love You" is a song written by Cole Porter in 1944 for his stage musical Mexican Hayride. It was popularized by Bing Crosby in the same year...
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) 6:45 - "O.P. Update" (Todd CoolmanTodd CoolmanTodd Coolman is a jazz bassist residing near New York City.Since moving to New York in 1978, he has performed with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman. Coolman recently recorded “Lexicon”...
) 5:18 - "Nikara's Song" (Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
) 6:06 - "Along Came Betty" (Benny GolsonBenny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
) 6:16 - "But Not for MeBut Not for Me (song)"But Not for Me" is a popular song, composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.It was written for their musical Girl Crazy and introduced in the original production by Ginger Rogers. It is also in the 1992 musical based on Girl Crazy, Crazy for You...
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) 6:41
Credits
- James MoodyJames Moody (saxophonist)James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
– sax (tenor)Tenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Todd CoolmanTodd CoolmanTodd Coolman is a jazz bassist residing near New York City.Since moving to New York in 1978, he has performed with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman. Coolman recently recorded “Lexicon”...
– bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles... - Lewis NashLewis NashLewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz. and has played on over 400 records by musicians, earning him the honor of being named Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in it's May, 2009 issue...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Michael Patterson – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- William F. Sorin – A&R, executive producerExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
- Jonathan Rosenberg – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Ira GitlerIra GitlerIra Gitler is an American jazz historian and journalist. Perhaps best known for The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz written with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he has written hundreds of liner notes for jazz recordings since the early 1950s and is the author of dozens...
– liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:... - Nick Ruechel – photographyAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
- MaryJo Schwalbach – watercolor artworkWatercolor paintingWatercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...