Vinyl & Velvet

Creating the Perfect Autumn Jazz Listening Nook

With the rise of feng shui and self-help books like Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” people are beginning to realize and prioritize the importance of creating a cozy home environment. To truly make a house (or apartment!) into a home, you need to cultivate warm spaces that invite you and guests to relax and unwind. Whether you just moved into a new studio or you’ve been living in the same creaky house for decades, it’s never a bad idea to shower your home with a little tender love and care.

So, this autumn, why not create the most perfect jazz listening nook? I know what you may be thinking–a “listening nook”? What the heck is that? Well, a nook usually refers to a corner, a snug little spot where you can curl up and doze or read. But since music is our forte at Night is Alive, we are assuming that you will be listening to jazz music in your autumnal nook! Maybe you even have an old record player collecting dust in your attic that you could drag out and revive? No matter what, we’ve got some songs to help inspire your home decorating!

John Di Martino, Harry Allen, Dave Stryker and others – Imagination

At the outset of any new project, the most important thing is that you use your imagination. The sky’s the limit! Let your imagination soar; let it roam free and wild. No idea is too outlandish at this early stage–maybe you want your nook to feel like you’re inside a hollow tree. Maybe you want to feel like you’re looking up at the night sky. Or maybe you really just want a velvet chaise lounge. No matter what you want, allow this song, from Night is Alive’s album Call Me Irresponsible to inspire your imagination.

John DiMartino, Joe Magnarelli, Wayne Escoffery & others – Tell Me Why

Once you’ve captured the vision, the dreamboard if you will, of your listening nook, it’s time to shoot for the moon! Why do you want this nook? Why is it important to create a homey space? Reflecting on your goals will help to make the dream a reality. This song, from Night is Alive’s album Old New Borrowed and Blue will help you to refine and focus your vision and land among the stars.

Lorca Hart Trio – Introspection on the 401

Did you know that Zen Buddhists believe that the clutter, or cleanliness, of your home helps to create your mindset? The clearer and more organized your surroundings, the clearer and more organized are your thoughts. It’s a positive feedback loop! So, while creating your listening nook think about your habits and routine–what will create the clearest path to organization and enjoyment? Let this song from Night is Alive’s album Colors of Jazz inspire your introspection.

Bill Cunliffe, Tim Horner and Martin Wind – Interiors

Picture this: after weeks of traveling and family obligations every weekend you finally have a Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday all to yourself. You get home from work, take off your sweaty work clothes and toss them in the hamper then take a long shower or bubble bath. After putting on your pajamas, the take-out food you ordered is at your door. You get cozy in your new listening nook, turn on this song–from Night is Alive’s album The Border Widow’s Lament–and settle in. Between bites you contemplate the interiors of your home–where do you feel most safe? Where do you still want to redecorate?

Check out this music and more on Night is Alive’s albums page.

written by Jacqueline Knirnschild

Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

Dizzy’s Birthday Bash

Dizzy’s Birthday Bash: How Dizzy Gillespie Shaped Afro-Cuban Jazz

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born on October 21, 1917, in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was the youngest of nine children born to Lottie and James Gillespie—the latter a local bandleader. Thanks to his dad’s musical knack, young Dizzy and his siblings grew up surrounded by instruments. By age four, Dizzy was already tinkering on the piano, and by 12, he had taught himself to play both the trombone and trumpet!

One night, Gillespie heard his trumpet idol, Roy Eldridge, blasting over the radio waves, and his dream of becoming a jazz legend took full flight. He soon snagged a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, attending for two years before his family relocated to Philadelphia. It wasn’t long before his cheeks were puffing, his signature bent trumpet was pointing skyward, and his fiery virtuosic style was captivating audiences nationwide.

By the 1940s, Dizzy had become a pioneer of bebop—a fast-paced, complex style of jazz that showcased blistering speed and high-flying melodic runs. But Dizzy was never one to stay inside a single musical box. He was fascinated by global rhythms, particularly the infectious polyrhythms coming out of Cuba. Then he met Chano Pozo.

In 1947, iconic Cuban conguero Mario Bauzá introduced Dizzy to Pozo, a legendary percussionist and dancer fresh off the boat from Havana. Though Dizzy didn’t speak Spanish and Pozo spoke no English, they shared a universal language: groove. The moment they jammed together, magic happened.

Dizzy and Pozo teamed up to write “Manteca” (Spanish for “lard,” but slang for cool or grease), which quickly became the ultimate Afro-Cuban jazz anthem. The track kicked off with Pozo’s hypnotizing conga rhythm, layered with a swinging bassline, and exploded into Dizzy’s blazing brass melodies.

It wasn’t just a gimmick or a quick fusion, it was a revolution. Before this, Latin music and American jazz mostly played in separate ballrooms. Dizzy fused Cuban clave rhythms directly with complex jazz harmonies, creating a vibrant hybrid genre that got listeners tapping their feet and dancing in the aisles.

Dizzy’s open-minded, celebratory approach to music proved that jazz had no borders. His Afro-Cuban compositions opened the floodgates for generations of musicians, from Tito Puente and the Fania All-Stars to modern Latin jazz masters.

So, this October 21st, blow a horn, puff out your cheeks, and put on some classic Dizzy Gillespie. Happy Birthday, Dizzy! Thanks for bringing the ultimate rhythm party to jazz.If you want to experience Dizzy’s Afro-Cuban magic firsthand, drop these two classics into your rotation:

Dizzy Gillespie – Manteca

This is the track, released in 1948, that started it all, opening with Chano Pozo’s infectious conga riff before locking into an irresistible groove. As Dizzy’s trumpet soars over a swinging horn section, you can hear the exact moment bebop meets Havana. It’s impossible to listen to this masterpiece without bouncing along to the beat!

Dizzy Gillespie – Tin Tin Deo

Co-written with Chano Pozo and pianist Gil Fuller, this 1951 track trades high-speed fireworks for a laid-back, smoldering sway. Dizzy’s muted trumpet glides effortlessly over hypnotizing Afro-Cuban percussion and lush harmonies. It’s cool, sophisticated, and guaranteed to transport you straight to a sunlit jazz club.

Can you hear any Gillespie-inspired music in our own Night is Alive albums? You can listen on our Youtube page or add music from our various albums to your Spotify playlist. And of course, the very best in jazz is always available on Night is Alive’s albums page.

written by Jacqueline Knirnschild

Photo from allaboutjazz.com

Fall Leaves and Fun, Folksy, Feel-Good Tunes

Fall Leaves and Fun, Folksy, Feel-Good Tunes

It’s that wondrous autumnal time of year again: the trees are changing from green to hues of orange, yellow and red; the air feels crisp, cool and magical; and there’s a crunch underfoot as you walk down the leaf-littered sidewalk. Fall is hands-down my favorite season because the cool weather feels so refreshing and calming after the heat of summer, and because I enjoy listening to my favorite folk tunes during these months!

Folk music is an umbrella term that emerged in the 19th-century and can be defined in many ways: folk music may be music that is transmitted orally; music with unknown or anonymous composers; music that is played on traditional instruments; music about cultural or national identity; music that evolves through the generations; music associated with a people’s folklore; and/or music performed by custom over a long period of time.

Long story short, folk music is timeless: it has a past, a history, and a culture associated with it. A folk song usually exists in countless iterations that have been passed on through the years and performed by many different musicians. This fall, Night is Alive has prepared a playlist of fun, folksy, feel-good tunes that we hope will help you to appreciate the awesome autumnal season. Enjoy!

Bill Cunliffe, Tim Horner and Martin Wind – The Border Widow’s Lament

Okay, so this one isn’t exactly feel-good: Inspired by a traditional Scottish ballad, this song captures the poignant folktale of a woman mourning her slain husband. But while the source material is pure folk, the Night is Alive trio rearranges it into a hypnotic, haunting and richly resonant jazz instrumental that is anchored by a deep acoustic base. To hear more, check out the album, also titled The Border Widow’s Lament.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – This Land Is Your Land

“This Land Is Your Land” is one of the most famous American folk songs of all time. From just the title, you can probably recall the lyrics: “From California to the New York Islands . . .” But did you know that Woody Guthrie actually wrote this song in 1940 as a response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Apparently, Guthrie was tired of hearing “God Bless America” on the radio, and we wanted to mix things up. Well, he sure did! “This Land Is Your Land” now has hundreds of versions, adaptations and recordings, including this one! This jazzy, rhythmic, feel-good cover, released by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in 2005, will have you tapping your toes this autumn!

Trini Lopez – If I Had A Hammer

Written in 1949 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, this song was inspired by the mid-century American labor movement and the fight for racial equality. At its core, the song employs three straightforward symbols–the hammer, bell and song–as the tools of activism. Rather than waiting for things to change, the song beckons people to rally together and build love between each other. In 1963, Trini Lopez stripped away the more somber folk aesthetics to create a track that was more pulsing, rhythmic and joyous.  

Joan Baez – Please Come to Boston

Originally written in 1974 by Dave Loggins, this is a newer folk song about a man begging his beloved to join him in different cities as he rambles his way around the U.S. “Please come to Boston for the springtime / I’m stayin’ here with some friends / And they’ve got lots of room / You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk,” he entreats his lover.

The song gained popularity, with different covers, such as that of David Allan Coe. Then in 1976, the California crooner Joan Baez, modified the lyrics and included the tune on her live album From Every Stage. She takes the perspective of the woman refusing all the man’s invitations and instead asks him to settle down with her.

Check out more jazz music on Night is Alive’s albums page.

written by Jacqueline Knirnschild

Photo by Zooey Li on Unsplash

Pumpkin Carving and Playful Percussives

Pumpkin Carving and Playful Percussives

When your work and social calendars are packed, it can seem like a pain in the neck to organize a pumpkin-carving activity. You have to go to the pumpkin patch, buy the pumpkins, bring them home, set up a carving station, have the right knives and carving utensils, and then get candles to put inside! But trust me, the payoff is so worth it. I mean, what even is autumn without a ghoulish pumpkin on your porch or balcony?!

To help motivate you and get you in the pumpkin-carving mood, Night is Alive has curated a playlist of jazz songs that include playful percussives. Nod your head, or tap your toes, along to these fun rhythms while you create the scariest and spookiest pumpkins this October!

Harry Allen Trio – “Runnin’ Wild”

From the Night is Alive album It Takes 3, this track sets an instantly breathless, high-velocity pace. Driven by Bryan Carter’s crisp, scampering drum work, the song feels like a frantic dash down a moonlit, leaf-strewn street on a crisp autumn night. The traded phrases between the saxophone and piano dance playfully over the rhythm section, matching the jittery anticipation of carving out jagged, toothy grins into your gourds. It’s an infectious, swinging tune that makes scraping out fibrous pumpkin pulp feel like a total breeze.

Lorca Hart Trio – “Discoveries”

Featured on the Night is Alive album Colors of Jazz, this selection brings an intricate, exploratory percussive pulse to your pumpkin-carving session. Lorca Hart’s dynamic cymbal work and nimble snare accents ripple underneath the melody like a sudden gust of October wind rustling through dry branches. As you map out the eyes and nose of your jack-o’-lantern with a paring knife, the shifting drum textures provide a brilliant soundtrack that keeps your hands steady and focused. Every accent on the kit feels like another candle flickering to life inside a dark, hollowed-out shell.

WJ3 All-Stars – “Jitterbug Waltz”

This track, from Night is Alive’s album Lover and Love Songs, infuses the room with a wonderfully whimsical, bobbing cadence. The playful beat of the rhythm section captures that exact feeling of lighthearted clumsiness when you’re trying to scoop out stubborn seeds without making a mess on the table. Its eccentric, swaying beat encourages you to nod along while carefully detailing a crooked, spooktacular grin. It is impossible to stay frustrated with a slipping carving knife when this track is bouncing through your speakers.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Take Five”

Transitioning to iconic jazz standards, this timeless 1959 piece is an absolute must-have for any rhythm-forward seasonal playlist. Joe Morello’s legendary, mesmerizing drum intro opens the door, establishing an unorthodox 5/4 time signature that feels wonderfully off-kilter and mysterious. That hypnotic percussion pattern provides an eerie, sophisticated backdrop as you lean over your workspace to shave down the thick outer shell of the pumpkin. It is a masterclass in rhythm that keeps your carving strokes synchronized to an effortlessly cool pulse.

Dizzy Gillespie – “A Night in Tunisia”

Finally, this staple of classic jazz brings an exotic, driving intensity that matches the theatrical drama of Halloween night. The tune’s famous, galloping conga-infused rhythm and stop-time breaks deliver a cascade of percussive textures that heighten the suspense in the room. As you finally drop a lit tea candle inside your finished creation and turn off the overhead lights, this song’s soaring melodies and rhythmic punch provide the ultimate cinematic reveal. Your porch is officially ready to welcome any trick-or-treaters brave enough to walk your way!

Check out this music and more on Night is Alive’s albums page.

written by Jacqueline Knirnschild

Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash