Mort Weiss
Mort Weiss is a bebop oriented clarinet player with five albums as leader to date. On his first album as leader he performed with Joey DeFrancesco on the Hammond B3 organ, featured also on his second album B3 and Me (recorded in 2003 but not released until 2006). According to Scott Yanow, "Clarinet-organ groups are far from common. In fact, prior to Mort Weiss' debut CD with organist Joey DeFrancesco, it is possible that combination had never been utilized before."
Weiss' prodigious musical gifts have been captured on a dozen recordings to date. That quantity of recordings is made considerably more impressive by the fact that all twelve albums were recorded over an equivalent span of twelve years, beginning in 2003 when Weiss was 68 years old.
2002, the year that marked Weiss return to recording, saw the release of a 2-CD set on Weiss’ own SMS Jazz label, No Place to Hide, on which he performed with guitarist Ron Eschete. In 2003, he emerged as a leader in his own right, with The Mort Weiss Quartet (AKA Mort Wiess Meets Joey DeFrancesco). The critical response to those first two recordings provided ample evidence that the talents that Weiss had shelved for nearly forty years were as vital and dazzling as they’d been in the 1960s, when he’d last picked up his clarinet. According to jazz writer Scott Yanow, “Clarinet-organ groups are far from common. In fact, prior to Mort Weiss' CD with organist Joey DeFrancesco, it is possible that combination had never been utilized before.” Yanow’s observation predicted Weiss’ penchant for rising to almost any musical challenge, one which has become a hallmark of his reinvigorated career.
Podcasts:
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by Joan Baez
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by Joan Baez
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by Mediaeval Baebes
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by Tiffany Alvord
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by Ellison
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by Forefather
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by Circulus
Marriott, U.s.a.
by: Joan BaezMy name is Chaffey, I'm from Marriott, U.S.A.
I'm a high school graduate and I'm looking for a way
To chase my future down and lay it at my feet
So I can answer all the questions of my old friends on the street
I lie awake at night and I think about the years
The petty victories and all the hidden tears
And about the girl I love who had to set me free
She said she'd never marry anyone ambitionless as me
The Marriott Daily is delivered to my door
It brings the outside in and I've seen it all before
Though all my golden dreams and all my brazen schemes
May scatter like a rainbow on an open sea
Oh no, you won't find me staring down an M16
You took my brother from the Marriott High School all-star team
You took my brother from Marriott and from me
My dad's made window shades for twenty-seven years
He's had his share of laughter and an equal share of tears
And I still live in the second room of my parent's hall
My brother watches me from the stationary frame upon the wall
Mom tends the garden and occasionally perms her hair
She's not political, she sticks to her own affairs
But they voted the cowboy in and they think he's doing fine
He's created some very new and interesting, innovative lies
And the Marriott Daily is delivered to my door
It brings the outside in and I've seen it all before
Though all my golden dreams and all my brazen schemes
May scatter like a rainbow on the open sea
Oh no, you won't find me staring down an M16
You took my brother from the Marriott High School all-star team
You took my brother from Marriott and from me
We celebrated when they came home from Iran
We tied a bunch of yellow ribbons on the van
Drove into Marriott, went into church and prayed
But secretly I asked the Lord if this is how heroes are made
Speaking of heroes, a word about my dad
Son of mine, take your time 'cause now you're all we have
And if you refuse to go, I'll support you all the way
And that will surely be a first for the folks in Marriott, U.S.A.
And the Marriott Daily is delivered to my door
It brings the outside in and I've seen it all before
Though all my golden dreams and all my brazen schemes
May scatter like a rainbow on an open sea
Oh no, you won't find me staring down an M16
You took my brother from the Marriott High School all-star team
You took my brother from Marriott and from me