A New Spin To Classic Rock

What's better than blending some good ol' jazz sounds with some of your favorite rock music? NOTHING! Here's a personal favorite.

"Light My Fire," a signature song of The Doors off their first album titled "The Doors" in 1967, has a long, lengthy, and controversial history. A song that got the group banned from the Ed Sullivan show for not changing the lyric "Girl we couldn't get much higher" during their 1967 show performance has now got a new jazzy tone to it.


Young Holt Unlimited - Light My Fire

Both the saxophone and trumpet are ear cathching in this piece. The piano is a great replacement for the organ (considering the organ made this song quite easy to throw a jazz spin to it).

And if you need it with the lyrics, here is the Young Holt Unlimited once again featuring Jackie Wilson and Erma Franklin on vocals.



And in case you're wondering what the fuss was over the Ed Sullivan show performance was about, here it is. Remember, the word "higher" was not something you could say on network television back in 1967. So when Jim Morrison deliberately used it instead of changing the lyric as he promised... well, it's easy to see why the group was never invited back.



Mixing jazz and rock together wasn't uncommon. In fact, the whole fusion sub category of jazz was exactly this combination. But I think the jazzy version of "Light My Fire" is a great example of how a song can change dramatically just by giving it a different melody and instrumentation. One style is more aggresive while the other is smooth and mellow. You got to love music! The possibilities are limitless! Enjoy!

Takin' five...

The Jazz Spazz

Music and the Dancer

In a Mellow Tone

Awww... Ella and Ben do it again. I just heard this song last night for the first time on 88.1FM KJAZZ and fell in love with it. It's a great mix of her unique, raspy voice paired with a sultry saxophone. This is just one of many other Duke Ellington tunes the pair collaborated on. Enjoy!

Takin' Five...

The Jazz Spazz

Sax for the Suffering Soul

I always get people asking me how I became interested in jazz. People always give me their shocked reactions when they hear me randomly call out the name of a jazz tune or singer anywhere I hear music. They say that people my age don't know this music or appreciate this music. My response is always the same. I tell them, "Well, I do. I have an old soul." Here's how I became acquainted with jazz music.

Before I knew jazz music, before I knew myself, I was in a whirlwind of uncertainty. Uncertainty of my thoughts, uncertainty of my passions, uncertainty of my beliefs, just uncertainty about myself. Living with struggles and questions about one's self is definitely one of most difficult things to get through as I'm sure anyone could understand. But for me, I had so many unanswered questions, uneasy thoughts, pent up frustration, and doubts of myself that I needed an outlet to resort to. Luckily, for my own sense of sanity, I was taught jazz music. It was then, learning about jazz, that I realized a new outlet and new and growing understanding about myself was finally taking place. And I have two amazing men/teachers to thank for it.

Jeff Ellwood - Director of Instrumental Jazz Studies at Mt. San Antonio College, Cal State Fullerton Jazz Saxophonist

Jeff Ellwood was my jazz music history professor over at Mt. San Antonio College. He was the one who introduced to me such beautiful music when I had enrolled in the class by mistake. What a great mistake it was!

Ellwood is one of those hidden saxophone gems that I've been so lucky to hear of. He studied and received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music and Master of Music degree from Cal State Fullerton. In 2001, Ellwood received the "Best College Saxophonist Award" at the Reno Jazz Festival. In 2002 & 2003, he was accepted to the Henry Mancini Institute on a full scholarship and would later appear multiple times with the Henry Mancini Alumni Big Band at the Jazz at Lincoln Center concert in New York City. Ellwood has worked and studied with James Moody, Rick Margitza, Billy Pierce, Hal Crook, George Garzone, Gary Foster, James Rotter, and Charlie Banacos to name a few. He's also performed with legends such as Tony Bennett, James Moody, Randy Brecker, Stevie Wonder, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Daniels, Arturo Sandoval, John Williams, Quincy Jones, etc. Jeff Ellwood can be heard performing with Alan Pasqua Jazz Collective throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

As mentioned before, I was so luckily to be taught jazz music by a professional who had a true passion for the art and sound of it. He took a girl who walked into his class with no expectations, no reservations, and gave her the understanding and love for jazz and desire to keep learning more. I will always be thankful to Professor Ellwood. I even had the pleasure of seeing him perform at a Mt. Sac spring jazz concert a few years ago and it 'snothing but a pure treat. He's amazing! And if he reads this, I would just like to tell him "thank you." He could never know how much truth and meaning those two little words have.

The Man and the Trumpet

Mile Davis (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991)

One of the most influential figures ever to the history and development of jazz was Miles Davis. His many contributions to the different styles of jazz (bebop, modal, cool, fusion, etc.) are the forefront for the development for many new, creative styles of jazz and genres of music. His 1959 Kind of Blue record is considered to be one of the most influential records of all time, and is hailed as a true treasure of the jazz community. Davis is considered to be one of the most innovative musicians, both artistically and personally, in the history of jazz, and music for that matter. His music continues to inspire musicians around the globe, and his legacy lives on in the history of jazz and in the sounds of newly inspired musicians.

The Bird

"Don't play the saxophone. Let it play you."

- Charlie Parker

A Classic American Metaphor... Bleeding Gums Murphy

I love finding jazz references in cartoons and TV shows. One of my favorites was Lisa Simpson's saxophone mentor, Bleeding Gums Murphy.

Bleeding Gums Murphy was a reoccurring character on The Simpsons that befriended Lisa until his death. He had a very successful, yet short lived career where he recorded Sax on the Beach. Unfortunately, Murphy found himself broke and resorted to playing on top of a bridge in Springfield in the middle of most nights. This is a great homage paid to the great Sonny Rollins who used to play alone on the Williamsburg Bridge for three years after retiring publicly. For little Lisa Simpson, Bleeding Gums Murphy was the mentor that expanded her mind and her music much further than she could have imagined... much like what some have done for me.

Bleeding Gums Murphy was society's and the media's unique way of paying tribute to an important legend of our country's culture. I hadn't realized the representation of this character until learning about jazz and putting the two together. It truly is a special representation. Play on Jazz Man :)