It's Friday! 3 minutes of Mary Lou Williams to brighten your day.

Montreux 1978 was her last recording. Into her sixth decade of recording, still so strong. Hard to believe she would be gone just three years later. A giant.

Her music makes me happy.

#MaryLouWilliams
#Jazz
#LastRecordings

https://youtu.be/ktmyulf11sQ

Friday at last. I'm slightly hypnotised by this song. It's a nice one for a sleepy Friday.

Bennie Moten's 'Imagination' 1932

Sadly Moten's final recording session. Ben Wester on Tenor and Count Basie on piano.

#LastRecordings
#BennieMoten
#Jazz

"my only inspiration is just imagination and make believe.."

https://youtu.be/0J5iGxGH7OQ

I'm enjoying going through #LastRecordings.

Andrew Cyrille, who played on Walt Dickerson's last album also played on Sun Ra's last studio recording. Sun Ra recorded with Walt as well.

Billy Bang - A Tribute to Stuff Smith (1992)

It was close to the end for Sun Ra's time on planet earth. Though his playing isn't as strong as it once was, I still like the album very much.

Nice version of Deep Purple, which Sun Ra also record with Stuff Smith way back in 1948.

#Jazz

https://youtu.be/tOsvrg0X0io

Vibraphone player Walt Dickerson's recording career spanned 20 albums from two periods 61-65 and then 10 years later 75-82.

Everything he recorded is excellent, the later stuff is a little more out there. His last album Life Rays (1982) is maybe my favourite. He revisits It Ain't Necessarily So as the final track. It's wow. He is light on dark days for me.

Walt Dickerson (vib)
Sirone (b)
Andrew Cyrille (d)

#LastRecordings
#Waltdickerson
#Jazz

It Ain't Necessarily So
https://youtu.be/eaS8wJCCnkw

Last studio recording from Hank Mobley.

Cedar Walton/Hank Mobley Quintet - Breakthrough (1972)

It's the last chapter in my favourite book. It's not how anyone would have wanted it to end but wow what a completely wonderful story Hank gave us.

Hank's playing at the end was searching for something. He'd moved away from his early playing style but was still always Hank. His playing sounds raw. It's a tough listen at times.

#LastRecordings
#HankMobley
#Jazz

Summertime
https://youtu.be/9MuTIX-XvVE

Thinking about Lucky Thomson. His last studio recording, I Offer You (1973), is well worth a listen. I like his sound with Cedar Walton on electric piano. Something a bit different to his earlier recordings. Lucky still sounds so good. One of the greats gone too soon.

#LastRecordings
#LuckyThomson
#Jazz

Sun Out
https://youtu.be/nzaIxOjoxkU

Rewatching the Ken Burns Jazz series as it happened to be on telly, nice that Fletcher Henderson gets a good bit of space. Henderson's is my favourite early big band.

I was thinking about great last recordings by folk recently. Fletcher Henderson Sextet (1950) is a really nice live set. Sad to think he was gone not long after. Plus it's got Lucky Thomson on it! Anything with Lucky on is guaranteed to be good.

#LastRecordings
#FletcherHenderson
#LuckyThomson

Soft winds

https://youtu.be/9Fc9qyNZ9b0