Podcast 240: Spooky Song Titles

Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

Halloween is here again, which means its almost time to make up a batch of my famous pumpkin martinis to carry Nancy and me through the evening’s trick or treaters. And it’s also time for my semi-annual podcast of jazz songs with spooky titles. Click here for a bevy of ghouls and goblins, witches and devils, all performed by:

Peter Cincotti - “Witches Brew” from East of Angel Town. The crooner/movie star (he played opposite Kevin Spacey in the Bobby Darin biopic) has his vocals a bit overwhelmed by David Foster’s over production, but he still throws a hot harpsichord solo in for good measure.

Al DiMeola – “Race with the Devil on Spanish Highway” from Elegant Gypsy. The former Return to Forever guitar hero flexes his fingers on this breakneck fusion workout from 1984. The band is a who’s who of electric jazz for the day – Barry Miles on keyboards, Lenny White on drums, Anthony Jackson on bass, and Mingo Lewis on percussion.

Roy Hargrove – “Devil Eyes” from Nothing Serious. One of our leading trumpet players released two albums simultaneously in 1986, one funk oriented and this straight ahead set. The band is Hargrove on trumpet, pianist Ronnie Mathews, Dwayne Burno (who wrote the tune) on bass, Justin Robinson on alto and flute, and Willie Jones II on drums.

The Lounge Lizards – “You Haunt Me” from The Lounge Lizards. This downtown New York City band made its debut album in 1981, and it ended with this composition by bandleader John Lurie. The rest of the initial line-up is John Lurie, his brother Evan Lurie (piano and organ), Arto Lindsay (guitar), Steve Piccolo (bass), and Anton Fier (drums).

Claudio Roditi with Kenia – “The Monster and the Flower” from Red on Red. I couldn’t resist this song title. It comes from Roditit’s 1984 debut CD, produced by Creed Taylor. Co-written by Roditi with guitarist Ricardo Silveira, this track features Roditi and Paquita D’Rivera on trumpet and sax, respectively, backed by Alfredo Cardim on Fender Rhodes, Claudio Celson on guitar, Lincoln Goines on bass and Yogi Horton on drums. Kenia has gone on to become one of the leading interpreters of her native Brazil’s songbooks.

Stanley Clarke – “All Hell Broke Loose” from Rocks, Pebbles and Sand. A fusiony finale comes from the bass master. This 1980 recording features Clarke with Victor Feldman (Vibes), Chick Corea (Bass, Moog Sythesizer), Simon Phillips (Drums, Percussion) and Charles Johnson (Guitar).