Gil Goldstein (@2:20) He just brings such // personality to the music, you know, so that whenever you put him in a situation it´s always that much better when he plays on it. You know, he just, like, brings it to life. // That´s what he´s always been doing. // And he just does it more and more and better and better.

James Moody (@15:24) I always want to play better tomorrow than I did today.

3) Bradley: JAMES MOODY HAS SPENT A LIFETIME IN JAZZ. FOR A LOT OF THOSE YEARS, HE BLEW SAXOPHONE IN DIZZY GILLESPIE´S BAND. BUT HE´S ALSO LED HIS OWN GROUPS, PLAYED VEGAS, AND HAD HIS OWN HIT RECORDS. HIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL VOICE – EARTHY BUT TECHNICALLY POLISHED AND ADVENTUROUS. FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS, HE´S TRAVELED THE WORLD AND MADE A LOT OF FRIENDS AMONG MUSICIANS AND LISTENERS. QUITE A FEW OF THEM, INCLUDING JIMMY HEATH, JON FADDIS, AND SLIDE HAMPTON, HAVE GATHERED AT AVERY FISHER HALL TO CELEBRATE JAMES MOODY´S 75TH BIRTHDAY – ON THIS EDITION OF JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY. 4) Bradley: JAMES MOODY IS BOTH THE GUEST OF HONOR AND THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES AT AVERY FISHER HALL. MOSTLY, HE´S COME TO PLAY THE SAXOPHONE WITH HIS USUAL WIT, IMAGINATION AND FIRE. BUT FOR HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY, HE OPENS THE SHOW BY SINGING A TUNE THAT TRULY FIT THIS OCCASION –

5) Music: Young at Heart (Richards-Leigh) {3:55}

6) Bradley: "YOUNG AT HEART," FEATURING SAXOPHONIST AND SOMETIME VOCALIST — JAMES MOODY, BACKED BY THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA, WITH GUEST CONDUCTOR GIL GOLDSTEIN. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I´M ED BRADLEY.

7) Music: Emanon [use the original 1946 Musicraft recording ]

8) Bradley: JAMES MOODY FIRST APPEARED ON THE JAZZ SCENE IN 1946. HE WAS 21, JUST OUT OF THE ARMY, AND SITTING IN THE REED SECTION OF THE DIZZY GILLESPIE ORCHESTRA. BEBOP WAS THE NEWEST SOUND -GILLESPIE WAS ONE OF ITS BIGGEST STARS. AND FOR JAMES MOODY, A YOUNG, MOSTLY SELF-TAUGHT MUSICIAN, DIZZY´S BAND ORCHESTRA WAS AN EXCITING PLACE TO BE. JAMES MOODY.

9) Vox: James Moody (1:58) I was like a young kid, not knowing much, but wanting to be in the music business, and being in Dizzy Gillespie´s band. //(3:35) Dizzy saw something in me. And he saw it, and he got me. // He saw that it could be //matured, worked on, and, uh, something would happen. //Something that I // wouldn´t be able to see, maybe.

10) Bradley: IN 1946, JAMES MOODY RECORDED HIS FIRST SOLO ON A DIZZY GILLESPIE COMPOSITION CALLED "EMANON." THAT SOLO WAS ONLY 16 BARS LONG, BUT IT DREW A LOT OF ATTENTION. TROMBONIST SLIDE HAMPTON.

11) Vox: Slide Hampton (1:10) It´s always said that it´s very // few solos that are played that you remember, once you hear them, forever. And he really played one of those solos, on a composition called "Emanon."

12) Bradley: ON "EMANON," JAMES MOODY FOUNF HIS OWN HIGHLY PERSONAL WAY TO EXPLORE BEBOP´S COMPLEX HARMONIES ON THE TENOR SAXOPHONE. CHARLIE PARKER HAD SHOWN THE WAY ON ALTO, BUT MOODY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST AND BEST TO PLAY CONVINCING BEBOP ON THE BIGGER HORN. HIS 16 INVENTIVE BARS ON EMANON" MADE A HUGE IMPACT, AND WOULD BE STUDIED BY MUSICIANS FOR YEARS.

13) Bradley (cont): OVER A DECADE LATER, ANOTHER TENOR SAXOHONIST, JOHN COLTRANE, ATTRACTED THE SAME KIND OF ATTENTION WITH "GIANT STEPS" – A COMPOSITION OF BREATHTAKING COMPLEXITY WITH A STAGGERING AND INTENSE COLTRANE SOLO.

AT AVERY FISHER HALL, JAMES MOODY PLAYS COLTRANE´S "GIANT STEPS."

14) Music: Giant Steps (Coltrane) {5:29}

15) Bradley: JOHN COLTRANE´S "GIANT STEPS." JAMES MOODY ON TENOR SAXOPHONE, BACKED BY PIANIST RENEE [REE-nee] ROSNES, BASSIST TODD COOLMAN, AND ADAM NUSSBAUM AT THE DRUMS.

BORN IN GEORGIA AND RAISED IN NEW JERSEY, JAMES MOODY STARTED PLAYING MUSIC WHEN AN UNCLE GAVE HIM A SAXOPHONE AT 16. HE DIDN´T STUDY SERIOUSLY UNTIL HE JOINED AN ARMY BAND A FEW YEARS LATER. HE MIGHT HAVE GONE FAR ON HIS NATURAL ABILITY ALONE.

SAXOPHONIST JIMMY HEATH.

16) Vox: Jimmy Heath (10:04) Well, you know Moody at first was //basically, uh, playing by ear. And he was most talented then. We couldn´t believe that he could play that well, and he didn´t know exactly what he was playing. And then when he // learned how to play by changes, it just opened up another world for him. And now it´s no end to what he can do.

17) Bradley: AS A SIDEMAN WITH DIZZY GILLESPIE, MOODY ESTABLISHED HIS VOICE ON TENOR AND ALTO SAX. HE DEVELOPED A WARM AND SOULFUL SOUND, HARMONICALLY SOPHISTICATED BUT AT THE SAME TIME, DOWN-TO-EARTH.

WHEN JAMES MOODY PERFORMED AT AVERY FISHER HALL FOR HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY, HE HAD A CHANCE TO THANK HIS MENTOR, DIZZY GILLESPIE. DIZZY LIKED TO PLAY THIS NEXT TUNE AT A BRISK TEMPO. BUT WITH PIANIST MIKE LONGO, ANOTHER GILLESPIE BAND VETERAN, MOODY SLOWS IT DOWN AND OFFERS IT AS A BALLAD. HERE´S THEIR VERSION OF "CON ALMA."

18) Music: Con Alma (Gillespie) {7:24}

19) Bradley: DIZZY GILLESPIE´S "CON ALMA." JAMES MOODY ON ALTO SAX WITH MIKE LONGO AT THE PIANO.

JAMES MOODY SPENT OVER A DECADE ON THE BANDSTAND WITH DIZZY – AS A MEMBER OF HIS BIG BAND IN THE 1940s, HIS QUINTETS IN THE 1960s AND HIS UNITED NATIONS ORCHESTRA IN THE 1980s. GILLESPIE WAS A FRIEND, A LEADER, AND A TEACHER. JAMES MOODY WAS A WILLING PUPIL, LEARNING THE COMPLEXITY OF BEBOP IMPROVISATION. HE WAS ALSO INTRODUCED TO SOMETHING ELSE: DIZZY´S INNOVATIVE USE OF AFRO-CUBAN RHYTHMS.

YOU CAN HEAR IT AS MOODY PLAYS ONE OF THE MOST EXUBERANT PIECES IN THE BEBOP BOOK, "MANTECA." HE´S ACCOMPANIED BY THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA AND JOINED BY SOME VERY SPECIAL GUESTS — INCLUDING HIS OLD FRIEND BILL COSBY ON COWBELL.

HERE´S THE DIZZY GILLESPIE-CHANO POZO CLASSIC, "MANTECA."

20) Music: Manteca (Gillespie-Pozo) {12:29}

21) Bradley: "MANTECA." THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA. WITH SOLOS FROM JON FADDIS ON TRUMPET, SLIDE HAMPTON ON TROMBONE, AND RALPH IRIZARRY [ee-rih-ZAH-ree] ON TIMBALES. THE SAXOPHONE SOLOISTS WERE PAQUITO D´RIVERA, JIMMY HEATH, AND THE MAN OF THE HOUR: JAMES MOODY.

22) Midbreak music: Emanon [Begin with the first FULL chorus of Moody´s solo, at 4:59, or with the second, at 5:11]

23) Bradley: SUPPORT FOR JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER COMES FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO MEMBER STATIONS AND NPR, WHOSE CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND THE LILA (LYE-la) WALLACE READER'S DIGEST FUND -- SEEKING TO ENRICH COMMUNITY LIFE THROUGH SUPPORT OF EDUCATION, THE ARTS AND CULTURE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JAMES MOODY, CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT "W-W-W DOT JAZZRADIO DOT ORG." YOU CAN E-MAIL TO "SWING AT JAZZATLINCOLNCENTER DOT ORG," OR WRITE TO US AT JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER, NEW YORK CITY 10023. YOU'RE LISTENING TO JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

24) Music: Moody´s Mood for Love by King Pleasure (Prestige)

25) Bradley: BY THE LATE 1940s, JAMES MOODY HAD ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS AN IMPORTANT SAXOPHONE SOLOIST. BUT UNHAPPY WITH THE SEGREGATION AND RACISM HE ENCOUNTERED EVERY DAY IN THE STATES, MOODY ESCAPED TO SWEDEN.

THERE, HE RECORDED AN IMPROVISATION ON THE SONG "I´M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE." WHAT BEGAN AS AN INVENTIVE SOLO RESHAPED THE MELODY INTO A WHOLE NEW SONG THAT´S BECOME A STANDARD ON ITS OWN. JAMES MOODY HAS NEVER BEEN A PROLIFIC COMPOSER, BUT HE´S AN OUTSTANDING SPONTANEOUS ONE. AT HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY BASH AT AVERY FISHER HALL, JAMES MOODY PLAYS "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE."

26) Music: Moody´s Mood for Love (Moody) {3:08} - Instrumental

27) Bradley: A TIMELESS VARIATION ON A FAMLIAR THEME - "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE." JAMES MOODY ON ALTO SAXOPHONE, WITH RENEE ROSNES ON PIANO, TODD COOLMAN ON BASS AND ADAM NUSSBAUM ON DRUMS.

28) Bradley (cont): "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE" BECAME A MINOR HIT. BUT IT HAS ANOTHER PLACE IN JAZZ HISTORY. WHEN SINGER EDDIE JEFFERSON HEARD MOODY´S REVAMPED VERSION OF "I´M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE," HE DECIDED TO WRITE NEW LYRICS AND RENAME IT "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE." THEN, IN 1952, ANOTHER SINGER WITH THE STAGE NAME KING PLEASURE RECORDED A WILDLY POPULAR VERSION OF THE SONG. ITS SUCCESS DREW JAMES MOODY BACK TO THE STATES FROM SWEDEN AND REVIVED HIS CAREER. MOODY HAS SINCE MADE THE VOCAL HIS OWN. AT AVERY FISHER HALL, JAMES MOODY SINGS "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE."

29) Music: Moody´s Mood for Love (Moody) {3:40} - Vocal

30) Bradley: "MOODY´S MOOD FOR LOVE." JAMES MOODY WITH JANIS SIEGEL, BACKED BY CYRUS CHESTNUT ON PIANO, REGINALD VEAL ON BASS, AND HERLIN RILEY AT THE DRUMS. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I´M ED BRADLEY.

31) Music: Moody (on flute) with his own band – Chess

32) Bradley: WHEN JAMES MOODY RETURNED TO AMERICA IN 1952, HE FORMED HIS OWN EIGHT-PIECE BAND. FOR THE NEXT SIX YEARS HE TOURED AND RECORDED REGULARLY, AND HE EVEN ADDED A NEW INSTRUMENT, THE FLUTE, TO HIS MUSICAL ARSENAL.

THEN, IN 1958, THE BAND´S INSTRUMENTS AND SHEET MUSIC WERE DESTROYED IN A FIRE. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, MOODY HAD DEVELOPED A SERIOUS DRINKING PROBLEM. HE CHECKED HIMSELF INTO THE OVERBROOK SANITARIUM IN NEW JERSEY, AND AFTER A FEW MONTHS, SOBERED UP. HE DECIDED TO CELEBRATE HIS RECOVERY BY WRITING A SONG ABOUT IT - AND IT´S ONE OF HIS MOST JOYFUL.

THIS IS "LAST TRAIN FROM OVERBROOK."

33) Music: Last Train From Overbrook (Moody) {5:42}

34) Bradley: "LAST TRAIN FROM OVERBROOK." ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVID BAKER. WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY SAXOPHONIST JAMES MOODY WITH THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I´M ED BRADLEY.

35) Music: Something from a Moody album of the 80´s or 90´s

36) Bradley: JAMES MOODY SPENT MOST OF THE SIXTIES AS A MEMBER OF THE DIZZY GILLESPIE QUINTET. IN 1969, HE LEFT THE BAND, AND LIKE MANY MUSICIANS OF HIS GENERATION, FACED TOUGH TIMES. EVENTUALLY, HE MOVED TO LAS VEGAS, WHERE STEADY WORK WAS AVAILABLE.

37) Vox: James Moody (60:58) The reason // my daughter. // I wanted to see her grow up. // I joined the band at the Flamingo. And then when I got seasoned, then they brought me over to the Hilton, //where I worked with Elvis Presley, Liberace, Ann-Margret, Bill Cosby, Lou Rawls, Milton Berle, Liza Minnelli, Dinah Shore. // Listen, I got everything out of it; good lesson. // If I had to do it all over again, I would do it.

38) Bradley: BUT A MUSICIAN WITH AS MUCH TO SAY AS JAMES MOODY WAS NOT GOING TO BE CONTENT IN THE BACKGROUND FOREVER. IN THE EARLY 80s, HE BEGAN PLAYING FESTIVALS IN EUROPE, MAKING OCCASIONAL TRIPS TO NEW YORK, AND ULTIMATELY RETURNING TO THE JAZZ SCENE. TODAY, HE LIVES IN CALIFORNIA BUT PERFORMS ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND AT 75, HE REMAINS LOYAL TO THE MUSIC HE PLAYED AS A YOUNG MAN.

39) Vox: James Moody (5:14) Bebop was the thing of the day. Just like today, whatever the so-called thing is, that´s what the people are going for. But the // difference was that bebop was profound. The music // has depth. You know, still has depth. And the music can grow. //And the more you learn, the more you can grow, and the more you find out you don´t know.

40) Bradley: AT AVERY FISHER HALL, MOODY AND SOME FELLOW BEBOPPERS JOINED THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA TO REMIND THE AUDIENCE JUST HOW PROFOUND — AND HOW DURABLE — THE MODERN JAZZ OF FIFTY YEARS AGO IS.

WITH JIMMY HEATH ON TENOR SAXOPHONE, SLIDE HAMPTON ON TROMBONE, JON FADDIS ON TRUMPET, THIS IS JAMES MOODY´S UP-TO-THE-MINUTE TAKE ON DIZZY GILLESPIE´S "THINGS TO COME."

41) Music: Things to Come (Gillespie-Fuller) {8:16}

42) Bradley: "THINGS TO COME." WRITTEN BY DIZZY GILLESPIE, ARRANGED BY WALTER GIL FULLER, AND PERFORMED BY THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA. IT FEATURED A SAXOPHONIST WHO HAS TURNED 75, BUT HASN´T LOST HIS YOUTHFUL SPIRIT OR HIS SENSE OF FUN. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES MOODY.

43) Music: Happy Birthday (arr. Lalo Schifrin)

44) Bradley: THE BRASS SECTION OF THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA CONSISTED OF SENECA BLACK, RYAN KISOR, WYNTON MARSALIS, AND MARCUS PRINTUP ON TRUMPETS, WITH WYCLIFFE GORDON, RON WESTRAY, AND ANDRE HAYWARD ON TROMBONES. WESS "WARMDADDY" ANDERSON, VICTOR GOINES, JOE TEMPERLEY, WALTER BLANDING, AND TED NASH WERE THE SAXOPHONISTS. FARID BARRON PLAYED PIANO, WITH RODNEY WHITAKER ON BASS AND CARL ALLEN AT THE DRUMS.

45) Bradley: JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PRODUCED BY JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AND MURRAY STREET ENTERPRISE NEW YORK. THE PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY PETER KEEPNEWS [KEEP-nooz] AND EDITED BY LAUREN KRENZEL. OUR SENIOR PRODUCER IS STEVE RATHE.

THE RECORDINGS WERE MIXED BY SAUNDRA PALMER-GRASSI, WITH DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY DAVID GOREN AT STEVEN ERICKSON'S STUDIO.

46) Bradley (cont): OUR ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS ARE AVE CARRILLO AND JOSHUA JACKSON. THE PRODUCTION TEAM INCLUDES GWENDOLYN DEAN, JOE HOOPER, AND PETER ZANGER. SPECIAL THANKS TO LEO GAMBACORTA, SUSAN RADIN, TRACEY SCHUTTY, AND CHRISTA TETER AND THE CREW AT AVERY FISHER HALL.

THIS ARRANGEMENT OF "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" WAS WRITTEN BY LALO SCHIFRIN, ESPECIALLY FOR JAMES MOODY´S 75TH BIRTHDAY. THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ROB GIBSON. THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS WYNTON MARSALIS. I'M ED BRADLEY. THIS IS N-P-R, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO.