“Golden Lady” and Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” from his landmark 1973 album Innervisions, represents everything that makes Wonder such an extraordinary musician. On the surface, it is a warm and uplifting love song, but underneath it is a sophisticated mixture of soul, funk, pop, rock, and jazz influences. Wonder’s inventive harmonies, memorable melodies, rhythmic feel, and use of keyboards and synthesizers give the song a sound that remains remarkably fresh.

“Golden Lady” also demonstrates Wonder’s strong connection to jazz. Although he has never been primarily considered a jazz musician, jazz harmony, improvisation, and musical experimentation have always been important parts of his work. That connection began early with The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and continued throughout his career, including collaborations with major jazz artists. More than fifty years later, “Golden Lady” remains a great example of Wonder’s genius: sophisticated music that never sounds complicated, combining remarkable musicianship with an immediately memorable song.

Stevie Wonder

Soulive

The Jazz Real Book Playlist Vol 2

Boris Kozlov Interview

Boris Kozlov’s connection to Charles Mingus runs far deeper than simply directing the Mingus Big Band. Growing up in the Soviet Union, Kozlov first encountered Mingus through photocopied music, playing “Pussy Cat Dues” before he had even heard Mingus’s recordings. After moving to New York, hearing Mingus Ah Um proved transformative—Kozlov describes it as such a perfect recording that it could be sent into space as a representation of “what human jazz is.”

Kozlov joined the Mingus Big Band in 1998 as a last-minute substitute and quickly earned Sue Mingus’s confidence. Within weeks, she entrusted him with creating what became Charles Mingus: More Than a Play-Along. Now the band’s frequent musical director, Kozlov brings that nearly three-decade relationship to the group. His philosophy remains wonderfully Mingus-like: don’t imitate the master—use his music to find your own voice.

T.S. Monk Interview

T.S. Monk has built a remarkable career both as a musician and as the steward of his father Thelonious Monk’s extraordinary legacy. A respected drummer, bandleader, composer, and recording artist, he performed with his father as a young musician before establishing his own career, eventually devoting significant energy to preserving and expanding awareness of Monk’s music.

Today, T.S. Monk is helping lead an important new chapter through the Thelonious Monk Estate and Rhythm-A-Ning Entertainment. The newly unearthed and fully restored Monk Live in Paris, 1967 Volume One represents the first official release from the Monk Estate and launches a series devoted to reclaiming rare and previously unauthorized archival recordings.

The Paris recording captures Monk with Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley, joined by guests including Phil Woods, Jimmy Cleveland, Ray Copeland, and Johnny Griffin. Volume Two, featuring Clark Terry, is scheduled for October 9, 2026. For T.S. Monk, these releases are about more than rediscovery—they represent preserving, protecting, and reintroducing his father’s revolutionary music for future generations.

José Feliciano’s Feliciano! (RCA-Victor)

Released June 1968

Bonus: Season Corrections and Omissions

José Feliciano’s Feliciano! is a remarkable example of how a great interpreter can completely reinvent familiar material. Released in 1968, the album consists entirely of covers, but Feliciano transforms them through his distinctive combination of classical guitar, jazz, Latin rhythms, folk, blues, and soul. His versions of “California Dreamin’” and especially “Light My Fire” are the centerpieces, demonstrating his ability to make established songs sound completely new. The musicianship is exceptional, with jazz legend Ray Brown on bass, Milt Holland on percussion, and Jim Horn on flute and woodwinds supporting Feliciano’s extraordinary guitar playing and soulful vocals.The album reached No. 2 in America, while “Light My Fire” reached No. 3, helping Feliciano earn two Grammy Awards. Feliciano! is a masterclass in interpretation—proof that covering someone else’s music can become an original artistic statement. (S5-EP30)

Blood, Sweat & Tears- Self Titled (Columbia Records)

Release Date: December 11, 1968

Blood, Sweat & Tears’ self-titled 1968 album proved that sophisticated, horn-driven jazz-rock could also be enormously commercial. With David Clayton-Thomas replacing Al Kooper as the band’s focal point, BS&T combined jazz, soul, blues, classical music, Latin rhythms, and rock with remarkably tight arrangements and musicianship. Three singles—“Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die,” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”—reached No. 2, while the album topped the charts and eventually won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The album has been certified quadruple platinum with sales of more than four million units in the U.S. Beyond the hits, tracks such as “Smiling Phases” and the brilliant reinvention of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child” demonstrate the band’s authentic connection to jazz and willingness to experiment with changing time feels, improvisation, and complex horn writing. Producer James William Guercio helped give the record precision without sacrificing energy. It remains a masterful achievement and proof that advanced musicianship could compete with the psychedelic studio experimentation dominating late-1960s rock. (S5-EP29)

Melissa Kozlowski serves as curator of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University, bringing extensive experience as a historian, archivist, educator, and curator.

The center’s roots date to a fan-created collection established in 2001. It moved to Monmouth University in 2011 and became the official repository for Bruce Springsteen’s archival materials in 2017. Today, its mission extends well beyond Springsteen, using exhibitions, concerts, lectures, films, workshops, educational programs, and archival research to explore the diversity and cultural importance of American music across genres and generations.

The center entered an exciting new era with the public opening of its new home on June 13, 2026, on the campus of Monmouth University. The approximately 32,000-square-foot, $50 million facility, and includes exhibition galleries, research archives, immersive and interactive experiences, and a performance theater. Visitors can explore Springsteen’s career and creative process, experience a new film narrated by Springsteen, and discover exhibitions examining the much broader history of American music.

Susan Fenster is a historian, journalist, and nonfiction author whose work focuses on preserving the history of Western New York. A graduate of Buffalo State College with degrees in History and Journalism, she has spent more than three decades researching regional history through archival documents, newspapers, photographs, and firsthand accounts. Fenster is an active member of the Williamsville Historical Preservation Commission and the Williamsville Historical Society, where she has helped document and preserve the area's cultural heritage. Harry Altman: Buffalo's Master Showman is her fourth nonfiction book and represents one of her most ambitious historical projects.

Published in 2025, Harry Altman: Buffalo's Master Showman chronicles the remarkable life of Harry Altman, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who rose from poverty to become one of the most influential nightclub promoters in Western New York. Through the Glen Casino and Town Casino, Altman presented legendary entertainers including Sammy Davis Jr., Vic Damone, Jayne Mansfield, Johnnie Ray, and countless others, helping transform Buffalo into a nationally recognized entertainment destination during the 1940s and 1950s. Drawing upon years of meticulous research, Fenster not only reconstructs Altman's fascinating career but also examines the changing landscape of American entertainment, the impact of television and Las Vegas on live nightlife, and the ways important local figures can fade from public memory despite their enormous cultural contributions. The result is both a compelling biography and an important work of regional and American entertainment history

"God Bless The Child" and Grant Green (133)

"God Bless the Child," written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr., is one of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook. Inspired by Holiday's reflections on poverty, independence, and self-reliance, the tune combines a soulful, blues-infused melody with sophisticated harmonies and an unusual 38-bar form. Its rich sequence of ii–V progressions and expressive chord-quality changes have made it a favorite vehicle for jazz improvisers, while its timeless message has led to memorable recordings by artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan to Sonny Rollins and Tony Bennett.

Grant Green (1935–1979) was one of Blue Note Records' most influential guitarists, celebrated for his warm tone, lyrical single-note lines, and deep blues feeling. Recording with legends including Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, and McCoy Tyner, Green helped define the sound of modern jazz guitar. His interpretation of "God Bless the Child" is a masterclass in melodic improvisation, presenting the melody with sensitivity before moving into a relaxed double-time feel alongside pianist Kenny Drew, creating one of the tune's most soulful instrumental performances.

Billie Holiday

Grant Green

The Jazz Real Book Podcast Playslist t Vol. 2

Grant Green Jr. Interview