"Pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke first came together as the rhythm section of the 1946 Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra and they had occasional features that gave the overworked brass players a well-deserved rest. They next came together in 1951, recording as the Milt Jackson Quartet. In 1952 with Percy Heath taking Brown's place, the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) became a permanent group. Other than Connie Kay succeeding Clarke in 1955, the band's personnel was set. In the early days Jackson and Lewis both were equally responsible for the group's musical direction but the pianist eventually took over as musical director. The MJQ has long displayed John Lewis's musical vision, making jazz seem respectable by occasionally interacting with classical ensembles and playing concerts at prestigious venues, but always leaving plenty of space for bluesy and swinging improvising. Their repertoire, in addition to including veteran bop and swing pieces, introduced such originals as Lewis' "Django" and Jackson's "Bags' Groove." The group recorded for Prestige (1952-55), Atlantic (1956-74), Verve (1957), United Artists (1959) and Apple (1967-69) and, in addition to the many quartet outings, they welcomed such guests as Jimmy Giuffre, Sonny Rollins, the Beaux Arts String Quartet, a symphony orchestra conducted by Gunther Schuller, singer Diahann Carroll (on one piece), Laurindo Almeida, a big band and the Swingle Singers. Although the musicians all had opportunities to pursue individual projects, in 1974 Milt Jackson tired of the constant touring and the limitations set on his improvising and he quit the group, causing the MJQ to have a final tour and break up. In 1981 Jackson relented and the Modern Jazz Quartet (which has recorded further albums for Pablo and Altantic) became active again although on a more part-time basis. Connie Kay's health began to fade in the early '90s (Mickey Roker often filled in for him) and after his death in 1995, Albert "Tootie" Heath became his replacement." - Scott Yanow
I wish I'd been there on the night of November 25, 1974 as the MJQ took the stage at Avery Fisher Hall. It was a concert that was truly a climactic end to the Modern Jazz Quartet's 22 years. (At the time it was not known that they would reassemble ten years later, albeit without as much musical interest.) John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Connie Kay played their hearts out, creating some of the finest renditions of their repertoire ever. Fortunately, every note was captured in crystal-clear sound and is on this 2-CD set.
As for highlights...there are so many the whole set could just be called one continuous highlight of the quartet's legacy. But there are some standouts: the o pening, disarmingly-complex "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise," the bluesy "Summertime," the funky "True Blues," the smokey "'Round Midnight" (featuring one of Milt's best solos on record for which he gets a deserved spirited ovation), the very sweet and sentimental "Skating In Central Park," the virtuostic "Blues in A minor," the delicate "One Never Knows," the energetic "Jasmine Tree," and two encores that are the group's signature pieces, "Django" and (of course!) "Bags' Groove" in what I promise you is the wildest rendition of this piece you will ever hear. All the selections have intricacy and interplay (each man knew when the other was going to breathe) beyond what can be described here. Suffice it to say these four men get textures, colors and tones that are quite unlike any other jazz group, and any other group of musicians in any genre. It's hard to appreciate today how innovative their approach was in the 1950s and 60s because so much of what they've done has become so assimilated by pop, jazz, TV and movie music, and classical. (Of course, they did a lot of assimilating of their own; it was a symbiotic relationship.)
Despite the overall high quality of music here, there are a few lowlights, and they underscore the reasons the MJQ became unglued and, frankly, *needed* to disband. They were being pushed more and more into Lewis' Third-Stream mode towards the end, and a lot of the compositions were forced and contrived. (Of course this conflict existed from the beginning, but Jackson and co. managed to actually feed off the tension. By the late 60s, though, Jackson was sounding in a rut.) I love the Third-Stream movement of music (and if you don't know what this is, go to any good music dictionary and look up "Gunther Schuller"), and wish more exploration had been done in this area (the economics made it prohibitive). But many of Lewis' "serious" compositions are, honestly, pretentious hybirds that Jackson and the others never could quite get down on. The audience applauds politely, but there's not much real enthusiasm for the sprawling and unoriginal "In Memoriam," the dry, dutiful reading of Rodrigo's famous "Concierto de Aranjuez" or the incredibly pretentious "Tears For The Children." (With a title like this you know it's going to be pretentious, and it delivers.) These tunes were kept off the original LP of this concert, and frankly, it was no loss. It's worth having here only for completeness' sake.
Still, these are but small nicks on a great masterpiece of an historic evening. If there were only a handful of jazz albums I could own, this would be one of them. (Pyramid and The Comedy would be two other MJQ albums on that list.) Of course we all know the group got back together again, but they never again made music like this.
"Oscar Peterson is one of the greatest piano players of all time. A pianist with phenomenal technique on the level of his idol, Art Tatum, Peterson's speed, dexterity and ability to swing at any tempo have long been amazing. Very effective in small groups, jam sessions and in accompanying singers, O.P. is at his absolute best when performing unaccompanied solos. His original style does not fall into any specific idiom. Like Erroll Garner and George Shearing, Peterson's distinctive playing formed during the mid- to late '40s and fell somewhere between swing and bop.
Peterson has been criticized through the years because he uses so many notes, has not evolved much since the 1950s, and has recorded a remarkable number of albums. Perhaps it is because critics ran out of favorable adjectives to use early in his career; certainly it can be said that Peterson plays 100 notes when other pianists might use ten, but all 100 usually fit, and there is nothing wrong with showing off technique when it serves the music. As with Johnny Hodges and Thelonious Monk, to name two, Peterson spent his career growing within his style rather than making any major changes once his approach was set, certainly an acceptable way to handle one's career. Because he was Norman Granz's favorite pianist (along with Tatum) and the producer tended to record some of his artists excessively, Peterson has made an incredible number of albums. Not all are essential, and a few are routine, but the great majority are quite excellent, and there are dozens of classics.
Oscar Peterson started classical piano lessons when he was six and developed quickly. After winning a talent show at 14, he began starring on a weekly radio show in Montreal. Peterson picked up early experience as a teenager playing with Johnny Holmes' Orchestra. From 1945-49, he recorded 32 selections for Victor in Montreal. Those trio performances find Peterson displaying a love for boogie-woogie, which he would soon discard, and the swing style of Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole. His technique was quite brilliant even at that early stage, and although he had not yet been touched by the influence of bop, he was already a very impressive player.
Norman Granz discovered Peterson in 1949 and soon presented him as a surprise guest at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert. Peterson was recorded in 1950 on a series of duets with either Ray Brown or Major Holley on bass; his version of "Tenderly" became a hit. Peterson's talents were quite obvious, and he became a household name in 1952 when he formed a trio with guitarist Barney Kessel and Brown. Kessel tired of the road and was replaced by Herb Ellis the following year. The Peterson-Ellis-Brown Trio, which often toured with JATP, was one of jazz's great combos from 1953-58. Their complex yet swinging arrangements were competitive -- Ellis and Brown were always trying to outwit and push the pianist -- and consistently exciting. In 1958, when Ellis left the band, it was decided that no other guitarist could fill in so well, and he was replaced (after a brief stint by Gene Gammage) by drummer Ed Thigpen. In contrast to the earlier group, the Peterson-Brown-Thigpen Trio (which lasted until 1965) found the pianist easily the dominant soloist. Later versions of the group featured drummers Louis Hayes (1965-66), Bobby Durham (1967-70), Ray Price (1970) and bassists Sam Jones (1966-70) and George Mraz (1970).
In 1960, Oscar Peterson established the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, which lasted for three years. He made his first recorded set of unaccompanied piano solos in 1968 (strange that Norman Granz had not thought of it) during his highly rated series of MPS recordings. With the formation of the Pablo label by Granz in 1972, Peterson was often teamed with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels Pedersen. He appeared on dozens of all-star records, made five duet albums with top trumpeters (Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry and Jon Faddis) and teamed up with Count Basie on several two-piano dates. An underrated composer, Peterson wrote and recorded the impressive "Canadiana Suite" in 1964 and has occasionally performed originals in the years since. Although always thought of as a masterful acoustic pianist, Peterson has also recorded on electric piano (particularly some of his own works), organ on rare occasions, and even clavichord for an odd duet date with Joe Pass. One of his rare vocal sessions in 1965, With Respect to Nat, reveals that Peterson's singing voice was nearly identical to Nat King Cole's.
A two-day reunion with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown in 1990 (which also included Bobby Durham) resulted in four CDs. Peterson was felled by a serious stroke in 1993 that knocked him out of action for two years. Since then, he has gradually returned to the scene, although his left hand has been weakened. But even when he is not 100%, Oscar Peterson remains a classic improviser, one of the finest musicians that jazz has ever produced.
The pianist has appeared on an enormous number of records through the years. As a leader, he has recorded for Victor, Granz's Clef and Verve labels (1950-64), MPS, Mercury, Limelight, Pablo and Telarc." - Scott Yanow
Almost every household has a moment during the Christmas season when Christmas music gets to be, well, too much. When that moment hits--and it will--turn off whatever you have on and put on "An Oscar Peterson Christmas" for a refreshingly astringent, swinging change of pace that still subtly evokes the joy and splendor of the season.
The album opens with "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and goes right through "What Child Is This?", "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and all manner of other holiday favorites. The difference is that Peterson puts his masterful spin on the songs so that they sound not saccharine and dripping with false sentiment, but bracing and clear and fairly snapping with energy. Could there be more innocuous song than "Jingle Bells?" Well, on this album, Peterson and flugelhorn player Jack Schantz make it into a smoothy-smooth, swingin' be-boppy pleasure to listen to.
In addition to all the classics, there is one original here that's well worth the price of the album all on its own: "Christmas Waltz." This is a gorgeous meditation on the regret and memories that can crowd a Christmas--you'll want to put it on while dancing in the dark in front of a roaring fire with your sweetie. Have a glass of champagne while you're at it. See what happens. Highly recommded!
This 1964 studio session features the Peterson trio with bassist Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, a group that had been together for five years by then and performed like a well-oiled machine. The repertoire is mostly pop songs of the day, including bossa nova tunes and film themes, and the treatments are fairly brief, with emphasis placed squarely on the melodies. Even in their lightest moments, though, the group demonstrates some of the qualities that made it among the most influential piano trios in jazz, a group that could generate tremendous rhythmic energy and a sense of developing musical detail. For all his legendary force, Peterson possesses a subtle rhythmic sense, and here he infuses even "People" with an undercurrent of swing. This is undemanding, tuneful music best suited for casual listening, but it still sparkles with the trio's customary élan.
"Although it has always been a part-time venture (working maybe 30 days a year counting an annual recording), Rob McConnell's Boss Brass has been one of the finest big bands since the mid-'70s. An excellent soloist, McConnell has played valve trombone in Toronto (both in the studios and in jazz settings) for a long time. During 1965-1969, he was in Nimmons 'n' Nine Plus Six (led by Phil Nimmons) and in 1968 formed Boss Brass. Originally, the group was comprised entirely of brass instruments, plus a rhythm section, and emphasized pop music. Although it added a saxophone section in 1971, Boss Brass did not record much jazz until 1976. Comprised of many of Toronto's top musicians (including Sam Noto, Guido Basso, Ian McDougall, Moe Koffman, Eugene Amaro, Rick Wilkins, Ed Bickert, Don Thompson, and Terry Clarke, among others), the orchestra mostly plays McConnell's swinging but surprising charts. For a period in the late '80s, McConnell moved to Los Angeles and the group broke up, but by 1991, it was back together again. Rob McConnell, who has also cut a few small-group dates for Concord, has recorded with his Boss Brass for Pausa, MPS, Dark Orchid, Innovation, and Concord. - Scott Yanow
"This limited-edition eight-disc set combines all of Elvin Jones' Blue Note recordings from April 1968 through July 1973. This 65-track set contains the LPs Puttin It Together, Ultimate Elvin Jones, Poly-Currents, Coalition, Genesis, Merry Go Round, Live at the Lighthouse, Mr. Jones, and The Prime Element. Jones makes his presence as a band leader undeniable on these sessions allowing the musicians to stretch out while directing the evolution of the pieces. The closest comparison would be to Art Blakey; Jones was a band leader, drum master, and someone who knew instinctively who would fit in his bands, whether it was a wide range of established jazz veterans or some that would go on to achieve that status. Some of this is quite adventurous and, while certainly not taking the extreme direction of John Coltrane's group after Jones and McCoy Tyner left it, moments of this modal hard bop music approach that level of intensity." -- Al Campbell
"Elvin Ray Jones, the youngest of ten children, was born September 9, 1927 in Pontiac, Michigan. His father, originally from Vicksburg, Mississipi, was a lumber inspector for General Motors, a deacon in the Baptist church, and a bass in the church choir. Elvin's mother, whom he describes as "the greatest lady in the world," encouraged him and taught him the the essential value of self-sufficiency; the strenght to survive that "was especially valuable to me in the beginning as a musician". Music was major ingredient in the Jones household. Elvin's brothers, Hank and Thad Jones, are great artists in their own right. Hank is reknown as one of the most talented pianists in jazz, while Thad, now deceased, became a highly successful trumpet and flugelhorn player, arranger and band leader. By age 13, Elvin was determined to be a drummer. He practiced eight to ten hours a day and literally went nowhere without drum sticks in his pocket beating out rhythms on any available surface. Artists whom Elvin likes to cite his as his early influences are Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Jo Jones. From 1946 to 1949, Elvin enlisted in the Army, and toured with a Special Services show called Operation Happiness - as a stagehand. However, behind the scenes Elvin was honing his own musical skills and gaining confidence, playing at post social affairs. After Elvin was discharged in 1949, he returned to a Detroit musical scene that was as vibrant as any outside New York.
Elvin's first professional job was at Grand River Street, where he thrived until the leader absconded with the receipts on Christmas Eve. He later frequented the Bluebird Inn, where he occasionally requested to sit in. Elvin always refused adamently, thinking "it was presumptuous to sit in with these musicians, because... they were the greatest people I knew." Leader Billy Mitchell eventually hired Elvin. During his three years at the club he backed up visiting performers including the reknown Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Wardell Grey, and, for six months, Miles Davis. In addition, Elvin held Monday night jam sessions at his home. He also attended a concert series near a local university, and Elvin and his brother Thad organized Sunday festival-style concerts. Elvin played with a myraid of artists during this busy time of his life, including Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt, Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, Milt Jackson, Lou Hayes and Yusef Lateef. Elvin later translocated to New York to audition for a new Benny Goodman band. Instead, he joined up with Charles Mingus, and in subsequent years he developed his style with Bud Powell, Miles Davis, the Pepper Adams-Donald Byrd Quintet, Art Farmer and J.J. Johnson. Elvin also had opprotunities to play with Miles' tenor man and the increasingly popular artist, John Coltrane.
After leaving Miles in 1960, Coltrane was touring in San Francisco with his new band when he flew back to New York to seek out Elvin. As a result, in Denver, Colorado, Elvin joined one of jazz' most celebrated alliances. During the years between 1960 to 1966, Elvin contributed to some of the most controversial, influential, and ultimately important music in jazz. Among the most successful recordings from this amazing group are "A love Supreme" and "Coltrane 'Live' at the Village Vanguard." About this experience, Elvin comments: "Right from the beginning to the last time we played together it was something pure. The most impressive thing was a feeling of steady, collective learning... If there is anything like perfect harmony in human relationships, that band was as close as you can come". Elvin eventually left John Coltrane in March 1966.
Elvin returned to New York after a brief tour with Duke Ellington's band. He then began his 30+ year distinguished career as a band leader. Elvin assembled and led his own trios, quartets, and quintets. He led a series of piano-less trios featuring Joe Farrell on tenor and several other artists, including Jimmy Garrison, Bill Wood, Charlie Haden, and Wilbur Little. Saxophonists who have worked for him regularly have been Frank Foster, George Coleman, Dave Liebman, Pat La Barbera, and Sonny Fortune. Elvin's ensembles have appeared throughout the United States and Europe and conducted major tours of South Africa and Asia. They have frequently chosen the group's repertoire, but some original material has been contributed by Elvin's Japanese wife Keiko Jones, whom he met in Nagasaki. Elvin is usually working on the road nine or ten months in the average year. When not travelling, Elvin and his soulmate wife divide their time between their two homes in New York and Nagasaki Japan. They have become partners in every sense: besides providing inspiration, she is also his personal and business manager. Elvin has performed and recorded many of her works, including "Mr. Jones", "Shinjitsu", and "Zange". Known all over the world, Jones has been heard on more than 500 recordings with no end in sight. He also made a temporary detour to Hollywood in 1971 to appear as the character Job Cain in the ABC Paramount "Zachariah". In 1973, a six week tour of 14 countries of South America for the U.S. Information Agency had him performing in one of the first orderly mass gatherings in Chile following the overthrow of Salvatore Allende. He returned for a second USIA tour in 1975. His latest Enja CD in 1993 is entitled, "It Don't Mean a Thing"." - The Great Elvin Jones
" Although Mosaic's methods for rediscovering neglected artists have always been informed, this package of diverse material seems to be especially constructive in giving us a better picture of one of the jazz world?s most innovative and important artists of the 20th century. While Jones had made a few of his own recordings as a leader during his tenure with the John Coltrane Quartet (most notably Elvin! for Riverside and Illumination! for Impulse), it wasn?t until he broke rank with the saxophonist and signed a deal with Blue Note that the fine points of his own musical sensibilities would come to light. That?s exactly where this 8-CD set comes into play, containing as an added bonus several albums that are just now making their first appearance on compact disc.
The late 1960s were a heady period in American history and by the time that Elvin Jones would be cutting his first trio session for Blue Note in 1968, founder Alfred Lion had already departed the scene and changes in the art department and with recording technology would usher in a new Blue Note period wrought with its own share of woes and grandeur. That Jones was able to prosper during what would prove to be a period of decline for Blue Note not only testifies to his resilience as an artist but also as a committed and passionate human being.
Puttin? It Together and The Ultimate Elvin Jones
Reuniting with bassist Jimmy Garrison, a pal from the Trane days, and adding the underrated Joe Farrell to a modest trio line-up, Jones? first two sessions for Blue Note in April and September of 1968 certainly take a daring stand in light of the fact that no one seems to be playing it safe and there?s no attempt to develop a radio-friendly hit such as ?The Sidewinder.? This is bare bones stuff without the aid of a chording instrument and the intent is on fierce swinging with a lot of the load falling on Farrell, who actually never fails to impress with his incendiary tenor work (surprisingly very different from Coltrane?s too!). By contrast, Farrell?s flute tonality is mellow and dark and his fluid soprano voice is singular in its originality.
The Prime Element and Poly-Currents
March and September sessions from 1969 dispense with the trio format (while bassist Jimmy Garrison is spelled by Wilbur Little) in favor of added horns, although the practice of having no chording instrument on hand continues. The former set was actually not issued at the time, first appearing as part of a double album set in 1976. In addition to Farrell?s arsenal of woodwinds, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor man George Coleman, and percussionists Candido Camero and Miovelito Valles make the scene. It?s interesting to note that the added percussion seemed to be a taste favored over the course of the next few years. Considering that Jones could be considered a one-man percussion section in his own right, his aural preferences at the time must have called for the dense and multi-layered textures that characterize the work of this period. Morgan and Coleman seem to be inspired by the quality material, which includes Chick Corea?s ?Inner Space,? Joe Farrell?s ?Champagne Baby,? and Jones? own ?Raynay? and ?Dido Afrique.? Farrell?s alto flute statement on Jobim?s ?Once I Loved? also turns out to be a real keeper.
One of Jones? finest, if less renowned, sets from the end of the decade, Poly-Currents finds Morgan?s trumpet spelled by the baritone saxophone of Pepper Adams. There?s a clever balance of bop and ?new thing? tendencies that marks all of the original compositions, especially ?Mr. Jones,? a somewhat well known tribute composed by Elvin?s wife Keiko. The open-ended tunes and lengthy improvisations allow each performer a chance to stretch out at length and Jones contributes more than his share of dazzling moments.
Coalition and Genesis
A change of direction brings about the next phase of development as documented on these two sessions from 1970 and 1971 respectively. Farrell sits it out on Coalition with Frank Foster and George Coleman packing a strong two-tenor punch on four originals, another number finding Foster utilizing the seldom heard alto clarinet. The divergent styles work well, with Foster?s ?boss? horn strutting alongside the Lestorian strains of Coleman. Proving to be a bit more varied, Genesis brings Farrell back on board along with adding youngsters Gene Perla on bass and Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano saxophones. With Farrell, Foster, and Liebman wielding an arsenal of horns, the charts make the most of the extended tonal possibilities. Especially memorable, Farrell?s alto flute murmurs and coos throughout the lovely ?P.P. Phoenix.? On a purely technical note, both of these sessions prove to be problematic from a sonic prospective, with Gene Perla?s bass on the latter especially irksome due to being far too up-front in the mix.
Merry-Go-Round and Mr. Jones
These spunky albums from 1971 and 1972 unfortunately came about during a problematic time for jazz, with Blue Note just entering a period of decline marked by a dearth of riches. While multiple horns on the front line and added percussion were the norm, this would be the first time during his Blue Note tenure that Jones would add keyboards and guitar. Jan Hammer and Chick Corea would be along for the ride, and while the performances are generally all under five or six minutes, each one develops into a complete and genial statement. The compact quality of each piece seems to bring out Jones? most focused support, making each note and each beat count. Sound quality has also evened out at this point, giving great clarity to the sounds brought forth from each of Elvin?s four limbs.
Live at the Lighthouse
With the next personnel change, Elvin fostered a working group of developing youngsters who were eager to stretch the boundaries and inspired by the company they kept. With Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman, and Gene Perla, Elvin?s new ensemble would make their Blue Note debut via the live sessions from the Lighthouse that took place during September of 1972. Recorded on the day of Elvin?s 45th birthday, the dozen performances collected on the last two discs of this boxed set give us a discerning look into the verve and creative maturity that was the norm for this group. Many of the tracks go on at extended lengths, particularly a 28-minute take on ?The Children?s Merry-Go-Round March,? a great forum for Jones? cunning displays of technical brilliance. Clearly, Coltrane looms large in the minds of Liebman and Grossman, and quite possibly Jones is inspired by this, although on a less radical scale than what was happening in the Coltrane group right before the drummer?s departure. As a minor point, it should be noted that although all of the music captured that evening is included herein, Mosaic has opted to leave out stage announcements and an audience rendition of ?Happy Birthday,? both of which appeared on the original release.
At This Point in Time
Another discographical web to be untangled, Jones? final sessions for Blue Note, from July of 1973, wouldn?t originally appear until the 1976 double record set that brought us The Prime Element made its debut. Then, a few years ago the three remaining cuts that didn?t appear on the vinyl album would be collected on a reissue CD. Now we have all of that material collected here in one place and considering the time period in which these recordings were made, the results are quite intense and startling. Percussionist and writer Omar Clay was responsible for overseeing the production work on this collection of lengthy and complex arrangements. With a three-horn front line, the large ensemble also includes Jan Hammer?s electronic keyboards and the guitar of Cornell Dupree. This may be some of the most dramatic material to be found in the entire set, a testament again to Jones? inability to compromise his ideals while faced with what was by then a company bent on the dilution of the highest jazz sensibilities.
Per Mosaic?s usual standards, this set comes housed in a 12 x 12 box with a 16-page booklet that serves as a precious companion via Dave Liebman?s session-by-session commentary. Photos include those shot by Francis Wolff at the actual sessions and a few later shots from Gene Perla?s own personal collection. Limited to only 5000 copies worldwide, this set is available solely through Mosaic Records; 35 Melrose Place; Stamford, CT 06902; (203) 327-7111. Check their website at www.mosaicrecords.com for more information or to place an order. - C. Andrew Hovan
"Avant-garde vocalist Phil Minton has a large vocabulary of voices and extended vocal techniques and an extensive discography cataloguing his numerous projects from 1969 on. Born near the Southern coast of England in 1940, he started out on the trumpet and began playing in jazz bands in the late '50s. After moving to London in the mid-'60s, Minton began doubling as trumpeter/vocalist for the Mike Westbrook Orchestra, then lived in the Canary Islands for a year, and in Sweden for five before returning to London (and Westbrook's band) in the early '70s. The mid-'70s found him working in a variety of settings, from improvised duos to theatre groups, and in his vocal trio Voice with Julie Tippetts and Maggie Nicols. As an improviser, Minton has toured throughout the world, working with a great many creative musicians, including Peter Brötzmann, Fred Frith, John Butcher, Derek Bailey's Company, and an ongoing collaboration with Veryan Weston. In addition to Voice, he was in another trio during the '90s called Axon (with Marcio Mattos & Martin Blume, which recorded for another collaborator Georg Graewe's label Random Acoustics), led the Phil Minton Quartet, and was a member of the quartet Roof. - Joslyn Layne
"In the first full flowering of the free improvisation era, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, several musicians radically extended their ranges, to make sounds not envisaged by the designers of their instruments. This was usually achieved by finding new techniques or by adding amplification or by devising new instruments. Perhaps the most remarkable of these extensions was that of Phil Minton (b. 1940). In most other cases, one could work out how the new range was achieved, even if one did not have the originality to invent it. In Minton's case, any investigation as to how he managed to extend his voice in so many directions, merely left the investigator with a sore throat.
For much of the 1970s and 1980s, Minton's main activity was a mixture of interpreting songs and improvising in the Mike Westbrook Band. A freer mix was heard in a vocal group called Voice with Brian Eley, Maggie Nicols & Julie Tippett. More recently he has continued the mixture of songs and freedom in his duo with Veryan Weston and in his quartet. He has also been involved in free improvisation without words, as can be heard on most of this collection. Perhaps the freest examples of his improvising can be found in his recent duos with John Butcher, John Russell and Roger Turner.
The first fifteen tracks on this CD comprised his first solo album, which came out on Fred Frith's Rift label in the USA. Most are free improvisations exploring one or more aspects of his remarkable chops. One or two are based on his tunes that he has used elsewhere. The titles of the 1980 pieces reflect that he was then reading books and articles about the First World War. (Incidentally, his second solo album recorded in 1996 (not 1998) was recently released as A DOUGHNUT IN ONE HAND on FMP CD 91. One wonders what his subsequent ones will be called!)
In order to expand the collection to CD length, some additional tracks were added, mostly from the same sessions that produced the LP. Amongst these are two very free interpretations of Lou Glanfield's poem PSALM OF EVOLUTION .
Some of the tapes were not in pristine condition, alas. I have done as much as possible to clean them up, with additional work done on some items by Peter Cusack and/or Dave Hunt. However, there are still a few sounds left that not even Phil Minton made, but not enough to seriously detract from these examples of the glory of the human voice at its most creative, extended and varied. - Martin Davidson
"A Doughnut in Both Hands was Phil Minton's first solo album. It was originally released on the U.S. label Rift in 1981, 17 years before its follow-up A Doughnut in One Hand (FMP, 1998). A CD reissue appeared on the U.K. label Emanem in 1998, adding about 18 minutes of extra material from the same sessions. A Doughnut in Both Hands was recorded on different occasions. First, the eight tracks released as side two of the LP (plus one "Extra") come from an August 1975 session. Here Minton tends to sing lyrically, playing with his volume capacity and expressive range, but staying confined to rather "standard" vocal techniques, especially in the "Wood Song" series. All other tracks were recorded between 1980 and 1982. Now Minton explores extended techniques: strange multiphonics; tongue, cheek, and throat sounds; quacking; etc. Each one of these short pieces (from 45 seconds to five minutes) concentrates on one aspect of his singing. Put together, they form an impressive tapestry of vocal possibilities. The last two tracks on the reissue, "Psalm of Evolution 1" and "Psalm of Evolution 2," are improvised following a poem by Lou Glandfield. Discarded from the original LP in favor of the "wordless" concept, they are essential additions, as they point to the vocalist's future works involving literature, such as his Ho Chi Minh (Songs From a Prison Diary) and James Joyce (Mouthfull of Ecstasy) song cycles. And this album was one of the most influential contributions to free singing or, as Paul Dutton calls it, sound singing." -- François Couture
"Whatever you think you know about duets between voice and percussion, forget it -- at least until you've heard this fine slab by Phil Minton and Roger Turner. Here are ten improvisations for a whirlwind of percussion instruments and exactly one multiphonic voice that shatter previously conceived notions about improvisations, sonic anthropology, and even what constitutes music. The MO for these recordings is in the title: Dada! Yes, that crazy little art-of-life movement that started before the dawn of surrealism and made its sense of non-sense. Certainly the grunts, howls, slams, bangs, whooshes, whispers, screams, and crashes that are recorded here are nonsense. They cannot be codified into any musical language that one recognizes, but they are music, and enjoyable as such if one listens without a mind. Yes -- just listen and doesn't worry about what happens. All sorts of critical arguments can be made about how improvisation such as this is based on examining the timbral versatility of the human voice when paired with its natural enemy: the very instruments that can silence it forever because they are, by their structural nature, so much louder. Minton stretches the voice beyond where any of us thought it could go; he's been doing that for decades. But that's not his point here, any more than it is Turner's to offer an exacting array of instruments neither to entice and challenge that voice nor to provide polyrhythms that would order its utterance. Nope. This set is just two guys having a blast on the stage at the Singapore Club in England, wrecking all notions of musicality at one time and getting paid -- probably not a lot -- for it. And guess what? It's a blast to listen to as well! Put it on when the unwanted neighbors come over or put it on right after listening to John Zorn's The Classic Guide to Strategy: Vol. l and Vol. ll -- it's the only record you could possibly play before or after it that would make any (non)sense at all." -- Thom Jurek
total 60M 12M 01 - zuviele teufel im land.mp3 3.8M 02 - wallenstein.mp3 7.8M 03 - a day at the beach.mp3 5.2M 04 - a waltz for ella.mp3 17M 05 - writing home.mp3 3.5M 06 - der kreisel.mp3 7.5M 07 - ein leben voller fallgruben.mp3 3.0M 08 - nachklänge aus dem theater.mp3
"Using 16 different texts from James Joyce's all-but-impenetrable novel Finnegan's Wake, vocalist Phil Minton, pianist Veryan Weston, saxophonist John Butcher, and drummer Roger Turner have created a mosaic of sound upon which narrative itself -- both musical and literal -- are entwined in a manner that suggests that they are indeed inseparable from one another at their base. This quartet made free use of Joyce's text, not as a way of illuminating it, but as a way of illuminating their work together as a musical group. Simultaneously, Joyce's tome, when plundered so recklessly, becomes the airy musical work of language he so clearly intended it to be. Whether Minton's guttural moaning and groaning the words or Butcher's sputtering alto collides with Weston's augmented chords while slicing Minton's phrasing, the result is the same: something new and outrageous, something so far past literacy and musicality it negates them both historically. And yes, both text (Minton's vocal is mixed down to be equal with the instruments) and accompaniment move along at a pace that takes the "art" out of them, too. This is drunken dangerous music, primordial literature delivered in a manner that is as immediate as the sunshine and yet as careful as only an improviser can be." -- Thom Jurek
total 90M 11M 1 Foxy Lady.mp3 9.6M 2 Manic Depression.mp3 5.4M 3 Up from the Skies.mp3 14M 4 Purple Haze.mp3 11M 5 Hey Joe.mp3 11M 6 3rd Stone.mp3 10M 7 If 6 Was 9.mp3 12M 8 I Don't Live Today.mp3 8.2M 9 Are You Exper.mp3
"Ben Webster was considered one of the "big three" of swing tenors along with Coleman Hawkins (his main influence) and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with his own distinctive growls) yet on ballads he would turn into a pussy cat and play with warmth and sentiment. After violin lessons as a child, Webster learned how to play rudimentary piano (his neighbor Pete Johnson taught him to play blues). But after Budd Johnson showed him some basics on the saxophone, Webster played sax in the Young Family Band (which at the time included Lester Young). He had stints with Jap Allen and Blanche Calloway (making his recording debut with the latter) before joining Bennie Moten's Orchestra in time to be one of the stars on a classic session in 1932. Webster spent time with quite a few orchestras in the 1930s (including Andy Kirk, Fletcher Henderson in 1934, Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Cab Calloway, and the short-lived Teddy Wilson big band).
In 1940 (after short stints in 1935 and 1936), Ben Webster became Duke Ellington's first major tenor soloist. During the next three years he was on many famous recordings, including "Cotton Tail" (which in addition to his memorable solo had a saxophone ensemble arranged by Webster) and "All Too Soon." After leaving Ellington in 1943 (he would return for a time in 1948-1949), Webster worked on 52nd Street; recorded frequently as both a leader and a sideman; had short periods with Raymond Scott, John Kirby, and Sid Catlett; and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic during several seasons in the 1950s. Although his sound was considered out-of-style by that decade, Webster's work on ballads became quite popular and Norman Granz recorded him on many memorable sessions. Webster recorded a classic set with Art Tatum and generally worked steadily, but in 1964 he moved permanently to Copenhagen where he played when he pleased during his last decade. Although not all that flexible, Webster could swing with the best and his tone was a later influence on such diverse players as Archie Shepp, Lew Tabackin, Scott Hamilton, and Bennie Wallace. - Scott Yanow
"The great tenor Ben Webster moved permanently to Europe in December 1964, where he worked steadily during his last eight years. The music on this CD was previously unreleased and is drawn from two live sessions at the Montmartre in Copenhagen. The first nine selections are the earliest examples of Webster during his European years, while the final three are from 16 months later. Webster was quite consistent throughout his career, and during his later years he simply played a variety of his favorite standards, usually with a quartet. The bulk of this set has Webster joined by pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pedersen, and drummer Alex Riel, while the final numbers are with Pedersen, pianist Atli Bjørn, and drummer Rune Carlsson. The tenor is in top form, showing off his gorgeous tone on the ballads and romping on the hotter material. Highlights include "Pennies from Heaven," "My Romance," "In a Mellow Tone," "Someone to Watch Over Me," and two versions of "Cottontail."" -- Scott Yanow
"Another fine Webster release on Verve that sees the tenor great once again backed by the deluxe Oscar Peterson Trio. In keeping with the high standard of their Soulville collaboration of two years prior, Webster and the trio -- Peterson is joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen -- use this 1959 date to conduct a clinic in ballad playing. And while Soulville certainly ranks as one of the tenor saxophonist's best discs, the Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson set gets even higher marks for its almost transcendent marriage of after-hours elegance and effortless mid-tempo swing -- none of Webster's boogie-woogie piano work to break up the mood here. Besides reinvigorating such lithe strollers as "Bye Bye Blackbird" (nice bass work by Brown here) and "This Can't Be Love," Webster and company achieve classic status for their interpretation of the Sinatra gem "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." And to reassure Peterson fans worried about scant solo time for their hero, the pianist lays down a healthy number of extended runs, unobtrusively shadowing Webster's vaporous tone and supple phrasing along the way. Not only a definite first-disc choice for Webster newcomers, but one of the jazz legend's all-time great records." -- Stephen Cook
Ben Webster and Oscar Peterson...two of the most revered names in music history. It doesn't get much finer than this album. While this CD will leave you yearning for more because there are only a handful of tracks here; the sentiment and urgency of the playing here transports one to uncharted delightful heights. When I first heard this version of IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING, I suspected it was Ben Webster, but literally stopped what I was doing and hoped the radio station would announce who it was (luckilly they did and I confirmed what I thought!) What a great surprise it was to find my favorite pianist, the immortal Oscar Peterson was backing Ben on this wonderful album! At that point I rushed to find this CD. The ballads, in addition to the aforementioned WEE SMALL HOURS, are absolutely gorgeous. The beautiful heartache in the reading of WHEN YOUR LOVER HAS GONE borders on definitive. SUNDAY and THE TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS lope along in a somewhat swinging vein, and are equally as classic. Norman Granz often paired up some unlikely stars with fantastic (and sometimes surprisingly so) results. This is one such occassion that really comes across. A classic album that must be heard and must be had!
"One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Fats Navarro had a tragically brief career yet his influence is still being felt. His fat sound combined aspects of Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, and Dizzy Gillespie, became the main inspiration for Clifford Brown, and through Brownie greatly affected the tones and styles of Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw.
Navarro originally played piano and tenor before switching to trumpet. He started gigging with dance bands when he was 17, was with Andy Kirk during 1943-1944, and replaced Dizzy Gillespie with the Billy Eckstine big band during 1945-1946. During the next three years, Fats was second to only Dizzy among bop trumpeters. Navarro recorded with Kenny Clarke's Be Bop Boys, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Illinois Jacquet, and most significantly Tadd Dameron during 1946-1947. He had short stints with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman, continued working with Dameron, made classic recordings with Bud Powell (in a quintet with a young Sonny Rollins) and the Metronome All-Stars, and a 1950 Birdland appearance with Charlie Parker was privately recorded. However, Navarro was a heroin addict and that affliction certainly did not help him in what would be a fatal bout with tuberculosis that ended his life at age 26. He was well documented during the 1946-1949 period and most of his sessions are currently available on CD, but Fats Navarro (who would have turned 72 in 1995) could have done so much more." - Scott Yanow
was tadd dameron one of the greatest jazz composers of all time? one run through this wonderful blue note compilation serves as heavy evidence that he was. several of his standards are here played by the composer with some great icons of the be-bop era. a 22 year old miles davis appears on the last four tracks of disc 1 and a young sonny rollins appears on the navarro tracks with bud powell (disc 2, tracks 7-14). the music is a glimpse of the revolution happening on 52nd street and at minton's playhouse in the 1940s as jazz suddenly had swing infused with bop. mr. navarro may not be all that familiar to audiences today (he died in the late 40s), but his influence has been heard through jazz from the trumpet voices of clifford brown, miles davis,lee morgan, and younger voices like roy hargrove. mr. navarro was a follower of dizzy gillespie, but soon developed his own sound. listen to the tracks with bud powell and you will know that jazz lost a great innovator just as he was coming into his prime. this is a great set, especially for those wanting to hear bebop in its purest form. - Amazon
"Many valuable performances from the height of the bop era are included on this double CD. Subtitled "The Complete Blue Note and Capitol Recordings" and comprised of 23 songs and 13 alternate takes, the reissue features the great trumpeter Fats Navarro in peak form with three groups headed by pianist/arranger Tadd Dameron, in trumpet battles with one of his major influences, Howard McGhee, and on a remarkable all-star quintet with pianist Bud Powell and the young tenor Sonny Rollins; among the other sidemen are altoist Ernie Henry; tenors Charlie Rouse, Allen Eager, Wardell Gray, and Dexter Gordon; and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. In addition to such gems as "Our Delight," "Lady Bird," "Double Talk," "Bouncing With Bud," "Dance of the Infidels," and "52nd Street Theme," Fats is heard with the 1948 Benny Goodman septet ("Stealin' Apples") and Dameron leads a group with the 22-year-old Miles Davis. On a whole, this double CD has more than its share of essential music that belongs in all historical jazz collections." -- Scott Yanow
"Grant Green was born in St. Louis on June 6, 1931, learned his instrument in grade school from his guitar-playing father and was playing professionally by the age of thirteen with a gospel group. He worked gigs in his home town and in East St. Louis, IL, until he moved to New York in 1960 at the suggestion of Lou Donaldson. Green told Dan Morgenstern in a Down Beat interview: "The first thing I learned to play was boogie-woogie. Then I had to do a lot of rock & roll. It's all blues, anyhow."
His extensive foundation in R&B combined with a mastery of bebop and simplicity that put expressiveness ahead of technical expertise. Green was a superb blues interpreter, and his later material was predominantly blues and R&B, though he was also a wondrous ballad and standards soloist. He was a particular admirer of Charlie Parker, and his phrasing often reflected it. Green played in the '50s with Jimmy Forrest, Harry Edison, and Lou Donaldson.
He also collaborated with many organists, among them Brother Jack McDuff, Sam Lazar, Baby Face Willette, Gloria Coleman, Big John Patton, and Larry Young. During the early '60s, both his fluid, tasteful playing in organ/guitar/drum combos and his other dates for Blue Note established Green as a star, though he seldom got the critical respect given other players. He was off the scene for a bit in the mid-'60s, but came back strong in the late '60s and '70s. Green played with Stanley Turrentine, Dave Bailey, Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Elvin Jones.
Sadly, drug problems interrupted his career in the '60s, and undoubtedly contributed to the illness he suffered in the late '70s. Green was hospitalized in 1978 and died a year later. Despite some rather uneven LPs near the end of his career, the great body of his work represents marvelous soul-jazz, bebop, and blues.
A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar. Like Stanley Turrentine, he tends to be left out of the books. Although he mentions Charlie Christian and Jimmy Raney as influences, Green always claimed he listened to horn players (Charlie Parker and Miles Davis) and not other guitar players, and it shows. No other player has this kind of single-note linearity (he avoids chordal playing). There is very little of the intellectual element in Green's playing, and his technique is always at the service of his music. And it is music, plain and simple, that makes Green unique.
Green's playing is immediately recognizable -- perhaps more than any other guitarist. Green has been almost systematically ignored by jazz buffs with a bent to the cool side, and he has only recently begun to be appreciated for his incredible musicality. Perhaps no guitarist has ever handled standards and ballads with the brilliance of Grant Green. Mosaic, the nation's premier jazz reissue label, issued a wonderful collection The Complete Blue Note Recordings with Sonny Clark, featuring prime early '60s Green albums plus unissued tracks. Some of the finest examples of Green's work can be found there." - Michael Erlewine and Ron Wynn
There are generally two kinds of Grant Green fans: those who enjoy listening to his "soul jazz" work from the late 60's/early 70's, and those who absolutely despise it (the latter category tends to apply to most jazz purists). Whether it can be justifiably classified as jazz or not, "Carryin' On" is a somewhat decent example of this period, though maybe not the best place to start. Green's soloing is in fine form here, especially on the two slower numbers, "Hurt So Bad," and "Cease the Bombing." However, Green's own composition, "Upshot" is sloppily executed and treads on the same tired groove for nearly ten minutes. Fans of "Green Is Beautiful" and the brilliant "Alive" should find this worthwhile, as it does contain some classic inspirational moments from arguably the most underrated jazz guitarist of the century.
"Possessor of the most beautiful tone ever heard in jazz, altoist Johnny Hodges formed his style early on and had little reason to change it through the decades. Although he could stomp with the best swing players and was masterful on the blues, Hodges' luscious playing on ballads has never been topped. He played drums and piano early on before switching to soprano sax when he was 14. Hodges was taught and inspired by Sidney Bechet, although he soon used alto as his main ax; he would regretfully drop soprano altogether after 1940. His early experiences included playing with Lloyd Scott, Chick Webb, Luckey Roberts, and Willie "The Lion" Smith (1924), and he also had the opportunity to work with Bechet. However, Johnny Hodges' real career began in 1928 when he joined Duke Ellington's orchestra. He quickly became one of the most important solo stars in the band and a real pacesetter on alto; Benny Carter was his only close competition in the 1930s. Hodges was featured on a countless number of performances with Ellington and also had many chances to lead recording dates with Ellington's sidemen. Whether it was "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Come Sunday," or "Passion Flower," Hodges was an indispensable member of Ellington's orchestra in the 1930s and '40s. It was therefore a shock, in 1951, when he decided to leave Duke Ellington and lead a band of his own. Hodges had a quick hit in "Castle Rock" (which ironically showcased Al Sears' tenor and had no real contribution by the altoist), but his combo ended up struggling and breaking up in 1955. Hodges' return to Duke Ellington was a joyous occasion and he never really left again. In the 1960s, Hodges teamed up with organist Wild Bill Davis on some sessions, leading to Davis joining Ellington for a time in 1969. Johnny Hodges, whose unchanging style always managed to sound fresh, was still with Duke Ellington when he suddenly died in 1970." - Scott Yanow
"Altoist Johnny Hodges and organist Wild Bill Davis teamed up successfully on quite a few albums in the 1960s. This set, reissued on CD, was their final one and quite possibly their most rewarding. With solo work provided not only by the co-leaders but trombonist Lawrence Brown, obscure tenor Bob Brown, and guitarist Dickie Thompson (drummer Bobby Durham helps out in support), this is a particularly interesting unit. Unlike most of their other collaborations, this outing by Hodges and Davis sticks mostly to better-known material, including a previously unissued version of Duke Ellington's "Squeeze Me But Please Don't Tease Me" and four Hodges originals. Highlights include "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Taffy," "Good Queen Bess," and "In a Mellotone." This release is recommended as a strong (and swinging) example of Johnny Hodges outside of the Duke Ellington Orchestra." -- Scott Yanow
"Pairing Dizzy Gillespie with Cuban arranger/composer Chico O'Farrill produced a stunning session which originally made up the first half of a Norgran LP. O'Farrill conducts an expanded orchestra which combines a jazz band with a Latin rhythm section; among the participants in the four-part "Manteca Suite" are trumpeters Quincy Jones and Ernie Royal, trombonist J.J. Johnson, tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley and Lucky Thompson, and conga player Mongo Santamaria. "Manteca," written during the previous decade, serves as an exciting opening movement, while the next two segments build upon this famous theme, though they are jointly credited to O'Farrill as well. "Rhumba-Finale" is straight-ahead jazz with some delicious solo work by Gillespie. A later small-group session features the trumpeter with an all-Latin rhythm section and flutist Gilberto Valdes, who is heard on "A Night in Tunisia" and "Caravan." Both of the Latin versions of these pieces are far more interesting than "Con Alma," as the excessive percussion and dull piano accompaniment add little to this normally captivating theme. Long out of print, this 2002 CD reissue will only be available until May 2005; it is well worth acquiring." -- Ken Dryden
This cd is a great moment in jazz history. The arrangements are perfect; the performances from this large ensemble are tight. A musical unit at the height of its ability playing a unique set of numbers. Dizzy's solos are unbelievable. Manteca and Caravan especially are powerful performances. One may have qualms with the version of "Night in Tunisia," as it uses flute as one of the lead instruments, but it's an interesting variation-- though you haven't heard it till you've heard Bird and Diz do it on sax and trumpet. The numbers are highly percussive, with an array of African drums going. It's intense, innovative and I've never heard another cd like it. - Amazon
"This CD features Dizzy Gillespie's second great big band at the peak of its powers. On the rapid "Dizzy's Blues" and a truly blazing "Cool Breeze," the orchestra really roars; the latter performance features extraordinary solos by Gillespie, trombonist Al Grey, and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell. In addition to fine renditions of "Manteca" and Benny Golson's then-recent composition "I Remember Clifford," the humorous "Doodlin'" is given a definitive treatment, there is a fresh version of "A Night in Tunisia," and pianist Mary Lou Williams sits in for a lengthy medley of selections from her "Zodiac Suite." This brilliant CD captures one of the high points of Dizzy Gillespie's remarkable career and is highly recommended." -- Scott Yanow
Besides Dizzy Gillespie, no founding father of modern jazz had the tenacity to keep a big band together for an extended period of time. Gillespie managed to do it in the late 1940s and then again in the mid-'50s, creating electrifying music in the process. The band of the 1950s toured the world extensively under U.S. State Department auspices, honing tight sectional play and developing explosive power on a book of new arrangements. Those strengths show in this 1957 Newport appearance, both on the extended treatments of Gillespie's earlier masterpieces, such as "A Night in Tunisia" and "Manteca," and on new material, including Ernie Wilkins's arrangement of Horace Silver's "Doodlin'" and Benny Golson's lustrous "I Remember Clifford." Whether doing comic vocals or letting his trumpet soar over the charging band, Gillespie is in magnificent form here, supported by Golson and Billy Mitchell on tenors, altoist Ernie Henry, and pianist Wynton Kelly. The concert also includes selections from Mary Lou Williams's "Zodiac Suite," with the composer joining the band on piano. - Amazon
The story behind this from my Dad's (Stan Levey) point of view is that everything was done in one take no 2nd takes no over dubbing. He had spent the whole day recording for TV, Mission Imposible Mannix etc. so he thought a date with Stan Getz this should be pretty laid back.
Well nothing could be further from the truth he said "The count offs were breath taking but once they got thru BeBop everything settled down" his favorite was Wee Allen's Alley. It was virtually a live real Bebop session, nothing worked out, just play by the seat of your pants or get off the bandstand. Like it or not that was the way it was with Bird and those cats, the real thing no pretense. - Amazon
"This double CD reissues material formerly on LPs restoring several of the selections that were originally issued in edited form. A pair of unusual jam sessions, on the first (and more eccentric of the two) trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is paired with baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Richard Davis, either Mel Lewis or Elvin Jones on drums and violinist Ray Nance (who is in particularly adventurous form). The second date substitutes Garnett Brown for Nance and is a bit more conventional. These lengthy performances (all but one of the seven songs are over 11 minutes) contain some loose and rambling moments but also plenty of creative playing by this unusual group of all-stars." -- Scott Yanow
"This little-known LP actually contains one of Dizzy Gillespie's greatest performances of the 1960s. Joined by a particularly strong big band (which includes trombonist Curtis Fuller, altoist Chris Woods, James Moody on tenor, both Sahib Shihab and Cecil Payne on baritones and a screaming trumpet section), Dizzy Gillespie performs the most exciting version of "Things to Come" ever recorded plus "One Bass Hit" and the more recent "Con Alma," "Frisco" and "The Things Are Here." Although already 51, the trumpeter is heard at his best on this hard-to-find but essential LP." -- Scott Yanow
"An old recording from 1951, this album has been re-released on Columbia from the old Savoy/Regent recordings. The blowing is insane in spots -- in "Pop's Confessin," Dizzy tries to hit the loudest, highest, longest note possible (à la Roy Eldridge). Joe Carroll provides some humor in his vocal work (often performing in duet with Dizzy). Milt Jackson actually goes without his vibes here, singing and playing piano. According to the original liner notes, other performers on the album are "probably" Bill Graham on baritone sax, Wynton Kelly on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Al Jones, Kansas Fields, or Joe Hanes on drums. The interplay among trumpet, piano, and Joe Carroll's vocals is some of the best you'll hear from this time period (it gets even better in a couple years, but this is still outstanding). "Lady Be Good" is a tour de force for Carroll, and "School Days" starts to sound a lot like the blues-shouting R&B of the day. For any fan of Dizzy, and the bop of the day, this is a worthwhile investment in listening pleasure. The trumpet is good, the vocals are good, the humor is good. You can barely miss with this one. [The 2003 reissue on Savoy Jazz adds four bonus tracks: an alternate version of "Caravan" recorded at the same session as "No One Knows" and three live tracks taken from a 1947 performance at Carnegie Hall that teamed Diz with Charlie Parker. The sound is good, the performances solid and even though the tracks have absolutely nothing to do with the original album, they are a worthwhile addition for the Gillespie collector.]" -- Adam Greenberg
Dizzy Gillespie put together an amazing crew for this album. This is one of those wonderful, sweet, funny and proficient albums that truly proves that Gillespie was "the perfect Jazz musician." One thing you can't get from the Amazon on line music samples from this album is the wonderful tonal quality of the recording. This is a superb listening experience that I highly recommend for all audiophiles.
Be warned! This album is not for every mood - this is a bright mellow sound that goes best with a leisurely Sunday breakfast. - Amazon
"This CD has Dizzy Gillespie's classic Musicraft sides (all except "A Handfulla Gimme"), some of the most famous recordings of his long career. These influential performances (which set the standard for bebop) include "Blue 'N' Boogie" (with tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon), seven gems with Charlie Parker (highlighted by "Groovin' High," "Hot House," and "Salt Peanuts"), a few numbers with Sonny Stitt, and nine big-band recordings, including "Our Delight," "Ray's Idea," and the futuristic "Things to Come." If Dizzy Gillespie's career had ended after these recordings, he would still be famous in the jazz world." -- Scott Yanow
"Dizzy Gillespie brings together tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins for four extended cuts, and in the process comes up with one of the most exciting "jam session" records in the jazz catalog. While the rhythm section of pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant, and drummer Charlie Persip provides solid rhythmic support, Stitt and Rollins get down to business trading fours and reeling off solo fireworks. Apparently, Gillespie had stoked the competitive fires before the session with phone calls and some gossip, the fallout of which becomes palpable as the album progresses. On "The Eternal Triangle," in particular, Stitt and Rollins impress in their roles as tenor titans, with Stitt going in for sheer muscle as that most stout of bebop cutters and Rollins opting for some pacing as a more thematic player. In the midst of the rivalry (certainly some torch was being passed, since Rollins was soon to become the top tenor saxophonist in jazz), an embarrassment of solo riches comes tumbling out of both these men's horns. Gillespie adds his own split commentary on the proceedings with a casual solo on "After Hours" and a competitively blistering statement on "I Know That You Know." With an at ease rendition of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" rounding things out, Sonny Side Up comes off as both a highly enjoyable jazz set and something of an approximation of the music's once-revered live cutting session." -- Stephen Cook
Dizzy Gillespie's long, fruitful career is peppered with a number of high-profile summit meetings with a variety of jazz royals, and this 1957 date ranks with the best of them. Gillespie facilitated this battle between tenor titans Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins and even, according to legend, stoked their competitive fires with well-timed phone calls prior to the session. The good-natured opener "On the Sunny Side of the Street," complete with a lighthearted Dizzy vocal turn, doesn't even hint at the serious business to follow it. "The Eternal Triangle" is a quintessential bop fracas filled with inspired, white-hot improvisation. Rollins and Stitt exchange mighty blows, in solos and in trades, and Gillespie's trumpet work is no mere afterthought, bristling as it does with creativity and authority. The ensemble catches their collective breath with "After Hours," a tasty slow blues introduced by Ray Bryant's mood-setting piano, before they unleash a ripping reading of the chestnut "I Know That You Know." You get the sense that the more artful (and "jazz's new thing") Rollins was dragged into a real street fight by the fiery Stitt, who was unbeatable on his own blistering bop turf, but each man--Gillespie included--rises to the occasion in spirited fashion. - Amazon
"Alone Together, Lee Konitz's first recording for Blue Note, is a special event. The saxophonist teamed up with legendary bassist Charlie Haden and young lion pianist Brad Mehldau, and the trio's interaction on this set of relaxed bop is astonishing. On paper, the music on Alone Together -- a collection of standards -- should just be straightahead cool bop, but all three musicians are restless and inventive, making even the simplest numbers on the disc vibrant, lively and adventurous. It's a wonderful record, one that makes a convincing argument that Konitz remains a vital force even as he reached his seventieth year." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Six standards that have been touchstones of Konitz's career, recorded by a quiet and intimate trio (Konitz, Charlie Haden and the pianist Brad Mehldau). Konitz's improvisations here are as focused and closely-thought-out as ever; equally a delight are his thoughtful renditions of the melodies. Check out "Round Midnight", where the tune is only present as the familiar phrase-rhythms, while Konitz fills them with new lines. Konitz was once quoted in an interview as to his concept of "levels" in improvisation--ranging from the pure statement of a melody to elaborations on it to making up new melodies--and that he felt all were equally valid. This recording is a particularly clear example of this credo.
So why just 4 stars? First: four of the improvisations get truncated by an artificial fadeout. One can't blame stupid producers for this decision: Haden & Konitz produced the album themselves. This feature is particularly irritating on "What is this Thing..." where Konitz's own composition written on its changes, "Subconscious-Lee", gets cut off as he states it.
Second: Brad Mehldau is, to my ears, grossly inappropriate for this album. His solos are all of a piece: instantly doubletimed, with call-and-response patterns built up between both hands with maddening predictability from a repeated phrase. This does little besides showing one that Mehldau is adept at transposition and has little sense of when to stop. Konitz has a knack for fitting in in the most unexpected of contexts--he's performed with Derek Bailey and Ornette Coleman--but it looks like Mehldau needs to learn this trick too. - Amazon
"The Firehouse Five Plus Two started out as an amateur Dixieland band mostly comprised of cartoon animators from the Disney Studios. Their spontaneous sessions (led by trombonist Ward Kimball) were so successful that they started recording for Good Time Jazz in 1949 and soon became a popular attraction, while never giving up their day jobs. In addition to colorful Dixieland ensembles and solos, the band often let off a siren during their hotter choruses and were not shy to inject their music with a healthy dose of humor. They recorded regularly for Good Time Jazz during 1949-1960 with additional albums cut in 1962, 1964, and 1969. In addition to Kimball, the band included trumpeter Johnny Lucas (for the first session), cornetist Danny Alguire, clarinetist Clarke Mallory, and, from 1960 on, George Probert on soprano and clarinet." - Scott Yanow
total 137M 3.3M Firehouse Five Plus Two- At A Georgia Camp Meeting.mp3 2.9M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Barney Google.mp3 3.1M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Bill Bailey.mp3 3.2M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Birmingham Papa.mp3 3.3M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Come Back Sweet Papa.mp3 3.7M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Dr. Jazz.mp3 4.0M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Fidgety Feet.mp3 3.0M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Firechief Rag.mp3 2.8M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Firehouse Stomp.mp3 2.8M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Five Foot Two.mp3 2.8M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Five Foot Two.mp3 2.7M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Frankie and Johnny.mp3 4.0M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Hello, Dolly!.mp3 4.0M Firehouse Five plus Two- High Society.mp3 2.9M Firehouse Five Plus Two- I'm Gonna Charleston Back To Charleston.mp3 2.8M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Java.mp3 2.7M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Just a Stomp At Twilight_2.mp3 2.7M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Just a Stomp At Twilight.mp3 3.5M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Lady of Spain.mp3 3.0M Firehouse Five plus Two- Lonesome Railroad Blues.mp3 4.3M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Lovin' Sam.mp3 2.8M Firehouse Five plus Two- Mame.mp3 3.5M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Milneburg Joys.mp3 4.0M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Mississippi Rag.mp3 3.8M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Muskrat Ramble.mp3 4.8M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Original Dixieland Onestep.mp3 6.8M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Peoria.mp3 2.6M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Petite Fleur.mp3 2.8M Firehouse Five plus Two- Riverside Blues.mp3 3.1M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Royal Garden Blues.mp3 4.2M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Sister Kate.mp3 2.7M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Sobbin' Blues.mp3 4.1M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Storyville Blues.mp3 2.9M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Sweet Georgia Brown.mp3 3.1M Firehouse Five Plus Two- That's a Plenty.mp3 1.5M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Tiger Rag.mp3 4.0M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Tishomingo Blues.mp3 3.9M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Wabash Blues.mp3 2.5M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Winchester Cathedral.mp3 3.2M Firehouse Five Plus Two- Working Man Blues.mp3 4.7M FireHouse Five Plus Two- Yellow Dog Blues.mp3
"A cornerstone of the Blue Note label roster prior to his tragic demise, Lee Morgan was one of hard bop's greatest trumpeters, and indeed one of the finest of the '60s. An all-around master of his instrument modeled after Clifford Brown, Morgan boasted an effortless, virtuosic technique and a full, supple, muscular tone that was just as powerful in the high register. His playing was always emotionally charged, regardless of the specific mood: cocky and exuberant on up-tempo groovers, blistering on bop-oriented technical showcases, sweet and sensitive on ballads. In his early days as a teen prodigy, Morgan was a busy soloist with a taste for long, graceful lines, and honed his personal style while serving an apprenticeship in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. As his original compositions began to take in elements of blues and R&B, he made greater use of space and developed an infectiously funky rhythmic sense. He also found ways to mimic human vocal inflections by stuttering, slurring his articulations, and employing half-valved sound effects. Toward the end of his career, Morgan was increasingly moving into modal music and free bop, hinting at the avant-garde but remaining grounded in tradition. He had already overcome a severe drug addiction, but sadly, he would not live to continue his musical growth; he was shot to death by his common-law wife in 1972.Edward Lee Morgan was born in Philadelphia on July 10, 1938. He grew up a jazz lover, and his sister apparently gave him his first trumpet at age 14. He took private lessons, developing rapidly, and continued his studies at Mastbaum High School. By the time he was 15, he was already performing professionally on the weekends, co-leading a group with bassist Spanky DeBrest. Morgan also participated in weekly workshops that gave him the chance to meet the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and his idol Clifford Brown. After graduating from high school in 1956, Morgan -- along with DeBrest -- got the chance to perform with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers when they swung through Philadelphia. Not long after, Dizzy Gillespie hired Morgan to replace Joe Gordon in his big band, and afforded the talented youngster plenty of opportunities to solo, often spotlighting him on the Gillespie signature piece "A Night in Tunisia." Clifford Brown's death in a car crash in June 1956 sparked a search for his heir apparent, and the precocious Morgan seemed a likely candidate to many; accordingly, he soon found himself in great demand as a recording artist. His first session as a leader was cut for Blue Note in November 1956, and over the next few months he recorded for Savoy and Specialty as well, often working closely with Hank Mobley or Benny Golson. Later in 1957, he performed as a sideman on John Coltrane's classic Blue Train, as well as with Jimmy Smith.Morgan's early sessions showed him to be a gifted technician who had his influences down pat, but subsequent dates found him coming into his own as a distinctive, original stylist. That was most apparent on the Blue Note classic Candy, a warm standards album completed in 1958 and released to great acclaim. Still only 19, Morgan's playing was still imbued with youthful enthusiasm, but he was also synthesizing his influences into an original sound of his own. Also in 1958, Gillespie's big band broke up, and Morgan soon joined the third version of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, which debuted on the classic Moanin' album later that year. As a leader, Morgan recorded a pair of albums for Vee Jay in 1960, Here's Lee Morgan and Expoobident, and cut another for Blue Note that year, Leeway, with backing by many of the Jazz Messengers. None managed to measure up to Candy, and Morgan, grappling with heroin addiction, wound up leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1961. He returned to his hometown of Philadelphia to kick the habit, and spent most of the next two years away from music, working occasionally with saxophonist Jimmy Heath on a local basis. His replacement in the Jazz Messengers was Freddie Hubbard, who would also become one of the top hard bop trumpeters of the '60s.Morgan returned to New York in late 1963, and recorded with Blue Note avant-gardist Grachan Moncur on the trombonist's debut Evolution. He then recorded a comeback LP for Blue Note called The Sidewinder, prominently featuring the up-and-coming Joe Henderson. The Morgan-composed title track was a funky, danceable groover that drew from soul-jazz, Latin boogaloo, blues, and R&B in addition to Morgan's trademark hard bop. It was rather unlike anything else he'd cut, and it became a left-field hit in 1964; edited down to a 45 rpm single, it inched onto the lower reaches of the pop charts, and was licensed for use in a high-profile automobile ad campaign. Its success helped push The Sidewinder into the Top 25 of the pop LP charts, and the Top Ten on the R&B listing. Sales were brisk enough to revive the financially struggling Blue Note label, and likely kept it from bankruptcy; it also led to numerous "Sidewinder"-style grooves popping up on other Blue Note artists' albums. By the time "The Sidewinder" became a phenomenon, Morgan had rejoined the Jazz Messengers, where he would remain until 1965; there he solidified a long-standing partnership with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.Morgan followed the most crucial recording of his career with the excellent, more abstract Search for the New Land, which was cut in early 1964, before "The Sidewinder" hit. An advanced modal bop session called Tom Cat was also recorded shortly thereafter, but both were shelved in hopes of scoring another "Sidewinder." Accordingly, Morgan re-entered the studio in early 1965 to cut The Rumproller, whose Andrew Hill-penned title cut worked territory that was highly similar to Morgan's breakout hit. Commercial lightning didn't strike twice, but Morgan continued to record prolifically through 1965, cutting excellent sessions like The Gigolo, Cornbread, and the unissued Infinity. The Gigolo introduced one of Morgan's best-known originals, the bluesy "Speedball," while the classic Cornbread featured his ballad masterpiece "Ceora." Search for the New Land was finally issued in 1966, and it achieved highly respectable sales, reaching the Top 20 of the R&B album charts; both Cornbread and The Gigolo would sell well among jazz audiences when they were released in 1967 and 1968, respectively.By the time Morgan completed those albums, he had left the Jazz Messengers to begin leading his own groups outside the studio. He was also appearing frequently as a sideman on other Blue Note releases, working most often with tenorman Hank Mobley. Morgan was extraordinarily prolific over 1966-1968, cutting around eight albums' worth of material (though not all of it was released at the time). Highlights included Delightfulee, The Procrastinator, and the decent-selling Caramba!, which nearly made the Top 40 of the R&B album chart. His compositions were increasingly modal and free-form, stretching the boundaries of hard bop; however, his funkier instincts were still evident as well, shifting gradually from boogaloo to early electrified fusion. Morgan's recording pace tailed off at the end of the '60s, but he continued to tour with a regular working group that prominently featured saxophonist Bennie Maupin. This band's lengthy modal explorations were documented on the double LP Live at the Lighthouse, recorded in Los Angeles in July 1970; it was later reissued as a three-CD set with a generous amount of extra material. Morgan led what turned out to be the last session of his life in September 1971. On February 19, 1972, Morgan was performing at the New York club Slug's when he was shot and killed by his common-law wife, Helen More. Accounts of exactly what happened vary; whether they argued over drugs or Morgan's fidelity, whether she shot him outside the club or up on the bandstand in front of the audience, jazz lost a major talent. Despite his extensive recorded legacy, Morgan was only 33 years old. Many of his unreleased Blue Note sessions began to appear in the early '80s, and his critical standing has hardly diminished a whit. - Steve Huey
Since the review below is not very informative, I thought I'd try to write one that is. "Candy" is the last of Lee Morgan's six 1950s sessions for Blue Note. With the sweet lineup of Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums, this is Lee's only quartet recording as a leader. "Candy" is a classic swinging, hard bop affair recorded on November 18, 1957. It features an all-standard repertoire, with the exception of Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A," which come to think of it, is probably a standard too nowadays. Morgan didn't record again as a leader until the 1960 album "Leeway," but in 1958 he did appear on classics like Jimmy Smith's "The Sermon" and Hank Mobley's "Peckin' Time" among others before joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in October of that year. (If you're interested I have reviewed all three of the CDs I just mentioned.) With the other Lee Morgan 50s sessions only available as expensive imports (I believe the limited edition Mosaic set collecting all of these sessions has finally sold out), "Candy" is a delicious look at a young trumpeter who would become one of the defining voices of 60s jazz.
A real bargain, "Charisma" is one of Morgan's better releases. Although he died young, the trumpeter built up a very impressive discography and established himself as one of the preeminent voices on jazz trumpet. "Charisma" displays Morgan at his hard bop best.
He has, as usual, surrounded himself with superlative talent. Hank Mobley and Jackie McLean both lend their distinctive voices on saxophone, Cedar Walton shimmers on piano, and Billy Higgins is his usual impeccable self on drums. Walton also contributes a superb composition, the wistful "Rainy Night," which allows Morgan to slow the pace down and display the lyricism of his horn.
But for the most part, this is mid-'60s hard bop at its very best, and Morgan displays complete command on the simple but very effective uptempo compositions that dominate the disk. The hardest-swinging and funkiest is "The Double Up," which winds up the disk and will probably make you want to immediately recue. All the players sound completely at ease, especially on "Hey Chico" and "Sweet Honey Bee," but they never sound bored or complacent. They obviously love the music and give it their all on each and every solo. Mobley, in particular, has a sound like butter that slides effortlessly through the changes, yet he never loses the sense of passion you want from a jazz solo.
The entire Morgan discography on Blue Note is worth owning, but "Charisma," like "Search for the New Land," "Sidewinder" and the later live recordings at the Lighthouse, is near the top of the list.
Lee Morgan's "Live At The Lighthouse" is great look at the master trumpeter in the year before his tragic murder at the hands of his common-law wife. Originally released as a posthumous double LP, this is the kind of release we were all promised with the advent of the compact disc! Three discs packed full with more than an hour of music each, half of the songs previously unreleased, and improved, remastered sound. Joining Lee on this voluminous set are Bennie Maupin (on tenor sax, bass clarinet and flute), Harold Mabern (on piano), Jymie Merritt (on bass) and Mickey Roker (on drums, with Jack DeJohnette replacing him on a few tracks). The material covered on these discs is typical, classic late Lee. Always the tireless innovator, he only returned to two of his mid 60s Blue Note hits, "The Sidewinder" and "Speedball." The rest of the tunes are new, and exemplify the modern innovations and directions Lee was taking his music in the new decade of the 70s. Along with "The Last Session" and Larry Young's "Mother Ship" (currently unavailable on CD), "Live At The Lighthouse" paints the final portrait of a jazz great taken from this world all to soon.
The Philadelphia-born trumpeter and superb bop stylist Lee Morgan apprenticed with Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey before emerging as a leader in his own right in the early '60s for Blue Note Records. Although Morgan owed a stylistic debt to both Gillespie and Clifford Brown, he quickly developed a voice of his own that combined half-valve effects, Latin inflections, and full, fluid melodies. While many of Morgan's later sessions for Blue Note would find him paired with saxophonist Hank Mobley, The Sidewinder features then up-and-coming tenor player Joe Henderson, plus Detroit pianist Barry Harris, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins. Along with the title track, an unconventional 24-bar blues, the album's compositional standout is "Totem Pole," a minor Latin groove featuring an outstanding solo by Henderson. This is the kind of relaxed blowing date, invigorated by thoughtful performances, that forms the backbone of the Blue Note catalog.
Of the six titles in this latest batch of Blue Note's limited edition Connoisseur Series, this is the CD I anticipated the most. Trumpeter Lee Morgan's "Sonic Boom" is an enjoyable disc, but it didn't quite live up to the hype I'd built up for it. "Sonic Boom" is actually two sessions. The first six tracks, comprising the original album, were recorded on April 14 & 28, 1967, but not released until 1979. Those sessions featured Lee, David "Fathead" Newman on tenor sax, Cedar Walton on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Tracks 7-13 were cut on September 12 and October 10, 1969, and they were not released at the time of conception either -- they first appeared as the second LP of the "The Procrastinator" in 1978. The sextet on those dates was Lee, Julian Priester on trombone, George Coleman on tenor sax, Harold Mabern on piano, Walter Booker on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. As a result, this disc logs in at an impressive 75 minutes, but unfortunately quantity isn't always quality.
"Sneaky Pete" and "Fathead," the disc's funky Sidewinder-like numbers, are solid but not as creative as earlier follow-up attempts like "The Rumproller" or "Cornbread." "The Mercenary" and "Sonic Boom" are altogether better and more exploratory tunes, but they don't match the level of innovation found on "The Procrastinator." By the 1969 sessions, Lee sounds like he's beat these motifs dead with a stick. He is clearly running out of ideas, or should I say variations on earlier successful ideas, and even makes an ill-fated attempt at a boogaloo number (so unimpressive the artist didn't even title it!). Of course, it doesn't help that Rudy Van Gelder seemingly had an off-day as well -- Coleman's sax has an unusual amount of reverb (for RVG anyway), and Lee frequently distorts in the upper registers. Fortunately for us, Lee would find himself again, before his tragic death only three years down the road. His synthesis of slightly further out playing and his trademark grooves would combine for better results on Larry Young's "Mother Ship" (just released in this batch of Connoisseurs as well), and his own "Live at the Lighthouse" and "The Last Session" -- see my reviews of all three titles.
Bill Evans must be acknowledged as one of the finest pianists in all of jazz. A cool, intellectual player, Evans adopted bop's sophisticated chording and united it with a unique, horn-like phrasing. On Half Moon Bay, Evans is captured live in California with one of his finest rhythm sections--Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums. Recorded in 1973, these previously unreleased performances are both evocative and introspective. Evans digs deep into his vast repertoire and turns in sparking renditions of classics like "Waltz for Debby," "Autumn Leaves," and even "Someday My Prince Will Come." Evans exceeds at these softer, melancholy ballads and is quite at home playing within the trio context. A must for any serious Bill Evans fan.
This is by far one of the most beautiful recordings made by the Bill Evans trio. This was I'm told Bill's first all ballads record. Riverside records released it on vinyl way back in 1962. None of the music sounds dated. considering it's 41 years old. This is the first recording Bill made with Chuck Israels taking over for the late Scott Lafaro as the bass player. This album has a very haunting and romantic feeling to it. The music is sad in tone and suggests feelings of longing and sobering reflection. One goal that Bill always strived for was to ballance intellect with passion to make intelligent and original sounding jazz. I dont even know if jazz is the right stamp to put on this recording. To me it sounds more like European classical music. Also thank god for Bill's college music theory teacher at Southeastern University Gretchen Magee. Because if it werent for her motivation {Evans often thought of his work as unsatisfactory and sometimes needed alot of motivation from from bandmates and peers} he might not have composed his gorgeous original composition "Very Early" {which is the last track on the CD its just breathtaking...}Being an amature pianist myself, "Very early" and "childrens play song" were the first two Evans' compositions I taught myself to play. The piece is a composition played in C major at a slow waltz tempo. He played the tune until the end of his life in 1980, but the original version on "moonbeams" might be the all around finest one. It is given a very slow and delicate treatment, and when he restates the theme at the end you can almost feel an imagrey of leaves or snow falling gently around you. I also really like his interpretation of "It might as well be spring". I think that Bill Evans was a beautiful person and pianist because he was never flashy and this album proves that. He didnt play anything he didnt have to. He always played just the right amount of notes and chords. With this record it all comes together coherently to make a truly stunning musical statement. Evans once told Tony Bennet to forget everything else and just concentrate on "truth and beauty." With the album "moonbeams" fans of Evans' music and important legacy will clearly be able to hear his own truth and beauty about life glowing from this gorgeous album. Highly recommended!
Brown is--justifiably--a jazz icon, and this CD showcases his celebrated rapid-fire riffs and remarkably rounded and mellow tone.
The rapid bebop of "Sweet Clifford" and the closer," I Get A Kick Out of You," may have you shaking your head in awe, with fast but fully articulated soloing by Brown, and simply amazing bop sax by the (underrated?) Harold Land. The notes and lines are just right! Max Roach's astonishing drumming adds to the intensity and wonder of the experience.
Brown's long, almost haunting trumpet on "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is one of the most beautiful and evocative trumpet solos I've ever heard. His voicing of the lyrics and tender/plaintive sound are superb.
Richie Powell is the force behind "I'll String Along With You," and recalls the tone of Tatum, the sentiment of Hoagie, and the chord emphasis of Nat Cole.
"Stompin' at the Savoy" grooves mellow, with light comping by Powell and bassist George Morrow, and warm burnished solos by Brown and Land. Max Roach slowly builds his solo teasingly, culminating in a bop tour de force.
Land is especially effective on "Darn That Dream" where his warm, lush, burnished playing recalls the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman CD. Whether you're a longtime Clifford Brown fan, or are just making his acquaintance, I highly recommend this album!
"Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of his first recording, Chano Domínguez launches 'Oye cómo viene', released by the Latin jazz label Lola! Records. The Cádiz-born pianist is backed on this album by his usual band: contrabassist Pablo Martín, drummer Guillermo McGill, cantaor Blas Córdoba, percussionist Piraña, palmero-bailaor Tomasito and bailaor Joaquín Grilo. Joining them as a guest is Puerto Rican musician Jerry González. The record comes out parallel to the audiovisual version released on DVD with the title 'Mira cómo viene'.
"Cádiz in the soul and Monk in the fingers". As Faustino Núñez explains in the libretto, Chano Domínguez exhibits the flamenco jazz duality that winds along the keys of his piano in 'Oye cómo viene'. The Cádiz-born musician shows "how his language has evolved towards mestizo and cosmopolitan grounds" in the eleven tracks that make up the album: 'Tangos del Garraf', dedicated to the Catalan region which inspires the composer; 'Soleá Blas', an example of the study of blues por soleá; 'Monk Medley', where he again sets his sights on Thelonious Monk; 'Oye cómo viene', a reinterpretation of the bulerías included in the film by Fernando Trueba dedicated to Latin jazz 'Calle 54' (Lola! Records, 2001), which gives the record its name... Tangos, rumbas, seguiriyas, bulerías, ballads, fandangos, soleares, alegrías, tanguillos... revisions at times of compositions from previous albums such as 'Chano' (Nuba, 1993) and 'Imán' (Nuba, 2000).
In order to shape this repertoire, Chano Domínguez has had himself accompanied by the band he has been touring with all over the world since Trueba started on his project: Pablo Martín, on the contrabass; Guillermo McGill, on the drums; Blas Córdoba, on cante; Piraña, on the box drum; Tomasito, on rhythm; and Joaquín Grilo dancing. Joining the band is the multi-instrumentalist Jerry González, who contributes the congas to 'Rumba pa'Jerry' on this recording.
Parallel to the album, Lola! Records launches a documentary released on DVD which shows the music on the new record live, sprinkled with comments about its creation by Chano Domínguez himself. 'Mira cómo viene' presents the musician's perspective offering a "new reference for the evolution of a type of music of universal vocation as is flamenco, from the splendid, somewhat Latin jazz piano"." - Flamenco World
"Coleman Hawkins was the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time. A consistently modern improviser whose knowledge of chords and harmonies was encyclopedic, Hawkins had a 40-year prime (1925-1965) during which he could hold his own with any competitor.
Coleman Hawkins started piano lessons when he was five, switched to cello at age seven, and two years later began on tenor. At a time when the saxophone was considered a novelty instrument, used in vaudeville and as a poor substitute for the trombone in marching bands, Hawkins sought to develop his own sound. A professional when he was 12, Hawkins was playing in a Kansas City theater pit band in 1921, when Mamie Smith hired him to play with her Jazz Hounds. Hawkins was with the blues singer until June 1923, making many records in a background role and he was occasionally heard on instrumentals. After leaving Smith, he freelanced around New York, played briefly with Wilbur Sweatman, and in August 1923 made his first recordings with Fletcher Henderson. When Henderson formed a permanent orchestra in January 1924, Hawkins was his star tenor.
Although (due largely to lack of competition) Coleman Hawkins was the top tenor in jazz in 1924, his staccato runs and use of slap-tonguing sound quite dated today. However, after Louis Armstrong joined Henderson later in the year, Hawkins learned from the cornetist's relaxed legato style and advanced quickly. By 1925, Hawkins was truly a major soloist, and the following year his solo on "Stampede" became influential. Hawk (who doubled in early years on clarinet and bass sax) would be with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra up to 1934, and during this time he was the obvious pacesetter among tenors; Bud Freeman was about the only tenor who did not sound like a close relative of the hard-toned Hawkins. In addition to his solos with Henderson, Hawkins backed some blues singers, recorded with McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and, with Red McKenzie in 1929, he cut his first classic ballad statement on "One Hour."
By 1934, Coleman Hawkins had tired of the struggling Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and he moved to Europe, spending five years (1934-1939) overseas. He played at first with Jack Hylton's Orchestra in England, and then freelanced throughout the continent. His most famous recording from this period was a 1937 date with Benny Carter, Alix Combille, Andre Ekyan, Django Reinhardt, and Stephane Grappelli that resulted in classic renditions of "Crazy Rhythm" and "Honeysuckle Rose." With World War II coming close, Hawkins returned to the U.S. in 1939. Although Lester Young had emerged with a totally new style on tenor, Hawkins showed that he was still a dominant force by winning a few heated jam sessions. His recording of "Body and Soul" that year became his most famous record. In 1940, he led a big band that failed to catch on, so Hawkins broke it up and became a fixture on 52nd Street. Some of his finest recordings were cut during the first half of the 1940s, including a stunning quartet version of "The Man I Love." Although he was already a 20-year veteran, Hawkins encouraged the younger bop-oriented musicians and did not need to adjust his harmonically advanced style in order to play with them. He used Thelonious Monk in his 1944 quartet; led the first official bop record session (which included Dizzy Gillespie and Don Byas); had Oscar Pettiford, Miles Davis, and Max Roach as sidemen early in their careers; toured in California with a sextet featuring Howard McGhee; and in 1946, utilized J.J. Johnson and Fats Navarro on record dates. Hawkins toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic several times during 1946-1950, visited Europe on a few occasions, and in 1948 recorded the first unaccompanied saxophone solo, "Picasso."
By the early '50s, the Lester Young-influenced Four Brothers sound had become a much greater influence on young tenors than Hawkins' style, and he was considered by some to be out of fashion. However, Hawkins kept on working and occasionally recording, and by the mid-'50s was experiencing a renaissance. The up-and-coming Sonny Rollins considered Hawkins his main influence, Hawk started teaming up regularly with Roy Eldridge in an exciting quintet (their appearance at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival was notable), and he proved to still be in his prime. Coleman Hawkins appeared in a wide variety of settings, from Red Allen's heated Dixieland band at the Metropole and leading a bop date featuring Idrees Sulieman and J.J. Johnson, to guest appearances on records that included Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and (in the early '60s) Max Roach and Eric Dolphy. During the first half of the 1960s, Coleman Hawkins had an opportunity to record with Duke Ellington, collaborated on one somewhat eccentric session with Sonny Rollins, and even did a bossa nova album. By 1965, Hawkins was even showing the influence of John Coltrane in his explorative flights and seemed ageless.
Unfortunately, 1965 was Coleman Hawkins' last good year. Whether it was senility or frustration, Hawkins began to lose interest in life. He practically quit eating, increased his drinking, and quickly wasted away. Other than a surprisingly effective appearance with Jazz at the Philharmonic in early 1969, very little of Hawkins' work during his final three and a half years (a period during which he largely stopped recording) is up to the level one would expect from the great master. However, there are dozens of superb Coleman Hawkins recordings currently available and, as Eddie Jefferson said in his vocalese version of "Body and Soul," "he was the king of the saxophone."" - Scott Yanow
.. total 64M 12M 01 Undecided.mp3 3.8M 02 Indian Summer.mp3 10M 03 Stuffy.mp3 12M 04 Loverman_Stella By Starlight.mp3 6.5M 05 Willow Weep For Me.mp3 14M 06 Caravan.mp3 6.5M 07 Pleyel Blues.mp3
This CD compiles several Coleman Hawkins sessions recorded between 1939 and 1956, capturing the masterful tenor saxophonist at the height of the swing era, in the midst of the bop revolution, and at the helm of large orchestras. While the quality of his accompaniments varies tremendously, Hawkins's contributions don't. The earliest session climaxes with his classic solo version of "Body and Soul," a landmark in both the harmonic language of jazz and improvised musical architecture. Another four tracks come from a 1940 octet date with some of Hawkins's old associates from the Fletcher Henderson band, Benny Carter (on trumpet here) and J.C. Higginbotham on trombone, along with the underrated clarinetist Danny Polo. It's small-group swing of the first order, with touches of traditional jazz in the improvised ensembles.
Tadd Dameron wrote the arrangements for a 1947 band that includes trumpeter Fats Navarro, trombonist J.J. Johnson, pianist Hank Jones, and drummer Max Roach. While the horns all solo fluently on Dameron's "Half Step Down, Please," it's the three ballad features for the leader that stand out, Hawkins drawing inspiration from Dameron's moodily dense harmonies. The settings are pedestrian at best for a series of 1956 recordings, with Billy Byers and Manny Albam writing arrangements. Hawkins bristles with individuality, whether soaring over a substantial big band on "The Bean Stalks Again," cutting a new path through a cluttered "Body and Soul," or counterposing his ruggedly magisterial horn to still fussier arrangements of "I Love Paris" and "Under Paris Skies."
Bossa nova flourished in the early 1960's, and dozens of jazz musicians jumped on the bandwagon, but only a small handful did it with any originality. Even the attempts by guys like Miles Davis and Quincy Jones fell short, but when Coleman Hawkins gets his hands on the sound, it works suprisingly well. Hawkins legendary tone on the tenor sax differs vastly from Stan Getz's smoother sound which epitomized the jazz samba movement in many people's eyes. But the Hawk blows admirably through eight songs either from the bossa nova catalogue or inspired by the sound. The wonderful thing about this album is that there wasn't a serious attempt to smooth out the rough edges, and so this music sounds even more genuine and original. A nice band as well, with the two guitars of Barry Galbraith and Howard Collins, Major Holley on bass, Eddie Locke on drums and a rare appearance on the claves by Tommy Flanagan, normally a pianist. Though this music isn't on the level of 'Getz/Gilberto' as far as interpretation of the music, it is an interesting and distinctive approach rather than a rehash, and even more evidence of the versatility of the king of the tenor sax.
1-6 Coleman Hawkins and His Rhythm 12-21-1949 Hubert Fol - as Nat Peck - tb Jean-Paul Mengeon - p Pierre Michelot - b Kenny Clarke - d ------------------------------------ 7-22 Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra 4-15-1950 and 6-20-1950 Don Byas - ts Harold 'Shorty' Baker - t Quentin Jackson - tb Jimmy Hamilton - cl Raymond Fol - p Wendell Marshall - b Sonny Greer - d Butch Ballard - d (17-22 only) total 41M 1.7M 01 It's Only A Paper Moon.mp3 1.8M 02 Sih-Sah.mp3 1.9M 03 Bean's Talking Again.mp3 2.0M 04 Bah-Uh-Bah.mp3 1.8M 05 I Surrender Dear.mp3 1.8M 06 Sophisticated Lady.mp3 1.9M 07 Jump, That's All.mp3 1.9M 08 Last Legs Blues (Part 1).mp3 1.8M 09 Last Legs Blues (Part 2).mp3 2.2M 10 Nix It, Mix It.mp3 2.0M 11 Time On My Hands.mp3 2.0M 12 Run About.mp3 1.9M 13 Wishing And Waiting.mp3 2.1M 14 Get That Geet.mp3 2.1M 15 That's Grand.mp3 2.0M 16 Skip It.mp3 1.8M 17 Perdido.mp3 2.2M 18 In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree.mp3 2.1M 19 Mood Indigo.mp3 1.8M 20 Sweet Lorraine.mp3 1.7M 21 Bean Bag Boogie.mp3 1.3M 22 Hop, Skip And Jump.mp3 1.5K Paris NFO.txt
total 55M 13M 01 Soul Blues.mp3 5.8M 02 I Hadn't Anyone Till You.mp3 7.4M 03 Groovin'.mp3 4.1M 04 Greensleeves.mp3 8.8M 05 Sunday Mornin'.mp3 6.1M 06 Until The Real Thing Comes Along.mp3 9.5M 07 Sweetnin'.mp3
total 45M 2.0M 01 I Only Have Eyes for You.mp3 1.6M 02 'S Wonderful.mp3 2.0M 03 I'm In The Mood For Love.mp3 1.8M 04 Bean At the Met.mp3 1.9M 05 Flame Thrower.mp3 1.6M 06 Imagination.mp3 2.1M 07 Night and Day.mp3 1.5M 08 Cattin' At Keynote.mp3 3.0M 09 On The Sunny Side of the Street.mp3 2.9M 10 Three Little Words.mp3 2.9M 11 Battle of the Saxes.mp3 3.1M 12 Louise.mp3 2.9M 13 Make Believe.mp3 3.0M 14 Don't Blame Me.mp3 2.8M 15 Just One of Those Things.mp3 2.5M 16 Hallelujah.mp3 2.1M 17 I'm Yours.mp3 2.0M 18 Under a Blanket of Blue.mp3 1.8M 19 Beyond The Blue Horizon.mp3 1.7M 20 A Shanty in Old Shanty Town.mp3 801K info.jpg
"Sunny Murray was one of the early avant-garde's most inventive and influential drummers, doing a great deal to establish the role of the drums in free improvisation. Although Murray could swing as hard as anyone, he often abandoned the drums' traditional timekeeping role. Instead of playing a steady beat, he might punctuate and color behind the soloist's lines, or engage in dialogues with the rest of the ensemble, commenting and conversing with an open-ear sense of give and take. Born James Marcellus Arthur Murray in Idabel, OK, Sunny began drumming at age nine and moved to New York in 1956. At first, he played with traditional artists like Red Allen and Willie "The Lion" Smith, but he soon branched out into more adventurous territory with Jackie McLean and Ted Curson. His big break, however, came when he joined Cecil Taylor's group in 1959, which allowed him to improvise at a far more advanced level. While touring Europe with Taylor, Murray met Albert Ayler, and wound up joining his band in 1964; through 1967, Murray appeared on most of the saxophonist's greatest free jazz sessions. He also worked with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and John Tchicai, and made his first albums as a leader with 1965's Sunny's Time Now (for Jihad) and 1966's Sunny Murray Quintet (for the seminal ESP), the latter of which helped him win Down Beat's New Star award. In 1968, Murray traveled to France, where he played with Archie Shepp and recorded as a leader for Affinity and BYG Actuel; returning to the U.S. in 1971, Murray settled in Philadelphia and formed a group called the Untouchable Factor, which he led off and on through varying lineups. He led a fine quintet in the late '70s and '80s, and surfaced on several dates during the '90s." - Steve Huey
"Drummer Sunny Murray's second date as a leader (following by eight months an almost-unknown set for Jihad that featured Don Cherry and Albert Ayler as sidemen) finds Murray leading a high-powered free jazz quintet. Best known among the sidemen are altoist Byard Lancaster and bassist Al Silva, although second altoist Jack Graham and trumpeter Jacques Coursil also play important roles in the music. Performing lengthy versions of three Murray originals and one by Graham, the band is fairly coherent but also full of fire and chance-taking solos. In ways, this is a typical ESP free-form blowing session, and certainly will be most enjoyed by open-eared listeners." -- Scott Yanow
total 62M 16M 01 Phase.mp3 16M 02 Hilariously.mp3 18M 03 Angels And Devils.mp3 14M 04 Giblet.mp3 208K Sunny Murray Quintet.mht
"The melodic sounds of South Africa are fused with the improvisation of jazz and the technical proficiency of classical music by South Africa-born pianist Dollar Brand or, as he's called himself since converting to Islam in 1968, Abdullah Ibrahim. Since attracting international acclaim as a member of the Jazz Epistles, one of South Africa's first jazz bands, Brand has continued to explore new ground with his imaginative playing. Exposed to a variety of music as a youngster, including traditional African music, religious songs and jazz, Brand began studying piano at the age of seven. Becoming a professional musician in 1949, he performed with such South African groups as the Tuxedo Slickers and the Willie Max Big Band. Ten years later, he joined the Jazz Epistles, a group featuring trumpet player Hugh Masekela and alto saxophonist Kippi Moeketsi. The band, which had been formed in 1959 by American pianist John Mohegan for a recording session, "Jazz In Africa", had recorded the first jazz album by South African musicians.
In 1962, Brand left South Africa, with vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin, who he married in 1965, and temporarily settled in Zurich. Performing with his trio, featuring bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko, Brand was overheard by Duke Ellington at the Africana Club. Ellington was so impressed by what he heard that he arranged a recording session for Brand and the trio. The resulting album, "Duke Ellington Presents The Dollar Brand Trio", was released on the Reprise label in 1963. Brand continued to be supported by Ellington following the album's release. In addition to being booked to play, at Ellington's urging, at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965, Brand served as Ellington's substitute and performed five shows with the Ellington Orchestra the following year. Shortly afterwards, Brand disbanded the trio and accepted an invitation to join the Elvin Jones Quartet. The collaboration with Jones lasted six months. After leaving Jones' Quartet, Brand continued to be involved with a variety of projects Besides touring as a soloist in 1968, he worked with bands led by Don Cherry and Gato Barbieri. In 1983, Brand formed a septet, Ekaya.
Briefly returning to South Africa in 1976, Brand settled in New York the same year. Although he returned to South Africa to live in 1990, he continues to divide his time between his birthplace and his adopted home in New York.
In 1997, Brand collaborated on an album and tour with jazz drummer Max Roach. The following year, Swiss composer Daniel Schnyder arranged several of Brand's compositions for a twenty-two piece orchestra for a Swiss television production and for a world tour undertaken by the full-sized Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Barbara Yahr of the United States. Brand has composed the scores for such films as "Chocolat" and "No Fear No Die". - Craig Harris
"Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim has celebrated his South African heritage in music ever since being forced to emigrate from his homeland in the early 1960s. Considering that this CD was recorded in Cape Town, South Africa in 1997 and that apartheid is a thing of the past, it is not surprising that Ibrahim's music is even happier than usual. The 15 songs, all originals by the pianist, are played in a continuous performance, including some old favorites ("The Wedding" and "The Mountain") plus a few newer tunes; "Someday Soon Sweet Samba" and "African Street Parade" are particularly joyous and rousing. Ibrahim is joined by bassist Marcus McLaurine, drummer George Gray and (on three numbers) trumpeter Feya Faku, whose entry on the 7th song is somewhat jarring. Overall, this is one of Abdullah Ibrahim's best all-round sets." -- Scott Yanow
Abdullah Ibrahim's "Cape Town Revisited" captures the pianist's trio perfroming live at the Spier Estate in Capetown, South Africa, joined on three tracks by trumpeter Feya Faku. Pertinent background is that Mr. Ibrahim, born in South Africa but in self-imposed exile during apartheid, began performing in his homeland again during the 1990's. It is in this context that the CD is aptly titled "Cape Town Revisited". The joy of his homecoming is admixed throughout this CD with Mr. Ibrahim's influences from living abroad, notably that of his early mentor, Duke Ellington. There are classic, sweet jazz melodies, such as "Someday Soon Sweet Samba" pulsing with township rhythms below the melody. The three-part suite "Cape Town To Congo Square", strangely interrupted between the second and third movenmment by another track, nevertheless evokes the African cultural landscape within an easily recognizable jazz idiom that knows no boundaries. Mr. Faku's contributions add variety to the trio sound, and by the time we reach the stunning gracenotes of the last three trio only tracks, culminating with "Barakaat (The Blessing) we know that we have been blessed indeed to glimpse the musical and cultural wisdom of this stellar artist. - Amazon
"Switzerland's Alex Attias has been involved with dance music since the late ?80s, beginning as a house/funk/disco DJ who held residencies in Lausanne and eventually moved on to spin at numerous venues throughout Europe. He stepped into his first production work in the mid-?90s, first by contributing a track to a compilation called Five Star Gallery, and then by initiating the Bel-Air Project -- the outfit scored underground hits with ?Magik," ?Dark Jazzor," and ?Jazz With Altitude." By 1997, Bel-Air ceased to exist, but Attias had already started his first label (Corn-Flex) and another pair of collaborative entities (Beatless, Funkanova). Attias moved further into the jazz-inspired sector of dance music by becoming involved with broken beat, a scene centered in West London, England. Attias' relocation to England allowed for total immersion. While Beatless remained active, Attias spawned another pair of aliases -- Mustang and Catalyst -- that produced some of the broken beat scene's finest output. The Visions Inc. label was set up by Attias in 2000, which became a home for another number of the producer's affiliations; in addition to releasing Mustang productions, there were releases from Plutonia (a collaboration with Pavel Kostiuk), Vanessa Freeman, Idema & Co. and Attias' brother Stephane Attias. Visions Inc.'s first several releases were anthologized in 2002 for the full-length Alex Attias Presents the Chromatic Universe. That same year, Attias delivered an excellent broken-beat mix album for Goya Music, the first installment of The Selector Series. Attias has also worked with his brother under the Riverplate guise and has released tracks as the backwards happy Xela Saitta. - Andy Kellman
"Visions Inc. gained attention right off the bat with Mustang's "Transitions." A frantically percussive production from Alex Attias, "Transition"'s searing jets of drawn-out keyboard notes over a fractured jitter of a rhythm and clipped vocal grunts was surely one of the best 2000 releases that came from a scene begrudgingly known as broken beat. One of the primary reasons why several producers within this now-global community disdain the term is because it poorly describes much of what they're releasing. It would be understandable if Attias were among the disdainful, because only a percentage of the releases on his label through 2002 -- most of which are collected here -- feature beats that are truncated, splintered, fractured, or dislocated. Still, "broken beat" as a term is effective in disassociating the producers from tangentially related scenes that aren't/weren't as forward-looking as this one. The term also emphasizes the fact that the beat is just as key as it is in hip-hop, a field where many of these producers gain plenty of inspiration. Throughout its first three years, Visions Inc. has relied on quality over quantity and a wide spectrum of sounds. Attias is directly responsible for this range; nine of The Chromatic Universe's 12 tracks feature his involvement, whether it's through mixing or production. Xela Saitta's "Daylight," featuring twisting, feather-light vocals from Vanessa Freeman, has all the mid-morning float and glow of Ramp's song of the same name (Freeman also contributes the relatively somber but gorgeously expansive and epic "Sunrays"). Idema & Co's "Cascade" finds enough space to flaunt woodwinds, brass, and a quintet of female vocalists -- who deliver a thrilling series of "shu-bi-doo-dups" and "boo-doo-aaaas" when they're not wrapping their voices around the horns -- over a racing, unchanging rhythm. Other tracks from Plutonia, Emelda, Pavel Kostiuk, and Stephane Attias round out the disc, and most of them are tantalizing hybrids of drum'n'bass, hip-hop, and jazz-funk." -- Andy Kellman
"CHARLIE MINGUS (b. April 22, 1922, Nogales, Ariz., U.S.--d. Jan. 5, 1979, Cuernavaca, Mex.), American jazz composer, bassist, bandleader, and pianist whose work, integrating loosely composed passages with improvised solos, both shaped and transcended jazz trends of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. (see also Index: improvisation).
Mingus studied music as a child in Los Angeles and at 16 began playing bass. The foundation of his technique was laid in five years of study with a symphonic musician. After stints with Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory in the early 1940s, Mingus wrote and played for the Lionel Hampton big band from 1947 to 1948 and recorded with Red Norvo. In the early 1950s he formed his own record label and the Jazz Composer's Workshop, a musicians' cooperative, in an attempt to circumvent the commercialism of the music industry. Although he wrote his first concert piece, "Half-Mast Inhibition," when he when was seventeen years old, it was not recorded until twenty years later by a 22-piece orchestra with Gunther Schullerconducting. It was the presentation of "Revelations" which combined jazz and classical idioms, at the 1955 Brandeis Festival of the Creative Arts, that established him as one of the foremost jazz composers of his day.
Mingus drew inspiration from Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Negro gospel music, and Mexican folk music, as well as traditional jazz and 20th-century concert music. Though most of his best work represents close collaborations with improvising musicians such as trumpeter Thad Jones, drummer Dannie Richmond, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, and woodwind-player Eric Dolphy, Mingus also wrote for larger instrumentation's and composed several film scores. As a bassist, Mingus was a powerhouse of technical command and invention; he was always more effective as a soloist than as an accompanist or sideman.
The Mingus composition most frequently recorded by others is "Goodbye, Porkpie Hat," a tribute to Lester Young, and his most frequently cited extended work is "Pithecanthropus Erectus," a musical interpretation of human evolution. His volatile personality and opinions were captured in his autobiography, Beneath the Underdog, published in 1971.
He toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, Canada, South America and the United States until the end of 1977 when he was diagnosed as having a rare nerve disease, Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis. He was confined to a wheelchair, and although he was no longer able to write music on paper or compose at the piano, his last works were sung into a tape recorder. From the 1960's until his death in 1979 at age 56, Mingus remained in the forefront of American music. When asked to comment on his accomplishments, Mingus said that his abilities as a bassist were the result of hard work but that his talent for composition came from God.
Mingus received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Smithsonian Institute, and the Guggenheim Foundation (two grants). He also received an honorary degree from Brandeis and an award from Yale University. At a memorial following Mingus' death, Steve Schlesinger of the Guggenheim Foundation commented that Mingus was one of the few artists who received two grants and added: "I look forward to the day when we can transcend labels like jazz and acknowledge Charles Mingus as the major American composer that he is." The New Yorker wrote: "For sheer melodic and rhythmic and structural originality, his compositions may equal anything written in western music in the twentieth century."
He died in Mexico on January 5, 1979, and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges River in India. Both New York City and Washington, D.C. honored him posthumously with a "Charles Mingus Day. "After his death, the National Endowment for the Arts provided grants for a Mingus foundation called "Let My Children Hear Music" which catalogued all of Mingus' works. The microfilms of these works were then given to the Music Division of the New York Public Library where they are currently available for study and scholarship--a first, for jazz.
A repertory band called the Mingus Dynasty and the Mingus Big Band continue to perform his music. Recent biographies of Charles Mingus include Mingus by Brian Priestley and Mingus/Mingus by Janet Coleman and Al Young. Mingus' masterwork, "Epitaph," a composition which is more than 4000 measures long and which requires two hours to perform, was discovered during the cataloguing process. With the help of a grant from the Ford Foundation, the score and instrumental parts were copied, and the piece itself was premiered by a 30-piece orchestra , conducted by Gunther Schuller, in a concert produced by Sue Mingus at Alice Tully Hall on June 3, 1989, ten years after Mingus' death. The New Yorker wrote that "Epitaph" represents the first advance in jazz composition since Duke Ellington's "Black, Brown, and Beige," which was written in 1943. The New York Times said it ranked with the "most memorable jazz events of the decade." Convinced that it would never be performed in his lifetime, Mingus called his work "Epitaph;" declaring that he wrote it "for my tombstone." - Steve Nowak
"Charles Mingus's finest recordings of his later period are Changes One and Changes Two, two Atlantic LPs that have been reissued on CD by Rhino. The first volume features four stimulating Mingus originals ("Remember Rockefeller at Attica," "Sue's Changes," "Devil Blues" and "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love") performed by a particularly talented quintet (tenor-saxophonist George Adams who also sings "Devil Blues," trumpeter Jack Walrath, pianist Don Pullen, drummer Dannie Richmond and the leader/bassist). The band has the adventurous spirit and chancetaking approach of Charles Mingus's best groups, making this an easily recommended example of the great bandleader's music." -- Scott Yanow
"Along with its companion volume Changes One, this is one of the great sessions from one of the best working bands of the 1970s. Starting with the spirited "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi U.S.A," this volume also includes the vocal version of "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" with guest singer (and acquired taste) Jackie Paris, a remake of the classic Mingus composition "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue," Jack Walrath's "Black Bats and Poles," and Sy Johnson's "For Harry Carney." The challenging repertoire from these December 1974 dates sustained the Jazz Workshop for several years; these are the definitive performances. Rhino's reissue duplicates the original LP down to the layout." -- Stuart Kremsky
The albums Changes I and II are both in a class all to themselves. Why these albums aren't talked about more is a mystery to me, because they both contain some of the most emotional music that Mingus ever wrote. These are the classics folks and for those of us who are jazz musicians and strive to play a music that is about intensity, honesty and even madness, you can look no further for the prototype....Mingus. George Adams tenor saxophonist extraordinaire is frigin unbelievable and before these albums I'd never even heard of the guy, the things he can do on that horn can only be described as total freedom, George has no limitations to the amount of soul and the depths he can plunge, taking you the listener with him. Sax players get this album and prepare to be humbled, I'm a guitarist and even I realize an unparallel genius on a horn when I hear him. Don Pullen the keyboardist was considered a avant-garde player in his time, but I've always scratched my head and wondered why because the guy can play inside with best of them and he does on this album, with that said he's one of the few players that can keep it all together even when playing outside the harmonic framework. Needles to say Don fits perfectly and without him I don't even think these albums would have been fully realized. I purchased Changes I&II fourteen years ago and I'm still in ah of this music. - Amazon
"A brilliant pianist who has combined the bebop tradition with his Panamanian heritage, African elements, and a willingness to take chances, Danilo Perez's improvisations are fascinating to watch develop. In concert, he has been known to have his quartet improvising in four different time signatures simultaneously with surprisingly coherent results, and his originals tend to develop as they go along with surprising results. Perez started playing piano in Panama at age eight and, in 1985, moved to Boston to study at Berklee. He played with Jon Hendricks (1987) and Claudio Roditi (1988), and had a longtime association with Paquito D'Rivera. Danilo Perez gigged and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie during the trumpeter's last years, and headed several sessions as a leader for Novus and Impulse, landing at GRP for 1998's Central Avenue. Several other albums followed, including 2000's Motherland." - Scott Yanow
Panama City's Central Avenue--the major street in pianist Danilo Perez's hometown, with its Hispanic, Middle Eastern, West Indian and American population--provides the perfect multicultural metaphor for this amazing recording, which also includes drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts; bassists John Benitez and John Patitucci; tabla player Ray Spiegel; vocalist Luciana Souza; and percussionists Pernell Saturnino and Miguel "Anga" Diaz.
With his Afro-American/classically-trained pianisms, Perez does what his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, did: He uses jazz and Afro-Latin rhythms to explore the world. He moves from the east Indian/Arabic tinges of "Blues for the Saints" and "Impromptu (Conversations)"; to the sly, Argentine/Afro-Amerindian chacarera rhythms on Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life"; and lands on the Cuban shore to the ancestral anthems of the guaguanco/abakua ritual drumming on John Coltrane's "Impressions," with Sousa's airy, wordless vocals.
Perez's love of Thelonious Monk is most evident on the slow, stealth-like melody of "Love in Five." On "Panama Blues," he swings an inventive jazz arrangement on an old folk melody rendered by Panamanian country singer Raul Vital, with Aquiles Baez on the cuatro; this arrangement showcases this pianist's ever-expanding and boundary- busting imagination. - Amazon
"Danilo Perez has invited us to step onto Central Avenue to re-examine his musical heritage. His fourth album, named for the main boulevard in his native Panama City, Panama, serves up a mix of blues, folk singing and nostalgia. Perez's fresh, liberating piano reinterprets such jazz standards as Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and John Coltrane's "Impressions" by using new combinations of rhythms, tempos and instruments that ultimately spotlight his technique. Perez continues to explore the themes introduced in his previous release, Panamonk. His piano playing is now more dynamic and reflects his true virtuosity. The Rhythm in Blue Suite, which includes "Playground," "Sideways" and "Love in 5," consists of blues ballads written by Perez that are further complemented by the casual and graceful artistry of bassist John Patitucci and the impressive drumming of Jeff "Tain" Watts. Perez later showcases the vocals of Panamanian folk singer Raul Vital on "Panama Blues" in an improvisational mix of Latin-American folk and Afro-Cuban rhythms. This piece captures the essence and synthesis of Perez's creation. The result: Central Avenue is an exciting blend of musical styles that rediscover Perez's musical visions and innate rhythms...including his Latin blues." -- Paula Edelstein
"Multi-reedist Carlo Actis Dato has performed and recorded modern creative jazz since the 1970s. Over the next 30 years, he played on 50 recordings, serving as co-leader or leader on about 20 of these. An integral member of the Italian creative music scene, Dato was a co-founder of Art Studio, one of the first groups to play new jazz in Italy. He is also a member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, a project that occasionally groups together the finest in the Italian new jazz scene -- including composer and clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi and trombonist Sebi Tramontana -- which released several recordings during the 1990s, including a live double disc on Leo Records. Dato also leads his own quartet, formed in 1984, which was voted Top Italian Group by the Musica Jazz magazine in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1996, and has performed at festivals and for radio broadcasts in several European countries. The other members of Dato's quartet are bassist Enrico Fazio, drummer Fiorenzo Sordini, and reedsman Piero Ponzo. Dato also leads the reeds-only Atipico Trio and co-leads the Brasserie Trio, who also have a release on the Leo Records label. He has performed in many groups including Mama Quartet and Mitteleuropa Orchestra, and has collaborated with Georgio Gaslini, Roberto Ottaviano, Oliver Lake, Leroy Jenkins, Franz Koglmann, Pino Minafra, Mark Dresser, various members of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, and more. Dato also took part in many theater and dance performances, and taught jazz and saxophone in the Civic School of Torino and the Percstudio Music Information. At the end of the 1999, a duo recording with Kazutoki Umezu came out on Leo, entitled Wake Up With the Birds." - Joslyn Layne
"Dato's familiar routine continues to attract, and it's a testament to the quality of his performances, and to his personal perseverance, that he is able to translate his concepts to so many forums. This recording captures him live in Japan with saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu, who appears entirely comfortable on Dato's musical turf. Together, the two reed players create the mixture of Eastern European medleys, Jewish wedding music, and free jazz that has characterized Dato's work. While the sources may not be original, the product is, and fans of the saxophonist should not be disappointed. The idea of two very similar performers might sound constricting (and it sometimes is), but these two make the most of the limitations with a variety of horns; collectively, they play soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, and B-flat and bass clarinets." -- Steven Loewy
"Lisa Ono is one of the best Japanese interpreters of contemporary bossa nova. A singer, violonista (acoustic guitar player), and songwriter, she has had her albums released internationally. To date, she has recorded 12 albums (Catupiry, 1989; Nanã, 1990; Menina, 1991; Serenata Carioca, 1992; Namorada, 1993; Esperança, 1994; Minha Saudade, 1995; Rio Bossa, 1996; Essência, 1997; Bossa Carioca, 1998; Dream, 1999; and Pretty World, 2000) with special appearances by top artists like Tom Jobim, Sivuca, Paulo Moura, Danilo Caymmi, and Toots Thielemans. Having lived in Brazil until she was ten, she took advantage of her father's connections -- he was the owner of a concurred nightclub in the city of São Paulo and was Baden Powell's manager. Moving back to Japan, he opened the Saci Pererê nightclub, where Lisa Ono began to perform the Brazilian repertory, especially samba and bossa nova. She also founded the label Nanã, which promotes Brazilian music in Japan." - Alvaro Neder
"One of the great avant-garde tenors, Dewey Redman has never received anywhere near the acclaim that his son Joshua Redman gained in the 1990s, but ironically Dewey is much more of an innovative player. He began on clarinet when he was 13 and played in his high school marching band, a group that also included Ornette Coleman, Charles Moffett, and Prince Lasha. Redman was a public school teacher during 1956-1959 but, after getting his master's degree in education from North Texas State, he moved to San Francisco where he freelanced as a musician for seven years; Pharoah Sanders was among his sidemen. All of this was a prelude to his impressive association with the Ornette Coleman Quartet (1967-1974), during which Redman's tenor playing was a perfect match for Ornette's alto. Redman could play as free as the leader but his appealing tone made the music seem a little more accessible. He also worked with Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and was an important part of Keith Jarrett's greatest group, his quintet of the mid-'70s. Redman guested on Pat Metheny's notable 80/81 album and teamed up with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell in the Ornette Coleman reunion band called Old and New Dreams. Despite all of this activity and plenty of recordings (including occasional ones as a leader), Dewey Redman has yet to be fully recognized for his innovative talents. - Scott Yanow
"All one has to do is look at the personnel on this trio project (tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Elvin Jones) and it is obvious that the set is potentially special. Taylor, still the most adventurous musician in jazz at that point after 45 years, does not get grouped into all-star settings very often. However, when he does (his earlier encounter with the Art Ensemble of Chicago is an example), it is not a matter of the other musicians meeting Taylor halfway; instead, they have to be creative in his idiom. Tenorman Redman came to fame originally while playing with Ornette Coleman in the late 1960s, and for part of the time on Ornette's recordings, Jones was the drummer; however, neither Redman nor Jones had worked with Taylor before. Not every selection on this disc includes all three musicians. Jones takes a brief drum solo, Taylor has a solo feature and the final 49 seconds are taken up by the saxophonist alone. In addition, there is a duet without Taylor that works quite well. The other strong selections are the two longest trio tracks: "Nine" and the over-20 minute "Is." Redman and Taylor contributed three originals apiece while Jones was just responsible for his unaccompanied "Bekei." Although it is fun to hear Elvin Jones playing behind Cecil Taylor, and Dewey Redman is open to this type of atonal setting, there are fewer sparks on this set than one might expect. The music is unpredictable yet not all that unique or colorful and one's expectations for a truly classic affair are not quite reached. This is worth listening to, but is not essential except as a historical curiosity." -- Scott Yanow
This musical document represents a significant example of the level to which Africa has influenced European music. The quintessential European instrument, the piano, is here played percussively. The drums are played melodically, and "talk", and create a "soundscape" (witness the shimmering waves created by the cymbals of Mr Jones behind Mr Taylor during his solo on track 6) whilst the saxophone of Mr Redman mimics the human voice so important in African music. The three artists have contributed much to the development of music over the past 40 years. We owe them a debt of gratitude. This is an excellent example of their art. Although conversations prevail, the soliloquy on track two by Mr Jones has an almost perfect structure and is a powerful testimony to Afro-American drumming. We do miss something though. Just as it is a revelation to have witnessed Mr Thelonious Monk "play" the piano, so it is revelatory to visually witness the plasticity, the melding, of Mr Taylor with his instrument and with the music - dance, sculpture and sound interweave to make a more emotionally powerful experience. In the meantime, we will just have to close our eyes and imagine as we listen intently to the music on this CD. Superbly engineered by Jay Newland. Thanks to The Creative Music Institute. - Amazon
"Lou Donaldson has long been an excellent bop altoist influenced by Charlie Parker, but with a more blues-based style of his own. His distinctive tone has been heard in a variety of small-group settings, and he has recorded dozens of worthy and spirited (if somewhat predictable) sets through the years.
Donaldson started playing clarinet when he was 15, soon switching to the alto. He attended college and performed in a Navy band while in the military. Donaldson first gained attention when he moved to New York and in 1952 started recording for Blue Note as a leader. At the age of 25, his style was fully formed, and although it would continue growing in depth through the years, Donaldson had already found his sound. In 1954, he participated in a notable gig with Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver and Tommy Potter that was extensively documented by Blue Note and that directly predated the Jazz Messengers. However, Donaldson was never a member of the Messengers, and although he recorded as a sideman in the 1950s and occasionally afterwards with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson and Jimmy Smith, among others, he has been a bandleader from the mid-1950s up until the present.
Donaldson's early Blue Note recordings were pure bop. In 1958, he began often utilizing a conga player, and starting in 1961 his bands often had an organist rather than a pianist. Donaldson's bluesy style was easily transferable to soul-jazz, and he sounded most original in that context. His association with Blue Note (1952-63) was succeeded by some excellent (if now-scarce) sets for Cadet and Argo (1963-66). The altoist returned to Blue Note in 1967 and soon became caught up in the increasingly commercial leanings of the label. For a time, he utilized an electronic Varitone sax, which completely watered down his sound. The success of "Alligator Boogaloo" in 1967 led to a series of less interesting funk recordings that were instantly dated and not worthy of his talent.
However, after a few years off records, Lou Donaldson's artistic return in 1981 and subsequent soul-jazz and hard bop dates for Muse, Timeless and Milestone have found the altoist back in prime form, interacting with organists and pianists alike and showing that his style is quite timeless. - Scott Yanow
"A soul survivor in every sense of the term, this alto saxophonist is one of the few remaining jazz artists who made a major impact on the jazz community via an extensive run with producer Alfred Lion and the Blue Note label (Horace Silver being another Blue Note legend that comes to mind). From his first recordings for the label with Art Blakey?s Jazz Messengers, it was clear that Lou Donaldson put melody and sound at a premium, coming up with an amalgam that combined the creamy smoothness of Johnny Hodges with the quicksilver bop inflections of Charlie Parker.
Over the course of some 20 albums that Donaldson would cut for Blue Note beginning with his first sessions in 1953, you can trace the course of popular jazz styles, from bop inflected quintets to soul jazz organ combos. The majority of this new six disc set covers the type of bebop fare that is the core of Donaldson?s musical persona and much of this material has been available previously on compact disc, although there are a few items that could only be found previously on pricey Japanese imports.
For the record, the albums included herein are Wailing with Lou, Swing and Soul, Lou Takes Off, Blues Walk, LD + 3, The Time Is Right, Sunny Side Up, Light-Foot, Gravy Train, and Midnight Sun.
Seven of the original sessions feature Donaldson in stripped down quartet formats, with conga player Ray Barretto added on occasion. Pianist Herman Foster is a mainstay on several of these dates and he shares a strong affinity with our leading man, especially on the albums Swing and Soul and Light-Foot. Of course, the cream of the crop in this category has to be Blues Walk, a certifiable Blue Note gem with bop ditties such as ?Move? and ?Callin? All Cats? mixing beautifully with lush ballad as found on ?The Masquerade Is Over? and ?Autumn Nocturne.? Never before available in the U.S. on disc, the transcendent L.D. + 3 should be considered the sleeper of these quartet/quintet sides, with Gene Harris and the Three Sounds helping to cast a bluish hue that finds Donaldson at his most sublime. In fact, it wouldn?t be an exaggeration to suggest that this session alone is worth the price of admission.
The rest of the set finds Donaldson working with larger groups, starting with 1957?s Lou Takes Off. Strictly a blowing session, the four extended performances allow Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, and Donaldson to stretch out at length, with the rhythm section of Sonny Clark, George Joyner, and Art Taylor booting things along at a medium tempo for the most part. For Wailing With Lou, The Time Is Right, and Sunny Side Up, things revert to a quintet format that places trumpet and alto as the lead voices. The latter two albums are excellent Blue Note dates of the period that make the most of pianist Horace Parlan?s bluesy grass roots approach. Plus, trumpeters Blue Mitchell and Bill Hardman make perfect foils to Donaldson in that each has a lyrical style that meshes beautifully with altoist?s own melodic muse.
Closing this durable set and serving as a signpost of groovier things to come, namely the organ combo records that Donaldson would launch into beginning with The Natural Soul, 1960?s Midnight Sun and the following year?s Gravy Train, wrap up this set in a funky vein with Barretto (and Alec Dorsey on Gravy Train) back to add a little percussive spice. Pieces like ?Dog Walk,? ?Twist Time,? and ?Gravy Train? are modern blues numbers with just a touch of soul and a flavor that would make them jukebox classics at the time--their crossover appeal was very strong.
In typical Mosaic fashion, this set is housed in a 12 x 12 inch box (although the company now is not fastening the top and bottom sections of the box; the top simply slips on top of the bottom half). Along with the 24-bit sound in this package, a 16-page booklet includes original session photographs by Francis Wolff and commentary by Bob Blumenthal. All recordings are available solely through Mosaic Records: 35 Melrose Place; Stamford, CT 06902; (203) 327-7111. - Chris Hovan
Donaldson's career at Blue Note was a long one, but the three years covered in the new Mosaic box set - The Complete Blue Note Lou Donaldson Sessions 1957-1960 - document a time in his recording career that linked back to those seminal nights and early mornings uptown. The 12" LP allowed musicians to stretch out on longer solos the way they would on the bandstand. This set takes us from Lou's first 12" LP through 1960, when Donaldson switched his sound to a groovy organ-guitar-drums rhythm section (curiously re-discovered by a whole new set of late-night revelers as DJs everywhere re-cycle his riffs today.)
A master of bebop, Donaldson initially learned music at home. His mother was a strict disciplinarian when it came to studying piano and is responsible for the hatred of the instrument he described somewhat jokingly later in life. But she also recognized his budding talent and encouraged him to study his first wind instrument, clarinet.
More music study came later at North Carolina A&T University, and with the Navy bands he played with in the '40s. In New York, where he moved in 1950, Donaldson studied at the Darrow Institute of Music. But it was the University of Charlie Parker that provided the most important musical education as Donaldson honed his style.
His first recordings were with Milt Jackson and Thelonius Monk and as the leader of several small groups; in 1954, he and Clifford Brown worked together in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
What Donaldson brought to bop was his own lyrical interpretation. He was as fleet and on-the-spot as any of them, technically dazzling and sure-footed. But he told a coherent story that could be more satisfying to hear than even some of the style's originators. You can put on a CD of Donaldson's - or two or three - and not experience the exhaustion that sometimes results from immersing yourself in the demanding rigors of the music.
The Mosaic collection is on six CDs and covers 10 LPs with seven bonus tracks. "Swing And Soul", "Blues Walk", "Lightfoot", "Midnight Sun" and "Gravy Train" feature Lou's signature band sound with piano (usually Herman Foster), bass, drums (usually Dave Bailey) and congas (usually Ray Barretto).
Three sessions added a trumpet. "Wailing With Lou" includes Donald Byrd, "The Time is Right" adds Blue Mitchell and "Sunny Side Up" features Bill Hardman. The set also contains the "LD + 3" album which pairs Lou with The Three Sounds, and "Lou Takes Off", a fiery sextet date with Byrd, Curtis Fuller and Sonny Clark where everyone really gets a chance to stretch out. - Mosaic
"Imagine what Sonny Stitt might have sounded like had he embraced free jazz after mastering bebop, and one can probably conjure a pretty good mental impression of Jimmy Lyons. Like Stitt, Lyons was enamoured of Charlie Parker's style, particularly in terms of phrasing. Lyons' slippery, bop-derived rhythms and melodic contours lent his improvisations a Charlie "Bird" Parker-like cast, even as his performance contexts were more harmonically free. Lyons made his reputation playing with pianist Cecil Taylor, with whom he became inextricably linked. He was a near-constant presence in Taylor's bands from 1960 until the saxophonist's death in 1986. Lyons always lent an explicitly swinging element to the pianist's music, helping remind the listener most emphatically that -- regardless of how much Taylor may have been influenced by European art music -- this was unquestionably jazz.
A teenaged Lyons was given an alto sax by the clarinetist Buster Bailey, an important member of Fletcher Henderson's band in the '20s and '30s. Lyons studied with veteran big band saxophonist Rudy Rutherford, and at a young age made friends with such jazz luminaries as Elmo Hope, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk. Lyons came into his own as a professional upon his association with Taylor in 1960. With Taylor, Lyons recorded a number of landmark albums, including Cecil Taylor Live at Café Montmartre (1962), in a trio with drummer Sunny Murray; and Unit Structures (1966), in a larger band who included, significantly, drummer Andrew Cyrille. Lyons took his own bands into the studio infrequently. In 1969, he led his first session, an album entitled Other Afternoons, which was issued on the now-defunct BYG label. Beginning in 1978, he began leading record dates more often. In the years to come he would release several albums on the Hat Hut and Black Saint labels.
Like many jazz musicians, Lyons was compelled by circumstance to augment his performance income by teaching. In 1970-1971 he taught music at Narcotic Addiction Control, a drug treatment center in New York City. From 1971-1973 he served -- with Taylor and Cyrille -- as the artist in residence at Antioch College, and in 1975 he directed the Black Music Ensemble at Bennington College. Perhaps Lyons' stature as a musician is best illustrated by the fact that Taylor essentially found him irreplaceable. After Lyons, Taylor never established a similar long-standing relationship with another musician. Jimmy Lyons' premature death at the age of 52 robbed Taylor -- and avant-garde jazz in general -- of a vital, swinging, eminently creative voice." - Chris Kelsey
Add Jimmy Lyons' name to the list of under-appreciated jazz musicians. Despite several solo albums and side projects, his destiny irrevocably links him to Cecil Taylor. No other musician has a longer association with the revolutionary pianist, and no other musician seemed so intent on keeping Taylor honest jazzwise. While as fearless and inventive as anyone playing free jazz, the alto saxophonist always kept something of Charlie Parker in his playing no matter how far outside he went. That effervescent phrasing, the streaming ideas, and phrase-ending lilt made him indispensable to Taylor's Units. He was usually the most overtly playful voice in any ensemble. Where he went and how he got there remained a surprise, but the white-knuckle ride always justified the trip.
Ayler Records brings Lyons out from behind Taylor's imposing shadow with a lovingly produced 5-CD live set, each disc featuring a concert from a different year, beginning in 1972 and ending in 1985, a year before his untimely death. While the tapes were recorded casually without thought of commercial release, the performances themselves override any quibbling over sound quality. While Taylor himself is absent, Lyons surrounds himself with various Unit alumni, including William Parker, Karen Borca, and Raphe Malik.
The Jimmy Lyons Quartet recorded at Sam Rivers' Rivbea loft space in 1972 gets things started with Lyons, trumpeter Raphe Malik, drummer Sydney Smart, and bassist Hayes Burnett. On "Jump Up", Burnett sets a steady bass with Smart busily beating along. Lyons and Malik play a little tag, then Lyons plays it cool before slipping the leash and taking off. Malik takes his time over the tumultuous rhythm section, but after some nudging from Jimmy he flies into smears and runs.
Returning to Rivers' loft in 1975, Lyons and Burnett join Henry Letcher for some trio variations. On "Heritage II," Letcher stays fairly steady while Burnett and Lyons go exploring. Lyons sings in short burst phrases, launching cluster upon cluster. After extensive variations, the saxophonist moves into extended territory before coming back for many measures of sweetly voiced inventions.
Jimmy goes solo from a performance in 1981, playing mid-range and dropping to hit root notes with ease. From 1984, Karen Borca joins him on bassoon and Paul Murphy drums for "We Sneezawee." Lyons sails through the piece with Murphy right t here with him. Borca adds some accents, but during her solo she shows herself capable of replying in kind.
The concert from 1985 recovers the quartet format, again with Borca and Murphy, this time with William Parker on bass. "Shakin' Back" has Parker taking on the daunting task of creating at Jimmy's pace. Lyons eases up a bit a lets Parker lead. Borca gives no slack and takes her solo at breakneck speed.
Included in the package are rare photos and the most exhaustive biography of Lyons available. Priding itself on the quality of its unissued live performances, Ayler has added a valuable entry to the Jimmy Lyons discography. - Rex Butters in All About Jazz
"Few, if any, free jazz saxophonists have approached music with the same degree of intellectual rigor as Sam Rivers; just as few have managed to maintain a high level of creativity over a long life. Rivers plays with remarkable technical precision and a manifest knowledge of his materials. His sound is hard and extraordinarily well-centered, his articulation sharp, and his command of the tenor saxophone complete. Rivers' playing sometimes has an unremitting seriousness that can be extremely demanding, even off-putting. Nevertheless, the depth of his artistry is considerable. Rivers is as substantial a player as avant-garde jazz has produced.
Rivers' father was a church musician, touring with a gospel quartet. Rivers was raised in Chicago and then Little Rock, AR, where his mother taught music and sociology at Shorter College. He began taking piano and violin lessons at about the age of five. He later played trombone, before finally settling on the tenor. Early favorites were Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Buddy Tate. Rivers moved to Boston in 1947, where he studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music and, later, Boston University. There, he played in Herb Pomeroy's little big band, who, in the early '50s, also featured such players as Jaki Byard, Nat Pierce, Quincy Jones, and Serge Chaloff. Rivers left school in 1952. He moved to Florida for a time, then returned to Boston in 1958, where he again played with Pomeroy. Rivers became active in the local scene. He formed his own quartet with pianist Hal Galper, and played on his first Blue Note recording session with pianist/composer Tadd Dameron. In 1959, he began playing with 13-year-old Tony Williams. It was about this time that Rivers became involved in the avant-garde. He developed a free improvisation group with Williams. Perhaps befitting his educational background, Rivers approached free jazz from more of a classical perspective, in contrast to the style of his contemporary, Ornette Coleman, who came out of the blues. In the early '60s, Rivers became involved with Archie Shepp, Bill Dixon, Paul Bley, and Cecil Taylor, all members of the Jazz Composer's Guild. In 1964, Rivers moved to New York. That July, Miles Davis hired Rivers on Tony Williams' recommendation. The group played three concerts in Japan; one was recorded and the results released on an LP. In August of 1964, following the brief experience with Davis, Rivers played on Lifetime (Blue Note), Williams' first album as a leader. Later that year, Rivers led his own session for Blue Note, Fuchsia Swing Song, which documented his inside/outside approach. Rivers led four more dates for Blue Note in the '60s. In the middle part of the decade, he also recorded with Larry Young, Bobby Hutcherson, and Andrew Hill. In 1969, he toured Europe with Cecil Taylor in a band that also included Andrew Cyrille and Jimmy Lyons. In 1970, Rivers -- along with his wife, Bea -- opened a studio in Harlem where he held music and dance rehearsals. The space relocated to a warehouse in the Soho section of New York City. Named Studio Rivbea, the space became one of the most well-known venues for the presentation of new jazz. Rivers' own Rivbea Orchestra rehearsed and performed there, as did his trio and his Winds of Change woodwind ensemble. Rivers' trio of the time was a free improvisation ensemble in the purest sense. The group used no written music whatsoever, relying instead on a stream-of-consciousness approach that differed structurally from the head-solo-head style that still dominated free jazz. Much of this early- to mid-'70s music was documented on the Impulse! label.
In 1976, Rivers began an association with bassist Dave Holland. The duo recorded enough music for two albums, both of which were released on the Improvising Artists label. Opportunities to record became more scarce for Rivers in the late '70s, though he did record occasionally, notably for ECM; his Contrasts album for the label was a highlight of his post-Blue Note work. In the '80s, Rivers relocated to Orlando, FL, where he created a scene of his own. Rivers formed a new version of his Rivbea Orchestra, using local musicians who made their living playing in the area's theme parks and myriad tourist attractions. The '80s and '90s found Rivers recording albums on his own Rivbea Sound label, as well as a pair of critically acclaimed big band albums for RCA. - Chris Kelsey
"Recorded in 1964 immediately after leaving the Miles Davis Quintet, Sam Rivers' Fuchsia Swing Song is one of the more auspicious debuts the label released in the mid-'60s. Rivers was a seasoned session player (his excellent work on Larry Young's Into Somethin' is a case in point) and a former member of Herb Pomeroy's Big Band before he went out with Davis. By the time of his debut, Rivers had been deep under the influence of Coltrane and Coleman, but wasn't willing to give up the blues just yet. Hence the sound on Fuchsia Swing Song is one of an artist who is at once very self-assured, and in transition. Using a rhythm section that included Tony Williams (whose Life Time he had guested on), pianist Jaki Byard, and bassist Ron Carter, Rivers took the hard bop and blues of his roots and poured them through the avant-garde colander. Today, players like Joshua Redman, Branford Marsalis, and James Carter do it all the time, but in 1964 it was unheard of. You either played hard bop or free; Davis' entire modal thing hadn't even completely blasted off yet. The title and opening track is a case in point. Rivers opens with an angular figure that is quickly translated by the band into sweeping, bopping blues. Rivers legato is lightning quick and his phrasing touches upon Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Coleman, and Coltrane, but his embouchure is all his. He strikes the balance and then takes off on both sides of the aisle. Byard's comping is actually far more than that, building in rhythmic figures in striated minors just behind the tenor. "Downstairs Blues Upstairs" sounds, initially anyway, like it might have come out of the Davis book so deep is its blue root. But courtesy of Byard and Williams, Rivers goes to the left after only four choruses, moving onto the ledge a bit at a time, running knotty arpeggios through the center of the melody and increasingly bending his notes into succeeding intervals while shifting keys and times signatures. He never goes completely over the edge as he would on his later Blue Note dates. The most difficult cut on the date is "Luminous Monolith," with its swing-like figure introducing the melody. Eight bars in, the syncopation of the rhythm sections begins a stutter stem around the time and then the harmony with Byard building dense chords for Rivers to jump off of. On the Connoisseur Series CD (shame on Blue Note once again for making some of its best outside records "limited editions"; titles like this should be as readily available as Horace Silver's Song for My Father, but the label had been playing it ever so safe for a while and making fans buy the limited number of titles over and again) there are alternate takes of "Luminous Monolith" and three more of "Downstairs Blues Upstairs," making it a very worthwhile look at the entire session. This is a highly recommended date. Rivers never played quite like this again." -- Thom Jurek
"A harmonically advanced trumpeter/cornetist with a distinctive sound and a talented arranger/composer, Thad Jones (the younger brother of Hank and older brother of Elvin) had a very productive career. Self-taught on trumpet, he started playing professionally when he was 16 with Hank Jones and Sonny Stitt. After serving in the military (1943-46), Jones worked in territory bands in the Midwest. During 1950-53 he performed regularly with Billy Mitchell's quintet in Detroit and he made a few recordings with Charles Mingus (1954-55). Jones became well-known during his long period (1954-63) with Count Basie's Orchestra, taking a "Pop Goes the Weasel" chorus on "April in Paris" and sharing solo duties with Joe Newman. While with Basie, Jones had the opportunity to write some arrangements and he became a busy freelance writer after 1963. He joined the staff of CBS, co-led a quintet with Pepper Adams and near the end of 1965 organized a big band with drummer Mel Lewis that from February 1966 on played Monday nights at the Village Vanguard. During the next decade the orchestra (although always a part-time affair) became famous and gave Jones an outlet for his writing. He composed one standard ("A Child Is Born") along with many fine pieces including "Fingers," "Little Pixie" and "Tiptoe." Among the sidemen in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (which started out as an all-star group and later on featured younger players) were trumpeters Bill Berry, Danny Stiles, Richard Williams, Marvin Stamm, Snooky Young, and Jon Faddis, trombonists Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Knepper and Quentin Jackson, the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams and Billy Harper, pianists Hank Jones, and Roland Hanna, and bassists Richard Davis and George Mraz. In 1978 Jones surprised Lewis by suddenly leaving the band and moving to Denmark, an action he never explained. He wrote for a radio orchestra and led his own group called Eclipse. In late 1984 Jones took over the leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra but within a year bad health forced him to retire. Thad Jones recorded as a leader for Debut (1954-55), Blue Note, Period, United Artists, Roulette, Milestone, Solid State, Artists House, A&M and Metronome and many of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra's best recordings have been reissued on a five-CD Mosaic box set." - Scott Yanow
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band was one of the finest jazz orchestras of the late '60s, but its Solid State LPs had been long out of print for decades before Mosaic wisely reissued all of the music (plus seven previously unissued performances) on this deluxe but limited-edition five-CD set. With Jones' colorful and distinctive arrangements, soloists such as trumpeters Danny Stiles, Marvin Stamm, and Richard Williams; trombonists Bob Brookmeyer and Jimmy Knepper; the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Joe Farrell, Billy Harper, Eddie Daniels, and Pepper Adams; and pianists Hank Jones and Roland Hanna; plus a rhythm section driven by bassist Richard Davis and drummer Mel Lewis, this was a classic band. Highlights among the 42 performances include "Mean What You Say," "Don't Git Sassy," "Tiptoe," "Fingers," "Central Park North," and the original version of "A Child Is Born," but nearly every selection is memorable. - AMG
./THAD_JONES/COMPLETE_SOLID_STATE_RECORDINGS/VOL-1: total 111M 24M 01 - ABC Blues.mp3 11M 02 - Kids Are Pretty People.mp3 8.5M 03 - Don't Ever Leave Me.mp3 11M 04 - Once Around.mp3 11M 05 - Three And One.mp3 9.3M 06 - Balanced Scales = Justice.mp3 11M 07 - Willow Weep For Me.mp3 11M 08 - Mean What You Say.mp3 5.4M 09 - Sophisticated Lady.mp3 7.2M 10 - Willow Tree.mp3 4.7M 11 - Hawaii.mp3 ./THAD_JONES/COMPLETE_SOLID_STATE_RECORDINGS/VOL-2: total 98M 20M 01 - Little Pixie.mp3 13M 02 - A-That's Freedom.mp3 18M 03 - Second Race.mp3 9.4M 04 - Willow Tree.mp3 8.9M 05 - Quietude.mp3 14M 06 - Bachafillen.mp3 9.0M 07 - Lover Man.mp3 7.5M 08 - Mornin' Reverend.mp3 ./THAD_JONES/COMPLETE_SOLID_STATE_RECORDINGS/VOL-3: total 92M 23M 01 - Samba Con Getchu.mp3 8.9M 02 - Willow Tree.mp3 14M 03 - Don't Git Sassy.mp3 13M 04 - Say It Softly.mp3 9.1M 05 - Mornin' Reverend.mp3 12M 06 - Kids Are Pretty People.mp3 14M 07 - Second Race.mp3 ./THAD_JONES/COMPLETE_SOLID_STATE_RECORDINGS/VOL-4: total 103M 24M 01 - St. Louis Blues.mp3 11M 02 - Waltz You Swang For Me.mp3 18M 03 - Central Park North.mp3 17M 04 - Jive Samba.mp3 7.6M 05 - Quietude.mp3 11M 06 - Big Dipper.mp3 8.4M 07 - Tow Away Zone.mp3 9.6M 08 - Groove Merchant.mp3 ./THAD_JONES/COMPLETE_SOLID_STATE_RECORDINGS/VOL-5: total 86M 9.6M 01 - Consummation.mp3 9.7M 02 - Dedication.mp3 13M 03 - Tiptoe.mp3 5.8M 04 - It Only Happens Every Time.mp3 20M 05 - Fingers.mp3 6.7M 06 - Us.mp3 7.7M 07 - A Child is Born.mp3 15M 08 - Ahunk Ahunk.mp3
" Arguably the greatest jazz drummer of all time, the legendary Buddy Rich exhibited his love for music through the dedication of his life to the art. His was a career that spanned seven decades, beginning when Rich was 18 months old and continuing until his death in 1987. Immensely gifted, Rich could play with remarkable speed and dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal lesson and refused to practice outside of his performances.
Born Bernard Rich to vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich on September 30, 1917, the famed drummer was introduced to audiences at a very young age. By 1921, he was a seasoned solo performer with his vaudeville act, "Traps the Drum Wonder." With his natural sense of rhythm, Rich performed regularly on Broadway at the age of four. At the peak of Rich's early career, he was the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world.
Rich's jazz career began in 1937 when he began playing with Joe Marsala at New York's Hickory House. By 1939, he had joined Tommy Dorsey's band, and he later went on to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. Rich was regularly featured in Jazz at the Philharmonic during the late 1940s. He also appeared in such Hollywood films as Symphony of Swing (1939), Ship Ahoy (1942) and How's About It (1943).
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rich toured with his own bands and opened two nightclubs, Buddy's Place and Buddy's Place II. Both clubs were regularly filled to capacity by fans of the great master drummer. After opening Buddy's Place II, Rich introduced new tunes with elements of rock into his repertoire, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his audience's changing tastes and establishing himself as a great rock drummer.
Known for his caustic humor, Rich was a favorite on several television talk shows including the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the Mike Douglas Show, the Dick Cavett Show and the Merv Griffin Show. During these appearances, audiences were entertained by Rich's constant sparring with the hosts and his slights of various pop singers.
This famed musician received outstanding recognition throughout his career. The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame Award, the Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame Award and the Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award are just a few of his numerous honors. Rich gained international attention for such master compositions as his 10-minute West Side Story medley. During his lengthy career, Rich toured around the globe, performing for millions of fans and several world leaders including the King of Thailand, King Hussein of Jordan the Queen of England, and U.S. presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. Longtime friend, Frank Sinatra, spoke a touching eulogy at Rich's funeral. Today, Buddy Rich is remembered as one of history's greatest musicians. According to jazz legend Gene Krupa, Rich was "The greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath." - www.buddyrich.com
"Although the title of this reissue is not necessarily accurate (Buddy Rich's 1966 big band was a stronger unit), this is a high-quality jazz album. Rich surprisingly does not solo much (just on Chick Corea's ?Fiesta") but the material is strong, the arrangements (by Mike Abene, Frank Perowsky, Tom Boros, Barry Keiner and Barry Mintzer) are colorful and the soloists are excellent. The 15-piece Buddy Rich big band features Steve Marcus on tenor and soprano, Gary Bribek on tenor, pianist Barry Keiner and trumpeter Dean Pratt and the songs include inventive versions of ?Birdland," ?Bouncin' With Bud" and Horace Silver's ?Cape Verdean Blues." The only weak point to this set is that the playing time is only around 40 minutes since this is a straight reissue of a former Lp. Recommended." -- Scott Yanow
This undeniably IS a GREAT album! It was originally issued on a direct-to-disc vinyl LP as "Buddy Rich 1978" on the Gryphon label (I still have a copy). The quality of the original was amazing and the remastering to digital was done very well here, resulting in a feel like you're sitting in the sax section when you crank it up! GREAT! The re-title on the CD came from Buddy's proclamation on the original record jacket. (It's also included as the first tracks on "Big Band Jazz," which combines Buddy with Woody Herman. Many Rich fans might argue that this WAS his "best band..." (The "Mercy,Mercy" band would be MY choice), but it was probably his best, most rock-solid RHYTHM SECTION ever. Tommy Warrington on bass and Barry Keiner on keys are excellent! In fact, one of the best tracks on the album is not an actual chart, but a head arrangement of Chick Corea's "La Fiesta," with just the two of them and Buddy! (Great all the way through). To be sure, there are great musicians here (as in ALL Rich bands): Steve Marcus & Greg Smith in the saxes, Chuck Schmidt, Dean Pratt & Danny Hayes in the trumpets and Dale Kirkland in the bone section stand out...but the charts and quality playing, combined with superb sound quality are what makes this a real treasure. - Amazon
Pianist Mike Abene's arrangemnt of "Birdland" inspired every high-school jazz band in the country to try it, too. And there are Bud Powell's classic, "Bouncin' With Bud" and Horace Silver's "Cape Verdean Blues," both done impeccably. Also former saxophonist with the band, Barry Mintzer, contributed an original, "Funk City Ola," which is just about everything its title implies...fun all the way!
Just about the cleanest, best-sounding big-band jazz album you'll ever hear (and of COURSE some of the best big-band DRUMMING), I would include this in your MUST-HAVE collection!
total 103M 6.2M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 01 - Homecoming, Jingle Bells.mp3 6.8M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 02 - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.mp3 5.4M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 03 - Joy to the World.mp3 9.4M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 04 - Away in a Manger.mp3 8.1M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 05 - Winter Wonderland.mp3 11M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 06 - O Little Town of Bethlehem.mp3 6.5M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 07 - What Child Is This (Greensleeves.mp3 6.7M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 08 - To Us Is Given.mp3 6.7M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 09 - O Tannenbaum.mp3 9.1M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 10 - Silent Night.mp3 7.4M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 11 - Cantos para Pedir las Posadas.mp3 7.1M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 12 - Run, Run, Run to Bethlehem.mp3 5.6M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 13 - Farewell, Jingle Bells.mp3 8.3M Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas - 14 - The Christmas Song.mp3
"In 1958 Dave Brubeck's Quartet, one of the most popular jazz groups in the world, played 80 concerts in 14 countries during a three-month period. To salute the marathon road trip, the pianist/leader composed six songs for a new recording (which is now out on this CD). "Nomad" and "Brandenburg Gate" are the best-known originals but all of the other selections are equally enjoyable, featuring fine solos from Brubeck and altoist Paul Desmond." -- Scott Yanow
If Brubeck made any whole albums back in his heyday that hold up better than this one, I haven't heard them. I have owned this one for a few years now, and liking has turned to loving it. Everything is a Quartet original composition, recorded after they returned from a long tour of England and the Middle East and even, can you believe it here in 2002, Afghanistan. All four musicians get good solo time on this CD, but drummer Joe Morello really shines. This came out on record just before his smash hit "Take Five" and it complements the latter collection excellently. If you are interested in Dave Brubeck, don't skip this one. It is under 40 minutes, and many people are reluctant to buy CD's that don't come closer to using up the whole 70-plus minutes available. I used to be that way too, until I found I owned too many 60-minute CD's with 20 minutes of tedium in them. Just buy this darn great jazz album, and play it twice every time instead of once, and you'll be hearing 80 minutes of fascinating stuff! - Amazon
"This CD, a straight reissue of the original LP, contains 11 songs written for the soundtrack of the long-forgotten television series Mr. Broadway. It pays tribute to New York in a more abstract way than Jazz Impressions of Japan celebrated Japan for Brubeck had to concern himself with having the music fit in with the show. In general these themes and the melodic improvisations of Brubeck and altoist Paul Desmond hold their own without the show although none of the songs became standards." -- Scott Yanow
I first heard this album in college in 1966. I instantly fell in love with the quartet and their music. Of course, I went out and bought the platter. And while I've heard much of Dave's music since, this recording is still my favorite. I've been humming the songs from Jazz Impressions of New York for 35 years, and I've never grown tired of them. Dave's piano is understated, allowing Paul's sax to really shine, while the bass and drums fill out the sound exquisitely. The music is crisp, and after 37 years, it's still current. It really captures the many moods and faces of New York. I plan to hold onto this album and remember the New York that was, and still is. By the way, after thinking about it for a long time, I broke down and bought the CD last month. It's great. But I still have the vinyl version. - Amazon
"Dave Brubeck has had a strikingly original style ever since he appeared on records, avoiding the usual Bud Powell runs and instead expressing his training in classical music and his interest in polyrhythms and polytonality while never forgetting to swing. On his first solo piano record, Brubeck not only plays quite well but introduces such new compositions as "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "One Moment Worth Years" in addition to performing a remake of "The Duke."" -- Scott Yanow
Hopefully, the reappearance of this revelatory 1956 record will force many critics and musicians to reconsider Brubeck's stature in the world of jazz piano. Recorded late at night in his Oakland, California, home, it was Brubeck's first full solo-piano recording and also his first all-original record, and it illustrates his marvelously elegant fusion of classical and cocktail conceptions. Brubeck understands blues and swing, but he uses these elements as tools for effect, not as default settings. Brubeck instead offers a fuller palette of emotions and ideas--playful, sober, stern, happy, pensive, cerebral. While "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke" have become standards, the album includes obscure gems such as the minisuite "Two-Part Contention," with its many tempo, mood, and stylistic turns, and the discreetly swinging "Walkin' Line," although he lapses into melodrama with "Weep No More." Still, on "The Duke" (originally titled "The Duke Meets Darius Milhaud"), it's fascinating to hear how easily and smoothly he fits all 12 scale notes into his opening bass figure. As he himself points out in the brilliant original notes (reprinted here), the marriage of European music and American music dates back to New Orleans jazzmen such as King Oliver. And to dismiss any notions of intellectualism in jazz would be a great insult to everyone from Oliver to Charlie Parker to John Lewis to Bill Evans to Sun Ra. This is the jazz of Brubeck's own experience, and while it may sound too poised and polished for some tastes, it is honestly his and must be viewed as such. - Amazon
"One of the most accessible of all jazz pianists, Gene Harris' soulful style (influenced by Oscar Peterson and containing the blues-iness of a Junior Mance) was immediately likable and predictably excellent. After playing in an Army band (1951-1954), he formed a trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy which was, by 1956, known as the Three Sounds. The group was quite popular, and recorded regularly during 1956-1970 for Blue Note and Verve. Although the personnel changed and the music became more R&B-oriented in the early '70s, Harris retained the Three Sounds name for his later Blue Note sets. He retired to Boise, ID, in 1977, and was largely forgotten when Ray Brown persuaded him to return to the spotlight in the early '80s. Harris worked for a time with the Ray Brown Trio and led his own quartets in the years to follow, recording regularly for Concord and heading the Phillip Morris Superband on a few tours; 1998's Tribute to Count Basie even earned a Grammy nomination. While awaiting a kidney transplant, he died on January 16, 2000, at the age of 66." - Scott Yanow
Since the start of his career in the mid-1950s, pianist Gene Harris has been stereotyped as a soul-jazz pianist by virtue of his influential work with the Three Sounds, which helped define the genre until the group's breakup in 1970. But Harris's playing, while enormously soulful, funky, and gospel-flavored, has always been much more than just that one style. Recorded live in December 1998, Alley Cats captures his topnotch band live in full flight at Seattle's Jazz Alley with guests Red Holloway on tenor sax, Ernie Watts on alto sax, Jack McDuff on organ, and Harris's daughter Niki on vocals. The opening cut, a funkified version of the Crusaders' "Put It Where You Want It," is what listeners have come to expect from Harris, a rollicking workout that shows off his blues-inflected playing to delightful effect. From there the album reveals some of the pianist's other colors, from the Afro-Caribbean beat of "Magic Lady" to Benny Golson's down-home "Blues March" and Watts's bebop tip to Charlie Parker, "Bird's Idea." Jack McDuff's solo on Harris's swinging "Walkin' with Zach," and Niki Harris's moving rendition of "You've Changed" only further the evidence that these were indeed a couple of red-hot nights in Seattle. - AMazon
"Too many artists have gone their entire careers without providing any live albums, but that hasn't been a problem for Gene Harris whose live recordings from the 1980s and 1990s ranged from unaccompanied solo piano to big-band dates. Arguably, the best live album he gave listeners in the 1990s was Alley Cats; recorded live at Jazz Alley in Seattle on December 11-12, 1998, this CD finds Harris' working quintet (Harris on piano, Frank Potenza on guitar, Luther Hughes on bass, and Paul Kreibich on drums) joined by such accomplished soloists as Red Hollywood (tenor sax), Ernie Watts (alto and tenor sax), and Jack McDuff (organ). Many inspired moments occur, and a 65-year-old Harris really goes that extra mile on gems ranging from Nat Adderley's "Jive Samba" and Benny Golson's "Blues March" to Joe Sample's "Put It Where You Want It" (which, in the 1970s, was introduced by the Crusaders before being covered by the Average White Band). A talented but underexposed singer (underexposed in the 1990s, anyway) who has recorded R&B albums but is quite capable of handling jazz, Harris' daughter Niki Harris is featured on earthy performances of "You've Changed," "Please Give Me Someone to Love," and "Guess Who." McDuff, meanwhile, brings his gritty, down-home Hammond B-3 to two songs: Eddie Harris' "Listen Here" and Gene Harris' "Walkin' With Zach." Soul-jazz enthusiasts will definitely want this excellent CD." -- Alex Henderson
"Before Milt Jackson, there were only two major vibraphonists: Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo. Jackson soon surpassed both of them in significance and, despite the rise of other players (including Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton), still won the popularity polls throughout the decades. Jackson (or "Bags" as he was long called) was at the top of his field for 50 years, playing bop, blues, and ballads with equal skill and sensitivity.
Milt Jackson started on guitar when he was seven, and piano at 11; a few years later, he switched to vibes. He actually made his professional debut singing in a touring gospel quartet. After Dizzy Gillespie discovered him playing in Detroit, he offered him a job with his sextet and (shortly after) his innovative big band (1946). Jackson recorded with Gillespie, and was soon in great demand. During 1948-1949, he worked with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. After playing with Gillespie's sextet (1950-1952), which at one point included John Coltrane, Jackson recorded with a quartet comprised of John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke (1952), which soon became a regular group called the Modern Jazz Quartet. Although he recorded regularly as a leader (including dates in the 1950s with Miles Davis and/or Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, and Ray Charles), Milt Jackson stayed with the MJQ through 1974, becoming an indispensable part of their sound. By the mid-'50s, Lewis became the musical director and some felt that Bags was restricted by the format, but it actually served him well, giving him some challenging settings. And he always had an opportunity to jam on some blues numbers, including his "Bags' Groove." However, in 1974, Jackson felt frustrated by the MJQ (particularly financially) and broke up the group. He recorded frequently for Pablo in many all-star settings in the 1970s, and after a seven-year vacation, the MJQ came back in 1981. In addition to the MJQ recordings, Milt Jackson cut records as a leader throughout his career for many labels including Savoy, Blue Note (1952), Prestige, Atlantic, United Artists, Impulse, Riverside, Limelight, Verve, CTI, Pablo, Music Masters, and Qwest. He died of liver cancer on October 9, 1999, at the age of 76." - Scott Yanow
"Vibraphonist Milt Jackson and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane make for a surprisingly complementary team on this 1959 studio session, their only joint recording. With fine backup by pianist Hank Jones, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Connie Kay, Bags and Trane stretch out on two of Jackson's originals (including "The Late Late Blues") and three standards: a romping "Three Little Words," "The Night We Called It a Day," and the rapid "Be-Bop." This enjoyable music has been included as part of Rhino's Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box." -- Scott Yanow
Milt Jackson and John Coltrane complement one another marvelously in this collection of quintet recordings from 1959. The rhythm trio features Hank Jones on piano, assisted by Paul Chambers on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Jackson is here in familiar territory with a group that isn't far from MJQ. The differences are Coltrane and the interplay. The disc commences with a bonus track, the standard "Stairway to the Stars." Here is Coltrane in his best ballad form, excercising restraint and what is as close to lyrical as he gets. Milt Jackson spins his filligrees, nets of sound, as usual, and Coltrane answers seemingly from a distance, with clarity. The next track is Bags' "The Late Late Blues," a simple theme that Coltrane explores in his legendary sheets of sound. His clarity is such that you can hear the patterns evolve within the sheet. Paul Chambers' bass is prominent both in its steady line and in solo. "Bags & Trane" begins with a simple call and response. Bags' intricate solo is followed by Trane's brief statement, again exemplary of his improvisational skill. Hank Jones piano solo proceeds Paul Chambers' arco solo followed by traded breaks by Bags and Trane. "Three Little Words" is a mid-tempo tune that cooks. It begins with Bags' statement of the theme and then Trane establishes the groundwork for his solo and goes to the invention--arabesque variations built on the theme. Trane's solo here is exemplary--worth studying for insights into his method. Jackson's extended solo illustrates his inventiveness and Hank Jones continues into traded fours between Trane, Connie Kay, and Bags. Which leads one to extoll Connie Kay's gifts. Here is a consumate professional at work. He is delicate and tasteful when necessary, but he swings explosively as well. "The Night We Called It a Day" is a quiet ballad, but Jackson's lyrical solo and Coltrane's lengthy invention are masterful. Again, Trane's solo is an object lesson in his method. But these guys can blow the roof off. That's apparent in Dizzy Gillespie's "Be-Bop" where Bags starts off at breakneck speed and Coltrane blows hard and quick--probably the only tenor player aside from Johnny Griffin who blows as hard and fast as Bird with coherence. This is sheets of sound--a style that can become "cerebral" that euphimism for boring when you want your jazz visceral. The Jones solo arrives apace with Chambers and Kay cooking in the background down to Bags and Trane trading breaks. Cerebral doesn't happen here. A hard bop classic. The remaining tracks, "Blues Legacy" and "Centerpiece" follow suit. The first is a simple call and response blues riff with some gigantic solos. The last is an old favorite of mine, but despite Bags' wonderful solo it doesn't have Annie Ross, alas. Nevertheless, this is a very good CD. Highly recommended, too. - Amazon
"Born December 15, 1911 in Wichita, Kansas, Stanley Newcomb Kenton grew up in Los Angeles, California. Sometime around the age of 8, his mother, Stella, a traditionally-trained musician noticed her son's irrepressible aptitude for the piano and became his first teacher.
It wasn't long, however, before she realized he was graced with more than a natural gift for the keyboard and arranged for him to take lessons on the trumpet and alto saxophone from a local school bandmaster, who quickly noticed his ambitious, lanky protege had a talent to be reckoned with.
It soon became apparent to everyone young Stanley came in contact with that the intricacies of harmony, theory and counterpoint came easily to him and that he had no trouble at all assimilating and elaborating upon the imaginative and unorthodox constructions used by the leading European Impressionists of the day; Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schonberg and Igor Stravinsky, all of whom he later celebrated in many of his own classically-inspired compositions: 'Theme For Sunday,' 'Sunset Tower,' 'Concerto To End All Concertos.'
Upon graduation from Bell High School he worked during the day as a rehearsal pianist in dance halls and theaters. At night he paid his dues in a succession of after-hours bars, clip joints and five dollar-a-night speakeasies prevalent throughout the depression-era southwest until he was able to assemble his own 14-piece orchestra in June of 1941. A dominant characteristic of this relatively small Kenton Orchestra was the choppy, staccato manner of phrasing that was especially noticeable in the writing for the reed section. In retrospect this continues to emerge as one of the most readily identifiable of all the Kenton ensembles. His early piano voicings, slightly reminiscent of ones used by the great percussion pianist, Earl 'Fatha' Hines, gradually found their own distinctive style when he reshaped his chord patterns and began adding augmented and diminished 5ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, which began showing up in his arrangements.
Much of the original library, written by Stan, permanently changed the sound of big bands. Fiery, stratospheric brass, punctuated by explosive Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms pushed the time sequences to Mach One and became a hallmark of the Kenton Orchestra. As cerebral a band leader as popular music has ever had, Kenton loved giving his sounds titles. He called the first sound 'Artistry In Rhythm' which he stayed with for the next seven years. Then, without any advance notice, he broke up the Band and spent the next six months orchestrating a new sound which he called 'Progressive Jazz. ' It was as though he had heard other bands catching up with him and had determined to move even further out. The rhythms were wilder, the voicings of the saxophone and trumpet sections more frenetic, the melody and the beat more obscure. It was during this time that Kenton added maracas, bongo and conga drums and the unique finger-style Spanish guitar of Brazilian-born Laurindo Almeida to the Orchestra. Without a doubt his long-term fascination with South America produced some of his most colorful and durable music, notably 'Cuban Fire' written by Johnny Richards in 1956.
By 1948 the compositions he had written for 5 trumpets, 5 trombones, 5 saxophones and 4 rhythm had become an arresting, dominant force in contemporary music. Jazz aficionados from Southern California's Balboa Beach Rendezvous Ballroom to New York City's famed, subterranean Jazz club, Birdland, became enamored with the Orchestra's roaring, precision sound and helped make it one of the most successful attractions in the entertainment industry. In June of that year he filled the Hollywood Bowl with 15,000 people and sold out a midnight Carnegie Hall performance which included 300 seats placed on stage alongside the Orchestra in an effort to help accommodate the overflow.
Long before the Rock phenomena overtook the United States the Kenton Orchestra was obligated to keep moving to larger venues in order to accommodate its ever increasing number of enthusiasts who thought nothing about traveling hundreds of miles in order to listen to the band for just one short, exhilarating evening. In 1953, when the Band was playing its first European tour but was unable to work in England, the London Melody Maker arranged for the chartering of a dozen planes, as well as a special Kenton boat excursion across the Irish sea, that took jazz-starved fans to Dublin. More than half the audience of 7000 that jammed the Royal Theatre there had come over from England at a cost to many of two or three weeks' salary.
Critics on the other hand either loved or hated the 'Artistry In Rhythm' Orchestra. More often than not they were venomous in their cheeky critiques of the imaginative shoulder-shaking arrangements Stan and his young alter ego and protégé, composer/arranger Pete Rugolo kept adding to the library each time the band went out on the long road tours that wound throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and in and out of the capitals of Europe. Paradoxically, experts who had spent much of their time castigating Kenton's and Rugolo's early efforts to break the time barrier later rarely acknowledged they had incorporated off-beat meters into jazz long before Don Ellis took up the quest.
It was while the Orchestra was in England during the 1956 tour (the Kenton Orchestra was the first American entertainment group permitted by the British Musicians Union to tour that fabled land of Kings and legends since World War II), that Stan scored several original sequences for the Sadler Wells Ballet Company, along with composing the music for a grandiloquent ballet, featuring the Russe de Monte Carlo Company, commemorating Grace Kelly's Royal wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Upon his return to the United States he learned he was the 3rd member to be elected to the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame; an honor established for outstanding musicians who had contributed the most to Contemporary American Music in the 20th Century. Subsequently he won the Playboy Jazz Poll in the leader category six times and Grammy Awards for 'West Side Story,' 'Adventures in Jazz' and 'Adventures In Time.'
Kenton's boundless energy and determination to experiment (one of his detractors referred to it as an 'ecclesiastical obsession') with a mosaic of complex musical architecture and odd meters enabled the Orchestra to continually broaden its creative horizons. Over the years, it also cost him a cadre of fans who felt confused and betrayed when he steadfastly refused to honor their requests to play 'Concerto To End All Concertos', 'Eager Beaver,' 'Interlude,' 'Lover,' 'Opus In Pastels' and 'Minor Riff;' all the inventive, crowd-pleasing scores (using flatted fifths, sevenths, ninths and elevenths long before the Bop Era began tearing it up along New York City's famed 52nd Street) that had set the Kenton Orchestra a millennium apart from the more bouncy, 'lickety-split' sound of bands synonymous with the Swing Era.
On more than one occasion Stan drolly confided to friends: "I've lunged too far ahead! I've been told, and I believe it, if I had stayed with 'Artistry In Rhythm' and not moved so quickly into another phase, 'Progressive Jazz,' we would have had the biggest commercial success of any band the country had ever known and I probably would have been a millionaire many times over. I also would have been bored out of my skull and no doubt ended up on some 'pillow farm' somewhere high atop the Hollywood Hills."
Anyone who was following the band at this time knew he was sincere about continuing to seek out new and innovative ways to make the Orchestra sound as exciting and contemporary as possible. In the summer of 1950 he added a full string section, along with oboes, French horns and bassoons to the basic 'Progressive Jazz' setup which increased the Orchestra's complement of 19 sidemen to 44 (outfitted in formal wedding attire); commissioned a program of classical, impressionistic compositions fused with Jazz harmonies to be written and titled it 'Innovations In Modern Music.' If Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud had seemingly been working to bridge the gap from classical music to Jazz, Kenton and his arranging staff seemed to be working on the same bridge, proceeding from the Jazz side of the crevasse.
This provocative next step along the Orchestra's musical continuum, although hailed as a critical success, was a financial failure. Nonetheless it clearly demonstrated Stan Kenton's unerring ability to meld symphonic elements with contemporary Jazz. It also served as an incubator for a vast repertoire of classical concert pieces that continually flowed into the library for the next 30 years and was a showcase for a legion of extremely talented musicians.
Two decades later he again combined the 'New Era In Modern Music' 19-piece Jazz Orchestra with acres of strings, French horns, woodwinds, flutes and a megatherian timpani section. 'The Neophonic Orchestra' as it was rather pedantically mislabeled, played to capacity, standing-room-only audiences at the Los Angeles Music Center where it received high acclaim from a responsive audience comprised of Kenton enthusiasts, musicians, musical educators, the media (even Leonard Feather gave it a glowing review) and people who just loved to listen to great music.
However, due to enormous financial constraints and the transcontinental nightmare involved with moving such a husky organization from city to city, the Neophonic Orchestra was disbanded after less than a dozen performances. It also was the catalyst that ended his 25-year relationship with Capitol Records who, for some inexplicable reason, refused to record the Orchestra live at the Music Center. The one album that was recorded in a studio setting hardly captured any of the driving intensity and flashing solo work which brought the audience to its feet after each number.
In the summer of 1960, while the Orchestra was in residence at Indiana University at one of the many week-long music camps Stan conducted for young students from colleges across the country, he became disenchanted with the sound the Kenton Orchestra was projecting and at Gene Roland's urging decided to add an additional five E-flat trumpets to the five B-flat section. After determining that a brace of ten trumpets fell far short of capturing the kaleidoscope of rich tonal colors he was seeking he and composer Johnny Richards, who headed up his arranging staff during the late 1950s and 1960s, worked closely with Conn Instrument to develop a new instrument: the Mellophonium.
A brass instrument, keyed in F, which slightly resembles an unbent French horn, the mellophonium picked-up a spectrum of sound that had lain virtually untouched between the trumpets and trombones. With a range a fifth below that of the trumpets the mellophoniums gave the ensemble passages a sonorous richness never before heard or anticipated. On March 29, 1961 the 'New Era In Modern Music' Orchestra - built around a mellophonium library of Kenton, Holman, Richards, Niehaus and Roland scores - was premiered at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. An early indication of its success was revealed when hotel management swiftly changed the room's tables and chairs to smaller ones following the first set in order to double the occupancy and send the whirr of the bar's cash register into quadruple over-time.
After three years of touring and eleven rather diverse recordings, including a Christmas album and an album of country & western songs done in collaboration with cowboy singer Tex Ritter, both of which employed just the 14-piece brass and rhythm sections, Stan became restless and decided once again to alter the Band's format by abandoning the 4-man mellophonium section and reworking the 'New Era In Modern Music' Orchestra setup.
As expected, this new configuration of 5 trumpets, 5 trombones, 5 saxophones and 4 rhythm underwent a series of Kenton-inspired changes. The trombone section, comprised of 3 tenor and 2 bass trombones, was enhanced by one of the bass trombonists doubling on tuba which gave the section a brooding; medieval sound.
The saxophone section, built around the lead alto, was complemented by two tenors, a baritone and bass sax. By anchoring all the bass instruments firmly beneath the lead alto and trumpets Stan and his arrangers were able to create a new 'Adventure in Jazz:' a descriptive title he later used on several albums to define this extremely productive musical period marked by over 350 fiercely original compositions.
"By adding more bass to the bottom line we were able to stabilize it and keep the ensemble work from fragmenting as the trumpets soared in the upper registers," he explained during a lengthy interview with TIME Magazine just before leaving on an extended tour of the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.
"We also made the bass player responsible for maintaining the time pattern, which in turn enabled the drummer to work at a different level so he could turn the beat around and back on top again using two, huge 28" Zildjian ride cymbals and a variety of very sharply-tuned snare drum patterns to make damn certain everyone knew where 'One' was at all times.
"No easy task, " he laughed, "Hell, in one Holman concert arrangement Willis changed time signatures four times! Talk about staying focused for nine and a half minutes; I was afraid to breathe for fear I'd drop a beat and all hell would break loose!"
An iconoclast of the first degree, Stan always believed in looking to the future. In fact, one of his often heard comments to the band was: "Never look back. It's lost energy." He abhorred nostalgia and reminiscing about the past which, no doubt, accounted for his refusal to play any request which was not in the library other than his theme, 'Artistry In Rhythm,' 'Peanut Vendor' and 'Intermission Riff'.
As far as Stan was concerned the long, historic road the Kenton Orchestra had traveled for close to four decades was not to be tampered with. It is also generally agreed that it was the arranging staff under his ever discerning leadership who kept urging the Orchestra to keep moving forward and conquer a brave new world of dazzling harmonies, intricate time changes and maddeningly demanding ensemble shifts. Although much of the library was a showcase for original writing, the Kenton Orchestra demonstrated time and again it was in a class by itself when it came to sculpting ballads with impeccable taste and sensitivity.
Stan's sensuous arrangement of 'Street of Dreams' and Dee Barton's poignant and haunting constructions within 'Here's That Rainy Day' are but two of the timeless standards that made the Kenton Orchestra a favored attraction at over 1500 college and university alumni homecomings and proms. Time and again, couples would come up to him and say: "We fell in love dancing to 'I'm Glad There Is You, ' " or "Our son was conceived one evening listening to 'Moonlight In Vermont. ' " Although these intimate revelations secretly pleased him they also embarrassed him beyond words. More often than not, he would mumble a quick 'Thank You', turn aside and beat a hasty retreat back to the bandstand.
Another important dimension to this Orchestra, the last Stan led before his untimely death in 1979 from an aneurysm he incurred during a fall in Philadelphia, was his and Bill Holman's implementation of their intricate 'hidden note concept.'
Simply stated, he and Holman ascertained that if a given set of chord sequences was meticulously, precisely arranged a heretofore silent note would 'glide-in' and be heard deep within the primary chord. The immense power unleashed by this dazzling discovery produced lush cascades of orchestral sound that one music critic poetically referred to as 'Kenton's sweet sound of thunder.'
During their 3-week long engagement at Basin Street East in New York City another critic wrote: "Last night the excitement and energy generated by the Stan Kenton Orchestra blew the west wall of Basin Street East 15 feet into the kitchen area! "Never before has a big band displayed such an enthusiastic command of its library! I urge you to see Stan Kenton's dynamic musical centurions in action. It's an evening, I assure you, you'll long remember."
nterestingly enough, the prodigious output of original compositions and arrangements written by Stan, Dee Barton, Hank Levy, Bill Holman, Ken Hanna, Gene Roland, Johnny Richards and numerous other arrangers, who were quite willing to help him push the creative edge as far as they dared, continue to be employed as teaching aids in many of the major universities and music schools throughout this country and Western Europe.
Especially interesting to musical educators is the effortless manner in which the Kenton arranging staff deftly tempered a stunning array of iridescent harmonies against such complex and formidable time meters as 5/4, 7/4, 12/8 (divided 3+3+2+2+2+2), 13/8, 14/8 (divided 2+2+3+3+2+2), 6/8 and 9/8.
Many also consider the trombone choral patterns worked out by Stan in collaboration with lead trombonist Bob Fitzpatrick established a creative milestone that has been slavishly imitated yet never equaled. Night after night, Fitzpatrick's big, buoyant lead notes opened up a blazing doorway for the rest of the Orchestra to stride through and gallantly march across a musical landscape that was ever evolving. There would be no turning back. Ever!
Believed to one of the most creative Jazz artists to have arrived in the last 50 years (even his most vocal critics agreed he was a brilliant composer and arranger), Stan Kenton has left us with a musical legacy that quite possibly will never be equaled. At least not in our lifetime.
Even now, 20 years after his death (August 25, 1979) his music is as fresh and imaginative as the day it was first performed. What's more, the undeniable 'Kenton Touch' graces each of the more than 2500 scores written for the Orchestra by Stan and the two dozen or more extremely talented composers and arrangers whose list of musical credits reads like a Who's Who of the Jazz World." - 52ndstreet.com
"Enthusiasts of jazz innovator Stan Kenton (piano/arranger) have long heralded Artistry in Voices and Brass (1964) as one of his most distinctive titles, with a premise as involved as the results are unique. Kenton, along with longtime collaborative arranger Pete Rugolo, teamed up with Milt Raskin (lyrics) to retrofit ten of Kenton's instrumentals with new expanded scores for no less than 18 voices -- four sopranos, four altos, four tenors, four baritones, and two basses -- as well as a quintet of trombones. The entire aggregate would also be supported by a four- or five-piece rhythm section. As one might anticipate with such a congregation, the results are predictably mixed. There are occasions, such as the noir melancholia of "Solitaire," and the sultry Afro-Cuban "Daydreams in the Night" -- which is based on the tune "Machito" -- that work remarkably well. The tension and release that defined the originals have been aptly recaptured in this reincarnation. The dramatic flourishes of "Night Song," which is a new variation on "Artistry in Rhythm," at times leans toward bombast, however the rich melange of voices and instruments propel the melody into some interesting and atypical directions. Conversely, "Painted Rhythm," "Intermission Riff," and the boorish, bolero-derived "Flame" are studies in excess. Kenton's jazzy piano solos, which were the initial focus, are in many cases the saving grace of the otherwise indulgent artistry. This proves the old adages that sometimes newer [read: more modern] isn't always better, and too many cooks do indeed spoil the proverbial sonic stew. In 2003, Collectors' Choice Music issued Artistry in Voices and Brass as half of a two-fer CD, alongside Kenton With Voices (1957) -- both of which are making their digital debut. The disc is enhanced with an additional trio of unearthed 'bonus tracks' including "Sunday's Child," "Thanks for You" and "Orchids in the Moonlight."" -- Lindsay Planer
Stan's collaborations with vocal groups like the Four Freshmen are legendary, so you know this pair of vocal-oriented albums are liable to be very tasty! Stan himself arranged 1957's "Kenton with Voices" for the vocal talents of Ann Richards and the male quartet the Modern Men, while 1963's "Artistry in Voices and Brass" took Pete Rugolo arrangements of classic Kenton compositions like "Artistry in Rhythm" and "Intermission Riff," added lyrics by Milt Raskin, re-titled them and set them to an 18-voice choir (Stan was never accused of thinking small)! We've also added three unreleased bonus tracks ("Sunday's Child," "Thanks for You," and "Orchids in the Moonlight") for a total of 26 tracks of sublime orchestra and vocals. A Collectors Choice Music exclusive! - Amazon
Long ago a friend gave me this definition of poetry: "the marriage of meaning & music!" I have no idea how literally he meant that, but I don't think he apprehended anything this specific, this swinging, this funky. What we have here is a seamless, peripatetic meld of contexts, word and tune, spirit and ensemble.
This is not a sequel but a full-fledged complement to the earlier album, CONJURE: MUSIC FOR THE TEXTS OF ISHMAEL REED, likewise an eclectic jazzy, bluesy, toe-tapping nuptials of musical compositions and arrangements especially crafted by Kip Hanrahan to embrace the NeoHooDoo peregrinations of that linguistic shaman, Ishmael Reed. And Hanrahan doesn't skimp on assembling a legion of adept musical accomplices.
This stuff percolates along your nerve tracks. Reed's acerbic wit and skewed observations ("No one's ever seen a dead crow along the highway") eagle rock over, under and through Hanrahan's wicked tracks. One of my all time favorites, especially for the opening track, with Bobby Womack's ballsy baritone setting the stage. Defies categorization. Go ahead and check it out, you won't be sorry. - Amazon
"Kip Hanrahan gathers another all-star avant- jazz-funk band to accompany texts by satirist and social critic Ishmael Reed. The results aren't as bookishly dull or consciously experimental as the project sounds. Allen Touissaint, Olu Dara, David Murray, Leo Nocentelli, Eddie Harris, Don Pullen, Robbie Ameen, and Steve Swallow stir up lively, complex grooves that perfectly compliment Reed's evocative poetry. Intellectual dance music with ridiculous jazz chops isn't a genre for everyone, but for those who enjoy thinking about the funk as much as they love grooving to it, this album is highly recommended." -- Brian Beatty
"Before he passed away at the age of 64 from pneumonia, drummer Denis Charles enjoyed a diverse and nomadic career. Born in St. Croix, Charles began his professional musical career at the age of seven playing bongos with a local band. Charles moved to New York in 1945. Enamored deeply with Art Blakey's physical style, Charles began playing anywhere and everywhere. He met Cecil Taylor in 1954 and the two began to play together, culminating in Taylor's 1958 set, Looking Ahead. After this stint with Taylor, Charles met and played with Steve Lacy, Gil Evans, and Jimmy Giuffre (Charles was the drummer that Giuffre decided was his last and began recording without one). Charles also met drummer Ed Blackwell, who would become his greatest influence. Blackwell's polyrhythmic approach sat well with Charles, who was reconnecting with the rhythms of his island childhood. When Charles met Sonny Rollins (who also has Caribbean roots), they recorded a lackluster set of calypso-influenced jazz tunes. Undaunted and forever itinerant, Charles returned to Lacy's band and stayed though 1964. In 1967, he played with Archie Shepp and Don Cherry, but fell onto hard times until 1971. He became a fixture on New York's downtown scene, guested on dozens of recordings, and played tours with Frank Lowe, David Murray, Charles Tyler, Billy Bang, and others. Charles played funk, all kinds of jazz, rock, and even Caribbean folk music. His first of three recordings under his own name was a set of Crucian material called Queen Mary, after a sugarcane field worker who led a worker's insurrection against the Danes. After a final tour with Wilber Morris, Charles fell ill and passed away in his sleep." - Thom Jurek
"Recorded at the Zuid-Nederlands Jazz Festival in Holland, this piano-less quartet features drummer Denis Charles with Jemeel Moondoc on alto saxophone, Wilber DeJoode on bass, and Nathan Breedlove on trumpet. With a sound often approximating the work of early Ornette Coleman, the two horns spurt attractively dissonant themes, after which the four players turn out repeatedly fascinating solos and interactive lines. Underrecorded Breedlove is surprisingly agile and charmingly ragged, with a clear debt to Don Cherry and Bobby Bradford. Unsung giant Moondoc is stunning throughout, with twisted, winding lines stretched across a brush of vibrant colors. Charles smolders with excitement, driving hard and pushing forcefully, but laying low when necessary. Its great melodies and adventurous solos make Captain of the Deep a vital inside/outside document of the 1990s." -- Steve Loewy
"In the '60s and '70s, much (if not most) contemporary improvisation was jazz-based. That began to change in the '80s, when a significant number of rock musicians began exploring the possibilities of free improvisation and new classical forms. Fred Frith is one of the more prominent. Co-founder of the underground British band Henry Cow in 1968, composer/improviser/guitarist Frith moved to the U.S. in the late '70s, where he began associations with such New York-based experimental musicians as cellist Tom Cora, harpist Zeena Parkins, saxophonist John Zorn, and percussionist Ikue Mori. Frith lived in New York for 14 years; some of his well-known ventures in that time included Massacre (with Bill Laswell and Fred Maher), Skeleton Crew (with Cora and Parkins), and his sextet Keep the Dog. In the '80s, Frith's compositional activities increased; he began writing for dance, film, and theater, and for such ensembles as the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Moderne, Asko Ensemble, and his own Guitar Quartet. Primarily known as an improvising guitarist, Frith has also performed on bass (with Zorn's Naked City) and violin (with Lars Hollmer's Looping Home Orchestra). Frith has played on albums by the Residents, Brian Eno, Amy Denio, and René Lussier, to name just a few. Frith was the subject of Step Across the Border, a documentary film by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzels. By 2000, Frith was a professor of composition at Mills College in Oakland, CA." - Chris Kelsey
"Fred Frith, electric guitar; Miya Masaoka, koto & electronics; Larry Ochs, sopranino & tenor saxophones; Joan Jeanereaud, cello.
Digital Wildlife is a convention-busting quartet session lead by Fred Frith, the guitarist and Mills College music professor. When listening to this CD, the advice of the prolific Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti seems relevant: "Allow yourself to be more human than critic, and your pleasure will increase". By accepting Frith's music on its own, highly imaginative terms, and suspending one's disbeliefs and preconceptions regarding conventional Jazz form and instrumentation, the benefits are immeasurable.
Among the challenges to conventions regarding form are Frith's ingenious, multi-layered thematic designs, whose episodic structure speaks more to a complex narrative tradition than a desire to merely entertain. His rigorous themes, synthesizing chromatic, pan-tonal, free time, and pulse-based elements, are indeed the antithesis of straight-ahead Jazz. However, these stylistic differences do not provide a reasonable basis for dismissing this artist's work.
"Digital Wildlife," "Image in an Atom," "The Prisoners Dilemma," "Touch I Risk," and "Close to More," freely borrow and interpolate contrasting sonic resources and percussive effects. The pulse-driven, open interval of the fourth that emerges in "Image" serves as a springboard for contrasting rhythmic invention; its spatial considerations speak to a level of technical achievement rarely heard in this region. Ochs' speech-like gestures and Masaoka's spare, pizzicato countermelodies in "Prisoners" exploit space for every expressive nuance.
Digital Wildlife offers convincing proof that 21st century creative music is alive and well in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bravo, Maestro Frith. - James D. Armstrong, Jr.
"A powerful and vastly underrated avant-garde alto saxophonist, Jemeel Moondoc blended the free-form melodic thought of Ornette Coleman and the sharp edge of Jackie McLean or Charles Tyler with the sort of ferocious "energy playing" usually reserved for tenorists. Moondoc began playing piano as a child, studied clarinet and flute, and settled on alto around age 16; he subsequently studied with Cecil Taylor at various colleges in the early '70s. In 1972, he moved to New York, where he formed Ensemble Muntu with trumpeter Roy Campbell, bassist William Parker, and drummer Rashid Baker. The group recorded for its own Muntu label in the late '70s, and Moondoc also led solo sessions for labels like Soul Note and Cadence through the early '80s. However, financial difficulties forced Moondoc to break up his large ensemble (the Jus Grew Orchestra) and essentially retire from music for over a decade, working as an architect's assistant. Moondoc's career was revived in the mid-'90s when the Eremite label coaxed him into signing a deal that allowed tremendous creative leeway. In 1996, Moondoc recorded his first albums in 11 years: the studio trio date Tri-P-Let and the live Fire in the Valley (performed at the festival of the same name). 1998 brought New World Pygmies, a duo with William Parker from that year's Fire in the Valley. Next, Moondoc revived his Jus Grew Orchestra as a ten-piece and performed a set of Massachusetts concerts documented on 2001's Spirit House. Also released that year was Revolt of the Negro Lawn Jockeys, a quintet performance from the 2000 Vision Festival that was acclaimed as perhaps his finest album to date, and whose instrumentation evoked Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch." - Steve Huey
"This 41 minute set, comprised of just two tracks, was recorded at the 1996 Fire in the Valley Festival in Amherst, MA. Moondoc and his alto saxophone are accompanied by bassist John Voigt and percussionist Laurence Cook. The title track, which clocks in at a mighty 39:51, is where all the meat is. Here is where the listener gets to witness what the cult around Moondoc is all about. Unlike many free jazzers who try to blow the guts out of the horn each and every time they improvise, he digs deep into the jazz tradition for his material. And while he has been often compared to Ornette Coleman, it's manily because they both play the same horn. His tone is more reminiscent of Jackie McLean's while his playing style comes from the same place that Charles Tyler's does. There is a quiet insistence here as Moondoc and company begin their journey through the hallways of postmodern jazz. Moondoc goes in, around, and through his rhythm section in search of a song he can hear but can't quite touch and get to some astonishing places on the way. It's as if he is coming to a threshold where silence itself has built a tunnel, and he tiptoes, steps, dances, runs into, then calls and cries out of once inside. There are passageways of great power that lead into small, quiet lyrical rooms of harmonic beauty and grace.
Voigt and Cook are certainly backing players here. They listen closely and offer an inherently solid force for Moondoc to push against for momentum. They simmer when he shouts, wail when his alto sings -- and his playing doessing. Perhaps more than any other alto player of his generation, he understands the complexities of melodic invention and how it relates both to post bop swing and the avant garde's quest for a new syntax in sonic language. And while the 1:28 skronkfest encore is a throwaway -- added as documentation of the entire performance -- it doesn't detract from the beauty, originality and wondrous group interplay of the longer piece that reveals how multi-dimensional Moondoc is as both a soloist and bandleader." -- Thom Jurek
"Pain Killer, formed in 1991, includes John Zorn (b. 1953, New York, NY) on alto sax, Bill Laswell (b. 1950) on bass, and onetime Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris. Zorn is a well-known bebop and free jazz artist, while Laswell has played free jazz with several groups and produced albums for jazz, metal, alternative, and pop artists; both are very active on the New York City avant-garde jazz scene. Pain Killer grew out of Zorn's admiration for death-metal/grindcore groups like Napalm Death, whom he praised as having the same intensity as 1960s free jazz; the music is a unique and challenging hybrid of the two." - Steve Huey
Although this box set lives up to its reputation (and then some), it's a disappointing collection of music. Painkiller is a very heavy, shrill band. Over the course of four CDs, three guys improvise an interesting hybrid of hardcore jazz and heavy metal: John Zorn on alto sax, Mick Harris on drums, and Bill Laswell on bass. The first two EPs (squeezed together on to one disc) are formless instrumentals of noise. Each song has a random length and a colorful title. These two EPs (Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets) don't have much going for them. They stop and start, they shriek, and in the end you get a little bit bored.
Their third recording, Execution Ground (the second disc here) is a major improvement. It sounds like Laswell took the first two EPs and remixed them, blending ambient soundscapes into the jackhammering improvisation. There are three songs, each about 15 minutes long, that drone and rumble along. The third disc in this set is an ambient remix of Execution Ground. The noise is kept to a minimum while wind and distant echoing screams take over. It's very creepy and beautiful. It is, by far, the best part of this set.
The fourth and final disc is a live album. It sounds just like Execution Ground. On the final tracks, the great Yamatsuka Eye joins in. Eye howls like the Tasmanian Devil along with Zorn's screeching saxophone. I've heard this disc over and over, waiting for it to grow on me, but it never did. It's boring.
It's hard to recommend the Collected Works to anyone who hasn't already heard (and loved) Painkiller. The idea behind the band --- three musicians improvising the noisiest music of all time --- is a great idea. But the result is less than expected. Too much of this music is an indulgence that leaves you scratching your head. The high points (discs 2 and 3) are impressive, but not enough to justify buying the whole set. - Amazon
"A trio consisting of alto saxophonist John Zorn, bassist Bill Laswell,and drummer Mick Harris, Painkiller was a novel blend of free improv, jazz, dub, and death metal. Although the lineup occasionally expanded to include the uniquely gifted Japanese vocalist Yamantaka Eye and other guests, Execution Ground is an investigation of the power and range of the core trio. The first disc of this inventive and unsettling two-disc set features three long improvisations that show off the band's dub influence. The second disc, subtitled "Ambient Dub," is a rethinking/remix of the third and first improvs on the first disc. Overall less thrashy than some Painkiller excursions, the improvisations here are striking for their greater sonic space without sacrificing any of the heaviness. At times, the band rests, making way for ominous breathing and distant sustained screams, which recur throughout. The transitions from silence to groove to noise and back are relentless and dramatic. Harris proves to be an astonishingly inventive drummer, consistently varying the foundation in surprising ways. Laswell's tone varies from the brightness of flanged round-wound strings scraping the frets to a clean, menacing low-frequency pulse, and sticks mostly to elemental, non-flashy lines that keep the mood deep and dark. Zorn's playing is excellent here, varying between extremely overblown piercing tones (perhaps the best way of being heard over such a rhythm section) and nearly conventional jazzy lines that confidently ride atop the din. An occasional microtonal chorus effect warps his playing, and the effect is so disturbing that it's surprising he soon abandoned this technique." -- Maurice Rickard
"Famed for his performances in the New York City subway system with the free jazz quartet Test, Sabir Mateen plays a passionate yet nuanced tenor as his main ax, but is equally comfortable on alto sax, clarinet, and flute. Mateen is capable of raw, all-out explosion, but frequently displays a wide dynamic range and a subtler side, and sometimes leans toward melodic free-bop. A native of Philadelphia, Mateen made his first recordings on the West Coast with pianist Horace Tapscott's Pan African People's Arkestra in 1980, and also played with Sun Ra, though he never officially joined Ra's band. In 1989, Mateen relocated to New York with prompting from the legendary drummer Sunny Murray, and spent the next few years paying his dues on the avant-garde scene.
In 1995, he recorded the duo album Getting Away With Murder with drummer Tom Bruno; a live performance in New York's Grand Central Station, it was released on Eremite. Mateen's recording activity steadily increased over the next few years. He joined Bruno's quartet Test, which also featured bassist Matt Heyner and saxophonist Daniel Carter, and was noted for its impromptu guerrilla concerts in New York subway stations. Mateen's other notable side engagements included work with the Raphe Malik Quartet and the One World Ensemble, and he also formed the trio Tenor Rising, Drums Expanding with Daniel Carter and drummer David Nuss, which began recording for Sound @ One in 1997. Also that year, Mateen led his own trio (with bassist John Voigt and drummer Lawrence Cook) on a session for Eremite, the well-received Divine Mad Love. The following year, he teamed with Sunny Murray for We Are Not at the Opera, a duo album on Eremite; additionally, a spate of Test recordings appeared over 1998-1999. Late 2000 brought more recordings in a duo format: Brothers Together, with the brilliant Hamid Drake on Eremite, and Sun Xing, with Ben Karetnick on JMZ. In early 2001, Mateen led a quintet also featuring Raphe Malik on the Bleu Regard release Secrets of When." - Steve Huey
"Sabir Mateen's growing discography reflects an enormous capacity to adapt his free-style blowing to a myriad of contexts. His full, powerful sound is tempered by nuance, and does not cry with the full-bodied, frenetic energy of a Charles Gayle. Nonetheless, Mateen drives hard, leaving few survivors. Here, he is joined by percussionist Lawrence Cook and bassist John Voigt for nine pieces, which include short solo numbers from the bassist and the percussionist. Mateen is equally comfortable on alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet, and flute, each of which he has mastered. While eschewing extended technique, Mateen reaches back to a freebop style, somewhat similar to Chicagoan Fred Anderson. Like Anderson, Mateen enjoys a rich, tasty sound and incorporates melodic episodes, even if he never loses his essential rawness." -- Steve Loewy
This CD is a major purchase for anyone serious about the creative work of Duke Ellington. I am a major believer that despite Billy Strayhorn's great influence on Ellington, his presence alongside Ellington served as a musical crutch, and upon Strayhorn's passing, Duke was, for the first time since the late 1930's, forced to rely upon his own creative devices. Duke's output after1967 soared! Without Strayhorn, he was relegated to his own creative devices, and he suddenly exhibits the following changes in his compositional style: 1)an awareness of pop music and culture, and a willingness to infuse elements in keeping with the times... 2)a newly found plaintivity, similar aesthetically perhaps to his 'jungle band'(1926-1933)days....dark, richly textured voicings, raw emotional outcrying. ... 3)a new sparsity, an importance and urgency now seems attached to fewer notes and musical phrases...everything seems heightened, more meaningful 4)an overall accumulation of influences 'learned' from the Strayhorn period (1938-67), such as a fuller appreciation of the their own serious formats (note: I don't use the word classical) What I am leading up to here is this: the recordings documented here from the post-Strayhorn era (1968-1974), namely the Goutelas and Uwis Suites, are totally revolutionary works of art from Duke Ellington's most intense creative period, in my opinion. Of course, the Queen's Suite, from 1959 is also totally incredible work, and probably more accesable to most 'jazz' listeners, format and texture-wise, and still bears much of the Strayhorn sound. The Queen's Suite is still written in the format Duke designed in the year 1944, with his Perfume Suite: Ellington/Strayhorn dealing in series of short 'songs' featuring a variety of mood pieces with certain formulaic textures. Well, get ready, because the Uwis and Goutelas, though still basically formatted in the short song format, totally break camp where texture is concerned. Duke tries everything f rom an atonal flute/piccolo duet in fourths, to a damn Polka. And the beauty of it? It's all pure Ellington, raw and uncut, without the Strayhorn cleanliness. if anything, these pieces will remind you of David Murray's Octet of the 1980's or perhaps Sun Ra! Duke seems to believe in himself so much here, and seems to be totally unconcerend with any need to make a 'hit' or be accessible at all. He is just writing here, pure and honest and deep ly, from the well of emotions he had on tap that made him the greatest American composer. The result is some of the rawest, darkest, most emotionally intense music I have ever heard.
"One of the first trombonists to explore free jazz, Grachan Moncur III is still best-known for his pair of innovative Blue Note albums (1963-1964) that also featured Lee Morgan and Jackie McLean on the first session and Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock on the later date. The son of bassist Grachan Moncur II, who played with the Savoy Sultans during 1937-1945, Grachan III started on trombone when he was 11. He toured with Ray Charles (1959-1962), was with the Jazztet (1962), and in 1963, played advanced jazz with Jackie McLean. Moncur toured with Sonny Rollins (1964) and played and recorded with Marion Brown, Joe Henderson, and Archie Shepp, matching up with fellow trombonist Roswell Rudd in the latter group. He also was part of the cooperative band 360 Degree Music Experience with Beaver Harris. Grachan Moncur, who has also recorded as a leader for BYG (1969) and JCOA (1974), continues to play challenging music and has been an educator. Some of his associations have been with Frank Lowe (1984-1985), Cassandra Wilson (1985), and the Paris Reunion Band." - Scott Yanow
"I don?t know where to begin in celebrating this exceptional 3-disc set: the restoration to jazz consciousness of trombonist Grachan Moncur III, a pivotal figure in the late sixties and early seventies bridges between hard bop and free jazz; the presentation in a single collection of six (6) Blue Note LPs led by Jackie McLean and/or Moncur; or the inception of Mosaic?s new ?Mosaic Select? series, ?numbered, limited-edition reissues of neglected jazz recordings that typically will include two or three CDs...in standard CD packaging; 2 or 3 jewel cases in a slip case with a separate CD-size, 24 to 36 page booklet...includ[ing] the original album liner notes, selected original album cover art and session photographs from the archives.? The last speaks for itself, so let?s turn to the first two.
Moncur is a significant figure in jazz, both on his instrument and as a composer/creator. His father was a swing musician of some standing (the Savoy Sultans and Teddy Wilson among his credits as bassist); and Moncur worked with Ray Charles and then the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet before linking up with Jackie McLean and drummer Tony Williams in the mid-sixties. [He has since worked with Sonny Murray, Archie Shepp, Dave Burrell, in a trombone-organ combo with John Patton, and with vocalist Cassandra Wilson.]
What followed made history. In a vibes-replace-piano ensemble with McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, and Williams, Moncur made a series of fringe-of-hard-bop-into free-jazz recordings, beginning in 1963 with McLean?s ?One Step Beyond? and ?Destination Out.? From there came Moncur?s leadership on ?Evolution? and ?Some Other Stuff? (the latter the only one where McLean is absent and Wayne Shorter is the reed master); and then back to McLean?s leadership but with a pianist replacing the vibes for ?Hipnosis? and ??Bout Soul? (and with Tony Williams absent).
What of the music? Intriguingly, the earlier recordings (those of 1963 vintage) are the more experimental with hard-bop-plus sides alternating with free jazz, works where the notion of tempo or a rhythmic underpinning is relinquished and the soloist commands a stretch of time where it is the thematic improvisation that predominates. And when the musicians move ?inside,? they cook (best exemplified by the 11-plus minutes of ?The Coaster?). Throughout, Tony Williams?s drumming is as individualistic and compelling as when he later supported the Miles Davis Quintet.
In its later embodiment, the 1967 McLean-Moncur collaboration retrenched in becoming more soulful. Emblematic is ?Hipnoisis,? where the title cut splays a five note ostinato framework over a 4/4 rhythm, the tension setting up a funky vamp that undergirds exceptional hornplay. ?Hipnosis? is hip, and almost by itself worth the price of this collection.
Finally, a word about Moncur?s trombonistry. With Roswell Rudd, Moncur was considered the preeminent free jazz trombonist of this era. But he held that position without sacrificing a beautiful shaping of notes, one descended from J.J. Johnson.
The sum and substance?six extraordinary recordings, some of the best Blue Note jazz of its era, and a long overdue recognition of an exceptional musician (and, from my first-hand encounters with him in the 70s, a warm, approachable personality). What a triumph!" - Jules Epstein
Mosaic Records -- that venerable jazz and blues collector's label that issues completely necessary packages by legendary, if sometimes obscure, artists in limited editions on both LP and CD -- is a name synonymous with the finest quality in sound, annotation, and packaging, and they are branching out. Mosaic Select is a side label dedicated to bringing to light the work of musicians whose role in the development of jazz was seminal but whose catalog was small, or whose work was neglected or otherwise overlooked. These editions, in two or three CD sets, just like their other boxes, are numbered and limited. The music on this collection features both of trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur's Blue Note LPs as well as his four historic collaborations with Jackie McLean, the albums One Step Beyond, Destination Out, Hipnosis, and 'Bout Soul. Virtually everything here has already been released on LP and CD, so there are no unreleased or alternate takes we haven't heard before. That said, it is wonderful to have all of the material from this period in one place. It was certainly one of the most fertile in McLean's history, and Moncur's compositions and arrangements are one of main reasons for this. The collaboration between the two men is symbiotic. McLean was looking to branch out his sound when Moncur brought Bobby Hutcherson and bassist Eddie Khan into the band that was to record the seminal One Step Beyond. (Tony Williams had already been gigging with McLean as part of the band for the Living Theater production of Jack Gelber's play The Connection.) There are only four tunes on One Step Beyond, two by Moncur and two by McLean. Moncur's "Frankenstein" is one of the most inventive and haunting jazz waltzes ever composed. As he and McLean trade solos off the opening lines, Hutcherson moves into the role of transposer, moving the key signatures from A-flat minor to A-minor on alternating measures, punching in the changes to suggest directions in melodic hard bop improvisation. The feel on Destination Out is unlike anything else heard in the music during that time, with the possible exception of Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch. This is a kind of chamber jazz modeled on minor keys and Asian musical phrasing -- one can hear that Moncur had been listening to gagaku, the esoteric court music from Japan. He composed three of the album's four tunes, and each of them swings with a spare beauty that was to be his trademark, yet always looked forward to the breakdown of melodic improvisation into strange elliptical fragments that could be torn down and reassembled seemingly randomly to suit a key change, a different time signature, or an intervallic shift in harmony. Moncur's own recordings -- especially Evolution, which added Lee Morgan and Bob Cranshaw -- were even further on the fringe than McLean's. But Moncur's own playing is so rooted in the notion of lyric and song that it was impossible to dismiss them as merely avant-garde recordings. Some Other Stuff included Wayne Shorter, Cecil McBee, and Herbie Hancock, and excludes McLean. It is the most overlooked item in his catalog and is a stunner. Note the composition "Gnostic" for its modal expansions and unique solo structures. Finally, Moncur reappears on two late-'60s recordings of McLean's: the decidedly angular Hipnosis and the completely out 'Bout Soul, which featured drummer Rashied Ali, trumpeter Woody Shaw, and bassist Scotty Holt. Nonetheless, despite McLean's wailing, Moncur keeps it lean and lyrical, holding both other players in check by swinging out of a place where there seems to be no room to swing. That album is not in its entirety here, because Moncur only played on half. Nonetheless, for Moncur enthusiasts this is essential to have all the recordings as well as liners in one place; for those looking through McLean's catalog, this is a way to get these recordings for a fine price. - AMG
This extraordinary 4 cd set contains every track Louis recorded for the venerable RCA Victor Company between July 16,1930 and August 1,1956.First,just a glance at the musicians you'll meet through these 75 tracks: Chick Webb,Charlie Gaines,Edgar Sampson,Louis Jordan,Budd Johnson,Teddy Wilson,Sidney Catlett,Charlie Shavers,Jimmy Hamilton,Johnny Hodges,Billy Strayhorn,Don Byas,Lucky Thompson,Remo Palmieri,Sonny Greer,Chubby Jackson,Arvell Shaw,Barney Bigard,Jack Teagarden,Vic Dickenson,Zutty Singleton,Kid Ory,Red Callender,Al Casey,Cozy Cole,Johnny Guarnieri,and even Duke Ellington and...Jimmie Rodgers !
CD 1 and 2 includes 38 tracks recorded between 1930 and 1933.They are full of masterpieces,and Louis plays and sings at his highest level."That's my home","I hate to leave you now","you'll wish you'd never been born"(based on the chords of "you rascal you",an Armstrong hit),the two parts of the medley (you rascal you/when it's sleepytime/nobody's sweetheart/when you're smiling/St James infirmary/Dinah),"I've got the world on a string","sittin' in the dark","Mississippi basin","dusky stevedore","there's a cabin in the pines" and others are some of the greatest pieces ever played by Louis.The underrated Zilner Randolph (1899-1994) can sometimes be heard on trumpet.
CD 3 an 4 includes 1946-1956 material.CD 3 starts with the "Esquire All-American 1946 Award Winners",a band including Louis,Duke,Byas,Hodges,among others.Then,some pieces with a big band (tracks 3-7).Then,magnificent septet pieces (tracks 8-11 and 14-16).
CD 4,mostly devoted to the All Stars,is terrific: Louis and his old friend Teagarden play masterpiece after masterpiece ("Jack-Armstrong blues","please stop playin' those blues","back o'town blues","rocking chair","St James infirmary"...)."A song was born" is the theme from the movie;too bad,the two other versions recorded in Hollywood,August 1947,with Lionel Hampton,Benny Goodman,Tommy Dorsey don't appear here !
This complete edition of Louis' works for RCA Victor is a real must to have.You can complete it with the great 1947 Town Hall Concert,another RCA Victor gem.Hope you'll treasure this indispensable work of art,which proposes you some of the greatest music of all times. - Amazon
" Born Ernest Anthony Puente, Jr., Tito Puente is internationally recognized for his enormous and significant contributions to Latin music as a bandleader, composer, arranger, percussionist, and mentor. Popularly known as the "El Rey del Timbal" and the "King of Mambo", he recorded more than 100 albums, published more than 400 compositions, and won five Grammy awards. Although he played and recorded jazz and salsa, Puente is one of only a handful of musicians who deserve the title "legendary", primarily for his mastery of the mambo.
Puente has been credited with introducing the timbal and the vibraphone to Afro-Cuban music, Puente also played the trap drums, the conga drums, the claves, the piano, and occasionally, the saxophone and the clarinet.
While Puente was perhaps best known for his all-time best-selling 1958 mambo album Dance Mania, his eclectic sound has continued to transcend cultural and generational boundaries. As a testament to his popularity with a younger audience, Puente has recorded with rocker Carlos Santana and has performed regularly at college concerts throughout the country. He has also appeared in several films, received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and performed on television's The David Letterman Show.
Born on 20 April 1923 in New York City, Puente's artistic talents first developed in the field of dance. In 1935, he and sister Anna became members of "Stars of the Future" a neighborhood artistic organization. On four occasions, Tito was honored for his exceptional dance ability.
After hearing a solo by Cuban pianist, Anselmo Sacassas Tito began his musical education on the piano. Occasional tutors were Victoria Hernandez, sister of Puerto Rico's legendary composer Rafael Hernandez, and Luis Varona of the Machito orchestra who later would play with Tito's orchestra. He also studied drums and idolized Gene Krupa. He later mastered the alto sax and was a accomplished on the vibraphone.
Puente then went on to work with Cuban pianist and bandleader Jose Curbelo beginning in December of 1939. Curbelo became his first music mentor and perhaps more importantly taught Puente the fundamentals of the music business. He then played with Johnny Rodriguez, Anselmo Sacassas, the musician that had inspired his piano study, and the great A HREF="noro_morales.html">Noro Morales.
In June 1942, he joined the Machito orchestra. Machito became Puente's primary musical mentor. At one point Tito left Machito to play percussion for the Jack Cole dancers. Soon thereafter he was drafted into the Navy and served in World War II. He played saxophone and drums with the band on the ship. He learned how to arrange music from a pilot that played sax.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1945 with a presidential commendation, he returned to New York to work again with Curbello, Brazilian band leader Fernando Alvarez, featuring Charlie Palmieri on piano, and Pupi Campo. He then began study at the Julliard School of Music. There he studied orchestration, conducting and music theory. In 1949, Puente formed his own band the Piccadilly Boys.
In the 1950s during the Palladium era, Tito Puente's band was one of the top three orchestras in New York City, along with the orchestras of Machito and Tito Rodriguez. Mambo and cha-cha-cha were the rage at the time. The music with its high energy became a catalyst for bringing together people of all races and ethnicities. Puente rode the wave of the mambo craze and went on to become a household name.
Puente had strong leanings toward jazz which he "Latinized". Puente later led two groups; an orchestra and a jazz ensemble. He continued to record both Latin jazz and straight-ahead Latin music with many different artists and his own bands.
In 1970, Carlos Santana repopularized Tito Puente's music with his rendition of Oye Como Va and in 1972, Para Los Rumberos. His last album: Puente Caliente, included classic Puente fare, such as the song El Timbalón.
In 1979, he won the first of five Grammy Awards for his Homenaje a Beny album which was a tribute to the Cuban singer Beny More. Other Grammy awards came in 1983 for On Broadway; 1985 for Mambo Diablo; 1990 for Gosa Mi Timbal; and in 2000 for Mambo Birdland.
Puente was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990 and was featured in the 1992 film "The Mambo Kings". He was also given the National Medal of Arts by then President Clinton in 1997 and was honored by the Library of Congress in April of 2000 as a Living Legend. The New York Times chose Puente's Dancemania as one of the 25 most influential albums of the 20th century. Other awards and honorary degrees are too numerous to list.
In his lifetime, Puente recorded 120 albums, composed over 450 songs, and has over 2,000 arrangements to his credit. He had over 10,000 live performances around the world. Shortly before his death, he completed work on an album with Eddie Palmieri released 18 July 2000. The legend died at age 77 on 31 May 2000 in New York City. - Music of Puerto Rico
Fittingly, Tito Puente's final album (save for a collaboration with Eddie Palmieri) finds the great bandleader-percussionist taking a young audience into the past with an in-concert set of classics including the title track, "Ban Ban Quere," and, of course, "Oye Como Va." The energy never wanes as Puente visits his many styles ("Cha Cha Cha Mambo," for one) and tempos. Particularly hot is the percussive breakdown on "Guaguanco Margarito," which is both smashing and subtle in the way of only the very finest jazz. "I'm gettin' to ya!" the ebullient Mambo King exclaims more than once between songs; he sounds as if he were just as pleased as in the midcentury years he spent inventing this music. Mambo Birdland won a 2000 Grammy (for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Performance), Puente's fifth.
"Charlie Parker has had many admirers and his influence can be detected in numerous styles, but few have been as avid a disciple as Sonny Sitt. There was almost note-for-note imitation in several early Stitt solos, and the closeness remained until Stitt began de-emphasizing the alto in favor of the tenor, on which he artfully combined the influences of Parker and Lester Young. Stitt gradually developed his own sound and style, though he was never far from Parker on any alto solo. A wonderful blues and ballad player whose approach influenced John Coltrane, Stitt could rip through an up-tempo bebop stanza, then turn around and play a shivering, captivating ballad. He was an alto saxophonist in Tiny Bradshaw's band during the early '40s, then joined Billy Eckstine's seminal big band in 1945, playing alongside other emerging bebop stars like Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon. Stitt later played in Dizzy Gillespie's big band and sextet. He began on tenor and baritone in 1949, and at times was in a two-tenor unit with Ammons. He recorded with Bud Powell and J.J. Johnson for Prestige in 1949, then did several albums on Prestige, Argo, and Verve in the '50s and '60s. Stitt led many combos in the '50s, and re-joined Gillespie for a short period in the late '50s. After a brief stint with Miles Davis in 1960, he reunited with Ammons and for a while was in a three-tenor lineup with James Moody. During the '60s, Stitt also recorded for Atlantic, cutting the transcendent Stitt Plays Bird, which finally addressed the Parker question in epic fashion. He continued heading bands, though he joined the Giants of Jazz in the early '70s. This group included Gillespie, Art Blakey, Kai Winding, Thelonious Monk, and Al McKibbon. Stitt did more sessions in the '70s for Cobblestone, Muse, and others, among them another definitive date, Tune Up. He continued playing and recording in the early '80s, recording for Muse, Sonet, and Who's Who in Jazz. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1982. - Ron Wynne and Bob Porter
During the bebop era, Charlie Parker was the man on alto saxophone, but Sonny Stitt wasn't far behind. Employing an approach that drew heavily on the groundbreaking style of Parker but which was ultimately personal, Stitt was one of the most extraordinary of alto and, later, tenor saxophonists in modern jazz. His rich melodic conception and deep sense of swing moved audiences, and made him an extremely in-demand musician until his death in 1982 at age 58.
The Complete Roost Sonny Stitt Recordings is a 9-CD package that contains everything the saxophonist recorded in the studio for Roost, comprising 148 tracks, with 15 previously unreleased selections. This material, most long and undeservedly out of print, is a dazzling array of evergreen and not-often-heard standards, jazz classics and originals that reveals the greatness of Sonny Stitt. He offers everything from sizzling uptempos and grooving medium swingers to moving ballads and hearty blues. The saxophonist, playing both alto and tenor, is in superb company throughout, performing with such noted artists as arrangers Quincy Jones and Johnny Richards, cornetist Thad Jones, trombonist Kai Winding, pianists Hank Jones, Jimmy Jones, Dolo Coker, Harold Mabern and Chick Corea, organist Don Patterson, bassists Ben Tucker and Wendell Marshall, and drummers Jo Jones, Roy Haynes and Charlie Persip.
The first disc of this outstanding collection features Stitt with shimmering orchestral accompaniment provided by Johnny Richards (a rare 10" LP) and Quincy Jones. The bands employ such aces as trombonists Kai Winding, trumpeters Jimmy Nottingham and Thad Jones, pianist Horace Silver, bassists Oscar Pettiford and Charles Mingus and drummer Jo Jones. Among the selections are the unlikely "Shine On Harvest Moon," gorgeous ballads like "If You Could See Me Now" and "Star Dust," and such swingers as "Loose Walk" and "Quince."
The core of this set consists the remarkable Stitt saxophone, expertly accompanied by piano trios led by Hank Jones or Jimmy Jones and motorized by Shadow Wilson, Charlie Persip or the ever explosive Roy Haynes. Both Jonses prove to be perfect foils for Sonny; these top shelf quartets thrive on a steady diet of blues, bop tunes and standards. They even swing the hell out of "When The Red Red Robin (Comes Bobbing Along)."
For most of his life, Stitt was a nomadic lone wolf who usually toured as a single, picking up local rhythm sections. In his 40-year career he had only two working groups; both are represented here. His bop-driven quartet with pianist Dolo Coker, bassist Edgar Willis and drummer Kenny Dennis made the 1956 album 37 Minutes & 48 Seconds With Sonny Stitt, which has grown some here with the addition of four alternate takes. In 1962, he hired the trio of organist Don Patterson, guitarist Paul Weeden and drummer Billy James as a permanent group and the first album they recorded was "Feelin's".
Stitt Goes Latin, which features Stitt with trumpeter Thad Jones, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Larry Gales and a percussion section comprised of Willie Bobo, Patato Valdes and Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez, is a unique standout in the saxophonist's vast discography. The numbers include Parker's "My Little Suede Shoes," a latin-zied "Autumn Leaves" and several originals in the Afro-Cuban vein.
Stitt's Roost years and this set end with an inspired 1965 quartet date with pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Ben Tucker and Roy Haynes, issued as Sax Expressions. An unissued tune and two alternate takes have been added to the original album.
The players who acknowledged Stitt as an influence or a favorites reads like a Who's Who of modern jazz saxophone, and includes John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, Joe Henderson, Booker Ervin, George Coleman, Yusef Lateef and Charles Lloyd.
In his early career, from the mid-'40s to the early '50s, Stitt performed and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell, Billy Eckstine's big band and Gene AmmDuring the bebop era, Charlie Parker was the man on alto saxophone, but Sonny Stitt wasn't far behind. Employing an approach that drew heavily on the groundbreaking style of Parker but which was ultimately personal, Stitt was one of the most extraordinary of alto and, later, tenor saxophonists in modern jazz. His rich melodic conception and deep sense of swing moved audiences, and made him an extremely in-demand musician until his death in 1982 at age 58. - 52nd Street
The title, a phrase coined by Scofield's daughter, is the guitarist's typically witty take on the distinctive approach he had achieved with the quartet that included Robert Aries on keyboards, bassist Gary Grainger and drummer Dennis Chambers. To add to the fun, former boss George Duke was called in to take keyboard solos on six tracks. This album is most indicative of what Scofield achieved during his Gramavision years.
"A group that effortlessly straddles the gap between avant-garde improvisation and accessible groove-based jazz, Medeski, Martin, & Wood have simultaneously earned standings as relentlessly innovative musicians and an enormously popular act. Emerging out of the New York downtown scene in the early '90s, the group soon set out on endless cross-country tours, before returning home to Manhattan to further refine their sound through myriad influential experimentations.
Each of the musicians -- keyboardist John Medeski, drummer/percussionist Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood -- crossed paths throughout the '80s, playing with the likes of John Lurie, John Zorn, and Martin mentor Bob Moses. In 1991, the trio officially convened for an engagement at New York's Village Gate. Soon, the group was rehearsing in Martin's loft, writing, and soon recording 1992's self-released Notes From the Underground. As the group began to tour, escaping the supportive, though insular, New York music community, Medeski -- a former child prodigy -- switched to a Hammond B-3 organ, an instrument far easier to travel with than a grand piano.
Grammavision released It's a Jungle in Here in 1993, which featured horn arrangements by future Sex Mob founder (and pan-scenester) Steven Bernstein. The medley of Thelonius Monk's "Bemsha Swing" and Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself" spoke volumes about what the band was attempting to accomplish. Friday Afternoon in the Universe, widely considered the band's breakthrough record, further continued the push toward groove-oriented accessibility, a movement which peaked with the group's 1996 Rykodisc debut, Shack-man (recorded entirely in the band's practice shack in the Maui jungle). By 1996, through a combination of endless touring and two widely circulated live collaborations with Phish, the group caught in the burgeoning jam band scene, where they continue to draw the bulk of their audience outside of New York.
Late in 1996, the group began a public return their avant-garde roots, hosting a series of weekly "Shack Parties" at New York's Knitting Factory, which featured collaborations with many musicians, including Vernon Reid and DJ Logic, who would soon become the group's unofficial fourth member. The trio issued the extremely free (and utterly beautiful) Farmer's Reserve on their own Indirecto imprint in 1997, a series of improvisations recorded at the Shack. Logic soon joined the band on the road, and they prepared to record Combustication, their first effort for Blue Note, as well as their first full-length collaboration with producer Scott Harding.
In 2000, the band made their coming-out as leaders with two releases -- the live acoustic Tonic (recorded at the New York City club of the same name), as well as the electric The Dropper (recorded at the band's newly christened Shacklyn Studios in the trendy DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn) -- as well as an acclaimed Halloween performance at Manhattan's Beacon Theater. The Dropper featured Harding's gritty production, as well as appearances by Sun Ra alum Marshall Allen.
The band's reputation has achieved massive proportions. As they always have, the three core bandmembers contributed to numerous other recording projects, both as sidemen and leaders. Increasingly, their word was gold and their efforts carved paths for musicians to follow. Following their rise, for example, was a renaissance in B-3-based organ trios. Many groups had played with DJs before them, but their performances with Logic made it downright fashionable. Though they were -- and are -- considered "alternative" jazz, they were drawing larger audiences than many of their mainstream counterparts." - Jesse Jarnow
Imagine a window with four panes of glass in it. Let's say one pane is Duke Ellington, one pane is John Zorn, one pane is Jimmy Smith and the last pane is Sonic Youth. Now drop this muti-faceted window on a cement floor and then jump on it while wearing your mama's combat boots. All the little shards of glass from the four panes get all mixed up and intermingled with each other. This is basically a description of what Medeski, Martin and Wood's latest CD, The Dropper sounds like.
Medeski, Martin and Wood are a three-piece band that usually falls under the term Jazz although the majority of their fanbase seem to be rock fans. They are known for their super-funky, organ driven jams. They often mix elements of hip hop and avant-garde into their music also. The three men of MMW came up in New York's downtown jazz scene playing with various outfits like the Lounge Lizards, the Either/Orchestra and various John Zorn ensembles. At some point the band crossed over to a more mainstream audience partly because of their musician admirers who include the members of Phish.
You are not too likely to find a John Zorn disc in a college fraternity house, but these days you are probably pretty likely to find a copy of a MMW album like Shack man or Combustication. This crossover is a pretty cool thing in most ways. It turns on a whole new audience to improvised funk and jazz. Their success probably helped pave the way for other acts like Galactic and Soulive. The downside of course, is that it is a lot harder to see MMW in an intimate venue.
In recent years it seems the band might be trying to move away from its mainstream success. Last year they released Tonic which was an all-acoustic record and a far cry from the funk/hip-hop sound of their previous two albums. This latest offering once again is a left turn for the band. The Dropper consists of thirteen tracks that at times could be better described as soundscapes than as songs. Bizarre scraping and creaking noises reside along side Medeski's trademark organ and piano stylings. The band has reached a level of telepathic group playing that few outfits ever achieve. Wood (bass) and Martin (drums) are one of the most synched up rhythm sections out there. Even through all of the strange noises and discordant bursts of music, there always seems to be a backbeat to hold it all together. The sound is sometimes industrial sounding, but also always organic at the same time. The bands music is more akin to trip-hop and ambient styles on this record than their typical jazz and funk. It is obvious that MMW treated the studio as another member of the band this time around. While this album has a live sound, it is not what they sound like live, if that makes any sense. Guests like Marc Ribot on guitar, Marshall Allen on sax as well as several violinists also add to the overall sound.
I find this CD to really enjoyable. It is sometimes dark and brooding, but always interesting. This latest effort by MMW might scare off some of the fratboys, but others will see the beauty of this music and will be happy that they did.
Of the three MMW albums in my music collection, I favor this album by far. Contrasting with Combustication and Shack Man, this album's genre is closer to jazz/samba and less to funk and pop-rock. No vocals are present on this live recording, typical of MMW, and an acoustic piano replaces the commonly used organ/electronic keyboard. At risk of oversimplification, the rest of the MMW lineup is drum and bass.
"Hey Joe" bears little similarity to Jimi Hendrix's rendition. The song's tempo is slowed to snails pace, and presents itself as a lounge bar classic. Each of the other songs uses a strong dose of jazz piano/bass combos mixed sometimes with mild funky/samba tones and other times pure jazz drumming combos. Like most of MMW's works the numbers slip between well organized musical verses to those of chaotic instrumental off-keyed dischord. Two tracks, Invocation and Thaw, use little rythym, but instead demonstrate spasmodic solos by each instrument ebbing and flowing, often simultaneously moving at different tempos. Not songs meant for casual listening, they require focus if they're going to be enjoyed.
I recommend this album highly to those who are looking for an off-beat approach to jazz music; especially if you're fond of the jazz piano. The album is jazzy, but provides some interesting hooks and curves that you won't hear on an Oscar Peterson album. Definitely an album for instrumental enthusiasts. For those who like MMW in its funky-pop studio format, this album may be a disappointment.
Jazz can be a lot of things, but one thing it should never be is a "serious discipline." In jazz history, a certain degree of playfulness and humor has always been a trademrk element, from Dixie to swing to bop to fusion. Yet in the pedantry of contemporary jazz, from its being marketed as "adult" music to its sneering brigade of "traditionalists," that element seems to get swept under the rug. Somehow, too many people think that if jazz is "fun," it's also base and lacking in artistic merit, regardless to all the lip-service given to the jazz greats like Armstrong, Gillispie and Monk.
The humorous aspect of jazz has often been subtle, since it mostly was a black thing in a white world -- note Armstrong's classic "(What Did I Do To Get So) Black and Blue" -- and rather than make jazz vulgar, it added to its aura of sophistication. It is this colorful element that jazz of the present is dangerously close to forgetting completely, and despite the ongoing controversy of the "whitening" of jazz, if it takes a bunch of white boys to stop it, then so be it.
Granted, I don't want to make messiahs out of MMW, but I think they're doing us a huge favor for which they should get credit. This trio has been grooving and jamming for over 10 years now, carving out for themselves a fun little niche which (God bless 'em) they show no intentions of abandoning anytime soon...although they'll gladly have company over. Since I'm neither a purist nor a fascist, I too welcome a bit of company getting into the mix, which is why I find Uninvisible a thoroughly enjoyable album. It's another solid and groovin' album that follows MMW's proven "the whole is greater than the sum of its part" approach, with no signs that MMW is running low on either their creativity or their sense of humor. The openness of their free-jam style allows plenty of room for guest musicians throw in their two cents without it ever getting conjested. As a bonus, this album manages to better refine the "jazztronica" thing MMW began with the somewhat less consistent Dropper. All in all, Uninvisible is a very good jazz album that is testimony to a long-time jazz truth: a good groove and sense of humor will get you far.
"Veteran trumpeter/flügelhornist Kenny Wheeler has long been one of the most advanced voices on his instrument. Blessed with a full, lovely tone and an astounding range, Wheeler sounds equally at home in fiery free jazz explorations or softer, more lyrical post-bop meditations. Wheeler was born in 1930 in St. Catherine's (near Toronto), Ontario, and began playing trumpet at age 12. After studying at Toronto's Royal Conservatory, he moved to London in 1952, where he gigged with swing and dance bands. He appeared with John Dankworth's orchestra at the 1959 Newport Festival and remained with that group until 1965. In 1966, Wheeler discovered free jazz, and, fascinated, joined John Stevens' Spontaneous Music Ensemble for the next four years. In addition, he played jazz-rock fusion with the Mike Gibbs Orchestra from 1969-1975, and joined Tony Oxley's sextet (along with free jazz giants like Derek Bailey and Evan Parker) from 1969-1972. Through the latter, Wheeler was invited to join German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's groundbreaking free jazz big band the Globe Unity Orchestra in 1970, an association Wheeler maintained for years to come. During the first half of the '70s, Wheeler played with Anthony Braxton, which became his primary focus. In 1975, he signed with the ECM label and recorded the well-received Gnu High, which established him as a solo artist of note; the following year, he left Braxton and joined the trio Azimuth. Wheeler turned out a series of excellent ECM albums, including 1977's Deer Wan and 1983's Double, Double You (that year, Wheeler also began a four-year run with the Dave Holland Quintet). Several more generally fine outings followed in the '90s, including the ECM dates Music for Large and Small Ensembles and The Widow in the Window (both recorded in 1990), plus other recordings for Justin Time and Soul Note later in the decade." - Steve Huey
Kenny Wheeler's third ECM album as a leader is most notable for teaming his trumpet with the innovative tenor and soprano of Evan Parker, a brilliant British avant-garde player who is often overlooked in the U.S. With fine playing from trombonist Eje Thelin, vibraphonist Tom Van Der Geld, bassist J.F. Jenny-Clark and drummer Edward Vesala, the sextet performs six Wheeler originals that combine together advanced swinging with fairly free explorations. Stimulating music. - AMG
13M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 01 - Mai We Go Round.mp3 3.5M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 02 - Solo One.mp3 8.9M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 03 - May Ride.mp3 14M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 04 - Follow Down.mp3 9.8M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 05 - Riverrun.mp3 6.4M Kenny Wheeler - Around 6 - 06 - Lost Woltz.mp3
12M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 01 - Adios Iony.mp3 11M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 02 - Dream-Lost Song.mp3 6.9M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 03 - Who Are You-.mp3 13M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 04 - Breathtaking.mp3 4.3M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 05 - Potion 1.mp3 12M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 06 - February Daze.mp3 17M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 07 - Til Bakeblikk.mp3 6.7M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Azimuth '85 - 08 - Potion 2.mp3
"The reunion between pianist John Taylor, singer Norma Winstone and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler finds Azimuth (which was always a part-time group) performing fairly spacy improvisations. All of the selections are group originals (mostly by Taylor), except for Bobo Stenson's "Mindiatyr" and an almost unrecognizable reshaping of "How Deep Is the Ocean." Taylor sometimes recalls Keith Jarrett, while Wheeler comes across as the most conventional of the three participants, and Winstone's voice keeps the music from getting too comfortable or predictable. Interesting but not essential music from three adventurous spirits." -- Scott Yanow
7.1M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 01 - How It Was Then.mp3 4.2M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 02 - Looking On.mp3 4.2M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 03 - Whirlpool.mp3 7.3M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 04 - Full Circle.mp3 3.6M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 05 - How Deep Is The Ocean.mp3 3.7M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 06 - Stango.mp3 4.7M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 07 - Mindiatyr.mp3 4.8M Azimuth - How it was then... never again- - 08 - Wintersweet.mp3
6.2M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 01 - The Imminent Immigrant.mp3 6.0M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 02 - California Daydream.mp3 7.0M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 03 - Though Dreamers Die.mp3 6.1M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 04 - Salina Street.mp3 6.0M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 05 - Mistica.mp3 8.9M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 06 - Voodoo.mp3 4.7M Kenny Wheeler - California Daydream - 07 - Bethan.mp3
Canadian-born, English-bred trumpeter and fluegelhorn player Kenny Wheeler has been a mainstay of Germany's ECM Records since the mid-'70s. Aside from his own recordings as a leader, Wheeler has performed as part of the bands Azimuth and the Dave Holland Quintet, and recorded as a sideman with Bill Frisell, Ralph Towner, and the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. A self-described "musical schizophrenic," Wheeler tends to split his recordings into two distinct styles: romantic, mainstream acoustic recordings bearing the stylistic imprint of Miles Davis and Art Farmer; and more modern, frenetic electric dates influenced by Don Cherry. This 1977 quintet date falls into the latter category. Matched on the frontline by Norwegian saxophonist and ECM stalwart Jan Garbarek, Wheeler is supported by an all-star rhythm section of guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Despite its relatively small size, the group's synthesis of ECM's stark, ethereal sound and the lessons in electronic improvisation laid down by Miles Davis on In a Silent Way are big-voiced and robust. Wheeler's performance on the album, which runs the gamut here from the melancholy to the brash, is among his best.
38M Kenny Wheeler - Deer Wan - 01 - Peace For Five.mp3 14M Kenny Wheeler - Deer Wan - 02 - 3,4 In The Afternoon.mp3 27M Kenny Wheeler - Deer Wan - 03 - Sumother Song.mp3 24M Kenny Wheeler - Deer Wan - 04 - Deer Wan.mp3
9.0M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 01 - The longest day.mp3 16M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 02 - Autumn.mp3 11M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 03 - Arriv�.mp3 1.7M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 04 - Touching points from the win.mp3 6.4M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 05 - Touching points windfall.mp3 3.6M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 06 - Touching points the rabbit.mp3 6.4M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 07 - Touching points charcoal tra.mp3 15M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 08 - D�art.mp3 5.2M Kenny Wheeler & Azimuth - Depart - 09 - The longest day (reprise).mp3
"Recorded at a time when trumpeter Kenny Wheeler was playing regularly in bassist Dave Holland's band, this quintet outing with Holland, Stan Sulzman (who switches between soprano, tenor and flute), pianist John Taylor and drummer Billy Elgart features six of Wheeler's originals, some of which were written quite a few years before. "Everybody's Song But My Own" and "Flutter By, Butterfly" are probably the most memorable of the compositions but each of the performances (which feature consistently rewarding solos) are worth hearing." -- Scott Yanow
22M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 01 - Everybody's Song But My Own.mp3 12M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 02 - We-Salute The Night.mp3 22M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 03 - Miold Man.mp3 21M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 04 - Flutter By, Butterfly.mp3 20M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 05 - Gigolo.mp3 17M Kenny Wheeler Quintet - Flutter By, Butterfly - 06 - The Little Fella.mp3
If you mainly associate Kenny Wheeler with quiet, reflective chamber jazz (such as his wonderful Angel Song album on ECM), you're in for a big surprise with this album. Kenny and frequent collaborators Norma Winstone and John Taylor produce some wild'n'crazy music with a superb university band that swings really, really hard (and plays in tune for good measure). The "Siren" bit appears to be a reference to the way he uses wordless (mostly) female vocals as additional instruments in the band, frequently with breath-taking effect. You might even be reminded of Claude Debussy's use of female voices in his third nocturne for orchestra, subtitled something like "Sirenes". This is a recording I think will remain one of my favorites for a long time, possibly even a candidate for a desert island list.
21M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 01 - Ticketeeboo.mp3 47M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 02 - Little Suite.mp3 14M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 03 - Siren's Song.mp3 18M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 04 - Winter Sweet.mp3 19M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 05 - Heyoke.mp3 16M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 06 - Quatorze.mp3 29M Kenny Wheeler - Siren's Song - 07 - Sumother Song.mp3
This spectacular six-CD box set contains pianist-composer Herbie Hancock's entire recorded output as a leader for the Blue Note label from 1962 to 1969. This period parallels Hancock's legendary work in Miles Davis's band and documents his incorporation of Davis's concepts into his own ground-breaking brand of group improvisation.
Hancock's first recording, Takin' Off, with tenor master Dexter Gordon, yielded his first pop hit, the danceable "Watermelon Man." The next album, My Point of View, produced its similarly grooved follow-up, "Blind Man, Blind Man." Inventions and Dimensions--an underrated session--features Hancock and bassist Paul Chambers with Afro-Cuban percussion masters Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez and Willie Bobo, who marvelously marry the montuno to modal scales. Hancock's percussive pianistics pepper the anthemic, Afro-Hispanic rhythms on "Succotash," and on "Triangle," Hancock and his compadres draw a melodic sketch that moves from a 4/4 blues statement, to a Latin-tinged midsection, to the blues restatement. The bolero-ballad "Mimosa" highlights Hancock's chordal approach.
Hancock's Bill Evans/Bud Powell piano synergism emerges with his impressionistic compositional style on Empyrean Isles, which is backed by the deep-toned bass lines and cyclonic drumming of fellow Miles Davis bandmates Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The turbo-charged "One Finger Snap," the melodic musings of "The Egg," and the Motown-motored "Cantaloupe Island" are brilliantly navigated by Freddie Hubbard, on cornet, and the rhythm section. On Maiden Voyage, Hubbard switched to his customary clarion trumpet, with the towering, ex-Miles tenor saxophonist George Coleman completing the frontline. With the aquamarine imagery of the sea, Hancock and crew carve their signatures into jazz immortality on the hypnotically pointed title cut, the postbop swing of "Eye of the Hurricane" and the moving midtempo "Dolphin Dance."
Speak Like a Child features Hancock with Carter, drummer Mickey Roker, and some of finest players of the day, including trumpeter Thad Jones, flutist Hubert Laws, and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson. Inspired by Gil Evans's ethereal horn arrangements, Hancock goes on an inventive improvisational magic carpet ride, from the bossa-nova-breezed title track to the subdued swing of "Toys." Hancock's last session, The Prisoner, continues the horn ensemble configuration with Buster Williams on bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums in a darker, somber tone that echoed the turbulent times of 1969, as evidenced by "He Who Lives in Fear," and the Latinesque Martin Luther King tribute, "I Have a Dream."
Along with 12 alternate takes, the set also includes Hancock's recordings with other Blue Note artists, including mentor Donald Byrd on the hard bop waltz "Three Wishes"; alto and tenor sax greats Jackie McLean and Wayne Shorter on the blues-baked and elliptical "Yams" and "The Collector"; and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson on a straight-ahead rendition of the "Theme from Blow Up." A track from a failed 1966 R&B date, aptly entitled "Don't Even Go There," provides a forecast of Hancock's future forays in pop music. But for those who grew up on Herbie Hancock's funk-fusion offerings in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, this monumental collection is the treasure chest of his true jazz genius.
"This CD reissues music that trumpeter Kenny Wheeler recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) and has been forgotten since. Two aspects of the quintet date are unusual. Wheeler is heard for one of the few times in his career backed by an electric Fender Rhodes piano (played by Gary Williamson) and the music is much more straightahead than the avant-garde trumpeter usually plays. Not that his solos are predictable in any way but Wheeler's sound and the feel of the group (which also includes tenor-saxophonist Art Ellefson, bassist Dave Young and drummer Marty Morell) on the six group originals is oddly reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard's music of a few years earlier. Although not essential, these formerly rare performances are worth hearing." -- Scott Yanow
"Here it is: eight CDs worth of John Coltrane's classic quartet, comprised of bassist Jimmy Garrison, pianist McCoy Tyner, and drummer Elvin Jones, recorded between December of 1961 and September of 1965 when the artist followed his restless vision and expanded the band before assembling an entirely new one before his death. What transpired over the course of the eight albums and supplementary material used elsewhere is nothing short of a complete transfiguration of one band into another one, from a band that followed the leader into places unknown to one that inspired him and pushed him further. All of this transpired in the span of only three years. The group that the saxophonist had assembled for Coltrane in 1962, a band that had been together a little while and had performed together at the Village Vanguard (the tracks that include the quartet without Eric Dolphy from Impressions are here, and, in fact, the first pieces on the set are from those session dates chronologically) in a variety of settings, is almost nothing like the band that made Kulu Se Mama in 1965.
For a change, the oft-employed yet irritating chronological method of compiling a box makes sense here. McCoy Tyner's piano style, that rich open-ended modal chromaticism he developed was at work on "The Inchworm," astonishingly enough the first work recorded in the 1962 studio dates. "Out of This World" was one of the last from that session that would produce the album Coltrane. The blues element that would disappear from later records -- at least consciously -- was the driving force behind ballads like "Soul Eyes" and "After the Rain."
But it isn't until the latter end of 1963 that we hear the band beginning to gel into the unit that would make A Love Supreme and create the tracks that would be assembled into First Meditations for Quartet. There are the two alternate takes of "Alabama," and the soprano solo that is positively danced around by the rhythm section on "Dear Old Stockholm." There is also the great schism in Coltrane, much that took place between the June 1964 session that produced "Crescent" (and its first version is on disc eight, which is full of supplementary and unreleased material) and the following December when A Love Supreme was recorded. Here is the hinges in the whole box, the questions that need to be resolved than that this box only begs more than answers: what happened to that tight conscripted modalism Coltrane had been working on in his official releases prior to that time period as many of them hold clues but never give away the entire picture. What the box does in its voluminous way is set the record straight that there was no retrenchment in pursuant releases to A Love Supreme. There were softer moments on record, but the material in the can was far more adventurous recorded at about the same time, such as the "Suite" or "Transition" or "Dusk Dawn." Disc eight is also a treat in that it contains seven "works in progress" from all periods in the quartet's history. It begins with the aforementioned version of "Crescent," which is appreciably different than the master take in Tyner's solo particularly. There's also an incomplete though steaming initial take of "Bessie's Blues." Perhaps the most beautiful thing on the final disc is the alternate take of part II of A Love Supreme's "Resolution," with its elongated obligato by Coltrane and Tyner's gorgeous tenths playing ostinato during the saxophone solo. There's an alternate of "Feelin' Good" that's no big deal, followed by breakdowns and alternate takes of both "Dear Lord" and "Living Space," both of which reveal the harmonic development of a scale as it becomes the architectural model for the rest of the composition and improvisation. There can be no arguing the value of the originally released recordings; whether they were issued during Coltrane's lifetime or after his death, they tell a story that millions of listeners formed their impressions by, true or false, and created a legacy that lives on. But there is also something to be said for setting the record straight, and the chronological approach that this set takes in no way desecrates the integrity of the original albums themselves -- unlike the Ornette Coleman box. Simply put, it is indispensable to those who need a deeper understanding of Coltrane's music and the development of his most influential period. The sound quality is fully remastered to 20-bit technology, and the package is unwieldy but beautiful and sturdy. It's a must." -- Thom Jurek
"Here it is: eight CDs worth of John Coltrane's classic quartet, comprised of bassist Jimmy Garrison, pianist McCoy Tyner, and drummer Elvin Jones, recorded between December of 1961 and September of 1965 when the artist followed his restless vision and expanded the band before assembling an entirely new one before his death. What transpired over the course of the eight albums and supplementary material used elsewhere is nothing short of a complete transfiguration of one band into another one, from a band that followed the leader into places unknown to one that inspired him and pushed him further. All of this transpired in the span of only three years. The group that the saxophonist had assembled for Coltrane in 1962, a band that had been together a little while and had performed together at the Village Vanguard (the tracks that include the quartet without Eric Dolphy from Impressions are here, and, in fact, the first pieces on the set are from those session dates chronologically) in a variety of settings, is almost nothing like the band that made Kulu Se Mama in 1965.
For a change, the oft-employed yet irritating chronological method of compiling a box makes sense here. McCoy Tyner's piano style, that rich open-ended modal chromaticism he developed was at work on "The Inchworm," astonishingly enough the first work recorded in the 1962 studio dates. "Out of This World" was one of the last from that session that would produce the album Coltrane. The blues element that would disappear from later records -- at least consciously -- was the driving force behind ballads like "Soul Eyes" and "After the Rain."
But it isn't until the latter end of 1963 that we hear the band beginning to gel into the unit that would make A Love Supreme and create the tracks that would be assembled into First Meditations for Quartet. There are the two alternate takes of "Alabama," and the soprano solo that is positively danced around by the rhythm section on "Dear Old Stockholm." There is also the great schism in Coltrane, much that took place between the June 1964 session that produced "Crescent" (and its first version is on disc eight, which is full of supplementary and unreleased material) and the following December when A Love Supreme was recorded. Here is the hinges in the whole box, the questions that need to be resolved than that this box only begs more than answers: what happened to that tight conscripted modalism Coltrane had been working on in his official releases prior to that time period as many of them hold clues but never give away the entire picture. What the box does in its voluminous way is set the record straight that there was no retrenchment in pursuant releases to A Love Supreme. There were softer moments on record, but the material in the can was far more adventurous recorded at about the same time, such as the "Suite" or "Transition" or "Dusk Dawn." Disc eight is also a treat in that it contains seven "works in progress" from all periods in the quartet's history. It begins with the aforementioned version of "Crescent," which is appreciably different than the master take in Tyner's solo particularly. There's also an incomplete though steaming initial take of "Bessie's Blues." Perhaps the most beautiful thing on the final disc is the alternate take of part II of A Love Supreme's "Resolution," with its elongated obligato by Coltrane and Tyner's gorgeous tenths playing ostinato during the saxophone solo. There's an alternate of "Feelin' Good" that's no big deal, followed by breakdowns and alternate takes of both "Dear Lord" and "Living Space," both of which reveal the harmonic development of a scale as it becomes the architectural model for the rest of the composition and improvisation. There can be no arguing the value of the originally released recordings; whether they were issued during Coltrane's lifetime or after his death, they tell a story that millions of listeners formed their impressions by, true or false, and created a legacy that lives on. But there is also something to be said for setting the record straight, and the chronological approach that this set takes in no way desecrates the integrity of the original albums themselves -- unlike the Ornette Coleman box. Simply put, it is indispensable to those who need a deeper understanding of Coltrane's music and the development of his most influential period. The sound quality is fully remastered to 20-bit technology, and the package is unwieldy but beautiful and sturdy. It's a must." -- Thom Jurek
"Although never formally signed, an oral agreement between John Coltrane and Blue Note Records founder Alfred Lion was indeed honored on Blue Train -- Coltrane's only collection of sides as a principal artist for the venerable label. The disc is packed solid with sonic evidence of Coltrane's innate leadership abilities. He not only addresses the tunes at hand, but also simultaneously reinvents himself as a multifaceted interpreter of both hard bop as well as sensitive balladry -- touching upon all forms in between. The personnel on Blue Train is arguably as impressive as what they're playing. Joining Coltrane (tenor sax) are Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). The triple horn arrangements incorporate an additional sonic density that remains a trademark unique to both this band and album. Of particular note is Fuller's even-toned trombone, which bops throughout the title track as well as the frenetic "Moments Notice." Other solos include Paul Chambers' subtly understated riffs on "Blue Train" as well as the high energy and impact from contributions by Lee Morgan and Kenny Drew during "Locomotion." The track likewise features some brief but vital contributions from Philly Joe Jones -- whose efforts throughout the record stand among his personal best. Of the five sides that comprise the original Blue Train, the Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer ballad "I'm Old Fashioned" is the only cover tune in the stack. In terms of unadulterated sentiment, this version is arguably untouchable. Fuller's rich tones and Drew's tastefully executed solos cleanly wrap around Jones' steadily languid rhythms. This is sheer jazz nirvana. In the spring of 1997, the Ultimate Blue Train CD was released, boasting 20-bit remastered audio as well as one alternate take of both "Blue Train" and "Lazy Bird." Additionally, the disc includes "At Least Listen" -- an interactive CD-ROM program featuring video clips and interview clips with Fuller circa 1995, as well as many brilliant photographs taken during the recording sessions. Without reservation, Blue Train can easily be considered in and among the most important and influential entries not only of John Coltrane's career, but of the entire genre of jazz music as well." -- Lindsay Planer
"History will undoubtedly enshrine this disc as a watershed the likes of which may never truly be appreciated. Giant Steps bore the double-edged sword of furthering the cause of the music as well as delivering it to an increasingly mainstream audience. Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one. Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers -- who was the only band member other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated -- replicating the lineup featured on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos. All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are likewise Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos -- the 180-degree antithesis of the art form up to that point. These arrangements would create a place for the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style that noted jazz journalist Ira Gitler accurately dubbed "sheets of sound." Coltrane's polytonal torrents extricate the amicable and otherwise cordial solos that had begun decaying the very exigency of the genre -- turning it into the equivalent of easy listening. He wastes no time as the disc's title track immediately indicates a progression from which there would be no looking back. Line upon line of highly cerebral improvisation snake between the melody and solos, practically fusing the two. The resolute intensity of "Countdown" does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers. Tellingly, the contrasting and ultimately pastoral "Naima" was the last tune to be recorded, and is the only track on the original long-player to feature the Kind of Blue quartet. What is lost in tempo is more than recouped in intrinsic melodic beauty. Both Giant Steps [Deluxe Edition] and the seven-disc Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings offer more comprehensive presentations of these sessions. [Outside of the five bonus tracks that had become standard on the CD release of this album, three more have been appended to the 1998 reissue: two more alternate takes of "Giant Steps" and a second alternate take of "Naima"]" -- Lindsay Planer
"To say that John Coltrane is one of the greatest jazz musicians in the history of the genre is to utter a banal truism, but amid all of the (well-deserved) hubbub over Giant Steps and A Love Supreme, it is extremely edifying to pick up this 1958 effort and hear how well the man could play standards and especially ballads. Assisting him in this worthy endeavor are various combinations of Earl May and Paul Chambers on bass and Louis Hayes, Albert Heath, and Art Taylor on drums. Without a piano supplying much of the harmony of the song, Coltrane is extremely exposed, having to rely upon his own melodic inventiveness to ground his improvisations in both the chords and melody of the tune itself, while simultaneously commenting upon them. It's a difficult task, but one for which Coltrane is uncommonly prepared. Throughout the record, the saxophonist sounds more like Charlie Parker than usual, especially on the terrific "Like Someone in Love," but that doesn't mean that he doesn't get some of his own best licks in as well. Saxophone ballads are rarely more interesting and more beautiful. The Latin groove to "I Love You" is a delight, especially so considering that the rhythm section sounds like it's going to fall apart at any second. The sole deviation from the saxophone trio format features assistance from Red Garland and Donald Byrd on a reading of "Lush Life," which is so perfectly realized that one begins to wonder why successive generations of jazzers still persist in attempting to improve upon it. A perfect track and a perfect album, one well deserving of its classic status." -- Daniel Gioffre
"Archie Shepp has been at various times a feared firebrand and radical, soulful throwback and contemplative veteran. He was viewed in the '60s as perhaps the most articulate and disturbing member of the free generation, a published playwright willing to speak on the record in unsparing, explict fashion about social injustice and the anger and rage he felt. His tenor sax solos were searing, harsh and unrelenting, played with a vivid intensity. But in the '70s, Shepp employed a fatback/swing-based R&B approach, and in the '80s he mixed straight bebop, ballads and blues pieces displaying little of the fury and fire from his earlier days. Shepp studied dramatic literature at Goddard College, earning his degree in 1959. He played alto sax in dance bands and sought theatrical work in New York. But Shepp switched to tenor, playing in several free jazz bands. He worked with Cecil Taylor, co-led groups with Bill Dixon and played in The New York Contemporary Five with Don Cherry and John Tchicai. He led his own bands in the mid-'60s with Roswell Rudd, Bobby Hutcherson, Beaver Harris and Grachan Moncur III. His Impulse albums included poetry readings and quotes from James Baldwin and Malcolm X. Shepp's releases sought to paint an aural picture of African-American life, and included compositions based on incidents like Attica or folk sayings. He also produced plays in New York among them "The Communist" in 1965, and "Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy" in 1972 with trumpeter/composer Cal Massey. But starting in the late '60s, the rhetoric was toned down and the anger began to disappear from Shepp's albums. He substituted a more celebratory, and at times reflective attitude. Shepp turned to academia in the late '60s, teaching at SUNY in Buffalo, then the University of Massachusetts. He was named an associate professor there in 1978. Shepp toured and recorded extensively in Europe during the '80s, cutting some fine albums with Horace Parlan, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and Jasper van't Hof. He has recorded extensively for Impulse, Byg, Arista/Freedom, Phonogram, Steeplechase, Denon, Enja, EPM and Soul Note among others over the years.Unfortunately his tone declined from the mid-1980's on (his highly original sound was his most important contribution to jazz) and Archie Shepp is a less significant figure in the 1990's than one might hope." - Ron Wynn and Scott Yanow
"The Way Ahead was a turning point for Archie Shepp. For starters, he had looked all over the jazz/improv arena for the proper combination of players -- without a piano. One can speculate that this was because he cut his first teeth with pianist Cecil Taylor and that would perhaps ruin anybody for life. Recorded in 1969, The Way Ahead featured Ron Carter on bass, Grachan Moncur III's trombone, Jimmy Owens' trumpet, and drums by either Beaver Harris or Roy Haynes, with Walter Davis Jr. on piano. The set is a glorious stretch of the old and new, with deep blues, gospel, and plenty of guttersnipe swing in the mix. From the post-bop blues opener "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)," the set takes its Ellington-Webster cue and goes looking for the other side of Mingus. Shepp's solo is brittle, choppy, honky, and glorious against a set of changes gracefully employed by Moncur and Owens. Harris' stuttering, skittering rhythm may keep it anchored in the blues, but holds the line for anything else to happen. Likewise, the modern edge of things evidenced by Moncur's "Frankenstein" (first recorded with Jackie McLean's group in 1963) turns up the heat a bit more. Shepp's take is wholly different, accenting pedal points and microharmonics in the breaks. On "Sophisticated Lady" and "Fiesta," Haynes fills the drum chair and cuts his manic swinging time through the arrangements, lending them more of an elegant flair than perhaps they deserve here, though they also dig deeper emotionally than one would expect. The final two tracks on the CD are sessions left over from February 1969 that replace Davis with Dave Burrell and Carter with Walter Booker, and add Charles Davis on baritone with Harris on skins. They sound apart from these sessions, though; there is a fury and darkness in them that sucks a bit of the joyous party feel from the original album." -- Thom Jurek
"Horace Parlan has overcome physical disability and thrived as a pianist despite it. His right hand was partially crippled by polio in his childhood, but Parlan's made frenetic, highly rhythmic right hand phrases part of his characteristic style, contrasting them with striking left-hand chords. He's also infused blues and R&B influences into his style, playing in a stark, sometimes somber fashion. Parlan has always cited Ahmad Jamal and Bud Powell as prime influences. He began playing in R&B bands during the '50s, joining Charles Mingus' group from 1957 to 1959 following a move from Pittsburgh to New York. Mingus aided his career enormously, both through his recordings and his influence. Parlan played with Booker Ervin in 1960 and 1961, then in the Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis-Johnny Griffin quintet in 1962. Parlan played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk from 1963 to 1966, and had a strong series of Blue Note recordings in the '60s. He left America for Copenhagen in 1973, and gained international recognition for some stunning albums on Steeplechase, including a pair of superb duet sessions with Archie Shepp. He also recorded with Dexter Gordon, Red Mitchell, and in the '80s Frank Foster and Michal Urbaniak. He also has recorded extensively for SteepleChase, Enja, and Timeless." - Ron Wynn
""Horace who?" That's what one is likely to encounter when excitedly talking of this set to jazz pedestrians. And it's not their fault, either. People who are reasonably familiar with the music can be excused for not hearing of the great American hard bop pianist who has made his living from Denmark since 1972. At age 70, Parlan is still a pianist of enormous talent, but is rarely heard on this side of the Atlantic. The Mosaic set compiles all seven of Parlan's sessions as a leader from 1960 through 1963 -- Movin' and Groovin', Us Three, Speakin' My Piece, Headin' South, On the Spur of the Moment, Up and Down, and Happy Frame of Mind -- and his work on the label as part of Booker Ervin's band on Back From the Gig. Before becoming a leader, he enjoyed the honor of being Charles Mingus' pianist (1957-1959), during an era that saw the release of two of Mingus' finest records: the groundbreaking Blues and Roots and Mingus Ah Um. One of the reasons for the richness of those recordings was Parlan's style. A pianist who suffered from polio since the age of five, the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand were useless. He compensated by using the thumb and first two fingers to complete extended chords normally handled by the left hand. But, to become a soloist, he developed a style that Mingus would find irresistible: He would use short melodic runs with the right hand and build them into chunky percussive chords that had the density of Red Garland's and the gutbucket funk of Horace Silver's, all while rooted in the blues. The Movin' and Groovin' sides tell the whole story in a way. The set begins with a formalist interpretation of "C Jam Blues, a tune on which many of Parlan's rhythmic and melodic principles are showcased. Much of Parlan's inventiveness is built upon repetition, which is used as a structural device to dull the harmonic movement of a particular tune. Here, he uses thick, block-like chords in non-varying eighths against a minimal set of right-hand lines that grow more elaborate with each pass through the chorus. Elsewhere on the album, on "Up in Cynthia's Room," a badassed blues gives way to an ostinato of shimmering color and grace. It was used again with a quintet on "Speakin' My Piece," with more of the dark blues funk percussively added to Parlan's solo to make it stick out among the horns. Another of Parlan's hot moves is his rooting in the gospel traditions for which repetition was made, varying phrases just enough to move the tune along without edging it too far from its harmonic root -- give a listen to the preacher's shout in "Wadin'" for an example of this. Slide-and-jump and call-and-response methods are employed over and over again, with chords built by the minute to juxtapose his short rhythmic melodic eight hand inventions against. Al Harewood on drums and bassist George Tucker were one of the steadiest, most rock-solid rhythm sections in the music at the time, capable of backing any soloist. They are present on all but two Parlan sessions, the first of which has Sam Jones on bass and the last which features Butch Warren and Billy Higgins on bass and drums, respectively. Parlan's choice of material, from the mainly standards bag of the first couple of recordings to the mix of original compositions and bandmates' material on the other four, is an evolution of the music as much as it is of Parlan himself. After 1961, the hard bop trend was to keep it all inside the unit wherever possible. Even on Booker Ervin's date (with Grant Green on guitar) that ends the set, the tunes tend to be homemade and written for the band. With horn players, Parlan really shined as a soloist. His sessions with Stanley and Tommy Turrentine for Speakin' My Piece showcase his structural style in a manner that gives the soloists more freedom and elongates the blues line to an extent that it almost disappears. With his varying placement of meter and his shifting of harmonics always toward the blues end, ostinato becomes a natural extension of meter and rolls off the end onto another chorus, giving the appearance that the 12-bar blues has been subverted. His short, tight, intense bursts of sound are small, span-wise, but resonant for the horn player or bassist who is playing off of them. Of all the recordings here, perhaps Up and Down, his second from last as a leader, is Parlan's signature album from the period. "The Other Part of Town" is an outlandish bit of harmonic strangling on Parlan's part, with Booker Ervin's trademark tone spitting through the mix and Grant Green funking it up just enough that Parlan has to take control with huge chords played in blocks all around the his phrase-like melody, which builds and releases tension before turning around on about the tenth chorus and restating the blues theme for the other soloists. Parlan may not be the best-known of Blue Note's piano giants, but that doesn't make him any less an architect of the hard bop sound of the early '60s, as this wonderful box -- with Mosaic's usual exhaustive annotation -- so profoundly attests." -- Thom Jurek
The seven albums Horace Parlan recorded as a leader for Blue Note from 1960 to 1963 (all collected on a superb new box from Mosaic) marked him as a unique stylist. Parlan's soulfulness, his exuberance and inventiveness, create a climate different from anything else in jazz; and though he can certainly be compared with some better-known jazz pianists of the era, it's the differences that count. Parlan has something of Horace Silver's fun style of percussive punctuation but less of Silver's abandon, preferring, in his solos, to build intensity through small, precise rhythmic variations. And though he uses chords as Red Garland does, to vary density, the typical Parlan performance has an un-Garland-like compulsiveness.
Perhaps the easiest way to place Parlan is to name the musicians with whom he worked most often as a sideman. He was Charles Mingus's regular pianist during the bassist's great 1957-59 period, sustaining the irresistible gospel undertow on the masterpiece a lbums Blues & Roots and Mingus Ah Um. Although his group concept is less multilayered than Mingus's, he seems to have learned from Mingus how to use his fervent rich chords in ensemble passages. For example, when the horns return to restate the theme at the end of the quintet version of Parlan's "Wadin,' " the piano's preacher-like exhortations create a sense of triumph and assurance. Parlan also recorded frequently in support of three saxophonists associated with the soul-funk school of hard bop: altoist Lou Donaldson and tenorists Stanley Turrentine and Booker Ervin, the last a fellow Mingus alumnus. (Turrentine and Ervin both appear on two of Parlan's Blue Note sessions.)
Parlan's surprising voicings and his tendency to work with short melodic units reflect his incorporation of his physical disability into his style (crippled with polio at age five, he lacked the use of the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand). He has his favorite licks or devices -- snakes-and-ladders-type figures, crawling, tunneling, and tumbling. Up and Down is an apt name for a Parlan album, since so much of his soloing is preoccupied with capturing, releasing, and recapturing short spans of sound. Repetition is Parlan's structuring principle; it will flatten out the harmonic movement of a tune, sometimes to outlandish effect ("The Other Part of Town," from Up and Down).
Parlan's compositions bear the stamp of his technique and personality. "Wadin' " is a terse paraphrase of the opening phrase of Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing," with the first note omitted so that the melody starts on the burst of "Don't mean a thing . . . " With Parlan, harmony tends toward blues, and blues toward ostinatos, as in the attractive "Up in Cynthia's Room," from his first trio album, Movin' & Groovin' (revived for quintet on Speakin' My Piece), in which, except for the bridge, the melody keeps suggesting a blues pattern rather than the underlying "I Got Rhythm" changes.
On his supremely formalist reading of "C Jam Blues," the ramifying complexity of Parlan's solo comes from the gradual elaboration of right-hand lines and the varying placement (in terms of the meter) of the punctuating left-hand chords; this leads to a resolutely anti-swinging block-chords section in straight eighths. Parlan generally sounds most comfortable at medium tempos, where his subtle rhythmic articulations can make themselves felt, but in the rare slow ballad performance he is sumptuous and luxurious: on "I Want To Be Loved," the inevitable block chords take on an unusual understated intensity.
The Mosaic box documents one of jazz's great rhythm sections: Parlan, George Tucker, and Al Harewood. Tucker is a dominating bassist who sometimes suggests Mingus with his startling high-note choices, vehement ostinatos, and deeply plucked strings, as in his mighty intro to the unbelievable F-minor stomp "Us Three." On "Come Rain or Come Shine," Tucker's propulsiveness leaves Parlan free to concentrate on a fine and pleasurable construction of rhythmic figures. The fluid and supportive drummer Harewood subtly displaces accents in relation to the relentless Parlan ("Us Three"), breaking up the feel with a light snare clatter ("Wadin' ").
On his quintet and sextet recordings, Parlan's is not infrequently the best of several fine solos -- a feat when you consider that all the players have strong styles. There's Stanley Turrentine's combination of plaintiveness and hard swing; the clear, calm trumpet of his brother Tommy Turrentine; Booker Ervin's tragic gutbucket modernism; guitarist Grant Green's liquid tone and insistent phrasing; the spare lyricism of trumpeter Johnny Coles.
The interruption of Parlan's career as a leader at the conclusion of his Blue Note contract in 1963 is a loss -- Happy Frame of Mind, his last Blue Note album, indicates that he would have been a distinctive contributor to the turbulent late-'60s jazz scene. Since 1973, he has lived and worked in Copenhagen, recording with, among others, Archie Shepp. But this box set feels sufficient, a self-contained world of excitement and satisfaction. - Chris Fujiwara ( The Boston Pheonix)
"Guitarist Al DiMeola first rose to prominence as a blazing jazz fusion player before his playing matured and he began to conquer other styles, such as acoustic Latin music. Born on July 22, 1954, in Jersey City, NJ, DiMeola briefly studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston during the early '70s before accepting a job replacing guitarist Bill Connors in fusion trailblazers Return to Forever (a group that included such monster instrumentalists as keyboardist Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke) in 1974. It was with DiMeola that Return to Forever enjoyed their greatest commercial success, as such releases as 1974's Where Have I Known Before, 1975's No Mystery, and 1976's Romantic Warrior cracked the U.S. Top 40 before DiMeola jumped ship to launch a solo career.
What followed remains some of the finest jazz fusion guitar-based recordings ever: 1976's Land of the Midnight Sun, 1977's Elegant Gypsy (which would eventually earn gold-certification in the U.S.), and Casino, plus 1979's Splendido Hotel, before uniting with fellow guitar greats John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía for 1980's Friday Night in San Francisco. Throughout the '80s and '90s, DiMeola racked up numerous accolades (including earning yearly top honors in Guitar Player Magazine polls), kept on issuing solo releases on a regular basis, and played with others, including releases by Stomu Yamash'ta, Paul Simon, Stanley Jordan, and David Matthews, as well as further work with such former bandmates as Corea, Clarke, de Lucía, and McLaughlin. During the '90s, DiMeola turned his back almost entirely on fusion to concentrate more on acoustic-based world music, as evidenced by such releases as World Sinfonia, DiMeola Plays Piazzolla, and Heart of the Immigrants, among others." - Greg Prato
"Guitarist Al DiMeola's second record as a leader is generally an explosive affair, although it does have a fair amount of variety. With Jan Hammer or Barry Miles on keyboards, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Lenny White (Steve Gadd takes his place on the "Elegant Gypsy Suite"), and percussionist Mingo Lewis on most of the selections, DiMeola shows off his speedy and rockish fusion style. He was still a member of Return to Forever at the time and was a stronger guitarist than composer, but DiMeola did put a lot of thought into this music. The brief "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" (an acoustic guitar solo) and "Mediterranean Sundance" (an acoustic duet with fellow guitarist Paco de Lucía) hints at DiMeola's future directions. A near classic in the fusion vein." -- Scott Yanow
"A rich, moody tapestry with flashes of fire, this CD incorporates elements of jazz, fusion, classical, Latin, tango, and Middle Eastern music. Sounding like the romantic soundtrack to an excellent foreign film, it's full of splendid moments, like the wash of colors on "Double Concerto," a sinuous composition by Di Meola's "musical father and friend," Astor Piazzolla. Di Meola interprets two more beauties from the late Argentinian tango legend -- the tender "Soledad" and the churning, incendiary "Libertango," where he uses midi technology to approximate the classic bandoleon sound -- and offers six of his own. One of them, the title track, could be the most gorgeous, soulful melody of 2000, stated in ways alternately delicate and powerful; when it finally crescendos it's like the ocean lifting, with the sun sparkling on it. His "Opus in Green," written with fine Argentinian pianist Mario Parmisano, is very Return to Forever-like. Di Meola has phenomenal technique and a gift for un-hackneyed writing; his famous blistering runs are in here, but only when they further the music -- not gratuitously added for their own sake. The arrangements by Di Meola and armisano make optimal use of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and soloists, creating an organically textured whole rather than the stringy soup that too often drowns such collections." -- Judith Schlesinger
"One of the staples in the Count Basie discography, April in Paris is one of those rare albums that makes its mark as an almost instant classic in the jazz pantheon. April in Paris represents the reassembly of the original Count Basie orchestra that define swing in the 1930s and 1940s. The title track has come to define elegance in orchestral jazz. Though only ten tracks in its original release, seven alternate takes have now been incorporated into Verve's re-release of the original session tapes. Other key tracks include "Corner Pocket" and "Magic," both of which are also featured in the alternate takes. Recorded in 1955 and 1956, April in Paris proved Count Basie's ability to grow through modern jazz changes while keeping the traditional jazz orchestra vital and alive." -- Christopher Fielder
"Frank Sinatra's collaborations with Count Basie were among the singer's better ventures back into jazz in the early 1960s, and led not only to a couple of great studio albums, and one superb live Sinatra album, but also to Basie's being signed to the Sinatra-founded Reprise label in the mid-'60s. The 53 minutes of music captured on this CD was recorded during the opening sets from three different shows in late January and early February of 1966, by Basie and his band during the engagement with Sinatra at the Sands Hotel that yielded that live Sinatra album. Maybe that raises the expectations, because this release is a slight disappointment -- the band sounds okay, but except for Basie himself and drummer Sonny Payne, it seems like they're walking their way through some of this repertoire. There are a number of good moments here: "I Needs to Be Bee'd With," "Flight of the Foo Birds," "Satin Doll," "Blues for Home," and "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" (which is worth hearing for the ensemble work and Eric Dixon and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis's solos); the band finally takes flight, but compared with some of the recordings of complete shows by Basie that are nothing less than great, a lot of this is secondary. Given the fact that it was Sinatra's set that was going to be taped for release for certain, the band may, indeed, have been holding back during its own set, for good reason. Even the audience response says it, positive and polite but not excessive -- they were there for Sinatra, and nothing Basie and company did were likely to bowl them over, so why make the effort? It's not a bad set, and some of it -- "Makin' Whoopee" (especially the call and response on the piano), "Corner Pocket," and "Jumpin' at the Woodside" -- has great appeal. But this is overall a legendary band doing a somewhat less-than-legendary set, during some gigs that, in fairness, yielded up a great live album elsewhere. The quality is solid live sound, in crisp, stereo from a nicely controlled mid-'60s venue, using state-of-the-art equipment." -- Bruce Eder
"This album gave the Count Basie Orchestra a rare chance to record an instrumental studio date in the late '60s. Arranger Sammy Nestico made his debut with Basie on this pleasant if unremarkable set of swingers and ballads. Tenors Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Eric Dixon (doubling on flute) are the standouts on this enjoyable session." -- Scott Yanow
"Three decades after the fact, people looking at releases like This Time by Basie would tend to dismiss it as pandering, Count Basie doing a "pops"-type outing -- the cheesy cover art even emphasized the songs over Basie and his band. Nothing could be further from the truth, however -- this 16-song release reveals a wonderful body of work, and deserves to be better known. For starters, This Time by Basie swings, smooth and easy but taut, or hot and heavy. From Sonny Payne's understated cymbal intro to "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" to the bluesier notes of "One Mint Julep," Basie and company sound like they're enjoying themselves, whether elegantly stretching out on "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" or "Moon River," or soaring into the air on the hotter numbers -- one of the more surprising covers here is "Walk Don't Run," which even works in a big-band arrangement. Highlights amid all of this surprising splendor include Marshall Royal's alto sax on "What Kind of Fool Am I" and Frank Foster's tenor sax on "Something Big." Quincy Jones arranged and conducted This Time by Basie, and the record was successful, returning the Count to the pop charts on the eve of the British Invasion. The last five songs here are drawn from Pop Goes the Basie, a 1965 album arranged and conducted by Billy Byers, and produced by Teddy Reig -- the playing is as good as the companion work on numbers like "The Hucklebuck." Their version of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" is a big-band blues rendition of the song (sung by Leon Thomas) that buries the original's grand operatic romantic sensibilities in a posed soulfulness. "Oh Soul Mio" (highlight by Al Grey's trombone work), "Shangri-La" and "At Long Last Love" (both prominently featuring Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis) come off better -- the last number could've come off of any of Basie's best post-1951 albums. The remixing from the original three-track studio masters has yielded an especially clean sound with vivid stereo separation, enhancing the solos (check out Davis' on "At Long Last Love") and the overall ensemble." -- Bruce Eder
"The role of the Arabic, lute-like, stringed instrument, the oud, has been revolutionalized through the playing of Anouar Brahem. While used in the past to accompany vocalists, the oud is used by Brahem as an imaginative solo instrument. In 1988, Tunisian newspaper, "Tunis-Hebdo", wrote, "If we had to elect the musician of the 80s, we would have, without the least hesitation, chosen Anouar Brahem". The British daily newspaper, "The Guardian", that Brahem was "at the forefront of jazz because he is far beyond it".
Encouraged by his music-loving father, Brahem began studying the oud, at the age of ten, when he enrolled at the National Conservatory of Music. For nearly a decade, he studied with influential oud player Ali Sitri. By the age of fifteen, he was playing well enough to perform regularly with local orchestras. Although he initially focused on Arabic music, Brahem increasingly incorporated elements of jazz. This was enhanced during the six years that he spent in Paris (1981 -- 1987), performing at festivals and collaborating with choreographer Maurice Bejart on a production, "A Return To Carthage" that received the prestigous "National Award Of Excellence In Music".
Returning to Tunis in 1987, Brahem performed at the Carthage Festival in the multi-artist production, "Ligua 85". Shortly afterwards, Braham agreed to become director of the Ensemble Musical De In Ville De Tunis. During the two years that he oversaw the ensemble, Brahem divided the group into smaller of various sizes. Among the productions that he directed were "Leilatou Tayu" and "El Hizam El Dhahbi".
In 1990, Brahem resigned to focus on his own career. After touring in the United States and Canada, he met and was signed by Manfred Eicher, producer and founder of German record label, ECM. His debut album, "Barzakh", released in 1991, was recorded with Turkish musicians, Bechir Selmi and Lassad Hosni. In a review of the album, German music magazine, "Stereo", wrote, "(Brahem) is an exceptional musician and improviser". Brahem's second album, "Conte De L'incroyable Amour", released in 1992, was recorded with clarinet player Barbaros Erkose. In 1994, Brahem recorded "Madar", with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and Pakistani tabla player Shaukat Hussain. Brahem's fourth album, "Khomas", released in 1995, featured improvised interpretations of his compositions for Tunisian film and theater productions and was recorded with accordion player Richard Galliano and violinist Bechir Selmi. With his fifth effort, "Thimar", released in 1998, Brahem collaborated with soprano saxophone and bass clarinet player Jo n Surman and double bass player Dave Holland. Astrakan Cafe was issued three years later.
Brahem has composed numerous pieces for such films and musical theater productions as "Sabots En Or", "Bezness", "Halfaouine", "Les Silences Du Palais", "Lachou Shakespeare", "Wannas El Kloub", El Amel", "Borj El Hammam" and "Bosten Jamalek". He collaborated with Maurice Bejart on the ballet, "Thalassa Mare Nostrum" and with Gabriel Yared on the Costa Gravas film, "Hanna K". - Craig Harris
"This starkly beautiful collection of 13 tracks by Tunisian composer Anouar Brahem is his debut release for the ECM label. The album spotlights Brahem's solo oud pieces, which range from the meditative ("Sadir") to the propulsive ("Ronda"). This solo work is nicely augmented by stellar contributions from violinist Bechir Selmi and percussionist Lassad Hosni; Selmi is featured on the transcendent "Barzakh," while Hosni figures prominently on "Souga" and "Bou Naouara." The three musicians come together for the joyous dance number "Parfum de Gitane." Throughout Barzakh, Brahem and the others forge an appealing mix of Middle Eastern sonorities and jazz phrasing, an intimate sound perfectly suited to the clean and spacious ECM recording style. This is a great title for fans of both international music and jazz." -- Stephen Cook
"Avant-garde saxophonist with striking rhythmic and timbral control, as well as an intriguing nonscalar technique has also played various clarinets, flute, electronic instruments, percussion, acordion, and the harmonica.
Born in Chicago on June 4, 1945, Braxton studied at the Chicago School of Music and at Roosevelt University. At Wilson Junior College, he met Roscoe Mitchell and Jack DeJohnette. After a stint in the army, Braxton joined the AACM.
After moving to Paris with the Anthony Braxton Trio (which evolved into the Creative Construction Company), he returned to the US, where he stayed at Ornette Coleman's house, gave up music, and worked as a chess hustler in the city's Washington Square Park. In 1970, he and Chick Corea studied scores by Stockhausen, Boulez, Xenakis and Schoenberg together, and Braxton joined Corea's Circle. In 1972, he made his bandleader debut (leading duos, trios, and quintets) and played solo at Carnegie Hall.
In the early 1970s, he worked with the Italian Musica Elettronica Viva, which performed contemporary classical and improvised music. In 1974, he signed a recording contract with Arista Records.
One of the first black abstract musicians to acknowledge a debt to contemporary European art music, Braxton is known as much as a composer as an improviser. The output ranges from solo pieces to For Four Orchestras, a work work that has been described as "a colossal work, longer than any of Gustav Mahler's symphonies and larger in instrumentation than most of Richard Wagner's operas."
His 1968 solo alto saxophone double LP For Alto (finally released in 1971) remains a jazz landmark, for its encouragement of solo instrumental recordings. Other important recordings include Three Compositions of New Jazz (1968, Delmark), his 1970s releases on Arista, Composition No. 96 (1981; Leo), Quartet (London) 1985; Quartet (Birmingham) 1985; Quartet (Coventry) 1985 (all on Leo), Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989 (hat Art), Duo (London) 1993 & Trio (London), both on Leo. - Centerstage
"On the first of two Lp's released by Windham Hill's mid-80's jazz subsidiary Magenta, the great avant-garde altoist Anthony Braxton teams up with a modern bop trio (consisting of pianist Hank Jones, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis) to explore seven jazz standards. Included along with a few familiar pieces are such obscurities as Clifford Jordan's "Toy" and Warne Marsh's "Background Music." Braxton generally plays the melodies fairly straight before taking off into abstract improvisations; unfortunately his sidemen seem to mostly operate independently of the altoist." -- Scott Yanow
total 65M 11M 01 Joy Spring.mp3 4.8M 02 Spring Is Here.mp3 7.1M 03 I Remember You.mp3 8.9M 04 Toy.mp3 13M 05 You Go To My Head.mp3 8.9M 06 Old Folks.mp3 7.4M 07 Background Music.mp3 4.5M AB_7Standards1985,v1_Cover.jpg 1000K AB_7Standards1985,v1_Tray.jpg
"The saxophone is not an instrument usually associated with Pakistani music. And Pakistanis are not especially famous for collaborating with Norwegians. But that is what listeners have on this incredible recording. The music is predominantly Pakistani in sound, tonality, and structure; voice, sarangi, and tabla improvise along with Garbarek's saxophone on every track. For aficionados of Indian or Pakistani music, this is a great recording; Garbarek's lines are right in step with the traditional styles of improvisation. Listeners unacquainted with these traditions will find this recording a mesmerizingly exotic disc. Those familiar with Garbarek's work will be very surprised. This is a completely unique recording for him; one can only hope that he makes further explorations in this vein." -- Mark W.B. Allender
"Jonas Knutsson was born in 1965 and comes from the northern Swedish town of Umeå. His parents were involved with the annual jazz festival there and through them his interest for jazz was awakened. He chose the alto saxophone as his main instrument. He studied in the late 70s with the American saxophonist Sahib Shihab who was then living in Denmark. Later he worked with the Indian tabla player Fazal Querishi, the American bassist Tom Kennedy and the fusion bands Cabazz and Mynta. He became a member of Elise Einarsdotter's Ensemble with which he has toured many times in France and Belgium and with this group he came into contact with singer Lena Willemark.
Lena inspired his interest in the folk music traditions of Sweden. This led to them to forming the group "Enteli" together with Johan Söderquist, multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller and percussionist Bengt Berger. Through "Enteli" Jonas came into contact with many other representatives of the universal folk music culture and found himself fascinated by what he heard. This has been of great importance to his development as a musician and he now expresses himself on four different saxophones - alto, baritone, soprano and most recently - sopranino. Each instrument represents a range of different modes of expression for Jonas.
He started his own group Jonas Knutsson Band and worked together with pianist Bobo Svensson and keyboard specialist Mats Öberg. He has also been one of the leaders for world-music projects such as the Stockholm Folk Big Band and the World Music Laboratory. In France he is known as a member of drummer/composer Bertrand Renaudin's project "l'arbre voyage", a group which plays French jazz with influences of folk music. He has also written a Festival Suite on commission from the Gothenburg Jazz Festival as well as chamber music.
At present Jonas can be heard in his own group KNUTSSON (jazz/folk) together with pianist Anders Persson, bassist Sébastién Dubé, and percussionist Rafael Sida, as well as BERGER KNUTSSON SPERING (modern Swedish jazz), and the group TRYPTYK (modern Swedish folk).
Jonas to date has recorded five CDs as leader and taken part in around 100 CDs as a sideman together with Scandinavian jazz, folk and pop artists." - Charles Gavatin
total 97M 12M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_01_[09]_Fly_Away.mp3 11M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_02_[09]_Horn's_Street.mp3 13M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_03_[09]_a)_I_Loves_You_Porgy_b)_On_The_Lee_Side.mp3 13M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_04_[09]_Anglar.mp3 14M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_05_[09]_The_Kangaroo_Woman.mp3 7.5M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_06_[09]_Tradet.mp3 9.7M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_07_[09]_Eine_Kleine_Marz_Muzik.mp3 8.1M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_08_[09]_Smiles.mp3 9.8M Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_09_[09]_Loriken.mp3 695K Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_Back.JPG 681K Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_Front.JPG 684K Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_Inside_1.JPG 638K Jonas_Knutsson_Quartet_Inside_2.JPG
"Closely associated at times with Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland surprisingly only led one CD of his own prior to his premature death. He started playing piano at age six and later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. Among his early jobs were playing with Michal Urbaniak (on electric keyboards) during 1977, Miroslav Vitous (1979), Terumasa Hino, and Elvin Jones. Influenced by Herbie Hancock, Kirkland was well-featured while with Wynton Marsalis' band (1981-1985), but his departure in 1985 to play pop music with Sting (along with Branford Marsalis) greatly upset Wynton. After leaving Sting in 1986, Kirkland became a session musician and in the early '90s, he joined the Tonight Show band (under the direction of Branford Marsalis); his only album as a leader was for GRP (1991). Kirkland was found dead in his Queens, NY, apartment on November 13, 1998; he was just 43 years old." - Scott Yanow
total 92M 14M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Ana Maria - 08.mp3 4.3M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Blasphemy - 11.mp3 11M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Celia - 05.mp3 8.8M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Chance - 06.mp3 7.2M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Criss Cross - 10.mp3 2.5M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - El Rey - 03.mp3 4.5M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Midnight Silence - 02.mp3 13M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Mr. J.C. - 01.mp3 12M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Revelations - 09.mp3 8.3M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - Steepian Faith - 04.mp3 9.2M Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997 - When Will The Blues Leave - 07.mp3 1.0K Kenny Kirkland - Special Commem1997.m3u
"One of the premiere fusion groups, the Mahavishnu Orchestra was considered by most observers during its prime to be a rock band, but its sophisticated improvisations actually put its high-powered music between rock and jazz. Founder and leader John McLaughlin had recently played with Miles Davis and Tony Williams' Lifetime. The original lineup of the group was McLaughlin on electric guitar, violinist Jerry Goodman, keyboardist Jan Hammer, electric bassist Rick Laird, and drummer Billy Cobham. They recorded three intense albums for Columbia during 1971-1973 and then the personnel changed completely for the second version of the group. In 1974, the band consisted of violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Gayle Moran on keyboards and vocals, electric bassist Ralphe Armstrong, and drummer Michael Warden; by 1975 Stu Goldberg had replaced Moran and Ponty had left. John McLaughlin's dual interests in Eastern religion and playing acoustic guitar resulted in the band breaking up in 1975. Surprisingly, an attempt to revive the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1984 (using Cobham, saxophonist Bill Evans, keyboardist Mitchell Forman, electric bassist Jonas Hellborg, and percussionist Danny Gottlieb) was unsuccessful; one Warner Bros. album resulted. However, when one thinks of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it is of the original lineup, which was very influential throughout the 1970s." - Scott Yanow
"Recorded in London on June 25, 1973, these sessions for a planned third Mahavishnu Orchestra album were shelved when the band decided to put out the live Between Nothingness and Eternity instead. Bootlegged in the past, two-track mixes of the missing album were discovered in the vaults in the late 1990s, paving the way for its official release in 1999. It's thus the last of the three studio albums done by the original Mahavishnu lineup (with Cobham on drums, Goodman on violin, Hammer on keyboards and Laird on bass). Although McLaughlin had been the only composer on the first two Mahavishnu albums, he only penned half of the six tracks here, with Goodman, Hammer and Laird pitching in a song each. It's fiery, if perhaps over-busy at times, fusion, McLaughlin reaching his most feverish pitches in the frenetic concluding passage of the ten-minute "Trilogy." The numbers written by other members than McLaughlin tend to be a little more subdued, and perhaps unsurprisingly less inclined toward burning guitar solos." -- Richie Unterberger
"A major expansion on Mingus Dynasty, since 1991 the Mingus Big Band (which often uses more than 20 musicians) has explored the great bassist's music at least once a week. They play regularly at the Time Spot Café in New York and their series of recordings for Dreyfus are often rather remarkable. The huge group performs some of Mingus' most complex works with spirit, virtuosity, and plenty of color. Such musicians as Randy Brecker, Ryan Kisor, Lew Soloff, Jack Walrath, Philip Harper, Art Baron, Frank Lacy, Ronnie Cuber, Alex Foster, Craig Handy, Chris Potter, Steve Slagle, John Stubblefield, James Carter, Kenny Drew Jr., Michael Formanek, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith are among the many involved in this worthy and exciting project." - Scott Yanow
"The Mingus Big Band had been together four years when they recorded this set while on a European tour. The musicians had mastered the great bassist's music, resulting in versions of a variety of Mingus classics that rank with the originals. The largely all-star 15-piece band includes such names as trumpeters Randy Brecker, Phillip Harper and Ryan Kisor, trombonist Frank Lacy, baritonist Gary Smulyan, tenor saxophonists Craig Handy, John Stubblefield, and Chris Potter, and pianist Kenny Drew, Jr. Each of the nine performances are exciting, both in the overcrowded ensembles and the solo statements, with the highlights including "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," "Fables of Faubus" (featuring Harper and altoist Steve Slagle), an explosive "Hog Callin' Blues" (showcasing John Stubblefield's highly expressive tenor), and "Started Medley" (based on "I Can't Get Started"). One can understand, listening to this single disc, why the Mingus Big Band began winning polls as jazz's top orchestra shortly afterwards." -- Scott Yanow
"A couple of years ago producer Bill Laswell caused outrage and delight in equal measure when he did the unthinkable and remixed 1970s Miles Davis for his Panthalassa project. Once again, Columbia have given Bill a set of keys to their archives and this time he's turned his attention to Carlos Santana. No "Black Magic Woman" here though; Laswell has gone for arguably the two most left field items in Santana's back catalogue and those that were most informed by his interest in Eastern spirituality, Illuminations (1974) and Love Devotion and Surrender (1973).
Both of these records were an explicit acknowledgement of Santana's love of (and debt to) John Coltrane; Illuminations was recorded in collaboration with John's widow, Alice, and pitched Santana's trademark ecstatic guitar stylings over a widescreen exotica backdrop of lush strings, rippling harps and sitar drones. Love Devotion and Surrender paired Carlos with Mahavishnu Orchestra leader John Mclaughlin; generally a much heavier affair, it was a tribute to both Coltrane and Shri Chinmoy, guru to both guitarists. Laswell's 'reconstruction and mix translation' has filled out the sound and upped the atmospherics but as on Panthalassa, he's resisted the urge to mess with the original material too much. The result is both a vindication of his approach and a resounding testament to the beauty and power of the music.
The whole of Illuminations appears on Divine Light; "Angel of Air" sets the tone for much of what's to follow with Santana's characteristic sustained lines and blisssful cascading runs weaving their way through massed blocks of strings. It's no New Age Wholefood whimsy though - "Angel of Sunlight" turns up the heat with Dave Holland's propulsive bass locking with tablas and Jack de Johnette's kit drums to provide a platform for some of Santana's most exploratory playing. Four tracks appear from Love Devotion and Surrender; Mclaughlin and Santana's rework of 'A Love Supreme' has been heavily edited, turning it from a flailing, desperate attempt at transcendence through speed guitar heroics to a purposeful homage, while 'The Life Divine' has been given Laswell's Cinemascope treatment to transform it into one of the most blissful slices of prog fusion ever. Coltrane's 'Naima' is a tender, affecting acoustic duet by our heroes. Corny as it may seem, this is deeply spiritual stuff. Laswell's resurrection of these two albums is a thing to be treasured, and lasting proof that there's no place like Om. - Peter Marsh
total 84M 16M Santana - Divine Light - 01 - Angel Of Air.mp3 9.4M Santana - Divine Light - 02 - A Love Supreme.mp3 6.3M Santana - Divine Light - 03 - Illuminations.mp3 9.3M Santana - Divine Light - 04 - The Life Divine.mp3 5.7M Santana - Divine Light - 05 - Naima.mp3 21M Santana - Divine Light - 06 - Angel Of Sunlight.mp3 8.1M Santana - Divine Light - 07 - Bliss The Eternal Now.mp3 2.8M Santana - Divine Light - 08 - Meditation.mp3 5.6M Santana - Divine Light - 09 - Bliss The Eternal Now Return.mp3 429K Santana - Divine Light - Back.jpg 71K Santana - Divine Light - Cd.jpg 74K Santana - Divine Light - Front.jpg
"This set collects both installments of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World (1961) in a comprehensive two-CD compendium, sporting thoroughly remastered sound by legendary jazz producer/engineer Rudy Van Gelder. Audio-conscious consumers should be aware of the distortion that somewhat marred the original vinyl, as well as all subsequent pressings. Unfortunately, it seems to have been inherent in the master tapes. While it occasionally reveals itself during the more dynamic contrasts and passages, the combo's swinging bop and sheer musicality outweigh any and all anomalies. Birdland (aka "the jazz corner of the world") produced some of Art Blakey's (drums) most revered live recordings. In addition to these volumes, enthusiasts are equally encouraged to locate the genre-defining A Night at Birdland (1954). For the Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World sides, listeners fast-forward six years to Blakey's latest quintet, which includes the respective talents of Lee Morgan (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Bobby Timmons (piano), and Jymie Merritt (bass) -- all of whom are solidly grounded to Blakey's firm yet profound backbeat.
The lyrical performance style that began to emerge from Shorter in the early to mid-'60s can be heard developing during his tenure as a Jazz Messenger. He contrasts Morgan's limber and lilting solos and improvisations, which are especially notable on "'Round About Midnight" and the spirited "The Breeze and I." The latter title also allows Timmons the opportunity to stretch out and motivate the melody. "High Modes" showcases Merritt's pulsating and hypnotic basslines as he weaves a smoky groove beneath Morgan and Shorter's scintillating leads. In addition to "High Modes," this set features two more Hank Mobley compositions. The syncopated and infectiously rhythmic "Night Watch" is highlighted by Shorter, as he begins to fully grasp his improvisational skills that seem to materialize right before the keen-eared listener. He is quickly developing into the undaunted instrumentalist who would revolutionize modern jazz with Miles Davis in the mid-'60s. The set concludes with a rousing rendition of Shorter's "The Summit," which became a comparable standard for this version of the Jazz Messengers. Once again the lines fly fast and furious between Shorter and Morgan, with Timmons securely anchoring the soloists to the equally involved rhythm section. The 2002 reissue includes a newly inked essay from jazz historian Bob Blumenthal as well as reproductions of Leonard Feather's original sleeve notes. The sheer volume of releases by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers arguably makes this set somewhat obscured by the plethora of similarly classic live platters. However, the 2002 complete Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World would be a welcome addition to the library of most any jazz lover." -- Lindsay Planer
"The third version of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers debuted with this stunning album. Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson helped give the quintet its own personality with his compositions and arrangements (contributing "Blues March," "Along Came Betty," "Are You Real," and "The Drum Thunder Suite" to this set), 20-year-old trumpeter Lee Morgan quickly emerged as a powerful soloist and the funky pianist Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'" became the Messengers' first real hit. This classic album, a major influence on hard bop, is highly recommended." -- Scott Yanow
"Just prior to forming the first edition of the Jazz Messengers, drummer Art Blakey led a superb quintet at Birdland for a brief gig in 1954. The band featured the great trumpeter Clifford Brown, altoist Lou Donaldson, pianist Horace Silver and bassist Curly Russell in addition to the leader/drummer. All of the music has since been reissued as part of a Clifford Brown box set for Mosaic, but this is the original LP. The first volume is highlighted by "A Night in Tunisia," "Quicksilver" and "Once in a While" and finds all of the participants in inspired form. Classic bop." -- Scott Yanow
"The oldest of the four musical Marsalis brothers, Branford Marsalis has had an impressive career. After studying at Southern University and Berklee, Branford toured Europe with the Art Blakey big band in the summer of 1980 (playing baritone), played three months with Clark Terry, and then spent five months playing alto with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1981). He mostly played tenor and soprano while with Wynton Marsalis' influential group (1982-1985), at first sounding most influenced by Wayne Shorter but leaning more toward John Coltrane at the end. The musical telepathy between the two brothers (who helped to revive the sound of the mid-'60s Miles Davis Quintet) was sometimes astounding. Branford toured with Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. II. in 1983 and recorded with Miles Davis (1984's Decoy). In 1985, when he left Wynton to join Sting's pop/rock group, it caused a major (if temporary) rift with his brother that made headlines. Marsalis enjoyed playing with Sting but did not let the association cause him to forget his musical priorities. By 1986, he was leading his own group which eventually consisted of pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Bob Hurst, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts; sometimes the band was a piano-less trio that really allowed Marsalis to stretch out. After a couple of film appearances (in School Daze and Throw Mama From the Train), Branford Marsalis became even more of a celebrity when he joined Jay Leno's Tonight Show as the musical director in 1992. However, being cast in the role of Leno's sidekick rubbed against Marsalis' temperament and after two years he had had enough. Branford Marsalis, who attempted to mix together hip-hop and jazz in his erratic Buckshot LeFonque project, has recorded steadily for Columbia ever since 1983 (including a classical set)." - Scott Yanow
"Dark Keys is Branford Marsalis' first major solo album since taking a leave from recording to be the musical director of The Tonight Show in 1993. Instead of following through with the hip-hop inclinations of Buckshot LeFonque, Marsalis has returned to traditional jazz, yet this is far from standard bop. Marsalis pushes at the borders of post-bop, adding elements of hip-hop and rock & roll, making for an adventurous and exciting listen. Occasionally, his experiments are unsuccessful, yet they are never less than intriguing." -- Leo Stanley
"Branford Marsalis clearly had a lot of fun during this set. On seven of the ten numbers included on the double LP (the CD reissue actually has one less selection), Marsalis romps on tenor and soprano in a trio with veteran bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts; the remaining three numbers have Delbert Felix in Hinton's place. The performances are quite spontaneous (the occasional mistakes were purposely left in) and Marsalis really romps on such tunes as "Three Little Words," "Makin' Whoopee," and "Doxy." On the joyful outing that is also one of Branford Marsalis' most accessible recordings, Milt Hinton often steals the show." -- Scott Yanow
"Big John Patton was not nearly as well-known as other warriors in the organ jazz field of the 1960s, yet he could be counted upon for a reliable, even fervent collection of blues and bop-saturated licks and steady bass lines on the Hammond B-3. Mostly self-taught with some rudimentary instruction from his mother, Patton started playing piano in 1948, eventually landing a gig with the Lloyd Price touring band from 1954 to 1959, before moving to New York. Once there, he began to make the transition from piano to organ, learning a lot from future two recording mates, drummer Ben Dixon and guitarist Grant Green. He recorded with Lou Donaldson for Blue Note from 1962 to 1964 and, after impressing Blue Note founder Alfred Lion, made the first of a string of albums as a leader for the label in 1963. Interestingly, many of his albums, though scheduled for release, never saw the light of day until after Blue Note's resurrection in 1985. When the Hammond B-3 and soul-jazz went out of fashion in the 1970s, Patton's career went into eclipse as well, and he settled in East Orange, NJ. But, shortly after he started recording again in 1983, Patton was rediscovered by a younger generation, particularly the avant-garde figure John Zorn, who began using his sound out of its usual context on recordings like The Big Gundown and Spillane's "Two-Lane Highway." Patton continued to release new recordings into the '90s, including two on the Japanese label DIW. He passed away due to complications from diabetes and kidney malfunction on March 19, 2002, at the age of 66." - Richard S. Ginell and Al Campbell
"The Mosaic Select treatment has deservedly been given to Big John Patton. There are those who argue that Patton's entire catalog should have been the subject of a Mosaic box set proper. There was easily enough material for five, if not six, CDs. There are five albums collected here. His first three, Along Came John, The Way I Feel, and Oh Baby!, were recorded in 1963, 1964, and 1965, respectively. The last two on this set are That Certain Feeling and Understanding, from 1968. Missing are Blue John, his proper second album from 1963 and unreleased until 1986, Let 'Em Roll, and Got a Good Thing Goin', released in 1965 and 1966, and his post-1968 work, Accent on the Blues, Memphis to New York Spirit (unreleased until 1996), and Boogaloo. Quibbling aside, of the material included here, only Along Came John is currently available domestically, making this set a necessary purchase for Patton fans who have not shelled out the big bucks for Japanese pressings. Virtually every one of these outings is important, the first because it showcased Patton outside of his stead in Lou Donaldson's great early-'60s combo, accompanied by tenors Fred Jackson and Harold Vick with Grant Green and Ben Dixon. The band changed only slightly for The Way I Feel, when Vick was replaced by trumpeter Richard Williams. On Oh Baby!, Jackson was replaced by Vick and Williams by Blue Mitchell. These three dates are all very much of a piece. The band stays deep in the funky blues groove while nodding to the waning days of hard bop. And while the horns are generally regarded as strictly meat and potatoes on these sides, a close listen will correct that erroneous perception.
In the late '60s, Patton's sound became more lean, yet also more expansive and spacious. With Junior Cook on saxophone, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Jimmy Ponder on guitar, Patton embarked on That Certain Feeling, one of his most illustrious dates as a leader. Ponder's fluid and edgy runs nicely complemented Patton's now arpeggio-heavy manner of playing. Cook's smoky tone that came out of both Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins added depth, dimension, and ambience to the band's sound. On the final session here, Understanding, the sound cut even closer to the bone: Harold Alexander was enlisted on tenor and flute, with drummer Hugh Walker the only other musician involved. The trio played all around the groove jazz sound, while turning it inside out in Alexander's out-ish honking solos. Patton's organ is way up in the mix, shape-shifting time signatures inside a 2/4 meter. The pace is aggressive, deep, and at times dissonant, making an excellent case for reappraisal here, as it dates better than anything else on this set. All in all, this is a deep, sometimes mystifying collection featuring Patton as a composer, bandleader, and arranger. His sense of rhythmic dynamics is among the most sophisticated in the history of the jazz B-3. There isn't a weak second on any of this material and it should be snapped up before Mosaic's copies go -- they do not reissue. Blue Note should take the cue, do the entire catalog in 24-bit audio, and hustle it out there." -- Thom Jurek
Anthony Braxton - alto, soprano and C melody saxophones, clarinet, flute Marilyn Crispell - piano John Lindberg - bass Gerry Hemingway - percussion Recorded September 10 and 11, 1984 at Vanguard Studios, NYC total 51M 9.8M 01 Composition No 114 (+108A).mp3 6.0M 02 Composition No 110C.mp3 9.3M 03 Composition No 115.mp3 6.7M 04 Composition No 110A (+108B).mp3 3.4M 05 Composition No 110D.mp3 14M 06 Composition No 116.mp3 855K AB_6Compositions84_Cover.jpg 823K AB_6Compositions84_Inside.jpg 531K AB_6Compositions84_Tray.jpg
"The critical buzz aroused by David S. Ware's work with Andrew Cyrille and Cecil Taylor in the '70s had, by the late '90s, turned into a consonant roar. New York's collective jazz press -- always on the lookout for the music's next messiah -- crowned Ware the "King of Free Jazz" on the basis of his energetic quartet albums from the mid-'90s. Ware's band (with Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and, variously, Susie lbarra, Marc Edwards, or Whit Dickey on drums) became the decade's avant-garde supergroup by consensus, and Ware is indeed a splendid artist. His saxophone technique is total; unlike a good many free players, Ware does not base his style on any particular technical shortcoming or theoretical misunderstanding. His knowledge of functional harmony is above and beyond that of virtually any other free saxophonist. He's learned both the music and the horn up and down, inside and out, from the bottom up. In this respect, he's a true heir to Coltrane, who also based his free work on a comprehensive knowledge of his materials. Indeed, Ware's typical manner of performance -- modal/free, rubato, high-energy collective improvisation -- stems directly from Meditations-era Coltrane.
Ware's tenor sound is huge, centered, and multi-hued, all up and down its range. His facility is great, his imagination broad, and his expressive abilities immense. And no saxophonist now active plays with more unadulterated passion. Without question, he is a very, very fine, maybe even great, player. His band, however, while certainly capable, has not proved to be on his level. Shipp is an excellent, Cecil Taylor-cum-McCoy Tyner pianist, but his best work has come as a leader of his own trio. With Ware, he often seems at a loss as to what to say in the midst of the band's hyperkinetic collective improvisations -- overwhelmed, or so it seems, by Ware's volcanic passion. Ware's finest, most complementary drummer has been Marc Edwards, a more roughly hewn and spontaneous player than the glib lbarra and the coloristic Dickey. Of Ware's bandmates, only Parker is his equal as a creative presence. William Parker generates energy like no other bassist; a band with Parker on bass doesn't need a drummer, so powerful is his percussive drive.
Ware played alto, tenor and bari saxes in his teens. In the late '60s, he attended Berklee School of Music in Boston. There, he formed a band called Apogee, which played around Boston until 1973, when the band moved en masse to New York. In 1974, Ware performed in a large Cecil Taylor aggregation at Carnegie Hall. The mid-'70s found Ware a member of drummer Andrew Cyrille's group, in a trio with trumpeter Raphe Malik, and on tour with Taylor. In 1977, he played in bop pianist Barry Harris' band; the two recorded a duo album that same year. Beginning in the late '80s, he renewed his association with Cyrille, and played on the drummer's highly acclaimed Black Saint release, Metamusicians' Stomp. As a leader, Ware's recording career began in earnest with a pair of releases on the Silkheart label -- 1988's Passage to Music and 1990's Great Bliss, Vol. 1. In the early '90s, Ware began recording for the Japanese DIW label; that company's 1991 release, Flight of i, was distributed by Columbia, and remains in many ways the tenorist's most stunning work. The late '90s had Ware recording with his quartet for a number of independent companies, including most notably the alternative-rock (and now-defunct) Homestead label. He signed to Columbia for 1998's Go See the World, issuing Third Ear Recitation on DIW/Koch later that same year. Surrendered followed on Columbia in the spring of 2000. While continuing his rapid fire release schedule, he released Corridors & Parallels in September of 2001 on the AUM Fidelity label. - Chris Kelsey
David S. Ware Quartet: [Unissued / Private Tape]
May 4, 2001
Teatro del Centro Cultural del Matadero
Huesca, Spain
[Also have this session mis-dated at 01.05.05, from a pre-tour announcement]
Aquarian Dream (Ware) [31:48]
Lexicon (Ware) [22:57]
Manu's Ideal (Ware) [11:49]
Bliss Theme (Ware) [5:27]
Mikuro's Blues (Ware) [7:06]
[Total time 79:07]
David S. Ware (ts)
Matthew Shipp (p)
William Parker (b)
Guillermo E. Brown (d)
{Primary Source: CD-R; info via P. Fonz-Garcés}
total 73M
30M 01- Aquarian Dream.mp3
22M 02- Lexicon.mp3
11M 03- Manu's Ideal.mp3
5.1M 04- Bliss Theme.mp3
6.6M 05- Mikuro's Blues.mp3
512 David S Ware - Live In Huesca Spain.txt
"Since the beginning of the 21st century, David S. Ware's recordings have moved more toward the notion of composition than free-blowing improvisation. The album Threads is the most fully realized of his scoring attempts yet, and stands out from his catalog as a work of great innovation and emotional power. The David S. Ware String Ensemble is comprised of his quartet with William Parker, Guillermo Brown, and Matthew Shipp, and is augmented by microtonal violist Mat Maneri and classical maestro Daniel Bernard Roumain on violin. Ware's compositions are not subtle by jazz standards. They involve stridently stated rhythmic arrangements, such as those found on "Sufic Passages," which inverts and extends part of the line from John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," and is eerily reminiscent of the intro statement of the 1960s Ramsey Lewis Trio with Maurice White in live settings -- check out "Hang on Sloopy," "Wade in the Water," or "Dancing in the Street" from Cadet Records for reference. Ware sounds nothing like Lewis, of course, particularly with this instrumentation. Shipp uses a Korg synthesizer on the entire album, and the rhythmic patterns but forth by Brown and Parker are mere jump-off points for explorations in tone, color, and texture. Ware's melodic sensibility is never quite revealed, though it is never absent, either. Here, once a pattern is stated and developed, it is extrapolated upon first by the string players creating modal passages in the middle. Ware and Shipp function either as soloists or contrapuntal rhythmic foils on the track.
On "Ananda Rotation," co-written with Shipp, Ware delves into the sonority of Parker's bowed bass as the entry point into minor-key journeys around a noir-ish thematic. The other strings join in, droning across the background and Shipp colors the entire proceeding with washes of unidentifiable sonics. Brown hovers over the cymbals and tom-toms like a ghost as Ware delves into the heart of these different tonalities and opens them onto a new sonic landscape where Maneri moves across the drone to improvise alongside him. The album is broken up in the middle by a stomping blowout entitled "Weave I," where the strings never make an appearance; in fact it is a duet between Ware and Brown, taking an Afro-Cuban rhythm and turning it inside out on a theme created by Ware, who also roils through its variations until it returns toward the end. The same thing happens at the album's close. But it is on the title cut and the shimmering, melodic restraint of "Carousel of Lightness" that Ware makes his true sensibilities most plain. His acceptance of sonic ambiguity and harmonic opaqueness are brought under the command of dynamic on these tracks, and from the crack in the tension comes some of the most beautiful, intuitive, and forward-thinking ensemble playing in a decade by any American jazz group. Threads is easily Ware's classic thus far in that it showcases the musician at the height of all of his powers: improvisational, compositional, and as an arranger and bandleader. This is Ware's masterpiece and the first really new compositional statement in jazz in years; if this record isn't -- at least -- nominated for a Grammy as 2003's best jazz record, then the entire category deserves to be struck from the ballot." -- Thom Jurek
"The archetypal big-toned Texas tenor of Don Wilkerson was unfortunately not documented on record as much as the quality of his music deserved; he was an excellent, earthy soul-jazz saxophonist capable of playing blues, ballads, bop, swing, and gospel-tinged R&B. Wilkerson was born in Moreauville, LA, in 1932, and first learned the alto sax; by his teens, he had moved to Houston and was accomplished enough on tenor to play with R&B outfits headed by Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. Wilkerson played on some of Ray Charles' earliest recording sessions in the mid-'50s, taking memorable solos on classics like "I Got a Woman," "This Little Girl of Mine," and "Hallelujah I Love Her So." He also led a band in Miami for a short time, and participated in numerous jam sessions with Cannonball Adderley. Adderley produced Wilkerson's first recording session, a 1960 date for Riverside titled The Texas Twister. After another short stint with Charles, he signed with Blue Note and recorded three stellar, soulful albums over 1962-1963: Elder Don, Preach, Brother!, and Shoutin', all of which featured Grant Green on guitar. Unfortunately, none was very successful, and Wilkerson didn't record any further as a leader. He remained in Houston for most of his life and passed away on July 18, 1986." - Steve Huey
"Don Wilkerson may not attract much attention -- either now or when he was recording in the early '60s -- but he was an interesting character. Like many tenor saxophonists of his era, the Texan followed in the hard-swinging soul-jazz that grew out of hard bop, but he didn't settle into an easy groove -- he drove his music hard, injecting it with a healthy dose of the blues and an undercurrent of nascent black power. An intriguing mix, to be sure, and on three albums for Blue Note between 1962 and 1963 -- Elder Don, Preach, Brother!, Shoutin' -- he was at his peak, and they're all included here on this double-disc The Complete Blue Note Sessions. Of course, he was at his peak here partially because this was the only extended period of time he recorded as a leader; prior to this, he had a session for Riverside, but he never recorded before that or after this. Even if he had recorded more, this music would still be quite distinctive since his combos -- always featuring guitarist Grant Green, but also pianist Sonny Clark, drummer Billy Higgins, pianist Johnny Acea, and drummers Willie Bobo and Ben Dixon, depending on the date -- were simultaneously gritty and supple. Though they weren't as laid-back as, say, Green and Clark's duo sessions, they transferred that spirit to these sessions, meaning that this edgy soul-jazz and considerable musicality that resonates upon repeated plays. It might not be major work, but it's fine music, especially for connoisseurs of hard bop and soul-jazz, and it's nice to see that Wilkerson is finally getting some attention with this set, which marks the first time his Blue Note work has been in print in the U.S., not just since his death in 1986, but since their original release." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"In a break from Medeski, Martin and Wood, retro keyboardist John Medeski gets co-billing with free-thinking guitarist David Fiuczynski in a freestyle dive into a maelstrom of funk, hip-hop, jazz and rock that grooves all the way down to the last laser pit. Medeski works out on an electronically modified Wurlitzer electric piano and a B-3 organ, playing in a funky, depth-charged, jagged style while Fiuczynski is forever chopping up the lines, streaking around the keyboards, emulating Hendrix or earlier, straighter blues guitarists. Fiuczynski's band, the Screaming Headless Torsos, provides a series of tough grooves as unyielding as its name, and Michelle Johnson's weird vocals on "Pacifica" and "Lillies That Fester..." seem to come right out of a creepy alternative rock station. The musicians these guys have absorbed would fill an encyclopedia -- to cite a few possible sources, jungle-band Miles, the first Tony Williams Lifetime, hip-hop, M-Base -- yet they manage to convert everything into a zesty, complex yet exuberant mix all their own. If you're of an electric frame of mind, check it out." -- Richard S. Ginell
"One of the finest jazz guitarists in Philadelphia, Jimmy Bruno is a passionate hard bopper who loves to swing aggressively but can be a very sensitive ballad player when he puts his mind to it. The Italian-American was raised in South Philly, where he fell in love with jazz as a kid and took up the guitar at the age of seven. Growing up, he was influenced by such bop guitar greats as Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel and Jimmy Raney but also admired the pre-bop work of Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhart. At 19, Bruno hit the road as a sideman for The Buddy Rich Big Band before ended up spending much of his youth living in the West--where he did a lot of non-jazz gigs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Although those live and studio pursuits paid the bills for Bruno, he never gave up hard bop and hoped to eventually be a full-time jazz musician. Returning to Philly in 1988, a 35-year-old Bruno was determined to do exactly that even it meant being poor for awhile. An article in the Philadelphia Weekly quoted Bruno as saying that he went from earning several thousand dollars a week in the West to working for minimum wage at "a real dive" in Philly's Fairmount section--but that he was happy and fulfilled because he was playing live jazz five nights a week. Eventually, Bruno was able to give up part-time bartending and concentrate on nothing but playing and teaching jazz. In the early 1990s, he came to the attention of the late Concord Jazz founder/president Carl Jefferson, who was impressed with his playing and signed him to the label. Bruno's first album as a leader, Sleight of Hand, was recorded in 1991, followed by other bop-oriented Concord dates like Burnin' in 1994 and Like That (which featured organist Joey DeFrancesco) in 1995. The late 1990s found Bruno continuing to record for Concord while playing and teaching extensively around Philly. His first Live at Birdland recording appeared in 1997; its sequel, a collaboration with tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, followed two years later. Bruno next resurfaced in the spring of 2000 with Polarity. - Alex Henderson
"This excellent set from guitarist Jimmy Bruno can easily be divided into two. The first four numbers (which include "Move" and "Grooveyard") showcase Bruno in a trio with bassist Craig Thomas and drummer Vince Ector; the guitarist mostly swings quite hard. The other six songs feature the great altoist Bobby Watson, who takes spirited solos on "Segment," "Au Privave," and "Anthropology," adding to the intensity and drive of this high-quality bop set. There are some quieter moments, including an alto/guitar duet on "These Foolish Things," but the uptempo tunes are most memorable. Recommended." -- Scott Yanow
total 118M 5.7M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 01 - Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise.mp3 5.9M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 02 - Love Me, Pretty Baby.mp3 4.1M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 03 - Heart and Soul.mp3 5.0M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 04 - True Blues.mp3 5.1M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 05 - Milt Meets Sid.mp3 4.8M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 06 - D & E.mp3 4.1M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 07 - Yestersdays.mp3 4.3M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 08 - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.mp3 4.8M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 09 - Autumn Breeze.mp3 5.3M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 10 - Moving Nicely.mp3 4.5M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 11 - Bluesology.mp3 4.8M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 12 - 'Round Midnight.mp3 4.8M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 13 - You Go to My Head.mp3 4.7M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 14 - Hearing Bells [Take 3].mp3 4.7M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 15 - Hearing Bells [Master - Take 5].mp3 4.2M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 16 - Junior.mp3 4.5M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 17 - Bluesology [Alternate Take 2].mp3 4.5M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 18 - Bluesology [Master - Take 3] [Master Take 3].mp3 4.1M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 19 - Bubu.mp3 7.9M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 20 - Sonor.mp3 7.2M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 21 - Strollin'.mp3 7.1M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 22 - Blues Mood.mp3 6.2M Milt Jackson - Early Modern - 23 - Skoot.mp3
"Rosemary Clooney's full-length collaboration with Bing Crosby and Billy May should've resulted in an electrifying LP, but unfortunately Fancy Meeting You Here doesn't quite meet the (admittedly high) expectations. A baker's dozen of tourist-themed songs with Crosby as a tagalong duet partner and May as globe-trotting scene-setter, the album does include several great teamings: the rousing title-track opener, a robust "It Happened in Monterey," and some great two-part harmonies on "You Came a Long Way from St. Louis." But for every delightful duet between the energizing, melodic Clooney and the mellow, laid back Crosby, there are a few clunkers -- "On a Slow Boat to China," "Say Si Si (Para Vigo Me Voy)." May's arrangements are inventive as usual, but constant nods to the music of the globe at any mention of a far-flung location soon grows annoying as well as cloying. The peaks are delightful, but the few low points are enough to make listeners wish for an uneventful trip through the plains." -- John Bush
"Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and arranger/conductor Billy May reconvened six years after their sessions for the first Crosby-Clooney duo album, Fancy Meeting You Here, to record a follow-up in sessions held in August and December 1964. Once again, the basic idea was to perform a collection of international songs. But the real creative force behind the record was the popular songwriting team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans ("Mona Lisa," "Whatever Will Be, Will Be [Que Sera, Sera]"). The two were credited for "conception, new music and lyrics" on an album that contained, as proclaimed on the back cover, "Favorite songs from around the world in Dixieland!" It was an odd conception, to be sure, in which, for example, Carlos Fernandez' "Cielito Lindo," a Spanish standard, is turned into "Adios Señorita," with Crosby and Clooney trading romantic witticisms over a souped-up Dixieland arrangement that moves Basin Street to Madrid. If the resulting cultural mishmash isn't as disturbing as it sounds, that's only because the singers remain a winning combination; they spark each other, making this the liveliest Crosby album in some time, with Clooney good-naturedly keeping up her end and May only further goosing the two. This is not the place to look for great singers handling great material, but it is an entertaining date with a couple of singers who have never lacked for personality having a good time together. (The Australian CD reissue on EMI Axis also contains the complete contents of the 1960 MGM album Louis and Satchmo by Crosby and Louis Armstrong.)" -- William Ruhlmann
"Tenor-saxophonist Stan Getz and trumpeter Chet Baker would have seemed to have been a very musically compatible pair but, because they did not care for each enough personally, they only worked together on three separate occasions. The last such time was for a 1983 European tour. This broadcast from Norway was issued for the first time on this 1998 CD. Baker is heard as a special guest with Getz's quartet (which also includes pianist Jim McNeely, bassist George Mraz and drummer Victor Lewis), taking vocals on the majority of the seven selections; his singing was certainly an acquired taste by this point. In general Getz and Baker sound fine during their solos on such songs as "I'm Old Fashioned," "Star Eyes" and "Stablemates" although few surprises or sparks occur. Solid music that does not quite live up to its potential." -- Scott Yanow
"It's regrettable that Stan Getz and Chet Baker disliked one another personally, for they had so much in common musically. Both came out of jazz's Cool School, had delightful tones, favored subtlety and restraint, and both could be incredibly lyrical -- no jazzman has played ballads more beautifully than Getz or Baker. Recorded live in Norway in 1983 but not released commercially until 2000, Quintessence, Vol. 2 offers a rare chance to hear them co-leading a quintet. One wishes that Getz and Baker (who are joined by pianist Jim McNeely, bassist George Mraz and drummer Victor Lewis) had been able to put their personal differences aside and play together more often, for the two are a highly appealing combination on standards that range from "It's You or No One" and "I'll Remember April" to Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count," Gerry Mulligan's "Line for Lyons," and Sonny Rollins' "Airegin." Getz and Baker are both swinging, yet they swing in a consistently melodic fashion and remind us that while they had impressive chops, they didn't feel the need to beat listeners over the head with them. Like Getz, Baker used his instrument to tell meaningful stories instead of trying to dazzle you with his technique. This CD is rewarding as well as historically important. One can't help but wonder if it would have been even stronger if Getz and Baker had been able to get along outside of a musical setting." -- Alex Henderson
"One of the great baritone saxophonists and the first major soloist on that instrument to emerge since Harry Carney (he preceded Gerry Mulligan), Serge Chaloff was a drug addict during his prime years, resulting in broken friendships and lost opportunities. After playing with the orchestras of Boyd Raeburn (1944-1945), Georgie Auld (1945-1946), and Jimmy Dorsey (1946-1947), he found fame as one of the "Four Brothers" with Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-1949). After a stint with Count Basie's octet (1950), Chaloff returned to his native Boston, where he eventually worked on kicking his dangerous habit. Ironically, when he finally got off drugs, Chaloff contracted spinal paralysis and he played his final recording session (a reunion of the Four Brothers in 1957) seated in a wheelchair. Mosaic's 1993 limited-edition four-CD Serge Chaloff box set has all of his sessions as a leader, and his exciting solos still put him near the top of his field." - Scott Yanow
"This is the type of project the Mosaic label does best: releasing the complete output as a leader of a classic jazz musician including obscurities and a couple of fairly well-known sessions. Serge Chaloff, one of the top baritone-saxophonists in jazz history, is featured as the leader of bop-based small groups on sessions originally out on Dial, Savoy, Futurama, Motif, Storyville, and Capitol. Such sidemen as trumpeters Red Rodney and Herb Pomeroy, tenorman Al Cohn, altoist Charlie Mariano and Boots Mussuli, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, and pianists Ralph Burns, George Wallington, Dick Twardzik, Russ Freeman, Barbara Carroll, and Sonny Clark have solo space, but it is the somewhat forgotten Chaloff who rightfully is the main focus. A definitive booklet rounds out this essential package." -- Scott Yanow
"This single disc is a distillation of the Mosaic Complete Serge Chaloff Sessions, which featured virtually every session he ever led -- in the '40s -- and Jazz Factory should have titled it accordingly. (Chaloff recorded with a number of small combos in the 1950s, including a band that included Sonny Clark, Philly Joe Jones, and Leroy Vinnegar for his classic outing, Blue Serge on Capitol.) These are 23 cuts recorded between 1946 and 1949, featuring the great baritone saxophonist in every setting from duets with pianist Rollins Griffith to octet recordings made with Red Rodney, Curley Russell, and George Wallington in the mix. The duets are no big deal, recorded probably after a piano lesson that Griffith had with Chaloff's mom. But the rest of the material here is from the dawn of bebop, and Chaloff was an exciting and original voice on his instrument. Beginning with the first-ever recording of "Blue Serge" in 1946, the jets are on go and no matter who is in the band, from Allen Eager to Flip Phillips or Oscar Pettiford, Chaloff's scorched earth policy regarding the blues and tempo is singular. This is a cool set for the price, but seeking out the Mosaic set is a greater reward." -- Thom Jurek
"Notable, more than anything, for the inclusion of busker Don Partridge (a successful solo artist with several hit singles) and singer Gordon Giltrap (who remained for only one album), Accolade were a light acoustic band who completely eschewed electric instruments, even as they developed a kind of folk/jazz fusion. They recorded two albums and one single before going their separate ways." - Steven McDonald
total 55M 3.8M Accolade - Calico.mp3 3.2M Accolade - Go On Home.mp3 4.3M Accolade - Gospel Song.mp3 3.3M Accolade - Maiden Flight Eliza.mp3 12M Accolade - Nature Boy.mp3 3.3M Accolade - Never Ending Solitude.mp3 4.0M Accolade - Prelude To A Dawn.mp3 5.7M Accolade - Starting All Over.mp3 16M Accolade - Ulyssees.mp3
"Azymuth is an electrified trio from Brazil that calls its music samba doido, which means "crazy samba." The actual sounds, though, are not so crazy: an intelligent, high-voltage blend of Brazilian rhythms, jazz, and funk with occasional acoustic episodes that gained a sizable following in the 1980s. The members of the group included José Roberto Bertrami (born February 21, 1946, in Tatui, Brazil) on acoustic piano and keyboards, Alex Malheiros (born August 19, 1946, in Niteroi, Brazil) on bass, and Ivan Conti (born August 16, 1946, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on drums.
Classically trained and originally influenced by pianists Bill Evans and Luiz Eca (of the Tamba 4), Bertrami worked with Flora Purim and Robertinho Silva before meeting Conti at a Rio nightclub. Upon a visit to a bowling alley/club in 1972, they heard Malheiros and decided to join forces to form Azymuth. Their first album, the soundtrack for the film O Fabuloso Fittipaldi, was released in Brazil in 1973. After spending a number of years as sessionmen in Rio recording studios and touring South America, a successful appearance at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival led to a 1978 U.S. tour with Airto and Purim. A contract with Milestone in 1979 resulted in a long string of eclectic albums -- some of which are still available on CD -- that established the group in the American and European markets. All three members also recorded solo albums for Milestone (now out of print). Bertrani left the group around 1988, after which Malheiros and Conti carried on for a while with keyboardist Jota Moraes. In the '90s, Bertrami rejoined Azymuth for sporadic appearances, though their profile isn't as high in the U.S. as it once was." - Richard S. Ginell
"Kenny Barron could easily go unidentified if some of the selections on this CD reissue were played for a listener during a "blindfold test" for he sounds quite unrecognizable on the three numbers on which he plays electric piano. Barron, who is joined by electric bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Freddie Waits and the colorful percussion of both Richard Landrum and Warren Smith on his five originals and one by Waits, utilizes electricity with intelligence and creativity. His songs are moody and complex yet somewhat accessible and this underrated set would certainly surprise some of his current fans. Barron is the main soloist on every selection while Landrum and Smith's versatile colors add a lot to the unusual session's value." -- Scott Yanow
total 58M 4.3M 01 - I Apologize.MP3 8.7M 02 - Jelly Jelly.MP3 5.9M 03 - Stone Junkie.MP3 6.2M 04 - Pusherman.MP3 7.7M 05 - I Need My Baby.MP3 5.7M 06 - Hold On I'm Comin'.MP3 5.3M 07 - The Price You Pay To Be Free.MP3 6.4M 08 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough.MP3 6.9M 09 - Somewhere.MP3 485K !LP Back.jpg 212K !LP Front.jpg 2.0K !!The Soul Sessions.txt
"Nova Menco is a quintet of Spanish brothers who moved to San Diego and became one of the city's hottest local bands by updating flamenco music. Comprised of guitarists Samoel, Edmundo and Nardo plus keyboard player Sal and drummer Giovani, the Hanna brothers began traveling around southern and eastern Europe in 1987, playing modern flamenco wherever they could find a spot to set up. After moving to America in 1994, the brothers continued to play and christened themselves Nova Menco. After recording their self-titled debut in 1996, the group signed to TSR Records and released Gypsy Fusion in late 1997. Flight to Paradise followed the next year, but the group took four years to record their next record. In that time they performed live all over the world and fostered their home lives, but the stage beckoned and they returned with Fortune Teller in February of 2002." - John Bush
"Nova Menco continues their genre-bending ways on Fortune Teller, their third album. The brothers still focus mostly on flamenco, but they manage to fit jazz, rock, and folk flourishes into their oddball blend." -- Bradley Torreano
"As an arranger, Toshiko Akiyoshi (influenced originally by Gil Evans and Thad Jones) has been particularly notable for incorporating elements of traditional Japanese music into her otherwise bop-ish charts. A strong (and underrated) pianist in the Bud Powell tradition, Akiyoshi was born in China but moved to Japan in 1946. She played locally (Sadao Watanabe was among her sidemen) and, after being noticed and encouraged by Oscar Peterson, studied at Berklee during 1956-1959. Married for a time to altoist Charlie Mariano, she co-led the Toshiko Mariano Quartet in the early '60s. After working with Charles Mingus in 1962 (including participating in his ill-fated Town Hall Concert), Toshiko returned to Japan for three years. Back in New York by 1965, she did a radio series and formed a quartet with her second husband, Lew Tabackin, in 1970. After moving to Los Angeles in 1972, Toshiko Akiyoshi put together her very impressive big band which featured such fine soloists as Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, and Tabackin. They recorded several notable albums before Akiyoshi decided, in 1981, to move to New York. Since their relocation, Akiyoshi and Tabackin have both been quite active although her re-formed big band has actually received less publicity than it did in L.A. She ranks as one of the top jazz arrangers of the past several decades." - Scott Yanow
"Ironically after Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin broke up their West Coast big band, relocated to New York and put together a new orchestra, they seemed to get less publicity than previously. In fact, since this 1986 recording for their own Ascent label, Akiyoshi's ensemble has made relatively few albums. For the Ascent LP, the 16-piece big band performs a remake of "Feast in Milano" (which is more complex than Akiyoshi's earlier version), Tabackin's ballad "Unrequited Love" and Akiyoshi's three-part sidelong "Liberty Suite." The soloists include trombonist Conrad Herwig, Walt Weiskopf on tenor, trumpeters John Eckert and Brian Lynch, altoist Jim Snidero, flutist Frank Wess and Tabackin on tenor and flute. All of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra's recordings are well worth acquiring." -- Scott Yanow
"Verve Remixed, Vol. 2 can't be considered a complete success, though it certainly represents a valiant effort by compilers and remixers alike to reimagine 14 more classics from the Verve catalog. Even more so than on the first volume, this remix album benefits from the informed matchings of original performance with remixing artist, by producers Dahlia Ambach Caplin and Jason Olaine; if modern disco maestros Metro Area can't conjure a piece of genius music from the deep-groove Latinized funk of Hugh Masekela's "Mama," then it's mission impossible. Likewise, bits-and-pieces sampling maestro Matthew Herbert is the perfect choice to take on Oscar Brown Jr., a fellow loungecat, though from a previous era, and Gilles Peterson himself could barely have imagined setting loose Dan the Automator on Willie Bobo's classic boogaloo tune "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries" or allowing Koop to recontextualize the sweet melancholia of Astrud Gilberto's "Here's That Rainy Day." Unfortunately, a dream often butts heads with reality, and these 21st century remixes not only don't upstage the originals, but in several cases, wilt even as solid dance tracks. Excellent, imaginative producers such as Mr. Scruff or Felix da Housecat or Miguel Migs simply don't function as well with this material forced on them, even if it's material they enjoy. Several of these tracks, however, do work in splendid fashion: Mondo Grosso's Shinichi Osawa does a great job by simply grabbing the hook (plus a bit of the solo) from Archie Shepp's "Blues for Brother George Jackson" and crafting a pumping house track out of it, while Gotan Project injects the perfect sense of gypsy swing into Sarah Vaughan's beguiling "Whatever Lola Wants." Many parallels exist between classic jazz and modern dance, and many artists from the one have influenced the other, but combining the two still demands a sense of perspective and humility that these producers don't possess." -- John Bush
"One of the finest trad jazz pianists from the 1970s to the present and an interpreter who really brings new life to classic jazz and ragtime, Terry Waldo has often labored in near-anonymity yet has recorded quite a few highly enjoyable records. He took three years of classical piano lessons starting at age six before discovering ragtime and Dixieland. He also learned to play trumpet, tuba, banjo, cello, and bass to various degrees, and led a group (the Fungus Five) on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour in 1962. In Ohio, Waldo played with Gene Mayl's Dixieland Rhythm Kings, he spent time freelancing on various instruments in New Orleans and San Francisco, graduated from Ohio State, and played tuba during his military service. He taught a history of jazz, blues, and ragtime class at Denison University during 1971-1978, hosted in 1972 a series for National Public Radio called This Is Ragtime, and in 1976 wrote a definitive book on ragtime that used the same name. In the 1980s, Waldo led the Gotham City Stompers, worked with the show One Mo' Time, toured with Leon Redbone, and worked with Woody Allen. Terry Waldo has recorded for several labels including GHB (in 1969), Fat Cat Records, Stomp Off (with his Gutbucket Syncopators), and the Musical Heritage Society." - Scott Yanow
"The acclaim that met Dexter Gordon when he returned to the United States after 14 years in Europe was completely unexpected. Not only did the jazz critics praise the great tenor but there were literally lines of young fans waiting to see his performances. This double CD, recorded during his historic first American tour, improved on the original double LP with the inclusion of previously unreleased versions of "Fried Bananas" and "Body and Soul." Gordon in a quintet with trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Stafford James and drummer Louis Hayes frequently sounds exuberant on these lengthy performances; all ten songs are at least 11 minutes long. The excitement of the period can definitely be felt in this excellent music." -- Scott Yanow
"One of the most important yet overlooked figures in jazz is given his due with this amazing four-disc set on Proper. Going for the label's usual bargain-basement rate (roughly 20 dollars a pop), Settin' the Pace rounds up 55 of the tenor innovator's bop sides from the latter half of the '40s. Replete with a handsome and bulky booklet full of excellent photos, notes, and sessionographies, this import makes a solid case for Gordon being the key link between early tenor giants like Coleman Hawkins and hard bop upstart Sonny Rollins. Besides that, there's a consistently solid array of classic bop cuts. Whether backing up Billy Eckstine ("Blowin' the Blues Away") and Dizzy Gillespie ("Groovin' High") or with his own combos ("Dexter's Deck"), Gordon is in top form throughout. Settin' the Pace, indeed." -- Stephen Cook
" Under the watchful eye of famed producer Michael Cuscuna, this nine-CD set serves as a compilation of Stitt's 1950s and 1960s Roost LPs. This release also features a 28-page booklet consisting of comprehensively annotated liners. Moreover, the record label does its best to convey the artistic element via a series of black-and-white photos of Stitt and his sidemen amid anecdotes by many of the late saxophonist's affiliates. Interestingly enough, seven of the original LPs did not list personnel. In some instances, guesses were made, although most of these tracks are well-documented, thanks to the producer's diligence and painstaking research. Artists such as drummer Roy Haynes, bassist/composer Charles Mingus, and pianist Harold Maber represent but a few of Stitt's accompanists. Overall, these works signify a hearty glimpse of the saxophonist's artistry. Whether engaging in a small ensemble or alongside Latin all-stars such as percussionists Willie Bobo and Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Stitt's impeccable rhythmic sensibilities shine forth in radiant aplomb. Furthermore, the listener will have the opportunity to hear a young and then relatively unknown pianist, Chick Corea, performing with the abovementioned percussionists and trumpeter Thad Jones on the 1963 date titled "Stitt Goes Latin." The folks at Mosaic Records even go so far as to provide factoids such as originally misspelled song titles, gaps in master numbers, and other inconsistencies. Nonetheless, this is a wonderfully assembled package and a great starting point for those who are unfamiliar with Stitt's extensive musical legacy." -- Glenn Astarita
"Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny have been good friends since the 1970s, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that Beyond the Missouri Sky should be their first duet album together. Both musicians are from small towns in Missouri, which leads Metheny to speculate in the liner notes if this similarity of childhood ambience might have something to do with the two players' obvious love and affinity for each other. Whatever the answer, the result of this logical pairing is a rather somber and moody one. Metheny has a dark tone on his electric guitar, and on Beyond the Missouri Sky, where he plays acoustic, his sound is similarly deep and rounded. Metheny has called Haden one of the greatest improvisers of all time, and although this may be hyperbolic exaggeration from a long-time friend, Haden has at least earned the right to defend the claim. On Beyond the Missouri Sky his playing is as sensitive and beautiful as always. Although one can understand the vibe that Haden and Metheny were going for, the preponderance of slow- and mid-tempo material can wear on the listener. When they eschew the dirge-like tempos, as on the fantastic ?The Precious Jewel," the results are just as atmospheric, and are in fact even more evocative of the Midwestern landscapes that are featured so prominently in the album art. With Metheny setting up a strummy rhythm, Haden plays the stately melody with impeccable tone. This track, one of many, also showcases Metheny overdubbing different guitars to thicken out the sound of the performance. The results are similar, at least in spirit, to Bill Frisell's recordings in the latter half of the 1990s. Although the many Metheny and Haden compositions that are featured on this record, it is the readings of older material that is most effective. The Jimmy Webb classic ?The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is wonderfully nostalgic, as Metheny uses subtle guitar synth washes to pad a beautiful duet performance, and the traditional ?He's Gone Away" is the greatest lullaby that never was. Overall, Beyond the Missouri Sky is a fine record when the material is happening, but a bit of a chore when it is not. If Haden and Metheny had gone with the more Americana theme throughout, instead of interspersing that rootsy feel with post-bop, it would have been a much stronger record." -- Daniel Gioffre
"The third in a series of Haden duet projects for Verve in the 1990s finds the increasingly nostalgia-minded bass player working New York City's Iridium jazz club with pianist Kenny Barron. Moreover, it is entirely possible that we are getting a skewed view of the gig; according to Haden, he and his co-producer wife Ruth tilted this album heavily in the direction of romantic ballads, eliminating the bebop and avant-garde numbers that the two may have also played at the club. Be that as it may, this is still a thoughtful, intensely musical, sometimes haunting set of performances, with Barron displaying a high level of lyrical sensitivity and Haden applying his massive tone sparingly. Most of the seven tracks are fantasias on well-known standards, although one of the most eloquent performances on the disc is Barron's playing on his own "Twilight Song." If Haden deliberately set out to create a single reflective mood, he certainly succeeded, although those coming to Haden for the first time through this and most of his other '90s CDs would never suspect that this man once played such a fire-breathing role in the jazz avant-garde." -- Richard S. Ginell
"Charlie Haden and his Quartet West continue to mine the "noir jazz" genre inspired by '40s films. Seldom does modern music so perfectly evoke a time and place in history as this terrific band. Fans of Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra will find the simple accessibility either surprising or disappointing, but fans of classic, romantic jazz will find joy." -- Tim Sheridan
total 59M 11M 01 North To South, East To West.mp3 6.1M 02 Song For The Boys.mp3 7.0M 03 Improvisation Picasso Guernica.mp3 7.3M 04 Waltz For Ruth.mp3 10M 05 Our Spanish Love Song.mp3 12M 06 First Song.mp3 6.6M 07 The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.mp3
"One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz was known as "The Sound" because he had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard. Getz, whose main early influence was Lester Young, grew to be a major influence himself and to his credit he never stopped evolving.
Getz had the opportunity to play in a variety of major swing big bands while a teenager due to the World War II draft. He was with Jack Teagarden (1943) when he was just 16 and this was followed by stints with Stan Kenton (1944-1945), Jimmy Dorsey (1945), and Benny Goodman (1945-1946); he soloed on a few records with BG. Getz, who had his recording debut as a leader in July 1946 with four titles, became famous during his period with Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-1949), soloing (along with Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff) on the original version of "Four Brothers" and having his sound well-featured on the ballad "Early Autumn." After leaving Herman, Getz was (with the exception of some tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic) a leader for the rest of his life.
During the early '50s, Getz broke away from the Lester Young style to form his own musical identity and he was soon among the most popular of all jazzmen. He discovered Horace Silver in 1950 and used him in his quartet for several months. After touring Sweden in 1951, he formed an exciting quintet that co-featured guitarist Jimmy Raney; their interplay on up-tempo tunes and tonal blend on ballads was quite memorable. Getz's playing helped Johnny Smith have a hit in "Moonlight in Vermont," during 1953-1954 Bob Brookmeyer made his group a quintet and, despite some drug problems during the decade, Getz was a constant poll winner. After spending 1958-1960 in Europe, the tenorman returned to the U.S. and recorded his personal favorite album, Focus, with arranger Eddie Sauter's Orchestra. Then, in February 1962, Getz helped usher in the bossa nova era by recording Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd; their rendition of "Desafinado" was a big hit. During the next year, Getz made bossa nova-flavored albums with Gary McFarland's big band, Luiz Bonfá, and Laurindo Almeida, but it was Getz/Gilberto (a collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto) that was his biggest seller, thanks in large part to "The Girl From Ipanema" (featuring the vocals of Astrud and João Gilberto).
Getz could have spent the next decade sticking to bossa nova but instead he de-emphasized the music and chose to play more challenging jazz. His regular group during this era was a piano-less quartet with vibraphonist Gary Burton, he recorded with Bill Evans (1964), played throughout the 1965 Eddie Sauter soundtrack for Mickey One, and made the classic album Sweet Rain (1967) with Chick Corea. Although not all of Getz's recordings from the 1966-1980 period are essential, he proved that he was not shy to take chances. Dynasty with organist Eddie Louiss (1971), Captain Marvel with Chick Corea (1972), and The Peacocks with Jimmy Rowles (1975) are high points. After utilizing pianist Joanne Brackeen in his 1977 quartet, Getz explored some aspects of fusion with his next unit which featured keyboardist Andy Laverne. Getz even used an Echoplex on a couple of songs but, despite some misfires, most of his dates with this unit are worthwhile. However, purists were relieved when he signed with Concord in 1981 and started using a purely acoustic backup trio on most dates. Getz's sidemen in later years included pianists Lou Levy, Mitchell Forman, Jim McNeely, and Kenny Barron. His final recording, 1991's People Time, (despite some shortness in the tenor's breath) is a brilliant duet set with Barron.
Throughout his career Getz recorded as a leader for Savoy, Spotlite, Prestige, Roost, Verve, MGM, Victor, Columbia, SteepleChase, Concord, Sonet, Black Hawk, A&M, and EmArcy among other labels (not to mention sessions with Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gerry Mulligan) and there are dozens of worthy records by the tenor currently available on CD." - Scott Yanow
total 85M 6.4M 01 - All God's chillun got rhythm.mp3 7.8M 02 - 'Round midnight.mp3 9.2M 03 - Broadway.mp3 6.3M 04 - A ghost of a chance.mp3 12M 05 - Topsy.mp3 7.9M 06 - East of the sun.mp3 9.6M 07 - Dear old Stockholm.mp3 8.7M 08 - Lady bird.mp3 7.7M 09 - I remember Clifford.mp3 10M 10 - Stuffy.mp3 237K Stan Getz front & tray.jpg
Disc 1 total 45M 2.8M 01 - Thou Swell.mp3 5.0M 02 - The Song Is You.mp3 3.5M 03 - Mosquito Knees.mp3 3.3M 04 - Pennies from Heaven.mp3 3.9M 05 - Move.mp3 4.0M 06 - Parker 51.mp3 2.4M 07 - Hershey Bar.mp3 2.9M 08 - Rubberneck.mp3 4.3M 09 - Signal.mp3 2.1M 10 - Everything Happens to Me.mp3 5.1M 11 - Jumpin' With Symphony Sid.mp3 1.8M 12 - Yesterdays.mp3 3.6M 13 - Budo.mp3 Disc 2 total 28M 2.4M 01 - Melody Express.mp3 2.4M 02 - Yvette.mp3 2.0M 03 - Potter's Luck.mp3 1.9M 04 - The Song Is You.mp3 2.4M 05 - Wildwood.mp3 1.9M 06 - Stella By Starlight.mp3 2.1M 07 - Time On My Hands.mp3 2.2M 08 - 'Tis Autumn.mp3 2.3M 09 - The Way You Look Tonight.mp3 2.2M 10 - Lover Come Back To Me.mp3 2.2M 11 - Body & Soul.mp3 2.3M 12 - Stars Fell On Alabama.mp3 2.0M 13 - You Turned The Tables On Me.mp3 Disc 3 total 34M 1.6M 01 - Lullaby Of Birdland.mp3 2.0M 02 - Autumn Leaves.mp3 2.0M 03 - Autumn Leaves (alt).mp3 1.6M 04 - Fools Rush In.mp3 1.8M 05 - Fools Rush In (alt).mp3 2.0M 06 - These Foolish Things.mp3 2.3M 07 - Thanks For The Memory.mp3 2.0M 08 - How Deep Is The Ocean.mp3 2.2M 09 - Hymn Of The Orient.mp3 2.3M 10 - These Foolish Things.mp3 3.9M 11 - Signal.mp3 3.0M 12 - Lee.mp3 3.6M 13 - 'Round Midnight.mp3 3.7M 14 - Motion.mp3
"Few R&B singers have endured tragic travails on the monumental level that Etta James has and remain on earth to talk about it. The lady's no shrinking violet; her autobiography, Rage to Survive, describes her past (including numerous drug addictions) in sordid detail.
But her personal problems have seldom affected her singing. James has hung in there from the age of R&B and doo wop in the mid-'50s through soul's late-'60s heyday and right up to today (where her 1994 disc Mystery Lady paid loving jazz-based tribute to one of her idols, Billie Holiday). Etta James's voice has deepened over the years, coarsened more than a little, but still conveys remarkable passion and pain.
Jamesetta Hawkins was a child gospel prodigy, singing in her Los Angeles Baptist church choir (and over the radio) when she was only five years old under the tutelage of Professor James Earle Hines. She moved to San Francisco in 1950, soon teaming with two other girls to form a singing group. When she was 14, bandleader Johnny Otis gave the trio an audition. He particularly dug their answer song to Hank Ballard & the Midnighters' "Work with Me Annie."
Against her mother's wishes, the young singer embarked for L.A. to record "Roll with Me Henry" with the Otis band and vocalist Richard Berry in 1954 for Modern Records. Otis inverted her first name to devise her stage handle and dubbed her vocal group the Peaches (also Etta's nickname). "Roll with Me Henry," renamed "The Wallflower" when some radio programmers objected to the original title's connotations, topped the R&B charts in 1955.
The Peaches dropped from the tree shortly thereafter, but Etta James kept on singing for Modern throughout much of the decade (often under the supervision of saxist Maxwell Davis). "Good Rockin' Daddy" also did quite well for her later in 1955, but deserving follow-ups such as "W-O-M-A-N" and "Tough Lover" (the latter a torrid rocker cut in New Orleans with Lee Allen on sax) failed to catch on.
James landed at Chicago's Chess Records in 1960, signing with their Argo subsidiary. Immediately, her recording career kicked into high gear; not only did a pair of duets with her then-boyfriend (Moonglows lead singer Harvey Fuqua) chart, her own sides (beginning with the tortured ballad "All I Could Do Was Cry") chased each other up the R&B lists as well. Leonard Chess viewed James as a classy ballad singer with pop crossover potential, backing her with lush violin orchestrations for 1961's luscious "At Last" and "Trust in Me." But James's rougher side wasn't forsaken -- the gospel-charged "Something's Got a Hold on Me" in 1962, a kinetic 1963 live LP (Etta James Rocks the House) cut at Nashville's New Era Club and a blues-soaked 1966 duet with childhood pal Sugar Pie De Santo, "In the Basement," ensured that.
Although Chess hosted its own killer house band, James traveled to Rick Hall's Fame studios in Muscle Shoals in 1967 and emerged with one of her all-time classics. "Tell Mama" was a searing slice of upbeat southern soul that contrasted markedly with another standout from the same sessions, the spine-chilling ballad "I'd Rather Go Blind." Despite the death of Leonard Chess, Etta James remained at the label into 1975, experimenting toward the end with a more rock-based approach.
There were some mighty lean years, both personally and professionally, for Miss Peaches. But she got back on track recording-wise in 1988 with a set for Island, Seven Year Itch, that reaffirmed her southern soul mastery. Her last few albums have been a varied lot -- 1990's Sticking to My Guns was contemporary in the extreme; 1992's Jerry Wexler-produced The Right Time for Elektra was slickly soulful, and her most recent outings have explored jazz directions. In 1998, she also issued a holiday album, Etta James Christmas. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2003 received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. That year also saw the release of her Let's Roll album, followed in 2004 by a CD of new blues performances, Blues to the Bone, both on RCA Records.
In concert, Etta James is a sassy, no-holds-barred performer whose suggestive stage antics sometimes border on the obscene. She's paid her dues many times over as an R&B and soul pioneer; long may she continue to shock the uninitiated. - Bill Dahl
"Etta James is one of the towering figures of the blues, the foremost female blues vocalist of the second half of the 20th century, and the foundation of her legacy is her recordings for Chess Records in the '60s. Despite her reputation and enduring popularity, Etta didn't receive a box set retrospective between 1988 and 1990, the time when Chess was honoring such heavyweights as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Bo Diddley, and Willie Dixon with multi-disc retrospectives. They eased away from box sets during the '90s, only issuing a comprehensive double-disc Little Walter set early in the decade, but they finally returned to the sets in 2000 with a long-overdue Chess Box for Etta James. Like before, when they assembled terrific sets on Berry and Waters, they got it right. Collectors may find a favorite side missing, but the great majority of her best work for Argo, Cadet, and Chess is here. Although there are a handful of unreleased tracks, the point behind this set is to provide a thorough overview of the most pivotal years in James' career, and on that level, it succeeds tremendously. Like many career-spanning sets, it does dip slightly in quality on the last disc, but not enough to make this anything less than an essential addition to a thorough blues library, since even on the lesser material, she sounds terrific. As a matter of fact, it's rather astonishing how strong all these recordings are, from her terrific vocals to the songs themselves. It's a shame it didn't come out with the first round of Chess Boxes, but it was worth the wait." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"Not released initially until 1977, the music on this 1992 CD was the last recording made by the classic John Coltrane Quartet; other slightly later records found the group augmented by additional musicians. Four of the five movements on this release (which are augmented by a lengthier second version of "Joy") would become part of the better-known Meditations album (along with another movement) 2?-months later when tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and drummer Rashied Ali temporarily made the group a sextet. Coltrane (sticking here exclusively to tenor) plays passionately, alternating ferocious explorations with more lyrical sections." -- Scott Yanow
"Other than First Meditations, which was not released at the time, Sun Ship (reissued on CD by Impulse) was the final studio album by John Coltrane's classic quartet (with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones) before Pharoah Sanders joined the band on second tenor. At this point in time, Coltrane was using very short repetitive themes as jumping off points for explosive improvisations, often centered around one chord and a very specific spiritual mood. Tyner sounds a bit conservative in comparison, but Jones keeps up with 'Trane's fire (especially on "Amen"). Even in the most intense sections (and much of this music is atonal), there is a logic and thoughtfulness about Coltrane's playing." -- Scott Yanow
"This CD brings back a good session but one that does not quite live up to its great potential. Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, halfway through his one-year hiatus from Miles Davis' group, performs five songs with the assistance of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. Although "Traneing In" and "You Leave Me Breathless" have their moments, in general this set is less memorable than one might expect; inspiration was lacking that day." -- Scott Yanow
"Despite the fact that British saxophonist John Butcher came relatively late to free improvisation, his highly personal sound turned him into one of the key sax players of the late '90s onward. A very busy schedule and an impressive number of music associates have given him the exposure he needed to build a strong following among avant-garde music fans. Drawing from the techniques of Evan Parker and the philosophy of Derek Bailey, he freed his playing of unnecessary stamina to open new directions in the use of overtones and multiphonics.
Butcher had in mind to become a physicist and actually began his Ph.D. before turning to music full-time. Self-taught on the tenor and soprano saxophones since the late '70s, he began to play jazz, both conventional and unorthodox, while attending university in Surrey (England). There he met pianist Chris Burn, a musician who remained a frequent partner, and tasted group improvisation for the first time through Stockhausen's intuitive pieces. At the turn of the decade, he moved to London for his Ph.D. and performed in jazz quartets and Burn's big band on the side. In 1982, in his early thirties, Butcher abandoned his thesis on the theoretical properties of charmed quarks and decided to turn professional and to do it in the realm of creative music.
Beginnings were rough, especially since the 1980s was not a good decade for experimentalists. He spent those years building friendships and associations with Burn (monthly concerts at the Workers' Music Association), John Russell, and Phil Durrant (a trio formed in 1984 and still running) and the group News From the Shed (Russell, Durrant, Radu Malfatti, and Paul Lovens). He released his first album in 1984 (Fonetiks, a duet with Burn) and started his own label, Acta, in 1987.
In the 1990s, Butcher split his time between structured improvisations within groups (Chris Burn's ensemble, the London Improvisers Orchestra, Polwechsel which he joined in 1997), free improv in small groups, and solo work. In 1992, he released his first solo album Thirteen Friendly Numbers. This release, his participation in Georg Graewe's Frisque Concordance and in John Stevens' last version of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble finally brought him deserved attention from the specialized music press. His output increased and so did his reputation as a fantastic listener in free improv contexts. He became much sought after, appearing in the Phil Minton Quartet, Fred Van Hove's nonet, and dozens of other live projects. A North American tour in 1994 led to much networking with musicians from Chicago and the West Coast.
By 1998, Butcher had reached the status of main figure in modern saxophone. Throughout the decade, he perfected his playing, extending his technique and gradually moving away from statistical density to foray into silence and microsound, a tendency easy to pinpoint through his solo recordings Thirteen Friendly Numbers (1992), London & Cologne (1998), and Fixations (14) (2001). His trio with Axel Dörner and Xavier Charles (The Contest of Pleasures, 2001), exploring the inner depths of overtones, marked a new direction. - Francois Couture
"Along with only a handful of other musicians, Miya Masaoka succeeded in introducing the koto to the world of avant-garde music. Based on the West Coast in the early '90s, she first got noticed for her collaborations with Pharoah Sanders, Wadada Leo Smith, and Henry Kaiser, and for highly original mixed media installations and site-specific performances. By the late '90s, she had turned mostly to free improvisation, expanding the possibilities of her instrument with an electronic interface. Her most high-profile activity was her participation in Fred Frith's trio project Maybe Monday.
A string instrument with a history arching back to the 11th century, the koto is the instrument most closely associated with Japanese tradition. Masaoka, a Japanese American born in Washington, D.C., got her first contact with it through a cousin residing in Japan. During the 1980s, she studied various schools of Japanese koto music on the U.S. West Coast. All the while, she obtained a B.A. in music from San Francisco State University in 1990 and a master's degree in music composition from Mills College four years later, studying with Alvin Curran.
Therefore, her background blended traditional music and contemporary classical composition. Getting involved more deeply into the music scene after 1994, she began by staging special projects. Bee Project #1 (May 1996) included the use of an on-stage beehive, the buzzing sounds of bees being mixed in real time with the music from the performance. What Is the Difference Between Stripping & Playing the Violin?, a reflection on the perception of sex-related professions called for a rock/classical combo, two exotic dancers, and a tape part made of comments on the subject from various people. It was performed on a street corner in San Francisco in March 1997 and attracted much media attention (the performance was later issued on CD by Disques Victo).
Soon, everyone looking for an exotic touch to add to their ensemble started to call Masaoka. She appeared on records and on-stage with Steve Coleman, George Lewis, Ben Goldberg, and others, all the while releasing her own albums. The 1996 solo CD Compositions/Improvisations and her 1997 trio session Monk's Japanese Folk Song (with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille) established her as a major improviser. She appeared as a solo artist and in various small improv group contexts in many festivals in Europe and North America, including the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. Since 1997, she has appeared alongside Fred Frith and Larry Ochs in the trio Maybe Monday. - Francois Couture
"Miya Masaoka is billed as playing "laser koto" (which sounds very space age but in fact refers to the use of the instrument to trigger various MIDI devices), but the venerable instrument's distinctive timbre and tuning are still happily in evidence, and inspire British saxophonist John Butcher to turn in some of his most melodic (albeit obliquely) work in recent years. Butcher, who is increasingly being recognized as one of the saxophone's pioneers in terms of extended technique (somewhat frustratingly so, as his extraordinary virtuosity is always put at the service of the music and should not be associated with any particular trendy fad in contemporary improvisation), is in outstanding form, notably on "Cae" and "Covert," and percussionist Gino Robair, whose arsenal of instruments includes a "faux dax" (a homemade version of Hans Reichel's famous daxophone) and various bowed and motorized contraptions, reveals himself once more as one of the most original performers on the scene. Being new and original for its own sake is only a means to end and not an end in itself, however; what counts is the coherence and musicality of the final product, and few musicians working today are able to produce work as coherent and musical as this." -- Dan Warburton
"Flip Phillips, who angered some critics early on because he gained riotous applause for his exciting solos during Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, for over 50 years was an excellent tenor saxophonist equally gifted on stomps, ballads, and standards. He played clarinet regularly in a Brooklyn restaurant during 1934-1939, was in Frankie Newton's group (1940-1941), and spent time in the bands of Benny Goodman, Wingy Manone, and Red Norvo. However, it was in 1944 that he had his breakthrough. As a well-featured soloist with Woody Herman's Herd (1944-1946), Phillips became a big star. His warm tenor was most influenced by Ben Webster but sounded distinctive even at that early stage. He toured regularly with Jazz at the Philharmonic during 1946-1957, scoring a bit of a sensation with his honking solo on "Perdido" and holding his own with heavy competition (including Charlie Parker and Lester Young). He occasionally co-led a group with Bill Harris, and that band was the nucleus of the ensemble that Benny Goodman used in 1959. Phillips then retired to Florida for 15 years, playing on just an occasional basis, taking up the bass clarinet as a double and making only a sporadic record date. But by 1975 he was back in music full-time, making quite a few records and playing at festivals and jazz parties. Even as he passed his 80th birthday, Flip Phillips had lost none of the enthusiasm or ability that he had a half-century earlier." - Scott Yanow
"A fine swing-oriented tenor saxophonist, Ventura is best-remembered for his attempt at popularizing bebop during the tail end of the music's mid- to late-'40s heyday. Born Charles Venturo, he came from a large, musically inclined family. His first instrument was C-melody sax. He switched to alto before eventually settling on tenor. Ventura left his day job at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1942 to join Gene Krupa's band. He became a featured soloist with Krupa, playing with the drummer from 1942-1943 and 1944-1946 (working in the interim with guitarist/bandleader Teddy Powell). Ventura achieved considerable popularity while with Krupa, winning a Down Beat magazine award as best tenor saxophonist in 1945. He started his own big band in 1946 with middling results. He had more success fronting a small band, one version of which included trumpeter Conte Candoli, trombonist Bennie Green, alto saxophonist Boots Mussulli, drummer Ed Shaughnessy, and vocalists Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. Ventura recorded for small labels before getting signed to RCA Victor, which at the time wanted to capitalize on the emergence of bebop. An RCA executive purportedly told him that they wanted the word "bop" in the band's name. Ventura came up with the phrase "Bop for the People," which implied an accessible form of the music. Ventura formed a big band in 1948, but soon cut it down to eight members, retaining Cain and Kral, who were crucial components of the band's sound. The Bop for the People band worked through 1949 (during which time Ventura employed modern jazz's greatest saxophonist, Charlie Parker, on a record date), but in the end Ventura's stab at making a commercial success of bop failed. Indeed, as fine a player as he was, Ventura himself was never really a bopper. During the early '50s Ventura led another big band; formed a highly acclaimed group called the Big Four with bassist Chubby Jackson, drummer Buddy Rich, and pianist Marty Napoleon; briefly ran his own night club in Philadelphia; and also worked again with Cain and Kral. Ventura's health was not the best, yet he continued to work with Krupa into the '60s. After the '50s, Ventura recorded commercially only once (in 1977, with pianist John Bunch for the Famous Door label). Still, he remained active. He worked in Las Vegas (with comedian Jackie Gleason), and fronted various groups in the '70s and '80s, before dying of lung cancer in 1992." - Chris Kelsey
"Although they were never major influences, both Flip Phillips and Charlie Ventura had their moments of fame and were entertaining and hard-swinging tenor saxophonists. This 1998 limited-edition six-CD box set from Mosaic is typically wondrous with quite a few little-heard gems included among the 116 selections (five previously unreleased, three of which are alternate takes). The first two CDs feature Charlie Ventura during 1951-54, right after his "Bop for the People" band broke up. His seven sessions include a heated quintet with trumpeter Conte Candoli ("Bugle Call Rag" is a highlight), five separate quartets (with such notable players as pianists Marty Napoleon and Dave McKenna plus Buddy Rich), and a nonet date that has a few short solos from trumpeter Charlie Shavers and trombonist Kai Winding. Singer Mary Ann McCall is fine on five songs, although four less interesting numbers feature the Blentones, an indifferent vocal group. Ventura is heard on alto, baritone and his booming bass sax in addition to his trademark tenor, and was still in his prime. Flip Phillips is featured on the last four CDs on 16 sessions dating from 1947-54 and one in 1957. He is actually a sideman on sets headed by trombonist Tommy Turk, guitarist Nick Esposito and Buddy Rich (starring on the latter). Otherwise, Flip is largely the star, supported by trumpeters Howard McGhee, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Charlie Shavers, trombonist Bill Harris, pianists Hank Jones, Mickey Crane, Dick Hyman, Lou Levy and Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummers J.C. Heard, Shelly Manne, Max Roach, Jo Jones and Rich, among others. With the exception of the Buddy Rich date (which is live), all of the music clocks in around three minutes apiece, so the musicians make expert use of their limited space. Highly recommended to bop and mainstream fans; get this very valuable set while you can." -- Scott Yanow
CD: David Chesky - Best of Chesky Classics & Jazz and Audiophile Test Disk (Volume 3)
PART ONE: THE MUSIC
We have arranged this special collection of Chesky artists in a
concert format for your enjoyment.
Many different musical forms are represented on this compact disk, but
they all work together-proof that good acoustic music has more
commonality than divergence.
Just put this compact disk in your player, sit back and enjoy!
01. Ana Caram / Africando [0:03:44.20]
from the album Marcana-JD104
Ana Caram, vocals and guitar;
Cliff Korman, piano and sinthesizer;
David Finck, bass;
Romero Lubambo, guitar;
Duduka da Fonseca, drums and percussion;
Steve Sacks, fluter and saxes;
Al Hunt, woodwinds;
David Sacks, trombone;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
RaulJaurena, bandeneon.
Produced by David Chesky, Nelson Motta and Steve Sacks.
Musical Director and Arranger: Steve Sacks.
02. Livingston Taylor / Out Of This World [0:02:40.42]
from the album Good Friends-JD97
Livingston Taylor, vocals, guitar, keyboards;
Joel Diamond, arranger, piano;
George Naha, guitar;
David Finck, bass;
Gary Burke, drums;
Lawrence Feldman, flute and sax;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
Charles Hardy, Lee Williams, and Tony Wells, back up vocals.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
03. Leny Andrade / Wave [0:05:50.35]
from the album Maiden Voiage-JD113
Leny Andrade, Vocals;
Fred Hersch, piano and arranger;
David Dunaway, bass;
Helio Schiavo, drums;
Produced by David Chesky and Fred Hersch.
Recorded using new 20-bit high-resolution technology.
04. Connecticut Early Music Festivaal Ensemble / Winter (The FourSeasons) [0:03:27.10]
From the album The Four Seasons-CD78
Igor Kipnis, harpsichord and director.
Produced by David Chesky and Jeremy R. Kipnis.
05. Revecca Pidgeon / Grandmother [0:06:25.35]
from the album The Raven-JD115
Rebecca Pidgeon, vocals, guitar, background vocal arrangements;
Joel Diamond, piano, musical director and arranger;
George Naha, guitar;
Anthony Coote, guitar;
Mitch Margold, synthesizer;
David Finck,bass;
Gary Burke, drums and percussion;
Coco Kallis, Paul Miller, Elise Morris, Stephanie Smothers, background
vocals;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
Laura Seaton, violin;
Robert Chausow, violin.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
Recorded using new 20-bit high-resolution technology.
06. Orquesta Nova / Battery Park [0:05:08.20]
from the album Salon New York-JD86
Carlos Franzetti, piano;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Gary Schocker, flute;
David Finck, bass;
Guillermo Figueroa, first violin;
Robert Chausow, second violin;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
Lawrence Feldman, soprano sax and clarinet;
and guests
Tiberio Nascimento, guitar;
Lois Colin, harp.
Produced by David Chesky, Juliet Haffner and Carlos Franzetti.
07. Laverne Butler / I Cover The Waterfront [0:06:06.43]
from the album No Looking Back-JD91
Mike Renzi, piano andarranger;
Joe Henderson, tenor sax;
Chris Potter, tenor sax;
Jon Faddis, trumpet;
Joe Magnarelli, trumpet;
Romero Lubambo, acoustic guitar;
Chip Jackson, bass;
Klaus Sounsaari, drums;
Mark Sherman, synthesizer and percussion.
Produced by David Chesky and Mike Renzi.
08. Sara K, / Horse I Used To Ride [0:04:26.05]
from the album Play On Words-JD105
Sara. K., vocals and four string guitar;
Joel Diamond, piano and musical director;
George Naha, guitar;
Bruce Dunlap, guitar;
Larry Campbell, slide guitar;
David Finck, bass;
Jay Anderson, bass;
John Goldsby, bass;
Gary Burke, drums;
Jamey Haddad, percussion;
Lou Soloff, trumpet;
Bill Mobley, trumpet;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
Moco'', koto;
George Naha, Steve Kaiser, Joel Diamond, Sal Cappi, chorus.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
09. Fred Hersch Trio / Con Alma [0:05:56.67]
from the album Fred Hersch Plays: Coleman, Coltrane, Davis, Ellington,
Gillespie, Hersch, Hancock, Monk, Rollins, Shorter,Strayhorn-JD116
Fred Hersch, piano;
Drew Gress, bass;
Tom Rayney, drums;
Recorded using new 20-bit high-resolution technology.
10. Badi Assad / Num Pagode Em Planaltina [0:04:41.38]
from the album Solo-JD99
Baddi Assad, vocals, guitar, mouth percussion and sound effects;
11. Westminster Choir / Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart) [0:03:39.35]
from the album O Magnum Mysterium-CD83
Joseph Flummerfelt,conductor.
===
PART TWO: AUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS AND TECHNICAL TESTS
12-33 A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH THE AUDIOPHILE WORLD
Announcer John Henry takes you through the world of stereo microphone
techniques, artificial and natural space, artificial and natural
imaging, and introduces you to our new 20-bit high resolution
recording process.
Listen to these tracks now, then return at your leisure to the printed
notes for a more detailed information.
Introduction:
The Natural vs. The Artificial
Chesky Records takes pride in using the finest electronics and
microphones (all custom-built), a great-sounding halls, and minimalist
microphone techniques.
We don't overdub musicians (overdubbing can dilute the natural space
and imaging of recording).
The soundstage on our recordings is achieved through natural, not
electronic means.
We spend hours (and sometimes days) choosing microphones and halls,
positioning musicians, until the sound is just right.
To our knowledge, no other record company goes through this
painstaking process to create jazz or popular music recordings - we do
it because we want to keep acoustic music alive.
And we promise we'll never stray from this goal.
Nevertheless, we're always keeping our ear open to the latest digital
techniques to create artificial space and artificial imaging.
Sometimes we dream... a "room in a box" (at the push of a button) is
the engineer's dream.
Will that ever be possible?
That's why we're asking the big question: Is it possible to create a
convincing artificial audio environment?
The answers are right here on this CD... take a listen.
34-45 ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL TESTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS
===
Produced by David Chesky
Executive Producer: Norman Chesky
Audio demonstrations and technical tests produced by David Chesky, Bob
Katz and Steve Guttenberg
Recorded by Bob Katz, except #4 by Jeremy Kipnis
Assistant Producer: Steve Guttenberg
Assistant Engineers: Jeremi Kipniz, Peter Cho, Suzanne Hollander,
David Windmuller, David Memill (Mastersound Engineer)
Performances edited by Jeremy Kipnis, Miguel Kertsman, and A.T.
Michael MacDonald
Announcer: John Henry
Project Director: Roy Spangenthal
A&R Director: Steve Kaiser
Technical Director: Bob Katz
Production Assistant: David Rubin
Cover Illustration & Design: Ross Hudson
Album compilation, demonstrations, and technical tests edited/mastered
by Bob Katz at Digital Domain, NYC
Technical Consultant: George Kaye
Recorded using the 128x oversampling A to D Mark III and Mark IV
converters with ultra analog modules and vacuum tube equipment built
by George Kaye.
To receive The Chesky Record newsletter or a Chesky Records catalog,
please write to:
Chesky Records, P.O. Box 1268, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101
JD 111 Digital DDD
(C)1994
01. Ana Caram / Africando [0:03:44.20]
from the album Maracana-JD104
by Lula Barbosa and Wismar Rabello. Caram Music (BMI)
Ana Caram, vocals and guitar;
Cliff Korman, piano and synthesizer;
David Finck, bass;
Romero Lubambo, guitar;
Duduka da Fonseca, drums and percussion;
Steve Sacks, flutes and saxes;
Al Hunt, woodwinds;
David Sacks, trombone;
Erik Friedlander, cello*;
Raul Jaurena, bandoneon*.
Produced by David Chesky, Nelson Motta and Steve Sacks. Musical
Director and Arranger: Steve Sacks.
This lively Latin selection from Ana's fourth Chesky album is a great
way to start the concert. The "big band" arrangement combines the best
of Brazilian carnival, Latin salsa, and lovely lead vocal. We'd like
to take this opportunity to remind you that this recording, like all
Chesky Recordings, is made direct to two-track without overdubbing or
artificial enhancement - direct from the live performance to you.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
02. Livingston Taylor / Out Of This World [0:02:40.42]
from the album Good Friends-JD97
by Livingston Taylor and Maggie Taylor, Morgan Creek Music (ASCAP)
Livingston Taylor, vocals, guitar, keyboards;
Joel Diamond, arranger, piano;
George Naha, guitar;
David Finck, bass;
Gary Burke, drums;
Lawrence Feldman, flute and sax*;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Erik Friendlander, cello;
Charles Hardy, Lee Williams, and Tony Wells, back up vocals*.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
Singer/songwriter Livingston Taylor makes joyful music. This fanciful
reverie samples a collective work raging from folk music roots,
traditional gospel, and Tin Pan Alley, to Hollywood-all with
Livingston's personal touch.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
03. Leny Andrade / Wave [0:05:50.35]
from the album Maiden Voyage-JD113
by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Corcovado Music (BMI)
Leny Andrade, vocals;
Fred Hersch, piano and arranger;
David Dunaway, bass*;
Helio Schiavo, drums*.
Produced by David Chesky and Fred Hersch.
We are proud to present the American recording debut of "the first
lady of Brazilian jazz". Leny Andrade scat sings with the best and
improvises over complex harmonies. But most important, her powerful
contralto voice entrances you, attracts you, grabs you, and pulls you
into her song. Listen to the creative musical interplay between Fred
Hersh's bluesy piano and Lenny's voice... it's the ultimate jazz duo.
Andrade sings in both English and Portuguese on this album.
Recorded using our new 20-bit high resolution technology, an
audiophile's dream: finally, transparency and musicality to rival the
best of analog recordings. These new high resolution recordings have
distinctively clearer ambient detail, and and effortless, pure
extension of dynamic range.
PART TWO of this CD demonstrates the whys and hows of these
improvements, including our ability to present the entire 20-bit
dynamic range on a 16-bit CD, without resorting to compression,
tricks, or special encoding.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
04. Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble, Igor Kipnis, harpsichord and director. / Winter, Vivaldi from The Four Seasons, Allegro Non Molto [0:03:27.10]
From the album The Four Seasons-CD78
Produced by David Chesky and Jeremy R. Kipnis.
The Festival performers bring out the vitality and life in Vivaldi's
music. This is one of the most dynamic performances of The Four
Seasons we've heard, yet it is performed on traditional instruments.
05. Rebecca Pidgeon / Grandmother [0:06:25.35]
from the album The Raven-JD115
by Rebecca Pidgeon, Blue Mountain Music, LTD (PRS)
Rebecca Pidgeon, vocals, guitar, background vocal arrangements;
Joel Diamond, piano, musical director and arranger;
George Naha, guitar;
Anthony Coote, guitar;
Mitch Margold, synthesizer;
David Finck, bass;
Gary Burke, drums and percussion;
Coco Kallis*, Paul Miller*, Elise Morris, Stephanie Smothers,
background vocals;
Juliet Haffner, viola;
Erik Friedlander, cello;
Laura Seaton, violin;
Robert Chausow, violin.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
Another debut - the delicate, sweet voice of Scottish singer-
songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon. Her original compositions are infectious
and hypnotic. Grandmother, which was recorded in one take, is a simple
story of a universal truth. We promise you'll be singing it (and
playing it) over and over. Also recorded with our new 20-bit high
resolution technology - the absolute silences, depth of resolution and
ambient detail are particularly important to Rebecca's songs.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut
06. Orquesta Nova / Battery Park [0:05:08.20]
from the album Salon New York-JD86
by Carlos Franzetti. Pototo Music (BMI)
Carlos Franzetti, piano;Juliet Haffner, viola;
Gary Schocker, flute;
David Finck, bass;
Guillermo Figueroa, first violin;
Robert Chausow, second violin;
Erik Friedlander, cello;
Lawrence Feldman, soprano sax and clarinet;
and guests
Tiberio Nascimento, guitar*;
Lois Colin, harp.
Produced by David Chesky, Juliet Haffner and Carlos Franzetti.
Orquesta Nova is an ensemble of virtuosos who specialize in orchestral
interpretations of Latin-American music. This composition features
Gary Schocker's haunting flute; it's by the pianist (and co-leader)
Carlos Franzetti.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
07. Laverne Butler / I Cover The Waterfront [0:06:06.43]
from the album No Looking Back-JD91
by John Green and Ed Hayman. Warner Bros. Music Inc. (ASCAP)
Mike Renzi, piano and arranger;
Joe Henderson, tenor sax;
Chris Potter, tenor sax*;
Jon Faddis, trumpet*;
Joe Magnarelli, trumpet*;
Romero Lubambo, acoustic guitar;
Chip Jackson, bass;
Klaus Sounsaari, drums;
Mark Sherman, synthesizer and percussion.
Produced by David Chesky and Mike Renzi.
Laverne is a jazz vocalist in the tradition of Billy Holiday, Betty
Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and Shirley Horn. The album ranges from
striking big band arrangements to this ballad which was performed in
the30's by Louis Armstrong, among others. The perfect tenor tone of
Joe Henderson weaves through and around Laverne's liquid vocal.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
08. Sara K. / Horse I Used To Ride [0:04:26.05]
from the album Play On Words-JD105
by Sara K. Sarak Music (BMI) & Coconut Bay Music (BMI)
Sara K., vocals and four string guitar;
Joel Diamond, piano and musical director;
George Naha, guitar;
Bruce Dunlap, guitar*;
Larry Campbell, slide guitar*;
David Finck, bass;
Jay Anderson, bass*;
John Goldsby, bass*;
Gary Burke, drums;
Jamey Haddad, percussion;
Lou Soloff, trumpet*;
Bill Mobley, trumpet*;
Juliet Haffner, viola*;
Erik Friedlander, cello*;
Moco'', koto*;
George Naha, Steve Kaiser, Joel Diamond, Sal Cappi, chorus*.
Produced by David Chesky and Joel Diamond.
Sara K.'s compositions come from a mystery deep within her heart and
soul. They tell tales of love, of relationships, of places we all have
been, but most of all they swing. And you will swing with her.
*appears on the album, but not on this cut.
09. Fred Hersch / Trio Con Alma [0:05:56.67]
from the album Fred Hersch Plays: Coleman, Coltrane, Davis, Ellington,
Gillespie, Hersch, Hancock, Monk, Rollins, Shorter,Strayhorn-JD116
by Dizzi Gillespie. Dizio Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Fred Hersch, piano;
Drew Gress, bass;
Tom Rainey, drums.
This trio received a grammy nomination for their inspired consumate
performance on their first Chesky album, Dancing In The Dark. Con
Alma, from the trio's second CD, Fred Hersch Plays... again inpires by
building from a light atmospheric piece to a brisk jazz waltz.
We think you'll agree this 20-bit high resolution recording presents
the jazz trio exactly as you want to hear it, capturing realistic
imaging yet preserving the tone of each instrument. Listen for the
delicate cymbals, palpable presence of the bass, dynamic range of the
piano, and precise placement of each musician within the width and
depth of the soundstage. Perhaps the ultimate jazz trio recording.
10. Badi Assad / Num Pagode Em Plalantina [0:04:41.38]
from the album Solo-JD99
by Marco Pereira. Som da Gente Records, Inc. (BMI)
Badi Assad, vocals, guitar, mouth percussion and sound effects.
This young Brazilian lady is a classical guitarist of the first rank,
and an inventive performance artist who incorporates the sounds and
languages of the world-all into a solo performance that often sounds
like a duo, a trio, yea even a quartet. This composition is one of her
"simple" arrangements, but deceptively difficult to play. It beings
with a devilish introduction, leading to a rhythmic guitar part
accompanied by some of the most angelic vocal harmonies we've ever
heard.
11. Westminster Choir, Joseph Flummerfelt, conductor. / Ave Verum Corpus, Mozart [0:03:39.35]
from the album O Magnum Mysterium-CD83
For this recording, world-reknowned conductor Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt
has reunited some of The Westminster Choir's most talented singers
from recent years, performing both with organ and unaccompanied at the
acoustically perfect Church of St. Mary's The Virgin In A New York
City. The choir's incredible control of pitch and pianissimo is
essential to a sacred work that is marked "sotto voce" in the score.
Note that the apparent hiss on this track is actually the blower of
the organ.
12. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Introduction, Artificial Stereo [0:01:25.40]
In this track, we play with announcer John Henry's voice in a couple
of interesting ways. One of them is a very subtle artificial stereo
algorithm. That's right - artificial stereo. Today's digital methods
of generating artificial stereo are far more advanced that those hated
methods of the 60's and 70's. We concentrate on recreating ambience
and space rather than dividing the image into artificial left/right.
The algorithm we are demonstrating on John's voice is one of the most
subtle ones, available today. It employs time delays and polarity
modification, and it's implemented entirely in a DSP (once converted
to digital, the signal never leaves the digital domain until it hints
the DA converter in your home). Furthermore, our stereoization
algorithm is fully mono compatible. This is a good test for the
spatial resolution of your stereo system; see if you system reveals
the difference when we turn the subtle stereoization off and on.
13. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Mono Mike [0:00:38.17]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
We begin with a single omnidirectional microphone recorded in mono.
14. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Artificial Stereo [0:00:46.13]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
The previous track (13) is processed with digitally-created artificial
stereo. Listen for a pleasant sense of space and depth, with vague or
nonexistent imaging. We like this algorithm so much that we suggest it
to people restoring period audio recordings and films. Again, it is
fully mono-compatible.
15. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / XY Cardioid Technique [0:00:40.20]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
Two cardioid microphones in XY orientation (see diagram). A cardioid
(heart-shaped) microphone is often offered to as "unidirectional", but
actually has a fairly side pickup pattern with rejection only to the
rear. The drawing depict microphones you may be familiar with, but
professional microphones don't need a "ball" on the end to have a
cardioid pattern. In the XY orientation, the axes of two microphones
are 90° to each other, the heads of the microphones are as close
together as possible (in the same vertical plane). Note the sound is
dryer than with the omnidirectional pattern because the cardioids
reject the reverberation coming from the rear.
16. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / XY and added ambience [0:00:43.35]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
To increase the amount of ambience, we can mix in a second pair of
omnidirectional microphones located elsewhere in the room.
17. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / XY with increased ambience [0:00:45.17]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
If desired, we can mix in a large quantity of natural ambience, just
by turning up the gain of the ambience mikes. But what happens to the
stereo image when we do so? In practice, we may mix in just a touch of
the ambience mikes, less even that in track 16.
18. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Crossed Figure8's [0:00:47.08]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
The figure-8 microphone hears equal amounts of sound from the front
and rear, and rejects sounds at the sides (at 90° axis). Crossing two
figure-8's results in the famous Blumlein technique, invented in the
late 1930's by the brilliant scientist Alan Blumlein (see diagram).
Note the almost holographic imagery afforded by this technique. The
tonal differences you hear among these miking techniques come from
several factors: natural differences due to the mike patterns,
electronics and capsule differences, and sonic differences in the
direct to reverberant ratio (room reverberation generally has more
bass energy than the direct sound from an instrument and thus can
change the apparent tonal balance of a recording).
19. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Spaced Pair of Omnis [0:00:41.47]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
A pair of spaced omnidirectional microphones (see diagram) may widen
natural space, depending on the relative distance between the
microphones and the angle between the performers. Listen for an
ambiguity in position, particularly between the bassoon and clarinet.
This can be minimized in practice if enough mike setup time is allowed.
We do not recommend this technique to record moving opera singers,
because the ambiguous center can cause a big image shift with little
movement by the performers.
20. Artificial Stereo and Microphone Techniques / Three Spaced Omnis [0:00:43.65]
13-20 Microphone Technique Demonstration:
Simple microphone techniques aren't so simple. The recording engineer
must choose from ten to twenty different techniques and their
variants, typically using two to five microphones. Each technique has
its virtues and its defects. Recording methods can make natural space
wider or narrower; some techniques emphasize hall reverberation at the
expense of imaging, and vice versa. It's the recording engineer's job
to choose the right recording technique for the music, the hall, and
the desired sonic result, which must be esthetically pleasing to the
ear.
David Chesky has composed a miniature woodwind sonata just for this
demonstration; it has legato, sustained, and stacatto passages,
specifically to show the amount of hall reverberation and imaging
associated with each miking technique. A woodwind trio performed this
sonata many different times, each time before a different microphone
array. In this action, we'll explore the variety of sounds available
with "natural" miking before we play with artificial techniques.
These miking demonstrations were designed to illustrate (and some
cases exaggerate) the general differences between techniques. They are
not meant to be definitive illustrations of how a technique should be
used. In fact, after deciding on a miking technique, the engineer
usually takes a long time refining and rerefining the distances,
directions and positions of each instrument and microphone to achieve
the ultimate instrument balance, positioning, depth, width and
musicality. But for these illustrations, we set our mikes with enough
precision to get the point across.
All other things being equal, adding a third omni mike in the center
(see diagram) can stabilize the center image, while retaining a good
sense of space. Many popular orchestral recordings are made with this
technique. There are other popular miking techniques we did not
illustrate: Blumlein center with flaking omni pair, boundary layer
microphones, stereo sphere microphone, soundfield microphone, and so
on.
Welcome to the world of stereo microphone techniques!
21. Instrument Placement / Announcement [0:00:14.73]
After deciding which microphones to use, the engineer must place the
musicians relative to the walls of the studio. To illustrate the
dilemma, we recorded a piano close to the back wall of the studio
(22), then we moved the piano into the middle of the studio (23),
while keeping the microphones at the identical position relative to
the instrument. The walls of a studio can sometimes aid and sometimes
deteriorate the quality of a recording; it's important to know how
they can affect an instrument and decide accordingly.
Can you hear the difference position makes?
22. Instrument Placement / Piano against the wall of the studio [0:00:24.65]
After deciding which microphones to use, the engineer must place the
musicians relative to the walls of the studio. To illustrate the
dilemma, we recorded a piano close to the back wall of the studio
(22), then we moved the piano into the middle of the studio (23),
while keeping the microphones at the identical position relative to
the instrument. The walls of a studio can sometimes aid and sometimes
deteriorate the quality of a recording; it's important to know how
they can affect an instrument and decide accordingly.
Can you hear the difference position makes?
23. Instrument Placement / Piano in the middle of studio [0:00:16.27]
After deciding which microphones to use, the engineer must place the
musicians relative to the walls of the studio. To illustrate the
dilemma, we recorded a piano close to the back wall of the studio
(22), then we moved the piano into the middle of the studio (23),
while keeping the microphones at the identical position relative to
the instrument. The walls of a studio can sometimes aid and sometimes
deteriorate the quality of a recording; it's important to know how
they can affect an instrument and decide accordingly.
Can you hear the difference position makes?
24. Natural vs. Artificial Space / Announcement [0:00:23.65]
We have a unique opportunity to make a demonstration that has never
been done before. This is the first time the quality of an artificial
reverb chamber can be effectively compared to the sound of a large
live hall, with the same performer,and the identical microphone setup.
During the production of Sampler Volume 2, we recorded a drum set on
the stage at BMG's Studio A, behind the sound absorbent curtain (track
17 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 25). Without moving the
stereo microphone or changing gains, we opened the curtains to reveal
a 60-foot long hall, with 2-story high ceiling, and asked the drummer
to play again (track 23 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 26).
Finally, we produced track 27 on this CD by adding carefully
controlled digital reverberation to the recording that was made with
the curtains closed.
So... which one do you prefer, the artificial or the natural space?
25. Natural vs. Artificial Space / Drum set recorded in a dry studio [0:01:00.10]
We have a unique opportunity to make a demonstration that has never
been done before. This is the first time the quality of an artificial
reverb chamber can be effectively compared to the sound of a large
live hall, with the same performer,and the identical microphone setup.
During the production of Sampler Volume 2, we recorded a drum set on
the stage at BMG's Studio A, behind the sound absorbent curtain (track
17 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 25). Without moving the
stereo microphone or changing gains, we opened the curtains to reveal
a 60-foot long hall, with 2-story high ceiling, and asked the drummer
to play again (track 23 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 26).
Finally, we produced track 27 on this CD by adding carefully
controlled digital reverberation to the recording that was made with
the curtains closed.
So... which one do you prefer, the artificial or the natural space?
26. Natural vs. Artificial Space / Drum set in a live studio [0:00:52.33]
We have a unique opportunity to make a demonstration that has never
been done before. This is the first time the quality of an artificial
reverb chamber can be effectively compared to the sound of a large
live hall, with the same performer,and the identical microphone setup.
During the production of Sampler Volume 2, we recorded a drum set on
the stage at BMG's Studio A, behind the sound absorbent curtain (track
17 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 25). Without moving the
stereo microphone or changing gains, we opened the curtains to reveal
a 60-foot long hall, with 2-story high ceiling, and asked the drummer
to play again (track 23 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 26).
Finally, we produced track 27 on this CD by adding carefully
controlled digital reverberation to the recording that was made with
the curtains closed.
So... which one do you prefer, the artificial or the natural space?
27. Natural vs. Artificial Space / Drum set with artificial reverbaration [0:00:45.47]
We have a unique opportunity to make a demonstration that has never
been done before. This is the first time the quality of an artificial
reverb chamber can be effectively compared to the sound of a large
live hall, with the same performer,and the identical microphone setup.
During the production of Sampler Volume 2, we recorded a drum set on
the stage at BMG's Studio A, behind the sound absorbent curtain (track
17 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 25). Without moving the
stereo microphone or changing gains, we opened the curtains to reveal
a 60-foot long hall, with 2-story high ceiling, and asked the drummer
to play again (track 23 of Volume 2 is duplicated here as track 26).
Finally, we produced track 27 on this CD by adding carefully
controlled digital reverberation to the recording that was made with
the curtains closed.
So... which one do you prefer, the artificial or the natural space?
28. Natural vs. Artificial Imaging / Natural stereo imaging [0:01:44.28]
Track 28 illustrates the natural imaging "decoded" by a Blumein
microphone pair in a live studio. A tom-tom drum is played at
different angles relative to the stereo mike: left, center, right,
extreme left and extreme right. Then we asked our drummer to run
around the mike in a circle. See if you can catch him tripping over
the mike stand towards the end of track 28.
Track 29 is a test of whether artificial digital techniques can
adequately simulate the imaging of a real space. If we pass this test,
then theoretically we never need a live room to record our performers
(just a lot of expensive computer time). So we placed our drummer in
the studio's drum booth, which is very dead. We then patched the sound
through all the digital tools now available to the recording engineer
(the sound never left the digital domain): equalization to reduce the
resonance of the booth, reverberation to simulate the ambience of the
live room, and finally, a very expensive digital imaging processor,
which is designed to place sound anywhere in artificial space with
only two loudspeakers. About behind-the-head imaging: We'll leave most
of the conclusions to you, but here's one note. True behind-the-head
imaging is virtually unachievable. If you are having trouble hearing
the illusion, don't be dismayed. It may help to sit closer to the
loudspeakers than normal and to use your imagination. The design of
the ear/brain mechanism requires that we detect sounds behind the head
by minutely moving our head and literally computing arrival time
differences. Experiments have been done which locked a head in fixed
position - the blindfolded listener could not tell whether sound
speakers in theaters are never placed behind, but rather at the sides
and above a critical angle. That is also why headphones can never
produce a behind-the-head image. The best behind-the-head illusions
(like those in tracks 28 and 29) are transitory, the sound seems to
pass behind the head on its way around the circle.
So, which do you prefer, natural or artificial imaging?
29. Natural vs. Artificial Imaging / Artificial stereo imaging [0:01:28.25]
Track 28 illustrates the natural imaging "decoded" by a Blumein
microphone pair in a live studio. A tom-tom drum is played at
different angles relative to the stereo mike: left, center, right,
extreme left and extreme right. Then we asked our drummer to run
around the mike in a circle. See if you can catch him tripping over
the mike stand towards the end of track 28.
Track 29 is a test of whether artificial digital techniques can
adequately simulate the imaging of a real space. If we pass this test,
then theoretically we never need a live room to record our performers
(just a lot of expensive computer time). So we placed our drummer in
the studio's drum booth, which is very dead. We then patched the sound
through all the digital tools now available to the recording engineer
(the sound never left the digital domain): equalization to reduce the
resonance of the booth, reverberation to simulate the ambience of the
live room, and finally, a very expensive digital imaging processor,
which is designed to place sound anywhere in artificial space with
only two loudspeakers. About behind-the-head imaging: We'll leave most
of the conclusions to you, but here's one note. True behind-the-head
imaging is virtually unachievable. If you are having trouble hearing
the illusion, don't be dismayed. It may help to sit closer to the
loudspeakers than normal and to use your imagination. The design of
the ear/brain mechanism requires that we detect sounds behind the head
by minutely moving our head and literally computing arrival time
differences. Experiments have been done which locked a head in fixed
position - the blindfolded listener could not tell whether sound
speakers in theaters are never placed behind, but rather at the sides
and above a critical angle. That is also why headphones can never
produce a behind-the-head image. The best behind-the-head illusions
(like those in tracks 28 and 29) are transitory, the sound seems to
pass behind the head on its way around the circle.
So, which do you prefer, natural or artificial imaging?
30. Natural vs. Compressed Dynamics / Introduction to compressors [0:00:57.67]
Chesky Records is also dedicated to preserving the dynamic range of
acoustic music. We always leave enough "headroom" in our recordings
for those natural transients to occur. This requires a medium with
tremendous dynamic range, now provided by our 20-bit high resolution
technology. But the world's environment is not kind to the dynamic
range of our reproduction systems: cars and trucks outside our
windows, noisy heating and air conditioning, the dishwasher and the
neighbors can interfere with our enjoyment of music. That is why our
broadcast media, most films, and many compact disc recordings are
compressed. Compression of dynamic range allow you to watch TV all
night without changing the volume (except perhaps turning it down
during those extra-compressed commercials). Compression on TV puts
Pavarotti's singing and David Letterman's speech at exactly the same
volume! Once you absorb that concept, you can see that it takes a lot
of work to enjoy music recorded with wide dynamic range, but it's
worth it.
In tracks 30-32, we illustrate the evils of compression. First, a
demonstration of compressed speech (30), then a jazz group recorded
with compression (31), finally, the same group recorded without
compression (32).
Keep listening, and happy transients!
31. Natural vs. Compressed Dynamics / Jazz group with compression [0:00:15.20]
Chesky Records is also dedicated to preserving the dynamic range of
acoustic music. We always leave enough "headroom" in our recordings
for those natural transients to occur. This requires a medium with
tremendous dynamic range, now provided by our 20-bit high resolution
technology. But the world's environment is not kind to the dynamic
range of our reproduction systems: cars and trucks outside our
windows, noisy heating and air conditioning, the dishwasher and the
neighbors can interfere with our enjoyment of music. That is why our
broadcast media, most films, and many compact disc recordings are
compressed. Compression of dynamic range allow you to watch TV all
night without changing the volume (except perhaps turning it down
during those extra-compressed commercials). Compression on TV puts
Pavarotti's singing and David Letterman's speech at exactly the same
volume! Once you absorb that concept, you can see that it takes a lot
of work to enjoy music recorded with wide dynamic range, but it's
worth it.
In tracks 30-32, we illustrate the evils of compression. First, a
demonstration of compressed speech (30), then a jazz group recorded
with compression (31), finally, the same group recorded without
compression (32).
Keep listening, and happy transients!
32. Natural vs. Compressed Dynamics / Jazz group without compression [0:00:14.50]
Chesky Records is also dedicated to preserving the dynamic range of
acoustic music. We always leave enough "headroom" in our recordings
for those natural transients to occur. This requires a medium with
tremendous dynamic range, now provided by our 20-bit high resolution
technology. But the world's environment is not kind to the dynamic
range of our reproduction systems: cars and trucks outside our
windows, noisy heating and air conditioning, the dishwasher and the
neighbors can interfere with our enjoyment of music. That is why our
broadcast media, most films, and many compact disc recordings are
compressed. Compression of dynamic range allow you to watch TV all
night without changing the volume (except perhaps turning it down
during those extra-compressed commercials). Compression on TV puts
Pavarotti's singing and David Letterman's speech at exactly the same
volume! Once you absorb that concept, you can see that it takes a lot
of work to enjoy music recorded with wide dynamic range, but it's
worth it.
In tracks 30-32, we illustrate the evils of compression. First, a
demonstration of compressed speech (30), then a jazz group recorded
with compression (31), finally, the same group recorded without
compression (32).
Keep listening, and happy transients!
33. New 20-bit High Resolution Technology / Introduction [0:02:04.63]
Lately, much has been written about 20-bit recording. 20-bit is not
new to Chesky. In 1988, we built the world's first practical 20-bit A
to D converter, which runs 128 times the standard sampling rate of 44.
1 KHz. Since that time, you have been enjoying the results of the
increased linearity, transparency, and low level resolution afforded
by each generation of that converter. The new Mark IV version of the
converter has much more resolution and transparency via a new digital
summing section and new input topology. So, 20-bit is not news at
Chesky. The big news is how we're bringing that 20-bit technology to
you. Our new high-resolution technology permits us to present the
entire 20-bit dynamic range of our converter on a 16-bit CD, without
resorting to compression, tricks, or special encoding! Finally,
transparency, resolution and musicality to rival the best of analog
recordings - without the need for an external decoder.
How do we done it? With high-resolution dither. What is dither? Dither
is a calibrated random noise. It is absolutely required to linearize
low level information. Without dither, low level information will be
lost, very distorted and quite ugly. Dither adds a small amount of
hiss at about -96dB to the music, to permit hearing the music below
the -96dB threshold. This may not seem like much noise, but
ironically, while dither lets us hear the music below the -96dB level,
it simultaneously obscures (masks) the very music it is enabling us to
hear. That's why we've been saying for all these years. "Dither-you
can't live with it, and you can't live without it!" Before the
invention of our high resolution technology, we considered dither a
necessary evil. Without dither there was no low level information, and
with dither we heard more low level information, yet the sound was
still dryer than the analog output of our console. Our new high-
resolution dither lets you hear more low level information than ever
before, and manages to pack the same dynamic range as a 20-bit
recording on a 16-bit CD.
In this track, we introduce the concept of dither, play a test cut
made without dither, with standard dither, and with our new high-
resolution dither. For this dramatic demonstration, we dropped the
level of the music 60dB, then raised it 60dB to reveal what is
happening below the -60dB level. We think there is a dramatic
improvement in low level resolution with this new technology. Also
listen to the three music tracks on this CD made with the new
technique.
Tell us what you think.
34. Dirty vs. Clean power / Violin recorded with "dirty" power. [0:00:24.32]
We bring a tremendous amount of equipment to a recording location,
including a set of power isolation transformers and filters. They help
keep our grounding clean, our power clean, and isolate analog from
digital power. We asked a solo violinist to perform a brief cadenza
twice. The first (34), was recorded without any power isolation. In
fact, we powered all of our equipment from a single extension cord
next to the soda machine!
Track 35 was made with our usual care to power isolation and grounding.
Do you hear a difference?
Note: Since this test represents two different performances, some of
the differences you hear may be due to the musician's own performance
rather than the improvement in power isolation. It is not possible to
design this test with just one variable.
35. Dirty vs. Clean power / Violin recorded with "clean" power. [0:00:24.55]
We bring a tremendous amount of equipment to a recording location,
including a set of power isolation transformers and filters. They help
keep our grounding clean, our power clean, and isolate analog from
digital power. We asked a solo violinist to perform a brief cadenza
twice. The first (34), was recorded without any power isolation. In
fact, we powered all of our equipment from a single extension cord
next to the soda machine!
Track 35 was made with our usual care to power isolation and grounding.
Do you hear a difference?
Note: Since this test represents two different performances, some of
the differences you hear may be due to the musician's own performance
rather than the improvement in power isolation. It is not possible to
design this test with just one variable.
36. Digital vs. Analog tape / 20-bit, all digital recording [0:00:43.55]
Some people prefer making an analog tape recording first, then
transferring to digital later. There are many legitimate questions to
bring up, including whether the 3rd harmonic distortion (and hiss) of
the analog recording adds a euphonic coloration that masks the "bad"
distortions of digital. So, we thought we'd add fuel to the fire.
Track 36 is a 20-bit jazz recording made direct from the live source,
through our A/D and straight to you (with our high-resolution
technology).
Track 37 is the identical performance, with the identical equipment
and processing, except it was transferred to our A/D from a 15 IPS,
Dolby SR encoded analog tape.
Which do you prefer, the analog transfer or direct digital?
37. Digital vs. Analog tape / 20-bit recordind made from analog tape [0:00:44.73]
Some people prefer making an analog tape recording first, then
transferring to digital later. There are many legitimate questions to
bring up, including whether the 3rd harmonic distortion (and hiss) of
the analog recording adds a euphonic coloration that masks the "bad"
distortions of digital. So, we thought we'd add fuel to the fire.
Track 36 is a 20-bit jazz recording made direct from the live source,
through our A/D and straight to you (with our high-resolution
technology).
Track 37 is the identical performance, with the identical equipment
and processing, except it was transferred to our A/D from a 15 IPS,
Dolby SR encoded analog tape.
Which do you prefer, the analog transfer or direct digital?
38. Chesky / Equipment and Cable Burn-in Signal [0:01:07.22]
Good speaker design engineers know that new drivers straight from the
factory sound very different than drivers that have been broken-in.
Here is a track you can use to break in your speaker drivers and all
the other equipment in your system. Just set your CD player to repeat
and run this track all night. It also makes a great stereo sound
effect!
39. Volume Level Warning / WARNING! The rest of this CD is recorded at low level. [0:00:09.13]
You may wish to turn up your monitor volume to properly evaluate these
tests. To prevent transducer (and ear) damage, be sure to return your
volume control to normal after these test are completed.
40. 16 bit vs. 20 bit AD / Music at -30dB into 16 bit system [0:00:45.02]
Two identical sources (Dolby SR tape), recorded with old versus new
technology. The identical A/D converter was used. Track 40 is recorded
at -30dB, through the converter set with16-bit standard dither, output
to this CD without any additional dither. Track 41 is recorded at -
30dB, through the converter set for 20-bit recording, then output to
this CD with our high-resolution dither.
41. 16 bit vs. 20 bit AD / Music at -30dB into 20 bit with high resolution dither [0:00:41.48]
Two identical sources (Dolby SR tape), recorded with old versus new
technology. The identical A/D converter was used. Track 40 is recorded
at -30dB, through the converter set with16-bit standard dither, output
to this CD without any additional dither. Track 41 is recorded at -
30dB, through the converter set for 20-bit recording, then output to
this CD with our high-resolution dither.
42. Fade To Noise (low level resolution) Tests / Fade To Noise, no dither [0:00:18.57]
Each of these tests present a 1 kHz digitally-generated sinewave,
faded from -60dB to -120dB at a calibrated rate of 2dB per second
(total 30 seconds). In other words, at 10 seconds, the level will be -
80dB, and so on. Therefore, without any test equipment, you can use a
stopwatch to determine the lowest level you can hear in your system.
Note that many D/A converters and preamps have so much noise, they
will obscure the lowest levels of these tests.
Track 42 was made without dither. Note the extreme quantization
distortion of track 42. That track is only 18 seconds long, so without
dither, dynamic range is less than 80dB.
Track 43 was made with standard (flat) dither.
And track 44, with our high-resolution dither.
Scientists and audio researchers may prefer track 44 for testing CD
players, instead of the fade to noise track on a popular test disk.
43. Fade To Noise (low level resolution) Tests / Fade To Noise, flat dither [0:00:30.05]
Each of these tests present a 1 kHz digitally-generated sinewave,
faded from -60dB to -120dB at a calibrated rate of 2dB per second
(total 30 seconds). In other words, at 10 seconds, the level will be -
80dB, and so on. Therefore, without any test equipment, you can use a
stopwatch to determine the lowest level you can hear in your system.
Note that many D/A converters and preamps have so much noise, they
will obscure the lowest levels of these tests.
Track 42 was made without dither. Note the extreme quantization
distortion of track 42. That track is only 18 seconds long, so without
dither, dynamic range is less than 80dB.
Track 43 was made with standard (flat) dither.
And track 44, with our high-resolution dither.
Scientists and audio researchers may prefer track 44 for testing C