Where did all this steam come from?

Entropy. Act fast!

2011-09-05T08:19:00.003-04:00

It's been well over a year since I've updated this blog, but just a few months since I stopped paying to maintain my Rapidshare account. Now Rapidshare has begun the process of deleting files. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason in the deletion process, since some files disappeared long, long ago, but it seems pretty certain they eventually will all be gone. If you want any of this stuff -- and you should -- you oughta start clicking pretty quick.

Lucky Thompson: Tricotism (1956)

2010-04-26T13:24:00.005-04:00

Absolutely essential listening and criminally out of print in the US (Fresh Sounds has lately repackaged it in Spain, but it's hard to tell if they have any more legitimate rights to it that you and I do).

Thompson's rapport with Oscar Pettiford is wonderful, especially on the drummerless trio sessions. And the six quintet tunes are jewels of a type that most musicians have chosen to ignore since the rise of hard bop 50 long years ago, formulaic in their way but flawless.

Plus, despite the durability of the Pettiford's title tune, no one seems to have any idea what the hell tricotism might be.

On tracks #1-4 and 9-12
Lucky Thompson: ts
Clifton 'Skeeter' Best: g
Oscar Pettiford: b

On tracks #5-8 and 13-16
Lucky Thompson: ts
Jimmy Cleveland: tb
Hank Jones: p (#5-8)
Don Abney: p (13-16)
Osie Johnson (d)

1 Bo-Bi, My Boy
2 OP Meets LT
3 Tricotism
4 Deep Passion
5 Old Reliable
6 Translation
7 Tom-Kattin
8 A Lady's Vanity
9 Dancing Sunbeam
10 Mister Man
11 The Plain But the Simple Truth
12 Little Tenderfoot
13 Once There Was
14 N.R. #1
15 N.R. #2
16 Good Luck

All compositions by Lucky Thompson except #2 by Thompson and Oscar Pettiford, #3 by Pettiford, and #4, which, despite the title, is really "Body and Soul" (Johnny Green).

#1-4 recorded NYC, January 24, 1956
#5-8 recorded NYC, January 30, 1956

#9-12 recorded NYC, December 11, 1956

#13-16 recorded NYC, December 12, 1956

Jerry Granelli: A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing (1993)

2009-12-05T18:25:00.007-05:00

This should sound familiar, chiefly because of the place of prominence given Bill Frisell both in the arrangements and in Lee Townsend's production. Townsend, you may recall, has produced umpteen of Frisell's own records and has done similar work for other artists who have tried to stake out territory between jazz and folk/Americana (none so well as Frisell, though).

"A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing" is less self-consciously eclectic and hangs together better than other Granelli records because, despite the stellar cast of musicians and fresh arrangements of several familiar tunes, it doesn't try overly hard to be a jazz recording. Granelli is a masterful drummer, but never sounds like he's entirely comfortable too far away from a backbeat. The Buddy of the title is Buddy Bolden, and the album is inspired by the book "Coming Through Slaughter," but that's nothing you'd need to know to enjoy this. I can't hear it myself.

Jerry Granelli - drums
Kenny Garrett - alto saxophone
Julian Priester - trombone
Bill Frisell - guitar, banjo
Robben Ford - guitar
Anthony Cox - bass
J. Granelli - el. bass (#2, 5, 6, 9 and 10)
Denny Goodhew - soprano saxophone (#6)

1 Wanderlust (Johnny Hodges/Duke Ellington)
2 Smoky Row (Wayne Horvitz)
3 The Oyster Dance (Jerry Granelli)
4 Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker)
5 Coming Through Slaughter (Jerry Granelli)
6 In That Number (Wayne Horvitz)
7 Prelude To Silence: Shell Beach/Lincoln Park (Julian Priester)
8 I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins)
9 Blues Connotation (Ornette Coleman)
10 Blues Connotation (Reprise) (Ornette Coleman)

Recorded January-February, 1992 at London Bridge Studio, Seattle, WA, US
Produced by Lee Townsend
320 kbps mp3 rip from Evidence CD 22057

Bob Nell: Why I Like Coffee (1991)

2009-11-09T15:51:00.006-05:00

Any idiosyncratic pianist and composer from Montana who titles his sole recording under his own name "Why I Like Coffee" can probably count on not calling a lot of attention to himself. Feels more Canadian than high plains to me, with very strong playing from the core trio and fine contributions from guests Walrath and Anderson. Nell's playing and writing both run the gamut from modernist to postmodern, often within the space of a couple of bars, with arrangements to match.

Bob Nell: piano
Kelly Roberty: bass
Brad Edwards: drums
Jack Walrath: trumpet
Ray Anderson: trombone

1- Blues for KB (2:52)
2- Why I Like Coffee (8:37)
3- Emrem (6:14)
4- Nightspot (5:35)
5- Achromaticism (4:03)
6- Taking a Chance on Love (8:18)
7- Fashion Storage (6:27)
8- For Monk (6:47)
9- Cold Feet (4:50)

All compositions except Taking a Chance on Love By Bob Nell, published by Plechmo Music BMI
Taking a Chance on Love by Vernon Duke and John Latouche, published by EMI Music Publishing

Producer: Wayne Horvitz
Recorded at Skyline Studios, New York City, November 25 & 26, 1991

TanaReid (Akira Tana and Rufus Reid): Back to Front (19970

2009-11-03T16:03:00.008-05:00

Whether the world was actually waiting for Rufus Reid and Akira Tana to join forces and conjoin names-- a la Brad and Angelina -- is subject to debate. There's not much question, however, that TanaReid is one lame-ass handle.

I snagged this as soon as I saw it at the library without reading the credits carefully. I saw Reid's name (I'd been listening to him on Andrew Hill's Shades a lot) and Mark Turner's and took it home. A little later my heart sank when I saw that four of the 10 tunes here feature singers -- Grady Tate on two numbers, Barbara King on "Lazy Afternoon" and -- god help us -- a whole vocal sextet on another. I hate that kind of thing. But you know what? It all works (except for the vocal sextet piece, but even that sounds terrific when the singing stops). And you know what else? Reid and Tana have bigger, more engaging musical personalities than I ever would have guessed. Add Mark Turner to the mix and this John Stetch guy and you've really got something. There were, as of the release of this date, four prior TanaReid records, none of which I have ever set eyes on. I bet they're all pretty interesting. Too bad about the name, though. Oh — and the cover, too.

Rufus Reid: b
Akira Tana: dr
Craig Bailey: as, fl
Mark Turner: ts, ss
John Stetch: p
Barbara King: voc (#3)
Grady Tate: voc (#5, 7)
Grey Lienhard Voices: voc (#9)

Mr. Brown (Mark Turner)
Dream Catcher (Akira Tana)
Lazy Afternoon (Moross/Latouche)
Back to Front (Akira Tana)
But Not For Me (George and Ira Gershwin)
Embraceable You (George and Ira Gershwin)
When She Smiles Upon Your Face (Rufus Reid)
Green Grove (John Stetch)
Perpetual Stroll (Janet Lawson/Rufus Reid)
McWorld (John Stetch)

Recorded December 22, 1997 and January 4-9, 1998 at Hillside Sound, Englewood, NJ.
320 kbps mp3 rip from Evidence CD 22206-2

Leon Parker: Belief (1996)

2009-09-23T16:21:00.007-04:00

Parker is frequently called a "minimalist," but that applies mostly to his instrument -- often what sounds like a standard trap kit minus a high hat (it's striking how much real estate the ubiquitous high-hat takes up, and how much the music opens up when it's absent). On this record, his second as a leader, Parker plays more percussion than drum set, and all kinds of vistas appear. But Parker sounds like himself whatever you put in his hands. In that respect, he's like the pianist Jackie Terrasson, in whose trio Parker first attracted attention: a unique talent with huge mainstream appeal potential, who, for reasons unknown, fails to draw the audience he deserves.

Leon Parker: dr, voc, perc
Steve Wilson: saxophones, fl
Steve Davis: trb
Tom Harrell: trp, flgl
Lisa Parker: fl
Ugonna Okegwo: b
Adam Cruz: p, steel pan, marimba, perc
Natalie Cushman: perc, voc

1		Ray Of Light (5:45)
2		Village Song: Africa (2:51)
3		Close Your Eyes (5:59)
4		Calling Out (4:57)
5		Belief (5:53)
6		Horizon Azul (5:34)
7		Wide Open (4:10)
8		First Child (2:46)
9		In A Sentimental Mood (4:40)

Recorded at Sonalysts Studio, Waterford, CT, US

Lee Konitz: Rhapsody (1993)

2009-09-23T11:13:00.008-04:00

Seven very different sessions with seven combinations of players, ranging from duets to sextet, recorded over two months in 1993. What they have in common, of course, is Konitz, who has probably never repeated any three consecutive notes in the course of a 60+ year career.

1. I Hear A Rhapsody (Baker - Gasparre - Bard - Fragos)
Lee Konitz (as), Peggy Stern (p), Helen Merrill (vcl) [7-29-93]
2. Lo-Ko-Mo and Frizz (Konitz - Lovano - Motian - Frisell)
Lee Konitz (as, ss, ts), Joe Lovano (ss, ts, a-cl), Bill Frisell (g), Paul Motian (ds) [6-20-93]
3. The Aerie (Peggy Stern)
Lee Konitz (as), Peggy Stern (p), Ben Allison (b), Jeff Williams (ds), Jay Clayton (vcl) [6-23-93]
4. Trio #1 (Konitz - Mulligan - Stern)
Lee Konitz (ss), Gerry Mulligan (bar), Peggy Stern (p) [7-14-93]
5. All The Things You Are (Kern - Hammerstein)
Lee Konitz (ss), Jean Francois Prins (g), Judy Niemack (vcl) [7-7-93]
6. Exposition (Konitz, Bley, Guiffre, Peacock)
Lee Konitz (as, ss), Jimmy Giuffre (cl), Paul Bley (p), Gary Peacock (b) [6-21-93]
7. Flyin' - Mumbles and Jumbles (Konitz, Terry)
Lee Konitz (ss, vcl), Clark Terry (fgl, vcl) [7-7-93]

320 kbps rip of Evidence ECD 22117-2

Curtis Clark: Live at the Bimhuis (1988)

2009-08-25T19:50:00.008-04:00

Clark is a former ex-pat now relocated to New England. As a pianist, he is remarkably unbeholden to anyone, and his compositions are nearly as individual. This glorious, sprawling and wonderfully accessible date features a first-call quintet of European improvisers and does everything right.

Curtis Clark (piano)
Andy Sheppard (reeds)
Jan Piet Visser (harmonica)
Ernst Reijseger (cello)
Ernst Glerum (bass)
Louis Moholo (drums)

1. Reincarnation Of Biggar Thomas
2. With A Little Help Of (sic) My Friends (Lennon/McCartney)
3. Boo-Related
4. Deep Sea Diver
5. As Time Goes By (Hupfeld)
6. Special Delivery
7. Strings Of Ecstasy - (For Django Reinhardt)
8. Boogie Stomp
9. Cosmic Minstrels - (For Amos & Andy)

All compositions by Curtis Clark except as noted.
Recorded October, 1988, Amsterdam.
160 kbps rip of Nimbus West CD.

Steve Lacy - Roswell Rudd Quartet: Early and Late (1962,1999, 2002)

2009-08-14T12:10:00.009-04:00

Very reminiscent of the "School Days" sessions, with identical instrumentation (Dennis Charles is the drummer on the earliest tracks) and several Monk tunes, but with much improved fidelity, not to mention four intervening decades of constant improvement and challenge by two of the most singular improvisers of the modern era. Neither Rudd nor Lacy ever stray too far from the broad humor and theatrical gestures they absorbed as Dixieland players in the 1950s, qualities that color even their most abstract or aggressive work and are especially evident here. The tunes recorded in 1999 and 2002 with Lacy's long-time rhythm section of Betsch and Avenel are more streamlined rhythmically than the 1962 session, but have the same adventurous and rollicking spirit.

All hail local libraries -- even the lowliest, most underfunded branches — whence came this.

UPDATE: I set my controls a few posts back for 160 kbps and haven't changed it back because the lower quality seems to address the ethical dilemma discussed in some detail in the comments for the Theo Bleckmann album. This one is, as has been noted, at 160 kbps, too.

Steve Lacy: ss
Roswell Rudd: trb
Jean-Jacques Avenel: b
John Betsch: dr
Dennis Charles: dr (#10-13)
Bob Cunningham: b (#10-13)

DISC 1:
1. Rent, The
2. Bath, The
3. Hoot, The
4. Blinks
5. Light Blue
6. Bookioni

DISC 2:
7. Bamako
8. Twelve Bars
9. Bone
10. Eronel (Take 2)
11. Tune 2
12. Think of One
13. Eronel (Take 3)
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9 recorded at Bimhuis, Amsterdam, June 19, 1999.
Tracks 4,and 6 recorded at the Mat Bevel Institute, Tuscon, AZ, US, April 4, 1999.
Tracks 7 and 8 recorded at Iridium, NYC, August 9, 2002.
Tracks 10-13 recorded in NYC (demo session), October 9, 1962.

160 kbps rip from Cuneiform Records CD 250/251

Peter Fulda Trio: Little Box of Sea Wonders (2003)

2009-08-11T08:25:00.007-04:00

Fine Danish (I think) pianist, not quite like anyone else I can think of, plenty atmospheric but with some cojones, you know? Plus it's got Bill Elgart on it. What can I say?

Peter Fulda - piano
Henning Sieverts - bass
Bill Elgart - drums

Mater Suspiriorum
Little Box Of Sea-Wonders
Eronel
Tango
War Of The Seaweed
For Real Moments
Revenge Of The Seaweed
The Reptile
Coral Scents
Dead Sea
Israel
The Unhappy Happy

Discographical info unknown. 320 kbps mp3 rip from eMusic download of Jazz'n'Arts CD JNA 2003.

Florian Ross Trio: Blinds and Shades (2003)

2009-08-01T22:58:00.007-04:00

Ross' tunes are instantly memorable. Play this once, set it aside for six months and then play it again, and it's a sure thing you'll remember most of tunes on this date.

Scouting for discographical info (eMusic offered its usual "Who, me?" attitude when I downloaded this a few years back; the 2003 date above could be either the recording date or release date) I found reviews that cited Keith Jarrett's Standards trio, John Taylor, and Bill Evans as primary points of departure for this trio. Personally, I don't hear much of the above -- although I do hear a compositional debt to Bill Evans in some of the tunes, and I suppose there's a European flavor to this (Ross is based in Cologne). But mostly, this sounds like nothing so much as this particular Florian Ross trio. Prior and subsequent trios are wonderful, too, but sound like something different, which is as it should be, right? And, oh, yeah: this has got Hollenbeck, too. He's always a mother.

Florian Ross (p)
Remi Vignolo (b)
John Hollenback (ds) tracks 1-6
Martijn Vink (ds) tracks 7-9

Soundcheck
Toss & Turn
Ev'ry Now and Then (Pause and Think Again)
Getting There (Is Half the Fun)
Grande Tristesse
Farewell
Bookend
Julia
Bye Bye Blackbird
Goodbye

All compositions by Florian Ross except #9, by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon.
320 kbps mp3 rip from eMusic download of Intuition CD 33722

Cyrus Chestnut: Revelation (1993)

2009-07-30T14:57:00.006-04:00

Chestnut settled early and comfortably into the one of the most conservative corners of the jazz mainstream. I'm not talking just Wynton conservative; I'm talking Oscar Peterson conservative (Chestnut would be right at home playing goodwill State Department gigs overseas if US taxpayers still funded such enterprises). Unfortunately, this has kept him too long out-of-mind for snotty and usually judgmental listeners like me, who typically like some edge in their music. There is, it's true, precious little edge to be found here. But, like Peterson's work, what Revelation lacks in adventure, it more than makes up for in other ways -- principally Chestnut's prodigious chops and obvious enthusiasm for navigating familiar blues forms, and the invigorating interplay of a trio that hits on all cylinders throughout.

Cyrus Chestnut: p
Christopher J. Thomas: b
Clarence Penn: d

Blues For Nita
Elegie
Lord, Lord, Lord
Macdaddy
Sweet Hour Of Prayer
Little Ditty
187
Dilemmas
Revelation
Proverbial Lament
Cornbread Pudding

All compositions by Cyrus Chestnut except #2 by Jules Massenet and #5 (Traditional).

Recorded at Clinton Studios, Studio B, New York, New York on June 7 & 8, 1993.

320 kbps mp3 rip from a library copy of Atlantic CD 82518.

Did you hear Michael Jackson died?

2009-07-03T15:14:00.005-04:00

I like to think he's jammin' in heaven right now with Sky Saxon and Karl Malden and Farrah Fawcett and making some of the worst music anyone ever heard.

In belated commemoration of his untimely death (or timely death, depending on how you measure success), here's a reminder of the other Michael Jackson — Michael Gregory Jackson — by way of an LP rip I posted months and months ago that you might have overlooked. Seriously badass guitar player, composer and singer, fortunately still alive and well, who created a whole different kind of music alongside Oliver Lake and other heavy hitters in the early-to-mid 70s. This is his second album from 1979, featuring Marty Ehrlich and Baikida Carroll and others (the first, a drummer-less trio on ESP-Disk is wonderful too and still available in the irregular manner of that label's output). Now with a picture of the correct cover, and appropriately tagged. Turn it up and amaze your friends at your holiday barbeque.

Trio M (Melford/Dresser/Wilson): Big Picture (2006)

2009-06-29T13:39:00.009-04:00

I've posted this in 160 kbps, because the album is in print and easily available. For the time being, the lower bitrate strikes me as an acceptable compromise that allows me to put this music in front of people who might not know about it otherwise. Presumably, youb'll like what you hear and support the artists by shelling out for the CDs, preferably at your local independent record store or direct from the artists. Just because it's acceptable to me, of course, doesn't guarantee it'll be acceptable to you. If you have qualms about downloading extraordinary music at a lower bitrate than you'd prefer, consider going elsewhere. No hard feelings.

This trio comprises players with prodigious techniques and a world of experience among them. The music caroms inside and out as they see fit, but never gets daunting. Wilson, as always, brings plenty of levity to the proceedings, lifting the darkest of Melford's Eastern European tendencies up out of the gloom, and Dresser sounds more relaxed than I've ever heard him, with some stunning arco work. It's as hip a piano trio as you're likely to hear any time soon.

The order of the songs on the file you download is incorrect for reasons I cannot begin to account for. The order below is the right one.

Myra Melford: p
Mark Dresser: b
Matt Wilson: dr

1. brainFire and bugLight (Melford) 7:36
2. For Bradford (Dresser) 5:15
3. Naive Art (Wilson) 5:43
4. Big Picture (Melford) 13:21
5. Modern Pine (Dresser) 6:54
6. Secrets to Tell You (Melford) 6:02
7. FreeKonomics (Wilson) 5:25

Recorded at Acoustic Recording Studios, Brooklyn, NY, December 18, 2006
160 kbps mp3 from Cryptogramophone CD CG134

The Phillip Wilson Project

2009-06-23T10:39:00.007-04:00

A tribute the great St. Louis drummer Phillip Wilson, who was a seminal early figure in the AACM and went on to record with virtually every major figure in the creative improvisational music scene until he was murdered in 1992 at the age of 50.

There are three previously unreleased trio tunes with Lester Bowie and William Parker that are nearly a good as they ought to be, two terrific ones from a Frank Lowe record I know nothing about called "Inappropriate Choices," and two tunes Wilson co-wrote with Bill Laswell that sound to me like everything else Laswell gets his hands on — murky, dense, and not particularly listenable.

There's a very affectionate remembrance of Wilson from a St. Louis writer here, and a few blurry photos of Wilson here. The photo above in lieu of album art is from the latter site and credited to Franco Cattina. Otherwise there is a criminal paucity of information to be found on line about this wonderful and lamented musician.

Phillip Wilson: dr
Lester Bowie: tr (1, 2, 5)
William Parker: b (1, 2, 5)
Frank Lowe: ts (3, 4)
Carlos Ward: fl, as (3, 4)
James Carter: bari (4)
Michael Marcus: as (4)
Jonas Hellborg: b (6, 7)
Bill Laswell: DMX (6, 7)
Rob Stevens: p (6)

Cool (Bowie) (7:12)
Philadelphia (Wilson) (9:23)
Inappropriate Choices (Lowe) (4:46)
El Haz Malik Shabazz (Lowe) (5:12)
Steel And Breath (Wilson) (5:52)
Baliphone Dub (Laswell/Wilson) (4:26)
Gammatron (Laswell/Wilson) (5:22)

Recorded at Green Point Studios, N.Y.C., April, 1991 & at Evergreen Studios N.Y.C., 1985
(I don't know which sessions were recorded when)

320 kbps mp3 rip from Jazz Door CD 1243.

Wolfgang Lackerschmid: One More Life (1991/1992)

2009-06-18T16:54:00.008-04:00

A horrible cover to be sure, but some really fine music inside.

Lackerschmid covers a lot of stylistic ground, a lot of it reminiscent of the Jarrett/Burton recordings of the early 70's (as you might expect given the instrumentation on four of the six tunes). The songs with different personnel are cut from different cloth. Kenny Wheeler and Christoph Lauer take "Iris in the Rain" into the places you'd expect them to go, and the tune with Ray Pizzi on soprano is an very sweet little world music kind of romp. "No Greater Lunch" is an unpretentious swinger, but fails to live up to its wonderful title. Bill Elgart is his usual fabulous self.

Lackerschmid is apparently very well known in Europe, but this was the first and, so far, only work of his I've heard.

An eMusic download from ages ago, so there is no discographical information beyond what I was able to scrounge online. Who wrote these songs? I have no idea. And apparently eMusic didn't want me to know.

On #1-5
Wolfgang Lackerschmid: vb, perc
Milcho Leviev: p
Henning Sieverts: b
Bill Elgart: dr

On #5
add Ray Pizzi: ss

On #6
Kenny Wheeler: tp
Christoph Lauer: ts
Joachim Kühn: p
Palle Daniesson: b
Billy Hart: dr

On #7
Donald Johnston: p
Rocky Knauer: b
Bill Elgart: dr

1. One More Life 6:07
2. Bad Party 5:17
3. Schneeballschlacht 10:04
4. Ten-Sion 5:40
5. Baiao Kathrin 4:05
6. Iris In The Rain 13:39
7. No Greater Lunch 6:42

Theo Bleckmann: Origami (2000)

2009-06-11T14:29:00.007-04:00

If you haven't heard him, you have no idea what kind of music Theo Bleckmann makes.

His mostly-worldless vocals create the same kind of atmosphere I like in early church music. The sense is that I've stumbled into the midst of some kind of ritual I don't understand but immediately recognize as significant — so I shut up and listen carefully.

The solemn and sometimes even glacial pace is pretty much constant throughout this recording, but that doesn't tell you much. Nor does it help to note that Bleckmann mixes jazz instrumentation, electronics and the most organic instrument of all to somehow recast Tin Pan Alley standards as the soundtrack for the moment after death when your soul floats toward the ceiling.

It's hard to tell how much is improvised, so I suppose it may not even qualify as jazz "as we know it." But it's really, really good.

Bleckmann's discography lists eleven recordings he leads or co-leads, so you should, you know, go buy some.

Theo Bleckmann [voice, piano, live electronics]
Ben Monder [guitar]
Matt Moran [vibraphone]
Skuli Sverrisson [electric bass]
John Hollenbeck [drums, percussion]

DNA
Douce dame jolie (Machaut)
None of the Above
Origami
Static Still
Alloy
I Remember You (Mercer/Schertzinger)
Like Brother and Sister (Montano)
Nova Scotia
An den kleinen Radioapparat (Eisler/Brecht)
Without Sky
Rhombicosidodecahedron
Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries (Brown/Henderson)

December 2000, NYC
Compositions by Theo Bleckmann except as noted.
320 kbps mp3 rip from an eMusic download of Songlines CD 1534

Lee Konitz: Strings for Holiday (1996)

2009-06-08T15:47:00.008-04:00

0Konitz is always ridiculous, but this album is, so far as I know, unique in his enormous discography. His solo turns here are usually just a chorus or two, and never stray too far afield from the lyric intent of the song, as much homage to Lester Young as to Billie Holiday. And Daniel Schnyder's string arrangements work perfectly.

Lee Konitz (as)
Mark Feldman, Cenovia Cummins (vln)
Jill Jaffe, Ronald Lawrence (viola)
Erik Friedlander, Daniel Pezzotti (violincello)
Michael Formanek (b)
Matt Wilson (ds)
Daniel Schnyder (arranger)

01. The Man I Love
02. You've Changed
03. God Bless The Child
04. But Beautiful
05. I Cried For You
06. Lover Man
07. All Of Me
08. Good Morning Heartache
09. For Heaven's Sake
10. Easy Living
11. These Foolish Things
12. For All We Know

March 18 and 19, 1996, Chung King Studio, NYC
320 kbps mp3 rip from Enja CD ENJ-9304-2)

The Blueprint Project (2003)

2009-06-01T18:46:00.009-04:00

Good playing and often memorable songwriting from these three young players from Boston, a scene that's thriving but under-documented. Hired hands Wilson and McBee are engaged enough throughout so they don't sound like ringers. Pianist Roger's "Until We Have Names" will stick in your craw for a long time, and his other two contributions are almost as good. The other tunes on the all-original program are less distinctive but offer interesting frameworks for improvisation, which is spirited and only occasionally too deliberately whimsical for my taste (i.e., Sims' soprano on "The Old Country"). Your results may vary.

Speaking of funny things, Matt Wilson is one of the wittiest players you'll ever hear on any instrument, and is not to be missed if you ever get the chance to see him perform. Fun for the whole family! And Han Bennink played on the subsequent Blueprint Project album. These guys seem to go for the funny drummers.

Additional fun fact: This record was mixed by Chris Stamey, the guy who co-led powerpop legends the dBs. I think that's pretty cool.

Jared Sims- Sax
Eric Hofbauer- Guitar
Tyson Rogers- Piano
Cecil McBee- Bass
Matt Wilson- Drums

1. The High Priest's Sermon (Hofbauer)
2. Until We Have Names (Rogers)
3. Abdullah (Rogers)
4. Bench Carvin' (Hofbauer)
5. The Old County (Sims)
6. Molecular Mischief (Hofbauer)
7. Monkey (Sims)
8. Dead Mouse Blues (Rogers)

Recorded Chapel Hill, NC, likely in 2003
320 kbps mp3 rip from Creative Nation Music CD 004

Gary Peacock and Bill Frisell: Just So Happens (1994)

2009-05-30T18:13:00.006-04:00

Outside of musician circles, Frisell was not a well-known player when these duets were recorded in 1994. But in the years since, the guitarist has released probably twice as many records under his own name as Peacock has in the course of his 40-plus-year career. That may have something to do with how guitarists sell more records than bass players as a general thing, or it may be the result of recording industry conspiracy, but whatever the reason, it's a shame. Peacock is a fine composer, and comfortable in the role of leader. Even while Frisell indulges his now-trademark penchant for Americana and major triads, Peacock is by far the more confident and powerful voice, as per the second of the two very different versions of "Home on the Range." That's not to denigrate Frisell, though. It's striking how fully-developed his conception was almost from the beginning, and he pretty much invented a genre all his own. That's no small thing.

Gary Peacock: bass
Bill Frisell: electric guitar (acoustic guitar on #9)

Only Now - 4:40 (Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell)
In Walked Po - 6:14 (Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell)
Wapitis Dream - 3:21 (Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell)
Home On The Range - 3:30 (Traditional)
Home On The Range - 5:05 (Traditional)
Through A Skylight - 2:53 (Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell)
Red River Valley - 3:01 (Traditional)
Reciprocity - 4:34 (Gary Peacock)
Good Morning Heartache - 5:25 (Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham)
N.O.M.B. - 4:53 (Gary Peacock)
Just So Happens - 7:54 (Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell)

February 17 & 18, 1994, Electric Lady Studios, New York City
320 kbps mp3 rip from Postcards CD 1005

Oliver Lake Trio : Zaki (1979)

2009-05-21T14:34:00.008-04:00

It's probably evident to the three or four of you who actually read this blog (as opposed to those of you who only mine it for the download links and then leave without a by-your-leave -- hello? Hello?) that I have a sentimental attachment to the mid-to-late 1970s period of creative improvisational music. All was bleak in the world of pop music until punk happened, but it was plenty lively in jazz, what with all those dozens of hip Arista Freedom albums making it to these shores for the first time, Braxton at his friendliest and Miles at his most impenetrable, tons of flourishing small labels turning up in the bigger record store, and, not least, Oliver Lake, who was able to record a lot in those days -- both his own projects and as part of the World Saxophone Quartet.

No one sounded like this trio then, and no one else has since. These guys sounded like they were perfectly mindful of every note the others played, and it all fits together like a mosaic. Even at its most out, the music is spacious enough to offer plenty of points of entry.

Still in print, if not always easy to find. Pricey, but you should buy it anyway.

Oliver Lake: ss, as, ts
Michael Gregory Jackson: g
Pheeroan akLaff: dr

Zaki (24:55)
Clicker (10:21)
Shine (14:17)
5/1 (5:28)
Zaki (1:32)

Recorded September 1st, 1979 live at Jazzfestival Willisau '79
320 kbps mp3 from Hat ART 6113 (later re-issued as hat OLOGY 639)

UPDATE: An excellent audience recording of the same trio a week later, available here. The fidelity isn't as good, but the performance is even better.

Ben Waltzer: In Metropolitan Motion (1999)

2009-05-20T19:01:00.007-04:00

Another jewel from the dimly-lit jazz section at eMusic, where improvised music is tossed to gather dust, destined to be found only by the profoundest serendipity. Cleaver, Lightcap and McHenry, all fire-breathers today, were mere pups when this was recorded, but all sound terrific and identifiably themselves. As for Waltzer, I don't know anything except this record and a trio session from the same source (with Reid Anderson and Jordi Rossy), that he's connected to the jazz department at Columbia, and that he can apparently play absolutely anything he has a mind to.

Ben Waltzer (p)
Bill McHenry (ts)
Gerald Cleaver (d)
Chris Lightcap (b)
Mohammed Naseehu Ali (d, djimbe)

1. El abandono (B.Waltzer)
2. Crooked Timber (B.Waltzer)
3. La Ville Tentaculaire (B.Waltzer)
4. Par(Nas)Se (B.Waltzer)
5. Rumination, Prenzlauerberg (B.Waltzer)
6. Kira Da Anshi (I) (M.Naseehu Ali-G.Cleaver)
7. Arbella (B.Waltzer)
8. Bass Line (B.McHenry)
9. The Blonde Bedouin (B.Waltzer)
10.Rumination, Orianenburh Str (B.Waltzer)
11.Kira Da Anshi (II) (M.Naseehu Ali-G.Cleaver)
12.Sooky-Sooky Now (B.Waltzer)
13.Prelude #4 (D.Shostakovich)
14.Layla’s Dream (B.Waltzer)
15.Port Royal (B.Waltzer)
16.Rumination, Dasein Blues (B.Waltzer)

Recorded in New Jersey, October 6-7, December 11, 1999

Jane Bunnett, Stanley Cowell, Dewey Redman: Spirituals and Dedications (2001)

2009-05-14T16:03:00.005-04:00

Now that I've rediscovered this record, I'm off to do my homework. You don't know Jane Bunnett either? Shame on us both. Excellent credentials: she studied soprano with Steve Lacy, recorded and toured extensively with Don Pullen, and was way ahead of the curve in bringing Cuban music to North American audiences. Keeps good company, too — Cowell is magnificent on this date. She'd almost certainly be better known if she were male and not Canadian, but the good news is she has health insurance where lots of better-known US musicians don't, so maybe it all comes out in the wash.

Jane Bunnett : flute, soprano saxophone
Stanley Cowell : piano
Dewey Redman : tenor saxophone
Dean Bowman : voice
Larry Cramer : flugelhorn,trumpet
Kieran Overs : acoustic bass
Mark McLean : drums

1. Don's Light (Jane Bunnett)
2. A Laugh For Rory (Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
3. I'm Gonna Tell God (Traditional)
4. Illusion Suite (Stanley Cowell)
5. Shadrack (Robert MacGimsey)
6. Cal Massey (Stanley Cowell)
7. Powerful Paul Robeson (Clifford Jordan)
8. Nobody Knows (Traditional)
9. Ecclusiastics (Charles Mingus)
10. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Traditional)

Recorded February 25 & 26, 2001
eMusic download of Justin Time CD

Stephon Harris, Jason Moran, Greg Osby, Mark Shim: New Directions (1999)

2009-05-13T15:17:00.007-04:00

Most of the material here recycles familiar tunes from the pre-self-congratulatory phase of Blue Note history, tunes from the label's popular heyday that lend themselves to re-imagining at the hands of these challenging and very gifted young (ca. 1999) players.

Recycling in this case is not to be confused with down-cycling. The skewed arrangements uncover plenty of unexpected harmonic turns and rhythmic fillips while retaining much of the material's original contours; no one would mistake this for a bunch of guys reading out of the Real Book. This was a working band for a while, and it sounds like one. The playing is meaty and rewarding throughout. Moran, in particular — and as always — is a mother.

Greg Osby: as
Mark Shim: ts
Stefon Harris: vib
Jason Moran: p
Taurus Mateen: b
Nasheet Waits: dr

Theme from "Blow-Up" (Hancock)
The Sidewinder (Morgan)
Ping-Pong (Shorter)
Beatrice (Rivers)
No Room For Squares (Mobley)
Song For My Father (Silver)
Tom Thumb (Shorter)
Commentary On Electrical Switches (Osby)
Big Bertha (Pearson)
Recorda Me (Henderson)
Song Of The Whispering Banshee (Harris)
20 Questions [false start] (Osby)
20 Questions (Osby)

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 10-11, 1999. Produced by Greg Osby and Michael Cuscuna.

Thomas Chapin: You Don't Know Me (1994)

2009-05-05T14:52:00.010-04:00

A deluge of work by bassist Mario Pavone recently dropped elsewhere sent me back to the Thomas Chapin stuff I own, and I pulled this one out because I suspected — rightly, it turns out — that I'd been somehow oblivious to its charms last time I played it. It struck me then that this was an unrepentant bid for mainstream attention, and maybe the inclusion of the title tune, a country standard (famously covered by Ray Charles but co-written by Eddy Arnold) played with heart on sleeve and without even a hint of irony, supports that theory. But given the stellar accompaniment and Chapin's usual intensity throughout, nothing here qualifies as a sellout. While it doesn't break any new ground, it doesn't have to, and this is bit as good in its less-adventurous way as any of Chapin's other work -- which is to say, it's very good indeed.

Thomas Chapin: alto and mezzo-sporano saxophones, flute

Tom Harrell: trumpet, flugelhorn

Peter Madsen: piano

Kiyoto Fujiwara: bass

Reggie Nicholson: drums

Safari Notebook (Chapin)

1. Izzit?

2. Kaokoland

3. Kunene

4. Opuwo

5. Namibian Sunset

6. Kura Kura (Chapin)

7. Goodbye (Gordon Jenkins)

8. You Don't Know Me (Cindy Walker/Eddy Arnold)

Recorded August 23 -24, 1994, at RPM Sound Studios, NYC
320 kbps mp3 rip from Arabesque CD AJ0113

Joe Morris Trio: Symbolic Gesture (1993)

2009-05-01T07:53:00.005-04:00

For my money this is as close to straight ahead as Morris ever gets, even though as a general thing he eschews both changes and the chords that keep them in relief for the listener. Still, you may note a bluesier feel to some of this material, and the the masterful rhythm team of McBride and Newton never fails to swing even in the absence of time.

Joe Morris (g)
Nate McBride (b)
Curt Newton (d)

Invisible [9:07]
Lowell's House [14:05]
Symbolic Gesture [13:34]
Finite / Margin [9:26]
The Lookman [7:37]

[All Compositions, Joe Morris]

Recorded June 12, 1993 at The Outpost, Stoughton, MA, US
mp3 rip from Soul Note CD 121204-2

Fats Navarro: Goin to Minton's (1946-1947)

2009-04-27T14:14:00.006-04:00

Bop from one of the prettiest-sounding trumpeters ever, with an all-star cast. Every tune offers revelations. Veers from almost-R&B in spots (on the "Lockjaw" Davis session, as you'd expect) to the elegance of the Dameron-led date. Gorgeous.

Fats Navarro: trumpet
Leo Parker (13-16): alto & baritone saxophones
Sonny Stitt (1-4), Ernie Henry (17-18): alto saxophone
Morris Lane (1-4), Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (5-12), Charlie Rouse (19-22): tenor saxophone
Ed DeVerteuill (1-4): baritone saxophone
Kenny Dorham (1-4): trumpet
Bud Powell (1-4), Al Haig (5-12), Tadd Dameron (13-22): piano
Huey Long (guitar)
Al Hall (1-4) Gene Ramey (5-16), Curley Russell (17-18), Nelson Boyd (19-22): bass
Kenny Clarke (1-4), Denzil Best (5-18), Art Blakey (19-22): drums
Gil Fuller: arrangements (1-4)

Dameron and Gil Fuller led the session on tracks 1-4, "Lockjaw" Davis led 5-12, Navarro and Leo Parker led 13-16, Tadd Dameron led 17-18, and Navarro led 19-22.

1. Boppin' a Riff (Sonny Stitt)
2. Fat Boy (Navarro)
3. Everything's Cool (Navarro/Gil Fuller)
4. Webb City (Bud Powell/Fuller)
5. Calling Dr. Jazz (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
6. Fracture (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
7. Hollerin' & Screamin' (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
8. Stealing Trash (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
9. Just a Mystery (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
10. Red Pepper (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
11. Spinal (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
12. Maternity (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis)
13. Fat Girl (Navarro)
14. Ice Freezes Red (Navarro/Tadd Dameron)
15. Ed Pob (Navarro/Leo Parker)
16. Goin' to Minton's (Navarro)
17. A Be Bop Carroll (Dameron)
18. The Tadd Walk (Dameron)
19. Nostalgia (Navarro)
20. Barry's Bop (Navarro)
21. Be Bop Romp (Navarro)
22. Fats Blows (Navarro)

Recorded in New York, 1946 & 1947.

Ricky Ford: Loxodonta (1977)

2009-04-24T13:55:00.005-04:00

Here's an interesting record I dropped elsewhere but never posted here. The material is challenging and often bracing, and the playing is consistently excellent. But I'm still not sure quite what I think of it. Like most of the New World releases I've heard, we can thank my local library.

Ricky Ford: ts
Bob Neloms: p
Richard Davis: b
Dannie Richmond: dr
Oliver Beener: tr
Charles Sullivan: tr
James Spaulding: as
Janice Robinson: trb
Jonathan Dorn: tuba

1 Loxodonta Africana (Ricky Ford)
2 Ucil (Ricky Ford)
3 Blues Peru (Ricky Ford)
4 Dexter (Ricky Ford)
5 My Romance (Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart)
6 One Up, One Down (John Coltrane)
7 Aerolinos (Ricky Ford)

Recorded June, 1977, NYC
Arranged by Paul Jeffrey
320 kbps mp3, from New World CD 80204

Bill Stewart: Telepathy (1996)

2009-04-24T13:52:00.007-04:00

Good playing, good writing, and more interesting than the organ trio sessions Stewart often leads with Larry Goldings and Peter Bernstein. The real surprise here is Bill Carrothers, and I'd love to hear the Carrothers/Stewart duet record some one of these days.

Bill Stewart: dr
Larry Grenadier: b
Bill Carrothers: p
Seamus Blake: ts
Steve Wilson: as, ss

1.These Are They
2.Mynah
3.Happy Chickens
4.Lyra
5.Rhythm-a-Ning
6.Dwell On This
7.Calm
8.Fano
9.Little Melonae
September 29 and 30, 1996, Clinton Recording Studios, NYC
All compositions by Stewart except #5 by Monk, #9 by Jackie McLean

Billy Higgins: Mr. Billy Higgins (1985

2009-04-22T10:21:00.009-04:00

A sweet West Coast session from one of the most immediately recognizable drummers in the history of the music. The keyboard is clearly an electronic grand, and the reverb-y production buries the excellent Tony Dumas' bass in the mix, but the playing is bright and sharp and, IMHO, very much a product of 1985 California — it just sounds sunny, y'know? Gary Bias, best known for his role in the Earth Wind & Fire horn section, plays very authoritatively and wrote three of the five memorable tunes. He can also be heard on an earlier date of his own here.

Higgins is his ebullient and unmistakable self. I'm guessing that's him on the uncredited string instrument (kora maybe?) that opens this version of "John Coltrane."

Originally released on the Riza label, Evidence picked this up in the early 90s, inexplicably reversed the order of the songs (assuming this entry at jazzdiscography.com is correct), and let it fall out of print again. This is the later version, from an eMusic download.

Gary Bias (ss, as, ts)
William Henderson (p)
Tony Dumas (b)
Billy Higgins (d)

1. East Side Stomp - 5:23 (Gary Bias)
2. Humility - 4:58 (Gary Bias)
3. Morning Awakening - 12:00 (Gary Bias)
4. John Coltrane - 12:15 (Bill Lee, Clifton Lee)
5. Dance Of The Clones - 9:03 (William Henderson)

Recorded April 12 & May 29, 1984 at Sound Logic, Glendale, CA

Billy Hart: Quartet (2005)

2009-04-20T16:58:00.007-04:00

What seems like an unlikely ensemble on paper makes perfect sense and remarkable music in practice. Iverson's unmistakable piano conception is responsible for much of the band's character and its steadfast avoidance of cliché (and also certain harmonic similarities to Iverson's more-notorious rent-paying band). Street is way overdue for more attention; hasn't he written an album's worth of tunes by now? And Turner keeps getting better and better, but was already a badass when this was recorded in 2005. And what more do you need to know about Mr. Billy Hart, one of the world's greatest living jazz musicians? The result is hip and surprisingly heartfelt in places and just plain smoking throughout. What, you couldn't have figured that out for yourself?

Truthfully, this doesn't meet the "hard-to-find" criterion I set up for this blog, so if you like this — and you will — you owe it yourself and to the musicians to buy it.

Mark Turner: ts
Ethan Iverson: p
Ben Street: b
Billy Hart: dr

1. Mellow B (Iverson)
2. Moment's Notice (Coltrane)
3. Charvez (Hart)
4. Confirmation (Parker)
5. Lorca (Hart)
6. Irah (Hart)
7. Lullaby For Imke (Hart)
8. Iverson's Odyssey (Turner)
9. Neon (Iverson)

Recorded October 14, 2005 at Ambient Recording, Easton, Connecticut, US.
153 MB mp3 rip from an eMusic download of High Note HCD 7158

Masabumi "Poo" Kikuchi: Tethered Moon (1991)

2009-04-16T16:14:00.005-04:00

Supposedly Kikuchi's session, but imagine how in-charge you'd feel if Gary Peacock and Paul Motian came over to your house to play with you. To my ears this is much livelier and less austere than the band's subsequent recordings, although you'll hear echoes of all the seminal piano trio sessions the bassist and drummer helped define over the last fifty or so years. Some people are bothered by Kikuchi's humming and groaning (even more pronounced than Jarrett's), but I like the way it seems to reflect the fever pitch of his imagination. Love his frenzied deconstruction of "Misterioso," especially.

Masabumi "Poo" Kikuchi: p
Gary Peacock: b
Paul Motian: dr

You're My Everything
Misterioso
So in Love
Moniker
P.S.
Moor
Tethered Moon

Recorded at The Power Station, New York, New York from November 16-18, 1991

Ran Blake: Sonic Temples (2000/01)

2009-03-31T12:28:00.008-04:00

I think Blake might be a "jazz" musician only in the sense that he mines the jazz tradition the way other conservatory composers draw on other folk traditions. His piano playing sounds to me rooted in turn-of-the-last-century New England romanticism. Standards you've heard a million times before sound orchestral in Blake's hands, simultaneously dense and austere. The production on this trio set only augments the feeling that you're listening to a 50-year-old recording, with George and Ed Schuller providing pitch perfect accompaniment.

Ran Blake: piano
Ed Schuller: bass
George Schuller: drums
Nicole Kämpgen: alto saxophone (Disc 1, #5 and 11, and Disc 2, #5)

Disc 1
1. Tangerine (Schertzinger, Mercer) 4:12
2. Nature Boy (Ahbez) 6:46
3. Black Coffee (Hoffman, Goodhart, Sigler) 2:53
4. The Short Life of Barbara Monk (Blake) 4:37
5. Dra-Kumba (Ed Schuller) 7:07
6. I Can’t Get Started (Duke) 3:50
7. Spiral Staircase (Blake) 4:51
8. Skylark (Carmichael) 5:10
9. The Only Painting (Blake, Ed Schuller, George Schuller) 3:47
10. Memphis (Blake) 7:07
11. MBS (George Schuller) 10:13
12. How High the Moon (Lewis, Hamilton) 4:38

Disc 2
1. Stormy Weather (Arlen, Koehler) 7:24
2. Nothing or All (Blake, Ed Schuller, George Schuller) 3:23
3. Horace Is Blue (Blake) 8:29
4. Laura (Raskin)* 2:07
5. You Don’t Know What Love Is (De Paul, Raye) 9:18
6. It Don’t Mean a Thing (Ellington, Mills) 3.57
7. My Man’s Gone Now (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Heyward) 5:52
8. New Moon (Blake, Ed Schuller, George Schuller) 6:06
9. Wende (Blake) 3:26
10. Night Music (Gunther Schuller) 3:47
11. Arline (Blake) 4:59

3-4 January 2000, 7 July 2000 and 25 March 2001 at The Sonic Temple in Roslindale, Massachusetts, except "Laura," recorded 18 May 1998 at the Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Produced by Gunther Schuller

320 kbps mp3, 278.7 MB, from GM Recording GM 3046.

Tom Varner: Second Communion (2000)

2009-03-24T09:04:00.005-04:00

A beautiful record entirely on its own terms, but especially interesting in the way it demonstrates how Cherry's innovations have become as much a part of the contemporary jazz language in their way as 12-bar blues. Also a surprisingly restrained recording, given how fiery all the players can be. It's also interesting, personally, because I tend to think of these guys as representing a new wave of their own, but somehow over the years they've become elders.

Tom Varner, French horn
Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone
Cameron Brown, bass
Matt Wilson, drums, percussion
with Pete McCann, guitar
Dave Ballou, cornet

1. Watts '56

Complete Communion (Cherry)
2. Golden Heart
3. And Now
4. Remembrance (My Folks)
5. Paris Ambulance Song / Complete Communion (Reprise)

6. Cherryco (Cherry)
7. Don's Big View
8. Leaving Malaga
9. Elephantasy (Cherry)
10. Don's Hymn

All compositions by Tom Varner, except as noted by Don Cherry
Recorded 28-29 September 2000 at Tedesco Studios in Paramus, New Jersey

155.3 MB 320 kbps mp3, from Omnitone 12102.

Motian/Nabatov/Schuller/Tuncboyaci: Circle the Line (1986)

2009-03-20T15:10:00.006-04:00

No one gets top billing on this recording; it seems we're supposed to read Circle the Line as the name of this combination of musicians as much as the name of the album. But I'd put my money on Schuller being the guiding light. He gets the spotlight on two tunes — "My One and Only Love" is unaccompanied, and "Lush Life" is a bass solo with accompaniment, and both are wonderful — and the others, all originals, feel like collective affairs, in the sense that this combination of players never devolves into anything like formulaic piano-trio territory. If you've never heard Nabatov before this is a good starting point. And the percussionist appears on only one tune, in case that kind of thing makes you nervous.

Anyone know the pedigree of "Did You Know I Knew"? Familiar, isn't it? Anyone know it by another name?

Simon Nabatov, piano
Ed Schuller, bass
Paul Motian, drums
Arto Tuncboyaci, percussion

Surge (Nabatov)
Did You Know I Knew (Schuller)
Would-Be Blues (Nabatov)
My One and Only Love (Mellin/Wood)
Circle the Line (Schuller)
Sweet Dreams (Nabatov)
Song For New Love (Schuller)
Lush Life (Strayhorn)

Recorded at Classic Sound Productions, New York, New York in June 1986.
Produced by Gunther Schuller
320 kbps rip from GM Recordings CD GM3009

Stan Getz & Albert Dailey: Poetry (1983)

2009-03-09T13:46:00.004-04:00

Pretty near perfect, I think.

Stan Getz: ts
Albert Dailey: p

1. Confirmation
2. A Child Is Born
3. Tune Up
4. Lover Man
5. A Night In Tunisia
6. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
7. 'Round Midnight

Recorded Shadowbrook Studio, Irvington, NY, January 12, 1983
Originally released as Elektra Musician 60370.
320 kbps mp3 rip from Blue Note 28671

Karl Berger: We Are You (1971)

2009-03-06T16:39:00.003-05:00

Karl Berger is a lot like his long-time friend and collaborator Don Cherry in that no matter how new the territory he's exploring, the music is always immediate and open and accessible and as human as music can be. Great band here, including the once-apparent Ed Blackwell heir Allen Blairman. Here he's wonderfully buoyant and responsive, but so is everyone else. Worth at least four listens in close succession, once through for each member of the band. The version I bought in 1974 (and sold, eventually, for a pittance) was on a different label and had a much more attractive cover.

Karl Berger: p, vib, marimba
Peter Kowald: b
Allen Blairman: dr, perc.
Ingrid Sertso: voc., perc

Vibes First
We Are You I
Marimba Dance
The Positive
Easy Suite

When I Sing
Easy
We Are You (II)

Recorded in Ludwigsburg, November 1971.
Ripped from Enja CD 6060.
320 kbps mp3, 41:24, 94.8 MB

Patrick Zimmerli: Twelve Sacred Dances (1994)

2009-03-01T17:42:00.007-05:00

A lot of it is improvised, but sometimes there's virtually nothing at all out of the jazz tradition in Zimmerli's tone, which is rooted more firmly in the conservatory than some smoky demimonde. Except for those times when there's a lot of jazz in it, at which point you wonder, "Who is this guy, anyway, and why haven't I heard of him?" And while the three other members of the quartet have impeccable jazz bonafides, all are noted for being pretty dimissive of the boundaries between genres their own bad selves. Iverson and Anderson most of you know, probably, but you really oughta listen closely to Hollenbeck, too. And then you should go back a couple of months to check out the Achim Kaufmann recording that almost no one downloaded yet where Hollenbeck's contribution is just as significant and the music is cut from a similar cloth -- capital-S Serious without being high-falutin'.

Patrick Zimmerli: tenor saxophone
Ethan Iverson: piano
Reid Anderson: bass
John Hollenbeck: drums, percussion, marimba

1 The Tenor Alone
2 Introit
3 Submersion I
4 Fragment a
5 Introit II (piano solo)
6 Submersion II
7 Anaptyxis
8 The Bass Alone Introit III [tenor solo]
9 Fragment B
10 Submersion III
11 Epenthesis
12 Finale

Commissioned by the Jazz Composers Collective, 1994.
320 kbps mp3, 117.9 MB from Arabesque AJ0138, originally downloaded from eMusic.

Santi Debriano: Obeah (1987)

2009-02-16T16:53:00.008-05:00

Debriano is a gifted player, composer and leader with diverse tastes, in that no one of his dates that I've heard sounds much like any of the others. Although it's a very good record in its own right, this one frequently feels like homage to the 70's-era school of jazz that's lately come to be known as "spiritual" (a word about as useful in describing music as "musical"). You can hear echoes of that era in the reverb-heavy production, the Latin underpinnings and bright, flute-and-trumpet topnotes of Debriano's compositions, and the presence, of course, of 70's stalwarts Billy Hart, Sonny Fortune and Kenny Barron. That the veteran players on this record have continued to evolve in the years since 1972 doesn't mean they aren't capable of having a ball mining familiar territory, however, and that's precisely what they do here.

Sonny Fortune: as, fl
Jerry Gonzalez : tr, flgl, conga, perc.
Kenny Barron: p
Paul Meyers: g
Santi Debriano: b, shekere
Billy Hart: dr

1. Offering (Debriano) - 7:10
2. Anima (Debriano) - 3:16
3. Obeah (Barron/Debriano/Fortune/Gonzalez/Hart) - 4:05
4. Mind Reader (Debriano) - 8:05
5. Evolution (Debriano) - 5:49
6. Golden Legacy (Debriano) - 6:58
7. Time Is of the Essence (Debriano) - 6:48
8. Bijou (Debriano) - 6:18
9. Sunset (Debriano) - 4:17

Recorded at Van Gelder studios in Englewood Cliff, NJ, US, and released in 1987 as Free Lance CD 008. Any additional information you might have is welcome.

Attila Zoller: When It's Time (1994)

2009-02-12T12:12:00.011-05:00

Zoller, who died in 1998 not far from where I was living at the time in Vermont, was a fascinating guy, an improviser who could hold his own with anyone, and an excellent composer. There's a Cadence interview with Zoller at the Vermont Jazz Center site here in which he talks a lot about his ears, as if you'd need that spelled out for you. He and Konitz, with whom he recorded several time with terrific results, had a special rapport.

Attila Zoller g
Lee Konitz as
Larry Willis p
Santi Debriano b
Yoron Israel dr

1. Joy For Joy (Attila Zoller) 06:58
2. LU And Shu (Lee Konitz) 07:16
3. After The Morning (John Hicks) 06:40
4. The Song Is You (Jerome Kern) 04:48
5. When It 's Time (Attila Zoller) 07:49
6. Homage To O P (Attila Zoller) 06:49
7. Meant To Be (Attila Zoller) 05:32
8. Voyage (Kenny Barron) 08:03

Recorded December 12 and 13, 1994 at Hillside Sound Studio, Englewood, NJ, US.
320 kbps from Enja CD 9031 2

State of the nation

2009-02-10T09:24:00.002-05:00

A sorry, sorry state of affairs: how the corporate financial media perceives the world economic meltdown, neatly encapsulated in 10 embarrassing minutes.

Mel Lewis: Mel Lewis and Friends (1976)

2009-02-09T14:33:00.005-05:00

Can anyone use the adjective "sparkling" to describe a record without sounding like an ass? The hell with it. This record sparkles, and I'll happily take my lumps just so long as you give it a try.

Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, fleugelhorn)
Cecil Bridgewater (trumpet)
Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone)
Gregory Herbert (alto and tenor saxophone)
Hank Jones (piano)
Ron Carter (bass, e. bass)
Mel Lewis (drums)

1. Ain't Nothin' Nu
2. A Child Is Born
3. Moose the Mooche
4. De Samba
5. Windflower
6. Sho' Nuff Did
7. Mel Lewis-Rhythm

June 8 and 9, 1976, at Generation Sound, NYC
Produced by John Snyder
320 kbps from A&M CD 0823

Stanley Cowell: Setup (1993)

2009-02-04T17:21:00.003-05:00

Not the most revelatory date, especially compared to Cowell's early trio work or the jaw-droppingly good 2008 solo concert I acquired recently from DIME. The thing about players this good, though, is that everything they record is worth hearing. You need to hear it for yourself.

Thanks to the generous taxpayers of my little city for allowing my local public library to add this to its collection. Unfortunately, I'd returned the disc before I thought to record any discographical details . My laziness on that count is a reflection of my preferences. While I admire those bloggers who painstakingly scan every page of every booklet and offer only lossless files, I only want to hear this music, and know who created it. Everything else is gravy.

Stanley Cowell (piano)
Dick Griffin (trombone)
Eddie Henderson (trumpet)
Rick Margitza (tenor sax)
Peter Washington (bass)
Billy Hart (drums)

1. Departure
2. Setup
3. Varions
4. Bright Passion
5. Bip Bip Bam
6. Sendai Send Off
7. Carnegie Six

320 kbps mp3 from Steeplechase CD 31349

Andrew Hill: Spiral (1974/75)

2009-01-30T17:48:00.004-05:00

My other other other favorite Andrew Hill recording. Two sessions with strikingly different front lines and rhythm sections, both indelibly stamped by Hill's singular compositional and pianistic styles. Also evident is that same romantic streak noted on Blue Black and Nefertiti, upped a few weeks ago. The earlier session here with Lee Konitz and Ted Curson is especially sweet. No other horn player has ever sounded so unbrassy (for want of a better word) as Curson does here.

Andrew Hill p and all compositions
with
Lee Konitz ss/as/ts
Ted Curson tp
Cecil McBee b
Art Lewis dr
(#1-4, 6)

Robin Kenyatta as
Stafford James b
Barry Altschul ds
(#5, 7)

Tomorrow - 3.30
Laverne - 6.00
The Message - 6.00
Invitation - 7.18
Today - 4.42
Spiral - 9.00
Quiet Dawn - 7.15

Recorded Dec 20, 1974 and Jan 20, 1975, C.I. Recording, NYC
320 kbps mp3 from Black Lion/Freedom CD 41007

Paul Bley: Mr. Joy (1968) LP Rip

2009-01-21T15:08:00.007-05:00

A caveat up front: this is ripped not from the original Limelight LP, but from a mid-1970's Trip reissue, which, like everything else I ever heard from that fly-by-night label (a division of Springboard International, Rahway, NJ) suffers from a lousy transfer from the original source and an even worse pressing. This half-hearted venture only makes me hungrier for a decently remastered reissue of this superb date.
No, wait -- that's not true. This is way better than nothing at all. Listen and see.
I ripped this some months ago and then waffled about offering it to the world until I read on another blog about the affordable virtues of a program called Click Repair, and, now, lo, I offer you this relatively without shame. Note that side one has not been split into individual tracks (hey, I've got a life, you know?). Yes, yes, you'll get all seven tracks, but you'll download only five files. As far as I've been able to determine, no one else anywhere has upped this yet, so be grateful for what you get.

Paul Bley (p)
Gary Peacock (b)
Billy Elgart (d)

1. Only Lovely (Paul Bley)
2. Kid Dynamite
3. Nothing Ever Was, Anyway
4. El Cordobes
5. Ramblin' (Ornette Coleman)
6. Touching
7. Blood
8. Mr. Joy

All compositions by Annette Peacock, except as noted

University Of Washington, Seattle, WA & Audio Recorders, Seattle, WA, May 10 & 11, 1968, May 12, 1968

320 kbps mp3 from Trip Jazz LP TLP 5587

Oliver Lake: Life Dance of Is (1978

2009-01-16T12:20:00.005-05:00

Elegant and restrained in places, bluesy and rollicking in others, this could be my favorite record in Oliver Lake's sprawling catalog. Positively bottom-heavy compared to Shine! (below), due to Leonard Jones' or Buster Williams' bass on some tunes instead of Abdul Wadud's cello, it's probably also a more conventional recording in many ways, but more immediate and approachable, too. It's criminal that this, like so much else of the Novus label, should be out of print.

1. Rite-ing
2. Comous
3. Shu-ful
4. Tfon
5. Change one
6. Of Is

Oliver Lake: as, ss, fl, voc
Anthony Davis: p
Michael Gregory Jackson: g, synth, shouts, harmonica
Leonard Jones: b, #3, 4, 5 only
Buster Williams: b , #2 only
Pheeroan Ak Laff: dr, perc

Recorded Feb. 16, 1978, CI Recording Studios, NYC
320 mp3 rip from Arista Novus LP 3003

An Andrew Hill two-fer (1975/1976)

2009-01-12T10:29:00.011-05:00

Hill's 1960's Blue Note output is generally considered his most important stuff, but it's his mid-70's work for labels like Steeplechase and these two albums, originally released on East Wind and Inner City, that I'd take with me to my desert island. His piano is as dense and obtuse as ever, but there's a romanticism and playfulness in his writing that wasn't always apparent at either end of his career. Maybe he was feeling in love. I hope he was.

Oh, and another thing: whatever happened to Jimmy Vass?

Andrew Hill (p)

personnel on #1-5:

Jimmy Vass (f, ss, as)
Chris White (b)
Leroy Williams (d)

personnel on #6-11:

Richard Davis (b)
Roger Blank (d)

Golden Spook - 10:30
Mist Flower - 7:26
Remnants - 5:56
Blue Black - 7:16
One For - 5:45
Blue Black - 14:07
Relativity - 5:25
Nefertiti - 8:04
Hattie - 3:45
Mudflower - 7:28
Unnatural Man - 3:16

#1-5 recorded February 26, 1975, C.I. Recording Studios, New York City #6-11 recorded January 25, 1976, New York City.

Ted Dunbar: Secundum Artem (1980)

2009-01-07T17:08:00.011-05:00

Dunbar kept a low profile throughout his career, but turned up on some awfully good records — Tony Williams' Ego and Sam Rivers' Sizzle (see below) to name just two — and covered some seriously wide-ranging stylistic ground in the process. This sweet and unassuming session of Dunbar compositions is played by a superb group of name players all sharing Dunbar's intent: to play the song. That's the thing about guitar players, see? Most of 'em want to play the guitar more than they want to do anything else. Not Dunbar. He even manages to wring real beauty from "Giant Steps," a tune deliberately designed to thwart musicality from all but the best players. Take that, guitar players.

Secundum artem, by the way, translates from the Latin as something like "according to the rules of art."

Ted Dunbar (g)
Steve Nelson (vib)
Kenny Barron (p)
Rufus Reid (b)
Al Foster (d)

Steps Etude - 3:05
It's About Everything - 8:38
Rare Moment - 2:25
Blues Convergence - 7:12
You Say You Saw What? - 7:32
Rhythmic Convergence - 8:58

Recorded June 12, 1980, RCA Studios, NYC
Originally released as Xanadu LP 12": 181
These files acquired at eMusic, ca. 2003, and obviously ripped from an LP.

Oliver Lake: Shine! (1978)

2009-01-07T16:40:00.005-05:00

It's the Zaki band at its core -- Lake, Michael Gregory Jackson and Pheeroan ak Laff — with a roster of supporting players including Abdul Wadud on cello and Anthony Davis on piano on two tunes. Jackson's guitar is more acerbic than is his natural tendency on Lake's herky-jerky compositions, and the drumming is high-pitched and busy; ak Laff sounds more like Bobo Shaw than himself on this. But you couldn't ask for a better summation of what new music fans were so excited about in 1978. This was Lake's third album under his Arista contract, and Shine! was in every record store with a well-stocked jazz section in the country. It honestly looked for a little while like music like this was going to have real impact on the world beyond the usual cognoscenti, and it was nice while it lasted.

Oliver Lake - as, ss, fl, ts
Michael Gregory Jackson - gtr, e gtr, wood fl, vocals
Pheeroan ak Laff - dr
Anthony Davis - p
Abdul Wadud - cello
Carl Ector - violin
George Taylor - violin
Clifford Morrison - violin (#1)
Felix Farrah - violin (#2)

Kuon Ganjo
Reference
Lodius
Shine!

All compositions by Oliver Lake
#1 and 2 recorded Oct. 30 and 31, 1978, CI REcording, NYC
#3 and 4 recorded Nov. 6, 1978 with live studio audence

320 kbps mp3 LP rip from Arista Novus AN 3010

Sam Rivers: Sizzle (1975) (re-upped)

2009-01-06T17:41:00.009-05:00

Rivers tears his way through flute, soprano, piano and tenor, in that order, one tune apiece. There's a rhythmic sameness to most of the tunes, but it's well short of monotony; these guys could play the same song four times and it'd be worth listening to. Look for Ten Dunbar's "Secundum Artem" here soon. The guy was a monster -- and I don't have a lot of patience with guitar players.

Still working out the kinks in my digital conversion software, so it's just one long file again, and I feel lucky to have salvaged that. Perhaps you will feel lucky to have this, too. You should. Most people in the world go to sleep at night never having any opportunity to hear Sam Rivers.

UPDATE: reposted with tracks separated and named. I'm getting to be an old hand at this.

Sam Rivers (ts, ss, fl, p)
Ted Dunbar (g)
Dave Holland (b, cello)
Barry Altschul (d)
Warren Smith (d, vib timp)

Dawn (12:38)
Flare (8:53)
Flame (12:20)
Scud (9:59)

Generation Sound Studios, NYC, December 9, 1975
320 kbps LP rip from Impulse ASD 9316)

Paul Bley: Turning Point (1964/1968)

2009-01-04T16:20:00.002-05:00

Still astonishlingly hip by 2009 standards, I can't begin to imagine how Paul Bley must have impressed listeners during the early to mid-1960's, when he was redefining the role of the pianist in trio or quartet contexts with every new recording. The session here with Paul Motian and the glorious John Gilmore was recorded in 1964, a year after those documented on the ECM "Paul Bley with Gary Peacock" album. The two tracks with Billy Elgart (a drummer criminally under-recorded on US releases) date from the 1968 University of Washington sessions that produced Bley's "Mr. Joy", which, so far as I know, has never seen the light of day on CD. Two or three more of the UW tunes are also on the ECM album. You might think it'd be a simple thing to collect and make available the whole session but apparently you'd be wrong.

This is a single, album-long file, mostly because I'm too lazy to split up the tracks, and partly because I can't imagine not wanting to hear all of this at once, and partly, too, because you get what you pay for. I'm not feelin' the love from my visitors lately, and feeling petulant.

Paul Bley-piano
John Gilmore-tenor saxophone (#1-4, #7 only)
Gary Peacock-bass
Paul Motian-drums
Billy Elgart-drums (#5 and 6 only)

1. CALLS Carla Bley/Alrac Music BMI 6:10
2. TURNING Paul Bley/Pablo Music BMI 6:30
3. KING KORN Carla Bley/Alrac Music BMI 6:00
4. ICTUS Carla Bley/Alrac Music BMI 3:50
5. MR JOY Annette Peacock/Vicious Music BMI 3:50
6. KID DYNAMITE Annette Peacock/Vicious Music BMI 3:40
7. IDA LUPINO Carla Bley/Alrac Music BMI 5:20

Recorded March 9, 1964, Mirasound Studio, NYC
#5 and 6 recorded University of Washington, Seattle, Washington May 10, 1968
320 kbps mp3 LP rip from Improvising Artists 373841

Dave Liebman: Plays The Music Of Cole Porter (1988)

2009-01-04T16:14:00.004-05:00

Never been a big fan of Dave Liebman's for reasons I can't put my finger on, but something about this record has always delighted me. It's very straightforward, with two of Phil Woods' long-time bandmates performing rhythm duties, and Liebman is faithful to the material even when he challenges his sidemen. They all sound great, and the songs speak for themselves as eloquently as they ever did.

Dave Liebman: ss
Steve Gilmore: b
Bill Goodwin: dr

1. I Love You
2. Dream Dancing
3. Begin The Beguine
4. I've Got You Under My Skin
5. True Love
6. Ridin' High
7. Why Do I Care?
8. It's Allright With Me
9. Get Out Of Town
10. In The Still Of The Night

All compositions by Cole Porter
Red Rock Recording Studio, Snyderville, PA, US, Fall 1988
320 kbps rip from Red CD 123236

Bennie Wallace: Plays Monk (1981)

2008-12-31T13:30:00.005-05:00

Wallace is one of the great unsung contemporary tenor players, with one foot squarely in the tradition and the other likely to plant itself anywhere at all. He tears up as usual on this recording, made extra noteworthy by the inclusion of Mingus alumni Jimmy Knepper and Danny Richmond — who never sounded better than he did here. Probably the best version of "Skippy" ever, too. Oh, and Happy New Year, if you subscribe to that particular calendar.

Bennie Wallace ts
Jimmy Knepper tb
Eddie Gomez b
Dannie Richmond dr

1. Skippy 05:36
2. Ask Me Now 05:39
3. Evidence 05:23
4. Round About Midnight 06:57
5. Straight No Chaser 06:01
6. Prelude 01:23
7. Ugly Beauty 07:00
8. Variation On A Theme 04:13
9. Round About Midnight Alternate Take 08:07

Recorded March 4 & 5, 1981, N.Y.C
Second-generation mp3 rip from Enja CD ENJ-3091

Achim Kaufmann Quartet - Double Exposure (1998)

2008-12-27T16:24:00.004-05:00

Despite the august company, it's Hollenbeck that holds my attention throughout this record. Anyone else familiar with that line about drummer Steve McCall (I think it might have been Stanley Crouch who said it) about how he could break your heart with a drum solo? Hollenbeck isn't as elemental or as urgent as McCall, but he's as beautiful and as musical a player. Like McCall, he's always recognizable. And, for my money, he's at his best on this recording.
The rest of the quartet is just as good, of course. The compositions (I assume they're Kaufmann's) are all over the place, from Ornettian swing to chamber stuff and all of it pretty authoritative.
Sorry, no decent graphics of the cover to be found anywhere.

Michael Moore - sax, cl, b cl
Achim Kaufmann - piano
Henning Sieverts - bass, cello
John Hollenbeck - dr

1. Carnies
2. Dream Logic
3. Marchebrisee (for Norman McLaren)
4. Gavia
5. Double Exposure
6. Pea Head
7. Proliferation
8. Sphericals

Recorded 1998.
320 kbps rip from a copy of Leo Records CD 289.

Ed Schuller: Mu-Point (1993)

2008-12-27T16:18:00.005-05:00

Ed Schuller played on some of my favorite Motian recordings in the mid 1980's, and is always a wicked foil for the drummer's spacious, hovering conception of time. Bickford, the guitarist, owed a big debt to John McLaughlin at the time, which is neither a good nor a bad thing (the Live/Evil stuff on "Quasar" is lots of fun). And Dewey Redman is wonderful, as ever.

1. Mu-Point
2. Ghana Song (Schuller/James Harvey)
3. I See You Now - For Jim Pepper
4. Paradoxical Conversion
5. B-Well - for Ed Blackwell
6. I-Pimp (Redmen)
7. Folk Song for Rosie (Motian)
8. Quasar
9. Rememberance - (Jim Pepper)

Bill Bickford (guitar); Dewey Redman (tenor sax); Ed Schuller (bass); Paul Motian (drums)
All compositions by Ed Schuller except as noted.
Water Music Studios, Hoboken, NJ, US, Jan. 9/10, 1993

320 kbps rip from Tutu (Enja) CD 888 154

Formanek/Berne/Hirschfield: Loose Cannon (1992)

2008-12-15T19:05:00.009-05:00

Tim Berne is so prolific and idiosyncratic, it's easy to overlook how steady his partnerships with player like Tom Rainey and Drew Gress have been. That makes this record, with a rhythm section I don't believe he has recorded with elsewhere, something of a revelation. Much of the material is familiar as Berne's (with only a little exposure, you could identify most Berne tunes as his even if you hadn't heard them before), but Formanek and Hirshfield are unabashedly jazz players in ways that Berne's usual accompanists are not, and Loose Cannon breathes and pulses in a way that's very pleasing, and maybe a little less demanding than other projects.
The production is also very good, with Formanek's bass mixed very prominently. It's odd more records don't sound like this one.

Tim Berne, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Michael Formanek, bass
Jeff Hirshfield, drums

1. Almost Normal
2. The 12 1/2 % Solution
3. Fool's Paradise
4. Lowball
5. Broken
6. Beam Me Up
7. Fibrigade (for Django Bates)
8. Tilt

All tunes by Tim Berne except #3, 6, and 8 by Michael Formanek
Oct0ber 26 and 28, 1992, at Barigozzi Stuio, Milano
(Soul Note 121261)

Michael Blake: The World Awakes - A Tribute to Lucky Thompson (2006)

2008-12-01T16:57:00.005-05:00

Here's a loving and imaginative tribute to one of the music's best unsung players, as well as, ironically, one of the best-known casualties of the rapacious music business. Google "Lucky Thompson" and you'll find plenty about all of that, but there's little melodrama to be heard in any of Thompson's recordings. That's not to say his music was ever bereft of emotion; his playing remained joyous and heartfelt throughout a difficult career.
Blake's accomplishment here is to direct our attention to Thompson the composer. The tunes are harmonically dense and surprising, in the way of other composers who came of age after the first wave of bop, yet have plenty of bop's urgency. Thompson is credited with marrying bop's complexity with the sumptuous tone of predecessors like Hawkins and Webster, and you'll recognize a lot of history in these songs as well as in Blake's tone. But in truth, Thompson, the composer and player, was never anything less than his own man.
As for Blake, he's a terrific player and composer himself, and the Danish rhythm section plays with admirable finesse and frequent fire. It goes to show how little has changed that Blake was unable to record his working Thompson repertory band in this country, but had to go to Europe to do so.
This is newer release than I'm fully comfortable posting here, so you're now duty-bound to pursue more Michael Blake recordings and pay for 'em when you find them. "Elevated" is another particularly good one to seek out.

Michael Blake (tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet)
Soren Kjaergaard (keys)
Jonas Westergaard (bass)
Kresten Osgood (drums)
Peter Fuglsang (bass clarinet, clarinet)
Kasper Tranberg (trumpet)
Lars Bjornkjaer (violin)
Henrik Dam Thomsen (cello)
Teddy Kumpel (guitar)
Rob Jost (flugelhorn)

Lucky Charms
Reminiscent
The World Awakes
Little Tenderfoot
Scratch
Mumba Neua
To You Dear One
Little Tenderfoot (reprise)
Single Petal Of A Rose

November 8th and 9th, 2006, Copenhagen.

Michael Gregory Jackson: Gifts (LP rip, 1979)

2008-11-17T13:21:00.008-05:00

This is the kind of wonderful music that often resulted back in the day when big record companies were sometimes tolerant enough to hand over the reins to people who actually liked music more than money. For Jackson's major-label debut, he gathered some major-league improvisers and produced a record that was bright and beautiful and even accessible enough at points to have appealed to anyone. It's a record to fall in love with, memorable and achingly sweet without a trace of sentimentality. His subsequent Arista release was disappointing if I recall, with too many concessions to contemporary R&B (many of us called it "disco" in those days). He no longer plays anything you could fairly characterize as jazz, although what you can hear of it on his myspace page is pleasant enough.

Michael Gregory Jackson: guitars, percussion, voice, organ, gong
Pheeroan Ak Laff: drums
Marty Ehrlich: flute, soprano, alto, bass clarinet
Fred Hopkins: bass
Jay Hoggard: vibraphone
Jerome Harris: bass
Baikida Carroll: trumpet, flugelhorn

1/ Unspoken Magic 5:27
2/ Dyami Emu 5:43
3/ Vivid Violet 3:45
4/ Theme For In Eyes 8:33
5/ Sir Julius Of Woodstock 7:00
6/ Gifts 15:25

Produced by Michael Gregory Jackson
256 kbps LP rip
No recording date or info listed in notes. Recorded NYC. Released 1979 as Novus/Arista AN3012, unavailable on CD.

The Mary Lou Williams Collective: Zodiac Suite: Revisited

2008-11-13T11:23:00.006-05:00

Mary Lou Williams the composer was as extraordinary as the Williams the player, effortlessly bridging and synthesizing stride, swing, bop, the avant-garde, astrology, Catholicism, and who-knows-what else into all of her work and making all of it her own. Here, Geri Allen, another under-rated woman jazz pianist (is that redundant? Of course it is), with marvelously sympathetic accompaniment, interprets Williams' best-known work, originally recorded for Folkways in 1945.
Allen is probably every bit Williams' equal as a player, but it's the immutable quality of Williams' compositions that stands out here. These are great, timeless songs.
Acquired from eMusic some time ago, so discographical information is scarce. If you can fill in any of the many blanks, please do so. And if you like this, the rest of Allen's catalog is every bit as good. Go buy some of it.

Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
The BeBop Waltz
Intermission
Thank You Madam

Geri Allen: piano Buster Williams: bass Billy Hart: drums Andrew Cyrille: drums (tracks 13 and 15 only) All compositions by Mary Lou Williams except 13-15 by Geri Allen

Roswell Rudd: Flexible Flyer

2008-11-04T15:47:00.007-05:00

There is no other musician in the world cut from the same cloth as Roswell Rudd. This very sweet record, with Rudd's trombone dovetailing beautifully with Sheila Jordan's voice and an exhilarating rhythm section, was issued first on Arista Freedom in the mid-1970s, the same fertile period that produced Rudd's Numatik Swing Band. Hod O'Brien's "Waltzing in the Sagebrush" ought to be a standard by now.
Rudd's no spring chicken anymore, but is still a working musician, which means if you like this and see his name on other recordings (and there are lots of them), you should be sure to buy them.

Roswell Rudd: trb, Fr horn
Sheila Jordan: voc
Hod O'Brien: p
Arild Anderson: b
Barry Altschul: dr

1 What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? (Michel LeGrand)
2 Maiden Voyage (Herbie Hancock)
3 Suh Blah Blah Buh Sibi (Roswell Rudd)
4 Waltzing In The Sagebrush (Hod O'Brien)
5 Moselle Variations: Whatever Turns You On Baby/Tuff Muffins/Moselle (Roswell Rudd)

Blue Rock Studios,, NYC, March, 1974
320 kbps ripped from Black Lion BLCD760215

Claudio Fasoli: Cities (1993)

2008-11-01T15:03:00.006-04:00

I've loved Bill Elgart's playing since he recorded with Paul Bley in the mid-sixties. I snagged Cities quite a few years back because he's on it, and was thus initiated into the heady world of 1990's European jazz. This was the era when Italian horn players just loved those rudimentary electronic devices that allowed them to duet with themselves in fifths or octaves. All Fasoli's tunes here are odes to or portraits of cities, and the band is appropriately international, with Elgart, an American ex-pat long since settled in Italy, and Goodrick, who made his name with Gary Burton before landing an ECM contract himself.
Does anyone know if Amstel has ever been recorded by anyone else? Perhaps with a different name?

Claudio Fasoli: ts, ss
Mick Goodrick: g
Paollino Dalla Porta: b
Bill Elgart: dr

1. Amstel
2. Buildings
3. 320 Cpw
4. Venezia
5. Surfaces
6. W-Wa
7. Cuicuilco
8. 20121
9. Londoner
10. Rue Lepic

Recorded at Studio Barogozzi, Milano, unknown date.
Released 1993, RAM Records RMCD4503
320 kbps mp3

James Spaulding: Blues Nexus

2008-11-01T13:52:00.005-04:00

Spaulding came of age in a long-ago Chicago where an up-and-coming musician could play on a Jerry Butler session and a half dozen Sun Ra recordings in the same year. As a regular Blue Note sideman in the sixties, Spaulding shined on both straight-ahead and more challenging sessions by Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Grant Green, Sam Rivers, Lee Morgan and many more, but never led a session of his own for the label.
Blues Nexus, recorded for Muse in 1993, doesn't hold a ton of surprises, but affords plenty of pleasure, with Spaulding and a crew of well-seasoned players at the top of their games and a program of not-quite standards composed by other post-bop veterans.

James Spaulding (as, fl, bfl, picc)
Dan Faulk (ts, ss)
Ronnie Matthews (p)
Ray Drummond (b)
Louis Hayes (dm)
Don Sickler (flgh) *

1. Hipsippy Blues (Hank Mobley)
2. Gerkin For Perkin (Clifford Brown)
3. John Charles (R. Matthews)
4. Rue Prevail (Art Farmer) *
5. Gypsy Blue (Tina Brooks)
6. Vaun-Ex (Elmo Hope)
7. Soul Station (Hank Mobley)
8. Chamber Mates (Paul Chambers)
9. Bleeker Street Blues (Freddie Redd)
10. Public Eye (Roy Hargrove)

April 8, 1993, at Van Gelder Recording, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
320 kbps from Muse CD MCD 5467

Steve Kuhn Trio: Sing Me Softly of the Blues (1997)

2008-10-31T12:46:00.007-04:00

The first recorded meeting of Kuhn and drummer Pete LaRoca since 1966's "Three Waves," with bassist George Mraz ably filling the spot formerly filled by Steve Swallow. It's fun to ponder how different modern music might have been had Kuhn and LaRoca been thrown their lot in with John Coltrane instead of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones a few years before. Tapes exist of that that 1960 quartet, but mere mortals like you and me have never heard them. LaRoca was never the innovator Elvin was (nor has he ever possessed Elvin's prodigious technique), but his mark is unmistakable on every recording he's ever made. And a case can easily be made that, at least at the start of his association with Coltrane, McCoy was a considerably less-adventurous pianist than Kuhn.
Three tunes appear on my CD of this 1997 session that are not listed in Kuhn's discography here: Naima, the neglected Jules Styne number Dance Only With Me, and Steve Swallow's Sticky Kisses.

Steve Kuhn - Piano
George Mraz - Bass
Pete LaRoca Sims - Drums

1. This Is New - 7:28 (Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin)
2. Dance Only With Me - 5:22 (J. Styne)
3. Chicken Feathers - 4:56 (Steve Kuhn)
4. My Funny Valentine - 5:59 (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
5. Sing Me Softly Of The Blues - 5:29 (Carla Bley)
6. Naima - 4:21 (Coltrane)
7. Sticky Kisses - 4.19 (Steve Swallow)
8. Who Cares - 4:38 (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
9. Lament - 5:28 (J. J. Johnson)
10. The Very Thought Of You - 7:09 (Ray Noble)

September 14, 1997, Clinton Studio A, New York City
320 kbps ripped from Venus TKCV 35036

Mario Pavone: Toulon Days (1991)

2008-10-29T14:13:00.009-04:00

The consensus seems to be that, had he lived, reed and flute player and composer Thomas Chapin might have been one of those rare innovative improvising musicians to achieve mainstream recognition. Chapin's working quartet is at the heart of this septet session, and leader Mario Pavone's writing and arranging have similar appeal (Art Lande's notes say Pavone's biggest influences are Braxton and Paul Bley, which may explain some of that right/left brain stuff). This record is adventurous and absorbing enough to richly reward close attention, but aren't so impenetrable so as to turn off casual listeners. And, as was the case with most of Chapin's dates, everyone sounds like they're having fun. That's a much harder trick to pull off than many think.

If I see any interest at all, someday I'll post a terrific live performance of Pavone's trio with Peter Madsen (see? you need to go back and listen to that one, too) and Gerald Cleaver acquired from Dime.

Mario Pavone, bass
Marty Ehrlich, clarinet, flute
Hotep Idres Galeta, piano
Joshua Redman, tenor saxophone
Steve Davis, trombone
Thomas Chapin, alto saxophone, flute
Steve Johns, drums

1. Tepito 4:57
2. Old & New Dreams (For Dewey Redman) 6:20
3. Monk in Soweto 6:58
4. Walking Mystery Man 5:00
5. Toulon 5:25
6. Colin Mac 3:05
7. Z Hopper 6:08
8. Freedom Song 9:40

All compositions by Mario Pavone except #3 by Hotep Idres Galeta
Recorded at Skyline Studios, New York City, November 17 and 18, 1991
320 kbps, ripped from New World Records 80420, courtesy of my local library.

Notes and cover art available at http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80420.pdf

A brief editorial comment

2008-10-28T19:47:00.003-04:00

If I find myself with a free block of time these days, I'll import a particularly interesting CD while listening to it, then upload it to Rapidshare while typing a few thoughts about it. Hard work it's not. The most taxing part is finding a decent image of the cover online to post (and that's not alway successful, obviously). I just move my fingers, mostly, and the magic of the Internets does the rest.

It's fun to share, just like they taught us in kindergarten. But it's even more fun for me when I get a little feedback. So please don't be shy about leaving comment or kind word. And thanks for stopping by and partaking of this extraordinary music.

Archie Shepp Quartet Live "On Broadway": California Meeting

2008-10-28T17:15:00.006-04:00

Probably my favorite Shepp recording, with a burning West Coast rhythm section and startlingly fresh interpretations of some familiar tunes. Eddie Marshall is jaw-droppingly good (why hasn't he been recorded more?), Royal Blue's vocal turn illuminates "St. James Infirmary" -- a tune I might have thought I'd be happy never to hear again -- and George Cables and the late Herbie Lewis are their usual impeccable selves. Insouciant is the word that comes to mind to describe Shepp's performance, slurring and stretching phrases past what would be the breaking point in a lesser player's hands.

Archie Shepp (ts, ss)
George Cables (p)
Herbie Lewis (b)
Eddie Marshall (d)
Royal Blue (vo)

St. James Infirmary
A Night In Tunisia
Giant Steps
My Romance

Live in Sacramento, CA, May 22, 1985
320 kbps, ripped from Soul Note SN 1122

Joe Fonda • Carlo Morena • Jeff Hirshfield: What We're Hearing (1994(

2008-10-22T13:18:00.004-04:00

I went to hear a different incarnation of this trio (with Bob Gulotti on drums) a couple of years ago expecting... well, I don't know what I was expecting, exactly. But it wasn't anything like this: no brimstone, but plenty of fire in a straight-forward modernist piano-trio context. Morena, who I'd never heard (or even heard of) elsewhere, is a strong, melodic player and fine composer. Fonda in this situation is a revelation. And the decision to cover Atilla Zoller's "When It's Time" is always a wise one.

Joe Fonda - bass
Carlo Morena - piano
Jeff Hirshfield - drums

1. My Blues (Joe Fonda) 13:36
2. Mars Bars (Michael Musillami) 8:22
3. When It's Time (Atilla Zoller) 10:04
4. Begin (Carlo Morena) 7:06
5. Love You, Too (Carlo Morena) 10:18
6. Persuasions (Carlo Morena) 6:30
7. You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Nacio Herb Brown) 4:31

Recorded 1994 Brooklyn, NY
Produced by Joe Fonda
Released 1996 by De Werf [W.E.R.F. 007]

Peter Madsen: Snuggling Snakes (1992)

2008-10-22T12:27:00.008-04:00

Here's a mystery.

A guy like Peter Madsen presumably studies and struggles and sweats all his life to be the best player he can be. He moves to New York, plays for tips and ekes out a meager living as best he can, working shit jobs when he isn't woodshedding. But it's worth it because his playing is getting better and better all the time, and after a while he starts to get a reputation. Name players like Chris Potter and Lewis Nash and Anthony Cox suddenly know who he is, and finally, Madsen , after years of living on Ramen noodles, catches a break. A small European label offers him a chance a cut to record. He calls in guys like Potter and Cox and Nash and they rehearse an album's worth of Madsen's own interesting and intelligent compositions until they sparkle and then over a day or two they record them. The results are very, very good, and Madsen can't wait for the record to see the light of day. Shortly before the record is released he gets a call from the record company. "Peter," the record-company guy says, "the album sounds great! But we don't have a name for it. Whaddya got?"

"Oh, that's easy," Madsen says. "'Snuggling Snakes.'"

Honest to god, it's like The Aristocrats — only not so funny.

Peter Madsen: p
Chris Potter: ts, as, ss
Anthony Cox: b
Lewis Nash: dr
Toninho Horta: voc, gtr
Rudi Berger: viol

1. Snuggling Snakes
2. Hodge Podge
3. Maloca
4. Ballad for Stan
5. Photo Finish
6. Joren's Jungle
7. The Web That Has No Weaver
8. Where There Was No Path
9. Francesca
10. Darkness Pursues the Butterfly
11. Monkey Wrench

All compositions by Madsen except #9, by Toninho Horta
Released 1993, Minor Music MM 801030

Interpretations of Monk, Volume 1: LIve from Soundscape series (1981)

2008-10-19T13:22:00.005-04:00

Straight-ahead repertory readings from the Monk canon by some of the musicians best associated with the composer, plus a few other notable voices nearly as distinctive as Monk's. The familiarity of the material and the four-square arrangements dampen many of the sparks you might have hoped for. Another volume appears to have been released in Japan with Mal Waldron and Anthony Davis taking their turns at the piano, but I've never set eyes on it. This volume came from my local library, so props to the local taxpayers.

CD 1
Muhal Richard Abrams: piano
Don Cherry: trumpet
Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone
Charlie Rouse: tenor saxophone
Roswell Rudd: trombone
Richard Davis: bass
Ben Riley: drums

1. Announcement by Verna Gillis
2. Introduction by Mat Hentoff
3. Crepuscule With Nellie
4. I Mean You
5. Ask Me Now
6. Gallop's Gallop
7. Blue Monk
8. Four In One
9. Poetry by Amiri Baraka

CD 2
Barry Harris replaces Muhal Richard Abrams, Ed Blackwell replaces Ben Riley.

1. Announcement by Verna Gillis
2. Ruby,My Dear
3. Light Blue
4. Eronel
5. Bye-Ya
6. Pannonica
7. Off Minor

Recorded live at Wollman Auditorium, Columbia University, New York, November 1, 1981.
1997 - Koch Jazz (USA), KOC-CD-7838 (2xCD: #1 & #2)

Steve Kuhn: Live In New York

2008-10-18T19:38:00.006-04:00

Another opportunity to contribute something to the Muse records project at Nine Sisters. This is pretty cool stuff, restoring the entire catalog of a celebrated jazz label through the efforts of ordinary janes and joes like you and me. Besides the Muse releases, similar efforts are currently being made to resurrect the outputs of the Mainstream, MPS, CTI, Flying Dutchman, Strata-East and Impulse! labels. I'm not at all convinced it's a great idea to post titles that are readily available at your favorite local independent record store. But making available titles that are out of print or hard to find seems like a genuine public service. And it feels a little like making — or maintaining, maybe — history. That's unmistakably a worthy goal, with record companies unable or uninterested in doing so themselves.
Like this Steve Kuhn vinyl rip, for instance, acquired long ago from a source I did not record (although I do hope I remembered to thank the poster). Why is this out of print? Chock full of Real Book tunes rarely recorded elsewhere with Kuhn in his usual excellent form and featuring the under-recorded Bruce Ditmas, it strays occasionally into fusion territory as bands like this so often did in the early 70's via the ubiquitous electric piano, an instrument Kuhn has seldom touched since. It's a period piece, but a very, very good one.

Steve Kuhn: acoustic and electric piano, vocals
George Mraz: bass
Bruce Ditmas: drums
Sue Evans: percussion

1 Gloria (5:05)
2 The Child Is Gone (3:00)
3 The Real Guitarist (In The House) (7:47)
4 The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers (5:20)
5 Chicken Feathers (6:37)
6 Ida Lupino (4:10)
7 Raindrops, Raindrops (4:30)
8 Thoughts Of A Gentleman (3:06)

1972, Folk City, NY.
Muse 5106

Two by Lester Bowie

2008-10-15T14:09:00.005-04:00

This post is all about my zeal to contribute something to the new Nine Sisters discographical site dedicated to Muse Records, http://jazz-muse.blogspot.com. These two albums, all of Bowie's output for the Muse label, come from the 32Jazz double CD reissue, "American Gumbo." The music is remastered, but otherwise unchanged from the LP releases. No scans, alas, because I don't have a scanner, but the music is as vibrant, moving, and occasionally hilarious as ever.

Lester Bowie: Fast Last! (1974)

Lester Bowie: trumpet, flugelhorn ( B1)
John Hicks: piano (A1 to B1)
Julius Hemphill: alto ( A1, A2, B1)
John Stubblefield: tenor (A1, A2)
Joseph Bowie: trombone ( A1, A2)
Bob Stewart: tuba (A1)
Cecil McBee: bass (A1, A2, B1)
Phillip Wilson: drums ( A1, A2, B1, B2)
Charles "Bobo" Shaw: drums ( B2)
Jerome Cooper: drums ( B2)

Recorded at C. I. Recording Studios, NYC, September 1974.
Muse Records MR 5055

A1 Lonely Woman (5:15)
A2 Banana Whistle (9:48)
A3 Hello Dolly (5:00)
B1 Fast Last / C (12:55)
B2 F Troop Rides Again (9:38)

Lester Bowie: Rope-A-Dope (1975)

Lester Bowie: trumpet
Malachi Favors Megistus: bass
Don Moye: drums (A1, A2, B1) congas ( B2)
Charles Bobo Shaw: drums ( A1, A2, B2)
Joseph Bowie: trombone (A2, B2), percussion (A1)
Raymund Cheng violin ( A1)

Recorded on 17 June 1975 at Blue Rock Studios, NYC.
Muse Records MR 5081

A1 Tender Openings (9:29)
A2 St. Louis Blues (Chicago Style) (9:36)
B1 Mirage (6:40)
B2 Rope-A-Dope (9:30)

John Lindberg: Resurrection of a Dormant Soul (1995)

2008-10-14T18:01:00.007-04:00

The same rhythm section as the previous post, but with Albert Mangelsdorff added and John Lindberg getting top billing. A remarkably different session from the Watson trio album, and not a hint of a your standard horn + rhythm section approach. Each of the players here contributes a tune, and the whole thing breathes and thrums like a living creature, which, I suppose, is exactly what it was at the moment of its creation.

John Lindberg: bass
Albert Mangelsdorff: trombone
Eric Watson: piano
Ed Thigpen: drums

1. Resurrection of a Dormant Soul (Lindberg)
2. Quartet Pluckin' (Lindberg)
3. Dots, Ditches and Scratches (Mangelsdorff)
4. Conspiracy (Watson)
5. E.T.P. (Thigpen)
6. Birds of a Feather (Lindberg)
7. X.1 (Lindberg)

February 9 and 10, 1995, Milan.
320 kbps mp3 from Black Saint 120172-2

Eric Watson: Punk Circus (1994)

2008-10-14T17:29:00.003-04:00

Excellent trio outing from the always-intriguing pianist Eric Watson with a stellar rhythm section. Ed Thigpen, best known as a clinician and for anchoring the drum chair in Oscar Peterson's longest-lived trio, plays especially beautifully here, with brush work like hummingbird wings, and a wonderfully musical solo on the title tune. God only knows what the title is about; it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the music. Not that a more straightforward title would have launched this record to the top of the charts, but it might have sold a few more copies if it weren't so deliberately obtuse.

There's a nice Mike Zwerin article about Watson from 1996 here.

Eric Watson (piano)
John Lindberg (bass)
Ed Thigpen (drums)
1. White Out
2. Smaks
3. Exits
4. Punk Circus
5. Shadow of the Past
6. Black Eyed Max
7. Fall
8. Last Request

All compositions by Eric Watson except "Fall" by Wayne Shorter. Recorded September 3 & 4, 1994, Zurich.

320 kbps mp3 from 2003 Night & Day CD

Ethan Iverson: School Work (with Dewey Redman) (1995)

2008-10-09T14:31:00.001-04:00

I saw Iverson recently with his rent-paying band, The Bad Plus. The show was, as you'd expect, terrific. Playing this record soon after, I was struck by how many of Iverson's trademark touches were nascent or mostly-developed in his piano playing then, the unconventional use (in "jazz" anyway) of octaves and arpeggiated major chords and the Roger Williams-like crescendos (think, Theme from Chariots of Fire) — all of it, as a friend notes, squarely within implied quotation marks. But deliberately ironic or not, the guy's a terrific player and composer. And as for Dewey Redman, why wouldn't you want to hear every note the man ever played?

1. Dewey Eyed, Dewey Played (Iverson)
2. Red Wing (Iverson)
3. I Got It Bad (Ellington)
4. Wisconsin Primitive (Iverson)
5. Stella by Starlight (Young)
6. Cheryl (Parker)
7. Sometimes a Half-Life Is Just Not Enough (Iverson)
8. 2300 Skidoo (Nichols)
9. School Work (Coleman)
10. Persistance of Memory (Iverson)

Dewey Redman (saxophone)
Ethan Iverson (piano)
Johann Weidenmuller (bass)
Falk Willis (drums).

4/10/93, River Sound NYC
320 kbps mp3, from Mons Records CD 875-877

Anthony Braxton - Piano Quartet, Yoshi's 1994

2008-10-04T12:51:00.001-04:00

A tough nut to crack, this one, and only distantly related to Braxton's other excursions into standards territory. Let me know what you think.

Anthony Braxton - piano
Marty Ehrlich - woodwinds
Joe Fonda - double bass
Arthur Fuller - percussion

CD 1
1. Exotica (John Coltrane) 13:16
2. Woody 'n' You (Dizzy Gillespie) 8:15
3. Soul Eyes (Mal Waldron) 15:54
4. Bluesette (Toots Thielemans) 12:46
5. Stablemates (Benny Golson) 9:54
6. Marionette (Billy Bauer) 11:33
7. Cherokee (Ray Noble) 5:03
CD 2
1. The Duke (Dave Brubeck) 9:22
2. Nica's Dream (Horace Silver) 13:19
3. Lament (J.J. Johnson) 10:50
4. Pannonica (Thelonious Monk) 10:42
5. Star Eyes (Don Raye / Gene DePaul) 8:43
6. I Remember You (Victor Schertzinger / Johnny Mercer) 12:34
7. Along Came Betty (Benny Golson) 9:38
CD 3
1. Line for Lyons (Gerry Mulligan) 14:12
2. Joy Spring (Clifford Brown) 10:09
3. Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn) 16:22
4. Jinrikisha (Joe Henderson) 13:39
5. What's New? (Johnny Burke / Bob Haggart) 15:11
6. Minority (Gigi Gryce) 9:02
CD 4
1. Nardis (Miles Davis) 13:50
2. Booker's Waltz (Eric Dolphy) 8:59
3. Body and Soul (Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Robert Sour / Frank Eyton) 7:42
4. Just Friends (John Klenner / Sam M. Lewis) 13:32
5. Afternoon in Paris (John Lewis) 11:22
6. I Can't Get Started (Duke Ellington-Ira Gershwin) 15:02
7. Early Autumn (Ralph Burns / Woody Herman / Johnny Mercer) 8:29

Recorded live at Yoshi's Nitespot, Oakland, CA (USA) June 15-19, 1994
Released in 1996 by Music & Arts [CD-4849(4)]

Billy Hart: Enchance

2008-09-30T16:02:00.001-04:00

My favorite part of maintaining this occasional blog is digging out and posting a recording for its value as an obscurity, and discovering along the way just how good it is. My recollections of Enchance were that it was a well-intentioned project by a great drummer that somehow missed the mark. This despite a jaw-dropping assortment of talent -- everybody is on this record. Hey, what do you know? I was wrong again. It's not more than the sum of its parts, but it's pretty goddamn good all the same -- at least the sum of its parts. Hart's recent group with Ethan Iverson on piano is downright astounding, too. Buy and see.

1.Diff Customs (Lake) 5:44
2.Shadow Dance (Holland) 7:43
3.Layla-Joy (Hart) 6:55
4.Corner Culture (Redman) 2:47
5.Rahsaan is Beatiful (Peterson) 4:31
6.Pharoah (Pullen) 9:31
7.Hymn for the Old Year (Lake) 8:48

Billy Hart (dr,perc); Oliver Lake (as,ss,fl); Dewey Redman (ts)(not on 5.); Hannibal Marvin Peterson (tp,koto); Eddie Henderson (tp,flh,el flh)(1,3,5); Don Pullen (p, el p), Buster Williams (b)(1,3.5); Dave Holland(b)(2,4,6,7); Michael Thabo Carvin (perc)(5)

February 24 and March 3, 1977, Generation Sound, NYC
CD: A&M CD-0818

Marion McPartland Plays the Music of Billy Strayhorn

2008-09-30T15:35:00.001-04:00

A jazz perennial I once tended to underestimate, unfairly, on account of cosmetic factors -- the patrician accent, the cheezy album art, the NPR seal of middlebrow respectability. None of that matters. The first chorus of her solo on The Intimacy of the Blues on this set ought to set anyone straight about this woman's talents. The whole record is superb. What I've heard of her dozens of other Concord recordings are very good, too, even if none of them quite measure up to this one, with Joey Baron in the rhythm section lighting a fire under everyone's ass. That can't hurt. either.

1. Intimacy Of The Blues
2. Isfahan
3. Lotus Blossom
4. Raincheck
5. Lush Life
6. U.M.M.G.
7. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
8. Take The 'A' Train
9. Day Dream
10. After All

Marion McPartland: p
Jerry Dodgion: as
Steve LaSpina: b
Joey Baron: dr

October 25, 1990

Two excellent Joe Henderson trio sessions

2008-09-12T14:33:00.001-04:00

The man sure could play.

The Standard Joe (1991)

Joe Henderson (ts)
Rufus Reid (b)
Al Foster (d)

1.Blue Bossa
2.Inner Urge
3.Body And Soul (take 1)
4.Take The "A" Train
5.Round About Midnight
6.Blues In F (In 'N Out)
7. Body And Soul (take 2)

Sear Sound, NYC, March 26, 1991

An Evening with Joe Henderson (1987)

Joe Henderson (ts)
Charlie Haden (b)
Al Foster (d)

1.Ask Me Now
2.Serenity
3.Beatrice
4.Invitation

'Genova Jazz Festival', Villa Imperiale, Genoa, Italy, July 9, 1987
320kbps

Sear Sound, NYC, March 26, 1991

Billy Higgins: Soweto

2008-09-04T15:21:00.001-04:00

I gave this short shrift previously because of Bob Berg's presence -- I've never cared for that swaggering, balls-to-the-wall school of tenor players -- but listened carefully while uploading and was knocked out. The record is gorgeous. All original program, including two Higgins tunes. I'd pay for a recording of Higgins tapping his fingers on a steering wheel. He sang beautifully, too.

Bob Berg – ts, Cedar Walton – p, Tony Dumas – b, Billy Higgins – dr, gtr, voc., other instruments
Recorded at Barigozzi Studios, Milano, Italy, January 21, 1979

1. Soweto (Higgins) (9:20)
2. Clockwise (Walton) (8:08)
3. Neptune (Berg) (5:36)
4. Back To Bologna (Walton) (8:05)
5. Bahia, Bahia, Bahia (Higgins) (10:20)

Martial Solal: NY-1 (Live at the Vllage Vanguard) (2001)

2008-09-03T12:41:00.001-04:00

Recorded in NYC just two weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center, this captures some of that post-traumatic atmosphere. The musicians are so good, though, the trio so empathic, that any occasional tentativeness they display (as is, "are we allowed to have this much fun already?") gets steamrolled by their collective inspiration. No one plays like Solal, and Bill Stewart's like a pachinko game, but Francois Moutin almost steals the show.

NY-1
What Is This Thing Called Love
Suspect Rhythm
Body and Soul
Zig Zag
Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
Lombardy

Martial Solal: piano; Francois Moutin: bass; Bill Stewart: drums.
Recorded live at the Village Vanguard, New York, New York on September 21-23, 2001.

More Konitz: The Sound of Surprise (1991)

2008-09-03T12:25:00.001-04:00

Killer rhythm section that syncs perfectly with Konitz's approach. I'll post a wonderful recording of Baron with (of all people) Marion McPartland in an all-Strayhorn trio set later. Baron's playing on both albums is so dry it almost blows away, but, man, it burns.

Hi Beck
Gundula
Mr. 88
Bits And Pieces
Blues Suite
Friendlee
Soddy And Bowl
Singin’
Wingin’
Thingin’
Crumbles
Subconsciouslee.

Lee Konitz: Alto Saxophone, Vocal; Ted Brown: Tenor Saxophone; John Abercrombie: Guitar; Marc Johnson: Bass; Joey Baron: Drums.
April 21 and 22, 1999, Avatar Studio, NYC

Andrew Hill: Strange Serenade (1980)

2008-08-24T13:09:00.001-04:00

Despite the cheezy cover art, one of Andrew Hill's most challenging recordings, with once-in-a-lifetime support from Alan Silva and the late Freddie Waits.

1. Mist Flower
2. Strange Serenade
3. Reunion
4. Andrew

Andrew Hill (piano); Alan Silva (bass); Freddie Waits (percussion).
Recorded at Barigozzi Studio, Milan, Itay on June 13 & 14, 1980.
Soul Note SN 1013

Lee Konitz: Listen...Silent

2008-08-24T12:22:00.001-04:00

Lee Konitz, saxophone Marco di Gennaro, pianoforte, Mauro Battisti, contrabass, Carlo Battisti, batteria.
1. Thinging
2. Patrocio il plutocrate
3. Alone Together
4. Round Midnight
5. Drum Sax duo
6. Bass Sax duo
7. Solar
8. Stella by Starlight
9. Singing the Bass
10. Singing the Drum
Dodicilune Dischi ED208
Recorded live, Lecce, Italy, December 12, 2001, at Teatro Paisiello

Lee Konitz Quartet: Zounds

2008-08-22T13:41:00.001-04:00

1.Prologue
2.Zounds
3.Prelude To A Kiss
4.Blue Samba
5.All Things Considered
6.Synthesthetics
7.Taking A Chance On Love
8.Piece For My Dad
9.Soft Lee

Lee Konitz (as,ss,vo), Kenny Werner (p,synth), Ron McClure (b), Bill Stewart (ds).
Recorded at the Magic Shop Studio, NYC, May 23 & 24, 1990
Soul Note 121219-2

Tony Williams Lifetime - Turn It Over

2008-05-10T09:51:00.002-04:00

Tony Williams Lifetime - Turn It Over
LP rip from Polydor 24-4021

1. To Whom It may Concern - Them
2. To Whom It May Concern - Us
3. This Night This Song
4. Big Nick
5. Right On
6. Once I Loved
7. Vuelta Abajo
8. A Famous Blues
9. Allah Be Praised
Tony Williams: drums
John McLaughlin: Guitar
Khalid Yasin (Larry Young): organ
Jack Bruce: bass
#1 and 2 by Chick Corea. #3,5,7 by Tony Williams. #4 by John Coltrane. #6 by Jobim.Demoraes. Gilbert. #8 by John McLaughlin. #9 by Khalid Yasin.
Produced by Monte Kay.

Pete LaRoca - Turkish Women at the Bath (1967)

2008-04-22T16:28:00.001-04:00

John Gilmore (ts)
Chick Corea (p)
Walter Booker (b)
Pete LaRoca (d) T

Turkish Women At The Bath
The Dancing Girl
Love Planet
Majoun
Bliss
Sin Street
And So

(all compositions by Pete LaRoca)

Released as:
Pete LaRoca - Turkish Women At The Bath (Douglas SD 782 and 32Jazz 32052)
Chick Corea - Bliss! (Muse MR 5011)

Salvatore Bonafede Quartet: Actor/Actress

2008-04-22T16:15:00.001-04:00

Salvatore Bonafede: piano
Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone
Cameron Brown: bass
Adam Nussbaum: drums

1. Mel Lewis
2. Paul Motian
3. Actor/Actress
4. G-Love
5. Sometimes Note
s Are Less Than 12
6. U.R.I.
7. Joe Lovano
8. Paul Bley
9. Verve
10. Mel Lewis (alt. take)
All compositions by Salvatore Bonafede
Studio 900, NYC, June 18 and 19, 1990.
Produced by Salvatore Bonafede

(Ken Records 004, 1990)

A wonderful 1990 debut, long out of print, with a superb band that expertly negotiates ten memorable originals. The tunes named for musicians are remarkably deft character sketches. Although virtually unknown in the US, several later Bonafede projects are available at eMusic and are highly recommended.