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Trumpeter Ric Colbeck with Mike Osborne(alto sax); Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark(bass) & Selwyn Lissack(drums) from the almost impossible-to-find 1970 album 'The Sun Is Coming Up'(Fontana):
JRComment
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‘Down with It!’
Blue Mitchell with Junior Cook, Chick Corea, Gene Taylor, Al Foster
Blue Note (1965Comment
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First seeing that record title led me to exclaim, "Of COURSE he's sound - John Coltrane must be one of the soundest people around!"Originally posted by Stanfordian View Post
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Someone on here very kindly did me a CD copy of that amazing album - I think it was Calum da Jazzbo.Originally posted by Jazzrook View PostTrumpeter Ric Colbeck with Mike Osborne(alto sax); Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark(bass) & Selwyn Lissack(drums) from the almost impossible-to-find 1970 album 'The Sun Is Coming Up'(Fontana):
JRComment
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This morning I listened to E.S.T Live ‘95Comment
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Welcome to the "jazz bored", sidney. I enjoyed EST when the trio first appeared on the scene; what did you make of the later, more "rocky" direction?Originally posted by sidneyfox View PostComment
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I enjoy their later stuff too. Sad that the leader died ina diving accident.Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View PostComment
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The 1966 album 'Nommo' by Milford Graves & Don Pullen was reviewed by Max Harrison in 'Modern Jazz 1945-70 The Essential Records'.
I've never been able to track down a copy but here it is on YouTube:
JRComment
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Eliane Elias, excellent.Comment
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‘Wrapped Tight’
Coleman Hawkins with Bill Berry, Snooky Young, Urbie Green, Barry Harris, Buddy Catlett & Eddie Locke
Impulse (1965)Comment
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‘Yeah!’
Charlie Rouse with Billy Gardner, Peck Morrison & Dave Bailey
Epic (1961)Comment
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Been listening a lot to Gil Evans 1970s and 80s output of late as I had neglected it for a very long time. I grew up listening to a lot of this music and have quite lot of this material in my collection including the double CD of the Hammersmith Odeon concert that I actually went to. It seemed really incredible at the time but am a bit more sympathetic with Gene Lees' assessment that the music was too rock / fusion orientated. The biggest problem for me is the absence of writing. The band did not have a large repertoire and ultimately Gil left the band lead itself. It is strange that someone who cemented a more modern style of arranging that opened new possibilities in jazz ultimately led something that was more of an influence on bands like Medeski, Martin & Wood.
Not sure quite how you would rank his post "Blues in orbit" records. I always felt "BiO" marked a low point in his work but maybe "There comes a time" pips it? This later disc from about 1976 was effectively re-edited upon it's re-release to effectively make it a different record. I have never heard the results but the original was not great. I have a lot of affection for the Jimi Hendrix album which only features two Evans' score albeit I think that the opening on one track sounds like his work too. There are alternative versions of some numbers including "Up from the skies" which is more jazz orientated than the version chosen. It is a strange disc because only about 25% of the arrangements are by Evans.
"Svengali" is pretty good but the closing "Zee Zee" is symptomatic of why I am sceptical of his later stuff. It takes some pretty minimal material and stretches out more than the material is worth. The Billy Harper compositions on this are good as is the George Russell blues whilst the re-working of the old "Summertime" arrangement is excellent .. The best "official" release from the 70s is "Priestess" but this has never seen a CD release despite including the wonderful arrangement of "Solar Eclipse" which was a JRR staple back in the early 80s. For my money, this is the last great record he made and his best since "Impressionism."
Mole Jazz put two LPS out of a London Concert which included the likes of John Surman in the line up. I have not heard these records for ages but the first volume was a record I used to have on tape which I wore out. The Penguin guide gives it a very poor review and there is a later English concert which also made it on to disc. By now the repertoire had solidified in a fashion more ossified than Benny Goodman. Check any Gil record from late 70s onwards and there is the usual mixture of Mingus, Hendrix and minimal originals. The amount of repetition is mind-blowing and was still apparent when I heard him in concert although the set was somewhat augmented by a few other pieces.
As for the 1980s material, it is really uneven. I have the first volume of the Sweet Basil record which is really exciting but the band was now operating like a fusion version of Basie's Kansas City band. It is difficult to call as to whether these records are really that significant. The exceptional writing has all but disappeared and even the studio session with the French band led by Laurent Cugny seems underwhelming nowadays - the combination of excellent sound quality and more tailored performances not standing the music in good stead with younger arrangers like Maria Schneider, etc. Wind forward to some of the writing for jazz ensembles today and the opinion is almost so what?
It is a strange situation because I love the music Gil produced but setting aside "Priestess", I think the material from the 50s and 60s is the stuff to take to the desert island whereas the rest is just symptomatic of Gil's lack of interest in writing. It is interesting to see that a whole swathe of unrecorded Gil arrangements are now being recorded by the likes of Ryan Truesdell and the "ghost" band but these records are difficult to acquire albeit a Dutch big band has issued a record of music written for Thornhill which has seen the light of day.
For me, there is a serious tailing off in quality of Gil's later work which is in contrast with Duke Ellington. Gil Evans still enjoys a justified reputation as a pioneering arranger and the most significant writer for large ensembles to emerge in the 1950s but I think the later stuff is erratic in quality. He was under-recorded at his peak but perhaps over-recorded by the time he was leading a regular band. You just get the feeling that his notorious slow working speed was perhaps justified, As much as I enjoy the later material, I don't think it sits on a par with Ellington's later work or indeed many other writers who emerged in the 60's. I think the writing by the likes of Mike Gibbs, for example, was far superior to what Gil was doing at the same time even of there is a shocking desire to want to play the Hendrix album at full volume whenever I give it a spin!!Comment
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‘The Jody Grind’
Horace Silver with Woody Shaw, Tyrone Washington, James Spaulding, Larry Ridley & Roger Humphries
Blue Note (1966)Comment
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Stanley Turrentine - ‘Another Story’
Stanley Turrentine with Thad Jones, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams & Mickey Roker
Blue Note (1969)Comment
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