What Jazz are you listening to now?

[burning dog]

[Jazzrook]

Have been playing the little-known 1956 album by Kenny Dorham and The Jazz Prophets Vol. 1(Vol. 2 doesn't seem to exist), in particular Dorham's haunting 'Tahitian Suite' with J.R.Monterose(tenor sax); Dick Katz(piano); Sam Jones(bass) & Arthur Edgehill(drums).
An album well worth searching for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-1CYWrCFQE

'Tahitian Suite' was re-titled 'Monaco' on 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia' recorded by BLUE NOTE the following month:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw_f7h_dRvw

[Serial_Apologist]

Vol. 2 doesn't seem to exist

That reminds me of the distributer for "Axe Murderer 2" who, when asked, "What happened to Axe Murderer 1?" replied, "Well, we called this movie "Axe Murderer 2" to make people think there must have been an "Axe Murderer I" which sold very well.

[Ian Thumwood]

This record is a recommended listehttp://http://jazztimes.com/articles...son-adasiewiczn:-

[Jazzrook]

That reminds me of the distributer for "Axe Murderer 2" who, when asked, "What happened to Axe Murderer 1?" replied, "Well, we called this movie "Axe Murderer 2" to make people think there must have been an "Axe Murderer I" which sold very well.

The follow-up album to Traveling Wilburys Volume 1 was wittily titled Volume 3!

JR

[Beef Oven!]

A really great listen - many thanks for posting

Just trumpet and drums, with a little singing on a couple of tracks, works really well.

[burning dog]

I like this one as well

[Beef Oven!]

I like this one as well

Will check it out.

[Quarky]

Hearing a snippet of Ebony Concerto on the radio the other day, I felt may be there were some hidden depths of Jazz there, which were not brought out in most performances. Rapidly came to the opposite conclusion, the deal-breaker being the spiky rhythms and phrases.

However I did come across a very informative assessment of Stravinsky and Jazz , a Jazz on 3 broadcast by Alex Hawkins and Jezz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJwzhpw-D8M

How is Jezz making out these days, I wonder?

[Lordgeous]

Went to a stunning concert last night by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. What talent. They're repeating it at the Proms tonight. Strongly recommended. Included Ellington's suite "Such Sweet Thunder" - a long time favourite.

[Serial_Apologist]

Hearing a snippet of Ebony Concerto on the radio the other day, I felt may be there were some hidden depths of Jazz there, which were not brought out in most performances. Rapidly came to the opposite conclusion, the deal-breaker being the spiky rhythms and phrases.

However I did come across a very informative assessment of Stravinsky and Jazz , a Jazz on 3 broadcast by Alex Hawkins and Jezz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJwzhpw-D8M

How is Jezz making out these days, I wonder?

He drives an ice cream van playing Jezz One Cornetto, I've heard.

(Only joking! )

[Ian Thumwood]

Been listening to John Coltrane's ballad album all week. This is probably the most conservative record the "classic quartet" made but it is almost a text book effort on how to treat the American song book. This kind of repertoire isn't quite as fashionable as it was back in the 1980s / 90s but it is intriguing to compare this disc with a lot of the records made by Jarrett's trio or Paul Motian's trio which I have also been listening to a lot. The Coltrane disc is , to all intents and purposes, total perfection even though tracks like "Nancy" has very little improvisation. It is extremely satisfying.

Playing Jarrett's "out of towners" has been a similar delight yet this trio now seems every bit as "classic" as Coltrane's quartet and similarly divorced from what might be considered to be "contemporary." There is almost a sense of listening to this trio that they don't make them like this anymore.

I feel Paul Motian's trio is by far the most radical although "On Broadway Volume 2" from 1998 has bassist Charlie Haden added as a guest and almost irrelevant to what the other three musicians are doing. Haden just keeps things simple and is the sole musician in the quartet to anchor the music in to any semblance of the mainstream, the other three seemingly looking to continually push the possibilities. There are some hackneyed standards, rather like the Coltrane disc but even "I got rhythm" seems to teeter close to tipping over into something more abstract. The best tracks are the ballads such as "look to the rainbow" and "Good morning, heartache" even though the interplay between Lovano and Frisell on "Nice work if you can get it" is the album's highlight, the tune closing with the leader's off-kilter drum solo. I never felt "Vol 2" was one of the best efforts by these musicians yet returning to the record again it is far more edgy than either the Coltrane or Jarrett disc. Motian's approach is both extremely respectful of the repertoire with the ballads exceptionally executed and radical. Lovano remains one of the great post-Coltrane tenor men but the likes of SA and Bluesnik who has expressed doubt about Frisell in the past could do worst that listen to this album where his Jim Hall-influenced approach demonstrates why he was one of the giants of the music around this time. In my opinion his work with Motian has never been bettered.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I have a tape of that trio playing live from many years back at the Barbican. From a R3/J on 3 broadcast. Mostly standards (inc Angel Eyes) and I do indeed like it a lot. When the group all introduce themselves Frizell says, "Hi, and I'm Barney Kessel". The wag.

BN.

[Quarky]

Courtesy of Cerys Matthews;
Waiting for Bennie/ Christian
West Coast Blues/ Montgomery
Lost Chord/ Sullivan - with rasping rhythm overlay.

the last track very interesting - one of the first phonograph recordings.

[Ian Thumwood]

I dug out the Paul Motian quartet's tribute to Bill Evans this week. The line up includes bassist Marc Johnson who, like Motian, was once a member of a Bill Evans trio. The two other members, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano weren't. When this album came out in 1990 it was a revelation since Evans' compositions were rarely heard outside of a piano trio context. The album includes some originals which sound very much like standards ("Show type tune", "Turn our the stars" and "Very Early") and the ballad performances on the disc are pretty much exceptional. The most interesting aspect I Evans' music is re-cast as something a bit more challenging, "Five" ploughing the kind of abrasive performance that is the apotheosis of what Evans' music is usually about. Elsewhere, "Walking up" has a kind of Blue Note hipness about it.

The album is amazingly fresh and original. It has also stood the test of time really well even if the music is probably more conservative that many of Motian's efforts. It is a brilliant CD and contains some of Lovano's best playing on disc and very much in the same territory as his later collaborations with the late, great Hank Jones. Strange to have no pianist featured but I think Frisell's guitar playing is a very interesting contrast. Somehow, Evans' music is re-cast as something more contemporary and reveals his compositional ability which is frequently over-looked. Mercifully, the over played "Waltz for Debbie" is not included in the set list and the whole album just seems like a re-appraisal of a musician who bridged the point between be-bop and the more open innovations of the 1960's.