What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Jazzrook]

It was actually re-issued on FMR in 2002, complete with the original 1960s Art Nouveau stylee cover design - a great recording.

I missed that 2002 CD reissue of 'Prayer For Peace' which is currently almost impossible to find.
I'll have to make do with my ancient vinyl copy on Transatlantic. Great British jazz from the 1960s.

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

Stan Sulzmann's On Loan With Gratitude, on Graham Collier's Mosaic label of the time, from 1977. This got me back into jazz for the first time after about 8 years. It never as far as I know came out on CD, though the first track on Side 1 was used for a number of years as the signature tune for Sounds of Jazz, with Charles Fox's friendly knowledgeable introductions still much missed. My vinyl copy should be worn out by now, since I played it continuously for several weeks, particularly knocked out by John Taylor's playing in particular, the way he could stretch across any pulse creating great arches of tension, subtly differently from Keith Jarrett - and preferably for me - though Ron Matthewson on bass was pretty amazing too. Tony Levin was a bit low in the mix on this. Stan's soprano playing was strongly influenced by John Surman at that time, I think, but his fluttery flute playing was well in place. The final speed-up still sounds wrong somehow, breaking the feeling of unity of mood established up to that point - perhaps not enough time was available for it to be extended, as it seemed to need, I dunno? I actually preferred and still prefer Side 1, one of my favourite recordings - not available here, but hey-ho!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iubv8luR3C8

[Serial_Apologist]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5_8vw-nj3U

EVGENY POBOZHIY QUINTET

Heard about this guy because he's just won the Herbie Hancock guitar competition or something.

I'm not surprised! Thanks for this Joseph - great stuff!

[Joseph K]

What impresses about that great period was how creatively many of the British musicians who had been around The Old Place unslavishly adopted approaches from Miles's Filles de Kilimanjaro/Miles in the Sky period to make something of lasting influence to this day.

Two tracks from "Warm Smiles, recorded with that same line-up a year later, the second an atmospheric ballad -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d5zqBthuVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2dRrFDW6Wk

And one from "Themes for Fega" - recorded live at a club date. What a band that was!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0i2R4UXOmU

… just getting round to listening to these.

[Jazzrook]

Hank Mobley's 1963 album 'No Room For Squares' with Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, John Ore & Philly Joe Jones playing 'Three Way Split':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCcx-8dmvo

JR

[Stanfordian]

‘Soul Street’ – Jimmy Forrest
Jimmy Forrest with Art Farmer, Ernie Royal, Idrees Sulieman, Jimmy Cleveland, George Buster Cooper, Jerome Richardson, George Barrow, Pepper Adams el al.
New Jazz (1960/62)

[Serial_Apologist]

Hank Mobley's 1963 album 'No Room For Squares' with Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, John Ore & Philly Joe Jones playing 'Three Way Split':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCcx-8dmvo

JR

Thanks JR - a new one on me: must listen to this.

[Joseph K]

In a Silent Way hits all the sweet spots in my brain.

[Serial_Apologist]

In a Silent Way hits all the sweet spots in my brain.

But don't overdo the sugar!

[Jazzrook]

Sun Ra Arkestra at Lugano, 1985(John Gilmore sings!):

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=8vfcbyiJpoY

JR

[elmo]

Hank Mobley's 1963 album 'No Room For Squares' with Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, John Ore & Philly Joe Jones playing 'Three Way Split':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCcx-8dmvo

JR

One of my very favourite Mobley albums ... Superb interplay between Hank and PJJ on this
Thanks JR

elmo

[Jazzrook]

One of my very favourite Mobley albums ... Superb interplay between Hank and PJJ on this
Thanks JR

elmo

One of my favourite Mobley albums, too, elmo - glad you liked it.
Am I alone in finding the intro on the title-track reminiscent of a Frank Zappa tune circa 1969?

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Xcq_zg-Zw5k

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

One of my favourite Mobley albums, too, elmo - glad you liked it.
Am I alone in finding the intro on the title-track reminiscent of a Frank Zappa tune circa 1969?

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Xcq_zg-Zw5k

JR

Strangely enough, I pulled this record out of the drawer beneath my bookcase to play when I drove up to Wokingham on Wednesday. It was an album that hugely impressed me when I first bought it about 5 years ago but listening to it again for the first time in ages, I think that it is clear why this record was not released at the time. It seems almost like an experiment which didn't quite work out but produced results which are not uninteresting. There are two other tracks from another session with Herbie Hancock and the underwhelming Donald Byrd on my copy too which includes a rather uninspired modal number. I must admit that I find Byrd's trumpet a tad over ripe in tone and these tracks add nothing to the album as a whole. The biggest drawback of the record is the lack of quality writing other than the ballad which wasn't written by Mobley! I don't think any of the melodies by Mobley are in the same league as things like "This I dig of you."

It is interesting that Elmo has singled out PJJ and Mobley on this disc because I feel that there are moments when the drumming in the breaks is inaccurate and the tenor playing is not as in the zone at Mobley's better work. Adding Andrew Hill on piano was an interesting choice and whilst not the pianist's best work in the studio, he contrasts quite nicely with Mobley's smooth tenor sound. I like Hill's comping behind the horns. Some of the writing is a bit pedestrian although I like the title track and Morgan's "Carolyn" is the principle reason for acquiring this record. In fact, I feel that Morgan is the star performer on this record even if there are a few dodgy quotes in some of his solos including the Ziggy Elman feature "And the angels sing" and a longer one later on from "Blues in the night." In some respects it is a bit like "Roll call" insofar that Mobley is upstaged by his front line partner although thankfully the piano is in tune on "No room for squares." "Roll call" also suffers from Mobley's uninspired writing with "original" sounding remarkedly like other tunes. I was wondering whether PJJ had played with Andrew Hill on another record.

"No Room" was, as I understand, not released until the 1980s and you can understand why this kind of release would have acquired a reputation in that decade which, with the passage of time, you can now sense it does not fully deserve. The music contained on it was worthy of release but I feel Mobley is much better on "Soul Station" and "Workout." Mobley is a curious musician who was exceptional in a pre-Coltrane /Shorter / Henderson school but sometimes coasted through recording sessions where he sounds totally uninterested. The best example of this is the Donald Byrd album with the choir ("New Directions", I think) which I feel is a decidedly average Hard Bop session with a choir bolted on for whom the arranger has no idea of how to write. You seem to find that Mobley plays best with musicians like Wynton Kelly who made everyone sound good and also where he was inspired by the writing such as "Whistle stop" where Kenny Dorham's compositions contributes to what I think is HM's best performance on record that I have heard. When listening to "No room" I can't help but thinking that Alfred Lions drafted Andrew Hill in to challenge Mobley but maybe didn't quite get the result he had anticipated. I wonder how much better the disc would have been had Hill been given the task of writing the music? "No Room" always seems like a lost opportunity to me and only a qualified success.

I don't think the hagiographical treatment of Mobley by many fans is justified and I feel he is one of the musicians rather like Keith Jarrett who has been over-recorded and not always to the greatest advantage even though at best the results can be incredible. Mobley's reliance on drugs had a dampening effect in the studio but albums like "Soul Station", "Work out" and "Whistle stop" are the bedrock as to why Blue Note had such a great reputation.

[Stanfordian]

‘The Chase Is On’ - Charlie Rouse & Paul Quinichette
Charlie Rouse & Paul Quinichette with Hank Jones, Wynton Kelly, Freddie Green, Wendell Marshall, Ed Thigpen
Bethelhem (1957)

[Joseph K]

I'm not surprised! Thanks for this Joseph - great stuff!

Here's his semi-finals set:

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

I like his choices of tunes... all three are great. Note he begins with a Thelonious Monk tune and ends with a Herbie Hancock one.