What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Joseph K]

[Ian Thumwood]

It's always struck me as odd that it should have been a Swiss running one of the world's top big bands. Switzerland has produced a number of great composers (Martin, Honegger), not to my knowledge many jazz people. The Piccadilly Six, who operated from the Casa Bar in old Zurich when I worked there in the 1960s, was made up of ex-pat Brits. As did an earlier occupant of a house just up that particular cobbled street, VI Lenin. He was no jazzer either.

I get the impression that George Gruntz was really well connected. I think he had performed at Newport Jazz festival in the 1950s as part of a European youth big band but he was also the artistic director of the Berlin Jazz between 1972-1994. On top of that, he also worked with symphony orchestras and had some involvement with the Swiss national theatre too. On the "Pourquoi pas" album, the big band performs a piece of thrird stream classical music by Swiss composer.

There are actually quite a few Swiss jazz musicians although not many people realise they are Swiss. The most obvious example is trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti, of course, but most people do not realise that drummer Daniel Humair is also Swiss. On top of that, there are other musicians such as Sylvie Courvoisier, Christy Doran, Gregoire Maret and Pierre Favre who used to crop up on a lot of old ECM records. I think Gruntz is probably the most interesting - staggering to think of the musicians he has worked with ranging from the likes of Phil Woods to Do
n Cherry.

[Tenor Freak]

There's a video on Youtube of a George Gruntz tour of Japan where the band plays "Inner Urge". After Joe Henderson does his thing, along comes Kenny Wheeler! And they're only two of an all-star band; for example Lee Konitz is there in the reeds.


Wait a mo...here it is:

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

George Gruntz trio (Daniel Humair drums), working with the very top of his game Dexter Gordon..."What's New", Belgium 1964. This entire set (Tunisia, Lazybird, Blues Walk) and film is magnificent. Dhttp://youtu.be/RnZm8IJ9k20

[Ian Thumwood]

Of course, he also worked extensively with Phil Wood's European quartet.

I have quite a few of George Gruntz's big band records having initially acquired "Theatre" when I went up to Mole Jazz for the first and only time after I had a meeting in London. It was recommended to me if I was a fan of Gil Evans. At that time I was obsessed with Evans music and the step towards to Gruntz's own band was logical. A lot of the appeal was magnified by the fact that he was pretty much under-recorded at that time even though I believe that he was putting together bands on an annual basis to tour the festivals. I believe he was one of the first band leaders to take jazz to Communist China in 1989.

[Joseph K]

[LezLee]

I'm not a big jazz fan but I listen to Jazz Record Requests. Today I heard something truly gorgeous:

Maria Schneider (Orch.): Walking By Flashlight.

[Joseph K]

[Jazzrook]

Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, Peter Kowald & Hamid Drake at the Velvet Lounge, Chicago,1998:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=VQqWJ3MxVzA

JR

[Stanfordian]

‘Song for My Father’ - Horace Silver Quintet
Horace Silver with Carmell Jones, Joe Henderson, Teddy Smith, Roger Humphries +
Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, Roy Brooks + Gene Taylor, Roy Brooks
Blue Note (1963/64)

[Ian Thumwood]

I've been listening to a Naxos disc I have of Martinu compositions including the Harpsichord concerto. The disc was bought because it included the "La revue de cuisine" which always intrigued me because one of the movements is a Charleston. I quite liked the old Naxos CDs and there are quite a few rummaging around in my cupboard. They were cheap which meant you could explore things that piqued your interest and it did not matter if they transpired to be less than interesting. It was a label which seemed to get better over the years and when they explored more unorthodox material.

The Martinu material is curious. The Harpsichord concerto is really good and the "Revue" is intriguing to see how the composer assimilated jazz. As for the rest, it is slightly indifferent. I don't dislike it and I much prefer this kind of modern classical music to the Serial composers who leave me totally cold. Martinu always strokes me as a composer whose name is known but the music remains obscure even though I see quite a few recordings of his symphonies. I am very intrigued how different composers reacted to jazz in the 1920s and 30s. The piece that I think nailed it best of all was Milhaud's "La creation du monde" but you can find jazz influences cropping up in Ravel, Shostakovich, Gerswhin and Lambert too. For most, it seemed like a fleeting fad. Milhaud later became a tutor to Dave Brubeck. I have to admit that a lot of his other stuff is very, very ordinary.

I have never ben able to ascertain which jazz groups Milhaud heard in the US during the early twenties that inspired him. It would be nice to find out something of his personal tastes in jazz and whether he eventually fell out of love with the music.

[Joseph K]

Is Ian forbidden to make posts outside of the Jazz Bored??

[Ian Thumwood]

Joe,

I think you will find that it is the "Jass bored."

If you are feeling flush (£77 for a new LP release), this might appeal to the likes of Jazzrook.

https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/rashied-ali-frank-lowe-duo-exchange-complete-sessions-survival/

Frank Lowe is a really forgotten name in jazz these days although I suppose he would probably been higher profile than Rashied Ali when he made this duo. His later stuff was milder but I think he was one of the better of this style of tenor men.

[Jazzrook]

Thanks, Ian.
I have the CD version of Rashied Ali/Frank Lowe 'Duo Exchange' so think I will pass on the £77 LP.
If you can find a copy I'd recommend Frank Lowe's 1984 album 'Decision In Paradise' with Grachan Moncur III, Don Cherry, Geri Allen, Charnette Moffett & Charles Moffett:

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

JR

[Stanfordian]

‘Face to Face’ - Baby Face Willette
Baby Face Willette with Fred Jackson, Grant Green & Ben Dixon
Blue Note (1961)