What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Beef Oven!]

Connie Crothers & Alexis Parsons - Hippin’

I bought this CD recently.

Extraordinary jazz artist (the pianist is something’ else, too!).

Connie died in August, RIP.

[Stanfordian]

Jackie McLean with Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Ridley & Roy Haynes
‘Destination Out’
Blue Note (1963)

[Stanfordian]

Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, Major Holley Jr. Bill English & Ray Barretto
‘Midnight Blue’
Blue Note (1967)

Just has to be one of the most satisfying albums in my collection!

[Serial_Apologist]

Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, Major Holley Jr. Bill English & Ray Barretto
‘Midnight Blue’
Blue Note (1967)

Just has to be one of the most satisfying albums in my collection!

Good choices, Stanfordian! I wonder what Sir Charles Villiers, a traddie in many respects, would have made of your taste for hard/post-bop!

[Stanfordian]

Good choices, Stanfordian! I wonder what Sir Charles Villiers, a traddie in many respects, would have made of your taste for hard/post-bop!

The great man was not as academically stuffy as one might imagine. I believe he liked the popular music of the day such as Edwardian musical comedies such as Gaiety Girl, The Geisha and G & S.

[Ian Thumwood]

Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, Major Holley Jr. Bill English & Ray Barretto
‘Midnight Blue’
Blue Note (1967)

Just has to be one of the most satisfying albums in my collection!

If I wanted to select one record that would get someone who had never heard jazz interested in the music, it would be "Midnight Blue." I think that this is the kind of under-stated record that Blue Note excelled in and, in this instance, all the ingredients seemed to work.

I saw Ray Barretto about 12-13 years ago but his own group didn't make much of an impression and I can't even remember who was in the line up. It is strange that had many of the "cult" Blue Note artists not died early, they would have cleaned up financially on the European festival circuit. I am thinking of the likes of Sonny Clark, Tina Brooks, etc who became "cult" artists. Kenny Burrell is still active but I have never heard him perform live. Stanley Turrentine is another favourite but I find his brother Tommy to be underwhelming as a trumpeter. I have a few records with him on including Clark's "Leapin' & lopin" where Charlie Rouse is the more interesting front line musician.

[Stanfordian]

Wayne Shorter with Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman & Elvin Jones
‘Night Dreamer’
Blue Note (1964)

[burning dog]

[Serial_Apologist]

Mike Westbrook: The Cortege.

Just reminding meself what a tremendous work this is - on a par with anything musical... you name it.

[burning dog]

Inspired by your post SA!

Citadel/Room 315

Excellent LP from Westbrook on vinyl. Surman is wonderful on this album

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Mike Westbrook: The Cortege.

Just reminding meself what a tremendous work this is - on a par with anything musical... you name it.

I don't think Mr Westbrook would be too happy to hear that any of his work was "on a par" with Chirpy-Chirpy Cheep-Cheep!

[burning dog]

An improvement on the Uk hit version but still not great

[Ian Thumwood]

Seeing as Stanfordian is in a Blue Note mood, I have been giving Kenny Dorham's "Whistle stop" a spin again.

I regret to coming to this album belatedly as I think it is probably to apogee of Hard Bop and easily one of the finest records Blue Note issued. The album is a success on all fronts and, to be honest, includes what I believe is Hank Mobely's finest moment of record. Kenny Dorham is a strange musician to categorise as he is effectively a founder member of the whole Hard Bop movement but, maybe more than any other trumpeter on Blue Note's roster I feel that his playing (particularly on his later work for the label) reaches forward in to today's post-bop style especially with a player like Ambrose Akinmusire. The discs with Joe Henderson are essential and hint at something more far-reaching yet "Whistle stop" is firmly in the Hard Bop mode whilst having an intelligence about it that transcends even something like Tina Brook's "True Blue" or Freddie Redd's "Shades of Red" where the writing is very much a part of the success of the discs. the track "Sunrise in Mexico" is one of the true masterpieces of small group jazz writing but the whole record really should be in every serious jazz fan's collection. Blue Note sometimes encourages hyperbole but, in this instance, it is truly merited. It is a small group gem.

[Serial_Apologist]

Kenny Dorham is a strange musician to categorise as he is effectively a founder member of the whole Hard Bop movement

I should probably bow to your (and other frequent contributers' here) greater knowledge, but I would have thought Clifford Brown a more important founder member of the hard bop trend, having more of the finesse that would have needed to gain any cred in the wake of Diz and Fats in particular. For me, I agree with those who really think Dorham came into his own in that area between hard bop and free jazz so beautifully presented in Blue Note recordings of the early-mid 1960s, such as Andrew Hill's "Point of Departure", suiting his temperament (and relative lack of technique set up against Brownie, Morgan, and their particular lineage) when the music was encouraged to breathe more.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I should probably bow to your (and other frequent contributers' here) greater knowledge, but I would have thought Clifford Brown a more important founder member of the hard bop trend, having more of the finesse that would have needed to gain any cred in the wake of Diz and Fats in particular. For me, I agree with those who really think Dorham came into his own in that area between hard bop and free jazz so beautifully presented in Blue Note recordings of the early-mid 1960s, such as Andrew Hill's "Point of Departure", suiting his temperament (and relative lack of technique set up against Brownie, Morgan, and their particular lineage) when the music was encouraged to breathe more.

Aheeem! Relative lack of technique? How relative is relative? Kenny certainly had the chops to do the Dizzy thing, the very long and fast runs, high notes, et al, witness his Parker period; his first leader date with Roach esp, the Bohemia with Blakey and Moving Out with Sonny Rollins, these all c. 1953/4. In fact in a memorable review that I still treasure from Jazz Journal of the Rollins date, the Brit " critic " said that Elmo Hope had ten thumbs and Dorham couldn't even stop to pause decently for breath. And he knew this "as a semi pro pianist". Laugh...

But that was not what he wanted to do and its suggested that playing with Max and especially the Rollins influence/friendship after Clifford's death caused him to reevaluate his approach. Certainly after that his playing became much more thoughtful, reflective, melodic, harmonically developed and totally individual. And then you get players like Booker Little, Woody Shaw etc, and interestingly, Kenny Wheeler, citing him as a real influence. So, I think its more a question of technique applied "differently"...?

As to hard bop, mmmmm. I heard Phil Shapps recently claiming Miles' early 50s Bluenotes were a big start...Heath, Silver, JJ Johnson on board...yew take your pick...

BN.