Guitarist Ant Law talking and sharing music with NYC guitarist David O'Rourke - on facebook.
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‘Criss-Cross’ - Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk with Charlie Rouse, John Ore & Frankie Dunlop
Columbia (1963)Comment
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Oh wow! Jim O'Rourke is no slouch, and one of the best guitarists around.Originally posted by Joseph K View Post
I have to say, I first came across Ant Law when he had a trio playing at the Amersham Arms next to New Cross station, which put on jazz under the auspices of the SE London Jazz Collective - Trish Clowes, Chris Montague & co - back in 2013. On one particularly hot evening I turned up to find the usual upstairs performance room devoted to poetry reading sessions, and crowded. Ready to cycle home I entered the public bar to discover Ant and his trio setting up there - which was a first for the pub. I can't now recall the drummer, though the bassist was Conor Chapin, who's now regularly with Laura Jurd. The only other people in the bar, apart from myself, sat next to the band, were a bunch of noisy students down the other end. I thought - they're not going to play just for me. But they did, and Ant was as impressive back then as he is now. He always strikes me as one of those players who's so committed in would not matter if there was an audience of any sort present needed to bring out the best of himself. Eventually the students quietened down and a few came over, listened intently and applauded. At the end of the evening Ant came over to thank me for "bothering" to turn up, and told me the band were so grateful for my support they were giving me a copy of their first CD - for which they adamantly refused to take payment. I joined Ant's website for regular communications, and I remember posting on here about his first professionally produced CD, for which he sent out requesting for crowd-funding, which was forthcoming, and the package dropped on my mat some 6 months later, which was a nice early Xmas present.Comment
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Currently cherry picking from Robbie Vincent’s playlist on this morning’s epic bank holiday show on Jazz fm
People get into jazz from lots of different routes. Robbie's 1980's Radio London shows 1980's happens to be how I ended up here 
Still available for listen again and I probably will. Last hour was probably the best. Counting down from 2pm we heard: Chris Standring, Patrice, Mario Biondi, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Desmond, Lamont Dozier, Marlena Shaw, St Germain, Teena Marie. So, pretty 'smoove' on the whole, but if you want to improve your jazz IQ you could do worse than start here.
Even if you knew nothing about jazz there's plenty in this short list to recommend to a friend: I'd highlight the Paul Desmond sax solo on 'Take Ten', Freddie Hubbard's horn playing on 'Little Sunflower', great baritone sax solo on St Germain's 'Rose Rouge' (new to me), and Mario Biondi (never heard of him either) now makes it onto my shortlist of best ever male jazz vocalists. You can hear the voice more clearly perhaps on a slower track like 'On a Clear Day'.And the tune ends too soon for us allComment
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Little Walter's 'Sad Hours' with Dave Myers, Louis Myers(guitars) & Fred Below(drums) recorded in Chicago, 1952:
JRComment
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I dug out Gerald Clayton's "Life Forum" disc from 2013 which I had bought on the strength of an exceptional earlier album called "Two-shade" which has always struck me as a great demonstration of the enduring ability of mainstream jazz to deliver. The music on that disc always struck as an update on the approach of pianists such as Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan but the 2013 record promised something a lot hipper with the added horns of young Turks such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Logan Richardson, Dayna Stephens and savvy vocalist Gretchen Parlato. The bass and drum team of Joe Sanders and Justin Brown are retained. I think that this is a prime case of the line up not quite doing as you would expect. Effectively, it is Clayton + horns with a load of really trite songs added to the mix to give the whole disc a commercial spin. There is a definite contemporary, West Coast vibe about this record. Such is the want of the current Concord label.
I don't think I have played this disc for years but the better tracks are actually quite decent. It is just that there is some material on there such as the jazz + poem introduction which makes it seem pretentious as opposed to the no fuss superior trio disc. It is a tight band as you would expect of a core trio which has performed for years.
It is strange how Gerald Clayton is somewhat overlooked on this board. For my money, he is one of the better young generation of pianists and has now progressed from playing with his younger generation contemporaries to work with heavy hitters like Charles Lloyd, Roy Hargrove, Peter Bernstein and John Scofield. (He is particularly effective on the latter's latest disc.) I have seen him perform live and think that he is a wonderful pianist. There are the likes of Elmo and Bluesnik who I think would very much enjoy Clayton's playing.
Of late there has been a spate of these more "conservative" or "traditional " players who have been a bit of a lottery for me although, when they have been good , they have been terrific. In the UK, I have enjoyed Ashley Henry's playing. Small wonder that he has already worked with Terence Blanchard. Henry rarely gets name-checked on this board, In the States, Aaron Diehl is getting a lot of positive press as accompanist for singer Cecile McLorin-Salvant although when I caught him perform with a trio, he did not seem at all assured. That gig did not live up to my expectations and I have to say I felt he would have struggled against a lot of the competition in the UK. He sounded pretty rusty to my ears. (Not in the same league as someone like Zoe Rahman, in my opinion.) . Diehl struck me as really rooted in an approach which would have seemed conservative in the 1950s. I don't have an issue with this but it this is a furrow you are looking to plough, I think in 2020 you need to be on the money. A lot of people have been extremely positive about Diehl and he certainly gets some good press in the States where there is probably a greater calling for respecting the tradition. I think I probably caught him on an off-night and came away unconvinced that the hype was merited. By contrast, the younger pianist Christian Sands sounds to me to be more similar to Clayton. I caught him at Vienne a few years back and there was smoke coming off the keys. He was probably the hardest swinging pianist I have heard for a ling, long while. When you hear a musician tear things up like Christian Sands you cannot possibly have any objections. Jazz is supposed to be played like this! He was hugely impressive. Again, this is a pianist Bluesnik would have loved.
All in all, it is really interesting when you start to look at the younger generation of pianists who are right in the tradition yet have something refreshing and new to offer with their music. Players like Christian Sands and Gerald Clayton strike me as being two pianists that quite a lot of people who contribute here will enjoy listening to and indicative of how good the younger generation of players are. Clayton has been a name to watch for over ten years now and I am surprised that he doesn't get more kudos on this board. It is quite funny how some of the pianists over the last few years acquire reputations. I have never quite understood the appeal of Robert Glasper who tries too hard to be hip and I just think dissipates his talent. I have been disappointed with the direction his music has taken both on record and at gigs. It strikes me that the earlier promise has been exchanged by an over-riding desire to be cool. I would like to see him put into a more challenging, avant garde context and see if he can re-focus. By contrast, Gerald Clayton just seems to go about his business with some great playing. He is proof of the folly to be "cutting edge" as it is of no importance of the music you produce is great. All in all, a far more interesting player than Glasper.Comment
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Constant BeeOriginally posted by Constantbee View PostCurrently cherry picking from Robbie Vincent’s playlist on this morning’s epic bank holiday show on Jazz fm People get into jazz from lots of different routes. Robbie's 1980's Radio London shows 1980's happens to be how I ended up here
Still available for listen again and I probably will. Last hour was probably the best. Counting down from 2pm we heard: Chris Standring, Patrice, Mario Biondi, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Desmond, Lamont Dozier, Marlena Shaw, St Germain, Teena Marie. So, pretty 'smoove' on the whole, but if you want to improve your jazz IQ you could do worse than start here.
Even if you knew nothing about jazz there's plenty in this short list to recommend to a friend: I'd highlight the Paul Desmond sax solo on 'Take Ten', Freddie Hubbard's horn playing on 'Little Sunflower', great baritone sax solo on St Germain's 'Rose Rouge' (new to me), and Mario Biondi (never heard of him either) now makes it onto my shortlist of best ever male jazz vocalists. You can hear the voice more clearly perhaps on a slower track like 'On a Clear Day'.
Good evening
I think that St Germain were a group of French studio musicians who got signed up by Blue Note in the late 1990s and had a hit record called "Tourist" that has hugely popular at the time albeit not really convincing as jazz. There was a follow up disc a few years ago but the whole "Nu Jazz" movement seems to have been and gone.
Mario Biondi is actually BBC news journalist Nick Robinson's bearded, Italian half- brother. Not many people know this.Comment
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Law plays a great solo here:
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That's a pretty hot band altogether, Joseph. Mike Chillingworth, normally on alto but playing the theme on the liquorice stick, doesn't feature there but another track follows I shall give my attention to tomorrow.
Let's be having it for the best of our local crews, eh?Comment
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I really liked his record on J-Z but this publicity interview is suggestive he is even more of a windbag than Courtney "this thing we call Jazz" Pine...…
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‘Speak No Evil’ - Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Elvin Jones
Blue Note (1964)Comment
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Misha Mengelberg, Steve Lacy, George Lewis, Arjen Gorter & Han Bennink playing Herbie Nichols' 'House Party Starting' from the 1984 album 'Change of Season':
JRComment
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Coltrane - A Love Supreme, live.
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John Coltrane - AscensionComment
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