What Jazz are you listening to now?

[burning dog]

I heard once that Benjamin Britten had taken local Aldeburgh ice cream vendors to court over this,

Was hoping it was because they'd used a melody from Turn of the Screw

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Could always set up a Radio Jazz Message Board pirate station...although the "editorial meetings" would last forever...and end in bloody fist fights. "Not bloody Ayler again, what about some Junior Walker for the yoof?"

BN.

[Beef Oven!]

Around here they regularly break the 15-second or whatever it is) jingle duration limiting rule. Not wishing to be done over by a crowd of mums and small children I always refrain from complaining.

I heard once that Benjamin Britten had taken local Aldeburgh ice cream vendors to court over this, or threatened to, on account of them interfering with his inspiration!

Try getting an ice cream van and moving onto someone’s 'patch'. You’ll find the response at least as interesting as your friend’s experience with the competitor radio station!

Ben didn’t know what he could’ve been getting himself into!! Although it’s probably tamer in Aldeburgh!

[Serial_Apologist]

Try getting an ice cream van and moving onto someone’s 'patch'. You’ll find the response at least as interesting as your friend’s experience with the competitor radio station!

Ben didn’t know what he could’ve been getting himself into!! Although it’s probably tamer in Aldeburgh!

Yes, probably just one cornetto there.

[Stanfordian]

Blue Mitchell with Leo Wright, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Gene Taylor & Roy Brooks
'Step Lightly'
Blue Note (1963)

[Stanfordian]

Hank Mobley with Lee Morgan, Harold Mabern Jr, Larry Ridley & Billy Higgins
‘Dippin’’
Blue Note (1965)

[Ian Thumwood]

For the last few days I've been playing Miles Davis's "Seven steps to heaven." This is one of his records that I constantly return to having snapped it up a few years back because it was such a glaring omission from my collection. It is probably the most under-rated studio record he made and suffers from being seen as a "transitional" disc due to the fact that it features two groups, one of which is a pick up band made up of West Coast musicians. It is interesting to see how these two groups contrast because the group with Tony Williams on drums represents such a sea change from the tunes recorded in California. I can totally appreciate why the tracks with Hancock and Williams were seen as so revelatory yet the West Coast session has some of Miles' best ever trumpet playing on it and also benefits from Victor Feldman's exceptional piano which bridges the gap between where Bill Evans was coming from and where Herbie Hancock was heading to. The anachronism on these tracks is Frank Butler's drumming and this would not necessary be apparent if Williams was not debuting with Davis on the other tracks. I don't think that Butler's appearance is any less incongruous than the session Charlie Parker made with Buddy Rich on drums and the fact that Davis plays so well on the ballads makes Butler's 1950's -style of playing irrelevant . Feldman is a revelation and his comping is absolutely spot on. It is interesting to see just how many "transitional" records Davis made between the two, great quintets but, of the studio records, I keep feeling that "Seven steps to heaven" is far, far superior to more celebrated records like "Milestones" and it is the one record I would select as an example of his ability as a trumpet player as opposed to a band-leader or a record that defined a change in the style of jazz. For me, Miles' best playing is included on this disc.

[Serial_Apologist]

For the last few days I've been playing Miles Davis's "Seven steps to heaven." This is one of his records that I constantly return to having snapped it up a few years back because it was such a glaring omission from my collection. It is probably the most under-rated studio record he made and suffers from being seen as a "transitional" disc due to the fact that it features two groups, one of which is a pick up band made up of West Coast musicians. It is interesting to see how these two groups contrast because the group with Tony Williams on drums represents such a sea change from the tunes recorded in California. I can totally appreciate why the tracks with Hancock and Williams were seen as so revelatory yet the West Coast session has some of Miles' best ever trumpet playing on it and also benefits from Victor Feldman's exceptional piano which bridges the gap between where Bill Evans was coming from and where Herbie Hancock was heading to. The anachronism on these tracks is Frank Butler's drumming and this would not necessary be apparent if Williams was not debuting with Davis on the other tracks. I don't think that Butler's appearance is any less incongruous than the session Charlie Parker made with Buddy Rich on drums and the fact that Davis plays so well on the ballads makes Butler's 1950's -style of playing irrelevant . Feldman is a revelation and his comping is absolutely spot on. It is interesting to see just how many "transitional" records Davis made between the two, great quintets but, of the studio records, I keep feeling that "Seven steps to heaven" is far, far superior to more celebrated records like "Milestones" and it is the one record I would select as an example of his ability as a trumpet player as opposed to a band-leader or a record that defined a change in the style of jazz. For me, Miles' best playing is included on this disc.

Have to say I totally agree with you on this one, Ian. One of the things you comment on is Victor Feldman's playing, and how it represents the bridge between Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock is indeed revelatory, inasmuch as in terms of harmonic thinking and his emphases and approaches to of chord spacing Feldman seems to anticipate the direction this band would take after he left - in itself remarkable considering the short time he had been in America, and I don't think ever mentioned elsewhere, though these things have long occurred to me.

[Stanfordian]

Jackie McLean with Grachan Moncur II, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Ridley & Roy Haynes
'Destination... Out!'
Blue Note (1963)

[Stanfordian]

Joe Henderson with McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw & Elvin Jones
‘Inner Urge’
Blue Note (1964)

[Ian Thumwood]

"Sedimental you" - Mark Dresser Seven

Nicole Mitchell (flutes, Marty Ehrlich (clarinets), David Morales Boroff (violin), Michael Dessen (trombone), Joshua White (piano), Mark Dresser (bass) and Jim Black (drums.)

Shame that the piano is a bit out of tune on some tracks but this is probably as good as an example of how good the current avant garde is but with the likes of Mitchell and Ehrlich on board it was never going to be less than interesting.

[Stanfordian]

Dexter Gordon with Donald Byrd, Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen & Art Taylor
'One Flight Up'
Blue Note (1964)

[Lat-Literal]

Allen Toussaint performing Earl King's "Big Chief" from the posthumous 2016 album "American Tunes":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKhE8YNU4cQ

(one that got away from my round-up of the year)

[Ian Thumwood]

I snapped up the latest Gregory Porter CD which was going really cheaply on Amazon. I must admit that I really like his music and thin he is a breath of fresh air to jazz - bringing the music to a wider audience whilst not compromising on the integrity. He is really what jazz needs at the moment. There is a tendency for the slower piece to seem a bit too similar on "Take me to the alley" and the use of a backbeat on a number of the tracks marks this as being a bit more commercial than the previous album. There is certainly a "pop" element on this record albeit refracted through the lens of jazz. I think there were lengthier solos on his last album yet the up-tempo tracks offer a kind of Horace Silver hipness plus vocals which is really welcome. Oddly, the best stuff is at the end of this disc and it is really good. I really like his pianist but he doesn't feature quite as heavily as before.

Usually I shy away from any jazz that seems hyped up but I think that it is reassuring that Gregory Porter enjoys probably the highest profile in jazz at the moment when , for the most part, he is probably the most significant male jazz vocalist of his generation. The hype is totally justified especially when so much music which enjoys a similar kind of media attention in the mainstream isn't worth a ****.

[Stanfordian]

Ben Webster with Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Les McCann, Lawrence 'Tricky' Lofton, George Freeman, Herbie Lewis & Ron Jefferson
'Groove' - The Complete Legendary 1961 Sessions
Pacific Jazz (1961)