What Jazz are you listening to now?

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Sonny Rollins & Co (Inc a young Herbie Hancock), "Winter Wonderland" (RCA 1960s), my favourite Christmas + Jazzzzzz recording). Seasonal wishes to all, and thanks to SA for all those listings and Alyn for playing my requests! And what a year....
As someone said, "think positive, test negative" (copious red wine certainly helps),

http://youtu.be/chfdV2bpllg

[Serial_Apologist]

Sonny Rollins & Co (Inc a young Herbie Hancock), "Winter Wonderland" (RCA 1960s), my favourite Christmas + Jazzzzzz recording). Seasonal wishes to all, and thanks to SA for all those listings and Alyn for playing my requests! And what a year....
As someone said, "think positive, test negative" (copious red wine certainly helps),
http://youtu.be/chfdV2bpllg

Thanks in return Bluesie - it's a pleasure, thinking up those headings week by week.

[Stanfordian]

‘Gravy Train’ - Lou Donaldson
with Herman Foster, Ben Tucker, Dave Bailey & Alec Dorsey
Blue Note (1961)

[Joseph K]

The New Miles Davis Quintet

[Joseph K]

Wayne Shorter - Juju

[Stanfordian]

‘Tenor Madness’ – Sonny Rollins
with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers & Philly Joe Jones
Prestige Records (1956)

[Joseph K]

‘Tenor Madness’ – Sonny Rollins
with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers & Philly Joe Jones
Prestige Records (1956)

Miles Davis - Steamin'

[Ian Thumwood]

Been playing some Cannonball Adderley this evening - a good antidote to this evening's news.

Back in the days of the old Chatroom, Adderley used to get a really rough ride, especially from Mr Improv who refused to listen to his solos on Miles' Kind of Blue." One of my older friends told me that historically Adderley was vilified by critics who considered him to be populist and over-reliant on funkiness back in the 1960s. I think Cannonball was also unfortunate to be eclipsed somewhat by Eric Dolphy who received far greater traction amongst fans and critics in Europe. Adderley's roots in Bebop also seemed to count against him and his ability to communicate and connect with his audiences was always going to mean that his music cut more ice in America than over here where this kind of approach has probably been frowned upon.

I think that the element that does count against Cannonball amongst many fans is the fact that he was more keen to take his music towards his audience as opposed to letting the audience try to approach his music on his own terms. Adderley's music has always been accessible. I don't feel that it takes a huge leap to go from Cannonball Adderley's own groups to the music played by the likes of Grover Washington, Dan Sanborn and a number of the Smooth / Fusion artists of the late 70s / 1980's. For me, many of these players took something of Cannonball in their playing and you can appreciate why some fans and critics might therefore be sniffy about Adderley even though more "traditional" players like Arthur Blythe and Kenny Garrett also owe Cannonball a depth of gratitude too.

I think there is probably a degree of laziness in pigeon-holing Adderley's playing. For my money, his solos are the most interesting thing about "Kind of blue" and he is also hugely impressive on Miles' "Milestones" album. It is almost as if he is a different musician in this context and maybe slightly ahead of the curve on John Coltrane at this point. His harmonic language is much edgier than on his more familiar albums and the same can be said for the exceptional album "Something Else" where he invites his boss to share the front line and produce his best work outside of any group led by the trumpeter. If you took these three albums alone, I think that anyone dismissing Adderley would have to be considered as misguided. I would also have to say that the recordings of jazz classics made by Gil Evans on the "New bottle, old wine" sessions always seem to be dominated by either Adderley or Steve Lacy - both of whom are essential ingredients as to why this record is so good.

I have also been checking out "Cannonball's Sharpshooters" which was recorded a few days before "Something Else" and the results are markedly less interesting. Adderley's insistence that he was a "mainstream man" seem borne out on this record. The music is Ok albeit pretty standard be-bop. He always seemed to be a strong soloist yet in the company of Davis, his harmonic language seems several steps beyond Charlie Parker and maybe closer to Eric Dolphy from the point of being radical. I need to listen to this record again although not before a play something by his later quintet first.

Of all the towering figures from the 50s and 60s that get mentioned on this board, Adderley seems to be rather neglected. Whenever I listen to him, I feel he was a great communicator as a soloist and seriously under-rated as a musician. I think he is someone who has been rather taken for granted or evaluated against records where he was at odds with how the forefront of jazz was going in the 1960s as opposed to a more judicious appraisal of his better work.

[Stanfordian]

‘The Soul of Ben Webster’
Ben Webster with Harold Ashby, Art Farmer, Mundell Lowe, Jimmy Jones, Milt Hinton & Dave Bailey
Verve (1958)

[Ian Thumwood]

‘The Soul of Ben Webster’
with Harold Ashby, Art Farmer, Mundell Lowe, Jimmy Jones, Milt Hinton & Dave Bailey
Verve (1958)

Happy Christmas, everyone on this "bored."

[Serial_Apologist]

Happy Christmas, everyone on this "bored."

And to yourself, and all others.

[Joseph K]

Happy Christmas everyone!

Miles Davis - Workin'

I think this may well be my favourite Miles Prestige album

[burning dog]

Seasons greetings to all


Dex

Ray Charles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-3INb4E26k

Bill Evans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohFNLF_8Dik

[Joseph K]

Miles Davis - Relaxin'

[Serial_Apologist]

Finished off my Christmas music listening sesh with Johnny Dankworth's "What the Dickens" which after all these years, for me, remains one of the finest pieces of composed English jazz, vividly redolent of its time and place. Dank wanted to showcase all his soloists so they are a bit crammed in, but the playing was and still sounds really good demonstrating mastery of various US models on offer. I guess the suite would have taken about 2 hours to perform in total, had the players been allowed to stretch out.