What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Joseph K]

Ant Law - The Sleeper Wakes

Not that I have listened to much jazz made/released this year, or indeed much contemporary jazz in general, but this has to be my favourite released this year ... which isn't saying much - but I do recommend people give it a listen. One of my favourite tunes is '2 Bridges' which on the album is about 5 minutes - here's a live version that's 15 ...

[Tenor Freak]

"After" - Wynton Marsalis quartet ft. Marcus Roberts on the joanna. From the LP "J Mood" (Columbia Records, 1986)

[Stanfordian]

‘Newer Than New’ - Barry Harris Quintet
with Lonnie Hillyer, Charles McPherson, Ernie Farrow & Clifford Jarvis
Riverside (1961)

[Joseph K]

Just discovered this -

[Joseph K]

Disk three is on now.

Just got round to finishing listening to this. WOW, it's so good, which of course I already knew and I know I've already waxed lyrical about this box and how the music is a fantastic blend of post-bop which turns into space-bop when they get all free and out, with the fiery drumming and electric keyboard of rock music, it's incredible... Can someone point me in the direction of jazz this good in this day and age? Because even the good stuff I've heard of recent stuff is not in the same ball-park as this.

[Serial_Apologist]

Just got round to finishing listening to this. WOW, it's so good, which of course I already knew and I know I've already waxed lyrical about this box and how the music is a fantastic blend of post-bop which turns into space-bop when they get all free and out, with the fiery drumming and electric keyboard of rock music, it's incredible... Can someone point me in the direction of jazz this good in this day and age? Because even the good stuff I've heard of recent stuff is not in the same ball-park as this.

There has been some steamy free jazz/funk/rock/dub (to coin a clumsy hybrid) under the name of Black Top in recent years, led by the London vibes and steel pan man Orphy Robinson at Cafe Oto, the Vortex and various other less publicised venues, and occasionally broadcast, Joseph K - more free improv than coming out of the Lifetime or Bitches Brew zeitgeist. Cred levels mean living legends get roped in too, as experienced here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBj6zZ4gg1M

[Joseph K]

There has been some steamy free jazz/funk/rock/dub (to coin a clumsy hybrid) under the name of Black Top in recent years, led by the London vibes and steel pan man Orphy Robinson at Cafe Oto, the Vortex and various other less publicised venues, and occasionally broadcast, Joseph K - more free improv than coming out of the Lifetime or Bitches Brew zeitgeist. Cred levels mean living legends get roped in too, as experienced here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBj6zZ4gg1M

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It's a shame the video doesn't show what's producing those electronic sounds - a keyboard of some sort, I'd've thought... EDIT: Ignore that, the camera's showing it now.

[Joseph K]

Miles at the Fillmore 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3

[Ian Thumwood]

Can someone point me in the direction of jazz this good in this day and age? Because even the good stuff I've heard of recent stuff is not in the same ball-park as this.

I am almost inclined to say that this is the wrong question. The second volume of the MD quintet from 1967 is exceptional and maybe gives as good an impression of what the band could achieve as anything recorded in the studio. I would be inclined to say that they could be better. The reason we are able to make these judgements is because someone had the good sense to record the material in the first place. Miles remains one of the most significant figures in jazz 30 years after his death and is amongst the Pantheon of players like Armstrong, Parker, Ellington, Coltrane, Ornette ,Rollins, etc who we should not surprised work at this level of creativity.

I think that the quality of music has not necessarily diminished since 1970 but that the drive has been towards increasingly better produced studio records. I am increasingly coming around to the idea that there is so much live jazz of various vintages being released these days that it will have a bearing on how the musical worth of many jazz musicians is assessed. No doubt this will apply to the current generation of players. A good example of this is the recently released Sonny Rollins record recorded in Holland which is garnering some very favourable assessments. We have already seen this before with the likes of Resonance issuing recordings of gigs by the likes of Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Miles and Cannonball as well the likes of Dennis Coffey who is largely unknown. There are also swathes of Coltrane concerts materialising too albeit he is a musician I feel has already been well documented insofar that we already knew he was a force of nature. In each case, the live recordings offer something new and demonstrate what can be achieved "in the moment."

I love Miles' work which ranks amongst the finest in jazz and we are fortunate to have live recordings which catch him throughout his prime. It does help that his music was pretty cranked up by this point in time where innovation was pretty wide-spread and the jazz started to follow different directions. This was an incredible period in the development of jazz. Has jazz deteriorated since this point as Joe is suggesting? To be honest, I feel that groups like the Wayne Shorter quartet have matched these levels since the late 1990s and there is a plenty to document just how good this band was both on CD and radio broadcasts. Much of their recorded output has been of live performances. I can also think of plenty other artists who have reached similar levels of creativity in a live environment and who have managed to get the music out to the public whether it is piano trios led by Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett or post-Miles quintets such as the exceptional one led by Dave Douglas which made an exceptional double album at the Jazz Standard in the mid 2000's. Live performances can be a hit and miss affair and sometimes it is nicer to have a fully-realised studio performance as opposed to a one off, live gig which doesn't quite happen or is uneven. That said, off the top of my head I would count live albums such as Betty Carter's "Feed the fire", any number of KJ's trios or even the exceptional "Personal Mountains" album with Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea's trio in Europe, last year's Paul Bley trio album, the aforementioned Dave Douglas double album as amongst the finest in my collection - all recorded after the MD concert in question. The recent Steve Coleman double album that was recorded live goes toe-to-toe with the later 1960s / early 70's Miles and really underscores that funk /rock elements can be blended in to jazz without any incongruity as well as Coleman's wider ambition with his music. It is arguably more interesting because of the concept he employs as the basis of the improvisations. (It is shocking just how overlooked Steve Coleman is these days! ) Gerald Clayton's recent VV album is also demonstrative of the sparks that can fly in a live session even in a post-bop situation. There is another VV gig that came out on record by Paul Motian's trio back in the late 1990s which is no less intense too although in a fashion that is entirely unique.

I do find it strange when people insist that something from the past is at a level that will never to achieved again or, conversely, that older stuff is inferior to contemporary artists' work. There is great, good and bad in all periods of jazz history and the great thing about it being improvisational is that it retains the possibility of achieving this again and again. Miles was a one off and for a period of about 25 years he was incredibly creative and set the tone for jazz. Luckily people were around to record his playing but they were absent earlier so we will never know that the Louis / Bix jam session was like or truly get to grips with the live jazz scene before the mid-1930s. Part of me is sympathetic to Joe's argument as there is a lot of indifferent jazz recorded today. There has, however, always been a lot of jazz which has been indifferent but nearly 100 years of analysis has created a narrative where we know broadly what jazz is important and , luckily where musicians had the fortune to be recorded, there are the resources available to rescue the reputations of musicians who have been neglected. Very few artists in 2021 are working at the same level at Miles in the 1960s but where the level remains high, few musicians are given the license to issue their live performances for release. For me, concentrating on Miles and Coltrane really does the music a disservice.

[Joseph K]

I am almost inclined to say that this is the wrong question. The second volume of the MD quintet from 1967

The second volume is from 1969.

Has jazz deteriorated since this point as Joe is suggesting?

Actually, I wasn't suggesting this - just that I couldn't think at the time of much contemporary jazz that was as great and suggestive of multiple directions as those live Miles 1969 recordings.

To be honest, I feel that groups like the Wayne Shorter quartet have matched these levels since the late 1990s and there is a plenty to document just how good this band was both on CD and radio broadcasts. Much of their recorded output has been of live performances.

I agree with you about the Wayne Shorter Quartet - I've seen them live a couple of times and I have 'Without a Net' - which I remember enjoying a great deal last time I listened to it.

I can also think of plenty other artists who have reached similar levels of creativity in a live environment and who have managed to get the music out to the public whether it is piano trios led by Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett or post-Miles quintets such as the exceptional one led by Dave Douglas which made an exceptional double album at the Jazz Standard in the mid 2000's. Live performances can be a hit and miss affair and sometimes it is nicer to have a fully-realised studio performance as opposed to a one off, live gig which doesn't quite happen or is uneven. That said, off the top of my head I would count live albums such as Betty Carter's "Feed the fire", any number of KJ's trios or even the exceptional "Personal Mountains" album with Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea's trio in Europe, last year's Paul Bley trio album, the aforementioned Dave Douglas double album as amongst the finest in my collection - all recorded after the MD concert in question. The recent Steve Coleman double album that was recorded live goes toe-to-toe with the later 1960s / early 70's Miles and really underscores that funk /rock elements can be blended in to jazz without any incongruity as well as Coleman's wider ambition with his music. It is arguably more interesting because of the concept he employs as the basis of the improvisations. (It is shocking just how overlooked Steve Coleman is these days! ) Gerald Clayton's recent VV album is also demonstrative of the sparks that can fly in a live session even in a post-bop situation. There is another VV gig that came out on record by Paul Motian's trio back in the late 1990s which is no less intense too although in a fashion that is entirely unique.

Thank you for these recommendations - this was precisely why I asked the question in the first place, to provoke someone into giving me recommendations.

I do find it strange when people insist that something from the past is at a level that will never to achieved again or, conversely, that older stuff is inferior to contemporary artists' work. There is great, good and bad in all periods of jazz history and the great thing about it being improvisational is that it retains the possibility of achieving this again and again. Miles was a one off and for a period of about 25 years he was incredibly creative and set the tone for jazz. Luckily people were around to record his playing but they were absent earlier so we will never know that the Louis / Bix jam session was like or truly get to grips with the live jazz scene before the mid-1930s. Part of me is sympathetic to Joe's argument as there is a lot of indifferent jazz recorded today. There has, however, always been a lot of jazz which has been indifferent but nearly 100 years of analysis has created a narrative where we know broadly what jazz is important and , luckily where musicians had the fortune to be recorded, there are the resources available to rescue the reputations of musicians who have been neglected. Very few artists in 2021 are working at the same level at Miles in the 1960s but where the level remains high, few musicians are given the license to issue their live performances for release.

See above - you've misinterpreted what I said. But...

For me, concentrating on Miles and Coltrane really does the music a disservice.

... why? I don't see why 'concentrating' on these musicians does 'the music' a disservice. I am a curious person and I ought to make more of an effort to check out more contemporary/recent jazz as well as more unfamiliar older stuff. TBH, as people on this forum might have observed, if they look not just exclusively on the jass bored it is a bit of a relevant topic/issue with me - trying to find/strike a balance between listening to my own personal warhorses and listening to music that I am less familiar with, and listening to music that I am not at all familiar with etc.

[Joseph K]

Joe Henderson - Our Thing

I listened to Inner Urge last night.

[Bert]

Came to this only a few years ago, looking for more Bobby Hutcherson performances. However, I became totally awed with the reeds boys, who were unknown to me! The drummist and the basser are superb musicians, again although not unknown to me, were not especially familiar. Methinks Soft Machine listened to this album.

Fabulous free/avant garde/post bop ........

And fabulous recording/sound quality. One of my most happy CD purchases.

[Stanfordian]

‘Our Thing’ - Joe Henderson
with Kenny Dorham Andrew Hill, Eddie Khan & Pete La Roca
Blue Note (1963)

'Snap', I've just seen Joseph K's choice for yesterday.

[Joseph K]

‘Our Thing’ - Joe Henderson
with Kenny Dorham Andrew Hill, Eddie Khan & Pete La Roca
Blue Note (1963)

'Snap', I've just seen Joseph K's choice for yesterday.

It's a fine record. And reminds me, I have a Kenny Dorham boxed set waiting to be opened.

[Stanfordian]

‘South Side Soul’ – The John Wright Trio
John Wright with Wendell Roberts & Walter McCants
Prestige (1960)