What Jazz are you listening to now?

[burning dog]

Miroslav Vitous - "Mountain in the Clouds" - Side A.

Early jazz-rock, when it was still about breaking free within loosened structures. I expect Joseph K knows this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zybqu7iCBo

Miroslav Vitous - bass
Joe Henderson - tenor sax
Herbie Hancock - electric piano
John McLaughlin - guitar
Jack DeJohnette/Joe Chambers -drums - Nov 1969.

Great record ! (with 2 names?)

[Joseph K]

Miroslav Vitous - "Mountain in the Clouds" - Side A.

Early jazz-rock, when it was still about breaking free within loosened structures. I expect Joseph K knows this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zybqu7iCBo

Miroslav Vitous - bass
Joe Henderson - tenor sax
Herbie Hancock - electric piano
John McLaughlin - guitar
Jack DeJohnette/Joe Chambers -drums - Nov 1969.

Yes, I do. Fantastic version of Freedom Jazz Dance - thanks for reminding me. I have the CD knocking about somewhere...

[Ian Thumwood]

I have to agree with Richard about Andrew Hill's "Judgement." I really regret not buying more of Hill's Blue Note output when it was available but have to say that this quartet offering is the pick of the bunch for me. The comparison with the MJQ is interesting because there is nearly a twenty year gap between the two groups and I do not really see John Lewis or Andrew Hill have the same objectives for their respective approaches to this format. What I would say is that Hutcherson also appeared in similar line ups with Herbie Hancock called "Happenings" and "Oblique." Neither album is particularly well known but I would put to Richard that they are equally as good as "Judgement." In fact, the "free composition"on "Haooenings" is fascinating for me as I feel it shows Herbie at his most outside, taking the music as far from it's structure as Cecil Taylor might have done but bringing his personal and less atonal approach to harmony with it. All three albums are, in my opinion, essential and represent a high point for Blue Note at that time. In fact it is difficult to go wrong with anything with Hutcherson from this period. I admire the MJQ's use of counterpoint and appreciate their ability to work as a group. The problem for me in comparison is that John Lewis is far from being the equal of either Hancock or Hill as a pianist and as interesting as his concept was in it's way, their music was squarely within the mainstream even in it's time. In comparison with Hill's quartet, they can tend to sound a bit twee and I think that you need to listen closely to the mechanics to appreciate what they were doing. I recall they made an exceptional Duke Ellington tribute album in the 1980s whereas I would argue that Hill himself is something of a musical descendent of the Duke.

I have been digging out some albums I have not played of late and contrary to the Vitous disc, are probably not going to be on Joe's radar either. The first is Keefe Jackson's debut album "Seeing you see" which features the leader on tenor and clairnets, the great Jeb Bishop on trombone. Jason Roebke on bass and Noritaka Tanaka on drums - this was before the Americans deported him back to Japan. The music recalls some of the great Free Jazz of the 1960s although I would say that there is a great deal more listening between the musicians on this record. Jackson no longer seems to enjoy the kind of profile he enjoyed in the 2010s and Jeb Bishop has almost vanished. For me, Bishop is like an avant garde Jack Teagarden and a musician whose work is to be cherised.

The same label Clean Feed also issued the all-star Eric Revis quartet album "Parallax" that features Nasheet Waits, Ken Vandermark and Jason Maron. I wish Moran would produce more work in this kind of aggressive, avant garde tontext. Some of the music has a corruscating quality about it yet the band is still savvy enough to cover both Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton. This album is absolutely brilliant and the follow up disc with Kris Davis on piano is almost as good.

Picking up on Richard's comment about the state of contemporary jazz, you could do a lot worse than pick up music from the Clean Feed label . The recent Mario Pavone album was also issued on this label which is pretty much the "go to" label for cutting edge contemporary jazz.

[Stanfordian]

'Kenny Burrell' also released as 'Blue Moods' – Kenny Burrell
with Cecil Payne, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins & Elvin Jones
Prestige (1957)

[Jazzrook]

Bobby Hutcherson with Harold Land, Chick Corea, Reggie Johnson & Joe Chambers playing Herzog from the 1968 album 'Total Eclipse':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=c6P4ckoHqlY

JR

[Joseph K]

Miles Davis - Miles at the Fillmore: 1970 The Bootleg Series 3

First disk of this.

... edit: this is pretty fantastic...

Disk 3 now.

[Joseph K]

[Ian Thumwood]

I have been listening to the James Brandon Lewis album "Jesup Wagon" which has been featured in a number opf 2021's "Best of ..." lists. The line up includes basist William POarker and the cornet of Kirk Knuffke and also features a cello played pizzacato akin to when Coltrane used a second bassist. Upon the first listen my immediate thought was that Jazzrook would love this music. It take's it's cues from the late 1960s avant garde and Lewis reminds me a lot of players like Dewey Redman and Frank Lowe. With the passage of time, I suppose this music has become mainstream but it does not take away the shear power and brilliance of what has been produced. There is a tremendous rocking energy about the music.

I keep on seeing James Brandon Lewis being mentioned in reviews but cannot recall him being discussed on this board. The music is absoutely brilliant and you can see why he is being talked about in reverred tones. This is also something that will, I would imagine, appeal to the more avant leanings of Bluesnik and Elmo. The cello of Chris Hoffman adds an almost African feel to the music, an effect added when drummer Chad Taylor plays mbira. There is something of the spiritual element of Coltrane in the music too albeit there is a more rustic feel to the compositions which perhaps recalls Albert Ayler more strongly. The music is hugely impressive and if Joseph wants to explore the legacy of Coltrane's music in to the 21st Century, I would suggest that Lewis can be added to the name of JD Allen as very good starting points.

From my perspective, I love it when I stumble upon new players like this who are something of a revelation. It does seem to underscore my perception that the better jazz being produced these days seems to be issued by smaller , independent record labels.

[Joseph K]

Thanks for the tip, Ian.

Disk 3 now.

Disk 4 now - the last one.

[RichardB]

Vijay Iyer Trio - Uneasy. I've heard many good things about Iyer and in particular his collaboration with Tyshawn Sorey, but this music left me somewhat cold. To me it seems comfortably aimless and content to stay within its own tidy boundaries.

[Jazzrook]

I have been listening to the James Brandon Lewis album "Jesup Wagon" which has been featured in a number opf 2021's "Best of ..." lists. The line up includes basist William POarker and the cornet of Kirk Knuffke and also features a cello played pizzacato akin to when Coltrane used a second bassist. Upon the first listen my immediate thought was that Jazzrook would love this music. It take's it's cues from the late 1960s avant garde and Lewis reminds me a lot of players like Dewey Redman and Frank Lowe. With the passage of time, I suppose this music has become mainstream but it does not take away the shear power and brilliance of what has been produced. There is a tremendous rocking energy about the music.

I keep on seeing James Brandon Lewis being mentioned in reviews but cannot recall him being discussed on this board. The music is absoutely brilliant and you can see why he is being talked about in reverred tones. This is also something that will, I would imagine, appeal to the more avant leanings of Bluesnik and Elmo. The cello of Chris Hoffman adds an almost African feel to the music, an effect added when drummer Chad Taylor plays mbira. There is something of the spiritual element of Coltrane in the music too albeit there is a more rustic feel to the compositions which perhaps recalls Albert Ayler more strongly. The music is hugely impressive and if Joseph wants to explore the legacy of Coltrane's music in to the 21st Century, I would suggest that Lewis can be added to the name of JD Allen as very good starting points.

From my perspective, I love it when I stumble upon new players like this who are something of a revelation. It does seem to underscore my perception that the better jazz being produced these days seems to be issued by smaller , independent record labels.

Cheers, Ian.
Will try to check out the James Brandon Lewis album.
Here he is with Chad Taylor, live in Brooklyn:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=aEBJuCowRZk

JR

[Joseph K]

... Just now getting round to listening to the rest of the aforementioned fourth disk, and I've discovered I can share this excellent version of this tune with everyone. I think Steve Grossman always sounded better on soprano sax.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I know Stan Getz is not everybody's favourite around here, or even anybody's, but this is such a great duo tenor sax and piano performance by himself and Kenny Barron, Montmartre, Copenhagen, 1991, near the end for Stan..."Night and Day".
http://youtu.be/wjQaLkUuDi4 Merry CHRISTMAS.

[Serial_Apologist]

Cheers, Ian.
Will try to check out the James Brandon Lewis album.
Here he is with Chad Taylor, live in Brooklyn:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=aEBJuCowRZk

JR

We have a few over here who've made this approach their own for over 30 years.

[Ian Thumwood]

[QUOTE=Serial_Apologist;869940]We have a few over here who've made this approach their own for over 30 years.[/QUOTE

"Jessop Wagon" album features in more "Best of 2021" lists compiled by a number of critics who write for Downbeat than anything else. Anything with William Parker features is worth a punt! What I find interesting is that absence of big names within the lists with a lot of avant garde material seemingly dominating including the 10CD William Parker release. I have found 2021 a wierd year for new releases with newer artists like Emmet Cohen setting a trend for me with the kind of jazz that in the past Wynton has received brickbats for but someone manages to sound very manufactured and contrived. For me, it does seem to illustrate that American critics are often quite inconsistent. Cohen's disc is almost a facsimile of jazz to my ears. Quite shocked at how "conservative" Cohen transpired to be in my opinion given the amount of puff surrounding his. It is quite interesting to see just how prominent the newer avant garde releases are in these lists and also to note that seeming fall from grace of ECM which received very few nominations. i bought the Shai Maestro album which sounded impressive in the samples I heard and compelling enough for me to order. I quite like the album although it does seem very middle of the road in comparison with the more experimental stuff issued on Cuneiform, Tao and Clean Feed, etc.

"Jessop Wagon" would have to be amongst the best new albums I bought this year and maybe only matched by Marion Pavone's "Isabella" which I thought was brilliant. The Chick Corea solo double CD was excellent too and I also liked Dave Holland's new trio disc. I find Dave Holland's recorded music to be of the highest standard and remarkably consistent and the new album is one that has grown on me. The new Kate McGary disc is also very good even if I do not think i will have much appeal in this room.

Waiting for Mario Pavone's "Blue Vertical" to arrive which features another quartet with Tayshawn Sorey , Matt Mitchell and Dave Ballou.