What Jazz are you listening to now?

[elmo]

Just bought the new reissue of Mingus Three album originally a Jubilee album from 1957 with Hampton Hawes and Dannie Richmond. A somewhat neglected album that I always liked - especially Hampton Hawes. This new reissue is a double (CD) album that includes a whole cd of previously and alternate tracks and its very good. Its issued by Rhino- here is one of the unissued tracks.

https://youtu.be/rsCLjJoMDLg

elmo

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I also really like that Mingus trio album with Hawes. I've seen suggestions elsewhere (Organissimo) that it's routine or that Hawes was strung out etc. Hence the story about Sonny Clark playing a closing phrase on one track? But I don't get any of that listening to it. Smashing.

[Jazzrook]

George Russell Sextet with Don Ellis, Dave Baker, Eric Dolphy, Steve Swallow & Joe Hunt playing Dave Baker's 'Honesty' from the 1961 album 'Ezz-thetics::

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Gn4-Fgoe2kI

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

George Russell Sextet with Don Ellis, Dave Baker, Eric Dolphy, Steve Swallow & Joe Hunt playing Dave Baker's 'Honesty' from the 1961 album 'Ezz-thetics::

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Gn4-Fgoe2kI

JR

One of the best ever versions of 'Round Midnight on that album.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I was listening to this album yesterday, Sahib Shihab - "Shihab Jazz"1957, on Savoy. Sahib baritone, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Oscar Petrified, Bill Evans!!! It's surprisingly good and surprisingly little known for a line up like that.

Here's "Blu-a-Round" a longish piece that to me has some Mingus overtones. Really impressive...

http://youtu.be/U8Krzo_DOPQ

[Serial_Apologist]

I was listening to this album yesterday, Sahib Shihab - "Shihab Jazz"1957, on Savoy. Sahib baritone, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Oscar Petrified, Bill Evans!!! It's surprisingly good and surprisingly little known for a line up like that.

Here's "Blu-a-Round" a longish piece that to me has some Mingus overtones. Really impressive...
http://youtu.be/U8Krzo_DOPQ

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Oh NO! The spell check strikes! I'm sure Oscar Pettiford wasn't prettified, maybe just a little nervous when the red light came on.

[Ian Thumwood]

Sahib Shihab's name keeps on popping on in discographies. I always associate him with the Kenny Clarke / Frnacy Boland big band from the late 1960s which seems all but forgotten in this thread. When I was getting into jazz around 1980/1, this band still seemed to be considered contemporary. Never really tied up the fact that he had also featured with Mingus - I think in the "Ah um" album.

I have been listening to some contrasting styles of jazz today. I dug out one of the more recent Gerald Wilson Big band albums which includes a Suite dedicated to Chicago along with some adaptations of classical works by Puccini, Stravinsky and Debussy - Clair de Lune being recast into a distorted and dissonant blues which I think is a massive contrast to what most people might have expected. "Nessun dorma" is also really effective but the theme is only really stated at the end. There was a thread a month ago about jazz versions of classical repertoire and I think that Wilson's approach is best described as Ellingtonian with liberties taken with the reharmonisation that have an excitement due to the fact that he takes things so closely to the point of collapse. It is interesting reading the comments about Mingus as he is another composer who could not have existed without Ellington. However, his approach is totally different to Wilson and I would argue that his themes are more original. By contrast, the themes Wilson employs are probably more orthodox yet I feel he is more schooled as an orchestrator. I love the fact that Ellington is so influential and that , despite supposedly more "progressive" arrangers from Evans, Mulligan and on to Schneider taking an alternative path, the route taken by the Duke still seems viable. One of the best albums I have bought recently is by the UMO Jazz orchestra of Finland playing charts by Muhal Richard Abrams. The music is incredible but, yet again, there is an exceptional cover of Ellington's "Melancholia" as well as a recognition that post-serial classical muic and Ellington are not such unusual bed fellows. I have to say that , in the basis of this album, Abrams was an extremely impressive jazz composer and, in my opinion, working at a far higher level than Mingus. Not quite sure why Abrams is so neglected. I wish I had discovered him earlier and you wonder if, like Herbie Nichols or Andrew Hill, it will take some time for people to appreciate just how good he was. The UMO JAZZ ORCHESTRA is terrific , though.

[Stanfordian]

‘Elvin!’ – Elvin Jones
with Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Hank Jones & Art Davis
Riverside (rec. 1961/62)

[Tenor Freak]

Paul Motian quartet w/ Dewey Redman ts, Mick Goodrick g, Charlie Haden b. Recorded in Tampere 1 Nov 86.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG1hk-PhrV8

[Stanfordian]

‘Art Farmer Quintet featuring Gigi Gryce’
with Duke Jordan, Addison Farmer & Philly Joe Jones
Prestige (1955)

[Jazzrook]

Pete LaRoca, John Gilmore, Chick Corea & Walter Booker playing 'Sin Street' from the 1967 album 'Turkish Women At The Bath':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=u1o_u-l44Fw

JR

[Joseph K]

Toots Thielemans would have been 100 today.

[Ian Thumwood]

I have been playing an album that I have not played for years and which was once described in "Wire" as one of the most important albums if the 1980s. It is quite funny to look back to this as John Surman's "The amazing adventures of Simon, Simon" was the record which pushed open the door to his music for me having initially been totally shocked by a duet he made with Karin Krog called "My friends" which frightened the living daylights out of me when I was about 15 and hugely in to Coleman Hawkins ! "Simon, Simon" is a uet with drummer Jack DeJohnette (another family member!) and I loved this album at the time. It seemed so innovative and original back in 1986 when I discovered it. Listening again, it still holds up after 41 years and demonstrates just how varied jazz was by then. I owes nothing to either Miles or Coltrane and perhaps more to English folk music. The use of multi-tracking and keyboards was cutting edge at the time but , luckily, the synth was used really sparingly on this record. There was a feature on JRR about great jazz ballads and would suggest that the track "Fide et amore" is as good a baritone ballad as you can get.

This is probably a disc that Bruce will have. Not too sure if it would appeal to any of the other regulars. In my opinion, it is a great record, though.

[Stanfordian]

‘Happenings’ – Bobby Hutcherson
with Herbie Hancock, Bob Cranshaw & Joe Chambers
Blue Note (1966)