What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Jazzrook]

Eric Dolphy playing 'Jim Crow'(Bob James' retitled composition 'A Personal Statement') in 1964 from the album 'Other Aspects':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=UMNM23YlcH0

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

Picking up on Richard's comment about maverick guitarists, I have been playing rhe new Mary Halvorson record "Amaryllis" which feautes a sextet augmented with a string quartet on a number of tracks. This record has already been cited as one of the best albums of 2022 although I have also read comments on line where Halvorson's ability as a guitarist has been savaged. I can understand why her playing is divisive and, like fellow guitarist Jeff Parker, she is very much the andedote to players like Metheny, Stern, Scofield and Abercrombie who dominated the 1980s. If anything, she is very much her own thing just as much as players like Bill Frisell and Derek Bailey have been. I think it has been really difficult for jazz guitar to escape the shadow of players like Frisell, Scofield, Abercrombie and Metheny but, for my money Mary Halvorson, Jeff Parker and Lionel Loueke are perhaps the only three to offer an approach which is not derivative of this early generation and, in the case of the first two, perhaps offer a solution as to how Derek Bailey's more radical approach can be emcompassed in a more overt jazz tradition.

The new album is pretty similar to her previous "illusionary sea" which featured a similar sized groups and show-cased her writing abilities. I think that, if anything, "Amaryllis" is even better. Trombonist Jacob Garchick is a standout and I think the trumpeter Adam O'Farrill proves his pedigree. However, the stand out name for me is the vibes player Patricia Brennan who has replaced the saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock to the effect of lending the group a feel of early 1970s Gary Burton. The only downside is the somewhat stingy playing time but this is a terrific album which does a lot of demonstrate Halvorson's writing abilities. I suppose you could argue that having signed to a bigger label in Nonesuch, the more eccentric elements of her playing have been replaced with a new maturity. I think this is a record which would appeal to Richard but perhaps also capture a wider net and appeal to the likes of Jazzrook , SA and Elmo. The odd tunings and lack of virtuosic flights of fancy will almost certainly put resident guitar enthusiast Joseph off.

[Joseph K]

The odd tunings and lack of virtuosic flights of fancy will almost certainly put resident guitar enthusiast Joseph off.

If you say so Ian - but I am a fan of Ant Law who tunes in fourths. It's also not completely unknown for me to listen to Sonic Youth who are decidedly less virtuosic than Halvorson and use rather more obscure tunings than she does.

[RichardB]

The odd tunings and lack of virtuosic flights of fancy will almost certainly put resident guitar enthusiast Joseph off.

She can do the virtuoso thing when she wants to though, as in the recordings she made as a sideperson to Braxton.

[Joseph K]

She can do the virtuoso thing when she wants to though, as in the recordings she made as a sideperson to Braxton.

Ian might be surprised but I checked out Halvorson ages ago and discovered quickly that she has ample chops.

[Ian Thumwood]

Ian might be surprised but I checked out Halvorson ages ago and discovered quickly that she has ample chops.

I agree but she is not universally appreciated and you can find some quite fierce and unreasonable criticism of her playing on places like Youtube. In my opinion, she is an original. I am not familiar with her work with Braxton who has been instrumental as an influence but I also think that her own work probably also factors in her studies with her other mentor, Philip Catherine. The new album is a gem, though. The other musicians get ample chance to demonstrate their ability. I particularly like Jacob Garchik who reminds me a bit of Jeb Bishop. The music is still quite edgy although I think it is not at all inaccessible. Probably the best new release I have acquired this year.

[Joseph K]

Yeah, I don't bother reading things like youtube comments, usually.

I'm listening to her new record and really enjoying it - quite a bit more than the last one of hers I remember listening to.

[Stanfordian]

Eric Dolphy playing 'Jim Crow'(Bob James' retitled composition 'A Personal Statement') in 1964 from the album 'Other Aspects':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=UMNM23YlcH0

JR

Hiya JR,

I've just listened to Eric Dolphy playing 'Jim Crow' & other tracks on YouTube. I turned it off double quick - not my cup of tea at all.

[Serial_Apologist]

Hiya JR,

I've just listened to Eric Dolphy playing 'Jim Crow' & other tracks on YouTube. I turned it off double quick - not my cup of tea at all.

I thought that track remarkable! Hadn't known about that band previously. Bob James was a genuine innovator in the 1960s, and only later became known as a harbinger of Smooth Jazz from a decade later.

[Joseph K]

I thought that track remarkable!

Agreed...

[Stanfordian]

‘The Complete 1960 Sextet Jazz Cellar Session’ – Ben Webster & Johnny Hodges
with Lou Levy, Herb Ellis, Wilfred Middlebrooks, Gus Johnson
Wax Time (1960)

[Stanfordian]

‘Moanin'’ – Art Blakey (originally titled Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers)
with Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons & Jymie Merritt
Blue Note (1958)

[Stanfordian]

‘Moanin'’ – Art Blakey (originally titled Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers)
with Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons & Jymie Merritt
Blue Note (1958)

I just love the title track 'Moanin''

[Serial_Apologist]

‘Moanin'’ – Art Blakey (originally titled Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers)
with Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons & Jymie Merritt
Blue Note (1958)

I just love the title track 'Moanin''

Indeed - is it not in fact the original version?

[Jazzrook]

Shelly Manne & His Men with Joe Gordon, Richie Kamuca, Victor Feldman & Monty Budwig playing Horace Silver's 'How Deep Are The Roots' live at The Black Hawk in 1959:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=F-kNIbv8QkA

JR