What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Stanfordian]

‘True Blue’ – Tina Brooks
with Freddie Hubbard, Duke Jordon, Sam Jones & Art Taylor
Blue Note (1960) re-mastered edition (2005)

[Ian Thumwood]

Henry Red Allen with Pee wee Russell, Fats Waller, Tommy Dorsey, Happy Caldwell, Pops Foster 'Who stole the lock'

Listening to lots of Henry Red lately and this track makes me think of Steve Lacy's comment regarding when everything comes together the band 'lifts the bandstand' in pure exhilaration. this track I think proves it.

What would be your suggestions (all era's of jazz) of bandstand lifting?

https://youtu.be/ibKx1BbVQ9I

elmo

I think that the description of "band stand lifting" is really apt. There was a story that the tuba player with McKinney's Cotton Pickers, Ralph Escudero 9One of the first Afo-Cuban musicians in jazz) had to have his foot tied to the chair during this band's first recording studio because his tapping of his feet initially came through in the recording. One of the best description of the excitement of a live performance is from the "Remembering Bix" book by Ralph Berton where a gig by the Wolverines in Gary, Indianna is recounted.

I have been thinking about this all week and think there are 100s of live recordings where this "band stand lifting " has happened was on the Bennie Moten recording of "Blue Room" where the band the arrangement of the standard seemingly reaches a conclusion after 2 minutes before the band launches into two choruses based on some exteemely exciting riffs. Pretty obvious that Basie and Durham were the inspiration behind this chart's transformation and I think it matches the category.

[Stanfordian]

'The Real McCoy' – McCoy Tyner
with Joe Henderson, Ron Carter & Elvin Jones
Blue Note (1967)

[Ian Thumwood]

I have been listening to Mario Pavone's sextet album "Vertical" which features a trombone, tenor / soprano, clarinet / bass clarinet and trumpet - the latter played by Dave Ballou who also wrote the charts. i am not sure if this album is as good as the two discs by the bassist that were issued postumously last year but it is an album that is fascinating. The music cannot be called avant garde yet it offers a considered and fascinating approach to post-bop. The themes are quite distinctive and the arrangements tend to be written to make the most of the material. The trombonist Pete McEachern is a new name to me and has apparently worked for the likes of Gatemouth Brown, LaMonte Young, AndrewcCyrille, Anthony Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams. I was curious to see if he was related to trombonist Murray McEachern who worked with the Casa loma orchestra in the 1930s before doing a lot of studio work in the 1950s.

For my money Mario Pavone was quite a distinctive and original voice in jazz and maybe akin to someone like David Binney who also works in the post-bop realms of jazz albeit pretty far from the mainstream. I quite ike "Vertical" and the larger ensemble serves to make his music that little bit more accessible.

[elmo]

I think that the description of "band stand lifting" is really apt. There was a story that the tuba player with McKinney's Cotton Pickers, Ralph Escudero 9One of the first Afo-Cuban musicians in jazz) had to have his foot tied to the chair during this band's first recording studio because his tapping of his feet initially came through in the recording. One of the best description of the excitement of a live performance is from the "Remembering Bix" book by Ralph Berton where a gig by the Wolverines in Gary, Indianna is recounted.

I have been thinking about this all week and think there are 100s of live recordings where this "band stand lifting " has happened was on the Bennie Moten recording of "Blue Room" where the band the arrangement of the standard seemingly reaches a conclusion after 2 minutes before the band launches into two choruses based on some exteemely exciting riffs. Pretty obvious that Basie and Durham were the inspiration behind this chart's transformation and I think it matches the category.

Ian - Yeah that is a great track, I like the way it builds and as you say Basie was pushing the band along in the direction of his own band soon after these recordings. Definitely a bandstand lifter.

How about this from a later period Blakey and Wayne on this pretty well shred the bandstand on this with Blakey audibly urging Wayne to even greater heights. One of the fieriest studio sessions ever.

https://youtu.be/GJBLA39spc4

elmo

[elmo]

While I think of it here is another completely different sort of track from the Blakey - The Brubeck Quartet from " Jazz at Oberlin" The way look tonight, tremendous Paul Desmond solo and the band (although Desmond and Brubeck had a big fall out before the gig established a great rapport with the audience.

https://youtu.be/0fommAa94ow

elmo

[Jazzrook]

Cecil Taylor with Steve Lacy, Buell Neidlinger & Dennis Charles playing Billy Strayhorn's 'Johnny Come Lately' at Newport, 1957. Think this "lifts the bandstand":

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=kqnM3m4jTi4

JR

[elmo]

Gil plays Bird

https://youtu.be/NQxw6pcZohA

elmo

[elmo]

Cecil Taylor with Steve Lacy, Buell Neidlinger & Dennis Charles playing Billy Strayhorn's 'Johnny Come Lately' at Newport, 1957. Think this "lifts the bandstand":

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=kqnM3m4jTi4

JR

Very Nice JR

elmo

[elmo]

B B King 'please love me' from one of his best albums 'Live at the Regal'

I saw B B at Cardiff some time ago, he talked a lot and paced himself a lot but when let rip (briefly) the magic was still there. Live at the Regal though is B B at his best.

https://youtu.be/TMmPsMNij2E

elmo

[Ian Thumwood]

B B King 'please love me' from one of his best albums 'Live at the Regal'

I saw B B at Cardiff some time ago, he talked a lot and paced himself a lot but when let rip (briefly) the magic was still there. Live at the Regal though is B B at his best.

https://youtu.be/TMmPsMNij2E

elmo

I saw B B King several years ago at Vienne and would have to say that it was one of the best gigs I have been to. I always think that he had one foot in jazz but what I did not expect was the showmanship in the gig. The band came out first and played a new numbers before King came out and sat on a chair centre stage. His guitar was then introduced and presented to him. It was pure theatre and I think there have been few artists I have witnessed who built up such a connection with his audience. I came away thinking I had seen something quite magical or atleast fom another era where artists had genuine star quality. King fed off the audience and his band was pretty tight too.

[Jazzrook]

B B King 'please love me' from one of his best albums 'Live at the Regal'

I saw B B at Cardiff some time ago, he talked a lot and paced himself a lot but when let rip (briefly) the magic was still there. Live at the Regal though is B B at his best.

https://youtu.be/TMmPsMNij2E

elmo

B B King's 'My Kind Of Blues' was one of his own favourite albums recorded for CROWN around 1960:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=nYD_X8wGbVs

JR

[Stanfordian]

‘The Kicker’ – Bobby Hutcherson
with Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Duke Pearson, Bob Cranshaw & Al Harewood
Blue Note (1963)

[Ian Thumwood]

"Michael Brecker-"Pilgrimage"

This was Mike Brecker's last album and one i found really difficult to listen to at the time. I had not played it for years but dug it out yesterday and was surprised how good it was. What did strike me was just how ubiquitous the influence of his playing has become and it really sounds like his approach informed a lot of tenor players in the 1980s-2000s. What is interesting is that whilst this has led to a degree of blandness and lack of originality it the players who followed in his wake, the elements that made Brecker so compelling are often missing.

Returning to this disc makes you reallise how "state of the art" this record was in 2006 and how far tenor sax playing had moved on from Coltrane with regard to the harmonic language. I wish that Herbie had played on all the tracks as Mehldau is someone I have less interest in these days. I think that Mike Brecker has been a massive miss for jazz since it tragic passing and he was truly one of the "greats."

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I saw (and met) BB King in Cardiff. c1985 or 86. St David's Hall. Wonderful show with a v good small band. He called everyone up from the front few rows up onto the stage at what I thought was the end of the set? I went up, spoke to him and he shook my hand - His hand was veeery big!
Then he played what I thought would be an encore but almost turned into another set. A very memorable evening. There's part of a 60's prison concert on Youtube which is remarkably powerful. He was something.