What Jazz are you listening to now?

[elmo]

Just got this cd today - The Jazz Messengers in Copenhagen Feb 1962, previously unissued well recorded. The Messengers at their very best, the whole band is on fire particularly Wayne Shorter - his 7 minute solo on 'Arabia' builds up to an incredible level of intensity like his classic solo on 'Free for All'. Without doubt one of the best albums this year.

Do you get the impression I like it a bit?

https://youtu.be/W9M7mbhXp8A

elmo

[Joseph K]

Just got this cd today - The Jazz Messengers in Copenhagen Feb 1962, previously unissued well recorded. The Messengers at their very best, the whole band is on fire particularly Wayne Shorter - his 7 minute solo on 'Arabia' builds up to an incredible level of intensity like his classic solo on 'Free for All'. Without doubt one of the best albums this year.

Do you get the impression I like it a bit?

https://youtu.be/W9M7mbhXp8A

elmo

Some time ago I looked into Shorter's pre-Miles playing but for some reason I never purchased anything or looked to stream it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, 'Arabia' is playing now...

[elmo]

Some time ago I looked into Shorter's pre-Miles playing but for some reason I never purchased anything or looked to stream it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, 'Arabia' is playing now...

Joseph - Pre Miles Shorter doesn't come any better than this plus incredible volcanic drumming from Art " Free for All"

https://youtu.be/GJBLA39spc4

elmo

[Joseph K]

Joseph - Pre Miles Shorter doesn't come any better than this plus incredible volcanic drumming from Art " Free for All"

https://youtu.be/GJBLA39spc4

elmo

Thanks Elmo - listening now.

[Jazzrook]

Horace Silver with Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Larry Ridley & Roger Humphries playing 'The African Queen' live at the Half-Note, 1966:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3ZLqz8TuYWg

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

Joseph - Pre Miles Shorter doesn't come any better than this plus incredible volcanic drumming from Art " Free for All"

https://youtu.be/GJBLA39spc4

elmo

Elmo

For my money "Free for all" is the best Art Blakey & the jazz messengers album. I was shocked when I first played this record when I bought it back around 2005 and I still think it is a pretty unique album. You can only use words like "volcanic" to describe it. There are few jazz records which I think are quite so muscular or indeed musculine. Even the one ballad "Pensativa" has that quality about it. I feel this record is essentially the apogee of Hard Bop but also a record which always strikes me as sounding out of it's time. Whilst I agree with the comments about the quality of the soloists and Art's drumming, it is a real "line in the sand" record which could easily have been recorded in 1984 as much as 1964. It does not really sound like a "historic" record. It almost feels like Blakey was ignoring the the general drift of jazz around that time and , instead of pitching his tent in the avant gade arena, responding by producing what is effectively an industrial strength Hard Bop alum. One of the best in the Blue Note catalogue and by no means a record where you will be disappointed with Wayne Shorter - easily better than a record like "ESP" or Wayne's earlier Vee-Jay stuff.

[Joseph K]

'Leo' from Live in Japan by John Coltrane, whilst cleaning my room. I never noticed how influenced by Pharoah Sanders Trane is here in his solo...

[Ian Thumwood]

Quite intrigued by this performance. Lipatti is probably about as tragic as it gets in classical music. Fascinated to read that some feel he was thw greatest pianist on 20th century. This performance absolutely nails this piece of Chopin...

[Joseph K]

'Leo' from Live in Japan by John Coltrane, whilst cleaning my room. I never noticed how influenced by Pharoah Sanders Trane is here in his solo...

'Peace On Earth' from the same disk as above - the second version of this tune on this set. Beatific.

[Joseph K]

Cleaning My Bedroom Day 2:

'Crescent' and 'My Favorite Things' both from the Coltrane Live in Japan set.

So that just leaves disk one for tomorrow, when I shall finish cleaning/tidying my bedroom. Today, I am feeling quite relieved - having actually organised all my previously loose jazz transcriptions and loads of other miscellaneous sheets of paper with this or that written on them, perhaps some licks I'd written down or some theoretical or scalar thing I'd wanted to get my head around, and then there are a surprising amount of etudes I've written over jazz standards, not to mention a few of my own compositions. They are all in plastic wallets, grouped together logically in a ring binder.

[Jazzrook]

John Coltrane's 'Offering' from 'Live at Temple University', November 11, 1966:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=eChp21NwVF0

JR

[Joseph K]

Cleaning My Bedroom Day 2:

'Crescent' and 'My Favorite Things' both from the Coltrane Live in Japan set.

So that just leaves disk one for tomorrow, when I shall finish cleaning/tidying my bedroom. Today, I am feeling quite relieved - having actually organised all my previously loose jazz transcriptions and loads of other miscellaneous sheets of paper with this or that written on them, perhaps some licks I'd written down or some theoretical or scalar thing I'd wanted to get my head around, and then there are a surprising amount of etudes I've written over jazz standards, not to mention a few of my own compositions. They are all in plastic wallets, grouped together logically in a ring binder.

Cleaning my Bedroom Day 3:

'Afro Blue' and 'Peace On Earth' from Live in Japan

That concludes listening to this awesome set for now. Ok, just a bit more dusting today - mostly, actually, my time was spent wrapping presents and sorting out the ton of chocolate and sweets I've bought for people into separate gift bags. I am quite tempted to put Live at Temple University on, that Jazzrook mentioned. I think I'll do that now (at least some of it).

[elmo]

Lucky Thompson was such a great tenor/soprano player, I have been listening to a lot of his music lately and I played this track today first time in years and its so good I must have played it about 20 times - what more can I say.....

Lucky Thompson, Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall and Dave Bailey rec 1963

https://youtu.be/oXDoRjupNDI

elmo

[Jazzrook]

Amalgam's 1969 album 'Prayer For Peace' with Trevor Watts, John Stevens, Jeff Clyne & Barry Guy.
Why on earth is this great British jazz album so hard to find on CD or LP?

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=fnyaP-cDaLg

JR

[Joseph K]

Disk 2 of Live At Temple University.