What Jazz are you listening to now?

[elmo]

Came across an interesting pianist called Mike Melillo, he seems to have made some interesting records including one called 'Bop Centric' devoted to the music of Monk and Herbie Nichols. Mike plays these compositions with a kind of Bud Powell perspective, I like his approach. Here is his take on Monk's 'Criss Cross and Herbie's ' Third World'.

https://youtu.be/y2ksicOSa6U

https://youtu.be/PPTjxSGcc2I

elmo

[Joseph K]

Paul Dunmall Sextet - Cosmic Dream Projection

This is excellent BTW. Doesn't appear to be on youtube though so you'll have to take my word for it. Unexpectedly the title track is a blues... overall the music is free-ish with nods to fusion and blues.

[Stanfordian]

‘Crazy! Baby’ – The Incredible Jimmy Smith
with Quentin Warren & Donald Bailey
Blue Note (1960)

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Burt Bacharach RIP today.

"Bacharach's music touched multiple genres, from cool jazz and rhythm and blues, to bossa nova and traditional pop - but they shared one thing in common: you could recognise them within a couple of notes.

It was a style inspired by his tutor, French jazz musician Darius Milhaud. Eh????" BBC Obit.


Mr Rollins..."Alfie" (theme)

http://youtu.be/b6BAN0zM0X4

[Serial_Apologist]

It was a style inspired by his tutor, French jazz musician Darius Milhaud. Eh????" BBC Obit.

Pretty typical of the level of basic knowledge now on offer in the BBC music department, as reflected in Radio 3 music programmes in general and their presentation, COTW and JRR excepted, and as often pointed out elsewhere.

[Ian Thumwood]

[QUOTE=Serial_Apologist;908509]Pretty typical of the level of basic knowledge now on offer in the BBC music department, as reflected in Radio 3 music programmes in general and their presentation, COTW and JRR excepted, and as often pointed out elsewhere.[

Interesting to see how the conversation about Bacharach will develop. I am not a fan of what is essentially "East Listening" music but I have to admire his craft. It is was news to me that he studied with Milhaud and I see from Wicki he also studied with Martinu - two composers I find to be of a similar ilk insofar that they both took their cues from jazz in the 1920s and then followed a more Neo-classical route. Bacharach studying with them would have made sense as would his devotion to jazz. (I believe McCoy Tyner made a whole album of his music for Impulse back in the 1990s.) Without doubt Bacharach was a talented musician and composer and it was disappointing that both Tim Rice and gushing but pointless Paul Gambaccini could not really nail the qualities which set him apart. To all intents and purposes, he was probably the last great American songwriter in the traditional sense.

Running with the issue of criticising the BBC music coverage, I was amused to hear the evening time presenter on Radio Solent speaking to the father of the drummer in the band Wet Leg who had picked up a Grammy at the previous night's awards. He was deemed worthy of an interview insofar that the band hailed from the Isle of Wight. Must admit that I had never heard of them but this nicely sums up the diminution in squality of songwriter. Amazed that anyone would have the brass neck to release such sh/te as this let alone the fact it picked up a Grammy.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

The McCoy Tyner Bacharach is an oddity. It's with strings, some very grandiose & dramatic string openings to what are much more gentle tunes, "The look of love" for example. Not sure it works.

I admire Bacharach a lot, the music is not simple but instantly memorable, as much a background to that era as any. And the productions, "Walk on by" is a superb arrangement full of small details and nuances which didn't really need to be there if you're just churning out another pop tune for the market. And having Dionne Warwick as a muse did no harm.

Btw I realised that the Rollin's "Alfie" I posted above is Sonny's theme, not Bacharach.

*I also remember from somewhere that he studied jazz piano quite briefly with someone "important". Dick Katz or could even have been Tristano, but it was a "brief encounter".

[Ian Thumwood]

The McCoy Tyner Bacharach is an oddity. It's with strings, some very grandiose & dramatic string openings to what are much more gentle tunes, "The look of love" for example. Not sure it works.

I admire Bacharach a lot, the music is not simple but instantly memorable, as much a background to that era as any. And the productions, "Walk on by" is a superb arrangement full of small details and nuances which didn't really need to be there if you're just churning out another pop tune for the market. And having Dionne Warwick as a muse did no harm.

Btw I realised that the Rollin's "Alfie" I posted above is Sonny's theme, not Bacharach.

*I also remember from somewhere that he studied jazz piano quite briefly with someone "important". Dick Katz or could even have been Tristano, but it was a "brief encounter".

The likes of Bacharach underline just how useful a classical education and experience at playing jazz is to working in other fields.

Intrigued that he studied with Martinu too. I went to hear one of his cello concerti a few months back having bought a disc that included these pieces. I think he is a bit uneven, rather like Milhaud. Staggering how much music Martinu composed.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

This is the Joe Buskin Bacharach memory...

"His nickname then was Happy Bacharach. I met his dad and mother, and I couldn’t understand him choosing me as a first prize (for lessons). Because Teddy Wilson was teaching at Juilliard, had a system of teaching, was really into it—whereas there was no way I’d know where to start. But it was very basic: he wanted to know how I made certain runs; he knew the Bunny Berigan “High Societv” record, and a lot of Mugsy Spanier things like “Relaxin’ At The Touro” —he just wanted to learn those things first–hand. So about three lessons later, I exhausted my professional stance, and I wrote out a few runs, fingerings and so forth for him." Buskin took the fee and took Bacharach to hear and meet Art Tatum and Roy Eldridge!

[elmo]

Checking out some more of this pianist Mike Melillo, surprised I had not encountered him before. He has elements of all my favourite pianists (Monk, Hope, Powell, Nichols etc) but he is his own man and he makes an excellent job of Ornette's 'Tears Inside'

https://youtu.be/aQPR0KHkUb0

elmo

[Serial_Apologist]

[QUOTE=Ian Thumwood;908550]

Pretty typical of the level of basic knowledge now on offer in the BBC music department, as reflected in Radio 3 music programmes in general and their presentation, COTW and JRR excepted, and as often pointed out elsewhere.[

Interesting to see how the conversation about Bacharach will develop. I am not a fan of what is essentially "East Listening" music but I have to admire his craft. It is was news to me that he studied with Milhaud and I see from Wicki he also studied with Martinu - two composers I find to be of a similar ilk insofar that they both took their cues from jazz in the 1920s and then followed a more Neo-classical route. Bacharach studying with them would have made sense as would his devotion to jazz. (I believe McCoy Tyner made a whole album of his music for Impulse back in the 1990s.) Without doubt Bacharach was a talented musician and composer and it was disappointing that both Tim Rice and gushing but pointless Paul Gambaccini could not really nail the qualities which set him apart. To all intents and purposes, he was probably the last great American songwriter in the traditional sense.

Running with the issue of criticising the BBC music coverage, I was amused to hear the evening time presenter on Radio Solent speaking to the father of the drummer in the band Wet Leg who had picked up a Grammy at the previous night's awards. He was deemed worthy of an interview insofar that the band hailed from the Isle of Wight. Must admit that I had never heard of them but this nicely sums up the diminution in squality of songwriter. Amazed that anyone would have the brass neck to release such sh/te as this let alone the fact it picked up a Grammy.

Presumably meant to satirise the Amish? I don't imagine they'd be too pleased.

[Ian Thumwood]

[QUOTE=Serial_Apologist;908571]

Presumably meant to satirise the Amish? I don't imagine they'd be too pleased.

On the Isle of Wight, things are beyond satire.

[Ian Thumwood]

Checking out some more of this pianist Mike Melillo, surprised I had not encountered him before. He has elements of all my favourite pianists (Monk, Hope, Powell, Nichols etc) but he is his own man and he makes an excellent job of Ornette's 'Tears Inside'

https://youtu.be/aQPR0KHkUb0

elmo

Elmo

I had never heard of him either but the fact that he appears to have worked much of his career in Italy with the likes of Chet Baker probably explains this. He seems to have been really active between 70s and 90s. Hats off to anyone who plays Nichol's work which are really difficult. I have the lead sheet to "The Third World" somewhere.

I totally concur with your list too. From recollection, these were the pianists the jazz tutor John Mehegan described as the "dissidents" in his guides to jazz piano in the early 1960s. You can also add Duke Ellington and Andrew Hill to this list, I think - maybe Bud a little less so.

[cloughie]

https://youtu.be/c9w6fkLhZ7c

Stan Getz ‘what the world needs now’ album puts Bacharach in a jazz setting albeit not too heavy - from my point of view no bad thing.
As you said S_A Easy listening is un uneasy term - nowadays including out of fashion pop, muzak and much very good stuff bordering on jazz. Like any other broad genre has its excellent to dreadful continuum. Bacharach’s music could shine or be sadly let down.

This collaboration seems to veer towards the dreadful - nice playing - shame about the singing.

https://youtu.be/9Ui3-pb2dCc

[Ian Thumwood]

I was never aware of the Getz/ Bacharach disc but it seems really typical of Verve to produce an album like this. The line up is terrific yet , checking out the music on Youtube, the arrangements by Richard Evans seem a bit ordinary. Seems like a lazier version of Oliver Nelson I have to say that Getz's playing is very well matched with this music and it seems like a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, Getz sound a bit disinterested.

The problem with arranging this music is that the tunes are already associated with the original charts and you need to be right on top of your game to improve upon them. Maybe a more radical approach to the scores would have been better. These arrangements seem really of their era and I am not too fussed with the strings. The mix seems to have softened the impact of the music too. I had never heard of Evans before but he apparently started his career with Sun Ra which must make him unique ! The list of other musicians he worked with included the likes of Woody Herman, JAck McDuff, Natalie Cole, Sonny Stitt, Ahmed Jamal, Shirley Scott, etc, etc. Sounds like everyone involved just took the pay cheque and went home. It would have been interesting to see how another arranger might have approached this music or indeed if a label other than Verve had issued the disc.