What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Jazzrook]

Charles Brackeen Quartet with Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins & Andrew Cyrille playing the title track from the album 'Worshippers Come Nigh'(Silkheart) recorded in 1987:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=ScdPgC_Ff8M

JR

[Stanfordian]

‘The Honeydripper’ – ‘Brother’ Jack McDuff
with Jimmy Forrest, Grant Green & Ben Dixon
Prestige (1961) CD

[Ian Thumwood]

Charles Brackeen Quartet with Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins & Andrew Cyrille playing the title track from the album 'Worshippers Come Nigh'(Silkheart) recorded in 1987:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=ScdPgC_Ff8M

JR

I really like this track and it is depressing that the likes of DOMi and JD Beck seem to be media darlings at the moment whereas they pale into insignificance to the "real" jazz produced by Charles Brackeen's quartet. I regret missing alot of this stuff the first time around but there was so much top quality jazz happening in all aspects of jazz in the 1980s that it was not difficult to overlook music as good as this. You have to hunt down jazz as good as this these days whereas 30-40 years ago it was in abundance. Silkheart was not a recrd label I was familiar with when I was discovering jazz even if I religously read the reviews in magazines like Wire. There are players like James Brandon Lewis who I would strongly recommend who perform very much in this tradition these days. However, I just feel that the stuff put out like record labels such as ACT these days would be laughed out of court back then.

[Jazzrook]

J.J. Johnson with Bobby Jaspar, Tommy Flanagan, Wilbur Little & Elvin Jones playing Charlie Parker's 'Barbados' in 1957:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=C1-yobtJfic

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

Interesting to read your comments on Villa-Lobos, whose harmonies in the 1920s and 1930s, combined with Brazilian rhythms, seem so remarkably prophetic of those of a great deal of 1960s jazz, and not only that in a Latin vein. Milhaud's early music on the other hand, before his adoption of, first, Brazilian elements and then early jazz, was (to me) at its best before Milhaud became almost fixated on polytonality, as would his one-time teacher Charles Koechlin. In Koechlin's case the potential drawbacks were more than mitigated by his remarkable gifts as an orchestrator, whereas Milhaud's soundworld sometimes tended towards muddiness. One early Milhaud work I recall Calum da Jazzbo really loving was the second violin and piano sonata Op 40 of 1917, with its pastoral character so redolent of his native Provence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCP-hBEwH8I

I have been checking out alot of Villa-Lobos piano music which you can pick up cheaply. I would have to say that he was a true original. I do think that it shows in his compositions that the piano was not his first instrument but would argue that this is an advantage because he is so radical. I did buy some of his music to learn but the difficulty is in reading and understanding what he expects the pianist to do. I found that very difficult as I cannot read a lot of it whereas the sense of "difficulty" is usually a technical thing for me where I physically cannot play the music. In all honesty, i do feel that this does make Villa-Lobos difficult to judge. There are some pieces like one of the Preludes fom BB (No. 4) which is as simple as saw Erik Satie - a composer I feel whose work is rather pointless Villa-Lobos for me is in a much higher league than Satie and more original than Satie who I just find "odd." I have to say that I am dumb-founded that Villa-Lobos is not considered a major jazz influence and I feel that there are those in here like Bluesnik and Jazzrook who would enjoy his compositions.

The one composer is is making a massive impression on me is Karol Syzmanowski whose piano music sits somewhere between Scriabin and Debussy although I am coming around to the opinion that the Pole was more "advanced" than the Frenchman. Again, no one in jazz mentions Syzmanowki as an influence and having worked my way through some of his Opus NO, 1 preludes (some wrtitten when he was 14! ) , I am finding that they have almost as much appeal as Scriabin - or at least the few Scribain pieces I can work my wya through. i find it impossible not to think of Chick Corea whenever I hear Scriabin's music and wonder if the jazz pianist dug Syzmanowski too.

[Ian Thumwood]

I have been playing some of the music from the 10-CD box set of work recorded by Paul Bley for Soul Note and Black Saint in the 1980s. There are two discs which really stick out for me, the first being "Notes" which is a duo with drummer Paul Motian. This is a really great album but the pick of the bunch for me is the trio album "Chaos" with bassist Furio Di Castri and the great Tony Oxley on drums. I think that this trio album is pretty special and there is one drum solo on this disc which strikes me as being one of the very finest in the history of jazz. I love Paul Bley's playing and he is a musician I have always felt who set really high standards. The trio disc is , in my opinion, a marvellous example of how compelling Free Jazz can be when in the right hands. For my money, this was one of the best albums of the 1990s but I can't help feeling that it is a disc that would have passed so many by - not least due to the fact that Bley was so prolific across so many record labels. There is another trio set with Haden and Motian in the colllection which usually gets more attention given how "connected" the three of these musicians were. Paul Bley and Paul Motian together is always something of a dream combination but there are a number of records the pianist made with Tony Oxley where I think the drummer similarly "got" where the pianist was coming from. The whole set of 10 CDs was a bargain and contains a lot of good music even if the collaborations with Scofield and Abercrombie would tend to present Paul Bley in a more straight ahead context. The duet with percussionist george Cross McDonald is towards the further extremes and would be more likely to appeal to Richard Barrett and SA,.

There is an ad hoc / casual feel to much of the music on these discs which adds to the excitement. For me, this is jazz at it's best and pretty much sums up why I have always felt that Bley was a far better improvisor than Bill Evans. A lot of the music does borrow from standard repertoire like Evans but Bley is less interested in beautifying the harmonic structure of a tune to create something that can be quite emotional and looks more towards taking the music apart and seeing what can be done with it once you have considered and investigated the possibilities. Evans' concept should be more consistent and reliable yet I can think of few jazz musicians who could focus and get in the zone as immediately as Paul Bley. There is never anything flabby abiut Bley's playing. Both pianists have that ability to draw you in to their music and listen hard yet I would argue that there is a logic with which Bley constructs his very melodic lines which is the antithesis of Evans' playing where I often wonder how much was pre-conceived and how much was improvised. There is much to admire with both approaches and both are entirely legit yet I think Bley's creativity is more readily apparent. Bley often seems like a musician who is happy to dive in and work on a blank canvas even if there is the odd giveaway that he miught be toying with a standard like " My old flame." It always seems to me that Bley had taken some of Ornette's concepts on board whereas this did not necessary represent the path Evans wanted to take. Superficially they are similar but I feel that they are like those animals which looked similar but which have evolved from a different evolutionary branch. The trio disc with Di Castri and Oxley underscores this difference and is, I think, a really great trio. Historically, the Evans' trio are rightly always seen as something of a milestone in jazz . In my opinion, Bley's work in this format is equally as important even if very different.

[Jazzrook]

Unable to find a trio track but here's Tony Oxley's solo piece 'Modulating' from 'Chaos':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=4B3HJYDZ-EU

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

Unable to find a trio track but here's Tony Oxley's solo piece 'Modulating' from 'Chaos':

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=4B3HJYDZ-EU

JR

That was preceded on my link by an ad announcing, "This is the way to clear your bowels naturally!"

[Serial_Apologist]

I have been playing some of the music from the 10-CD box set of work recorded by Paul Bley for Soul Note and Black Saint in the 1980s. There are two discs which really stick out for me, the first being "Notes" which is a duo with drummer Paul Motian. This is a really great album but the pick of the bunch for me is the trio album "Chaos" with bassist Furio Di Castri and the great Tony Oxley on drums. I think that this trio album is pretty special and there is one drum solo on this disc which strikes me as being one of the very finest in the history of jazz. I love Paul Bley's playing and he is a musician I have always felt who set really high standards. The trio disc is , in my opinion, a marvellous example of how compelling Free Jazz can be when in the right hands. For my money, this was one of the best albums of the 1990s but I can't help feeling that it is a disc that would have passed so many by - not least due to the fact that Bley was so prolific across so many record labels. There is another trio set with Haden and Motian in the colllection which usually gets more attention given how "connected" the three of these musicians were. Paul Bley and Paul Motian together is always something of a dream combination but there are a number of records the pianist made with Tony Oxley where I think the drummer similarly "got" where the pianist was coming from. The whole set of 10 CDs was a bargain and contains a lot of good music even if the collaborations with Scofield and Abercrombie would tend to present Paul Bley in a more straight ahead context. The duet with percussionist george Cross McDonald is towards the further extremes and would be more likely to appeal to Richard Barrett and SA,.

There is an ad hoc / casual feel to much of the music on these discs which adds to the excitement. For me, this is jazz at it's best and pretty much sums up why I have always felt that Bley was a far better improvisor than Bill Evans. A lot of the music does borrow from standard repertoire like Evans but Bley is less interested in beautifying the harmonic structure of a tune to create something that can be quite emotional and looks more towards taking the music apart and seeing what can be done with it once you have considered and investigated the possibilities. Evans' concept should be more consistent and reliable yet I can think of few jazz musicians who could focus and get in the zone as immediately as Paul Bley. There is never anything flabby abiut Bley's playing. Both pianists have that ability to draw you in to their music and listen hard yet I would argue that there is a logic with which Bley constructs his very melodic lines which is the antithesis of Evans' playing where I often wonder how much was pre-conceived and how much was improvised. There is much to admire with both approaches and both are entirely legit yet I think Bley's creativity is more readily apparent. Bley often seems like a musician who is happy to dive in and work on a blank canvas even if there is the odd giveaway that he miught be toying with a standard like " My old flame." It always seems to me that Bley had taken some of Ornette's concepts on board whereas this did not necessary represent the path Evans wanted to take. Superficially they are similar but I feel that they are like those animals which looked similar but which have evolved from a different evolutionary branch. The trio disc with Di Castri and Oxley underscores this difference and is, I think, a really great trio. Historically, the Evans' trio are rightly always seen as something of a milestone in jazz . In my opinion, Bley's work in this format is equally as important even if very different.

I agree on Bley vs. Evans. Ornette decided, for most if not the entirely of the remainder of his creative life, to dispense with pianists, and it has always seemed to me that adapting Ornette's ideas into some of his own stylistically broad-ranging approach should be down to himself - Paul Bley, that is. In the process he did have some influence on subsequent pianists, early Keith Jarrett and early Howard Riley for instance, though not as big as Bill Evans, and I think that might be down to the fact that Evans evolved a consistent personal language that was less difficult to emulate or use as a preliminary springboard.

[Jazzrook]

That was preceded on my link by an ad announcing, "This is the way to clear your bowels naturally!"

Assisted by Oxley's regular beat!

JR

[Serial_Apologist]

Assisted by Oxley's regular beat!

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

I always imagine Tony Oxley as being like an avant garde Sonny Greer. He works really well with Paul Bley but I also like his work with Tomasz Stanko on "Matka Joanna" which was recorded in the early 1990s and at a time was ECM was in fine fettle. I think that the label still had a toe in the avant garde at that point and had a roster of players who were from that generation who always managed to sound edgy. When I first discovered ECM I was quite pleased with myself given that they were then putting out a lot of material that was not necessarily easy to listen to and which sounded radically different to what was happening elsewhere in thr mid 1980s. It was possible to feel a degree of excitement whenever they advertised new releases whereas I think that the label is hampered to a degree these days by the fact that the younger musicians on their roster no longer really think like that. ECM has almost become a pastiche of itself. Coming back from the football the other evening, I caught one of the tracks from the new Joe Lovano trio being played on Jazz FM and was pleased just how good it sounded. I think the album is called "Our daily bread" and is clearly a disc which is taking it's cues from Coltrane's more spiritual side. I was hugely impressed and it is a long time that I have felt that excited by a new ECM record. It is exactly the think Joseph would like. The new Bobo Stenson disc sounds good too. It is a shame that these musicians are all of an certain vintage (i.e. Older than me!! ) and I have totally lost touch with the younger musicians on their roster as I had lost interest in the rather samey material they were churning out.

As an adjunct to the recent JRR regarding jazz from around the world, I read a review in Jazz Journal a few weeks ago of the new Stephan Micus CD, also on ECM. He is someone I have never listened to and always thought was very much on the fringes of jazz. Isuppose you would have called this World Music 30 years ago. What intrigued me was the backlash by the reviewer regarding Western musicians releasing albums where the music is played on ethnic instruments. The tone of the review was fascinating as it suggested that this kind of stuff , although once fashionable, should now be frowned upon. I have never read a review suggesting this before and was surprised that critics would be accusing musicians of social appropriation. To me, the review read like madness and I am wondering if this kind of perspective might pervade itself within the jazz mainstream. Are we going to end up in a situation where critics will expect some musiciansto avoid performing in particular idioms? I am not aware of having read any other jazz review that might have suggested this.

[teamsaint]

Dave Brubeck
Jazz Impressions of Japan.

Listened to this a couple of times in the last day or two, and enjoyed it very much.

[Ian Thumwood]

Dave Brubeck
Jazz Impressions of Japan.

Listened to this a couple of times in the last day or two, and enjoyed it very much.

I bought this record on a whim last year and have to say that it is really good even though I think the playing time is under 40 minutes. There is one "funky" number which seems a little out of place on this disc but I think that the ballads alone make this record really worthwhile. I had grown up listening to jazz with the perception that Brubeck was somewhat lightweight and , to a degree, slightly suspect. In my opinion, I think the ambition of the music, whilst of it's time, certainly does not deserve the opprobrium. I felt it was far more interesting than the more celebrated "Time out" and definately shows Paul Desmond in a very positive light. I am glad someone else shares my enthusiasm for this record. As noted above, I wonder how much this kind of fusion might be looked down upon by critics in 2023? I see that altoist Jim Snidero has recently made a similar album which is inspired by Korean music and features a musical instrument from the peninsula as well as trumpter Dave Douglas which is very tempting:-

[teamsaint]

I bought this record on a whim last year and have to say that it is really good even though I think the playing time is under 40 minutes. There is one "funky" number which seems a little out of place on this disc but I think that the ballads alone make this record really worthwhile. I had grown up listening to jazz with the perception that Brubeck was somewhat lightweight and , to a degree, slightly suspect. In my opinion, I think the ambition of the music, whilst of it's time, certainly does not deserve the opprobrium. I felt it was far more interesting than the more celebrated "Time out" and definately shows Paul Desmond in a very positive light. I am glad someone else shares my enthusiasm for this record. As noted above, I wonder how much this kind of fusion might be looked down upon by critics in 2023? I see that altoist Jim Snidero has recently made a similar album which is inspired by Korean music and features a musical instrument from the peninsula as well as trumpter Dave Douglas which is very tempting:-

Interesting to read your comments, as I am very much a jazz novice. I can’t remember how I happened upon the record, though it was very recently, but I was really taken by it from the off. Some might find the words” cultural appropriation crossing their mind , but that would be unfair I think.Never really been that struck by his music previously , although he really played like a dream. I thought he was the standout performer on “ All night Long”.
Would love to hear recommendations for other good DB albums .
Will give your Jim Snidero suggestion a listen.