Ah, perfection? But who needs it?

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 7 Jan
4.00 Jazz Record Requests
Alyn Shipton introduces another selection of listener requests, this time featuring the music of Oscar Peterson and Louis Armstrong, plus tracks by Lena Horne and Gerry Mulligan.

http://www.alynshipton.co.uk/blog

5.00 Jazz Line-Up
Claire Martin presents a performance by Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca and his trio, recorded in April on the Jazz Line-Up stage at the Gateshead International Jazz Festival

A repeat of last year's broadcast

http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dk7kw

12.00 Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Geoffrey Smith considers whether there can ever be such a thing as "perfection" in jazz, with tracks by Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087qg25

Mon 9 Jan
11.00 Jazz Now
Pianist Hans Koller and saxophonist Lee Konitz at Birmingham's CBSO centre. Soweto Kinch presents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087qjfs

Lee Konitz is coming up for his 90th birthday this year (18th October).

[Old Grumpy]

Perfectionists (presumably)?

OG

[Rcartes]

No problem with most of Geoffrey Smith's choices, especially the Armstrong, Lester, Bird and Hawkins. But (and recognising this is always going to be a personal thing), I'd have left out the Paul Desmond, Sidney Bechet and Django Reinhardt and cut the Rollins track considerably (too much of the tedious bass and drum solos), in order to make room for Bix's I'm Coming Virginia, Albert Ammons' Shout for Joy, the Jazz Messengers' Ugetsu and, especially, Lionel Hampton's Hot Mallets: how could he have left that out???

And I'd also have dropped the Ellington Daybreak Express for something by Billie Holiday (Now They Call It Swing, The Way You Look Tonight or Mean To Me) and had, instead of All Too Soon, Mainstem - and used the Miles/Evans band verson of My Ship.

But so what? Everyone will have different ideas....

[Serial_Apologist]

Lionel Hampton's Hot Mallets: how could he have left that out???

Mallets aforethought? - a few have toyed with that particular pun!

(I'm sorry to learn that Way Out West has ended its "tenure" at the Bull's Head, Rcartes. Did you know about this?)

[Ian Thumwood]

Given the 3 minute duration of 78rpm records it is not difficult to find perfection in many vintage recordings and I concur with many of the suggestions above, especially the Hampton and Beiderbecke tracks mentioned by R Cartes. I would say that there are some recordings where groups many to make a swathe of records which achieved some kind of perfection or, at least, where the selection of one track to represent perfection would be ridiculous. How do you choose the "ultimate" Louis Armstrong record or make a distinction between the recordings made by the Ellington band in the early1940s, Billie Holiday's Columbia records, theGoodman trios and quartets or the side Basie made for Decca?

One track that I feel really captured the notion of perfection is Miles Davis' "Masquelero" on the "Sorcerer" album. This is perhaps the most interesting track the quintet recorded but it is more interesting to hear this repertoire played on the recent Bootleg series release which demonstrates what this band could do live.

Last week I was listening to Cotlreane's "Ballad" album, most tracks of which are similarly "perfect."

[Ian Thumwood]

[Rcartes]

(I'm sorry to learn that Way Out West has ended its "tenure" at the Bull's Head, Rcartes. Did you know about this?)

No, I missed that: that's really sad! I looked at WOW's website and all it lists for 2017 are the monthly dates for the first Friday of the month (up to June 2017) at Cafe POSK in Hammersmith. Still not too bad from Putney but the Bull's Head was even easier.

[Serial_Apologist]

Emma Smith, just now, interviewing all-female band Nérija for Jazz Now: "What's your mission statement?"