Ah, Biscoe!

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 20th Theresa
4.00 Jazz Record Requests
Alyn Shipton plays a range of jazz styles, including works by Chris Biscoe and Alison Neale.

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

5.00 Jazz Line-Up
Bassist, composer and arranger Misha Mullov-Abbado plays music from his second album, Cross Platform Interchange. Recorded in November at the London Jazz Festival, he is joined by saxophonists Matthew Herd and Sam Rapley, pianist Liam Dunachie and drummer Scott Chapman. Presented by Julian Joseph.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08qtb4b

12.00 Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Guitarist Joe Pass (1929094) amazed the jazz world with his 1974 solo album Virtuoso , reinventing the sounds of the electric guitar by introducing classical technique, subtle colours, expression and swing. Geoffrey Smith surveys both his solos and his collaborations with artists including Oscar Peterson.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08qtd7z

Mon 22 May
11.00 Jazz Now
Soweto Kinch presents a concert by American trio the Bad Plus, and Al Ryan listens to new bands who have uploaded contemporary jazz to BBC Introducing, including Jonny Mansfield's Elltet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08r2t3r

[Alyn_Shipton]

If you can't wait for Geoffrey's take on Joe Pass (with some of the same numbers I see) you can always hear what John Etheridge had to say about him...http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lxqp6

[Serial_Apologist]

If you can't wait for Geoffrey's take on Joe Pass (with some of the same numbers I see) you can always hear what John Etheridge had to say about him...http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lxqp6

Thanks Alyn. There's a quote I have on cassette somewhere from John Surman, speaking of a conversation he had with Joe about solo performances. I'll try & dig it up tommor if I have time, and dictate it here as a text, because it's an amusing anecdote.

[Ian Thumwood]

i was really surprised by the Biscoe track on JRR last night as this was not at all the kind of music I had associated him with. The music seemed to be a homage to Paul Desmond / Gerry Mulligan and sounded like one of those late 60's / early 70's recordings these musicians made. It was odd to find this record was made in 2015 as I missed the initial announcement and had no idea who was performing.

The most interesting track was the Cab Calloway one. I have never been a fan of his band because of the antics of the leader even though I am aware that his bands were really good outfits. The instrumental track was something of a revelation and the line up on the listings shows this to be a very star-studded band with Ike Quebec taking the tenor solo. Difficult to find a more celebrated trombone section. I have been digging out some old recordings of big band from the 40's of late such as Earl Hines and the Calloway track was yet another example at how influential the Basie band was. It is quite fascinating hearing just how Basie's band had a bearing on hos competitors and whilst I think it is fair to say that many of the white bands of the same era tended to lose their identities as the 1940;s progressed, it has only come to my attention recently that Basie's band had such a bearing of other bands so early on. The Calloway track was brilliant.

[Alyn_Shipton]

Ian I think your history is a bit wobbly here. The Missourians, which became Calloway's band were a midwestern band that preceded Basie by some time, (as well as preceding Ellington at the Cotton Club) and if you listen to the evolution of the band's work they remained ahead of the curve well before Basie's band appeared on the NY scene. Might I modestly suggest a bit of holiday reading for you? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hi-ho-Life-.../dp/0199931747

[Old Grumpy]

Ahhh!

Just got the joke in the thread title

OG

[Serial_Apologist]

I know exactly what you mean about the Biscoe track, Ian, and was likewise surprised, albeit familiar with the more lyrical side of this wonderful player. The choices that really made my JRR this week were the Martin Archer track with vibist Corey Mwamba - good to hear Archer, whom I've associated more with the abstracter reaches of the "Sheffield free school", in a more conventional jazzrocky context; Acker Bilk playing way over his customary paygrade in the album from Stan Tracey's "Blue Acker" LP from 1968 - which (amazingly) I'd never heard anything from before - in the process nearly threatening to burst the buttons of his striped waistcoat; and Chet Baker, playing with wonderful fluidity and ace technique with the backing band of Britishers I reported on from Jezza's Marylebone place earlier this year on the "in the Smoke" thread. But generally it was one of the most interesting JRR's for some time.

[Ian Thumwood]

Ian I think your history is a bit wobbly here. The Missourians, which became Calloway's band were a midwestern band that preceded Basie by some time, (as well as preceding Ellington at the Cotton Club) and if you listen to the evolution of the band's work they remained ahead of the curve well before Basie's band appeared on the NY scene. Might I modestly suggest a bit of holiday reading for you? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hi-ho-Life-.../dp/0199931747

Alyn

Thanks for the heads up.

I can't recall hearing anything by the Missourians although I have read about them in the Albert McCarthy book which is a treasure trove about obscure bands from the 20's - 40's. The early Calloway stuff I am familiar with is the Cotton Club era material when Calloway's bands fitted in with the kind of music made by Redman, MBRO and a host of other bands who played in Harlem in that era. My post was prompted by a selection of Earl Hines tracks I had been playing ("Swingin in C", "Jersey Bounce" etc, etc) which I had not appreciated were picking up on the Basie influence. This followed on from listening to some Lucky Millinder where arrangements like "Mason Flyer" also showed a Basie influence. Some great trumpet by Dizzy on this record too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQeSa02-i3o

As I said, I am not that familiar with Calloway's band. It is unfortunate that he seemed to sing so much as I am not a fan but the who's who of soloists in the line up (including the likes of Chu Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, etc) has made me intrigued. Like a lot of the bands from that era, the music is great until you get to the vocals which I tend to skip when listening to. It is a problem I find with a diverse number of bands ranging from Ellington, Kirk, Goodman and Shaw. It get's even worse with Jimmie Lunceford where the band is terrific but the vocals seem like ironic "in jokes" which have been lost in the mist of time. There is something slightly unsettling about pop singers of that era and I tend to prefer singers like Jimmy Rushing, Walter Brown, Sister Rosetta Tharpe is I listen to historic singers from the swing era.

Anyway, whoever requested the Calloway rack made a very good call.

[Quarky]

Mon 22 May
11.00 Jazz Now
Soweto Kinch presents a concert by American trio the Bad Plus, and Al Ryan listens to new bands who have uploaded contemporary jazz to BBC Introducing, including Jonny Mansfield's Elltet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08r2t3r

Bad Plus - I had a poor impression of this group from previous performances on this late night slot, but saw a lot more in their music last night. Ethan Iverson tends to go on a bit, but I gather he is leaving the group at the end of the year, so perhaps there might be an improvement. Any way, listening again, so might form a more focussed view.

[Serial_Apologist]

Bad Plus - I had a poor impression of this group from previous performances on this late night slot, but saw a lot more in their music last night. Ethan Iverson tends to go on a bit, but I gather he is leaving the group at the end of the year, so perhaps there might be an improvement. Any way, listening again, so might form a more focussed view.

In find Mr Iverson fine as a jazz commentator; it's just that he comes across to me as just a clever d*ck in his compositions and playing. I saw him several years ago backing our Martin Speake, and he just trampled al over Martin's expanded Konitz-styled playing; and it's not as if Martin Speake is in any way a weak player, as Paul Motian would confirm, were he still with us.

[Ian Thumwood]

I have enjoyed Iveson's blog and The Bad Plus initially intrigued me when I first heard them on Humphrey Lyttelton's "Best of Jazz" although they never seemed to have the appeal of MM&W. It is funny because he is a musician who is out-spoken yet talks a lot of sense. I find it hard to reconcile his observations with the work of The Bad Plus who I have seen perform live a few times. To be honest, I totally agree that he does come across as a bit opinionated even if some of the stuff he has come out with would probably have me used stronger terminology than SA. I have heard this trio play live and have been hugely irritated by their ponderous take on pop material which seems gimmicky.

Normally, I would write off people like Iveson as a musician whose views are far more interesting than his music. It doesn't help that he looks so strange and has the appearance of someone who has a woman trussed up in the boot of his car. There have also been quotes he has made about science fiction which have also served to diminish my perception of him. Despite this, Iveson is not a pianist I would write off. Abour five years ago I caught The Bad Plus augmented with Joshua Redman, another player from than generation who can be under-whelming. For what it is worth, as a quartet the music was totally in the zone, full of creativity and absent of the histrionics that generally made The Bad plus unappealing. I would add that I find the drummer with this trio to be a major obstacle to may enjoyment of their music. When I caught them that night, the music was pretty much everything you would want from a jazz concert.

It is a bit unfair that Iveson does garner a lot of attention in the media and also gets some good goods whereas there are plenty of other pianists out there who remain somewhat obscure. The latest trio Iveson has recorded with includes Ron Carter and Nasheet Waits and this has received some really good reviews - a load of jazz standards not necessarily subverted but re-shaped in to refreshing interpretations. This is one record that intrigues me much more than The Bad Plus. For anyone wanting to check out a more "deserving pianist", here is an article about Eri Yamamoto that I found interesting:-

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eri-yamamoto-the-poets-touch-eri-yamamoto-by-jakob-baekgaard.php