Rolling 2011 thread where I buy and listen to jazz albums for the first time ever

ilxor, your description of shorter is very insightful and otm. I think he's always slightly underrated as a composer, and what he does as an improviser is always informed by senses of composition and restraint, even though it's also very searching and expressive.

shorter was pretty unstoppable in the 60s -- his stuff with the Jazz Messengers is great, too.

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that is ILX0RS: JAZZ IS THE TEACHER. YEAH, IT'S A JAZZ THING >> THE ILM JAZZ LISTENING CLUB! [NEW CHOICES EVERY WEDNESDAY!] btw

Question regarding Alice Coltrane: I have and love both Journey in Satchidananda and Ptah the El Daoud. Noticed over the weekend that my local now has used copies of The Monastic Trio, Universal Consciousness and the live one from the later seventies (Transfiguration, I think?). Anyone care to comment on the essential-ness of any of these titles?

I don't view Monastic Trio as particularly essential, 'cause a piano trio is a piano trio. Universal Consciousness, though, is fucking great. Worth it for "Battle at Armageddon" alone, an organ-drums duo with Rashied Ali which totally lives up to its title. Transfiguration is also pretty apocalyptic and totally worthwhile, if a little overwhelming at times. Of the three, I'd go with UC.

yeah Universal Consciousness is great

Noticed over the weekend that my local now has used copies of The Monastic Trio, Universal Consciousness and the live one from the later seventies (Transfiguration, I think?). Anyone care to comment on the essential-ness of any of these titles?

Not essential. No, none of them... not essential at all. Pick them up immediately and mail them to me. I'll do the listening so you don't have to waste your time.

shakey & co are you taking a week in the newly reformed jazz club?

Not essential. No, none of them... not essential at all. Pick them up immediately and mail them to me. I'll do the listening so you don't have to waste your time.

Haha. If it's any consolation, ilxor, the used prices you are paying seem quite a bit lower than what is available around here. I believe these were all priced in the $8.99 and up range. I know that UC is waaay out of print, though. And it just so happens that I had forgotten that a copy of that album recently....uhhh...fell off a truck and I have a copy in my iTunes to check out.

To be honest, I almost wanted to buy The Monastic Trio alone for its awesome typography:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/aa/A_Monastic_Trio_%28Alice_Coltrane%29.jpg/220px-A_Monastic_Trio_%28Alice_Coltrane%29.jpg

the two best jazz albums are

bill evans - sunday at the village vanguard
eric dolphy - iron man

so get those!

I don't view Monastic Trio as particularly essential, 'cause a piano trio is a piano trio.

I agree that it's not ranked with Universal Consciousness necessarily but I find Monastic Trio interesting precisely because it shows Alice doing her thing in the context of "just a piano trio," sessions like that really give a player the opportunity to make their style clear imo, so that's why I love it.

Phil, how does Monastic Trio compare to Schlippenbach Trio?

Found all of these at the record shop over my lunch hour (and can't recall any being discussed to date). Going back after 5pm this afternoon to get several. Which of these are most worth hearing?

Don Cherry - Symphony for Improvisers
Joe Henderson - In Japan
Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk
Thelonious Monk - Underground
Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - The Eleventh Hour
Sun Ra - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek
Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!
Cecil Taylor - Dark to Themselves
John Zorn - Elegy
John Zorn - Angelus Novus

Phil, how does Monastic Trio compare to Schlippenbach Trio?

I'm not much of a Schlippenbach guy; I've only heard one quartet disc (the trio you're talking about, I think, plus Evan Parker) and two discs of solo stuff. None of it particularly made me want to hear any more.

unperson: can you comment on any of those records above?

And where's AG today??

Out of those, I've only heard Underground, but that one's a true five-star album. It swings like hell, and it's a good showcase for both Monk's chops as a pianist, and his songwriting talent.

solo monk is great too

Kohoutek is awesome, one of my favorite live Sun Ra recs along with Life Is Splendid.

hmmm really... I have always bagged off picking it up. I share yr love of Life is Splendid tho

The cover art is so amateur-looking on that Sun Ra record that I can understand being put off.

well that kinda comes with the territory (altho there are a ton of gorgeous sleeves as well)

Schlippenbach Trio is great.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51stUoacv2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg -VS- http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G57y39jwL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

can't say I like either of those lol

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MDB0AGGHL._SS500_.jpg

^^^that's my shit right there

that looks better than most ppl's shit iirc

Can't remember if I linked this already; http://sickmouthy.com/2011/01/16/top-ten-jazz-albums/

wtf dude most of your list is neither recent nor European...?

nice list ... don't think the applause on "mercy mercy mercy" is overdubbed, i think they just invited their friends to the studio, had an open bar and pretended they were at a club.

Only 20%, aye (wrote the intro before I picked the actual list!) but that's still 20% more than any other list I've seen. Should have out Tuesday Wonderland by e.s.t. on there, and maybe Freak In by Dave Douglas.

And Modern Day Jazz Stories by Courtney Pine!

you need
Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!

Tell me more about it!

Don Cherry - Symphony for Improvisers [Have it but haven't listened to it in a long long time]
Joe Henderson - In Japan [never heard it]
Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk [awesome]
Thelonious Monk - Underground [awesome]
Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - The Eleventh Hour [haven't heard it; not a Parker fan generally]
Sun Ra - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek [haven't heard it; have expressed myself on Ra upthread]
Cecil Taylor - Conquistador! [love love love this album; much better than Unit Structures]
Cecil Taylor - Dark to Themselves [awesome but forbidding - a single 65-minute piece; band includes David S. Ware]
John Zorn - Elegy [haven't heard it]
John Zorn - Angelus Novus [haven't heard it]

You should listen to Cherry's Symphony for Improvisers tonight and report back.

(Thanks, btw!)

Joe Henderson - In Japan

this is ok. i tend to lose my shit over joe henderson in general, really heady stuff that makes you want to listen hard to his playing and how he interacts with the band, but he doesn't do it so much on this record. iirc he was flown in and playing with a group he didn't really know. they acquit themselves well, but it's not exactly telepathic communication.

Joe Henderson - In Japan has one track that I think is amazing -- Junk Blues -- and the rest is just ok.

Actually maybe not AMAZING, but a very good high-speed modal blowout with some pretty excellent playing from a Japanese rhythm section I had never previously heard of.

Sun Ra - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek

Not really crazy about this one, and I'm a Sun Ra fan (though a picky one). The possibly unintentionally sped up version of "Englightenment" (one of the musicians has reportedly said he cannot play that fast, after hearing this recording--I forget the source for that) is worth hearing at least. It's among Sun Ra's more depressing recordings, due to the content of some of the spoken word. I suppose the transcendent stuff is supposed to come in at the end and come to the rescue, but unfortunately: "This is not life! This is not life! This is DEATH! disguised as life. . ." feels too true for me much of the time. It's been a while since I've heard this album. Not sure what I'd think now.

Picked these up confidently, for starters:

Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk
Thelonious Monk - Underground
Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!

Bought these to kick off my exposure to Henderson/Parker/Zorn, though I'm not sure if I'll like all of 'em (especially Zorn from what I've heard about his aesthetic/style/etc.):

Joe Henderson - In Japan
Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - The Eleventh Hour
John Zorn - Elegy
John Zorn - Angelus Novus

Wanted to get this, but decided to wait for the remastered version to come around:

Don Cherry - Symphony for Improvisers

Held off for now:

Sun Ra - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek
Cecil Taylor - Dark to Themselves

Not sure the Electroacoustic Ensemble stuff is the place to start with Parker, it's good but somewhat of a byway in his huge discography. If you like Stetson then you'd be better off going for one of Parker's solo sax recordings like The Snake Decides or Conic Sections. My favourite Parker line-up would be his trio with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton, they've done a number of albums of which At the Vortex (1996) is my favourite. Also key: his trio with Alex von Schlippenbach and Paul Lovens, of which Winterreise comes recommended.

Thanks, I'll keep all of that in mind. This is actually (as far as I can recall) the first Parker disc I've come across in the used bins... oftentimes I just take what I can get when it comes along. :)

Actually now I come to think of it Ken Vandermark would be another name to conjure with, he doesn't often play solo but he's a more visceral, less abstract player than Parker and thus might appeal more to the Stetson-lover in you. Like all these guys he has a voluminous discography with vast numbers of shifting and ad hoc line-ups. One that I'm particularly fond of would be his duo with Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, they put out a breathtaking pair of CDs last year called Chicago Volume and Milwaukee Volume.

conic sections is the shit! really easy to lose yourself in that one.

Thelonious Monk - Underground [awesome]

hmmm, really? out of the twenty or so Monks i've heard/own, that is the ONLY one that hasn't impressed. something about that band is just not right to me and it never takes off

xposts

Not sure the Electroacoustic Ensemble stuff is the place to start with Parker, it's good but somewhat of a byway in his huge discography.

Chiming in to say you're totally right. The Electro-Acoustic Ensemble stuff hasn't clicked at all yet, a couple plays in. The best way I can describe it is that I've found lots of jazz where I can't believe the kind of stuff that comes out of just one player at times: like, I'll listen to Ornette or someone and think, how does ONE MAN do all that?? With Parker's 11-man ensemble, I'd hoped it would sound like a BIG group, where I could hear each person contributing to the overall pieces... but honestly, it just sounds like one or two guys fucking around with some electronics.

Also haven't clicked with Zorn's Elegy or Angelus Novus at all... zzzzzzz, back to the record bins they go. Gonna swap out for some more interesting jazz (or maybe just that Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro reissue...).

Thelonious Monk - Underground (awesome)

hmmm, really? out of the twenty or so Monks i've heard/own, that is the ONLY one that hasn't impressed. something about that band is just not right to me and it never takes off

xposts

― KC & the sunshine banned (outdoor_miner), Saturday, March 5, 2011 2:00 PM Bookmark

Yeah, but it has Green Chimneys. Also perhaps the greatest jazz liner notes ever.