scott's occasional swinging old jazz thread (moldy figs to 1980)

Curtis Fuller: We have a story to tell. This is our story. Nobody’s copping the
Japanese music, nobody’s copping the Chinese music, nobody’s playing the Ton
Ton’s. We did do it in front of Cherokee years ago. (Imitates sounds of the drums).
We brought this to the table, it’s intertwined with European culture, you know? We
didn’t have the scales, the chords, or the wherewithal to make this take shape to be
enjoyed by all. You’re getting with rhythm and a few things, but even that now…As a
result of this being in America, we can shape all these sounds and chords and
things. It took all of us to do this; I don’t care what color you are. That’s what jazz is,
it’s just like a chord, it all depends on what you got in it. It’s like Bitches Brew, or
Grandma’s Stew, it depends on what you put in it. As Victor Lindlahr says, “You are
what you eat.” You eat shit? That’s what you become. That’s where I think we are
headed. We eat better, we’ll play better, we’ll think better, we’ll sleep better, we’ll
learn to—The guy says, “Can’t we all get along?” Yes we can. When the day comes,
we’ll have to. We have to! We are at that gig right now. We have to get along, or else
it will be like Rome, we’ll crumble from within. That was the greatest country at one
time. The British Empire, great! They over extended themselves; they were all down
in Australia or wherever else. It took four weeks to go to the little island, the
Falkland Islands, to fight a handful of people there in Argentina. Give me a break!
You don’t have to worry about this! There’s nothing there but seagulls. C’mon guys!
You can do better than that. (Laughs) But, this is where we are. So, why don’t we
take this and market this great art form that the Creator has given us? We’re
blessed. We are truly blessed, where we live, the location logistically on the map.
Even the Germans tried, they came right up to our shores. People didn’t even know
it, we sunk more ships right out there. We didn’t know what was happening. They’re
still finding bombs out there in San Diego and out there in places. The Japanese put
on balloons and flew there. Every once and a while, a kid will go out to play
somewhere and go and detonate one of those son of a bitches. We will survive. We
have to. It’s our nature that we can survive all those dinosaurs and pig foot, and big
foot, and all those people. We’ll be all right. The reason I know, you know Grady

http://inarow.jp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/curtis-fuller-1963.jpg
Tate?

album of the week: Billy Harper - Soran-Bushi, B.H. - Denon - 1978

(can't get over how good this album is. not impossible to find on vinyl though it only came out in Japan. the only CD of it came out in Japan in 1982(!!!). i'll bet you didn't even know that there were CDs in 1982. well, there were. if you see it somewhere, grab it!)

I had no idea that Bernie Hamilton was Chico Hamilton's brother. Captain Dobey! And I had no idea that Bernie Hamilton had a record label called Chocolate Snowman.

http://www.starskyandhutch.info/wp-content/uploads/SH2-1-021.jpg

http://radiofreechip.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Chico-Hamilton-on-Brushes.jpg

Chocolate Snowman!

anyone else checked out the Savory Recordings that have started to come out digitally? INCREDIBLE. Coleman Hawkins stuff on Vol. 1 is out of this world.
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/08/504696831/once-the-stuff-of-jazz-legend-1930s-recordings-are-finally-out

does sound great!

don't wish to seem ungrateful, but am a tiny bit annoyed that It's not in stores or on Amazon — it's only available as an iTunes exclusive.

look forward to hearing it all the same

we can only hope that jack white makes a suitcase with a FLAC stick in it of all that stuff.

but anyway yeah it's cool that that stuff exists. but it has always amazed me how much stuff already exists between private recordings/V Discs/radio broadcasts/european recordings/etc.

http://riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/imageEDK1.jpg

someone should make bootleg CDs out of the iTunes stuff. i'd buy some.

anyone else checked out the Savory Recordings that have started to come out digitally? INCREDIBLE. Coleman Hawkins stuff on Vol. 1 is out of this world.
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/08/504696831/once-the-stuff-of-jazz-legend-1930s-recordings-are-finally-out

― tylerw

i posted about it on the rolling jazz thread but only got radio silence... and yeah, _anything_ "exclusive" is a crock.

love this interview. a year before he died. paul desmond asking a lot of questions. bird liked paul a lot. bird liked brubeck and kenton and tristano and lots of egghead stuff. paul desmond really relieved to find out how much bird used to practice. 11 to 15 hours a day when he was younger! just in case anyone thinks being a genius is easy. and then at the end to hear bird talk about how excited he is to go to paris and study with edgar varese and go to school...man, he was just getting started. he changed the world, but he was just getting started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3W8Ff_4oFg

listening to the double-disc set of earl hines doing ellington. recorded in the early 70's at various sessions. i don't know if its common knowledge how off the hook earl hines was in the early 70's. but he really was. just endlessly inventive. can't think of TOO many people who helped invent jazz in the 20's who made records that were as good as the ones he made during the watergate era. you can find them for a buck or two at used stores.

yeah, latter day Hines is really nice. there are some 70s Teddy Wilson LPs that are pretty pleasing too.
this is from the 50s I believe, but it is just gorgeous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q6oNMsRsEU

I think (hope?) that the Savory stuff will get a proper physical release at some point?

Just got a disc of previously unreleased live stuff by the Three Sounds, Groovin' Hard: Live at the Penthouse 1964-1968. I feel like nobody remembers them now, but they were a really good soul-jazz/hard bop piano trio who made a bunch of albums in the 50s and 60s. Occasionally, they'd back someone up; LD + 3 is them with Lou Donaldson, Blue Hour is them with Stanley Turrentine.

well, people do remember them because they made about a zillion records on blue note. but its true they aren't exactly in fashion. the records are very enjoyable though. i like Hey There, and the one with Anita O'Day and some other ones. there are so many. a la ramsey lewis.

i've been listening to my Quartette Tres Bien records lately. does anyone remember them? a bunch of their stuff has never made it to CD for whatever reason.

i just looked. 9 albums on decca in the 60's and none on CD. must be some legal thing i don't know about. they are very cool records.

what i really love though are the 70's records that Gene Harris of the Three Sounds made. loooooove that stuff. all on blue note too. astralsignal and nexus are big favorites of mine. and cheap too as far as awesome funky 70's stuff goes. i would recommend all of the solo ones.

think the only one of those 70s gene harris LPs I've heard is the live one with a creedence cover ... which is a pretty good time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvlYyZ3P5Y

Nexus is my fave. they are just a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70ROu6GoZTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6uaE2oYj4&t=163s

Phil Woods:

"At 15 I said “Whoa, this is great."
And we went for a lesson one time at Mr. Tristano’s house and he said, “Are you kids going down to 52nd
street tonight?” And we said “yeah, why do you ask?” And he said, “Well, I’m opening for Charlie
Parker and I thought maybe you’d like to meet him.” And you know, to myself I said “Yeah, I’ve always
wanted to meet God,” you know. And sure enough, this time we held back on the records, we held back
on the pasta so we’d have two dollars, we could buy two coca-colas and really relish the evening, you
know. And Tristano’s trio opened up the evening’s festivities, and uh I think it was Arnold Fishkin who
was a bass player who, because Lennie was blind, somebody had to come and get us. Arnold came and
got us and took us behind the curtain. I mean 52nd street they were just speakeasies. They were just like narrow little cellars, uh there was no backstage, no dressing rooms or nothing like that. And we came
around the back of the st…the back of the bandstand which was just a little, and there was Bird sitting on
the floor, the great Charlie Parker, the man who was changing the planet, and he had a, a big cherry pie,
and he said “Hi, kids! Would you like a piece of cherry pie?” And I said, “Oh, Mr. Parker, cherry’s my
favorite flavor.” And it is! But I didn’t know what else to say! And he said, “Well you sit down
here, boy, and I’ll cut you a big slice” and he took out his switch blade bing boom bang, you know, and
handed me a big piece of cherry pie. And I said, “Oh my God, I’m in heaven.” I mean he was so kind, I
never forgot that."

fucking, amazing.

Arrgghh, you kids and your bebop, boobop---check this (if it don't show, a page of stuff by Mezzrow & Sidney Bechet & Friends: "Sendin The Viper" and whatnot)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_CEzmqAWWc&list=PLIzQd_Wf46Y100OOMNJ-bxZ5a_RjN_YC8

very much to the point!

Not sure if this is the proper place to share this; was looking for a "random old _____ you are loving" jazz equivalent. But anyway, here's an album by the band Ululation from 1987:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPKG0wVPYWA

It's kind of in a larger ensemble sort of style. Maybe a bit reminiscent of Sun Ra's swing revival period. Discogs info.

any love for the philly quartet CATALYST?

"ain't it the truth" (1972)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9i7rO1WYaA

that was their "hit"; a kind of ramsey lewis-esque soul jazz instrumental. funky as they come and always a mixtape favorite for me. the rest of their stuff was a lot more wild, but always retaining some semblance of a groove. kind of reminiscent of mwandishi/crossings era herbie hancock. all four of their albums are really good and recommended if you've never heard them.

in a similar vein, i've always really dug the two sessions buster williams led on muse in the mid 70s (pinnacle + crystal reflections) for many of the same reasons as catalyst. it's kind of weird and skronky in spots, but never full on insanity. and always funky enough to remain fairly accessible. they'd be right at home on strata east or black jazz.

here's "the hump" (1975):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR0KRb8IC9k

Prompted by ilxor Dan Peterson, I revisited Ike Quebec's classic early 60s Blue Note run and have discovered organist Freddie Roach. I always knew him from the Quebec albums, but never knew about any of his albums as a leader. Have only gotten through the Blue Note ones so far, but this is some seriously strong stuff. He preferred to work with guitarists it seems and Mo' Greens Please (1963) features Eddie Wright and Kenny Burrell in peak soul jazz mode (though they never duet on the same track; album probably sourced from multiple sessions). Even better, Brown Sugar (1965) finds Joe Henderson sitting in and proving once again that he really could play anything and he could play it all pretty damn well. More soul jazz than all out funky, it definitely feels like one of those standard classic Blue Notes that just transcends time. Crazy that the Blue Note catalogue still has "new to me" stuff of this calibre.

Here's them riffing on Lloyd Price's "Have You Ever Had the Blues?" from Brown Sugar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgUuTmDRoU

Freddie Roach — "Lion Down" (1962)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLpfmg-qX_w

Kenny Burrell kind of vamps for most of his solo, then right around the two minute mark just fucking blacks out. Does Freddie cut him off???!!?! The amount of mutual disrespect captured on tape lol.

I know the title track from Brown Sugar from a Blue Note organ jazz comp but had never heard the whole thing.

Thanks for keeping this vintage Scott thread alive. This is where I will put jazz things that interest me, currently the intersection of Latin and bossa nova, where it verges on easy listening. Most folks around here want to talk about Sonny Sharrock or whatever, but sometimes I just want to relax and pat my foot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcPWqO9-juU

Heh to me it sounds like Freddie Roach was coming in with backgrounds behind the guitar and meant for him to keep soloing, but instead they ended up with that little co-comping chorus.

Reminds me of a jam session I was at over the summer led by Victor Goines, where he kept coming in with backgrounds behind other soloists and they would always stop playing, because no one uses backgrounds anymore and is shocked when they hear another horn player during their solo.

(whereas in New Orleans music, it's standard practice and that's how you know you hit your last chorus)

i agree w jordan, it sounds like roach just starts comping behind him but instead of propelling burrell forward he backs off and settles into a little groove

i got the reissues of Thelonious Monk's 10-inch Prestige 'albums' btw and they are fucking glorious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7y1nMkYeRE

Somehow only just learned about Hazel Scott (via Arthur Taylor’s Notes and Tones book of interviews. Relaxed Piano Moods with Mingus and Roach is extremely nice.

Dan, "Flame and Frost" is excellent! Very haunting theme. I really liked the guitar playing on that tune, so I looked it up and the guitarist was Joe Diorio, who just passed away a few weeks ago. Time flies. There's so much of that Argo/Cadet/Chess stuff that I've never heard so I definitely appreciate hearing it. This one's even on Spotify, so it's in the queue.

brimstead, checking out that album right now and my initial impression is that you are 100% accurate in your assessment. kind of awesome to hear mingus in such a sustained mellow mode.

Thank you again, brimstead! Have had that Hazel Scott in steady rotation ever since you posted. It really is a remarkable album. It has a very classicist kind of sound on the surface, but every so often she hits these beautiful minor phrases (minor seventh variants? Not sure about the theory aspects) that are so gorgeous. What a wonderful find.

Revisiting an old favorite today: Sahib Shihab's Jazz Sahib from 1957. The first tune is "S.M.T.W.T.F.S.S. Blues" and it's just infectious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxPYex25G7k

So funky in that bluesy, early James Brown, chillin` in your car at a red light noddin` at your folks sort of way — just straight to the heart of cool with no effort.

It's one of those albums drawn from multiple sessions with different band members, so Bill Evans is on piano for side two. It opens with "Blu-A-Round":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxKn0mv8mJM

Can't help but be reminded of Kind of Blue by that one, especially on Bill's solo. Pretty hypnotizing stuff.

Both of the tunes are originals by Sahib. I've found that he is highly spoken of by those who know of him, but that he isn't overall that well-known. Oh well. For years, I've used his name in the credits as a guide for finding great music, regardless of which continent he was on. Love him so much.

Postscript—

Jazz Sahib is not on Spotify that I can find. It was originally a Savoy session, so it could be located under another artist.

Discogs has it for just a hair under 900 euros.

Or $10 on CD.

Also on these compilations:

https://www.discogs.com/release/1760012-Sahib-Shihab-Jazz-Sahib-Complete-Sextets-Sessions-1956-1957

https://www.discogs.com/release/8745667-Sahib-Shihab-Five-Classic-Albums-Plus-Bonus-Tracks

Checking out this Randy Weston album because of the Sahib Shihab connection and it's pretty great. Definitely inspired by Duke Ellington's long form works of the period, but kind of filtered through Dizzy's percussion-heavy "big ensemble" sound. Hall of fame cast of characters. Last track is a killer. I can't seem to find it on Spotify or YouTube, unfortunately.

Did a bit more digging. The album is listed on Spotify as part of a two-fer CD.

Of course half of the tracks are unplayable and those are the tracks from Uhuru Afrika.

Fell down a Japanese smooth funk rabbit hole and ended up with this and kind of holy shit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-pIH0CBxM

Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media - "Breeze" (1975)

Because it's Sunday, why not some 80s private press spiritual goodness?

(It's on the internet jukebox, if you're so inclined.)

This is very niiice. I see the OG is currently on sale for $1000 <scream face>.

Thank the streaming gods on this one, I suppose.

(I enjoyed it, as well. Very pleasant vibe. The spirituality of later Coltrane with none of the skronk.)

Yeah, so Randy Weston was an internationalist way back there--back when some artists were sometimes promoted as "jazz ambassadors," prob with some CIA bucks in there somewhere, as tended to happen w hands-across-the-water arts projects, but wth; anyway, he followed the African diaspora back to the Motherland and forward, what with elements of highlife and Caribbean and blues and weirdo Monk as given prob more than some Gov officials liked---live LP Carnival was the only one I ever owned, and some friends said title opener sounded like naval recruitment commercial, but 7:28 or thereabouts "Tribute To Duke Ellington" was an amazing microcosm, deep into and all around solo piano---Side B is "Mystery of Love," piano, bass, drums, flute, and the moon, also all around.
Also try Blue Moses, where Creed Taylor made him play electric piano (he didn't like it, but lots of people loved it). And his albums feat. trombonist-arranger Melba Liston.

Man I miss Randy Weston, along with some people and venues associated with him.

Yeah, I wanna go to this joint!

In 1967 Weston traveled throughout Africa with a U.S. cultural delegation. The last stop of the tour was Morocco, where he decided to settle, running his African Rhythms Club in Tangier[25] for five years, from 1967 to 1972. He said in a 2015 interview: "We had everything in there from Chicago blues singers to singers from the Congo.... The whole idea was to trace African people wherever we are and what we do with music."[26]

Yes, he was such a great presence too.

Thanks for the word, dow! I checked out some other Randy Weston stuff after I liked Uhuru Afrika so much and found that it was all pretty good. Special shout for African Cookbook. Admittedly didn't get to Blue Moses, but curious to give it a listen now!

Also, here's the live one referenced.

(This post is mostly for my own reference.)

I love unique lineups, so I've always been a huge fan of the Gary Burton collaboration with Stephane Grappelli from 1972. Vibes and violin right up front on some really excellent tunes — most notable for me is the rendition of "Blue in Green":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puqp5Z-dQpI

Just dreamy. Album as a whole is a bit more swingin`, but the other ballads do not disappoint. One of the first jazz albums I heard past the introductory Blue Train - Kind of Blue - Somethin` Else starter pack, so I have very fond memories of it. Highly recommend checking out the back cover of the LP in that link above. xpost to photos where one band member refuses to play along.

I'm extending the timeline from 1980 to 1986 for this one. Later 80s was when I started listening to less alternative rock and more bluesy jazz from guys (and gals) who had been playing for decades previous, falling out of fashion, sometimes struggling with 70s smooth/fusion/disco crossover attempts, and then sticking around as elder statesmen of their craft. They literally were soul survivors.

I spin a lot of this stuff, a soulful, supremely comfortable mix of classic ballads ("The Second Time Around") and swinging R&B inflected jams ("One Mint Julep.") You can't possibly go wrong with a band including George Benson or Jimmy Ponder on guitar and Bernard Purdie on drums.

I wish there was a supper club or lounge where I could still hear organ jazz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hUux41Fe1g

often think about the Purdie anecdote (as retold by Donald Fagen in the Aja doc) that when Bernard was hired for a session he would put up a sign on each side of his drum set, one reading “You done it" and the other reading: “You done hired the hit-maker, Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie”

I love those early 60s organ-drums-guitar records. This Jack McDuff set is about as classic as it gets for that sort of thing. Wasn't Purdie the one who claimed to have played (uncredited) on some early Beatles stuff?

Do you guys like Ahmed Abdul-Malik? He was Monk's bassist for a bit, but on his sessions as a leader, he played oud and went off into some really unique eastern textures. Still retains a strong jazz foundation, but check his rendition of "Summertime" from 1963 for a good example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebru71tMvzw

The earlier ones almost recall similar vibes to some of the Ethiopiques stuff. Very highly recommended.

"Captain" Jack spent his final years in my city, Minneapolis, and used to play clubs here regularly. I saw him a number of times, but wish I would have gone to many more.

Yes it was Purdie who made those (afaik unsubstantiated) claims.

I recently bought a cheapo set of (all?) four of Ahmed Abdul-Malik's albums. Good stuff.

I remember seeing Jack McDuff at a Milwaukee jazz festival many years ago, it was great. I think it was on the same bill as Kevin Eubanks, where he freaked out all the Tonight Show fans by only playing crazy M-base fusion?

I totally believe that Purdie played on Beatles sessions btw, but who's to say if they ended up using those tracks on the final records or not.

Purdie’s drums were overdubbed onto some pre-Ringo Hamburg-era Beatles recordings that Atco pushed out as a cash-in in 1964:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_She_Sweet_(album)#/media/File%3ABeatlesatco.jpg

That’s not remotely close to Purdie’s claims though.

absolutely cannot believe i'm linking this place BUT, here's an okay and very vintage pedantic steve hoff thread about it. they've got the most details over there, i'm told.

This is a pretty good dissection: http://www.jimvallance.com/03-projects-folder/purdie-project-folder/pg-purdie.html

Weinberg: Everyone knows the Monkees were a fabricated band, but The Beatles?

Purdie: Ringo never played on anything.

Weinberg: Ringo never played on anything?

Purdie: Not the early Beatles stuff.

lol

but anyway, ahmed abdul-malik is rad. here's one of his oud jams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluGjySRBs0

"farah' alaiyna" (1958)

the rest of the album has johnny griffin on tenor.

or if that's not your flavor, you can get down with some slick 70s yusef lateef.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmRKJo4XLaU

"mystique" (1976)

the band holy smokes. whole album is excellent. unexpected turn into straight up phasered out synth funk. very solid.

I've been liking this one a lot lately, a compilation of Willis Jackson cuts from his early 60s albums Bossa Nova Plus, Neapolitan Nights, and a few other stray tracks. Stellar backing cast, as you can see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSeKMwdQ_bc

Excellent, Dan! He's a player whose records I've seen around a lot but have never checked out — that one's piqued me! Also I'm convinced that Roy Haynes played on every non-Blue Note session from about 1958 until 64 or 65. Geez, that guy was everywhere!

I'm jamming a soul jazz classic this Sunday morning. This cover photo has got to be one of my alltime favs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUIIzQ4P9Yk

Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones — "Right On!" (1970)

Here's one I heard for the first time a few Saturday nights ago, after American Routes' replay of their excellent Freddie Hubbard interview x music:
Lou Donaldson, "Blues Walk"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liy9tw03p1I

Which reminded me of the Night Lights interview x music with Bob Porter, re his book Soul Jazz, which unperson says is not all it could be, but still a valuable resource for learning more about music that hasn't gotten much fair (if any) comment from critics. They play a lot of good selections that he talks about here and in the book: https://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/bob-porters-portraits-soul-jazz.php
(Night Lights could be catnip for you, Austin! I've learned sooo much from their fun music docs, which are mostly music.)

And here's the American Routes Freddie Hubbard segment, at the beginning of Hour 2---whole show is well worth hearing: American Routes indeed!
http://americanroutes.wwno.org/archives/show/1278/Sounds-of-Freedom-Fontella-Bass-and-Freddie-Hubbard

Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones — "Right On!"

This is very nice. The great Bernard Purdie (well known to Steely Dan fans) on drums!

(Night Lights could be catnip for you, Austin! I've learned sooo much from their fun music docs, which are mostly music.)

Noted and appreciated! Into the bookmarks it goes — thank you!

~UNLESS I AM BAD AT USING THE SEARCH FUNCTION, AM I TO UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO CANNONBALL ADDERLEY TOPIC?~

anyway, music contains wormholes. or rather: it contains the concept of how wormholes work.

(or maybe some of it actually *does* and we haven't decoded it yet - i mean "as slow as possible" exists and who knows wtf stockhausen and coltrane were actually doing sometimes? it's a group effort is all i'm saying.)

anyway. phenix from 1975 by cannonball adderley is one of his best, even though it hardly gets mentioned. pretty much his final statement, as he was gone less than a year later. basically cannonball plays the hits, except it's all mid-70s studio funk'd out. has that very distinct FANTASY RECORDS 1975™ sound, so you get the feeling that he really was trying to make these the definitive recordings of the songs in some cases. and it sounds fantastic. i've listened to the drumbreak on "domination" on loop so many times and for so long that i know there's a part where you can hear cannonball off mic coaching roy mcurdy on how exactly he wants his funk shuffled. of course, some of the electronics sound 'wacky' or maybe a little too vintage in moments, but it's not like any disrespect was present. intentions feel genuine and good here. he made extremely happy music and it's one of the best examples of that.

it's been pretty frequently reissued and available on most formats for a long time. i bought a used vinyl copy mail order for around $20 (probably from dusty groove) in 2002 because i couldn't find one around where i lived and i had not the gas money nor the courage for such lengthy road trips. it was snowing when the mailman tried to deliver it and i was supposed to fly out the next day to meet a person whom i had never met before. i was extremely nervous and pacing in a dark room, figuring how did i get myself into this and how was i going to get myself out. i guess the mailman had attempted during this time. my pattern must have been disturbed by something, because when i went to see what was going on out the window, there was one of those "missed delivery" things on the box.

fuck. my album.

went and stood out in the biggest fucking april downpour snowstorm i've ever seen i mean honestly how is this even happening and met the mailman as he was going up the opposite side of the street. immediately ran inside and threw it on the turntable super loud. all really good versions, like i said. always a ton of soul in his playing and he's really chewing the scenery here in the best way. whole band changes throughout, but it's mostly all the guys who played on the original recordings, so you know the deal: very solid (only person they didn't get was joe zawinul; other obligations at the time iirc). it calmed me down, so i started to realize i'm still here, and made an attempt at packing my bags.

then the last track came on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLT6SkZ2TE8

("walk talk/mercy mercy mercy")

both acknowledged classics in their own right, but when medley'd together like this, something else ignites. it's that real tight, real big funk sound that he helped create, but rolled into all of the high fidelity mojo that fantasy studios at the time allowed for. it was already my favorite track on the album the moment the refrain hit, but then the second section began and it threw me off — we're slowin it down???

it was shortly after that moment, friends, that i can safely say i entered a wormhole. that moment hit me so hard that it felt like something had flashed inside my brain — like a different area had just been newly accessed. i kept it to myself. i had no clue that's where the sample was from and when i finally submitted that to whosampled around 7 years ago, it easily earned the tag _Sample Discovered More Than 10 Years Later_

which is still just wild to me. it's not even a rare album. whatever, the trip went great, i made a lifelong friend, it's one of my favorite records of all time. highly recommended, especially if you like wah wah sounds in your soulful funky jazz.

wow. fantastic post thank you Austin

yeah wonderful, what a jam

Yeah, I need to check out more of him---the only album I have is

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTIb4fKCEAevQGcDKFIXdimOXsMK4uVNv

and that one because Miles, but I do still hear CA tracks on local station, and this recently surfaced

Flora Purim bootleg @ Terminal Island 1975, which “Purim persuaded the prison authorities to let her stage.” Feat. Airto, Cannonball Adderley, George Duke, Miroslaw Vitous, Raoul de Souza, & Ndugu Chanclerhttps://t.co/Ur2xHc41CG

— jeff (@jazyjef) July 12, 2022

what the hell, youtube---anyway it's all of Somethin' Else:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTIb4fKCEAevQGcDKFIXdimOXsMK4uVNv

somethin' else is a very classic album. one of those records that always sounds good.

diggin on mary osborne this afternoon—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t6SJBV0Gzs

"you're gonna get my letter in the morning" (1947)

a girl and her guitar is the rare yawnsomely literal title/art that is also undeniably cool.

Ha ha, thanks! She's one of the many artists I first heard on xpost Night Lights---here's their doc: https://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/mary-osborne-queen-jazz-guitar.php Last time I checked, there didn't seem to be many reissues.

oh tyvm for that! there's only a girl and her guitar on spotify, but it seems to be the reissue from a few years ago as it's 25 tracks and over an hour in length.

—(kind of frustrating the lack of info on provenance of stuff on spotify)—

always going back to gary burton (someone else who does not have their own topic) in some way or another and this time it's because i'm wanting to hear solo vibraphone. his 1971 album of solo performances is quite lovely and highly recommended if you like magical glassy tones.

trying to search out more albums of solo vibraphone, i discovered one jay hoggard, who has not only been around since the 70s, but who also has several albums of just exactly what i was looking for — and they're wonderful. very mellow stuff, though not strictly ballads. soothing as heck.

also post script— though not strictly solo vibes, side one of bobby hutcherson's 1982 album solo/quartet is highly recommended for all appreciators and enjoyers of music. have posted this one elsewhere, but it's such a quality jam i'm gonna put it here too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAJqCPDVePU

bobby hutcherson — "gotcha" (1982)

you would probably like the bill lewis / kham jamal LP "the river" if you haven't heard it already

i have not, tyvm for the word!

also not much to say about it, but solo harp is where it's at. dorothy ashby did a couple of japan-only solo albums in the 80s. they're on youtube-

concierto de aranjuez from 83 and django/misty from the following year. kinda sorta music of the gods.

yesss that jay hoggard solo vibraphone album is wonderful.

Austin you know Walt Dickerson, right? He completely rules

i like the few things i've heard, but he's a guy i admittedly have neglected. that said, his album with sun ra is fun.

Oh speaking of Randy Weston, and his club:

Tangier, 1972, by Mary Jo Schwalbach. My parents spent about a month in Morocco the year before I was born, spending a lot of time at Randy Weston’s club. Morocco is where my dad was given his hand of Fatima medallion, which he wore every day for over 40 years. pic.twitter.com/siNM6HRIHX

— Fitz Gitler (@techdef) August 13, 2022

late night selections from john klemmer this evening as i revisit magic and movement from 1974. haven't heard it in about a decade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x_OTDytDoM

all about the vibes with klemmer and this one's got a really funky sexual one — is that a peak into another universe on his pelvis there? oh my. and yeah, up front: could do without the grunty vocalisms where they show up. but they're low(-ish) in the mix and the band(s) completely smokes. \ED NOTE: eddie marshall of interest\ it's got some goofy wildness — because hey man, did you hear what i said?! basically two bands split between the sides of the album, did anyone ever really consider john klemmer cool? i never have and i really like him. same kinda thing with like gerry mulligan or mike oldfield — just never seemed that cool, but could play. anyway, the effects are out in force here, so if you like vintage echo units, phasers, and wahs combining over shufflely post-grooves to suggest 70s whiteboy coltrane, it's hard to beat. at times he was still kind of skronky and ... uhm, weird and boppy. definitely one of his best. still really like solo echoplex sax stuff. he plays these arpeggios — man! no idea the technical aspects of what he's actually doing there, but some of it really colors his music with that unique dreamy vibe. no idea who this music was for in 1974, but because of the upright jazzy echoplex vibe, my mind immediately went to whatever john martyn was doing around the time — and his two previous were solid air and inside out in 73, so yeah. martyn much more blues-oriented, klemmer much more jazz but a lot of cross-polynation i'd say. "RIYL"

ps— i first heard it after going through all of his later (much cheesier*) material. i wanted to know more about his "wild period", but finding the impulse stuff in the shops was not very common round my way so it was genuine anticipation for the package from ebay. and this was back in the pre-paypal days so i had to send a money order for the fucking thing. it's really good and i would also recommend waterfalls from 1972 if you like it. a lot of the same band shows up and it has a very similar overall vibe. probably my two favorite klemmer albums and some seriously good "weird overly serious hippie guy" music. check out utopia, man (seriously tho — easy to make fun of, but wilton holding down a very solid groove).

thanks for reading,
your neighborhood john klemmer fan👋

*holy shit i can't believe this is a true statement

if there's one thing i've learned from all the hours i've spent listening to david axelrod, it's this: vibes always sound good. always. so for some sunday soul jazz, i'm revisiting the great johnny lytle. a peer of players like milt jackson and bobby hutcherson, he never really broke out past the middle tier of notoriety during his life and passed away in the mid 90s after slowing down significantly in the early 80s. he was able to keep working until the end and he did show up for some pretty significant sample fodder in the early 90s, which is how i first learned about him. on the west coast, copies of his albums have just never been that easy to come by and reissues have always been scarce, even now. which is just too bad, because his 1973 album people & love is about as warm and consoling as it can get for a soul jazz fan: early 70s, milestone/orrin keepnews scene, harp, rhodes, vibes ... all of it, just simmering for you. it's funked out at times, but always staying soulful and always staying focused on the mood. can't quite call it smooth jazz, but it's definitely mellow. check out "family" — another famous sample source and my album highlight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4U9qxqrrck

it's been reissued as part of a 2fer along with the previous year's soulful rebel, which is much wilder and definitely closer to the funky soul bop that blue note was doing at the time. shuffle beats as big as the horn and organ charts and and ron carter laying down a thick foundation; you know the deal. check out the title track for a representative groove. recommended all around.

(also people & love closes with an epic rendition of "people make the world go round." great and worth sticking around for — but can you believe that wasn't the only extended reimagining by a jazz vibist that year?)

this sounds great

i know this is the Milt Jackson S/D thread, but if you like the song "family" posted above, throw on "enchanted lady" right after:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfHAsV1jA78

milt jackson with the ray brown big band — "enchanted lady" (1969)

is=isn't

Have you all heard Funky Skull by Melvin Jackson from 1969? He plays his bass through a bunch of effects and gets some very Arthur Russell-esque sounds over some serious business backbeats by Billy Hart. Pete Cosey's on it, there's a choir of wordless chants showing up occasionally; it just rules excessively. Definite testament to the awesomeness of the Chicago music scene of the time. Here's the cover; perhaps you can surmise what it sounds like just based on this?

https://i.imgur.com/VZ4eUFp.jpg

(Is that an OG Echoplex?!?! Rad.)

If that's not enough, here's "Bold and Black"—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHv3GjTPwlE

Very highly recommended.

Yeah, I remember hearing that record about 15 years ago when Dusty Groove reissued it on CD. Good stuff.

Hadn't heard of that, thanks! A fair amount of Burton content on the main ECM thread, and do you know his pre-ECM albums? The first was in '61; the earliest I've heard is from several years later:Tennessee Firebird. where he and Steve Marcus and Roy Haynes play with Nashville cats, some of whom were recently involved in Blonde on Blonde, and this includes "Just Like A Woman" and "I Want You," though most of the starting points are country chestnuts. Then there are the albums by his first (?) Quartet, with Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow, and Bob Moses: not jazz-rock per se, but you can tell that they know rock and country and folk as part of their roots and ongoing listening. Barefoot and a tad shroomy at times, with a Spanish-tinged excursion through Ellington's "Warm Valley." Later he jumps to A Genuine Tong Funeral, written for him by Carla Bley.

nothing to ramble about this morning, just wanted to give a shoutout to that one guy who shows up on about 80% of live albums quietly going, "yeah!" at the end of a song in that split second right after the band stops but before the rest of the audience starts applauding. you're my kind of people, man. keep living your best life.

Listening to Leo Wright's 'Soul Talk' today and it's sick. I was looking for non-Monk records with Frankie Dunlop, and it's an organ quartet with sax, Gloria Coleman on organ, Dunlop, and Kenny Burrell.

nice. frankie is so underrated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJvaGpU5gZY

forgot he played on mingus's "tijuana moods". also seeing he was on an early joe zawinul date from '61. plenty to look into! any other favs so far?

i don't know much of frankie dunlop outside of those higher profile sideman gigs - thanks for the word!

as for me, i'm on my friday night smooth bullschitt again and i have to send this one with a special dedication to the good people of ilx. ya'll may have saved my life this year with all of your healthy distractions, cleverness, and just plain old good vibes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lK6457F1iQ

ronnie laws - "friends + strangers" (1977)

bonus track for my acid jazzers-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R-LWEgv-0U

ronnie laws - "friends + strangers (the l.g. experience remix)" (1996)

if you've never heard the whole album that's from, i highly recommend it. lots of heavy hitters dipping into some blue note (+capitol) classics, including an early appearance from a "j. yancey" ummah production.

the happiest of new year's to all of you. let's do it again soon, yeah?

Happy New Year, moldy figs!

Patti Bown is a new name to me. I discovered her album Plays Big Piano when I took note of the keys on a Gene Ammons record and did some digging. I'm not normally a big fan of piano trio records, but this one is really swingin', kind of gospelly in places, and reminds me a bit of Bobby Timmons (another fave.) Nice production job too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSzqhXJb-dA

I stumbled upon Beverly Kinney, fell down a youtube rabbit hole, and fell in love. I saw her voice described as being between Blossom Dearie and Marilyn Monroe, and that's pretty accurate. She's quite young sounding (she was only 28 when she took her own life in 1960) and her approach is intimate and not at all showy. Her version of "A Lovely Day" was used in a car commercial a few years back, and although I didn't know who she was at the time it caught my attention. I'm currently three albums into her discography and they're all excellent, ranging from a guitar-led combo to more orchestrated 50s pop.

scott's occasional swinging old jazz thread (moldy figs to 1980)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzC6z5bL-g

Misspelled her name AND messed up the link. More coffee needed...

Really nice overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC2cAIUhbE8

I wasn't familiar with Gene Shaw (only three records as leader and three with Charles Mingus) but this pseudo Sketches of Spain meets bossa/exotica record is exactly what I'm into right now.

Arranger Richard Evans went on to helm The Soulful Strings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7zYpLkXJzk

Beverly's new to me, thanks! You might dig another recent discovery:

Carol Sloane, whose voice immediately grabbed via in her early 60s tracks, then gradually changed a bit with age, while continuing the same stylistic flight path, fast and slow, into a live set rec. 2019---she died this January, in her mid-80s---as heard in this doc from the ever-handy, frequently revelatory Afterglow:https://indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow/the-song-styling-of-carol-sloane.php

These guys! Not big eyes over the mic, just for you---na, they may be watching the clock, between shifts, fairly plain voices in several cases, but they know every note and what it's made of---in most cases, although I'm still not that into Chet Baker, and maybe a couple others, but mostly, this is pretty refreshing:

On this episode of Afterglow, I'm highlighting some jazz musicians who made their living playing horn, piano, or drums, but who could also sing when the occasion called for it. It's a look at jazz's part-time, unlikely singers, including trumpeter Chet Baker, drummer Buddy Rich, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Oscar Peterson, clarinetist Benny Goodman, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, guitarist Kenny Burrell, saxophonist Tex Beneke, clarinetist Woody Herman, and trumpeter Clark Terry.

Been going through a bunch of Adderley records after someone (sorry can't remember who) posted 'Electric Eel' from "You, Baby" in a recent thread.

Nat Adderley - You, Baby (CTI '68) - such a cool record. Just texturally it sounds very intimate, and his electronic cornet setup almost sounds like a breathy flute at times. Grady Tate's feel on these tracks is incredible, so laid back.

Nat Adderley - Calling Out Loud (CTI '69) - more conventional than You, Baby but still super solid and enjoyable. Idris Muhammed on drums. Joe Zawinul on Rhodes is a huge part of the appeal of all these records, I love hearing him in the Adderley zone.

Cannonball Adderley - The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free ('70) - has a very distinct time & place vibe, like all of the Adderley live records. Lots of astrology and sex talk in the banter, lol, but you can tell it's a hot crowd. Lots of guest appearances by Nat Adderley's playing guitar and singing in this intimate & soulful folk style, but it all works somehow.

Cannonball Adderley - In Person - I just can't get enough of the quintet with the Adderley Bros, Zawinul, and Roy McCurdy on drums and this is a great dose. Good banter about Zawinul.

Cannonball Adderley - Country Preacher - the banter and crowd are really evocative on this one too, it's possible he made the best live albums of all time? This one is full soul jazz/funk mode, maybe the closest in vibe to the Mercy, Mercy, Mercy record. Great tambourine and crowd handclaps. Roy McCurdy is super underrated, he kills it on all these records, in every style.

Looking forward to going through the '70s records when George Duke replaces Zawinul.

that would've been me!

he's also on sam jones's "the soul society" (1960), which i was listening to earlier this morning. fast becoming one of my very favorite jazz records. it definitely scratches a kind of funk / hard bop itch, but it's much more than that. sam jones killing all over the record on double bass and cello.

i love this so much. so funny. someone should teach a class on this paragraph.

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/355117444_10161289158532137_5911693065179377795_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=TV69rAQPU5cAX9wLLEZ&_nc_ht=scontent-bos5-1.xx&oh=00_AfD5OJlKj7fwN2IFPpzqg6mdZ0XP9stS8SbDPN98ESVdCQ&oe=6496A376

haha, that's a+ material

Our little Donald, he's part of the younger generation, you know.

this might be interesting to someone other than me. i made a playlist of 200 interviews with jazz musicians.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE1-7P1reTFjNq4XVFWjPJiymJ7--IBJP

Discovered this through one of the Richard Davis remembrances, apparently he said this David Young record was one of his favorite recordings that he had done (I wonder if it's because the bass is super present in the mix, lol). But it has Sonny Fortune, Harold Mabern, and Idris Muhammad on it. Sounds extremely '70s (recorded in '71).

https://david-young.bandcamp.com/album/david-young

Check out the sax solo on "Friday the Fourteenth" that keeps dipping back and forth between hard swinging and free moments, that's really something.

i see its on my discogs wantlist. probably for richard davis. though i like all those guys. my dad loves harold mabern. he used to take me to see harold and harold's boyhood pal george coleman a lot when i was a kid. my dad worships george coleman.

George Coleman is still going strong! Amazing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClJmhumJPNB/

thanks for the DY link. love this line from the bandcamp copy:

Despite his talent, he had one album he recorded as a lead which was released on mainstream Records.

ouch!

Obsessed with Jakob Bro's records with Lee Konitz...Balladeering (w/Bill Frisell and Paul Motian), Time (different bassist and no drums), and December Song (Craig Taborn on piano). Incredible autumn music.

Best jazz vocal I've heard in a while---lots of folks have the chops and spirit, but there's a world in here, for now:
Kate Kortum - Dreamsville

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btQNuSQZxWM

Jakob Bro is indeed fantastic, have had the pleasure of seeing him quite a few times, once with Lee Konitz!

his first three ECM albums also great

did you catch Music for Black Pigeons? wonderful footage

Pulling up Michael Brecker - Time Is Of the Essence this morning. I'm not a huge Brecker fan but this is sounding great...the drum chair is either Elvin (!), "Tain" Watts, or Bill Stewart and it's a good exercise in comparison (they all sound amazing). Larry Goldings on organ, no bass player.

And "good Metheny records" is a topic that's come up on a few threads recently, and this might be one of the best. His solo on "Half Past Late" is ridiculous.

I never really think about The Brecker Brothers as music for me, lumping them in with stuff like The Yellowjackets, but I heard this cut on the radio the other night that was beefy enough and had enough twists for me to take notice. Guitarist is great, Barry Finnerty, who I don't know but research shows me has played on a ton of records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcPJ8Wop5o

Is 'Work Song' on Live in Tokyo widely accepted as the definitive version? If not, it should be, killer band and much better than the studio version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88M5gwgGPI

can't listen now but will listen later. such a great lineup. i've been so high on nat adderley records for awhile now. he made so much good stuff and i kinda didn't pay attention to them. better late than never. cannonball rules so hard. what a mind.

That's a great album. I just got two live Cannonball albums that will be coming out on Record Store Day — one is from 1969, with almost that same lineup, and the other is from 1972, when George Duke was in the band.

Forgot to mention that I heard the Tokyo recording on some cd comp I had in high school (maybe a Rhino Records thing? I remember a yellow cover). I've never had the full set but it was a great cd-era discovery.

Would love to hear those RSD records.

you can read every issue of nat hentoff's jazz review here. i know i did. i like that he had artists write reviews. one of these days i will find a complete run in real life. i could buy them one at a time when they pop up on ebay but i always forget about ebay.

https://www.jazzstudiesonline.org/content/jazz-review

Wow, thank you, that's fascinating. The first one I clicked on (Feb '59) has a pre-Coltrane article about Elvin Jones, written by a European sax was playing with him in J.J. Johnson's group, that's comes very close to speculatively describing the invention of the Coltrane Quartet. Or rather, it correctly recognizes everything Elvin is already doing (the power, flowing across the bar lines without giving the soloist easy signposts) but that eventually he'll probably have to simplify his style.

"...I have often had the same trouble with Elvin...the tension would build to a point where I had trouble finishing my choruses, and I would begin trembling with internal excitement, but completely unable to tell where we were any longer...that is obviously a situation to be avoided."

...until you find a group other musicians who always know where 1 is and can maintain the tension indefinitely. Now I wanna listen to a bunch of early Elvin.

oh wow the very first issue has the (in)famous Gunther Schuller article about Sonny Rollins.

The reviews are hilarious too:

Relaxin' (with the Miles Davis Quintet) and Musings neither disappoint nor do they set the world on fire. Both call for no excess wordage on the part of a reviewer; they should be enjoyed and not analytically picked apart. I enjoyed them. —Mimi Clar

His (Coltrane's) solo on Giant Steps particularly shows a rhythmic stiffness and melodic tameness. He does not construct any real line with the arpeggios.

--H.A. Woodfin

I didn't know this album -- These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly. It's sick, Richard Davis is going hard (and really keeping tracks like Goodnight Irene from being too straight), the late Tootie Heath on drums & tambourine, Cedar Walton, and amazing vocals by Sandra Douglas on a couple tracks.

Damn, this version of Black Girl (aka Where Did You Sleep Last Night)

Way better than the title suggests, great album

the title makes it sound awesome in my opinion! lol. checking it out now

but then i have a lot of time for Clifford Jordan

I can't find anything about Sandra Douglas besides this album, which she steals.

it seems like you're not the first one to wonder

i've pulled this album out more than once this year. pepper adams and curtis fuller together is such a beautiful pairing. i love them both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyQVtVH-dYQ

Damn, this version of Black Girl (aka Where Did You Sleep Last Night)

Damn indeed so good

that Clifford Jordan record got me wondering what other jazz albums of the era had folk revival themes ... this one, "Jazz Impressions of Folk Music," is not terrible, but sounds more like "The Harold Land Quintet Plays The Kingston Trio":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvV73nA1-gg

both albums have versions of "Take This Hammer" and Land's really suffers by comparison ... "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and lol "On Top of Old Smokey" sound better, but "Hava Nagila" sent me running to Dick Dale

fairly undistinguished and uninspired bop, but like every 1963 jazz album I've ever heard, beautifully played and recorded