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

Same principle as Mordy's Metal Listening Club Volume and THE ILM FUNK LISTENING CLUB!

It's like a book club except for JAZZ albums obviously.

Each WEDNESDAY 3 albums will be posted (no illegal d/l links, you will have to find albums yourself if you want to do it that way *cough*

You may be able to find albums on Spotify,lala.com,grooveshark etc or you can buy from itunes or those 2nd hand record shops or bargain bins or from your own collection,slsk, whatever suits you.

Everyone is free to post their thoughts on those albums in whatever way you want to, liveblogging is fine if you wish. Just discuss away!
Even when that week ends it doesn't mean discussion has to stop on those albums. ilx0rs can join in anytime.

Everyone can have a turn choosing their albums if they so wish, if noone wants a shot, shakey mo & I can do it.

cool! not enough of a metal/funk dude to really get into those other ones, but I like this idea.

I bagsy a week sometime!

are you sure shakey mo wants to run it though? lol

first 3 albums coming up in a second!

awesome!

tylerw I'm sad you're not a funk dude, you should give it a try (if you hsve the spare time)

oh, i'm a funk dude to some extent ... but the only one I know from the thread over there is the Funkadelic. I'll try to give the others a listen and chime in!

Sounds good! Everyone gets a shot so I'm sure there will be stuff posted a lot of us don't know (plus there's gonna be some jazz-funk over there too) I just didn't want to start the first week off with obscure stuff incase it put the non diehards off. It's as much for people wanting to check out funk that aren't familiar with it as it is for funkateers.

And it's great to see people talking about funk and giving their thoughts too. Same goes for the other listening clubs. Turangalila is doing a classical club and brian is doing a reggae/dub/ska club

yeah, it is prob a good excuse to dig into the ohio players ... only know bits and pieces from them.

I bagsy a week sometime!

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 22 April 2010 16:12 (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Woop!

Its a real shame non-euros cant get spotify (you can actually but you will need to ask certain ppl how) as there is an AMAZING AMOUNT OF JAZZ on there. (all the ohio players too btw)

yeah, it'd be nice to have spotify ... :(

So, for the first 3 albums: nothing too out there / free / experimental (yet). I expect EVERYONE is familiar with Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue" and John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" [ if not, go there first ].

Birth of The Cool is before Kind of Blue, and saw him move from a bebop (Charlie Parker) side player to a more relaxed mood.

Ellington & Coltrane has the beautifulest version of "In A Sentimental Mood" as the opener.

And Ben Neil as an example of jazz/electronics in the last 10 years.

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1962)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31DQHHX9XHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/7qsnx3thQiQabvDkHfqI1m

Miles Davies - Birth Of The Cool (1957)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41254DZ9ZPL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

spotfiy: http://open.spotify.com/album/5gvQFFeuEsr5liRU7E9WSw

Ben Neill - Triptycal

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GQtuh1Q_luQ/SJpjEJq_X8I/AAAAAAAACr0/NqRw-BzHUto/s400/Neill,+Ben+-+Tryptical+-.jpg

Not on Spotfify / Last.fm page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BWjuo9SUGM

[will try and find more audio online from Triptycal]

I'm in. Also starting my own club for fun and laffs, check board soon plz.

Ben Neill - Triptycal was 1996

Bagsy next week then!

all yours!

Nice choices -- don't know the Ben Neill but I'll check it out ...
As far as "Duke Ellington plays w/ younger dudes" albums go, it'd be hard to beat Money Jungle, but the Coltrane/Duke album has some really wonderful moments. As you mentioned, "In A Sentimental Mood" is probably the best ever version of that song (and that's saying something!). I think Johnny Hodges himself said that was the best he'd ever heard.

Ben Neill : these might work for American listeners:

http://www.playme.com/benneill/triptycal_2262943a.html [not avail in UK]
http://www.rhapsody.com/ben-neill/triptycal [not avail in UK]

No luck findingh much more audio (sorry), but if "Propeller" piqued your interest, there's this article which covers his move into dubstep.

here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34514

All three of these are on lala if you're American.

hmm don't think I know this Ellington/Coltrane album

Will participate. Thank god work deadlines are going to ease up in the next couple of days and I can do some serious listening.

that ben neill album cover hurts my head.

yeah that's some shitty 90s designer tics on that

count me in here, just saw that Ellington/Coltrane the other day but didn't get it.

The Ben Neill album may be a bad choice for week 1, but an interesting sideways step, away from expectations of jazz musicans I'm thinking - Propeller is the key track (YouTube clip upthread)

not so keen on it

wheres the jazz fans?

I love the Coltrane/Ellington album. I hope to have more to say later in the week. It's interesting because it comes just at a moment that Coltrane is on the verge of plunging headfirst into the avant-garde scene (or rather he had just begun the plunge with Giant Steps). It's one of a series of eloquent neo-classical statements he released through '63. The culmination of the period, to me, is the Coltrane/Hartman album, which might be the most beautiful album ever recorded. But all the 'melodic' albums from this period, and very much including this one, are deeply elegiac, as record-by-record Coltrane says goodbye to everything Jazz had meant to him and most everybody else up to that moment, and braces himself and his listeners for the trek into the promised land that begins with A Love Supreme.
I don't intend to listen to that Neil thing unless someone posts something interesting enough to convince me otherwise. The Youtube clip fails to inspire confidence.
And at the risk of making a pariah of myself, I have to admit I've never quite gotten 'Birth of the Cool.' I recognize it's import, but I've listened to it a half dozen times and nothing ever stuck. It sounds exploratory in the weakest possible sense, as Davis indicates a number of aesthetic possibilities that other artists will explore more fruitfully. Pre-Kind of Blue Miles has always been something of blind spot. Maybe I'll try to correct that in the coming days.

Kind of feel you on the Birth of the Cool. I like it quite a bit, but it's never struck me as the masterpiece that some claim it is. You might've had to be there - in the context of bebop, it probably sounded way more innovative than it does today. Still, a nice sound/band -- some great tonal things going on there, kind of a light, airy feel that you can't find a lot of other places. Like big band harmonies stripped down to a small(er) band format. I guess Gerry Mulligan's 50s stuff is the closest to this really.

Re: the Coltrane/Ellington, listened today ... I think the ballads work best, "Sentimental Mood" and "Little Brown Book." Got me thinking about the missed opportunities though ... Trane could've recorded "Africa" with Ellington band! Or something ...

I'm defo in!

in my 'experience' - working in a big jazz rec dept for 3 years - BIRTH OF THE COOL puts more 'newcomers' off jazz than just abt any other rec - the recording, arrangements, even the playing just sound TOO dated now - def. not something I wld rec to ppl as a starting point for miles, or jazz

yeah, it's hard to quibble against that ellington/coltrane versh of 'in a sentimental mood' - and it's interesting to hear that hodges rated it, cos of course he was prob number one influence on trane (and hodges also always struck me as a hard-to-please kinda guy) - but the rest of the alb isn't all that tbh, and (w/ the exception of the johnny hartman collab) i wld rate all of coltrane's impulse albs above this one

this is one of my fave 'ironic' alb titles

http://www.incusrecords.force9.co.uk/images/cd3/incusCD25-sentimental-mood.jpg

point/counterpoint

I listen to Birth Of The Cool more than any Miles album, except maybe Get Up With It. While it certainly doesn't have the weight of Kind Of Blue (or the over exposure-cum-pop-appeal of So What) it's important as it inspired the West Coast jazz sound.

BIRTH OF THE COOL puts more 'newcomers' off jazz than just abt any other rec

But I have a soft spot for some of the be-bop inspired stuff from this period.

Also Jeru, Moon Dreams, Boplicity as beautiful - in a Cosby Show kind of way

are beautiful

actually, Boplicity is not that beautiful.

should we say:

pfunk: 30 April
a hoy hoy: 7 May
local garda: 14 May
tannenbaum: 21 May

anyone else want to curate a week?

i don't mean it puts ppl off cos it's 'some crazy Art Ensemble of Chicago stuff' (whatever that means), i mean it puts ppl off cos it sounds OLD and BORING and SAFE and UNEXCITING, especially to jazz newcomers whose listening/hearing has been conditioned by rock music/dance music - recs like GET UP WITH IT, or even A JACKSON IN YOUR HOUSE, are actually much approachable/understandable to ppl under the age of 40, imho, than 'classic' bebop or cool jazz or west coast jazz or whatevs

I see what you're saying, but I wasn't comparing Birth Of The Cool to "crazy" Art Ens. of C material; I meant it was some way removed from that strain of jazz.

I'll admit that the passing of time probably has made the west count sound and be-bop seem like cheesy shit to modern ears attuned to rock/dance (although hiphop fans should find enough breaks in hard-bop to dig it).

So, not trying to dissuade you from your opinion and Art Ens. Of C's "Theme De Yoyo" is as good an example of an accesible entry point for rock/dance/funk fans into some searing, going-straight-for-the-jugular jazz as there probably is.

Also, Ward you should curate a week.

would love to, ty!

cool, you can do 21 May

pfunk: 30 April
a hoy hoy: 7 May
local garda: 14 May
ward fowler: 21 May
tannenbaum: 28 May

where's xyzzzzzzzzz he needs to do it too

I remember not liking Birth of the Cool when I first heard it years ago for the reasons mentioned above (recording quality, "corniness"). Now I hear it as a response to both big band swing and bebop, and having that historical context has made it more enjoyable. I think it would have been better with more Gil Evans arrangements.

The ballads on the Ellington/Coltrane are beautiful, but overall it feels kind of under-developed. Some of Money Jungle strikes me the same way. Of the Ellington collaborations I've heard from this period, I'm more likely to put on the one with Louis Armstrong.

listened to Birth of the Cool this morning, and it sounded great -- I take it back! Total masterpiece. (I think it rewards closer listening ... having it on in the background, it sounds ... like background music. But on the headphones this morning it sounded pretty deep and rich.)
What makes Money Jungle way better than the Coltrane/Ellington collab is the *tension*. Mingus sounds like he really doesn't want to let Duke cruise on that recording. On the Coltrane record it sounds like everyone got along and chilled. And made a decent, if not fantastic, record.
(i'd do a week of this too ...)

learn yr dates, jazzxors:

pfunk: 30 April
a hoy hoy: 7 May
local garda: 14 May
ward fowler: 21 May
Cave17Matt: 28 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 4 June
tylerw: 11 June
tannenbaum: 18 June

i'll keep bumping myself down if more want to curate a week

I hope my selections aren't too mainstream!

I'm always up for following you Tannenbaum , happy to have as many turns as possible.

Nah, I'm keen to be exposed to other stuff/choices.

Also, would like to ask for just 2 choices per week so I can also take in the funk, brazilian and rap threads going on.

But he gave me permission to do 3!

wtf shitting on birth of the cool

Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 4 June

Hey cool, I just meant I'd participate in that I'd listen and post on the records, but I'm excited to curate a week as well. I thought about asking but didn't want to barge in.

I was agnostic on Birth of the Cool for years in basically the same way as stated above. But I listened to it yesterday for this thread and really loved it. "Moon Dreams" is particularly lovely.

Also, thank you MumblestheRevelator: I've been meaning to check out the Coltrane/Hartman album for ages and this prompted me to do it finally.

birth of the cool would scare newcomers to jazz away? really? that's sad. and strange.

i already made fun of the cover, but, man, that ben neil track above is funny because it actually SOUNDS like the cover. i would have thought that impossible. apologies to ben, but my first reaction to his track was: i really wouldn't want anyone to hear me listening to this. so, don't really want to hear the rest.

i wish i had that ellington/coltrane album here right now. i could go for that.

That Monk album of Ellington covers is great, but I'm a sucker for ironic piano standards.

Ben Neill: its certainly of its time with the drum'n'bass thing half way through.

its not my thing

what does Neill's version of "After the Gold Rush" sound like?!

just to clarify - BIRTH OF THE COOL is great! lee konitz is great! gil evans is great! gerry mulligan is great! it's just that, in my experience, the title and cover image are slightly misleading - i think ppl think it will sound much more like KIND OF BLUE...or LIFT TO THE SCAFFOLD...or even CHET by chet baker... y'know, smokey moody midnight jazzy - and so they struggle to get to grips w/ a style/sound that is now 60 years old. i prob sold at least a copy a day of BIRTH OF THE COOL, back when i was working in that big jazz rec, and i'd say 50% of the time, ppl brought it straight back. their loss, sure, but it happened enough times to tell me that it's not a gd 'first jazz alb' kinda pick

oh man, we gotta have 3 choices - and i really hope scott schools us one week...

big jazz rec shop

That Monk album of Ellington covers is great

^ co-sign

Big jazz record shop - so jealous. Only ever have been to Mole Jazz. Decent prices (for London).

think mole left their premises in kings x and moved into a classical rec shop in soho (the name of which escapes me for the moment), but are prob out of business now - as you say, it was a gd place to crate dig. rays jazz are still hanging on in foyles.

i've got the ellington/monk disc on this great cheapo set

http://www.avidgroup.co.uk/acatalog/info_AMSC964.html

but haven't spun it yet - this thread is encouraging me to do so, so it's paying of already hurrah

I think I've finally decided my picks for next week, man it was so hard trying to pick only 3!

that ben neill track upthread does not sound like jazz to me. more like some dj job of kruder & dorfmeister with a dash of fusion in it or something. it is not bad but definitely not a classic jazz album. i never got into birth of the cool neither. have to give it another try. i don't know that ellington/coltrane cooperation at all.

[Hey cool, I just meant I'd participate in that I'd listen and post on the records, but I'm excited to curate a week as well. I thought about asking but didn't want to barge in.

This was me too, but as I said if my choices aren't too mainstream I'm totally up for curating a week!

Wouldn't worry as to whether its too mainstream or not. Jazz has gone to all sorts of places so it will be good to hear what people are going to come up with.

think mole left their premises in kings x and moved into a classical rec shop in soho (the name of which escapes me for the moment), but are prob out of business now - as you say, it was a gd place to crate dig. rays jazz are still hanging on in foyles.

Harold Moores - and yes Mole moved out of there a long while back. Scored a second hand copy of Cecil Taylor's Jazz Composers Orchestra LP on my last visit. Really sad.

this coltrane/duke is v. pretty

as with all of Coltrane's Impulse stuff, the recording quality is gorgeous ... perfect sound.

Spotify really is brilliant for jazz

that ben neill track upthread does not sound like jazz to me. more like some dj job of kruder & dorfmeister with a dash of fusion in it or something. it is not bad but definitely not a classic jazz album. i never got into birth of the cool neither. have to give it another try. i don't know that ellington/coltrane cooperation at all.

― alex in mainhattan, Saturday, 24 April 2010 06:50 (10 hours ago) Bookmark

Do Cab Calloway singing "Minnie The Moocher" and Mile Davis' On The Corner LP really both count as Jazz? On The Corner is essentially a weird funk album played by an amazing Jazz man. Minnie The Moocher was some song from a cartoon with a catchy call and response chorus.

Ben Neill will never be considered a classic jazz album, because it simply isn't (strong enough). Its more a mutation or (I don't want to use this word but I've seen it labelled as) future-jazz.

I wanted to see how it would resound with jazzxors

Wouldn't worry as to whether its too mainstream or not. Jazz has gone to all sorts of places so it will be good to hear what people are going to come up with.

― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 24 April 2010 09:39 (7 hours ago) Bookmark

Ben Neill's roots are notably Miles Davis and Jon Hassell, but he’s staked out his own terrain in the sonic landscape, mixing fractured jungle loops under his free-form improvisations. So how Jazz is it?

Perhaps we can - in later weeks - talk about what counts as "Jazz" since the mid 1980s (post jazz-funk, fusion, disco and following the emergence of hip-hop and house music as the dominant non-rock genres for the next 15 years).

And is the genre still evolving or do permutations that utilise only a fraction of more recognised Jazz signifers get side-lined as fusion or something else? What are the essential, amazing, classic Jazz recordings since 1985 for example? Again hopefully we can cover some of this in later weeks.

-----

I chose Ellington/Coltrane chosen for this week because, whilst it wouldn't again doesn't feature in most Top 50 jazz albums you must have lists, it has a great mood throughout and is an intro to 2 giants. And I love this recording of In A Sentimental Mood so very much.

Plus I like how Coltrane's solos are concise, but you can sense he wants to do more. Hopefully in coming weeks we'll get some avant/free Impulse label Coltrane - shit that's ear splitting / mind melting and complex. (Recordings that noise fans will find much favour with).

BIRTH OF THE COOL is this week's CLASSIC JAZZ recording.

And someone asked about needing to have 3 albums per week. Yeah go for it.

if you ask me, on the corner is STILL "future jazz". i don't know what that ben neill track is. a bad idea?

"Perhaps we can - in later weeks - talk about what counts as "Jazz" since the mid 1980s"

jazz does. count as jazz since the mid 80's. there's still lots of it around.

I'd like to do a week sometime. I like this listening club idea.

Sparkle Motion, your choices due as per:

pfunk: 30 April
a hoy hoy: 7 May
local garda: 14 May
ward fowler: 21 May
Cave17Matt: 28 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 4 June
tylerw: 11 June
Sparkle Motion: 18 June
tannenbaum: 25 June

Scott, I'd like to get schooled in what Jazz is worth listening to since mid-80s. I know there's lots of it still around 'cos I see it live and its great: Ken Vandermark, Sun Ra Arkestra, Matthew Shipp, Steve Reid, even Portico Quartet and Seb Roachford/Polar Bear/Fulbourn Teversham (the last 3 I still need to check out) but any pointers to albums would be greatly appreciated.

yeah, i'm kinda trad though. you'd probably be bored. i was raised trad. my dad was so excited to get the new tom harrell album that just came out. he might not have bought it the DAY it came out, but pretty close.

now playing: chico freeman - tradition in transition (elektra - 1982)

my kinda 80's album, i guess. i love chico. and he's got wallace roney, cecil mcbee, jack dejohnette, and billy hart playing with him. but, again, i was raised on this stuff. it's really only been in the last decade that i have started getting down with the experimental/out/free guys. well, jazz guys. in other genres, i have been getting down with them forever.

Cool. I'm looking forward to it. I hate to say it, but I'm also looking forward to the end of this Ben Neill album. I'll have some actual commentary a bit later, but for now, add me to the camp that calls this Not Jazz.

now i'm listening to this though. man does it sound good. it's a jazz "classic". 1968. one serious power trio. if anyone has never heard it, they should, um, hear it! i don't actually listen to too much chick corea, but he was all fired up when he made this.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S8onHUlmhfg/SS2aPs4N3mI/AAAAAAAAAcU/8FbILFlg2Tw/s320/ChickCorea-NowHeSingsNowHeSobs.jpg

haha! Sparkle, you don't have to force yourself to the end, if you don't like it!

Scott will check out that Chick Corea album. I love Return To Forever. Haven't heard it in ages, so looking forward to listening again in the next hour!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61KIiT3fKgL._SS500_.jpg

Most CD versions of Now He Sings... have a bunch of material that documents the pre-Circle Corea/Holland/Altschul combo. All is worth at least a listen. As far as listening all the way through is concerned--I can't bear to see the assignment half completed.

i've always wanted to live in that apartment pictured on the front of NOW HE SINGS, NOW HE SOBS! prob my fave chick corea alb after CRYSTAL SILENCE - and right now it's available for £3 in most branches of FOPP, UK jazzbos!

Coltrane/Ellington is lovely, deeply satisfying (especially after listening to Fates Warning and Cradle of Filth, ha). Will keep this in my life for sure.

I'm keen to be educated on the classic side of things (I had never even heard Birth of the Cool before). Coltrane/Ellington has grabbed me more than Miles so far, which surprised me because I love Miles' later stuff.

I'm a little embarrassed that I've never listened to all of Birth of the Cool before, although I've heard this version of "Boplicity" many times. Really impressive and enjoyable, of course. Love Evans' arrangements.

Not too thought out impressions typed up while listing to the Duke Ellington & John Coltrane disc slightly distractedly at work (but it's the best I have time for, sorry)...

In a Sentimental Mood
This is the style of Coltrane I think I enjoy listening to the most, masterful and fantastically restrained. The opening sections really set a kind of blue mood. Ellington feels like a bit of an afterthought, which is weird (always thought of this more of a Coltrane album though).

Take the Coltrane
I don't really enjoy the shift of mood between the first track and this. The faster tempo and higher sound kind of loses me. I don't know if it's the tune or the sequencing that turns me off.

Big Nick
Better, but kinda light?

Stevie
Fine.

My Little Brown Book
Back to that really great feeling of In A Sentimental Mood. I guess I love the sad blues tracks so much, I have a harder time getting into the other stuff.

Angelica
Fine.

The Feeling of Jazz
A nice enough way to close out the album.

Overall, listening to this album again for the first time in a long while, I was honestly surprised to find myself a bit bored by it (in my memory I rated it higher - first heard it about twenty years ago). The only tracks I really loved were In A Sentimental Mood and to a slightly lesser extent My Little Brown Book. For the most part, I don't feel like the pairing of Coltrane and Ellington yields anything especially interesting or valuable, though I do feel like it's a pretty solid album overall. Solid could be part of the problem, as it doesn't reach the heights of the best Coltrane and for the most part, Ellington just seems to be there, could be anybody - not a lot of feeling that I was noticing, really.

Re: BOTC

In general my first reaction to the angularity of bebop themes is "lol that was a LOT of marijuana." Mellowing the themes out with buttery nonet arrangements was a smart move. I feel that among the arrangers, Evans and Mulligan definitely took more advantage of the expanded palette than John Lewis -- on "Budo," Lewis kind of threw a blanket over the french horns and tuba, or told them to go to the bar for an hour or something.

One thing I noticed was that after a couple of Miles' skittering, skirling solos, he didn't have any business calling Ornette Coleman out for weirdness ten years later, unless that was all about the writing and the concept of harmolodics, not the weirdness of the soloing.

A couple of lines in my notes: "Lewis' solo on 'Boplicity' - weird, tentative."
"Gil Evans REALLY knew what to do with a tuba player. esp on 'Moon Dreams.'"

BOTC really is the start of Miles Davis' stardom.

There's an excellent and detailed track-by-track run down here: http://www.jazz.com/dozens/the-dozens-the-birth-of-the-cool

Re: Duke/Coltrane

Coltrane seems to have taken this session more seriously than Duke, but that's not unexpected. Duke brought his songbook and good vibes, but not (imho) a lot of energy or thought. Exception - 'In a Sentimental Mood,' very nice work from Ellington on that. Coltrane and the drummers really brought their A game, in terms of imagination in their playing. Still, a day of jamming among two geniuses and a roomful of great, great players is nothing to underrate.

At a recent gathering of Ellington band alumni organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center, bassist John Lamb recalled the sessions for Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: "There was no music on that whole date. Nobody had a chart. We came in and we were standing there, waiting to see what would happen. 'Trane would go and sit on the piano bench with Duke. They didn't talk, but Duke would be singing ... and 'Trane would go ... Then, after they did that for a few minutes, they got up. 'Trane would go to his microphone, Duke would start playing, and the rhythm section, we had to do for ourselves, you know. That's it. He didn't even tell you the key. He could communicate without words, and 'Trane could hear it." On Take the Coltrane, the two play in a quartet of Coltrane's bandmates of the day, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones {Ellington men Lamb and drummer Sam Woodyard also played on the album}. ~ Jazziz
(Aaron Bell, not Lamb, is credited on the Wiki page for this album, so I don't know if that undermines that story at all.)

"Gil Evans REALLY knew what to do with a tuba player. esp on 'Moon Dreams.'"

gil loved the tuba! (its why howard johnson was such a big part of gil's band for so many years)

Regarding the Ben Neill, I can't really think of this as jazz. It seems too through-composed. Neill uses a jazz musician's instrument, and sometimes what he does seems to involve an element of improv, but that seems beside the point. It's nice enough, but I'll probably drop it off my hard drive when the next batch of albums is picked.

i've been digging some of Gil Evans' non-Birth of the Cool early stuff, mainly arranging for Claude Thornhill. There's a version of "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" that's pretty breathtaking.

There's no way to hear Ben Neill in Canada, is there? It's not even on iTunes! Shame, since the one track on Youtube makes me think that I would enjoy the album.

please book me for a week.

Sundar, pm me and I can assist.

pfunk, would you be ready with your picks if we make this Jazz thread a Wednesday update? (makes sense, with your Funk now on Tuesday, and the others looking like: Brazilian on Thursday, HipHop on Friday, Prog on Saturday, R'N'B on Monday)

If so, you're on in 15 mins!

forks, you're due as per:

pfunk: 30 April
a hoy hoy: 7 May
local garda: 14 May
ward fowler: 21 May
Cave17Matt: 28 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 4 June
tylerw: 11 June
Sparkle Motion: 18 June
forksclovetofu: 25 June
tannenbaum: 2 July

yeah sure, no probs. Got an SST poll to do but I can fit this in, just need to find album pics, spotify links etc but I'll get it done within an hour. Ask a mod to change your first post stating its WEDNESDAY then. I think having a club on each day is pretty good.

in my calendar!

xpost: cool. + hope someone gets together a Classical and/or Reggae Sunday -> would be perfect to round things out.

oh shit, need to change the dates on the schedule: ITS A WEDNESDAY now folks:

NEW DATES:

forks, you're due as per:

pfunk: 28 April
a hoy hoy: 5 May
local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May
Cave17Matt: 26 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 2 June
tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
tannenbaum: 30 June

Week 2
Album
#1 Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tFTMaqlQ5VI/SbkFsPfcMtI/AAAAAAAACAU/tBbm75qmAiY/s320/01.jpg
Spotify Link

AMG Review
Pharoah Sanders' third album as a leader is the one that defines him as a musician to the present day. After the death of Coltrane, while there were many seeking to make a spiritual music that encompassed his ideas and yearnings while moving forward, no one came up with the goods until Sanders on this 1969 date. There are only two tracks on Karma, the 32-plus minute "The Creator Has a Master Plan" and the five-and-a-half-minute "Colours." The band is one of Sanders' finest, and features vocalist Leon Thomas, drummer Billy Hart, Julius Watkins, James Spaulding, a pre-funk Lonnie Liston Smith, Richard Davis, Reggie Workman on bass, and Nathaniel Bettis on percussion. "Creator" begins with a quote from "A Love Supreme," with a nod to Coltrane's continuing influence on Sanders. But something else emerges here as well: Sanders' own deep commitment to lyricism and his now inherent knowledge of Eastern breathing and modal techniques. His ability to use the ostinato became not a way of holding a tune in place while people soloed, but a manner of pushing it irrepressibly forward. Keeping his range limited (for the first eight minutes anyway), Sanders explores all the colors around the key figures, gradually building the dynamics as the band comps the two-chord theme behind with varying degrees of timbral invention. When Thomas enters at nine minutes, the track begins to open. His yodel frees up the theme and the rhythm section to invent around him. At 18 minutes it explodes, rushing into a silence that is profound as it is noisy in its approach. Sanders is playing microphonics and blowing to the heavens and Thomas is screaming. They are leaving the material world entirely. When they arrive at the next plane, free of modal and interval constraints, a new kind of lyricism emerges, one not dependent on time but rhythm, and Thomas and Sanders are but two improvisers in a sound universe of world rhythm and dimension. There is nothing to describe the exhilaration that is felt when this tune ends, except that "Colours," with Ron Carter joining Workman on the bass, was the only track that could follow it. You cannot believe it until you hear it.

#2 Bobby Hutcherson - Components (1965)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cuekNXy%2BL._SS400_.jpg
Spotify Link

AMG Review

Perhaps the single album that best sums up Bobby Hutcherson's early musical personality, Components is appropriately split into two very distinct halves. The first features four Hutcherson originals in a melodic but still advanced hard bop style, while the latter half has four free-leaning avant-garde pieces by drummer Joe Chambers. Hutcherson allots himself more solo space than on Dialogue, but that's no knock on the excellent supporting cast, which includes Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Ron Carter on bass. It's just more Hutcherson's date, and he helps unite the disparate halves with a cool-toned control that's apparent regardless of whether the material is way outside or more conventionally swinging. In the latter case, Hutcherson's originals are fairly diverse, encompassing rhythmically complex hard bop (the title track), pensive balladry ("Tranquillity," which features a lovely solo by Hancock), down-and-dirty swing ("West 22nd Street Theme"), and the gaily innocent "Little B's Poem," which went on to become one of Hutcherson's signature tunes and contains some lyrical flute work from Spaulding. The Chambers pieces tend to be deliberate explorations that emphasize texture and group interaction in the manner of Dialogue, except that there's even more freedom in terms of both structure and tonal center. (The exception is the brief but beautiful closing number, "Pastoral," an accurate title if ever there was one.) Components illustrated that Hutcherson was not only the most adventurous vibes player on the scene, but that he was also capable of playing more straightforward music with intelligence and feeling.

#3 Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - Expansions (1974)
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm181/karl_ktarn/5-20.jpg
Spotify Link

AMG Review
When Lonnie Liston Smith left the Miles Davis band in 1974 for a solo career, he was, like so many of his fellow alumni, embarking on a musical odyssey. For a committed fusioneer, he had no idea at the time that he was about to enter an abyss that it would take him the better part of two decades to return from. Looking back upon his catalog from the period, this is the only record that stands out — not only from his own work, but also from every sense of the word: It is fully a jazz album, and a completely funky soul-jazz disc as well. Of the seven compositions here, six are by Smith, and the lone cover is of the Horace Silver classic, "Peace." The lineup includes bassist Cecil McBee, soprano saxophonist David Hubbard, tenor saxophonist Donald Smith (who doubles on flute), drummer Art Gore, and percussionists Lawrence k*ll*an, Michael Carvin, and Leopoldo. Smith plays both piano and electric keyboards and keeps his compositions on the jazzy side — breezy, open, and full of groove playing that occasionally falls over to the funk side of the fence. It's obvious, on this album at least, that Smith was not completely comfortable with Miles' reliance on hard rock in his own mix. Summery and loose in feel, airy and free with its in-the-cut beats and stellar piano fills, Expansions prefigures a number of the "smooth jazz" greats here, without the studio slickness and turgid lack of imagination. The disc opens with the title track, with one of two vocals on the LP by Donald Smith (the other is the Silver tune). It's typical "peace and love and we've got to work together" stuff from the mid-'70s, but it's rendered soulfully and deeply without artifice. "Desert Nights" takes a loose Detroit jazz piano groove and layers flute and percussion over the top, making it irresistibly sensual and silky. It's fleshed out to the bursting point with Smith's piano; he plays a lush solo for the bridge and fills it to the brim with luxuriant tones from the middle register. "Summer Days" and "Voodoo Woman" are where the electric keyboards make their first appearance, but only as instruments capable of carrying the groove to the melody quickly, unobtrusively, and with a slinky grace that is infectious. The mixed bag/light-handed approach suits Smith so well here that it's a wonder he tried to hammer home the funk and disco on later releases so relentlessly. The music on Expansions is timeless soul-jazz, perfect in every era. Of all the fusion records of this type released in the mid-'70s, Expansions provided smoother jazzers and electronica's sampling wizards with more material that Smith could ever have anticipated.

3 different decades, 3 different styles of jazz. Was so hard trying to choose just 3 but I couldn't leave out Karma. So poor Archie Shepp missed the cut, you all prob know the Mingus I would've picked and at the last moment Hank Mobley was dropped. Hopefully the 3 I havent went for you will like.
I need another shot at this tannenbaum, put me down for next shot after yours!

Hope you all enjoy these 3 albums. Nothing to difficult or "free" about them but definitely not too easy to listen to either.

oooh componants looks like something i would v. much love to hear once i stop pissing about with angry loud depressed white dudes listening poll.

dude! love and really know both the Pharoah Sanders and Lonnie Liston Smith well. Ace choices! And Bobby Hutcherson is new to me, so will give it a listen tomorrow.

i like all three of those records a bunch. great trio of records for people to hear if they've never heard them.

Pharoah's "Creator Has A Masterplan" and Lonnie "Expansons" (title track) will bring you closer to the God you don't believe in.

music is my god.

It was murder choosing just 3! So I went for the decades thing. I figured the better known stuff might get picked by others so I narrowed it down to 5, dropped the Shepp and after getting the Hank Mobley all sorted and ready to post I changed it to Bobby H.

Ok this Hutcherson is FUCKING AMAZING. I feel like I should be walking at night in the rain listening to this.

those Hutcherson/Hancock records are something special. Actually not all that familiar w/ Components though (I listen to Happenings the most), but I'll dig it out and listen. I know it's good!

I dont think you will be disappointed

Did you ask a mod to add this weeks albums to the thread title?

Hey Sam wait til you hear the other 2 albums.

I've heard Karma many a time. Will go into it when its not 4 in the morning.

psyched for these, I should also say I am enjoying Birth of the Cool and the Ellinton/Coltrane, though need to listen to them more...

i hope you enjoy my picks

Wow, the Hutcherson is fantastic! A good reminder that as long I don't listen to too much of it at once, I pretty much like anything on Blue Note. Still, this is outstanding even for that label. Freddie Hubbard is maybe wildly underrated?

Karma is of course amazing. I'll listen to Lonnie later. Somewhat wary about that one--tried to get into him a few years ago and it was just too syrupy, but I never tried Expansions.

Lonnie Liston Smith's discography is a journey into syrup, with each becoming more over-sweet than the last. Expansions (and Visions of A New World, just after it) are still in the not-too-sweetspot.

Astral Travelling, Cosmic Funk, Expansions and Visions Of A New World are all I have (and are great) heard a few albums from after it and they were a bit disco and not very good so i have never heard what came after it.

Is the 76 live album any good? I heard it was pretty great but I've never seen it around.

Sadly I think I tried Astral Traveling and didn't like it. But I was a different person then, very suspicious of anything "cheesy".

I posted about the Hutcherson before I even got to the second side: that is truly a brilliant album, an inspired choice.

I dont like Cheesy either and I never found it cheesy at all.

And glad you love the Bobby Hutcherson.

Blue Note must be the greatest record label of all time.

yeah, I scare-quoted Cheesy to indicate that my definition of it has shifted.

I think I'd agree on Blue Note. Surely they're the most ideal label of all time anyway, the one to aspire to.

Agreed.

I read that Alfred Lion knew what a session was going to sound like before Van Gelder pressed record. If you listen to enough Blue Note albums, I think this becomes apparent, and problematic...I mean to say that consistent excellence slides into consistent sameness on occasion. But that's about my only complaint with Blue Note as a label.

I have no problem with consistent brilliance myself!

Yeah, it only bothers me if I try to listen to too much BN in a short span of time. Taken individually the vast majority of it is good to genius. Also, even though I know where you're coming from, the "sameness" argument is maybe harder to make in light of this specific album.

Yeah, I wasn't referring to this album in particular--I haven't even heard it yet! One of the best things that Lion & co. did was record & support Hutcherson, Rivers, Hill & Taylor even though they weren't ever going to do the same kind of business that his stalwarts were going to do.

There's lots of great obscure Blue Note artists.

btw I might want to do one of these

the main criticism of Blue Note might be that they kind of milked a lot of artists dry -- Jimmy Smith in particular. He put out more than two dozen records in like 4 years, I think! I guess they were enthusiastic about him ... but really, you only need 3 or 4 Jimmy Smith records in your life. He's great, but there's not a lot of variety.

root down is my jimmy smith jam

btw I might want to do one of these

― Turangalila, Wednesday, 28 April 2010 21:08 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

pfunk: 28 April
a hoy hoy: 5 May
local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May
Cave17Matt: 26 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 2 June
tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July

Oh, I could do one too, assuming there are plenty of reminders between now and 22 July!

Love Donald Smith's (Lonnie's brother) vocals on Expansions, the bubblin' bassline, the propulsiveness yet calm air.

Lonnie was one of the players on Pharoah Sander's Karma as well

And I enjoyed the Lonnie Liston Smith quite a bit. While I can tell why my younger more cynical self would have balked at a song like "Summer Days", it was perfect for a lovely day. Also, Cecil McBee is one of my favorite bassists.

That's what made me choose the Lonnie Liston Smith (do not confuse with Lonnie Smith) because he's on Karma and I thought it was a nice link. Plus the Bobby Hutcherson had Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard on it rather than picking one of their best known albums.

a hoy hoy: 5 May
local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May
Cave17Matt: 26 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 2 June
tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July

if anyone else wants to curate a week, just private message me and I'll maintain a list off-thread, rather than clog the thread up with updates to the schedule :) /or just wait till July before requesting.

I'll post a monthly reminder, so as you long as you check in once in a while you should be okay to see when you're up

You could PM the person a week beforehand?

will do for the June and July ones.

The 2nd half of Components is where the album really comes alive for me.

Things get a little more "out" on side 2, don't they? Kind of an interesting split -- the first half is pretty straight ahead bop ... Listening to Components now. Love this sound. Carter's bass! For a guy who played on a bajillion records, he always sounds fresh, engaged and into it.

The albums of this period all kind of do that--move between straight ahead and more out playing...from 65 to 70 or so there isn't one Hutcherson album that I haven't liked.

Agreed, Bobby Hutcherson released great stuff then

Looking at the Allmusic discography, there are a few I haven't heard, and 1970's 'Now' isn't very good. The one directly after that, "Head On" is fantastic though--a great blend of the straight-ahead and more exploratory elements of the years preceding.

Head On is pretty nice -- though surprisingly, I think I might like the bonus tracks that are on the recent CD reissue better than the album itself! San Francisco is worht checking out too. I've got Natural Illusions (from 74, I think?) -- it's got string orchestrations on it, some of which works some of which doesn't.

I agree about the bonus tracks. An instance of bonus material being truly worthwhile rather than the usual alt take.

San Francisco is definitely worth having.

I find parts of Karma is to be amazing, but I've always found Leon Thomas' vocals to be something of a distraction. I don't necessarily mind his voice per se, but it distracts from everything else in the recording that I find so interesting and arresting. It's the one unimaginative element in the mix, and it's perhaps the number one reason Karma has always been an album I admire more than like.

That said, I do love the fluctuations in Sanders' tone on this album. He gets very abrasive (especially in the midsection), but he always seems compelled to then swoop back into a voluptuous, sweet sound just as his sax makes direct contact with chaos. I'm also amused by his significantly swinging cadence, especially at the 24 minutes mark, that finds a midpoint between Ben Webster and Steve Mackay . It makes an interesting contrast to Coltrane, whose single major limitation, I think, is that he couldn't swing very well (Monk tries to get him to on the Carnegie Hall recording, but he sounds unwilling to play along).

I enjoy his "vocals" actually.

Me too.

This Hutcherson album is GREAT! I love Blue Note from this period -- generally a consistently interesting combination of balls and taste.

Bit of a jazz neophyte but i'm about 6 minutes into "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and it's blowing me away. How does he get that tone?

Hard work and clean living?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overblowing

that tone?

That'll be it. As i said, don't really listen to that much jazz (although i have heard Journey in Satchidananda) but the first thing that struck me with this album was the "roughness" of the tone. It just sounds cool basically.

been listening to Karma a lot in the last week independently of this thread, walking around singing "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah" in my head. I don't really dig Thomas' solo stuff but I love him on this record.

Hutcherson had a great working relationship w/pianist Andrew Hill on Blue Note, too. check out Hutch's Dialogue or Hill's Judgement LP. my favorite straight-ahead Bobby is The Stick-Up w/Joe Henderson at his most Coltranesque.

Andrew Hill was terrific too back then.

listened to Karma (twice!) on the way to work today. beautiful record. thing i was digging the most about "creator" this time around was the percussion -- all that shimmering, jangling sound going on.

I think I hear new things everytime I hear it tbh. Either that or I'm focussing on something different each time. It's just the perfect album for me (along with Mingus - Black Saint And Sinner Lady)

Karma is definitely my favourite jazz lp, and definitely in my top 5 of all time regarddless of genre

glad to hear that

Here is a Spotify Playlist for both weeks(minus unavailable album)
Will add to it each week

just a reminder for the May's pickers:

a hoy hoy: 5 May
local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May
Cave17Matt: 26 May

i think i have decided my 3. there is no link other than they may be my fav 3 jazz records evererer

how do they rate as arsenal players?

Vieira, Song and Keown?

the 1st one is a classy thuggish album by an artist who was past their best?

ok vieira when he was an arsenal player.

hard edged classy with a great ability to move forward?

What will a jazz fabregas be?

Hmm, I was thinking 'kinda african and/or hard as hell' w/ my picks. a cesc would be some dainty european thing that can leave a giant smiley smile on yr face.

and an arshavin?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Machinegunbrotz.jpg/200px-Machinegunbrotz.jpg

tbh i don't know where brotzmann is from but his name sounds kinda russian + proper mental and exciting.

Peter Brötzmann is German and mental. Extremely fiery and would rip your head off.

always thought Brötzmann was Polish, but the interwebs confirms what Herman says is true. Saw him at Oto earlier this year and he was indeed fiery and exciting.

Unrelated but I heard that during the recent spate of Sun Ra Arkestra gigs at Oto, they were booking some Summer 2010 London shows and Ronnie Scotts were keen to get them. Arkestra promptly turned them down, citing Oto as their most preferred jazz joint in London!

so a jens. dunno what an arshavin would be. can something be cute+mental in free jazz?

http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/ibarra.jpg

Instantly rcoecognise Susie Ibarra, although I've only ever heard her on the work she did with Yo La Tengo. Must try and "check" her out proper. Ward any recommendations for this?

What did she do with Yo La Tengo? I'm not Ward but Flower after Flower is quite good.

Folkloriko for cute
David S. Ware Quartet for mental

It's not as cut and dried as that, but it's a start.

Ibarra played on YLT's "And then everything turned itself inside out" album. She's definitely on the track "Saturday" but may also have played on others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L322i7aMF_4

THE ILM FUNK LISTENING CLUB! Vol #3: May 3 - May 9 with Leon Thomas, Betty Davis and Herbie Hancock... All ILXors and lurkers welcome. is a bit jazzy this week folks if you wanna pop over (if you're not already on it) there's always going to be some crossover.

Okay Folkloriko is pretty mental. Interesting, strange - but to my ears not that hard to listen to.

(it and a couple other albums by Ibarra on Spotify!)

so is jazz club still moving to a tuesday or are there stragglers still wanting to talk about last weeks albums?

If a hoy a hoy is ready then go ahead!

Thanks for the Bobby H. introduction, enjoyed very much. Like the quieter pieces, especially "Tranquility" more but will be coming back to this.

I surprised myself by not engaging as much with Lonnie L S this time, finding about half of it - I dunno - noodly / cheesy / lite. The title track remains an amazing thing to behold tho

And felt real good to be listening to "The Creator...." again after several years. Easily the best of your picks: I can immediately smell the incense smoking away on stage when i saw him ('97, maybe early '98) at the Jazz Cafe.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

sam are you around? post your albums!

I think maybe the snooker put him in a coma

i love susie ibarra. i missed out on week 2 (and 1...) but will say that Karma is one epic killer of an album

you can post about any of the albums anytime if youre playing catch up. Good chat on the albums shouldn't end with the next picks.

SAM post your albums already

srry, was at work last night

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p2IuxcXHg8w/SQ2ZMUJlIlI/AAAAAAAAAM0/ghIIisf-jwk/s320/africa-brass.jpg

Africa/Brass by John Coltrane

https://www.ifmusic.co.uk/images/product_images/mccoytyner-realmccoy.jpg

The Real McCoy by McCoy Tyner

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/bluemonkey666/wayneshorter_juju3.jpg

Juju by Wayne Shorter

http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200607/05/63/f0062463_20462330.jpg oops.

I was torn between Olé and A/B. (Well, and Ascension but I think it is too early for that). Really though they are both perfect singular records from the Coltrane dynasty, a lot darker and heavier than the more obv. stuff like Blue Train and A Love Supreme. Plus, Eric Dolphy is one cool motherfucker.

The Real McCoy is just hard as hell and I loves it.

Was a toss-up between Juju, Money Jungle and Maiden Voyage, went with the one w/ the coolest cover imo.

A McCoy Tyner/Elvin Jones trilogy! Nice.

just to say i don't really know what to say about a lot of music i like these days but really enjoyed last week's selections and am looking forward to this week's.

Fine choices Sam, all 3 are,again, essential classics.
Ronan, glad you enjoyed my picks! I hoped to see you in funk club.

yeah i must get across all the clubs really as the whole idea is great for me, really looking forward to my week btw...

looking forward to seeing what you think of the jazz and funk albums.

I hope everyone is checking out Sam's excellent picks.

Africa/Brass rules

been on a coltrane binge lately but i have never really gotten around to africa/brass so i'm taking this as an incentive. and with all these listening clubs around i guess it's a good idea to sign up for premium again...

I hope you have more luck as i keep getting tracks stalling and conking out.

since their "social update" it's been awful, one in two tracks starting halfway through etc. plus a bunch of fb-peope are now constantly recommending me mew and mgmt :(

well i dont have facebook thankfully, but when I pay £10 for premium I expect it to work. the free version works fine so fuck knows why the premium has problems. Quite a few times tracks just stop dead within 30-60 secs

Can a mod update the thread title please so everyone knows to click on the thread for the new picks?

Juju is wonderful; that was on my shortlist for my own picks. Just started The Real McCoy and expect to enjoy it thoroughly.

Juju is a killer album, though See No Evil might be my fave Shorter Blue Note. They're all great. He was a busy dude in the 60s! Crazy how many albums he's on, how many shows he played, how many songs he wrote.
Juju is interesting though -- just the fact that he borrowed Coltrane's entire band! Like, you'd almost think that he might want to *avoid* comparisons to Trane. But I'm glad he didn't. Everybody sounds fucking awesome here.

bump?

All Seeing Eye is another great Shorter album, but anything ive heard by him from back then has been terrific.

listened to all three this evening - great picks Sam (?)!

Not much to say really except great playing on each track - masters each one!

ty :)

Sam what was the first jazz album you got into?

Umm... I had a friend back in six form who had this amazing collection and he set me right with so much but the first records he lent me? I think it was Alice Coltrane's Journey in longwordicannotspell and Dolphy's Out To Lunch. He also took me to see Shakti/John McLaughlin and Charles Lloyd and we met again last summer to see fucking Ornette! :D Unfortunately we got too stoned and barely saw any of the show but still :D

haha, you damn hippies! Would have loved to go to jazz gigs in the 60s, far more than to a load of rock gigs tbh. Mind you, you used to get jazz and rock bands on the same bill. MC5,Stooges, funkadelic, Zappa,Sun Ra all on the one bill. Miles touring with rock bands, god that musta been amazing.

yeah that sounds like heaven. + mc5.

updated spotify playlist please subscribe

africa/brass is one of my fave albums.
I was gonna do mccoy's extensions as one of my picks; may still. real mccoy is also great.
I know tragically little shorter. I'll go snag juju.

I think the albums that followed Juju were better but its a great starting point.

hey sam tell us more of your thoughts on the albums you chose.

Real McCoy is awesome. Everyone of those players (Tyner, Jones, Carter, Henderson) there are totally reliable. If you see a record with just one of them playing on it, you should probably get it. All four of them? So good. Henderson in particular -- he is such a strong musician, I like pretty much everything I've heard him play on. And he plays on a lot!

Xpost: agree, especially with regard to McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones - all the Coltrane releases that they were on are essential.

this set is great -- looks like it's out of print, but everything on it is gold: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Note-Years-Joe-Henderson/dp/B000008B7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273161240&sr=1-1

Joe Henderson is great! And was the highlight of the Tyner for me. Also really like "Elements" though found "Power to the People" to be kind of limp. He's also excellent on Alice Coltrane's "Ptah..."

Cant go wrong with Joe Henderson at all.

Do you like "Power to the People" pfunkboy? I picked it up after reading some rave somewhere and was fairly disappointed.

I think so, I'd need to give it another listen, its been a while.

Power to the People is good -- nice mix of acoustic/electric stuff, Herbie plays great on it. Might not be the most earth-shattering stuff you'll ever hear, but I like it.

not this herbie:
http://www.dezshearer.co.uk/des311/1_1/herbie.jpg
this one:
http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/herbie_hancock.jpg

The lineup is great (Herbie, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette). I'll revisit it then!

So should I

yeah got it. will think include the one I wasn't gonna if I can get a Friday bonus for the other one.

― De que estas hablando? (Tannenbaum Schmidt), Friday, 7 May 2010 23:07 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

agree, the one I wasn't should be here!

― De que estas hablando? (Tannenbaum Schmidt), Friday, 7 May 2010 23:07 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

friday bonus is all me me me! (its cuz i cant wait 2 months for another shot haha)

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 7 May 2010 23:09 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

This kind of attitude deserves the kind of atonal retort only avant-garde jazz can deliver.

FREE-JAZZ FRIDAY BONUS: John Coltrane "Ascension"

http://i41.tinypic.com/2j500mt.jpg

Ascension reflects more of an event rather than just a jazz record and should be sought out by either experienced jazz appreciators or other open-minded listeners, but not by unsuspecting bystanders

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/6PTuYbT38J0UvZINkJu8W8

AMG review:

Ascension is the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde. Whereas, prior to 1965, Coltrane could be heard playing in an avant vein with stretched-out solos, atonality, and a seemingly free design to the beat, Ascension throws most rules right out the window with complete freedom from the groove and strikingly abrasive sheets of horn interplay. Recorded with three tenors (Trane, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp), two altos (Marion Brown, John Tchicai), two trumpet players (Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Johnson), two bassists (Art Davis, Jimmy Garrison), the lone McCoy Tyner on piano, and Elvin Jones on the drums, this large group is both relentless and soulful simultaneously. While there are segments where the ensemble plays discordant and abrasive skronks, these are usually segues into intriguing blues-based solos from each member. The comparison that is immediately realized is Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz of five years previous. However, it should be known that Ascension certainly carries its own weight, and in a strange sense makes Coleman's foray a passive adventure -- mostly due to an updated sonic quality (à la Bob Thiele) and also Trane's greater sense of passionate spiritualism. Timed at around 40 minutes, this can be a difficult listen at first, but with a patient ear and an appreciation for the finer things in life, the reward is a greater understanding of the personal path that the artist was on at that particular time in his development. Coltrane was always on an unceasing mission for personal expansion through the mouthpiece of his horn, but by the time of this recording he had begun to reach the level of "elder statesman" and to find other voices (Shepp, Sanders, and Marion Brown) to propel and expand his sounds and emotions. Therefore, Ascension reflects more of an event rather than just a jazz record and should be sought out by either experienced jazz appreciators or other open-minded listeners, but not by unsuspecting bystanders. ~ Sam Samuelson, All Music Guide

Awesome album!!!!
(ps can trade you a bonus funk for bonus jazz) lol

oh btw, Ascension first-time listeners, you can but do not need to listen to both takes:

Two takes of the piece were recorded. The second take was issued on LP first, then withdrawn at Coltrane's insistence; this came to be called "Ascension, Edition I" (although nowhere on the LP was it identified as such). It was eventually replaced with the first take, similar except with a different solo order and no drum solo by Jones. This is "Edition II", and an etching in the outgroove of the vinyl LP identified it as such. Both takes are available on the Compact Disc reissue.

It just occurred to me, at 40 minutes single track length, how did this fit onto vinyl when first released? Did they just split it midway?

I've never come a vinyl LP that holds more than 30 min on each side.

would have thought it was split, hold on and i'll ask someone

ascension reeeeeeally fucked with me in high school

yup it was split into 2

xpost: would kinda ruin it, no?

i suppose back then there was no other way. also that wee break of turning the record over makes long records feel shorter.

So which edition of Ascension is your fave?

this vinyl alb runs more than 30 minutes per side:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_House_78%27_17%22

bet it sounds like shit

i wrote something on it in my 40 years, 40 albums project a while ago. it was my 1965 fave album. one of the great collective improvisations. the name fits so well as there are all these solos which are like ascensions of the soloist who then comes back into the womb of the group. so much better than a love supreme.

I love it, but a bit unfair on saying so much better than a love supreme. as they're doing different things. almost to a different audience. Both are wonderful albums.

Who is up next?

local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May
Cave17Matt: 26 May

Ronan, you ready for Wednesday?

Anymore things people want to say about Sam picks: Coltrane "Africa/Brass", McCoy Tyner "The Real McCoy", Wayne Shorter "Juju"?

Pfunk is doing the friday bonus this week.

Real McCoy and Juju are probably two of my favorite records. Which is not to say I don't love Africa Brass, b/c I do.

More Jazz due today from Local Garda.... anytime now I expect...

If anyone sees Ronan posting elsewhere today remind him to get over here and give his picks.

send him a webmail.
ps he can usually be found on football threads

africa/brass strikes me as an update to the Duke Ellington "jungle" music from the 20s-30s sort of. Like it's not really based on African music, but more an *idea* of African music. if that makes sense. anyway, amazing performance. and the rest of the record is great, too -- love that version of "greensleeves," especially Tyner's piano.

local garda: 12 May
ward fowler: 19 May

pm'd you both. and both been active on ILX today. someone better step to it. Ward, if you wanna go first then do so.

i am pretty much ready to go, will get it together this evening if LG doesn't step up before then

When do I post my friday bonus then? Do I wait until tomorrow afternoon instead of posting at midnight or do I post now while we wait on ronan and give people something to talk about?

post it now, and then either Ronan or Ward if they get around to it.

thanks!

ok, check your email first!

Ok, friday bonus a day early to give everyone something to chew over while Ronas is busy with work.

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
http://i34.tinypic.com/adjjts.jpg
AMG review

Carried by its almost impossibly infectious eponymous opening track, The Sidewinder helped foreshadow the sounds of boogaloo and soul-jazz with its healthy R&B influence and Latin tinge. While the rest of the album retreats to a more conventional hard bop sound, Morgan's compositions are forward-thinking and universally solid. Only 25 at the time of its release, Morgan was accomplished (and perhaps cocky) enough to speak of mentoring the great Joe Henderson, who at 26 was just beginning to play dates with Blue Note after getting out of the military. Henderson makes a major contribution to the album, especially on "Totem Pole," where his solos showed off his singular style, threatening to upstage Morgan, who is also fairly impressive here. Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins are all in good form throughout the album as well, and the group works together seamlessly to create an album that crackles with energy while maintaining a stylish flow.

Your thoughts?

*ronan

Maybe you guys need a not a spotify link?

guys sorry I've been stuck in spain until v late last night due to volcano...i can post my pics in next 24 hours tho, have to decide my final one at some point!

no worries... go ahead when you're ready.

suggestions for the final one, if you're still on Spanish time

Olé Coltrane by John Coltrane
Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis

Sidewinder is the shit; great album.

Damn, I really enjoy Sidewinder so much.... awesome interplay between trumpet Morgan, saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Barry Harris, bass player Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins... it "fizzes" all the way through.

Interesting background to this album and a sad ending for Lee Morgan:

"Lee Morgan, like many jazzmen, had a tenuous relationship with hard drugs that was as long as his jazz career. For long periods of his life heroin ruled him and when he would kick the habit for a year or two much of the time was spent getting his chops back. The Sidewinder, his most famous and successful album, came out during one of these breaks which was catalyzed when Morgan heard a tribute show for him on the radio that was made with the assumption he was dead. His heroin addiction continued off and on until 1972 when in between sets at a club he got involved in a three-way argument involving his girlfriend, his drug dealer and himself. It must have been one hell of an argument because it ended with Morgan being shot in the heart by his girlfriend."

He was only 33

A real tragedy, who knows what he could have done.

no sign of Ronan or Ward's choices.... tempted to choose 2 more myself.

Week 1:
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - Self Titled (1962)
Miles Davies - Birth Of The Cool (1957)
Ben Neill - Tryptical (1996)

Week 2:
Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)
Bobby Hutcherson - Components (1965)
Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - Expansions (1974)

Week 3:
John Coltrane - Africa/Brass
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
Wayne Shorter - Juju

Friday Bonus 7 May / 14 May
John Coltrane - Ascension
Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

...is what we've had so far. Faves for me have been: Miles "BOTC", Pharoah "Karma", Coltrane "Africa/Brass" and Lee Morgan "Sidewinder".

every wednesday you say?

Really enjoying this week's choices!

doing mine now...

lol @ Ronan still not getting around to posting his picks, even after posting "doing mine now..." 8 hours ago.

i'm busy/away till Thursday so not gonna check in till late next week. let you guys sort it out between Ronan, Ward, whomever.

ronan better hurry as ward will be posting his on tuesday as the rota says

obv, good weather in London today and imminent BBQ would be a good time to queue some early evening jazz and funk. : )

pfunk dunno if yr kidding or not abt 'rotas' but all this talk of deadlines and whatnot goes against the whole jazz spirit imho - ronan will, i'm sure, hit us up w/ something tasty v shortly, we can let em marinade for a few days and then sometime next week i'll drop my 3 fucking corkers and evrything will be sweet

Guys I'm v sorry, my Internet has been giving probs, I rang o2 yday and it's still a bit fucked. That's why i said I was doing it then it never appeared...I'm on my iPhone now. I'm going to try plugging in to router to see if that works.

could I swap places with ward maybe? my net is still screwed up and it'd be nice to upload pics etc and not do it in a crap rushed way due to 1994 era dial up reliability i'm getting now

ok, gimme an hour and or two - i'm not sure how to post spotify links, and i know my choices are all on spotify (i checked!), so might need some help w/ that

my net is sort of working now so i can give it a go actually, if you'd rather wait? don't want to rush your own selection.

whichever suits you of course (sorry everyone for this huge confusion!)

go for it ronan!

Okay I'm home in an hour or so and then good to go...

sorry for the delay all, here goes...

#1 Miles Davis-Get Up With It

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/m/miles-davis/album-get-up-with-it.jpg

http://open.spotify.com/album/0CFS3jvFwutIt5ewGIa7Sq

picked this because i guess this era miles is what got me into jazz...the sparse loneliness of this record is really amazing, total night music.

#2 Robert Wyatt-Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

http://www.dominorecordco.com/images/artists/robert_wyatt/1024_540/ruthistranger.jpg

hope i'm not pushing the definition too much here and i know robert wyatt always sounds like robert wyatt...but couldn't call this anything but jazz. great warm grooves all the way through, my favourite track definitely "solar flares", something about that type of groove that always feels dramatic.

http://open.spotify.com/user/iamronan/playlist/7hmF7tkGFHf6iRNpvyhRKt

#3 OST-Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (I can't find a pic for this)

And to go a little more classical, I just find this a really perfect collection of the sort of jazz I prob don't listen to enough of. I'm prob mostly on the electric stuff but these records are so beautiful, taken all together this record has this carefree thing going on that seems somewhere between happiness and just total pointlessness. Good to listen to in the sun, preferably walking somewhere after a few beers...(obv if you've not seen the film then you need to watch that now too!)

http://open.spotify.com/album/6jx6fgoP5qB4eFldGIXl9D

Hope you all enjoy these and apologies if these are total no brainer obvious choices...

certainly pushing the limits there, but sweet picks imo! not familiar with stardust memories, so i'll check that out.

just got time to Miles' "He Loved Him Madly" is one of the best things ever, and I am eternally thankful to have come across it. Also Eno's fave Miles track.

Havent heard the other two, but can imagine what the Woody Allen OST is like, and he chooses well. Thnks Ronan, looking frwd to spending time on these later this week.

just got time to say...

once again sorry for such delay on this, i had a pretty mental work week after two extra unplanned days in spain, then net connection fucked for ages.

tannenbaum post your funk picks

ronan, love the robert wyatt and the miles, dunno the latter but will check it out!

hey ronan, hadn't heard that STARDUST MEMORIES comp before, enjoyed it v much, esp. django's Body and Soul - as you say, 'carefree' is the word - when i worked in that big jazz dept, i had quite a few customers who were convinced that the sean penn character in SWEET AND LOWDOWN was a real person, often had to fight to convince them o/wise

hey tannenbaum/pfunk, im gonna post my three on friday, if thats ok w/ everyone

its all up to tannenbaum! its his club.

Updated Spotify Playlist please subscribe

are there django albums worth checking? love the feel of some of that stuff...

this is a nice set at a sweet price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Years-Django-Reinhardt/dp/B000VEA29Y

but there's so much cheap django floating around and most of it is pretty gd - proper's box set gives you a lot for yr dollar, tho' the sound is variable, as you might expect:

http://www.properuk.com/artists.php?action=alview&alid=1555

ok, i'm gonna post my picks to get this thread back on track, hope that's call w/ everyone

http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/mcshowa/cabinet/00163099/img34847971.jpg

MOTION by Lee Konitz. Lee Konitz alto sax. Sonny Dallas bass. Elvin Jones drums. 1961.
Lee and Elvin and Sonny, just three soulful guys swinging through the changes on a set of standards, one inspired afternoon nearly fifty years ago. Lee’s alto sounding all papery and liquidy, the bass walking, the drums and cymbals clicking in a zillion different directions, poetry in constant motion/transformation, the possibilities endless.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61P7XT7TEAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

THE BAPTISED TRAVELLER by Tony Oxley Quintet. Tony Oxley drums. Kenny Wheeler trumpet, flugelhorn. Evan Parker tenor sax. Derek Bailey guitar. Jeff Cline bass. 1969.
Oxley had played drums in the army, Bailey had played with Morecambe and Wise, Parker had played with science and Kenny Wheeler had played at being Canadian. How could this alb fucking fail? Back in 1969 Columbia/CBS were hip/desperate enough to release this to - well, WHO? Even now it seems impossible to work out what cld be the exact demographic group for this earlyish parp of European out/free music. Yeah it’s tough-goddamm-stuff baby, but worth sticking w/ imho - there is structure here as well as freedom, and apart from anything else, you’ll get to hear Bailey basically inventing the next twenty years of awkward gtr scrape right in front of yr furry little ears.

http://www.jazz.com/assets/2008/6/11/albumcoverWeatherReport-Sweetnighter.jpg

SWEETNIGHTER by Weather Report. Joe Zawinul keyboards. Wayne Shorter tenor and soprano sax. Miroslav Vitous bass. Alphonso Johnson, Eric Gravatt drums. Dom Um Romao percussion. 1973.
Picked this one cos I hear that Nels Cline has just covered ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz’; ‘cos I thought it would be nice to spin Wayne Shorter in a non-Blue Note/acoustic context; ‘cos I absolutely adore the whole sound-drift of this alb - the leckeyboards, the tinkling metronomic percussion, the funky basslines, that palm-fronded tropical fusion vibe, quite hypnagog, in its own way. Easily my favourite Weather Report disc, slick but not yet as smeary and washy as their more aimless later recs.

all of these recs are on spotify btw

and they look like this

http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/mcshowa/cabinet/00163099/img34847971.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61P7XT7TEAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.jazz.com/assets/2008/6/11/albumcoverWeatherReport-Sweetnighter.jpg

Tannenbaum (who is away i think) said i was to do a friday bonus but i think i'll leave it since you had to post yours early.

dunno the 1st 2 and never liked the weather report but will give it a shot!

Regarding the Oxley album, could I just offer a FUCK YEAHHHHHHH

Cave17Matt: 26 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 2 June
tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July

also, pfunk you can do friday bonus this week. I still haven't got around to listening to Ronan and Ward's picks.

ok!

Not really listening to a lot of jazz these days, but can I just say that Sonny Dallas's bass playing on "Motion" would be on my shortlist of nominations for the most underrated recorded performance by a jazz musician ever? Nobody seems to talk about Dallas but for me that's a masterclass in how to play small group jazz bass.

Hey where are this Wednesday's picks?

Cave17Matt - jazz please!

can i get in on this

Cave17Matt: 26 May
Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC): 2 June
tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July
Deej: 29 July

i'll do the friday bonus then

yeah go ahead; I pm'd Cave17Matt but this thread is all over the place in terms of timekeeping

Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure
http://www.honestjons.com/doc_library/Originals/27398.jpg
AMG Review

Pianist and composer Andrew Hill is perhaps known more for this date than any other in his catalogue -- and with good reason. Hill's complex compositions straddled many lines in the early to mid-1960s and crossed over many. Point of Departure, with its all-star lineup (even then), took jazz and wrote a new book on it, excluding nothing. With Eric Dolphy and Joe Henderson on saxophones (Dolphy also played clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute), Richard Davis on bass, Tony Williams on drums, and Kenny Dorham on trumpet, this was a cast created for a jazz fire dance. From the opening moments of "Refuge," with its complex minor mode intro that moves headlong via Hill's large, open chords that flat sevenths, ninths, and even 11ths in their striding to move through the mode, into a wellspring of angular hard bop and minor-key blues. Hill's solo is first and it cooks along in the upper middle register, almost all right hand ministrations, creating with his left a virtual counterpoint for Davis and a skittering wash of notes for Williams. The horn solos in are all from the hard bop book, but Dolphy cuts his close to the bone with an edgy tone. "New Monastery," which some mistake for an avant-garde tune, is actually a rewrite of bop minimalism extended by a diminished minor mode and an intervallic sequence that, while clipped, moves very quickly. Dorham solos to connect the dots of the knotty frontline melody and, in his wake, leaves the space open for Dolphy, who blows edgy, blue, and true into the center, as Hill jumps to create a maelstrom by vamping with augmented and suspended chords. Hill chills it out with gorgeous legato phrasing and a left-hand ostinato that cuts through the murk in the harmony. When Henderson takes his break, he just glides into the chromatically elegant space created by Hill, and it's suddenly a new tune. This disc is full of moments like this. In Hill's compositional world, everything is up for grabs. It just has to be taken a piece at a time, and not by leaving your fingerprints all over everything. In "Dedication," where he takes the piano solo further out melodically than on the rest of the album combined, he does so gradually. You cannot remember his starting point, only that there has been a transformation. This is a stellar date, essential for any representative jazz collection, and a record that, in the 21st century, still points the way to the future for jazz.

Spotify Link

hah i didn't realise that pic was so big

now the pic has disappeared
http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/h/hill_andrew_pointofde_101b.jpg

Whoopsie! Haven't been on ILX at all, forgot. But I'll do one coming up sometime.

post them now its still your week

That went well

Really into Lee Konitz "Motion" after 2 listens, am slowly falling in love with it.

Gave the Weather Report a quick listen, but at the time was too upbeat for my mood. Didn't click too much with the Wyatt. Haven't had a chance to listen to the Miles again (but already know and love "He Loved Him Madly"), or Tony Oxley or Andrew Hill.

Gotta make time for Miles, Oxley and Andrew Hill this week.

But thanks, Ward for the Lee Konitz!! Really nice take on some standards; understated class all the way through.

and I've pm'd WmC who's due today

Hi WmC

Need you on the Jazz Listening Club. Your 3 picks please!

ah, this snuck up on me

ok, it will be closer to the end of the day US time

cool.

Did anyone like the Andrew Hill album?

I worked on making picks instead of doing paying work.

You guys almost got Anthony Braxton's Dortmund (Quartet) 1976, which I'm listening to now while I fiddle with all this stuff and which is FANTASTIC.

1) George Lewis - Homage to Charles Parker (1979)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/610cg-VG8pL._SS500_.jpg

AMG Review by Michael G. Nastos
This tribute to bop icon Charlie Parker is not a program of his famous tunes but a representation of his spirit that still exists. Through means of improvised music with a variety of significant signposts, George Lewis offers two 18-minute texture pieces that display a haunting quality by combining natural elements and electronically generated waves of sound, passion, and a little fury. Moog synthesizer programmer Richard Teitelbaum provides the landscape, pianist Anthony Davis the skyscapes, and Douglas Ewart on alto sax and bass clarinet provides the Bird-like characteristics. Lewis, on trombone and electronics, directs the ensemble from within this quiet storm's eye. "Blues" starts with tonal fragmented phrases in no time with trombone, bass clarinet, and piano circling Teitelbaum's occasional synthesized insertions. The inquisitive nature of the counterpointed horns is strikingly bold and pervasive, as if Parker was cueing various icons of blues legends like Leadbelly, Howlin' Wolf, and T-Bone Walker to speak up for themselves. Long-held tones in the midsection lead to Teitelbaum's spacey, blue, Sun Ra-like touches. The title cut starts with reverent, spiritual, hovering washes from cymbals and soft synths, and a languid alto solo from Ewart signifies the ghost of Bird has arrived. Davis plays some absolutely gorgeous piano, like delicate beacons of light cutting through fog, while an organ-sounding synth urges a more sweeping piano solo. Lewis, on a poignant trombone, waxes lyrical and poetic, aware of the transfiguration of bop while addressing its contemporary, contemplative needs. Pretty stunning music. As heavy and stylistically different as this music is, the point is clear and well-taken. Lewis and his group make a statement unique in creative jazz and unto itself. This is an important recording in many ways, and a magnum opus for the leader.

2) Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo (1973)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/617nTBkgi%2BL._SS400_.jpg

AMG Review by Steve Huey
Like its immediate predecessor, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo was a largely instrumental jazz rock album recorded during Frank Zappa's convalescence from injuries sustained after being pushed off a concert stage. While Zappa contributes some guitar solos and occasional vocals, the focus is more on his skills as a composer and arranger. Most of the five selections supposedly form a musical representation of a story told in the liner notes about two warring musical factions, but the bottom line is that, overall, the compositions here are more memorably melodic and consistently engaging than Waka/Jawaka. The instrumentation is somewhat unique in the Zappa catalog as well, with the band more of a chamber jazz orchestra than a compact rock unit; over 20 musicians and vocalists contribute to the record. While Hot Rats is still the peak of Zappa's jazz-rock fusion efforts, The Grand Wazoo comes close, and it's essential for anyone interested in Zappa's instrumental works.

3) The Peter Brötzmann Octet - Machine Gun (1968)

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/4b/79/3068810ae7a0c4030cf40210.L.jpg

AMG Review by Joslyn Layne
This historic free jazz album is a heavy-impact sonic assault so aggressive it still knocks listeners back on their heels decades later. Recorded in May 1968, Machine Gun captures some top European improvisers at the beginning of their influential careers, and is regarded by some as the first European -- not just German or British -- jazz recording. Originally self-released by Peter Brötzmann, the album eventually came out on the FMP label, and set a new high-water mark for free jazz and "energy music" that few have approached since. Brötzmann is joined on sax by British stalwart Evan Parker and Dutch reedsman Willem Breuker (before Breuker moved away from free music, his lungs were as powerful as Brötzmann's). The rest of the group consists of drummers Han Bennink (Dutch) and Sven-Åke Johansson (Swedish), Belgian pianist Fred van Hove, and bassists Peter Kowald (German) and Buschi Niebergall (Swiss). Brötzmann leads this octet in a notoriously concentrated dose of the relentless hard blowing so often characteristic of his music. While Brötzmann has played this powerfully on albums since, never again is it with a group of this size playing just as hard with him. The players declare and exercise their right to bellow and wail all they want; they both send up the stereotype of free playing as simply screaming, and unapologetically revel in it. The sound of Machine Gun is just as aggressive and battering as its namesake, blowing apart all that's timid, immovable, or proper with an unrepentant and furious finality. The years have not managed to temper this fiery furnace blast from hell; it's just as relentless and shocking an assault now as it was then. Even stout-hearted listeners will nearly be sent into hiding -- much like standing outside during a violent storm, withstanding this kind of fierce energy is a primal thrill.

i wondered when someone would post machine gun!

The Lewis and Brötzmann are available at the iTunes store. Beyond that, I got nuthin'. We don't do Spotify over here.

I really really hope that everybody who hasn't heard Homage to Charles Parker will track this down, listen hard, and then tell me you weren't moved to tears.

Spotify has The Machine Gun Sessions

recs don't really get me blubbing unless they have other, personal, associations, but agree that the Lewis is a fantastic disc (in fact all of his albs on black saint from this period are well worth checkin', imho - and am also pretty partial to YANKEES, the trio alb he made w/ bailey and zorn a cpl of years later)

THE GRAND WAZOO is prob zappa's best approximation of a pure jazz fusion rec (much more than HOT RATS, wtf?) - doesn't hurt that yer man doesn't sing on it

MACHINE GUN is one of those unassailable classics i don't actually listen to that often - among Brotz albs i tend to spin NIPPLES (again, cos of bailey) or SCHWARWALDFAHRT, the alb of duets he recorded w/ han bennink out in the black forest, lotsa wood and water sounds amongst the blatting

nice choices, wmc - and im pleased the konitz is hitting the spot, tannenbaum

That's some neato picks; hadn't heard of any of those.

ha i'm listening to Machine gun now by coincidence. it's so weird. but i sure love han bennink

and the record is awesome also of course. weird and awesome

I was googling around yesterday to see if the Lewis album was easy to ::cough:: FIND ::cough::, and came across a dude's blog with a live concert from Moers recorded roughly the same time as the album.

I listened to the show last night and it's really good -- both pieces are stretched out considerably, "Homage" to 36 minutes. The track listing is RONG though. The real listing is

1. Homage to Charles Parker
2. Blues
3. some piece I'm not familiar with

What other Zappa albums sound like this? Waka/Jawaka and Hot Rats? This is the first album of his I've heard that I like unreservedly. In fact, I love it.

Thanks for recommending the Lewis too. It is really beautiful and very original.

That's some lineup on the Brotzmann. It's definitely intense. I'll have to listen some more before saying more or forming a clear opinion. It's surely not the first European jazz recording, unless Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt did all their recording in America?

What other Zappa albums sound like this? Waka/Jawaka and Hot Rats?

Pretty much. Waka/Jawaka is most similar to Grand Wazoo, being from the same period. There's a 2CD live album from this period, Wazoo, with a 20-piece band, and a single CD live album, Imaginary Diseases, with a smaller 10-piece. Even the Petit Wazoo band was expensive to tour, so there weren't a lot of live shows from this period.

If you're interested in digging a little deeper and are more interested (like I am) in FZ the bandleader and composer than in FZ the smut/comedy songwriter, I'd recommend You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore vol 2 (the almighty Helsinki concert, 1974) and Make a Jazz Noise Here (1988 tour).

Oh, and the Jean-Luc Ponty album King Kong (1970), which is Ponty playing FZ compositions + one original. Zappa produced and arranged it, and played on one track.

tylerw: 9 June
Sparkle Motion: 16 June
forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July
Deej: 29 July

tylerw are you here?

ohhh shit yes i am. i'll post mine tomorrow!

Thought I'd do a trio of live records from through the ages for my week:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005MIZA.01_SL75_.jpg
At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 is a 1955 live album release by jazz drummer Art Blakey for Blue Note Records. It featured the first incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, Blakey's career-spanning band, and is the first of two volumes recorded on November 23, 1955 at Cafe Bohemia, a famous night club in Greenwich Village in New York.
* Art Blakey — drums
* Horace Silver — piano
* Kenny Dorham — trumpet
* Hank Mobley — saxophone (tenor)
* Doug Watkins — bass

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IyDZgXq8QH0/SYwOUHzs_SI/AAAAAAAACcY/QPQrkcvBBcg/s400/Alice+Coltrane+-+Transfiguration.jpg
Following the death of her husband in '67, Alice Coltrane steadily recorded an album a year up until Transfiguration in 1978, a live session which consequently represents the culmination of her spiritual music via recordings and, for the most part, public appearances as well. After her first seven sessions through the late ‘60s and early '70s for Impulse!, Ms. Coltrane began recording for Warner in '75 around the time she founded a center for Eastern religious studies. The apex of that handful of sessions, Transfiguration features John Coltrane associates, bassist Reggie Workman (who appears on an earlier session, World Galaxy) and Roy Haynes on drums. "No finer people to let you feel what this force is really about," the leader matter of factly states in her introductions.

http://jazzbluesclub.com/uploads/posts/1212404396_pm_sound_fr.jpg
Paul Motian Trio - Sound of Love (Live at the Village Vanguard)
This is the second of two Live at the Village Vanguard albums from the Paul Motian trio (feat. Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell). Recorded in June 1995, it is a good sampling of what you'll hear if you go to their annual gig at that same club: some Monk, a standard, and a few Motian originals. The pot is sweetened by the Mingus ballad that gives this album its name.

doh - first two images didn't show
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YSqLW7GIhG4/SHkDjoEQmzI/AAAAAAAABvk/9B5geOZIE58/s400/TheJazzMessengersAtTheCafeBohemiaVolume1.jpg

oh wait yes they did wtf ... anyway

i'm in the US of A, so I don't have that newfangled spotify thing ... if someone wants to post links for these, that'd be fab!

Gah, missed the Brötzmann week. Changed my life, that record did. Seek out the most recent reissue on Atavistic, which bundles the original LP with a bunch of alternate takes, a live version and some excellent liner notes from PB himself (in which he describes the primitive conditions around the recording of the album).

What people need to bear in mind is that Brötzmann is still out there and doing upwards of 100 gigs a year at the age of 67 or something. Folk talk about his increasing lyricism and willingness to take it down a notch or two, but when you hear him play in a tiny club it's really just as hair-raising as ever.

re: Machine Gun -- think there is a live disc somewhere, I think I prefer that versh, if i correctly recall

listening to Transfiguration right now -- such beautiful, intense stuff. Wait for the strings on "Prema"! Wow. Alice sounds kind of out of it when she speaks to the crowd, but her playing is totally focused. Did she always sound that way?

looooooooove "Prema"!

Props to pfunk for looking after this thread while i've been distracted with real life shit.

I'm still running 2 weeks behind on listening, so got nothing to say 'cept saw Brotzman recently and he's was searing hot! and listening to Alice Coltrane is usually overwhelmingly special experience. Will put these at the top of the list.

Cant go wrong with that jazz messengers album either

yeah, there is no shortage of jazz messengers live albums, but this one is worth checking out. can't beat mobley + silver + blakey. hard bop at its best.

Yeah it's a great line-up

Hope I'm not jumping the gun here... I just won't get a chance to do this tomorrow.

1) Trio Transition Featuring Special Guest Oliver Lake (DIW, rec. 1988, released 2000)

Mulgrew Miller, piano
Reggie Workman, bass
Frederic Waits, drums
Oliver Lake, alto sax

I found this album at the Chicago Public Library some years back... a great freebop session. Like a fool I missed these guys last autumn at the SF Jazz fest.

AMG review:

This session with guest saxophonist Oliver Lake joining the collective Trio Transition -- bassist Reggie Workman, pianist Mulgrew Miller, and drummer Frederick Waits -- represents a free bop supergroup. Those names promise much, and the recording delivers that and more. This conjoining of talents results in an adventurous, free-swinging session informed by a keen sense of structure. The group's ability to match expansive free blowing with intriguing song forms is most pronounced on the ensemble's version of Stanley Cowell's joyful waltz, "Effie." The special rapport among the members of the core trio lifts the music, and at the heart of the trio is bassist Reggie Workman. The aptly named Workman moves up any session he's on a couple notches, and he's at his best here laying down a foundation of expansive, elastic lines and contributing powerful solos. On the opener he instigates pianist Mulgrew Miller's journey from bebop into the free beyond. The much-underrated Frederick Waits is at once colorful and earthbound. He also contributes two pieces, including a tribute to fellow drummer Ed Blackwell that features metric trickery and interlocking piano and saxophone lines. Guest Oliver Lake feasts on the support he receives, delivering a number of hearty orations.

2) Art Ensemble of Chicago - Tribute to Lester (ECM, rec. 2001, rel. 2003)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AGDA5.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Bass, Whistle, Gong - Malachi Favors
Drums, Percussion - Famoudou Don Moye
Saxophone, Flute, Whistle, Percussion - Roscoe Mitchell

I wanted to post a latter-day AEC record since I don't think they get as much credit as they ought. This one is probably the most atypical of them all, as the title and recording date indicate. I don't know if I'm just projecting a narrative onto this music, but it's hard not to come away with a profound sense of mourning while listening to this record. Perhaps it's Mitchell's fundamentally unswinging way of playing--"Suite for Lester" sounds like chamber music--that brings it out. From the first rumblings of Sangaredi, to the late-album "As Clear as the Sun" this is a band in crisis and catharsis, but presented with clarity, maturity, and depth. It's a typically sparkling ECM production--their first (and last) since the mid-80s. I'm curious to know what you all think.

Here's the AMG review:

The death of the AEC's colorful lab-coated trumpeter Lester Bowie in 1999 was a huge blow to the veteran avant-garde band but not a fatal one, for the surviving members -- Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Moghostut, and Famoudou Don Moye -- decided to carry on as a trio. The CD also marks the group's return to the ECM shelf after 19 years elsewhere -- and in turn, the group receives probably the most stunning, precisely etched recorded sound of its existence. Yet despite the retrospective nature of some of the selections, there is no overt nostalgia or compromise in the AEC's aesthetic stance, probably figuring that Bowie would have wanted it that way. "Sangaredi" leads off the disc with one of the AEC's more treasured percussion jams, a tribal ritual that picks up speed, with Mitchell's bass saxophone honking away, culminating in the grand clash of gongs. The trio merges Bowie's "Zero" with Mitchell's "Alternate Line" into a relatively straight-ahead walking-bass carpet for Mitchell's tenor to tread upon. "Tutankhamun" dates back to the AEC's early years in Paris, with Mitchell working his way toward a whirling North African-flavored solo on soprano against the free interplay of his colleagues. From this point on to the close, it's all collective improvisation, the threesome playing free and wild, yet with absolute empathy and telepathic precision. This stimulating homage to the AEC's beloved trumpeter was recorded in 2001 but not released until nearly two years later, by which time reedman Joseph Jarman had rejoined the band full-time.

3) Jonathan Lomax & Nicholas Wrigley - Lord of An Unerring Bow (Oro Neese, 2000)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ml_Yj8KBM7A/SgQjtMBD9UI/AAAAAAAADZk/iQ-14DdznmU/s400/lordbow-fr.JPG

Jonathan Lomax, Nicholas Wrigley: Rhodes, traps, wah, bells, thumb piano, percussion
Herrick Roy, percussion

I found this on il oxumare a while back, and have been delighted by it since. More than a little influenced by Alice Coltrane & Sun Ra, it's also more than just a well-intentioned tribute act, this is moving music in its own right. Also, aside from the place I found it, nobody seems to have any real information on either of these guys. Oro Neese was apparently a private label and the internet hasn't been much help. If anyone knows more, please share!

From Il Oxumare:

"Lord of an Unerring Bow" is similar in inspiration to "Suns," though by no means identical: the vibe is deepened by a switch from acoustic piano to Fender Rhodes electric piano. The switch, and the addition of extra percussion, gives them a chance to develop more of an original sound, I think. The sound remains introspective with a melancholy bent. The final track is my favorite: the rhodes dissolving into rhythmic thumb piano (kalimba) fading out like insects at dusk before the silence of night. It's really a beautiful album.

Non-spotify link to all three here

Just realized the link may not have gone anywhere

So here's:
Lomax/Wrigley
Art Ensemble
Trio Transition

thanks dude -- these all look cool! only one i've heard before is the Art Ensemble disc. will listen to the others over the weekend!

forksclovetofu: 23 June
Turangalila: 30 June
tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July
Deej: 29 July

Sorry I'm late; here's three of my favorites listed under "A"; all of these have been tremendously powerful influences on my listening taste and I'd be happy to discuss/write more about them if there's any interest in doing so. In the meantime try a few of the recommended tracks and see if you find these as moving as I do.

1) - Abbey Is Blue by Abbey Lincoln (1959)
http://img2.allposters.com/images/ACTPOD/OJCCD-069-2.jpg
Recommended Tracks: Afro Blue; Brother, Where Are You?; Laugh, Clown, Laugh; Softly As In a Morning Sunrise; Thursday's Child; Lonely House; Let Up; Come Sunday... goddamn, this whole album is pretty indispensable isn't it?
cough

2) - Jamal Plays Jamal by Ahmad Jamal (1974)
http://jazzbluesclub.com/uploads/posts/thumbs/1267678607_a.jpg
Recommended Tracks: Eclipse, Dialogue, Swahililand, Spanish Interlude; I think this might be a top five all-time album for me.
cough

3) - Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane (1970)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SAevTiHHVv8/SULrxPFZPbI/AAAAAAAAC0M/SyAFHGkNhj0/s400/Journey-In-Satchidananda-756709%5B1%5D.jpg
Recommended Tracks: Journey in Satchidananda, Something About John Coltrane, Isis and Osiris
cough

You certainly cant go wrong with the Alice Coltrane album,It's always been my favourite of hers, infact , I think it was the first album I heard by her some years back pre-ilm. This is the only one of her best known albums to NOT be on Spotify, how strange.
I thought there would be more discussion. Maybe we all got caught up on the world cup? I know I did so haven't listened to as much music as I normally would. Must make up for that.
Haven't heard the other 2 albums so will do that soon.

There might be too many listening clubs.

turangalila asked me to swap with him. Unless tannenbaum wants to go first?

Decided to get in on this since I have a long mindless work project and hence a lot of listening time. Have the Ahmad Jamal on right now. Good choice, b/c he's someone I've slept on.

I have to admit I never liked Abbey Lincoln but I will give that one a shot. Alice Coltrane is also someone I haven't given enough time.

Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou - Ethiopiques Vol. 21: Piano Solo

A curious hybrid of old time jazz and classical, but still truly Ethiopian. Dark and contemplative, moody but subtly playful as well. Culled mainly from recordings from the late 40's early 50's, a period during which Guebrou had recently left the convent due to illness, and then continued to compose and perform as a way of raising money for charity.

Dorothy Ashby - "Afro-Harping" (1968)

Cue up “Soul Vibrations,” the first track on Dorothy Ashby’s Afro-Harping, and revel: a one-note syncopated bassline over a slamming drumbeat that you’re sure you’ve heard sampled somewhere. Enter the double-tracked theremins, followed by swoopy strings. Next, over the relentless beat, an echo-plexed harp solo by Ashby, during which the strings return with 16-notes; then the theremins run the groove into a fade-out. And there you have it: 3’15’’ of pure aural time capsule in all its mod glory.

Afro-Harping was arranged by producer Richard Evans and recorded by Ashby with unknown musicians for Cadet Records in 1968. An unbeatable groove-heavy slice of late-’60s lounge. Actually, there are two styles on the album: a heavy funk, psychedelic groove showcased on the two side-openers, “Soul Vibrations” and “Afro-Harping”; and a genial, insinuating pop-jazz feel with more extensive displays of harp prowess. ~ Joshua Weiner

Alice Coltrane - "World Galaxy" (1971)

On the two days in November when World Galaxy was recorded, Coltrane chose drummer Ben Riley, bassist Reggie Workman, violinist Leroy Jenkins, saxophonist Frank Lowe, and timpanist Elayne Jones in addition to a string orchestra of 16 to help her realize her latest vision. Coltrane herself plays piano, harp, and organ on this date, sometimes within a single track, as she does on her glorious post-modal reworking of "My Favorite Things." This was a gutsy move, considering it was one of John Coltrane's signature tunes, but Alice has it firmly in hand as she moves from organ to harp to piano and back, turning the melody inside out wide enough for the strings to whip up an atmospheric texture that simultaneously evokes heaven and hell and skewers the prissy nature of the tune in favor of bent polyharmonics that allow the entire world of sound inside to play. The jazz modalism Coltrane presents on "Galaxy Around Olodumare" is quickly undone by Lowe in his solo and reconstructed into polyphony by the string section; it's remarkable. The harp work on "Galaxy in Turiya" (Alice's religious name) is among her most beautiful, creating her own wash of color and dynamic for the strings to fall like water from the sky into her mix. As colors shift and change, the rhythm section responds, and focuses them in the prism of Coltrane's textured harpistry. - Thom Jurek

*release date for World Galaxy is actually 1972

Just caught what I'm pretty sure is the sample from Jay-Z - Feelin' It off Reasonable Doubt, in Pastures from the Ahmad Jamal disc.

that ahmad is pretty great -- i think forksclovetofu turned my onto it on another thread. jamal is wonderful summer listening, so breezy, spritely, playful.

oh nice one sal, youve saved me quickly picking 3 albums! I dont know those first 2 albums either.

I played that Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou CD every morning for a long time when it came out. Not sure if it's jazz, but it's great. Can kind of drift off into the background, but when you pay attention to it, there's all kinds of wonderful melodies happening.

"Soul Vibrations" is so thoroughly badass that it overshadows the entirety of the rest of the album for me, which strays kind of close to easy listening imo; I still enjoy it but it often becomes background music to me in a way that the first track doesn't. Still, that first song could be on every mix from now on and it wouldn't wear out its welcome.

Very pleased with all the Alice Coltrane love these past weeks, though now I guess i probably won't pick one of hers on my week then! Agree with pfunkboy that Satchidananda is my favorite by her, though I'm kind of a breathless fan for her and World Galaxy was one of my favorite albums last year.

damn, so many Ethiopiques that I don't have...

tylerw recommended Alice Coltrane's Transfiguration upthread which is sometimes a bit too meandering for my taste. However, 'Prema' with the overdubbed strings on that album = GOD

I agree with every word you said :)

Universal Consciousness is another favorite from her; also everything she did before Satch, especially Ptah the El Daoud is excellent if a tad more traditional.

Ptah has the double tenor front line though. Really I haven't heard an Alice album I didn't like. Even listening to her and 14 year old JC Jr. stumble through a sidelong jam has its charms.

yeah, is that Pharoah and Joe Henderson? I also like her piano work, so yeah Ptah is great.

yeah yeah yeah

was just listening to a verrrry cool Alice Coltrane episode of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz from the early 80s, I think. really fun stuff -- and alice comes across as maybe a little more lucid/down to earth than she sometimes sounds in other interviews i've heard. mcpartland is such a fun interviewer -- she is kind of spacey herself, but seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of talking/playing with other musicians.

Yes! I've heard that. You know what's amazing, too? Those private recordings she did of chants. I know a lot of people are put off by the synths, but something like "Journey to Satchidananda" (a choral re-arrangement of the same composition from World Galaxy) from "Glorious Chants" sounds like a funeral chant for the end of the world.

i haven't delved into the post-70s stuff -- is it even on CD?

Only 'Glorious Chants' as far as I know. It's probably the weirdest thing I've ever heard from her. I found it on il oxumare.

Oh snap! Il Oxumare has a trove of post-70s Alice! I guess I hadn't been there in a long time.

rofl @ who forgot his week started today

tannenbaum: 7 July
Pfunk: 15 July
Elephant Rob: 22 July
Deej: 29 July

is jazz club still going? tannenbaum didnt take his shot last week, so he can take my turn and we move a week back?

I think tannenbaum is taking my turn so will wait

Am posting first thing tomorrow.

woohoo

sorry all.... by ILM time/priority is shot at the moment while I'm trying to get lots of other stuff done irl.

pfunk doing a great job in running Jazz Club, so props & thanks

here are my three:

The Buddy Rich Big Band "Big Swing Face" (1967)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/614-SjvjwIL.jpg

Spotify link

Non-Spotift link

Big Swing Face is a 1967 live album by Buddy Rich and his big band. Big Swing Face not only reissues the second recording by Buddy Rich & His Big Band but doubles the program with nine previously unissued performances from the same engagement at the Chez Club in Hollywood. Rich's orchestra was in its early prime, displaying a very impressive ensemble sound, charts by Bill Holman, Shorty Rogers, Bob Florence, Bill Potts and others, and such soloists as altoist Ernie Watts (a newcomer), trumpeter Bobby Shew, Jay Corre on tenor and the remarkable drummer/leader. Even with the presence of "Norwegian Wood" and "The Beat Goes On" (the latter features Rich's teenage daughter Cathe on a vocal), this is very much a swinging set. Rich has some outstanding solos and lots of drum breaks but does not hog the spotlight; he was justifiably proud of his band.

Max Roach, His Chorus & Orchestra "It's Time" (1962)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/375644445_0b99db09bc.jpg

Spotify link

Non-Spotify link

A truly massive album, both in terms of the ambition behind it and the performances on it. Max Roach's suite-of-sorts combines a jazz septet with a vocal choir comprised of 16 singers, and musically Roach is just about leaving his hardbop roots behind for something that is neither post-bop nor avant garde, nor commercial, and somehow all three at the same time, resulting in an album that stands pretty much on its own in terms of originality. He is, however, laying much of the groundwork later taken up by Donald Byrd (on A New Perspective) and Andrew Hill (on Lift Every Voice), but Roach is staying clear of the more obvious blues/gospel influence. Rather than giving mere "ooh/aah" backing or reciting lyrics, the choir functions as a multi-textured musical instrument itself, complementing the musicians on an equal footing and often providing a strangely otherworldly atmosphere, as when the voices answer to Julian Priester's trombone on "Another Valley" and "Living Room", or provide a near Ligeti-ish introduction to "Sunday Afternoon". On "It's Time", the voices underpin outlandish, intense solos from saxophonist Clifford Jordan and from Roach himself.

A strange, but important and compelling, and ultimately a very rewarding album that stands with Roach's finest recordings from the early 1960s.

Herbie Hancock "Sextant" (1973)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Yiq7NbXrL._SS500_.jpg

Spotify link

Non Spotify link

AMG When Herbie Hancock left Warner Bros. in 1971 after releasing three musically sound but critically and commercially underappreciated albums -- The Crossing, Mwandishi, and Fat Albert's Groove -- he was struggling. At odds with a jazz establishment that longed for his return to his Blue Note sound and a fierce consciousness struggle with free music and the full-on embrace of electricity since his tenure with Miles Davis, Hancock was clearly looking for a voice. Before diving into the commercial waters that would become Headhunters in 1973, Hancock and his tough group (including Billy Hart, Julian Priester, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Bennie Maupin, and Buster Williams) cut this gem for their new label, Columbia. Like its Warner predecessors, the album features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk. The three long tracks are exploratory investigations into the nature of how mode and interval can be boiled down into a minimal stew and then extrapolated upon for soloing and "riffing." In fact, in many cases, the interval becomes the riff, as is evidenced by "Rain Dance." The piece that revealed the true funk direction, however, was "Hidden Shadows," with its choppy basslines and heavy percussion -- aided by the inclusion of Dr. Patrick Gleeson and Buck Clarke. Dave Rubinson's production brought Hancock's piano more into line with the rhythm section, allowing for a unified front in the more abstract sections of these tunes. The true masterpiece on the album, though, is "Hornets," an eclectic, electric ride through both the dark modal ambience of Miles' In a Silent Way and post-Coltrane harmonic aesthetics. The groove is in place, but it gets turned inside out by Priester and Maupin on more than one occasion and Hancock just bleats with the synth in sections. Over 19 minutes in length, it can be brutally intense, but is more often than not stunningly beautiful. It provides a glimpse into the music that became Headhunters, but doesn't fully explain it, making this disc, like its Warner predecessors, true and welcome mysteries in Hancock's long career. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

hurrah

Sextant is an all time fave in any genre, but also one of the more pure attempts at 'fusion' in the sense of its use of electronics, funk, and jazz--all three seem to be present alongside one another without diluting the others' identities.

One of the greatest albums ever made.

Herman, I'm going to post now. I assume that's okay since no one has posted all week :/

Though I was exposed to the traditional stuff from a young age, I got most excited by jazz when I discovered Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders (plus "On the Corner"), and I'm still very non-purist in my jazz tastes. I particularly love the kind of stuff discussed in this thread.

1. Yusuf Lateef, "Eastern Sounds" (1961)

http://blogs.opb.org/kmhd/files/2009/12/yusef2.jpg

Thom Jurek, AMG:

One of multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef's most enduring recordings, Eastern Sounds was one of the last recordings made by the band that Lateef shared with pianist Barry Harris after the band moved to New York from Detroit, where the jazz scene was already dying. Lateef had long been interested in Eastern music, long before John Coltrane had ever shown any public interest anyway, so this Moodsville session (which meant it was supposed to be a laid-back ballad-like record), recorded in 1961, was drenched in Lateef's current explorations of Eastern mode and interval, as well as tonal and polytonal improvisation. That he could do so within a context that was accessible, and even "pretty," is an accomplishment that stands today. The quartet was rounded out by the inimitable Lex Humphries on drums -- whose brushwork was among the most deft and inventive of any player in the music with the possible exception of Connie Kay from the Modern Jazz Quartet -- and bass and rabat player Ernie Farrow. The set kicks off with "The Plum Blossom," a sweet oboe and flute piece that comes from an Eastern scale and works in repetitive rhythms and a single D minor mode to move through a blues progression and into something a bit more exotic, which sets up the oboe-driven "Blues for the Orient." Never has Barry Harris' playing stood up with more restraint to such striking effect than it does here. He moves the piece along with striking ostinatos and arpeggios that hold the center of the tune rather than stretch it. Lateef moans softly on the oboe as the rhythm section doubles, then triples, then half times the beat until it all feels like a drone. There are two cinematic themes here -- he cut themes from the films Spartacus and The Robe, which are strikingly, hauntingly beautiful -- revealing just how important accessibility was to Lateef. And not in the sense of selling out, but more in terms of bringing people to this music he was not only playing, but discovering as well. (Listen to Les Baxter and to the early-'60s recordings of Lateef -- which ones are more musically enduring?) However, the themes set up the deep blues and wondrous ballad extrapolations Lateef was working on, like "Don't Blame Me" and "Purple Flower," which add such depth and dimension to the Eastern-flavored music that it is hard to imagine them coming from the same band. Awesome.

2. Don Cherry, "Brown Rice" (1975)

http://www.parisdjs.com/images/covers/mind_radio_show/Don_Cherry-Brown_Rice_b.jpg

Steve Huey, AMG:

If Eternal Rhythm was Don Cherry's world fusion masterpiece of the '60s, then Brown Rice is its equivalent for the '70s. But where Eternal Rhythm set global influences in a free jazz framework, Brown Rice's core sound is substantially different, wedding Indian, African, and Arabic music to Miles Davis' electrified jazz-rock innovations. And although purists will likely react here the same way they did to post-Bitches Brew Davis, Brown Rice is a stunning success by any other standard. By turns hypnotic and exhilarating, the record sounds utterly otherworldly: the polyrhythmic grooves are deep and driving, the soloing spiritual and free, and the plentiful recording effects trippy and mysterious. The various ethnic influences lift the album's already mystical atmosphere to a whole new plane, plus Cherry adds mostly non-English vocals on three of the four tracks, whispering cryptic incantations that make the pieces resemble rituals of some alien shaman. The title cut has since become an acid jazz/rare-groove classic, filtering Charlie Haden's acoustic bass through a wah-wah pedal and melding it with psychedelic electric piano riffs, electric bongos, wordless female vocals, short snippets of tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe's free jazz screeching, and, of course, Cherry's whispers and trumpet. Closer "Degi-Degi" works a similarly mind-bending mixture, but the middle two pieces ("Malkauns" and "Chenrezig") are lengthy explorations where Cherry's languid trumpet solos echo off into infinity. Of all his world fusion efforts, Brown Rice is the most accessible entry point into Cherry's borderless ideal, jelling into a personal, unique, and seamless vision that's at once primitive and futuristic in the best possible senses of both words. While Cherry would record a great deal of fine work in the years to come, he would never quite reach this level of wild invention again.

3. Steve Reid, "Nova" (1976)

http://file.blog-shinjuku-jazz.diskunion.net/nova.jpg

Rob Ferrier, AMG:

This is an astounding record by an artist who has been criminally neglected. The list of those who could make out jazz funky is a short one. Ornette of course springs to mind as do the musicians of the Art Ensemble and their Chicago brethren. Drummer Steve Reid must now be added to that list. From the swaggering thunder of "Lions of Juda," to the gentler songs that close this album, there's nary a misstep. This music is as beautiful and dangerous as a shower of broken glass -- just when you think you've got a song figured out, this clever group of largely unsung musicians heightens the tension and takes things careening off in an unexpected direction. Have no fear though, these men are always nothing if not firmly in control. This is a wonderful document of a long vanished New York scene that was long on every emotion, not just fury. Find this album and buy it.

aye thats ok, tannenbaum missed his week so took mine and i go after deej

excellent choices btw. Dont know that steve reid album but i look forward to hearing it

Oh man, Nova is great, I'm sure you will love it. IIRC you already know and like Rhythmatism?

i believe deej is up

come on deej post your albums! ;)

Anyone up for restarting this?

OH SHIT

getting this together. have it up soon

AG, did you ever listen to Nova?

I think so, I dont recall much about it as it was so long ago. Will listen again after deej's picks

ok shall we resume this? Figured it might help ilxor out finding stuff if so I'll take weds. Who else wants a week?

i'm in!

Feb 2 - Algerian Goalkeeper
Feb 9 - Ilxor

Who else wants a shot? deej can have a go when he is unbanned if he still wants to

shakey? tuomas? ilx jazz crew?

okay wait deej and whiney are both banned now? someone explain this to me

but sure I'll take a week

also it's March now fyi

they were 51'd a few weeks ago

oh yeah

March 2 - Algerian Goalkeeper
March 9 - Ilxor
March 16 - Shakey Mo

did they have an img bomb war or something

Infact this is better

March 2 - Shakey Mo
March 9 - Ilxor
March 16 - Algerian Goalkeeper

you have a couple of days to select picks. email me and I'll get you spotify links (i only have your old email the one you never use i forget your proper one)

they have a beef thats been going on over ilx threads and they picked up 51 sb's. it just so happened they got it at the same time. dont think it was anything major. they must be due back v soon

you alright with this weeks picks?

I think ice cr?m has volunteered via pm. I didn't get your email to reply to. I'll send you those spotify links when it's your go. I will put you in before me.

March 2 - Shakey Mo
March 9 - Ilxor
March 16 - ice cr?m
March 23 - Algerian Goalie

hey goalkeeper- can u plz bump me toward the bottom of the list as it fills up? thx

ok
ice cr?m you want to swap places with ilxor?

i wouldn't mind a crack at this

Awesome, you're in!

March 2 - Shakey Mo
March 9 - Ilxor
March 16 - ice cr?m
March 23 - Ride
March 30 Algerian Goalie

switch spots w/ me AG

not if you have measles

I'll give it a shot...but I'm very much a jazz noob/novice. If that disqualifies me, I'll just happily join in the listening/following.

no way-- we're in the same boat!

ok it seems ice cr?m didnt volunteer it was just shaky webmailing me WITHOUT LEAVING AN EMAIL TO REPLY TO

March 2 - Shakey Mo
March 9 - Ilxor
March 16 - Algerian Goalie
March 23 - Ride
March 30 - xtian DC

ilxor youre staying there unless 1 of the other 2 want to swap with you!

webmail tuomas, im sure he will want a shot.

shakey you should post your albums tonight, will be weds here by then anyway.

my week's pics:

http://www.amiright.com/album-covers/images/album-Donald-Byrd-A-New-Perspective.jpg
Donald Byrd - A New Perspective

http://www.soundstagedirect.com/media/art_ensemble_chicago_message_folks.jpg
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Message to Our Folks

You could argue that both of these are worth picking up just for the iconic covers alone. They are roughly a decade apart, and both diverge rather widely from traditional jazz structures, albeit in completely different ways. A New Perspective is unlike anything else I've heard in Byrd's catalog and, tbh, I can't really think of any other jazz album quite like it. The emphasis is on the vocal ensemble arrangements, which marry trad gospel harmonizing with much looser jazz melodies and phrasing, and is gorgeous, tightly arranged, and beautifully slick from front to back. Possibly my favorite Byrd album. Message to Our Folks, on the other hand, goes in the opposite direction, and reflects AEC's penchant for wide-ranging genre explorations - going from field hollers to African percussion to free jazz skronk to blues grooves to elegiac soloing and back again. A lot of it seems of a piece with Can's various "ethnological forgery series", except that these are black American guys in Paris, rather than German hippies fantasizing about Africa/Asia/S. America.

lol sorry I am bad at following rules

(eh I guess the albums are only 6-7 years apart fwiw)

you were supposed to email me so i can provide spotify links

Donald Byrd - A New Perspective
http://open.spotify.com/album/2ZXECfiklUdtYcDZTU6jOF

Art Ensemble of Chicago - Message to Our Folks
http://open.spotify.com/album/5XvmZV63Y8OPDbD2cS0mXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ujEFsaInk

Heard much about A New Perspective...and had it in my hands the last time I was in the shop. Next time I'll be leaving with it.

BTW, for us non-UK, spotifyless folks, I've found that just about record can be at the very least be sample via youtube.

Best track off that great album IMO. Good picks, thanks.

btw the reason I ever even heard of the Byrd album in the first place:

http://mykec.net/mykec/images/mly/tone_loc__loced_after_dark.jpg

Didn't participate in the last one but am interested in a week this time. Still okay to post, uh, non-spotify links?

Agreed on Cristo, it's sublime.

you want to swap with ilxor then?
xp

Okay, I'll hit it on March 9.

wooo!

March 2 - Shakey Mo
March 9 - Doug Watson
March 16 - Algerian Goalie
March 23 - Ride
March 30 - xtian DC
April 6 - ilxor

Okay, here are some free fusion gems from the less obvious decades (read, I avoided anything from the 70s.)

Pinski Zoo - Introduce Me To The Doctor (Despatch, 1981)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8854/00introducemetothedocto.jpg
Not a Spotify link
The debut disc of this frenzied post-punk jazz outfit from the UK. Fronted by reed player Jan Kopinski and-- for this album at least-- keyboardist Steve Iliffe. Kinda like if Rip Rig & Panic had eschewed the vocals and had developed under the tutelage of Ornette Coleman rather than Don Cherry.

Corporate Art - Corporate Art (JMT, 1991)
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7403/00corporateart.jpg
Not a Spotify link
A sort of supergroup that happily manages to deliver on expectations. Bobby Previte, Gary Thomas, Christy Doran and Mark Helias recorded this one-off session that blends angular jazz rock with the funky tensions of M-Base. Doran really shines here, with a style that reminds a bit of John McLaughlin's more soulful comping (Miles' "Right Off", Joe Farrell's "Follow Your Heart")

Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Report From Iron Mountain (P-Vine, 2001)
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/3597/00reportfromironmountai.jpg
Not a Spotify link
Don't know that much about this Japanese ensemble. There's some involvement by Otomo Yoshide and it's led by Naruyoshi Kikuchi, who may be related to keyboardist Masabumi Kikuchi (whose "Circle/Line" is covered here.) Actually, the whole affair pursues that digitized free funk filter that Masabumi stretched over Miles' apocalyptic funk concept. For more reading, Sonic Asymmetry has a very worthy read here.

lol never heard of any of this!

Hopefully that's a good thing?

totally

Seem to remember Pinski Zoo having at least one release on SST...? Would have been mid 90s.

I don't think SST ever released a Pinski Zoo record. Zoogz Rift, maybe?

dunno these either!

March 16 - Algerian Goalie
March 23 - Ride
March 30 - xtian DC
April 6 - ilxor

I think we will move to 1 album per week, see if that stimulates more chat.

I remember back in my days as a high school "radio station" "dj" we had that Byrd record floating around. I think my hip-hop-loving friend was also into it because of some sample on it. At the time I was sort of still sorting things out and categorizing things and being kind of uptight and purist, and I didn't really know what basket to put the record in, so I wasn't so keen on it. Would be curious to give it another chance.

I think we will move to 1 album per week, see if that stimulates more chat.

Fair enough. Since we've still some time before next week, why don't we limit my above selection to just the Pinski Zoo? Am interested in hearing other impressions.

no no thats ok. your picks are fine. Hopefully there will be some discussion

i still need to listen, anyone else play them?

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960)
https://www.ifmusic.co.uk/images/product_images/HankMobley-SoulStation.jpg

http://open.spotify.com/album/6LgMSHDA0nBRV9Vlgy8j5r

Often overlooked, perhaps because he wasn't a great innovator in jazz but merely a stellar performer, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was at the peak of his powers on Soul Station. Recorded with a superstar quartet including Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Wynton Kelly on piano, it was the first album since Mobley's 1955 debut to feature him as a leader without any other accompanying horns. The clean, uncomplicated sound that resulted from that grouping helps make it the best among his albums and a peak moment during a particularly strong period in his career. Mobley has no problem running the show here, and he does it without being flashy or burying the strong work of his sidemen. The solidness of his technique means that he can handle material that is occasionally rhythmically intricate, while still maintaining the kind of easy roundness and warmth displayed by the best players of the swing era. Two carefully chosen standards, "Remember" and "If I Should Lose You," help to reinforce that impression by casting an eye back to the classic jazz era. They bookend four Mobley originals that, in contrast, reflect the best of small-group composition with their lightness and tight dynamics. Overall, this is a stellar set from one of the more underrated musicians of the bop era.

I left this out the last time i took a turn so here it is. Enjoy!

Like that album a lot. If you enjoy it I also recommend checking out No Room for Squares

Great album...the only Mobley I own so far. Curious to hear more. Gonna give it some more spins tonight and tomorrow now.

Btw, my copy has more of a green-blue sepia tone. Any story with the subtle variations of the cover?

i have no idea

Blakey's solo on This I Dig Of You owns. (What a great song title, btw!)

Mtume - Alkebu-Lan (Land of the Blacks)

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3602/218/1600/alke_front.jpg

Heavy shit, cats! Dig!

Nothing Is' description

Listen

messed up the image link somehow, let's try again

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3602/218/1600/alke_front.jpg

Recorded August 29, 1971 at The East, New York. According to Jim Flannery of the Kozmigroove Mailing List, it's "Pretty damn wild...AACM goes to Africa... but I guess I'd have to add 'Pharoahs go to Saturn' to get the picture complete. Starts out with a four-minute speech describing the role of 'these jams' in the service of Black Nationalism... and then backs it up. Cover is black with white line-drawing of a sorta Egyptian-meets-subSaharan figure (Pharoanic beard, pyramids for eyes, goat amulet), back side has an eye-in-pyramid drawing with photo of Mtume leaning against it." Having finally heard this record finally, I love it. While it's certainly dated, it's a fascinating glimpse of the marriage of early 1970s Afro-centric music, politics and spirituality, plus it really grooves. To me reminiscent of Bartz' Ntu Group work, it's more energetic and colorful than those records. A treasure: Strata-East was an extraordinary label.

-Ian Scott Horst: Jazz Supreme

looks like img tags ain't working for me

Awfully quiet here of late. My turn?

Let's go with the record I am listening to for the first time, right now:
Pharoah Sanders Tauhid(1966)
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c486/c486189tn40.jpg

Tauhid marks the 1966 Impulse debut of tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, who had already gained fame as a flame-throwing saxophonist of the "new thing" playing with John Coltrane. However, Sanders' tenor appearance doesn't saturate the atmosphere on this session; far from it. Sanders is content to patiently let the moods of these three pieces develop, whether it be through the percussion of Roger Blank and Nat Bettis, guitarist Sonny Sharrock, or his own piccolo. For those looking for Sanders' patented screeching tenor throughout, Tauhid will disappoint.

I see Pharoah is getting some play on another thread at the moment. I am loving Karma, Jewels of Thought and Thembi. Excited to let this one weave its hypnotic spell.

Did I mention I am seeing the man play the first weekend in May? Beyond excited.

nice, I've latched onto this record and Karma pretty heavily. also be sure to check out Black Unity (the other i've heard; it's also fantastic)

Black Unity is on its way to me as we speak! Also picked up a nice vinyl copy of Live At The East. Not sure if this one ever made it to cd or not?

get elevation too guys...amazing record.

just properly reading back over this thread, the mtume sounds well up my street. checking it out now.