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

reminded me that we haven't even touched on Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto and the wealth of Brazilian jazz itt

xxp i went to high school w/ the guy who's Epistrophy Arts, a true bro to the nth degree

def add Getz/Gilberto to your list, should be able to find it everywhere and even if you dont dig the bossa nova, it's one of the best patio records for sunny day chillin

My wife has the self-titled Getz/Gilberto record. It's alright -- never really captivated me beyond being pleasant and easy to listen to, though.

it's really one of the best records ever though

ha, yeah, it really is great. but i can see it just sounding like easy listening at first. it is a pretty unfuckwithable LP tho.

I've never listened to Getz, but just downloaded a 3CD set of his early '50s quintet recordings that's coming out next week.

getz super rad imo

some of the most complex cool style stuff out thereq

just so immediately recognizable

Some good stuff going on in this thread: Not the canon: another jazz thread

cos i really liked this thread in which ilxor asked for jazz recs, and it seemed that a lot of people had a lot to contribute. But - how much can you throw at someone and expect them to listen? (One of the things I liked about the thread was that it really happened - he really bought discs, listened to them etc)

Thanks, btw -- I started this thread intending for these recommendations to jumpstart my 2011 deep-dive into jazz. I'd say this year so far, jazz has comprised about 50% of my listening, and I've bought about 20 albums used, nice and cheap. I'll get to reviewing as I get a handle on what's going on with each record. It's been good to really focus on a new genre for a change, slow down my listening and buying habits and hear a new style of music with fresh ears.

I haven't bought a 2011 new release thus far that I can recall, aside from the Electric Wizard and Ghost US releases. Feel like I'm turning into unperson -- all metal and jazz, not much else.

that kenny g photo is actually form his facebook, his caption is the best part because he STILL doesn't get the joke

http://i.imgur.com/0h3fr.gif

First listen of "On The Corner". This is insane and kinda melting my face. LOVE.

Also, earlier today I picked up a copy of Alice Coltrane's "Journey in Satchidanandadadadadadaddaadadadadadad". Can't wait to give it a spin later this eve.

Satchidananda is my desert island, favorite album of all time. where Corner is face melting, Journey is soul expanding. truth, consciousness, and bliss

^^^^^^ yesss

when i'm bored on guitar i inevitably start playing that bassline & melody

The Peter Brötzmann Octet - The Complete Machine Gun Sessions (1968)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KG%2B9cHf1L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

First impression: this album is amazing. And really, really, really noisy.

Second impression: this album is pretty much a free-improvisation rock record, possibly touching on jazz in places, but most likely filed under jazz because of its use of jazz instruments. My understanding is that Brötzmann "plays" the baritone sax, and that he's "playing" with three additional sax "players" on this LP.

For those who have heard Machine Gun, it should be obvious that I've placed the word "play" in quotations because, quite clearly, that's an understatement for what Brötzmann is aiming for here. The sax players (as well as two drummers, two bassists and a pianist, I believe) sound like they are physically attacking their instruments -- and perhaps the instruments are fighting back -- resulting in one of the most cacophonous sound-riots I've ever heard laid to tape, using jazz instruments or otherwise. The energy level is pretty constant; here and there most of the instruments will pause for a breath while a single sax wails away for a few seconds, then the other instruments smash back into the mix.

I really enjoy Machine Gun, but honestly, I'd have loved it without hearing an ounce of jazz otherwise. A good comparison point is early Boredoms material. If you can imagine giving each of the Boredoms folks a saxophone instead of traditional rock instruments, then asking them to re-record Pop Tatari, you'll have a basic idea of how Machine Gun sounds. It's a clattering, high-impact riot of amelodic sounds, bits and pieces of structured melody weaving briefly into the mix, instruments occasionally locking into step with each other, but more frequently doing their own thing. Very, very noisily.

The extra tracks on The Complete Machine Gun Sessions include a couple alternate takes on "Machine Gun" and the second track, plus a live recording of "Machine Gun" (supposedly the only live recording available). All are fantastic, if not vastly different from the recordings that ended up on the proper LP.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰ ½

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Great review, ilxor. I'll now be seeking out Machine Gun.

My first listen of Alice Coltrane's Journey In Satchidananda took place last night. Really dug it...has this intense spiritual vibe akin to A Love Supreme. It was also my first exposure to Pharoah Sanders, whose playing on this one is much more muted than I expected. I've so much about his dueling sax role on the later Coltrane records that I was expecting something much more frenzied. Have to say, of all the records I've heard thus far, this one was among the most immediately likable.

On a different not, for some reason, I find myself going back continually to Coltrane's Sun Ship. Seems odd, considering how immediately accessible the others I have are (A Love Supreme, Giant Step, Coltrane's Sound, My Favorite Things, Blue Train), that I would be so drawn to this posthumously released record that, from what I've gathered, is more or less considered a minor work. I'm not convinced that this record hasn't changed every time I listen to it! It's like a puzzle that I find myself kind of addicted to...must unlock its treasures slowly.

I still plan on collecting as wide an array of stuff as possible, but being that I seem most turned on by Trane right now, I went ahead and ordered the Impulse! Volumes 1 and 2 set. Pretty psyched about that. I think a Coltrane bio is in my future too.

Good stuff -- I need to seek out Journey in Satchidananda and Sun Ship, definitely. I'm not sure what else you're into, but I don't think Brotzmann would be a huge leap for anyone into Boredoms, Sonic Youth, Rhys Chatham, Glenn Branca or (for something a bit more contemporary) Lightning Bolt. You get the idea...

I'm not super-versed in avant-noisy stuff beyond Sonic Youth (whom are a favorite). Beyond some obvious things, I'd say the jazziest non-jazz I love is stuff like Pentangle (who actually do a cover of a track off Minghus Ah Um). Into the weird folky drone stuff too. I think Satchidananda will appeal to that side of your tastes for sure.

Perfect. So far I've only spun Alice's Ptah, the El Daoud, which I think is really good. Need to give that one some more time in the coming days. I have a three-hour or so drive ahead of me tomorrow... should be a good opportunity to play 4-5 records front to back, looking fwd to it.

If you love the attack of Brotz but are interested in an approach that involves more written sections, more free jazz than completely free improv, I recommend the Brotzmann Chicago Tentet, especially their first release, The Chicago Octet/Tentet originally on Okkadisk. I don't know if it's back in print; I don't think it is.

Brotzmann: The Chicago Octet/Tentet - Audio CD - Box set by Peter Brotzmann

1 used from $89.99

Based on the Amazon listing I'd assume it's OOP.

There are a lot of ways to go with the EFI crowd -- bigger ensembles that give you that nuclear detonation in your head, smaller duo/trio meetings where you can hear more interplay between players, etc. Topography of the Lungs, mentioned upthread, is pretty amazing -- Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink.

xp yeah, I was lucky enough to get mine when it first came out...box #1250 out of however many were in the "pressing".

I guess I've tended to avoid Brotzmann due to a preconception that it's all about "who can blow the hardest"...but given my love for Ayler (and ilxor's writeup), I really ought to check it out.

"Be Music, Night" is the only Chicago Tentet album on Spotify, is that a good one?

I wish I could tell you. I don't have the scratch to keep up with Brotzmann's output.

I have a three-hour or so drive ahead of me tomorrow.

obviously, provided you don't mind sharing, i have to ask which part of our state you're traveling to

Huntsville...

I love Huntsville!!! You're not going for jazz-related purposes, I imagine?

Nope. Running...

Feel that.

Just skimmed through the whole thread, and I don't think anyone mentioned Scaruffi's lists. You might find some interesting, challenging stuff not yet mentioned here. -- http://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/best100.html. If you can get into Machine Gun this early on and enjoy it, I can't imagine anything else could be considered too difficult.

I grew up playing trumpet/cornet and listened to a lot of Bix, Armstrong, Ellington, Miles and Diz. I burned out and stopped playing as a teen, and didn't start listening to jazz for fun again until college, when I got into Parker, Mingus and Coltrane. The jazz CD reissues got going in the early 90s and I got way into absorbing everything I could find. I started reading a lot more too. The Story of Jazz by Marshall Stearns, originally published in 1956, is a classic. Eric Nisenson's Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest inspired some deep listening with pretty much every album Coltrane made. It took me a few years before I felt ready for Ascension!

It's definitely fun to jump around and explore recommendations from all over the place. That's a good way to start. After a while if you're still into it, maybe consider doing some chronological sampling. I believe if you truly understand the history and context of each era, you can find stuff that's enjoyable from every stage and style of jazz.

The Brötzmann Tentet recently put out another 5CD box which is well worth getting hold of. That earlier box is indeed out of print now and documents their earlier days when they were mixing up composed and improvised stuff. They are all about improv now and this new box reflects that.

Also, if you like Brötzmann you would probably like The Thing.

i basically got into jazz through the same directions, drones, folk, kraut, psychedelia, hiphop sampling and totally know where you're coming from

it looks like people nailed it in here with the reccs already, esp the 70's miles. i'm glad a tribute to jack johnson got mentioned because yesternow was one of the first tracks of this genre that i ever heard and it all made sense to me instantly. i was listening to a lot of 90's hiphop and ambient jungle at the time and it really hit me how here was a band of live musicians from the 70's basically trying to make the same point, but on a much deeper level. i've been on a quest to find shit that fits that certain vibe, which some people call kosmigroov ever since...

here's an edited copy/paste of a post i made for a similar thread on another forum:

esotericy stuff:
brother ah - any work of his is good
elysian spring - s/t
wali and the afro caravan - home lost and found
don cherry - orgnic music society (not sure but iirc this one has music from the jodorowsky film - the holy mountain)
lumumba - lumumba
roy meriwether - nubian lady (v. funky)
baroque jazz trio - s/t (harpsichord, tabla, upright bass, what more could you want!?)
adele sebastian - desert fairy princess

spiritual jazz:
marion brown - sweet earth flying
marion brown - november cotton flower
eddie gale - black rhythm happening, ghetto music (some really cool blue note action here)
webster lewis - the club 7 tapes (purely for track 1 'do you believe')
jothan callins - winds of change
heikki sarmanto - new hope jazz mass
ensemble al-salaam - the sojourner
mtume - alekbu lan, kawaida, rebirth cycle
gary bartz's 70s output
norman connors - quite a few tunes from his cobblestone albums and his early to mid 70s work
worlds experience orchestra - beginning of a new birth
the pyramids - birth speed merging

moody/complex:
mabumi yamaguchi - mabumi
jorge lópez ruíz - de prepo
tee & company - dragon garden
paul horn & lalo schifrin - jazz suite on the mass texts (this one's more modal mixed with 60s sountrack. there are some very moody passages in there)
hampton hawes - blues for walls (one of those albums with one main gem amongst a bunch of other not so great stuff [if you keep digging for this stuff you will find this to be a recurring thing]... the gem being sun dance)
sadao watanabe - paysages, round trip
gary peacock - voices
kiyoshi sugimoto - babylonia wind
jan garbarek - afric pepperbird

fusiony stuff:
mulatu astatke - mulatu of ethiopia
robin kenyatta - girl from martinique
luis gasca - luis gasca
peter fish - the silver apple
steve grossman - some shapes to come, terra firma (both really rhythmic)
michal urbaniak - constellation (holy polyrhythms batman! pretty fkn far out vocals from urszula dudziak in this one)
stone alliance - s/t (grossman on sax, percussion legend don alias on drums, this one kicks)
wolfgang dauner - loads of his 70s stuff
the lightmen - fancy pants, energy control centre (similar to catalyst)
klauss weiss' records on MPS
yuji imamura's air - air
steve reid - nova
joe mcphee - nation time
arni chatham's thing - thing
soft machine - third this one is technically prog rock but it's rhythmic and deep, so...

the sections are just loose ideas of what to expect. a lot of the albums could be in 2 or more at once. i made a point of going for lesser known LPs because this subject often throws up the same names. obv. you can't beat alice and pharaoh for this shit but who doesn't like the feeling of obscure cool?

i pretty much owe all of these discoveries to the jazz LP blog scene that was really active up until a year or two ago. a lot of this stuff is oop so it might be hard to find in the shops. definitely worth seeking it out through the usual routes, though.

also, if you were to pick one LP to go with from this list, i'd say

mtume - alekbu lan

Tentet

I was wondering the other day what you call a group of ten (and eleven)

WOW that is an amazing and obscure list, thanks very much! I'll add those to my shopping list and keep an eye out.

I was wondering the other day what you call a group of ten (and eleven)

It should really be 'decet' but Brötzmann used Tentet and it stuck. And yeah the current line-up has eleven, and tends to get billed as the Tentet +1.

Also, if you like Brötzmann you would probably like The Thing.

― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Friday, February 4, 2011 9:33 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ they come to atx a lot and u must take advantage of this and buy their t-shirts and shit

<3 the thing a lot

i never said the necks here...did anyone? they are jazz to me...and absolutely some of the best music i've ever heard. great ilm recommendation.

great thread so far! two comments would be;

re: sanders, i don't think he's the guy to go to for frenzied; for me he's far more of a tone guy - just beautiful playing that fits whatever he's asked to do or wants to do so well; he never seems out of control but at the same time whilst being poised and calm and sounding so natural it's also intensely moving and deep.... ilxor you should make Karma the first choice for him... it really is one of the most amazing pieces of music of all time.

also backup what someone said about going to see more live jazz. some of my favourite shows of the last few years have been from Mulatu Astatke, Sun Ra Arkestra, Richard Bishop - after a pretty indie rock dominated diet of live shows, its such a pleasure to watch live jazz! to dudes who can really play! also early this year, The Ex touring with 'Brass Unbound' (Mats Gustafsson, Roy Paci, Ken Vandermark and Wolter Wierbos) was just mindblowing! intense post-punk jamming with those cool konono influences and then those guys blowing the roof off, pushing into the mix with little solos and really having fun showing off to each other - and the mostly indie kids crowd really vibing off it with lots of dancing. SO GOOD.

The Ex touring with 'Brass Unbound' (Mats Gustafsson, Roy Paci, Ken Vandermark and Wolter Wierbos)

oh my god this sounds incredible

think it was a one off tour unfortunately

Yeah, I was bummed when the Ex show at Big Ears last year wasn't with BU. They were fantastic as always anyway, but --

How'd the weekend driving/listening go, ilxor?

My Coltrane Impulse Volumes 1 & 2 sets arrived yesterday. So that's 10 discs for less than $60. I'm happy. (Already had A Love Supreme and Live at the Village Vanguard on vinyl, btw.)

Also, Miles' E.S.P. has been hitting hard the last few days. This is from 1965, the first studio effort from the Second Quintet, if I'm not mistaken.

It kind of baffles me to contrast the stuff Miles was doing 65 and after to the stuff Coltrane was doing pre-65. I could be waaay off base here, but seems like Coltrane was pushing the envelope in more obvious ways earlier on. Miles obviously moved his share of mountains, but perhaps in less obvious ways. What I mean is...I hear some of this mid-60's Columbia stuff and while I absolutely adore it, it's not until I read some (usually) musicology analysis of why it's groundbreaking that I realize it's more than just amazing sounding stuff.

Contrast with the Impulse era Coltrane stuff from as early as Africa/Brass (1961)...I hear this and my immediate thought is "woah...dood is *inventing* stuff!"

I'm probably totally full of it. Go gentle.

well Miles was definitely the most high profile jazz guy to abandon both swing AND acoustic instruments and replace them with electrified improv funk-skronk. that was a pretty titanic shift.

i think that's just it, the impulse coltrane stuff is innovative in really accessible ways. there aren't very many chord changes, and there's a lot for your ear to latch on to -- his sound, great melodies, an incredibly earthy and forceful rhythm section. whereas those miles records often push the envelope in really technical ways...speed, harmonic complexity, messing with the time, etc. it's really crazy shit, right? but it works on more of an intellectual level imo.

btw wayne shorter's "speak no evil" has always seemed like the perfect intersection of the miles and coltrane groups

that's a great album, and funnily enough I've been listening to it a lot lately again

That first Tentet was such a great snapshot of Chicago jazz (and Brotzmann) at the time.

Going to see Wayne Shorter tomorrow night. Have no idea what he's going to play. Am kinda hoping he premieres new music, since he's only made one album featuring his current band and that was back in 2004 or so.

One studio album, I mean; the group has also released two live albums, one in 2002 and one in 2005. Both are excellent.

Possibly too simplistic, but whereas Coltrane headed toward sheets of sound, in 64-65 Miles went toward sheets of silence.