"Music doesn't go seasonable to me." Rolling Jazz Dm7♭5 Thread 2017

Seeing John McLaughlin tonight in Newark. More women and nonwhite people than the King Crimson show I saw this summer.

Ha, I saw KC on Monday in Boston. They were great. I bought tickets for that before I knew that McLaughlin was playing a day or two later but based on recent clips, I'm comfortable with my choice. Idk what to say about the demographics, though.

This is supposdly McLaughlin’s final US tour AND he’s doing a whole Mahavishnu set (with his current band, not a reunion), so I’m pretty excited. The opener, Jimmy Herring, was just OK; most of the music was kinda Allmans-gone-fusion, except for one semi-“heavy” tune that sounded like recent Opeth.

AND he’s doing a whole Mahavishnu set

This part I did not know about.

Tbh, McLaughlin tix were already sold out by the time I found out about the event.

Here's a photo from last night. The first 45 minutes was by Jimmy Herring, who I'd never heard before; like I said above, his band sounded like the Allman Brothers gone jazz fusion, except for that one Opeth-y song. Then McLaughlin came out and played 45 minutes of new material, including a lengthy two-kit drum solo which featured one drummer scatting-chanting along with the rhythm. Then Herring's band came back onstage and all nine musicians played Mahavishnu Orchestra material for 45 minutes. The big band reminded me more of the King Crimson show from this summer than I was expecting it to. Herring's solo material didn't do much for me, but overall, it was a really good show, and I'm glad I went.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOUyDgdUQAAfXeP.jpg

getting strong Sonny Rollins vibes from Tim Armacost's Time Being album earlier, It's very good imo.

That is a good record.

this ecm streaming thing is huge news!

Interviewed Roswell Rudd for the next Burning Ambulance podcast. He sounded very low energy (he's undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer that's metastasized into, I think, his liver) but told some interesting stories. I posted the most recent episode on Friday; it's with Myra Melford:

http://burningambulance.blubrry.net/2017/11/10/episode-3-myra-melford/

Still listening to lots of Waldron - particularly a live version of The Call off Black Glory. It's got these clusters of bass piano notes which make it sound like Dawn of Midi or something. Immense.

Jason Moran has just released a new album on Bandcamp:

https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/mass-howl-eon

Backstory: Painter Julie Mehretu created two site specific paintings for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in a de-commissioned church in Harlem. Moran composed the work while Mehretu painted.

Jason Moran - piano, Fender Rhodes, percussion; Graham Haynes - cornet and electronics; Jamire Williams - drums

Art21 did a video about the project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcM3lF4Es_s

That's really nice, love the Rhodes. I just wish he didn't price his records so high, even if it's out of some sort of principled, corrective stance.

ha! I hung those paintings

You can buy those new Moran tracks individually to save a few $, at $2 ea. x 7 tracks; I wish all these tracks at least had streaming previews available, though--have taken a chance on the two 10-min tracks at MASS' halfway mark and am enjoying those so far.

(Since there are no previews for those: "Invocation" is a slow tempo/semi-free track where Moran switches from Rhodes to piano halfway through and opens up in its last two minutes with delay on Haynes' cornet in a manner not unlike some of the FX that were prominent on BANGS, while "Offertory" starts off w/ solo breakbeat drumming and heats up by the four-minute mark, reaching a fairly Miles In The Sky-ish steez in its second half)

Full disclosure: I eventually bought all of BANGS piecemeal b/c these JM DLs are so damn expensive, but eventually came to really enjoy that one to such an extent that it's now one of my 3 fave jazz albums of 2017 (not quite sure how I'll rank them yet) along with Miles Okazaki's Trickster and Chris Speed's Platinum On Tap...

Also, thank you grawlix for your writeup of Tom Rainey's new standards album on Intakt in your October Stereogum column--have only bought "Beatrice" so far, but will prob end up buying the whole thing since flipping through it has really impressed me; a killer tasteful band that makes me want to spend more time w/ Ralph Alessi-led sessions.

Thanks for reading! And for reminding me that BANGS came out this year; I have two lists to put together, and that's definitely in the running.

New Makaya McCraven:
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/highly-rare

I love how he cuts up his live shows into something more concise, structured and interesting.

Just Saw this on twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DO9RhNJWAAEnnAV.jpg:large jazz books recently purchased, incl. Albert Ayler, Sunny Murray, Cecil Taylor, Byard Lancaster, and Kenneth Terroade:On Disc and Tape, by Mike Hames---never heard of KT, here in august company; so far I've found this succinct, vivid dispatch from a close listening session:http://absintheforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/05/bygactuel-series-part-three-kenneth.html

George Avakian has died at 98. A genuinely legendary producer.

Now that ECM is streaming, I could finally listen to Jakob Bro's Streams in its entirety. I really like it: similar in style to Frisell in some ways but maybe better than most Frisell from the last few years.

I absolutely love Streams but I think I like Gefion even more.

The new Burning Ambulance podcast is up; it features an interview with trombonist Roswell Rudd.

Been enjoying the soundtrack to the Cuphead video game, kind of a masterclass on old swing, ragtime, and even some barbershop:
https://studiomdhr.bandcamp.com/releases

listed influences: JS Bach, Count Basie, Tom Brier (get well soon!), Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, Cliff Jackson, Scott Joplin, Gene Krupa, Jimmie Lunceford, Henry Mancini, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Carmen Miranda, Yasunori Mitsuda, Jelly Roll Morton, Nicholas Brothers, Mário Reis, Joe Rinaudo and his American Fotoplayer, Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, Gunther Schuller, John Philip Sousa, Nobuo Uematsu, Richard Wagner, Chick Webb, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, John Williams, 'Washboard' Kitty Wilson

Groovin' With Junior (Mance) is an ace 2006 concert recording with some nice expansive, bluesy numbers. He's a total ledge and I've also been streaming some of his 50's/60's solo stuff and thinking why I hadn't heard of him before. But then wiki reveals he has played on loads of stuff I already like w/Cannonball Adderley/Gene Ammons/Dizzy Gillespie.

He is really an excellent player and a great guy as well, although he don’t get around much anymore what with his advanced dementia. Believe his name brother Julian “Cannonball” Adderley saved his life in the service by figuring out a way to get him into the army band even though he could only play one instrument. I think they said he could type and perform clerical duties iirc, at least that’s what I seem to recall from reading either Gene Lees or Gene Santoro.

that's sad, he's such such a great player :(

Love Junior Mance, I think I tracked down some of his records at one point to listen to more Mickey Roker. Also went through a phase of listening to the really gospel/blues heavy jazz pianists (Bobby Timmons, old Monty Alexander).

Are you familiar with Junior’s main drummer and best man, Jackie Williams?

Nope!

I haven’t really listened to recordings with him, but loved seeing him on gigs. Incredible sound and deep old school jazz groove, like seeing Jo Jones or something.

Here's something with Junior and Jackie, haven't really watched yet though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXXgBx2Jdac

Jackie was/is part of some kind of lower case drummers collective with Tootie Heath, Billy Hart and some others, the late Ben Riley maybe.

He's got an old-school touch and style for sure.

Junior would often close with the Billy Taylor/Nina Simone song “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” and the part Jackie would play would (I assume unintentionally) sound something like what Ringo plays on “Hey Jude,” which was kind of awesome.

Have made a playlist full of 'modal monsters' and currently grooving to all the Horace Tapscott I can. Holy shit the live version of 'The Dark Tree'.

Just bought Live In Europe, a 3CD set on Clean Feed by Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity because it kicks so much ass I knew I needed to have a physical copy in my house. The first disc is the basic trio: Nilssen on drums, Andre Roligheten on sax, Petter Eldh on bass. On Disc 2, they're joined by second saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist, and on Disc 3, they're joined by two guest saxophonists, Kristoffer Berre Alberts and Jørgen Mathisen. I also bought the trio's first album, a studio disc called Firehouse.

Check out Live In Europe on Spotify

From NYTimes show listings (pub. Nov. 24)---anybody heard this band/album??

KATE GENTILE NEW QUARTET at the Jazz Gallery (Nov. 28, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). “Mannequins,” Ms. Gentile’s remarkable album from earlier this year, shows her to be a drummer of caustic power and conflicting vectors; as a composer, she writes in layers that dance and shiver. She is bringing three-fourths of the band from “Mannequins” to the Jazz Gallery, where she’ll be joined by Jeremy Viner on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Matt Mitchell on piano and Kim Cass on bass.
646-494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc
GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

Nope

i tend to trust gio tho

The album's on Bandcamp:

https://kategentile.bandcamp.com/album/mannequins

I think I might have a copy here somewhere; the cover art looks familiar and I've gotten stuff from the label (Skirl) in the past.

Listened to the one track that's streaming on Bandcamp. Why do so many young jazz musicians write heads that sound like notes scattered on a tabletop like Scrabble tiles? Who started this shit, and how do we (critics, listeners) make it stop? Will burning down the music schools help?

(Fittingly, considering who's on piano here) Tim Berne?

Ha, idk, track seems cool to me.

Finally listened to the Rez Abbasi album twice today and, yeah, that's something else. I was a fan of 2005's Snake Charmer, and saw him live a couple of times and even hung out with him briefly, but never kept up for some reason.

Went to see Kate Gentile at the Jazz Gallery last night. Not my thing, but I had a nice conversation with her afterwards.

Ralph Towner album is lovely. Dude is 77!

Here's a chunk of the Kate Gentile Quartet set I saw Tuesday night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7aTlyOfrJo

liking this Joseph Shabason track a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCnLG6VoSTo

The Wire assigns genre-specific charts to individual writers for their year-end issue (the big top 50 is voted on by all the staff and contributors); they gave me the jazz list, so here it is:

1. Yazz Ahmed, La Saboteuse (Naim Audio)
2. Jaimie Branch, Fly Or Die (International Anthem)
3. Camilla George Quartet, Isang (Ubuntu Music)
4. Christian Scott, The Centennial Trilogy (Ropeadope)
5. Irreversible Entanglements, s/t (International Anthem)
6. Vijay Iyer Sextet, Far From Over (ECM)
7. Tyshawn Sorey, Verisimilitude (Pi)
8. Kamasi Washington, Harmony Of Difference (Young Turks)
9. Harriet Tubman, Araminta (Sunnyside)
10. JD Allen, Radio Flyer (Savant)

Interesting: I listened to the Branch a lot over the summer; I should probably pull it out again.