jazz

“Call the pound.”

I don't agree with a lot of Carla opinions, especially when she dismisses Duke Ellington as someone who freerode Strayhorn's talent and took the credit, but did lol at this though!

saying that she never gives a dull interview tbf.

Yeah, though a number of people were already thinking about "providing a setting" to let it rip in, and doing it, pretty early on, more about that another time maybe (though reminds me: if you're into guitars, Sonny Sharrock's intensely mellow, never elided Ask The Ages, with Pharoah Sanders etc., is a great gateway to the land of the free).
My fave Bley in that vein is the first, s/t Liberation Music Orchestra album.

in 2018, the Downtown Music Gallery's enewsletter had a buncn of LPs by or incl. her, which I listened to on Spotify; here's some of my comments on Rolliing Jazz that year, maybe relevant to yr interests:

"MICHAEL MANTLER With LARRY CORYELL / CARLA BLEY / STEVE SWALLOW / TONY WILLIAMS - Movies (Watt 7; USA) Last sealed copy = $20

MICHAEL MANTLER with PHILIP CATHERINE / GARY WINDO / CARLA BLEY / STEVE SWALLOW/D SHARPE - More Movies (Watt 10; USA) Last couple of sealed copies / covers slilghtly worn = $20
Spotify has these as a twofer: both splendid, though if anything the sequel seems even more consistently engaging on first listen, even getting into kind of an art-metal groove thing at times (not xp "fusion funk")---when was the last time I thought of Philip Catherine!? And I didn't know Bley played tenor sax.

Meanwhile, Carla Bley's 1976 Dinner Music seats her and Mantler and Rudd and Carlos Ward with funky-smooth session aces Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Cornell Dupree, Steve Gadd, Gordon Edwards---tuba player Bob Stewart is kind of the hinge--for results that can be sneaky-acerbic in the mellow pocket, keeping or bringing it all back to the foreground, forebrain: "Ad Infinitum" def. keeps it, from the beginning, and Rudd soon takes a hold of the closer. "A New Hymn," after the near-generic chit-chat/inconsequential refinements of "Ida Lupino" and "Funnybird Song"--but "Dreams So Real" seems as sincere and even urgent as highbrow, and "Song Sung Long" is urban romantic intrigue, and "Dining Alone" is urban anxiety unifying furtive imagery (via Bley's sung-spoken thoughts)---the pressure of that Manhattan candlelight!
The opener, "Sing Me Softly of the Blues," starts well but turns into something like more nerf-funk chatter, music for the pilot of a pre-PBS afterschool series, but the good tracks here are really up my alley.

Michael Mantler:
The Hapless Child
Watt/4
words by Edward Gorey
(from 'Amphigorey')

Robert Wyatt (voice)
Terje Rypdal (guitar)
Carla Bley (piano, clavinet, synthesizer)
Steve Swallow (bass)
Jack DeJohnette (drums)

recorded July 1975 through January 1976
Willow, NY, and England
A whirlwind right out of the gate, and I knew from later all-instrumental versions how strong some of these frameworks would be---did not expect the excellent and unusual studio effects on some of Wyatt's vocal turns---but eventually, when the words are more upfront, can seem overly emphatic---Gorey's dank little narratives work better with his spare, black white & grey drawings or etchings or whatever they be. Also, c'mon, it's Gorey---think I'll go on to the settings of Beckett and Pinter.

That is, the *overall* effect, the ensemble onslaught, not primarily Wyatt's vocals, can seem overly emphatic here.

Mantler again: Silence(1976)---the overemphasis here is confined to some of MM's heavier handling of Pinter's words, and Chris Spedding's often repeated use of sustain etc., drawing a note out and curving it around 'til it's a needle in my earphones ---but it can hurt so good, and the voices are strong and distinctive, Carla Bley holding her on with Kevin Coyne and Robert Wyatt---and sometimes everybody follows Wyatt's dustdevil percussion, without ever missing their cues (it's a play with a small cast/combo, compressed, maybe condensed, into a single LP's worth of songs).
The text itself may grow on me, but so far doesn't seem up to several Pinter plays I'm more familiar with, though Mantler can highlight the weak spots in his literary sources, maybe by blurring some of the plot points.
(More about Mantler's work w Wyatt, and other jazzcentric adventures over on Robert Wyatt: Classic or Dud?)

And I still want to check this Bley (which a friend described as "beating Zappa at his own game and then some")--here's xgau's take:
European Tour 1977 [Watt, 1978]
Although the basic concept--Kurt Weill Meets Ornette Coleman for Indiscreet Ellingtonian Frolic--is a little abstruse, this actually does reward the sort of close listening that earns so many theoretical payoffs. Perhaps amusement is the reward a little too often, however. I like a joke as well as the next fellow, but a few emotional expositions do help assuage one's conscience. A- Bullshit to that last; I wanna hear it!

But yeah, she settled into the conversational small group setting quite a while back; lots more where that came from.

https://img.discogs.com/Fw6AdCnpIXF8qld8p0meYEpiuvQ=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(webp):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4193425-1573634278-8632.jpeg.jpg

such a great album is this. It's quite unusual that he's one of these amazing talents that faded out of the jazz scene, but rather going on some tragic spiral into drug addiction he worked as a librarian for decades and only died a couple of years ago.

yeah this is a good one. discovered it on youtube, where it seems to be one of those albums that randomly cracked the recommendation algorithm, approaching a million views currently. shame hes not around for it

On first listen, this is nice but tbf there's not a whole lot to distinguish his style from that of better-known pianists of the era.

Musicians who just kind of quietly faded out in a non-tragic way is interesting. Not quite the same thing, but my guitar teacher recorded with Lou Donaldson and Tony Williams Lifetime among others, but got a pharmacy license and was a practicing pharmacist for years. He made a handful of other records and taught until he died but never sought out the level of performing/recording career he probably could have had.

I think he's brilliant, yeah not of the greats maybe but that alb really clicks with me and he's someone I can enjoy as much as other ledges of jazz piano like Red Garland or Hampton Hawes.

i am pleased to announce that my jazz brain has evolved and i now enjoy the 12-minute modal workouts

but i will probably always like wynton kelly more than anybody. Kelly Blue is so ridiculously good

I love Wynton, especially on the Blackhawk shows with Miles Davis. (I have the four CD set of both the Friday and Saturday shows.)

Kelly's my favorite of the pianists Miles had at that time. I don't mind Bill Evans (though I would dispute that "everybody" digs him), but Red Garland was always way too tinkly for me.

I LOVE Bill Evans, and he was crucial to Kind of Blue (though yes, Wynton was the right pianist for "All Blues" too) but he was with Miles for a very short time. What little they did in the studio was incredible - less than two LP's worth of music - but I don't think he was ever given a chance to settle in on the road thanks to the audience's indifferent (even hostile) reaction towards him. He's still one of my two or three favorite jazz pianists. The Village Vanguard recordings with LaFaro and Motian are favorites. (I prefer the box set over the two expanded albums - nearly the same amount of music, but I prefer the box's presentation.) Their two studio LP's are nearly as great. Undercurrent, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, and the two volumes of the Solo Sessions he did for Riverside are all great. Plenty of later stuff that's excellent, including Tony Bennett's best album, and he's played on other great albums by other artists besides Miles, but in terms of the sessions he led, those Riverside albums I mentioned are the ones I return to most.

no need for tinkle-shaming Red Garland, he did some fine work!

Love Red Garland, like Wynton Kelly, do not dig Bill Evans.

Love Bill Evans and Red Garland and Wynton Kelly, tho Evans will always be my favorite.

Evans is among my top jazz pianists. Him, Herbie, Bobby Timmons, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, Mehldau, probably leaving someone out. I always enjoy Wynton Kelly and Red Garland but they both feel less consequential to me.

Oh McCoy Tyner of course

The thing is, you don't listen to Evans for the same thing you listen to Wynton Kelly for. That's why Miles put Wynton Kelly on some tracks and Bill Evans on others, they do very different things. If you're just listening to Everybody Digs and saying "this doesn't swing as hard as Bud Powell" then you're missing the point. I don't really get how anyone could not enjoy the Village Vanguard sessions, but w/e.

The thing is, you don't listen to Evans for the same thing you listen to Wynton Kelly for.

Absolutely. I would never say "Bill Evans can't play"; I just say "I don't like Bill Evans' whole thing", just like I don't like Brad Mehldau's whole thing, just like I don't like 90% of Keith Jarrett's output. It's neither good nor bad — it's Not For Me. But by the same token, I can't really understand how you rank Bobby Timmons and Erroll Garner (both of whom are great, in context) over Wynton Kelly and Red Garland.

I was excited to seek out some Red Garland recordings by the appearance of "Billy Boy" on the Columbia 2LP Jazz Piano Anthology, where it was credited to him rather than Miles. A few years later I finally heard Milestones and said "wait a minute...."

Wondering about this---have you heard it, unperson?

RESONANCE RECORDS TO ISSUE IN HARMONY IN JULY 2021 FEATURING TRUMPETER ROY HARGROVE AND PIANIST MULGREW MILLER IN A CAPTIVATING DUO
Previously unreleased live recordings from 2006 and 2007, available July 17th as a limited-edition 180-gram 2-LP Record Store Day exclusive and July 23rd as a deluxe 2-CD and digital edition issued in coordination with the Hargrove and Miller Estates
Elaborate booklet with rare photos, informative essay by Ted Panken, interviews and statements from Sonny Rollins, Christian McBride, Common, Ron Carter, Jon Batiste, Karriem Riggins, Keyon Harrold, Ambrose Akinmusire, Chris Botti, Robert Glasper and others
More info (and check roster of artists on this label):
https://resonancerecords.org/product/roy-hargrove-and-mulgrew-miller-in-harmony/

Haven't heard that yet but I get lots of promos from Resonance. Their releases are usually excellent; that Rollins in Holland set is fantastic.

https://www.musicaloffering.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/iisolfizrbcgrpeqccqn.jpg

this is the biz!

“have horn, will blow”

:o

eddie "ouch! lockjaw" davis

jazz is pretty good

FWIW, Lockjaw's Very Saxy is great. Four tenor sax players including Buddy Tate, Coleman Hawkins, Arnett Cobb and Lockjaw himself.

I love that pre-Jimmy Smith churchy style of jazz organ and Scott/Lockjaw collabs are great. You’d probably also like Wild Bill Davis.

:O

via JCLC

"Man you need the Niven Jazz Collection in your LIFE. Dude made tape recordings of his extensive jazz collection WITH GOOD HISTORICAL INFORMATION RECORDED ONTO THE TAPES BY HIMSELF for years in case his kids were interested in knowing what the music their dad had been into was all about. In the process he did an ~incredible~ service to history. Throw a dart, every last one of these is gold. I'm listening to the King Oliver one now, the music is of course tremendous but the jazz history he fills in? Utterly priceless"

https://archive.org/details/davidwnivenjazz

an excellent jazz night in america on piano genius ELMO HOPE. don't miss this.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1193962841/an-elmo-hope-centennial-celebration-giving-a-jazz-piano-pioneer-his-due

Love Elmo Hope, checking this out.

If he had lived longer, he could have made an album called Tickle-Key Elmo. Missed opportunity. Gone too soon.