This afternoon I listened to California Concert by the CTI All-Stars, a one-off (I think) band put together in 1971. Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Hank Crawford on alto sax, Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, Hubert Laws on flute, Johnny Hammond on keyboards, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, and Airto Moreira on percussion. It's a 2CD set full of long jams on "Red Clay," "So What," James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" (Hubert Laws recorded that), etc., etc. Great stuff. I bought it on Discogs a while ago and it seems like it was a print-on-demand thing because the discs are CD-Rs.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 2 January 2022 21:08 (two years ago) link
Really enjoying the variety in the Burning Ambulance festival!
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 3 January 2022 18:27 (two years ago) link
Nice to find that California Concert on Spotify!
― ... (Eazy), Monday, 3 January 2022 19:20 (two years ago) link
Never thought I'd hear an In A Silent Way-esque treatment of "Fire and Rain":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2dU0go1Jc
― ... (Eazy), Monday, 3 January 2022 19:26 (two years ago) link
Anything w Hubbard on it is gonna have the showmanship! I even liked his cover of frickin' "Birdland."xxpost the quote from the Tate interview totally confirms the way Leroi Jones started his 60s piece about the Shorter brothers: that when he and they were coming up in Newark, he started hearing this expression "as weird as Wayne," way before he knew who Wayne was. (Postcript added in Black Music collection indicates that he felt Alan never did realize potential like Wayne did, but I thought Alan's "Orgasm" was great opener to Chicago Underground Quartet's Good Days, one of my faves of 2020.)
― dow, Monday, 3 January 2022 19:33 (two years ago) link
Bill Crow still going strong: https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/band-room-january-2022/
― (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Razor (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 15:09 (two years ago) link
This came out on 12/31. I've developed a real fondness for Scofield so it's right up my alley
https://scarypockets.bandcamp.com/album/scary-goldings-iv
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:28 (two years ago) link
Scomplamoose
(I love Scofield but resist Scary Pockets)
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:36 (two years ago) link
yeah they're not great but fuck every time he starts to play, I care very little about what else is going on. he is so good!
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:40 (two years ago) link
OTOH they have a tune called "Tacobell's Canon," seriously fuck you for that Scary Pockets
He's so prolific I have to remember to check in every so often. Have you heard Piety Street, his New Orleans album from (checks watch) 12 years ago? I have a soft spot for that one. The Hudson group with Jack deJohnette/Medeski/Grenadier was really nice.
Just threw on Past Present, the one with Joe Lovano/Bill Stewart/Grenadier and it's sounding great.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:53 (two years ago) link
No I gotta check that one out! he's just a dude whose style is so distinctive, listening to him is like hearing an old friend's voice.
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:40 (two years ago) link
Totally. And I really appreciate how he always has a specific concept for each album, and regular groups that he keeps returning to.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 21:05 (two years ago) link
Shannon Powell is a national treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKn5hgOSx0Q
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 5 January 2022 21:45 (two years ago) link
(so is David Torkanowsky)
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 5 January 2022 22:13 (two years ago) link
Been watching some great videos on this channel, Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videos
The sound is really great compared to pretty much every other jazz livestream, great performances from Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Ari Hoenig, etc.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 6 January 2022 17:28 (two years ago) link
Trying again, just go to this channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b7rSL6IxJg
Keystone Korner in Baltimore does good paid streams.
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 6 January 2022 18:11 (two years ago) link
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 6 January 2022 18:12 (two years ago) link
Oops đŹ
Ari Hoenig is a madman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4zNbnEbjI
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 6 January 2022 23:36 (two years ago) link
I can't even.
― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 January 2022 00:09 (two years ago) link
He is so intense. I remember one time listening to him before a gig talking on the phone to the insurance company after he had recently hit a deer and had to total his car. All that same energy.
― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 January 2022 00:10 (two years ago) link
Haha, love that image
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 7 January 2022 15:20 (two years ago) link
Late to the Brandee Younger album from last year, but I'm really enjoying it today.
― jaymc, Friday, 7 January 2022 22:12 (two years ago) link
Some of the people who took part in the streaming festival I put on on New Year's Day have been posting their videos on their own YouTube channel. Here's one by Muriel Grossmann:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q-8LAgYiy4
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 7 January 2022 22:45 (two years ago) link
Sorry; didn't know the embed wouldn't work.
Released today! Winifred Atwell Revisited - @AdamFairhall & Johnny HunterCelebration of the repertoire and idiom of groundbreaking Trinidadian pianist Winifred Atwell, examined through Adam & Johnny's contemporary, avant-garde lens. CD/DL out now!https://t.co/PTrjfctdeC pic.twitter.com/6MrOSOQVm8— Efpi Records (@efpirecords) January 7, 2022
she was the first black recording artist to have no 1 hit single in the UK and something of a star in the 50's. Nice little album this.
― calzino, Saturday, 8 January 2022 13:45 (two years ago) link
Joe Farnsworth's tribute videos are true gems:
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 11 January 2022 18:39 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWSAKucGZU
Didn't know Kenny Garrett released a new album in the fall, it's extremely enjoyable. Ronald Bruner Jr (Thundercat's brother) on drums is a big presence.
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 12 January 2022 20:07 (two years ago) link
Gave an interview to DownBeat today about my book (out January 28! Buy it!). I have so much more sympathy for artists after having to give an interview myself. There's no better way to convince yourself you're the world's dumbest asshole than to talk about yourself and your work for an hour straight.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 12 January 2022 21:20 (two years ago) link
So Ted Gioia wrote a long-ass essay in his weekly Substack newsletter about Michael Brecker, and since I thought it was one of the dumbest things I'd ever read, I decided to respond in my own newsletter:
*****
Ted Gioia calls his Substack newsletter The Honest Broker. This is hilarious, because Ted Gioia is one of the most agenda-driven music writers this music has ever known. He's also one of the most frequently and bafflingly wrongheaded critics in jazz. If jazz has an Armond White, it might be Ted Gioia.
This week, Gioia took it upon himself to defend saxophonist Michael Brecker from a critical mafia that has snubbed his work, and kept him toiling in undeserved obscurity. No, that can't be right, because as he says early in his piece, "almost every saxophonist I met in the closing decades of the 20th century treated Brecker as a superstar at the pinnacle of the jazz craft. This was especially true of students at college jazz programs, where Brecker was a revered name, not far below John Coltrane in the hierarchy of jazz saxophony." He continues, more in sorrow than in anger, "How can Michael Brecker be the jazz sax hero among other hornplayers, but get so little respect from the critical establishment?"
In the next paragraph, he explains that one of the things that sparked this investigation into the mysterious lack of Michael Brecker love among jazz critics was the 15th anniversary of the saxophonist's death, from leukemia, on January 13, 2007. The other is the publication of an entire goddamn book on the guy, Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker, by Bill Milkowski, who is â would ya look at that! â a jazz critic who writes regularly for DownBeat, Jazziz, Guitar Player and other outlets. Gioia talks a little bit about the book, noting that Milkowski stuffs it full of quotes from dozens of jazz musicians who absolutely adored Brecker and thought he was a brilliant player.
So we've established that Brecker, when he was alive, enjoyed a great deal of respect and admiration from his fellow musicians, and was a role model to young jazz students and players. He lists two dozen recording sessions Brecker participated in between January and September 1977, which ran the gamut from Hank Crawford and Chet Baker dates to a Noxzema commercial. But as gratifying as that amount of peer affirmation and steady work would be to any professional musician, it doesn't matter as much to Gioia as the fact that "critics never thought Michael Brecker was cool enough for that full-scale profile in The New Yorker." He lists what he calls "the embarrassing facts that (1) Brecker sold lots of records, (2) he enthusiastically embraced commercial and crossover styles, and (3) he played on a bunch of records with famous pop musicians," and adds, "I hate to have to remind you of this, but each of those are problematic achievements among jazz insiders."
Gioia devotes a significant portion of his piece to a detailed rundown of the albums Brecker made under his own name (as opposed to with the Brecker Brothers) in the late '80s, the '90s and the early 2000s, all of which is interesting if you're a jazz fan. Based on the personnel, I'd like to hear those albums, and they're all on streaming services, because â and this may shock you â Michael Brecker's music was quite popular during his lifetime, and he retains a posthumous audience in the jazz world. But Gioia concludes with this:
"Michael Brecker left the scene as a legend, but somehow never seemed cool enough or sufficiently transgressive to get respect from the mainstream media. His most significant coverage in Time magazine came with one paragraph devoted to his obituary. He was never mentioned in Newsweek during his entire lifetime. My search of The New Yorker archive comes up empty-handed. If there was a full-scale profile in Rolling Stone or The Village Voice, I must have missed it. Online searches indicate that Breckerâs death got more coverage than any of his albums or tours."
Even though I know he's not reading this, I feel I need to address Gioia directly at this point:
Who gives a flying fuck?
First of all, if you're going to Time or Newsweek for jazz coverage, I have to wonder if you were recently struck by falling masonry. And while they come up with a good piece now and then (shout out to Hank Shteamer), generally speaking, the same goes for Rolling Stone. You might as well gripe that Sports Illustrated never put him on the cover. And how about Car & Driver? Where do they stand on the art of Michael Brecker? This is the kind of tendentious BS you pull when you're so in thrall to your narrative that no stretch is too far.
Here's the thing about Brecker's best-known music: it is screamingly of its time and place. There's a story (I'm paraphrasing) that one of Miles Davis's 1970s saxophonists asked the trumpeter why he kept him in the band, and Davis told him that the audience liked to watch his fingers move while he played. Whenever I listen to the Brecker Brothers, I think about that story.
I listened to one of their albums this morning, in fact â 1981's Straphangin' â while doing laundry (and thinking about writing this). And later, I listened to his debut as a leader, a self-titled album from 1987 that Gioia discusses in detail in his piece; it features keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, guitarist Pat Metheny, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Between those two albums, and several others I've heard, as well as Brecker's performances on other people's records, I have a pretty good idea of his style, and can venture a guess as to why he's not as beloved by critics as he is among saxophone students and other jazz musicians. (I don't know if that's even accurate, by the way â I haven't done my own research, and Gioia doesn't quote any negative reviews, he just declares that there hasn't been enough praise for his liking, and walks right up to the edge of calling it a conspiracy of effete snobs.)
Michael Brecker played a lot. You know that joke that goes, "I thought the Oscar was for the best acting, not the most acting?" To this guy, "best" and "most" were equivalent. Once he gets a solo going, he never seems to pause for breath. He rips off long, complicated lines, fingers flying, and he's got a big, showbizzy tone. When I was listening to one of the slower tracks on Straphangin', I thought, This sounds like the kind of sax you hear over the end credits on Saturday Night Live, and later on, I checked Wikipedia, and sure enough, Michael Brecker was part of the Saturday Night Live band from 1980-85. It's a shiny, post-Sonny Rollins kind of saxophone sound, pushed through some very late '70s/early '80s reverb, so yeah, it's no surprise that he did a lot of rock and R&B session work, and played for TV commercials and whatnot. That's exactly where his tone and approach fit best.
Which is not a bad thing. His music was appealing! And perfectly suited to the late '70s and 1980s. It had a big, garish brashness; the Brecker Brothers were a solid funk-fusion band, but no matter the context, he played what Ethan Iverson refers to as "stadium jazz." It's not intimate music. It's blow-the-walls-down music, rooted in a very particular kind of extreme technical skill. Michael Brecker was a shredder. If he was a guitarist, he wouldn't be Jim Hall; he'd be Joe Bonamassa. In a way it's not fair to compare him (as Gioia does) to John Coltrane, because Coltrane evolved. Can you imagine what A Love Supreme would sound like if Coltrane had still been playing, in 1964, the way he played in 1959? You can draw a straight line from the first Brecker Brothers album in 1975 to the first Michael Brecker album in 1987, because he's doing the same thing, just in a different context.
And that's fine. It's called having a style. But it may have something to do with why Michael Brecker is not as critically beloved (and again, I'm taking Gioia's word for it here) as Ted Gioia would like. But again, I return to the question that this piece leaves me with:
There are very few jazz critics left in the world. There are also very few people who read jazz criticism. I am both. I have never read a piece shitting on Michael Brecker (and I hope nobody thinks I've written one here). I have, however, read a lot of writers talking about musicians whose work they admire. And it's not a zero-sum game. A positive review of some other saxophonist who is not Michael Brecker does not equate to a negative review of Michael Brecker. They're two separate things, and nobody is required to listen to, or write about, everything. (Hell, in the introduction to his piece, Gioia admits that he never wrote about Brecker before!) Critics should write â thoughtfully, insightfully â about music they like, and want more people to hear. That's what I try to do, anyway.
I don't have a conclusion. Gioia's piece was dumb, and I feel dumber for having devoted this much time to thinking and writing about it. Listen to whatever makes you happy. Having listened to a bunch of Michael Brecker's music, I understand why saxophone students would worship the guy. You could hear every hour of practice in every note he played; he was a slick, talented professional. But I'll end with this, because there's one thing I know, as a writer and an editor: when it comes time to write a story, there's got to be more to a person than "they play their instrument really well" if you want anyone other than fellow instrumentalists to care.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 14 January 2022 15:46 (two years ago) link
Good points throughout, thanks. I probably like Ted Gioia more than some but his gatekeeper function can be irritating.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 14 January 2022 17:08 (two years ago) link
Yeah I pretty much agree with that.
Also I shamefully admit to hearing Joe Lovano on a recent record and thinking "didn't he pass away? Oops, that was Michael Brecker."
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 14 January 2022 17:14 (two years ago) link
Ha, was wondering when Joe would get mentioned.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 14 January 2022 17:15 (two years ago) link
There are basically only a very small bunch of people writing about jazz at all, let alone in "mainstream" outlets, whatever that is these "days," so only a tiny number of artists will be mentioned at all in this latter, and every once in a blue moon a few new ones get added to the rotation. Similar to the reason Charley Pride could have a career in Country Music but not Swamp Dogg/Jerry Williams Jr.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 14 January 2022 17:19 (two years ago) link
I mean the people who book or have booked some the of the venues like Smalls or the late lamented Jazz Standard etc seem to know something but that doesn't translate into press. Maybe a listings recommendation now and then.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 14 January 2022 17:20 (two years ago) link
(a lot of people do write about country music, but Swamp Dogg only occasionally puts out albums of country music of which 2020's Sorry You Couldn't Make it is a very satisfying example---on bandcamp with Total Destruction To Your Mind and many others.)I've never cared that much about Michael Brecker outside the xpost garish attractions of Brecker Brother Band and BS&T's kitsch classic Child Is Father To The Man, but will always love Randy's solo on Springsteen's "Meeting Across The River"---like I said: Bruce Springsteen labored for years on Born To Run, as the title became ironic, but a lot of it worked, to varying degreesâ-most of all, for me, in âMeeting Across The River,â which still sounds like a magical one-off: a seemingly basic scenario, with no purple passages, as written, sung, and played. Roy Bittanâs keys get room to breathe, Richard Davisâs bass slips through shadows, as it did on Astral Weeks, and Randy Brecker, having left his own purple passages far behind in Blood Sweat & Tears and The Brecker Brothers Band, leans his trumpet waaay out ofCherryâs nightside window and fire escape (I donât think sheâs home).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6OAtvjSf1Y
― dow, Friday, 14 January 2022 18:37 (two years ago) link
The Swamp Dogg analogy was imperfect, I admit. More about the limited opportunities to record or be played in the past.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 14 January 2022 19:11 (two years ago) link
Just ordered some late '60s/early '70s out-jazz titles in fancy mini-LP sleeves from Japan:
Stanley Cowell, Brilliant CirclesAndrew Hill, SpiralOliver Lake, NTU: The Point From Which Creation BeginsCharles Tolliver, The Ringer
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 15 January 2022 16:31 (two years ago) link
Ok Ted Gioia linked to this article but he didn't write it-- about Ghanaian jazz and Louis Armstrong's 1956 visit there, and jazz there today
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/louis-armstrong-jazz-highlife-ghana
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:54 (two years ago) link
Ghana jazz article is from December 2021, apologies if it was mentioned last year. I am just seeing it
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:55 (two years ago) link
looks like Ted Gioia made his top 100 albums of 2021 list available only to paid subscribers of his substack (but his honorable mention list free)
― curmudgeon, Monday, 17 January 2022 00:04 (two years ago) link
https://alexanderhawkinsintakt.bandcamp.com/album/break-a-vase-2
new Alexander Hawkins album out on friday with his usual band from the previous sextet albums including guitarist Otto Fischer and Shabaka Hutchings.
xp
lol I can think of few places where Ted Gioia can stick his paywalled list
― calzino, Monday, 17 January 2022 10:38 (two years ago) link
I keep going back to the Kenny Garrett album, it rules. Wish I would have come across it in time for the ILM poll.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 17 January 2022 21:37 (two years ago) link
Been listening to Charles Brackeen's Silkheart albums from the late '80s; they're great. Half Ornette, half Ayler, and the bands are killer. Brackeen, Dennis Gonzalez, Malachi Favors and Alvin Fielder on Bannar, and Brackeen, Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins and Andrew Cyrille on Attainment and Worshippers Come Nigh. Also been listening to the two ECM albums he made with Paul Motian (and David Izenzon), Dance and Le Voyage. I'm not the world's biggest Motian fan, but those albums are really good.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 17 January 2022 22:36 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5o4JAKMBZ8
Angel bat Dawid 2022 Winter Jazz fest live
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 18 January 2022 03:01 (two years ago) link
I interviewed South African jazz drummer Ayanda Sikade for Bandcamp Daily, with additional quotes from pianist Nduduzo Makhathini and saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane:
http://daily.bandcamp.com/features/ayanda-sikade-umakhulu-interview
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 18 January 2022 16:11 (two years ago) link
Missed seeing the November 2021 death of spiritual jazz flautist Lloyd McNeill, a dc born guy, who was also a painter/ artist, designed concert posters, and hung out with Picasso and Andrew White
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/11/11/artist-and-flutist-extraordinaire-lloyd-mcneill-jr-passes-at-86/
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 18 January 2022 17:58 (two years ago) link
Nduduzo Makhathini is in town this weekend, I will try to catch him.
Definitely go if you can. He's got some great players touring with him and his music is really beautiful live.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 16:15 (one year ago) link
Stew, thanks so much for your xpost report on the Braxton/Threagill double-header! Hope some recordings of that show emerge---in the backstory, was most struck by this:
The last time I saw Braxton was in Berlin in 2019, where he performed Sonic Genome, a six hour sound environment featuring 60 musicians. Between orchestral set pieces, the musicians would wander off to form smaller groupings, interpreting scores from Braxtonâs âGhost Tranceâ series. The audience members, or âfriendly experiencersâ as Braxton puts it, could choose their own adventure, following one group before moving on to another, or finding a spot to soak up the sound clash from the different ensembles moving around the space. In the final hour, Braxton strolled into the atrium, forming an impromptu trio with another saxophonist and a bassist. As their improvisation came to an end, the building reverberated to the sustained tones of the entire ensemble moving around the space, as if the walls themselves were singing. It remains one of the greatest musical experiences of my life, profoundly moving yet tremendous fun.
― dow, Tuesday, 22 November 2022 17:57 (one year ago) link
Thanks Dow. You can watch all 6 hours of the Berlin Sonic Genome here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBSLVPD8AL8
Of course, it's just one interpretation of events, but you get some idea of how it worked. Braxton talks about it as a theme park - an avant-garde Disneyland!
― Composition 40b (Stew), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:02 (one year ago) link
Awesome, thanks so much!!xpost That is, I've seen and read about those artists forming and performing with recombinant subgroups, drawing from a pool of musos onstage and in the wings, but not letting the troops do their own thing, or not to the extent you indicate.
― dow, Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:04 (one year ago) link
Yes, it's fascinating the extent to which it democratises the compositional process - taking the AACM's radical subversion of the hierarchy of composer-conductor-performer to a logical conclusion perhaps. And then allowing the audience to choose their own adventure through it all. I guess the next step would be to have the audience members join in the improvisations too, but I'm not entirely sure what that would add musically. Giving the audience the chance to shape their own experience is itself part of the composition.
― Composition 40b (Stew), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:12 (one year ago) link
Braxton talks about it as a theme park - an avant-garde Disneyland!
We talked about this idea when he was on my podcast. A whole dedicated location with multiple ensembles playing different things, and you could just walk around and check things out at your leisure. Fascinating if ultimately unworkable, I think.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:15 (one year ago) link
Another beautiful thing is that it abandons 19th century classical concert conventions. If you want to duck out for a beer or a sandwich or whatever that's fine. Inevitably I'd get tired, so there were periods where I'd find a comfortable spot and just soak up whatever was going on for a while, but of course curiosity meant that it was hard to stay still too long. Braxton's sense of play really came through. One of my favourite bits was when I heard a piano coming from somewhere in the atrium. I wandered around the space for a good while, but couldn't find the source. In a corner of the of the atrium there was a large installation - basically a large scaffold about twenty feet long and 4 stories high filled with foliage, furniture and lighting. I must have circled it several times before I finally caught a glimpse of Alexander Hawkins, deep inside the structure, playing away on an upright piano. Magical stuff.
― Composition 40b (Stew), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:22 (one year ago) link
Tri-Axium Land! Somebody's gotta fund it!
― Composition 40b (Stew), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 18:23 (one year ago) link
My latest Stereogum column is up; I talked to Jeremy Pelt about touring Europe post-pandemic (and post-Euro crash) and producing for other artists, and reviewed new albums by Tyshawn Sorey, Tom Skinner, Ezra Collective, Elvin Jones, Muriel Grossmann, Hedvig Mollestad, and others:
https://www.stereogum.com/2206690/jeremy-pelt-interview/columns/ugly-beauty/
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 19:22 (one year ago) link
So cool! For some reason I always pictured the friendly experiences zooming around on ice skates <el3
― lets hear some blues on those synths (brimstead), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 19:23 (one year ago) link
(Re: Braxton)
Ice-skates, roller-skates, pogo-sticks - bring it on!
― Composition 40b (Stew), Wednesday, 23 November 2022 09:20 (one year ago) link
While we're talking Braxton, here's my interview with the great man from last year. We talked Sonic Genome, Zim and much more. One of the most joyful and mind-expanding conversations I've ever had.
https://thequietus.com/articles/30084-anthony-braxton-interview
One of the most joyful and mind-expanding conversations I've ever had.
Exactly my experience. It was a genuine thrill to talk to him and he was an absolute blast. I mean, you can't put out as much work as he does without being fundamentally an optimist, but a real love of life just comes out of his pores.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 23 November 2022 12:50 (one year ago) link
I'm saving my Braxton phase for some unspecified time in the future. At least that's what I tell myself.
I saw Nduduzo Makhathini last night. First jazz gig in way too long and I had a blast. He was playing with Chad Taylor and Logan Richardson and they looked to be having a good time. I love his vocalisations and he tells a great story. I saw him out in the foyer afterwards and got a glorious sweaty cuddle. Only slight complaint was that Richardson's horn was a bit on the quiet side. Definitely go see him/them if you can.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Wednesday, 23 November 2022 15:47 (one year ago) link
This 'new' Elvin Jones live album is a gift, burnout at its finest
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 November 2022 21:42 (one year ago) link
I like the new Elvin a lotâŠbut I donât love it. That may change with further listens, but so far it doesnât have the intensity of his Lighthouse dates, or Puttinâ It Together. Elvin himself sounds brilliant as always (even when playing to what sounds like three people in the audience), but thereâs an overall slight uneasiness with the presence of the piano; Elvin evidently soon realized he didnât necessarily need or want a keyboard instrument in his bands, as evidenced by all but one or two of his subsequent Blue Note dates.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 23 November 2022 22:33 (one year ago) link
my fave jazz records of the year that haven't been mentioned:
Naqvi/Smith/Cyrille- Two CenturiesTom Skinner- Voices of BisharaJeff Parker ETA IVted- Mondays at the Enfield Tennis AcademyJames Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor- Radiant ImprintsAnna Butterss- ActiviesBinker Golding- Dream Like a Dogwood Wild BoyEric Chenaux- Say LauraAlexander Hawkins Mirror Cannon- Break a VaseBrotzmann/Parker/Graves- Historic Music Past Tense Future
I mostly listened to jazz this year, more than any other year I can think of in recent memory. I also *highly* rate two Mike Cooper records from this year, "Oceans of Milk and Treacle" and "Forbidden Delta Planet Blues," but thought they might be a little too 'outré' for the thread's purposes.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Thursday, 24 November 2022 16:53 (one year ago) link
the Hawkins album is brilliant, one of his best yet
― calzino, Thursday, 24 November 2022 17:14 (one year ago) link
Agreed, it took a minute to grab me but when it finally did it didnât let go
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Thursday, 24 November 2022 19:25 (one year ago) link
Thirding the Hawkins record woah it was longer,
― Lord Pickles (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 24 November 2022 19:48 (one year ago) link
-wish
― Lord Pickles (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 24 November 2022 21:21 (one year ago) link
Have to say that the RA Washington/Jah Nada record has really grown on meâ has a deeply hypnotic effect as a whole, much more into it as the months progress!!
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 01:22 (one year ago) link
Yeah, it's really good. It's gonna be on my year-end list for Stereogum for sure.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 01:28 (one year ago) link
Wait is this some kind of posthumous Ronnie Hawkins release you are talking about?
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 01:43 (one year ago) link
Alexander
― Lord Pickles (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 03:25 (one year ago) link
rompin' Alexander Hawkins
― calzino, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 06:14 (one year ago) link
unperson, the Hedvig Mollestad record you featured in your latest Stereogum column would normally be very "not my thing," but it really rips, thanks for featuring it.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Friday, 2 December 2022 18:22 (one year ago) link
nthony Braxton's News From the '70s is now on Bandcamp:https://felmayrecordsjazzusa.bandcamp.com/album/news-from-the-70s-soo-duo-quartetIt features six tracks from between 1971 and 1976: a mixture of solo, duo, and quartet pieces. Most important from my POV is a duo between Braxton and Dave Holland (playing cello) that was part of the 1972 Town Hall concert but didn't fit on the double LP made from that show. But if you're a fan and (like me) think that era was kind of the peak of his work, the whole thing is a must-have.â but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, November 18, 2022
https://felmayrecordsjazzusa.bandcamp.com/album/news-from-the-70s-soo-duo-quartet
It features six tracks from between 1971 and 1976: a mixture of solo, duo, and quartet pieces. Most important from my POV is a duo between Braxton and Dave Holland (playing cello) that was part of the 1972 Town Hall concert but didn't fit on the double LP made from that show. But if you're a fan and (like me) think that era was kind of the peak of his work, the whole thing is a must-have.
â but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, November 18, 2022
Kenny Wheeler flugehornAnthony Braxton sopranino, clarinet, piccoloDave Holland double-bassBarry Altschul percussion
― dow, Friday, 2 December 2022 18:35 (one year ago) link
And this killer finale, with George Lewis AND Holland:6. Four WindsGeorge Lewis tromboneAnthony Braxton sopranino, clarinet, piccoloDave Holland double bassBarry Altschul percussion
Graz (Austria), October 1976
― dow, Friday, 2 December 2022 19:32 (one year ago) link
-About to see Patrick Shiroishi, Che Chen, and Alex Zhang Hungtai play as a trio in Philly. Stoked.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 7 December 2022 00:25 (one year ago) link
Great set last nightâ very calm and almost temple-like atmosphere for the first third, with bells, regular and homemade woodwind type instruments, tape noise, singing, etc. Then, a bit more active, with Shiroishi switching between clarinet and sax and doing some nice melodies whilst Hungtai and Chen did some wild polyrhythms. Finally, the last third was the explosion, with Hungtai manically and rapidly moving a mallet between two gongs as a "base" sound while Chen did some crazy voicing on the bongos along with ample kick drum swarms, and Shiroishi just wailing on the sax. About 70 minutes, one set, excellent sounds.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 7 December 2022 16:18 (one year ago) link
sounds awesome! love when people post updates about shows itt
― budo jeru, Thursday, 8 December 2022 02:37 (one year ago) link
absolutely loved this video, which could also be posted in any number of beatles threads. will be checking out the new record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGvl6IdBJiA
― budo jeru, Thursday, 8 December 2022 04:44 (one year ago) link
not familiar with Miguel Zenon but really enjoying this album
https://miguelzenon.bandcamp.com/album/m-sica-de-las-am-ricas
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 8 December 2022 20:53 (one year ago) link
I'm listening to Mark Giuliana's album from this year, 'the sound of listening', and liking it way more than expected. He's always been a great drummer, but I don't think he's had a great (solo) record until now. Love the sonic palette of the group and the electronic interludes.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 22:37 (one year ago) link
That Shiroishi gig sounds great. Still to see Shiroishi live - hopefully he'll be back in Europe next year - but he's definitely deserving of a 2022 MVP award. There are few releases I've still to hear, but he's been absolutely killing it across a wide range of sounds. The SSWAN album absolutely rips and I love the duo album he did with Cassiopeia Sturm on "bionic" (midi controlled) sax. The "ambient" duo with Jessica Ackerley is another gem.
― Composition 40b (Stew), Wednesday, 14 December 2022 10:36 (one year ago) link
Just clocked Che Chen and Shiroishi's duo album, sounding great: https://patrickshiroishi.bandcamp.com/album/parts-2
― Composition 40b (Stew), Wednesday, 14 December 2022 10:41 (one year ago) link
Got the tape of this at the show!~
Didn't clock the Ackerley duo, will have to check that out. He releases so much!
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 14 December 2022 15:03 (one year ago) link
There's a good Deutsche Welle story (video) at this link about Nduduzo Makhathini; the performance that's filmed features him, singer/poet/historian Mbuso Khoza, and alto saxophonist Justin Bellairs; they put the whole thing up on Bandcamp yesterday.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 25 December 2022 20:49 (one year ago) link
man yall just heard the following Jazz Night In America excursion for the third time this weekend: Matt Wilson and friends transforming some xmas songs that sorely needed it, and I think it works, even on Lennon's Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"(I think--the little bit of soft singing at the end tipped the scales). Saying that as someone who worked many an xmas at a CD store, and heard every approach to this stuff:
Musicians:Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-OMatt Wilson, drums; Jeff Lederer, reeds; Ted Rosenthal, piano; Paul Sikivie, bassSet List:Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, Richard Bernhard Smith)Christmas Don't Be Late (Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.)Up on the Rooftop (Benjamin Hanby)Silver Bells (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)8 Little Candles (flory Jagoda)Happy Christmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon)Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney)I'll Be Home for Christmas (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent)
Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O
Matt Wilson, drums; Jeff Lederer, reeds; Ted Rosenthal, piano; Paul Sikivie, bass
Set List:
Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, Richard Bernhard Smith)Christmas Don't Be Late (Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.)Up on the Rooftop (Benjamin Hanby)Silver Bells (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)8 Little Candles (flory Jagoda)Happy Christmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon)Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney)I'll Be Home for Christmas (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent)
― dow, Monday, 26 December 2022 02:15 (one year ago) link
Oh. That reminds me that I think Matt Wilson is playing Birdland tomorrow as part of a Tadd Dameron tribute I want to see.
― A Kestrel for a Neve (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 26 December 2022 02:18 (one year ago) link
In the theater downstairs, not the larger room.
xxxpost taking the scenic route: something like a Rashaan Roland Kirk treeship.
― dow, Monday, 26 December 2022 02:21 (one year ago) link
Think Matt Wilson may be touring on the Xmas thing.
― A Kestrel for a Neve (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 27 December 2022 02:18 (one year ago) link
Or so he told me a little while ago.
At the Birdland Theater. This 19 year-old college student on vocals is amazing. Kind of a star is born thing, although maybe somebody else already knows who she is.
― A Kestrel for a Neve (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 27 December 2022 02:25 (one year ago) link
https://www.anaisreno.com/
― A Kestrel for a Neve (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 27 December 2022 02:26 (one year ago) link
That Matt Wilson xmas set is fantastic. Love him and almost forgot how musical and fun his groups are. I was going to say they should put this out as a record but I see they did a studio version of it in 2010.
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 30 December 2022 16:11 (one year ago) link