Make a Jazz Noise Here

[AWinter]

Are there any So Cal-ers attending Joni's Jazz @ Hollywood Bowl?  Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Aimee Mann, Glen Hansard, Wayne Shorter, Cassandra Wilson, Brian Blade and tons more performing a tribute to Joni Mitchell.  (Typing that, it sounds a little maudlin...breaking news: Joni is still alive.)  I sometimes work with the LA Phil and this is one show wild horses couldn't keep me from - I'll be in the cheap seats, but still.  Once in a lifetime performance. http://www.hbowl.com/joni

[DavidRoss]

Q can make his own noise!

Damn! I missed that episode. Hoowoodathunk Q had such a playful sense of humor?!  (Can I get the blonde's phone number?)

AWinter--what a great line-up.  Have a great time!

[jowcol]

This still doesn't change anything.

Let me have an A-MEN!

Admit it, Grazioso.  You are out of your depth, and way off base.

[jowcol]

We've mentioned the Real McCoy.  Some other albums I  like with McCoy Tyner ...



Asante didn't get the attention it deserved.  It has a much stronger emphasis on African rhythms  (thanks to Mtume) than anything else he's done, and with wordless vocals from Songai are also way cool  It has more of an emphasis on collective improvisation than a lot of the sessions he led.  Here is the title track.

http://www.youtube.com/v/3I9qWuPrBnc



http://www.youtube.com/v/HDbSFoe4Py4



Extensions was from the same period, and also had more of a world feel to it.  Message of the Nile is a very pretty piece, and I love Alice's Coltrane's harp on it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/FSjI8JQWl_8


http://www.youtube.com/v/q4tsGOFnRio&feature=related




The Echoes of a Friend Solo album has tasty solo versions of MFT, Naima, and the Promise, as well as a side long suite.

http://www.youtube.com/v/PbYP3nMm16U




The McCoy Tyner with the Latin All Stars album also works very well-- I always liked McCoy playing with a strong rhythm section.  Festival in Bahia is a tune I keep coming back to, and they do an excellent job of adding some of the Afro-Cuban feel  to Afro Blue the wasn't that pronounced in the Coltrane versions.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6rqIAWSorjs&feature=BFa&list=PL343EB32704EEA989&index=22

[Grazioso]

For some more recent Tyner, check out



Tyner's romanticism really comes to the fore. Mraz on bass is impressive, too. Great recording that does Tyner's massive sonorities a service while keeping a clear balance with drums and bass.

[Grazioso]

Let me have an A-MEN!

Admit it, Grazioso.  You are out of your depth, and way off base.

Never carry facts into the Land of Opinion.

[jowcol]

Grazioso, those Tyner albums you posted are of a later period than the one I prefer, which are hs earliest dates as a leader.  I've been going back and relistening to these and enjoying them a lot:

Inception



Nights of Ballads and Blues



Today and Tomorrow



Live at Newport



McCoy Tyner Plays Ellington



Reaching Fourth



Tender Moments



Time for Tyner



Expansions



These all showcase McCoy Tyner with a variety of sidemen and material.

Expansions is a great call.  Also Sahara and Sama Layuca.  But how did I forget Trident, his mid-70's trio session with Elvin Jones and Ron Carter?  I love his use of the harpsichord on that one.

[jowcol]

Never carry facts into the Land of Opinion.

Dude, you are 100% wrong, and its been proved every step of the way.  Your narrowness is so narrowly narrow that it narrowly escapes being too narrow to be called narrow.

Remember, like the classic zen parable, your mind, like a cup of tea, must be emptied before it can get filled.  You must learn LESS before you can learn more.  Heed the voice of the master and seek to learn less.   Also, be mindful that, like Ishtar, you can only enter eternity once you've dropped everything and are completely naked.  Let those "facts" drop by your feet, until the only remaining syllable in your head is a gentle Pffffft.

[karlhenning]

Recent (or, recent-ish) discussion has prompted me to revisit this 'un:

[asin]B000002I4S[/asin]

[Grazioso]

I've about finished reading this book:

[asin]0312427786[/asin]

By Ben Ratliff - who is not one of my favorite writers on jazz, but who does a decent job of providing more than just another biography of Coltrane.  He tries to get to the bottom of what really was the significance of John Coltrane's career, what was driving him and what were his goals. 

Ratliff uses the work "sound" to imply more than just the tone of the horn, or his improvisational style and the word takes on more of a connotation of a complete philosophy of music making.  Ratliff makes the case that Coltrane's career trajectory was a progression leading up to his late works, his "sheets of sound" played over blues or standards, naturally led to the long modal vamps and finally to the free jazz works.

A good read.

Sounds like an interesting read. I'm curious about his take on Trane's movement from the vertical "sheets of sound" improvisation style to modal playing. To me, it seems an almost necessary turn, given the degree to which Trane pushed the former approach. Where else could he go after things like "Giant Steps"? I was looking at some transcriptions of his solo. Yipes. If he kept pushing that approach, he would have exploded on the bandstand.

[jowcol]

The reason I like those earlier Tyner records is because he plays more hardbop and standards than the sus-chord vamp things.  The 70s stuff is good, don't get me wrong, it's just that I really prefer the earlier period because it shows a side of Tyner not often on display. 

I'm listening right now to the Live at Newport date, which was made with a pickup band incuding Clark Terry, Charlie Mariano (who he'd never played with) and Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker as the rhythm section (who he'd played some, but not much, with).  It is standards, some Monk and a couple of jam blues - all played in a hardbop style that is burning hot.  No vamping sus-chords for a country mile.   

That formula will always put a smile on my face.

You've divined my formula-- I go for the vamping sus-chords.

It's been a while since I read it, but I always found the Porter BIo to be the best on Trane.   

[DavidRoss]

Dude, you are 100% wrong, and its been proved every step of the way.  Your narrowness is so narrowly narrow that it narrowly escapes being too narrow to be called narrow.

Remember, like the classic zen parable, your mind, like a cup of tea, must be emptied before it can get filled.  You must learn LESS before you can learn more.  Heed the voice of the master and seek to learn less.   Also, be mindful that, like Ishtar, you can only enter eternity once you've dropped everything and are completely naked.  Let those "facts" drop by your feet, until the only remaining syllable in your head is a gentle Pffffft.

Post of the week? Month? ...Year?

More or less on topic, one of the peak musical experiences of my life was a club date with McCoy Tyner, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham.  I didn't pffffft once, not even after stuffing myself with hot tuna and unagi.

[karlhenning]

. . . not even after stuffing myself with hot tuna and unagi.

The Bobs, from "Spontaneous Human Combustion": "Never snack on cabbage and wasabi: you get smoking feet!"

[Grazioso]

Listening to this Mosaic Box - which is fantastic, but also sad, in a way:




Aside from the song, "Killer Joe" - which may be more famous because of Quincy Jones' arrangement than the original cut by the Jazztet - this band is hardly spoken of anymore, but it was a monster.

A bit reminiscent of Kenny Dorham's ill-fated Jazz Prophets band, as far as finding commercial success elusive.

[escher]

James do you know Wayne Krantz?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE4TCD4MFF4

[jowcol]

71.36
01 Emergency
02 Beyond Games
03 Where
04 Vashkar
05 Via De Spectrum Road
06 Spectrum
07 Sangria For Three
08 Something Spiritual

[asin]B0000047GA[/asin]
John McLaughlin, guitar
Tony Williams, drums
Larry Young, organ

http://www.youtube.com/v/Aq3LEC0T3Fw

Good choice.  I was just listening to this the other day-- one of the most interesting electric trio albums by  far.     This album strikes me as a bit rough around the edges, but I like it for just that reason.  (Although the vocals are something I didn't need.)  This was also a seminal album for not only the fusion world, but rock as well.

Have you heard the Trio of Doom Album with Williams, McLaughlin and Jaco Pastorious?  From what I heard, it didn't work out as well-- Jaco as having his issues then, and I've been told there wasn't much of a spark-- but since I've not heard it, I won't pass judgement.  I haven't bought it since the tracks were too short for my tastes-- you may find them more up your alley.


One "fusion power trio" album that is apparently out of print has  Jonas Hellborg (bass), Shawn Lane (Guitar) and Apt Q-258 -- Jeff Sipe on Drums.



This is a fun one if you  like anything this side of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.   It's unfortunately out of print, but if there is interest and we confirm it is OOP, I can upload some of it from my mp3 collection.    It's basically a live album with two 30 min tracks-- but, for me, did a good job of keeping the story moving forward.

I won't say it's jazz.  It's certainly too complex for most rock. 

[jowcol]

Re: Trio of Doom

No I haven't .. that was some posthumous stuff that was never intended for release that came out decades later. It was a short-lived thing and they never really cut a 'real' album.

In first, a live recording,  and then a studio session, there were efforts to make the trio an  album.  CBS wanted to release one, and authorized a studio session after the live one imploded. McLaughlin fought the release as much as he could he was pretty notorious for not wanted certain historical performances released, such as the session with Hendrix which, as it turns out, was no loss. )   The story is sort of tragic when Jaco had reached this phase with his illness-- what could have happened a few years earlier is quite the "What if?"

This is from a 2004 McLaughlin with Jaco biographer and jazz journalist Bill Milkowski

McLaughlin: (laughs) Yes indeed, the Trio of Doom. That trio was unbelievable. It was amazing. When they were on it was unbelievable to play with those guys. Anyway, rehearsals were phenomenal. We had only three tunes that we were going to play (at the historic Havana Jam in Cuba). So we went down to Havana and we had a tune each. We started off with my tune, "The Dark Prince," which was a kind of blues in Cminor with some altered changes. But the thing is, Jaco altered everything. He turned his amp up to 11 and started to play A major, which is like a little far away from C minor...and unbelievably loud! So we start to play the tune, Tony's looking at me, I'm looking at Tony and it's like, "What the ****'" And in the meantime Jaco's upfront with the bass between his legs, doing his thing...it was almost like Jimi Hendrix. And the whole set went like that. When we finished the set, I was so angry at Jaco. Tony too. And we walked off stage and Tony was already up and running to the bathroom...he was about to throw up. Anyway, Jaco came down and said, "Oh, man, you bad mother!" And I said, "What' You have the nerve to speak to me after this travesty on stage. I don't even want to see your face, I don't want to hear you, I don't want to see you." And it all came out, and in about 15 minutes later it was fine. But Tony couldn't get it out, right' And it was such a farce. Anyway, CBS called me about two weeks later and said, "So, we're going to put it out." And I said, "You're going to put what out' You're not going to put that out. You put it out over my dead body. That's terrible." So they asked if we wanted to re-record it over at Columbia Studios on 52nd Street. So we all went into the great CBS Studio on 52nd Street where we did all those great things with Miles -- In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew and all of that. So we start re-recording the tunes and in the meantime, Tony's not looking at Jaco. I mean, forget about speaking, he's not even looking at him. And Jaco's already very nervous. So we start playing and we did my tune again. So we do one take and we go in the control room to listen back and Jaco says, "Well, I think we can do it better." And all of a sudden Tony jumps in front of Jaco and says, "Better' Better, mother******'!!" He pushed Jaco up against the wall. I had never seen Tony angry but that was like a little volcano action, man, I tell you. And Jaco's like..."Hey man, I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry." Tony didn't hit 'em or anything, but when Tony got mad you just get out of the way. He had Jaco up against the wall and Jaco was like apologizing profusely. He knew he ****ed up bigtime. So after 10 minutes of Tony blasting him with both barrels, Tony went into the studio and destroyed his drumkit. (laughter). And I said, "You gotta record with this!" He destroyed his kit and walked out of the studio and that was it. What a shame. But hey, who's perfect in this world' But I told Jaco off right away back in Havana. I got rid of all the rats and snakes right off the stage, but Tony had it balling up, stewing around there for a while for he finally exploded. He always had difficulty with getting it right out. So yeah...Jaco was crazy, but what a player! He was too much. Boy I miss him. I miss Tony too. What a tragedy.

[Bogey]

Recent (or, recent-ish) discussion has prompted me to revisit this 'un:

[asin]B000002I4S[/asin]

I really enjoy this one, Karl.  My favorite 'Trane.....no, but then LvB's 3rd is not my favorite from his nine, yet it would be a tragedy not having it on the shelf.

[jowcol]

Yea .. you just know it's going to be shit. I'm always skeptical & often very disappointed when 'star' players pair up thinking that it's going to be major music-making .. it's a box-office maneuver.

Certainly this can  often be a formula for  disaster, particularly if the record company is playing a role . (We were earlier talking about the 'Avante Garde" album with Don Cherry and John Coltrane being a similar type of effort).  I'm usually listening more to group chemistry than any one performer, and disappointment is a likely outcome.  (Such as McLaughlin's Love, Devotion and Surrender which was a major let down for me.)

On the other hand, "sitting in" in live performances has long been a key part of the jazz tradition-- any player with a rep could consider themselves empowered to sit in whenever they showed up-- that tradition seems to be fading.  ALthough I must confess it cracks me up with Miles told Wynton Marsalis to "get the f*** off my stage" when he tried to sit in on one performance.

[Grazioso]

Yeh, Kenny Dorham always seemd to be overshadowed by other trumpeters throughout his short career: Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, and Lee Morgan. - but his records were consistently excellent.  Like this one -



Kenny Dorham – trumpet
J. R. Monterose – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 3-7, 9-12 & 14-17)
Bobby Timmons – piano
Kenny Burrell – guitar (tracks 5-7, 9, 10 & 12-17)
Sam Jones – bass
Arthur Edgehill – drums

He was a first rate composer too, some of his tunes are Blue Bossa, Una Mas, Lotus Flower and many others.  His career was cut short by kidney disease, but he still managed to record many great jazz records both as a leader and featured sideman.  He may not have had the fame of those other trumpet players but he was highly respected by them.

Interestingly, when chairs were vacated in major groups by Navarro, Miles, and Brownie, Dorham was the man who got the call in all three cases. He was an early Jazz Messenger, a fine composer as you note, and a man who could really handle a ballad, as evidenced here