What Jazz are you listening to now?

[San Antone]

Charlie Parker : The Dean Benedetti Recordings

I am so glad I bought this when it became available, since as is the case with most Mosaic boxes, they go out of print fairly quickly.  Some critics have complained about the recordings because of how they were done, the sound quality and other issues that (IMO) are totally IRRELEVANT. 

Dean Benedetti was a Bird obsessive. He followed Parker around and recorded his solos, turning the tape machine on when Bird was playing and turning it off when he was finished.  But, and this is huge, what he documented is unique and as comprehensive of a legacy we will ever have.

So, Scott Yarow, get over yourself and your "Mosaic has done what it could to make the excerpts coherent but the results are still quite unlistenable," BULLSHIT.

I am listening to it right now, and reveling in Bird's genius.

Pardon me while I sit back and groove to the one and only Bird.

[Mirror Image]

The remarkable thing about Ellington is that he not only wrote great jazz band compositions, but he didn't write a part for "alto sax', he wrote a part for Johnny Hodges, and so on, for each the section soloists.

Ellington is arguably the most important American composer for this reason.  Yeah, I am a jazzer at heart and experience, so I don't relate as strongly to European Classical music.  But, still, Ellington, Mingus, Marsalis (yes, I include him in this rarefied league) are have written and are writing American music that think is on a par with Beethoven, Mahler and Debussy.

So sue me.

There's no question that Ellington was an incredible composer, but I'd put Billy Strayhorn up there with him. The sad thing is Strayhorn didn't live long enough. He was only 51 when he died. I think his compositions are remarkable. Lush Life, Lotus Blossom, A Flower Is a Lonesome Thing, and Chelsea Bridge are all undisputed jazz classics and a huge part of the repertoire.

This is one of my favorites from Ellington:



I'll just ignore what you said about Ellington being on par with Beethoven, Mahler, and Debussy. Apples and oranges, my friend. Apples and oranges.

[San Antone]

Conversely, I've heard bad things about the movie...

I do agree with your estimate of Ellington and Mingus, SA! My top five American composers would be (alpha order) Barber, Ellington, Gershwin, Mingus, Monk.

Yeah, I've seen bad things about the movie too, but I think some of that is anachronistic.

Our American composer list is almost identical.  I'd replace Barber with Copland, or Bernstein, but the others you list are definitely on mine as well.

[San Antone]

There's no question that Ellington was an incredible composer, but I'd put Billy Strayhorn up there with him. The sad thing is Strayhorn didn't live long enough. He was only 51 when he died. I think his compositions are remarkable. Lush Life, Lotus Blossom, A Flower Is a Lonesome Thing, and Chelsea Bridge are all undisputed jazz classics and a huge part of the repertoire.

This is one of my favorites from Ellington:



I'll just ignore what you said about Ellington being on par with Beethoven, Mahler, and Debussy. Apples and oranges, my friend. Apples and oranges.

Yeah, Strayhorn - great.  Music is music, good or bad - no labels.  So I stand by my comment.

[NikF4]

On the subject of Ellington, a few weeks ago I was invited to dinner where we took turns recommending one piece/performance of American music. That's not my idea of a good time. In any case, it's a hell of a question so I just chose my favourite -

http://www.youtube.com/v/Yrt79lROIaA

[San Antone]

Charles Mingus : The Clown

The following excerpts come from the original liner notes and are statements made by Mingus himself.

On "Haitian Fight Song", Mingus said "I'd say this song has a contemporary folk feeling. My solo in it is a deeply concentrated one. I can't play it right unless I'm thinking about prejudice and hate and persecution, and how unfair it is. There's sadness and cries in it, but also determination. And it usually ends with my feeling: 'I told them! I hope somebody heard me.' ".

"Blue Cee" is a standard blues in two keys, C and B♭, "but that's not noticeable and it ends up in C, basically", he said and continued "I heard some Basie in it and also some church-like feeling".

"Reincarnation of a Lovebird" is a composition dedicated to bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker, known commonly as Bird. "I wouldn't say I set out to write a piece on Bird. [...] Suddenly I realize it was Bird. [...] In one way, the work isn't like him. It's built on long lines and most of his pieces were short lines. But it's my feeling about Bird. I felt like crying when I wrote it."

"The Clown" tells the story of a clown "who tried to please people like most jazz musicians do, but whom nobody liked until he was dead. My version of the story ended with his blowing his brains out with the people laughing and finally being pleased because they thought it was part of the act. I liked the way Jean changed the ending; leaves it more up to the listener."

Charles Mingus - bass
Shafi Hadi - alto and tenor saxophone
Jimmy Knepper - trombone
Wade Legge - piano
Dannie Richmond - drums
Jean Shepherd - narration (track 4)



One of my Desert Island Discs - Mingus went beyond himself on this one.

[San Antone]

On the subject of Ellington, a few weeks ago I was invited to dinner where we took turns recommending one piece/performance of American music. That's not my idea of a good time. In any case, it's a hell of a question so I just chose my favourite -

http://www.youtube.com/v/Yrt79lROIaA

Yep - that was a good choice.

[king ubu]

Umm, yeah - the '80s fusion probably found its worst practitioner in Jan Hammer.  I doubt when Mile Davis "invented Fusion" this was what he imagined; Weather Report is one thing, but this ....  The entire Fusion detour was, IMO, one of the worst unintended consequences of music history.

Thankfully, Abercrombie moved on to other things.

If you like two guitars, without rhythm section - here's one Abercrombie put out in 2013, a duo with Joe Beck, which has some pretty good swinging.



Coincidence - John Abercrombie & Joe Beck

Maybe if I stumble over it, thanks ... actually Abercrombie, in duo with Marc Copland on piano, was one of my first real jazz concerts - and it was fun. I later heard him play with his quartet (Feldman, Johnson, Baron) and with Charles Lloyd's quartet (Johnson, Hart) and I always considered him quite interesting a player. I must have about a dozen of his albums, all (or almost all?) on ECM, including Getaway, his organ trio with Dan Wall and more ... didn't expect "Night" to be as horrible at all, though the line-up did have me wonder a bit. I'm not too big on Brecker's playing either, and the absence of bass and presence of Jan Hammer, well ...

Got home very late last night, but found this in the mail and put it into the player:



Nice indeed, gotta give it a full spin soon!

[San Antone]

Ubu: Yeah, his duo album with Marc Copeland I actually like better than the one with Joe Beck - but the Beck one was the more recent record, maybe his last (not sure).  There is 2018 one, but it might have been posthumous.

TD

Billy Strayhorn's name came up, so here's Joe Henderson's excellent recording of his music - with an All-Star band:



Track listing
"Isfahan" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 5:59
"Johnny Come Lately" – 6:30
"Blood Count" – 7:19
"Rain Check" – 5:54
"Lotus Blossom" – 4:31
"A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" – 6:58
"Take the "A" Train" – 7:11
"Drawing Room Blues" – 7:33
"U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)" – 5:02
"Lush Life" – 5:03

Personnel
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
Wynton Marsalis – trumpet
Stephen Scott – piano
Christian McBride – bass
Gregory Hutchinson – drums

This was Henderson's first for Verve which inaugurated a late career streak of absolutely GREAT records.

[San Antone]

Concert of Sacred Music - The Duke Ellington Orchestra

Wikipedia article:
As early as October 1962, the Reverend John S. Yaryan approached Ellington about performing at the new Grace Cathedral in San Francisco when it opened in 1965.[citation needed] The cathedral planned a "Festival of Grace", with a variety of cultural works and speakers, to occur during the first year the cathedral was open, and Ellington's concert was to be a part of it. (The "festival" also included a performance by Vince Guaraldi.)

The concert premiered on September 16, 1965, and was recorded by KQED, a local public television station. The performance was released on CD as A Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD as Love You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral. The official album on RCA, A Concert of Sacred Music, was recorded at two concerts at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on December 26, 1965. Additional material from these concerts, not found on the original album, can be found on the 24-CD box set The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973). The concert mixed existing and new material, with "New World A-Commin" and "Come Sunday" from Black Brown and Beige and "Heritage (My Mother, My Father)" from the show My People. A new piece, the song "In the Beginning God", was awarded a Grammy Award in 1967. It was performed again at Grace Cathedral on its 25th and 50th anniversaries, in 1990 and 2015.

Tracks:

"In the Beginning God" - 19:36
"Will You Be There?" - 1:23
"Ninety Nine Percent" - 2:23
"Ain't But the One" - 3:31
"New World a'Coming" - 9:56
"In the Beginning, God II" - 4:31
"Heritage" - 3:42
"The Lord's Prayer" - 3:16
"Come Sunday" - 5:30
"David Danced Before the Lord With All His Might" - 9:00
"The Lord's Prayer II" - 4:56
The album was recorded at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on December 26, 1965.

One of his great bands:

Duke Ellington – piano
Cat Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Herb Jones, Cootie Williams - trumpet
Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Quentin Jackson - trombone
Chuck Connors - bass trombone
Russell Procope, Jimmy Hamilton - alto saxophone, clarinet
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
Harry Carney - baritone saxophone
John Lamb - bass
Louie Bellson - drums
Brock Peters, Queen Esther Marrow, Jimmy McPhail - vocals
The Herman McCoy Choir - choir
Bunny Briggs - tapdancing (track 10)

[king ubu]

Ubu: Yeah, his duo album with Marc Copeland I actually like better than the one with Joe Beck - but the Beck one was the more recent record, maybe his last (not sure).  There is 2018 one, but it might have been posthumous.

Not sure, the last one I have is "Up and Coming", released in January 2017:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_and_Coming_(album)
It's pretty good, and I guess I should check out some more or his late albums ("Class Trip", rec. 2003 is the one I from the 00's that I have, and then a few from the mid 90s ...)

And fully agree on the Henderson/Strayhorn album - it's glorious, and possibly the finest of Henderson's late recordings.

--

First listen to this new discovery last night:



Pretty fun, a glimpse of a fine working band that played opposite more famous acts (and also opposite Howard Rumsey's own band at the Lighthouse) for a while ... J.C. Heard is a pretty underrated drummer that had his start in excellent swing-to-bop bands in the early/mid forties, he worked for Norman Granz both in studio sessions and as part of JATP from 1944 to 1953, when he stayed behind after the tour had reached Japan. The band with Frank Strazzeri (p) and Jim Hughart (b) is a fine one, co-leader Bill Perkins plays a surprisingly strong-toned tenor (and some baritone), featured (but permanent) guest Joe Pass may be a tad low in the mix and early in his career (just out of Synanon at that time), but already a wonderful voice of his own.

[San Antone]

Not sure, the last one I have is "Up and Coming", released in January 2017:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_and_Coming_(album)

Oh man, I was WAY off - in checking his discography he put out about a record a year throughout the 2000s - Up and Coming looks like a good group, will have to check it iout.  I was going by what was on Spotify forgetting that they don't have everything.

TD



Joe Henderson - So Near, So Far (Musing on Miles)

Track listing
All compositions by Miles Davis except where noted.

"Miles Ahead" (Davis, Gil Evans) – 4:31
"Joshua" (Davis, Victor Feldman) – 6:18
"Pfrancing (No Blues)" – 8:18
"Flamenco Sketches" (Davis, Bill Evans) – 9:37
"Milestones" – 5:57
"Teo" – 8:56
"Swing Spring" – 8:10
"Circle" – 6:07
"Side Car" – 10:26
"So Near, So Far" (Tony Crombie, Bennie Green) – 4:30
Digitally recorded at Power Station, NYC, October 12–14, 1992.

Personnel
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
John Scofield – guitar
Dave Holland – bass
Al Foster – drums

Another All-Star band, and all of these guys played with Miles.   Nice selection of tunes and as one would expect the level of the playing is very high.

Ubu - I like all of his Verve records, Porgy & Bess might be my favorite only because of how much I love the original work.  But the Jobim record is also great, and since I am also a huge fan, it is also high on my list.  This tribute to Miles is very strong.  The only one that I don't absolutely love is the big band record.

Dunno, hard to say which if any of his Verve albums are not just really good.

[San Antone]

Joe Henderson : Porgy & Bess

Track listing

"Introduction: Jasbo Brown Blues" – 0:56
"Summertime" – 7:16
"Here Come de Honey Man/They Pass by Singin'" – 2:04
"My Man's Gone Now" – 6:58
"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" – 6:52
"Bess, You Is My Woman Now" – 5:15
"It Ain't Necessarily So" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 6:27
"I Loves You, Porgy" – 4:18
"There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York" – 6:42
"Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?" – 6:58

Personnel
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
Conrad Herwig – trombone
John Scofield – electric guitar
Stefon Harris – vibes
Tommy Flanagan – piano
Dave Holland – bass
Jack Dejohnette – drums



I had forgotten that my buddy Bob Belden had done the arrangements on this record.  Top-flight band and excellent record only marred by the inclusion of Chaka Khan and Sting singing on a song, each.

Henderson manages to carve out a unique place aside Miles' legendary interpretation of Gershwin's masterpiece.  However, the thing about any Joe Henderson recording, the reason to listen to him is not the songs, or the arrangements, but his solos.  He is such a great soloist anything he tackles comes out sounding great. 

[king ubu]

Oh man, I was WAY off - in checking his discography he put out about a record a year throughout the 2000s - Up and Coming looks like a good group, will have to check it iout.  I was going by what was on Spotify forgetting that they don't have everything.

Yeah, actually I was quite astonished to see how many records he made in the past 20 years as well ... I've had one of the Gateway reunion albums and one with the organ trio w/Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum since the mid/late 90s, then one with the quartet w/Feldman, and then that last one (which I bought a while before he died, I think). But there's plenty that looks good, including more with Copland and an album with Lovano etc.

Ubu - I like all of his Verve records, Porgy & Bess might be my favorite only because of how much I love the original work.  But the Jobim record is also great, and since I am also a huge fan, it is also high on my list.  This tribute to Miles is very strong.  The only one that I don't absolutely love is the big band record.

Dunno, hard to say which if any of his Verve albums are not just really good.

Hm, I think "Porgy & Bess" is the one of his late Verve albums that doesn't totally click with me, I enjoy the Strayhorn, Jobim and Miles albums a lot. The Big Band is a bit rough on the edges, and I guess that's why it was initially held back? Anyway, as a group they're mighty fine, no doubt about that! Alas I never managed to catch Henderson live, the P&B band had a concert at the Berne Jazz Festival, which was out of my range at that time (I was still in high school and could hardly afford to catch jazz concerts nearby).

[SimonNZ]

Robin Kenyatta - Gypsy Man (1973)
Don Shirley - Solos (1958)



Don Shirley - The Gospel According To Don Shirley (1969)

[San Antone]

Monk's Dreams - The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk

The genesis for these recordings came from a series of shows at the Jazz Standard club in New York City. Kimbrough chose the experienced rhythm section of bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Billy Drummond; the lead horn voice is the multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, with whom he has played for many years, most notably with the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Kimbrough had not set out to perform all of Monk's works, but as the group played more and more of them it started to look like a possibility. An ambitious schedule of recording a CD a day was begun: and the group accomplished the task, many tunes requiring only a single take, the rest no more than two (or three in a few cases).

Frank Kimbrough: piano;
Scott Robinson: saxophones, reeds, trumpet
Rufus Reid: bass
Billy Drummond: drums

From Kimbrough's bandcamp page:

The genius of pianist and composer Thelonious Monk is unassailable. Since his death in 1982, he has become recognized as one of the greatest composers of jazz – and of the wider world of music. The year 2017 was the centennial of Monk's birth, and brought scores of tributes, including a well-received stay of pianist Frank Kimbrough's quartet at the Jazz Standard club in New York City.

Like many jazz pianists, Kimbrough found Monk's music a revelation when he first heard it. From the outset of his career, Kimbrough has returned time and again to Monk's compositions. After nearly four decades of study, reflection, and performance, Kimbrough has established a relationship with these pieces and found a way to express himself through the prism of Monk.

When the Standard approached Kimbrough to put together a quartet to play Monk's music, he picked the brilliant rhythm section of bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Billy Drummond. His choice for lead horn voice was the multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, with whom he has played for many years and in many combinations, most notably with the Maria Schneider Orchestra.

After the first set of the October 17th, 2017 performance at the Standard Kimbrough's friend Mait Jones urged that the group record Monk's entire oeuvre, a feat that Kimbrough had never considered. A jazz fan and co-presenter of his own Princeton series JazzNights Jones began a lifelong appreciation of Monk when he heard the master live at the Five Spot in New York City in 1957.

Over the next few days, Jones doubled down on his intent to make the project reach fruition, bringing in his friend and fellow jazz head, Dr. Dorothy Lieberman, to help co-produce the effort.

The musicians began the intensive work such a project demands. Finally, in April of 2018 Kimbrough led a trio and then the quartet at Jazz at the Kitano, polishing 30 new tunes on the way to the full Monk catalog of 70 pieces.

For the recording, Matt Balitsaris provided his renowned Maggie's Farm studios and an optimistic plan of recording a disc's worth of material each day for six days. The musicians recorded each day from 11 to 5 or 6 in two three-day intervals broken up by a three-day respite. Miraculously this ambitious plan succeeded, with most tunes needing only one or two takes. Robinson picked his axe of choice on the spot, from the standard (tenor sax and trumpet) to the exotic (bass saxophone, echo cornet, bass clarinet, and contrabass sarrusophone). The resultant tracks are fresh, varied, and inspired.

6 CDs of Monk's music played by an excellent ensemble in SOTA sound.  'Nuff said.

At this point, Rufus Reid is an elder statesman of the bass.  I've got his excellent book and have used it off and on as a practice tool.  Great bassist, great teacher and wonderful all-around person.  You have to hand it to Frank Kimbrough for focusing on this music and gathering together such a good band to play this music in reference performances. 

Certainly one of 2018's best releases.  Very highly recommended.

[Brian]

I'm seriously considering buying Miles Okazaki's complete traversal of the Monk catalogue on solo guitar. 2018 brought us three "complete Monk" sets, which is weird but cool. Not too interested in the solo piano one by CT critic Jed Distler unless somebody here says it's amazing. Will sample that one, San Antone - it looks cool.

[San Antone]

I'm seriously considering buying Miles Okazaki's complete traversal of the Monk catalogue on solo guitar. 2018 brought us three "complete Monk" sets, which is weird but cool. Not too interested in the solo piano one by CT critic Jed Distler unless somebody here says it's amazing. Will sample that one, San Antone - it looks cool.

I wasn't aware of this project and went to his bandcamp page and am sampling it.  It sounds fantastic; what a good guitarist!  Thanks for the posting about it.  I'm all for supporting musicians and their independent efforts; I will definitely be buying his Monk recording.

[king ubu]

Haven't really checked out the Okazaki set yet, but a friend enjoys it a lot ... the Kimbrough will, it seems, finally be available in Europe in March. I've had it on order for several weeks now, can't wait to hear it!

Thread duty:

[San Antone]

Duke Ellington : Piano Reflections

"Who Knows?" - 2:37
"Retrospection" - 3:58
"B Sharp Blues" - 2:47
"Passion Flower" (Billy Strayhorn) - 3:05
"Dancers in Love" - 1:56
"Reflections in D" - 3:35
"Melancholia" - 3:20
"Prelude to a Kiss" (Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills) - 3:04
"In a Sentimental Mood" (Ellington, Mills, Manny Kurtz) - 2:30
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" (Mercer Ellington) - 2:56
"All Too Soon" (Ellington, Carl Sigman) - 3:08
"Janet" - 2:15
"Kinda Dukish" - 2:32 Bonus track on CD reissue
"Montevideo" - 2:33 Bonus track on CD reissue
"December Blue" - 2:40 Bonus track on CD reissue

Duke Ellington – piano
Wendell Marshall - bass
Butch Ballard - drums (tracks 1-12)
Dave Black - drums (tracks 13-15)
Ralph Collier - congas (track 14)



Originally released as The Duke Plays Ellington, this mostly trio date was one of the Capitol years releases (that Mosaic box has been on my want list for a while).  Sure, the 1953-1955 band did not have Johnny Hodges, and many people consider it out shown by the 'bands that came before and after, but there are some gems, mostly the small band dates like this one, during his time on Capitol.