What Jazz are you listening to now?

Started by Gurn Blanston, June 12, 2015, 06:16:31 AM

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San Antone


SimonNZ

#4021


Kenny Burrell - Introducing Kenny Burrell (1956)
Blossom Dearie - Sings Rootin' Songs (1963)



Frank Foster - No Count (1956)

SimonNZ

#4022


Ernestine Anderson - My Kinda Swing (1960)
Babs Gonzales - Tales Of Manhattan (1959)

SimonNZ

#4023


Wynton Kelly - It's All Right (1964)
Dakota Staton - Time To Swing (1959)



Randy Weston - Uhuru Afrika (1960)
Taft Jordan - Mood Indigo (1961)

king ubu

#4024
Quote from: Alek Hidell on March 13, 2019, 08:07:14 PM


My first-ever listen to anything by Lateef. Not bad at all. I like his tone on tenor (only one of several instruments he plays here, of course) - reminds me of a sort of cross between Coltrane and Dexter Gordon, and like Gordon with an apparent penchant for playing slightly behind the beat.

Lateef was a fantastic musician! I beg to differ a bit with your description though ... first of all, he was older than Trane and had his act together much earlier (there are some big band sides of the great Gillespie bebop band on RCA with fine Lateef solos, for instance ...) - his tone is huge and full-bodied, more in the general Hawkins/Webster/Berry line I guess, and on the other side there's Lockjaw, and there were minor guys like Big Nick Nicholas (dedicatee of Coltrane's "Big Nick", and from what little can be heard a mighty fine musician in his own right).

Anyway, "Eastern Sounds" is close to desert island stuff for me, but it's just one of so many aspects of Lateef, who was a pioneer in many regards. His recordings as a leader, kicking in in the second half of the fifites, are a fine bunch. He led a quintet first with Curtis Fuller as second horn, then later with Wilbur Harden (who made a few recordings with Coltrane, and who may be a minor figure, too, but his recordings are wonderful). He would pack up his band in Detroit, they'd drive to RVG's, do a session and drive back ... the albums appeared on Savoy, Verve (just one), Prestige, and later Riverside as well (and still more on Savoy, and one on Argo, too ... and I think one on Charlie Parker Records?). The final one of the series, "Into Something", from 1961, is certainly a favourite. Others inlude "Jazz for the Thinker" (Savoy) and "Before Dawn" (Verve). And with regards to the "pioneer" thing: not just flute and oboe, but Lateef was at the forefront of "world music" or whatever you want to dub it, with the inclusion of traditional instruments from other regions of the world (i.e. the rabab as a bass instrument, or the arghul,a double pipe ... also he was exploring "exotic" modes and open/modal forms and more ...

I initially first heard him with Cannonball, too, and I love that band a lot - check out Lateef playing the blues on oboe ("Trouble in Mind" on "Cannonball in Europe", or "Brother John" on "Nippon Soul") for one!

When Lateef went on his own again, he made several albums for Impulse, another mighty fine bunch, including a live recording from Pep's, with trumpeter Richard Williams (one of Mingus' favourite trumpet players, all things considered a musician not recorded enough or not often under ideal circumstances ... the albums with Gigi Gryce might be the best ones to really hear him, his lone leader album on Candid is not entirely successful alas) and Mike Nock on piano, plus a driving rhythm section with Ernie Farrow on bass (a holdover from his fifties band) and James Black on drums. Now this band really was together, and there are some pretty wild rides on the live material, which was spread over the original LP and a later double album, later regrouped on two CDs.

But his studio albums on Impulse include some outstanding music, too, most notably "Psychicemotus".

His move to Atlantic was a change in direction, and it took me a while to appreciate that period and explore it more thoroughly, but there's some good stuff there, too (favourites, I think: "Blue Yusef Lateef", "YL in Detroit").

Later on, he had his own label (YAL) with sketchy distribution (and I wasn't around in time anyway) ... the tenors albums (one each with Von Freeman, Archie Shepp, Ricky Ford and René McLean) may be the best known ones, but the one I really like is "YL Plays Ballads" (I don't even know all the tenors albums though).

Also, he had a truly great one very late in the game, "Influence", with a french band around the Belmondo brothers - by themselves I don't find them all that interesting, but they put up a mighty good setting for Lateef!

So yeah, Brother Yusef rules in my house!

There's also a wonderful film about him ... if you can watch it from wherever you are, do so!

https://www.youtube.com/v/tG7lyR4QzjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG7lyR4QzjQ
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

Irons

You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

SimonNZ



Tony Bennett - At Carnegie Hall (1962)

SimonNZ

#4027


Betty Carter - Round Midnight (1963)
Ernestine Anderson - The New Sound Of Ernestine Anderson (1963)


SimonNZ

#4029


Ron Carter - Uptown Conversation (1970)
Dempsey Wright - The Wright Approach (1958)

XB-70 Valkyrie

Just heard this on KCSM--very interesting use of koto. Added to wish list.

If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

SimonNZ

#4031


Conte Candoli - s/t (1955)
Billy Hart - All Our Reasons (2012)

San Antone


NikF4

Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster

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As ever I could be wrong, but I do believe this is a first listen. And while I'm not expecting (or requiring) fireworks, it's Gerry Mulligan and Ben Webster and so should be at least worthwhile.

king ubu

Quote from: NikF4 on March 27, 2019, 08:14:01 AM
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster

[asin]B0000047A9[/asin]

As ever I could be wrong, but I do believe this is a first listen. And while I'm not expecting (or requiring) fireworks, it's Gerry Mulligan and Ben Webster and so should be at least worthwhile.

I think it's drop-dead gorgeous! Have the complete edition on two discs (Verve Master Edition, ca. mid/late 90s) ... Jimmy Rowles and the rhythm section are a big part of the success. Of the "Mulligan Meets" albums, I think it's my favourite, though I love the one with Paul Desmond very much, too (the mid 90s Verve CD contains several substantial bonus tracks, not sure about later editions if there are any). The ones with Johnny Hodges is mighty fine as well, only the one with Stan Getz is in the so-so range on my scale (but fun it is, too, partly since the two swap horns for several tracks ... without really losing their identity, Mulligan was a rather ligth baritone anyway, and Getz' persona is so strong, I guess he could have produced beautiful music on a coomb or a kazoo ...)
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

king ubu



Have been making my way through almost all of this box yesterday, right now finishing with the last disc (the full "Standard Sonny Rollins" sessions) - what amazing music! Somehow I tend to revisit the Prestige albums ("Saxophone Colossus" first, I guess I almost know that one by heart), "A Night at the Village Vanguard" on Blue Note or "Freedom Suite" (Riverside) when I feel like hearing any Rollins, not the RCA Victor material, but I guess I should change that for a few years, just get similarly familiar with these amazing recordings (which I've owned for 20 years or so, the box is from 1997 - and as far as I know it's not the edition audiophiles are going for, but it sounds fine to my ears).
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

king ubu

Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

king ubu



I have been playing lots of Sonny Rollins lately ... time to revisit some more recent music, too.
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

San Antone

Random play of these four ECM compilations:



king ubu



The Mario Pavone disc is excellent ... the Wynton Kelly pretty slight and short (27 minutes), and the pink arrangements by Ogerman don't help, yet Kelly's upbeat character still wins against the odds - I just love his touch!
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/