Topic: What Jazz are you listening to now?

[SimonNZ]

Barry Harris Trio – Breakin' It Up (1958)

[San Antone]

Bill Frisell
Thomas Morgan
Epistrophy

The Frisell/Thomas Morgan recordings are excellent, IMO.

Barry Harris Trio – Breakin' It Up (1958)

Barry Harris is a favorite pianist of mine.  I lived on 29th St between 7th & 8th and he had a club called The Jazz Workshop on 8th just around the corner.  I ended up hanging out quite a bit and getting to know him some.  Wonderful fellow who really cared about transmitting the tradition to younger musicians.

[SimonNZ]

Barry Harris is a favorite pianist of mine.  I lived on 29th St between 7th & 8th and he had a club called The Workshop on 8th just around the corner.  I ended up handing out quite a bit and getting to know him some.  Wonderful fellow who really cared about transmitting the tradition to younger musicians.

First time I've heard him, i think. Are there any other albums of his you'd recommend?

[Mirror Image]

Revisiting this old favorite from my teen years:



This album, Bright Size Life, Travels, and Rejoicing (w/ Haden and Higgins) are my favorite recordings in the Metheny discography.

[George]

CD 01

[San Antone]

First time I've heard him, i think. Are there any other albums of his you'd recommend?

Any of the Riverside & Prestige trio recordings, like Barry Harris At The Jazz Workshop (Sam Jones & Louis Hayes, live date in 1960); Barry Harris Trio - Preminado (Joe Benjamin & Elvin Jones, 1961); Barry Harris Trio - Chasin' The Bird (Bob Cranshaw & Clifford Jarvis, 1962); The Barry Harris Trio - Magnificent! (Ron Carter & Leroy Williams, 1969).

[San Antone]

CD 01

One of his best live collections: great band, great playing.  Some fans have complained of poor sound, but I don't have a problem with it.

[SimonNZ]

Any of the Riverside & Prestige trio recordings, like Barry Harris At The Jazz Workshop (Sam Jones & Louis Hayes, live date in 1960); Barry Harris Trio - Preminado (Joe Benjamin & Elvin Jones, 1961); Barry Harris Trio - Chasin' The Bird (Bob Cranshaw & Clifford Jarvis, 1962); The Barry Harris Trio - Magnificent! (Ron Carter & Leroy Williams, 1969).

Thanks for that. Listening to this one now:

[George]

One of his best live collections: great band, great playing.  Some fans have complained of poor sound, but I don't have a problem with it.

Yeah, the sound is kinda bright, so I can understand the complaints. Sublime music making though.

[Mirror Image]

One of his best live collections: great band, great playing.  Some fans have complained of poor sound, but I don't have a problem with it.

Some of Shorter’s best playing on record, IMHO. Miles isn’t too hot, though. My favorite Miles live performance is Four & More, but also My Funny Valentine.

[George]

Two recent SACD acquisitions.

[king ubu]

Thanks for that. Listening to this one now:

That's my favourite! But as San Antone said, you cannot go wrong with any of his Riverside albums!

Also, he's on some of Sonny Stitt's finest albums, recorded in the early/mid seventies, most notably "Tune Up" and "Constellations" (Cobblestone, later Muse, then on a CD twofer by 32Jazz, which I cherish).

--

Thread duty, lately:

[Brian]

A Jazz Message

Sonny Stitt
McCoy Tyner
Art Davis
Art Blakey

So delicious. A perfectly balanced meeting of four totally different minds who bounce off each other well and sound like they're having a ton of fun conversing in their different styles. Cool, and just a blast to listen to. I only wish the title/cover were more reflective of the fact that this is four equals, not really a classic Blakey joint.

[San Antone]

A Jazz Message

Sonny Stitt
McCoy Tyner
Art Davis
Art Blakey

So delicious. A perfectly balanced meeting of four totally different minds who bounce off each other well and sound like they're having a ton of fun conversing in their different styles. Cool, and just a blast to listen to. I only wish the title/cover were more reflective of the fact that this is four equals, not really a classic Blakey joint.

A Blakey quartet recording that doesn't get mentioned very often - and you're right, really good band/playing. 

[San Antone]

Speaking of Art Blakey, here's a twofer I like a lot -



A Night at Birdland (1954)

Art Blakey, drums
Clifford Brown, trumpet
Lou Donaldson, sax
Horace Silver, piano
Curly Russell, bass

[San Antone]

Thanks, Brian, for getting me started on a Art Blakey mini-marathon!   



Like Someone in Love was recorded in August 1960, at the same sessions which produced A Night in Tunisia, but was released on Blue Note only in August 1967. It features, arguably, Blakey's greatest band: with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt.

[aligreto]

Dave Brubeck’s Greatest Hits





This is the only album I own of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I really like their vibrant and exciting music making; must get more!

[Brian]

This is the only album I own of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I really like their vibrant and exciting music making; must get more!

Definitely grab At Carnegie Hall, Brubeck And Rushing, Time Further Out, Time Out, and Gone with the Wind (those are my personal top five in order from 1 to 5).

[SimonNZ]

It speaks to the overall strength of the Brubeck discography that whenever there's a discussion of favorite albums of his the responses cover such a wide variety.


now:



Mike Nock Quartet - In Out And Around (1978)

[king ubu]

Definitely grab At Carnegie Hall, Brubeck And Rushing, Time Further Out, Time Out, and Gone with the Wind (those are my personal top five in order from 1 to 5).

I agree on "Carnegie Hall", "Time Out" and "Time Further Out", but would throw in "Jazz Impressions of Japan" as a top choice, and "Brubeck Time", which includes Paul Desmond's delightful tribute to/impression of "Audrey" (Hepburn of course).

Either way, it's hard to go wrong with Brubeck's classic quartet with Desmond - the main question is: how much of it do you need? If you want a lot, grab the box with the complete Columbia Studio Albums - it's curretnly down to 40€ on aDE:

https://www.amazon.de/Complete-Columbia-Studio-Albums-Collection/dp/B0077PPQGO/

There's of course more to Brubeck than that ... the early Fantasy recordings with Desmond are glorious, there's some trio, solo and octet music as well (some of it pretty ... let's call it "academic"), and there are a few quartet recordings with clarinetist Bill Smith in place of Desmond (of which "Brubeck à la Mode" may be the finest?). There is also one with Dave van Kriedt (a sideman from early days) added to the quartet, which is fine, "Re-Union".

In addition to these Fantasy recordings, there's some more good music on Columbia, including the live albums not covered in teh box, and then the one with Gerry Mulligan following Desmond - alas not easy to find. On Atlantic then, there's one with Desmond and Mulligan that was, I think, my very first Brubeck (it's part of my dad's record collection), and it's pretty good and lots of fun, "Together Again for the First Time". There's also a rather odd one with Anthony Braxton and Lee Konitz (one track in common, Konitz on two more, Braxton one one), "All The Things You Are". Either way, Brubeck gets slammed unfairly quite often in jazz circles ... I don't want to be part of those that do so!