What Jazz are you listening to now?

[king ubu]

Now playing Buck Hill's first two albums, both with the same stellar line-up (Kenny Barron-p, Buster Williams-b, Billy Hart-d), recorded 1978 and 1979 when Hill was 51 and 52 respectively. Wonderful player!

[king ubu]

These both have John Ozment on keys, seems he was a longtime Hill sideman, and as with all the other sidemen, a Washington, D.C. mainstay ... on the former (Hill's last album from 2006), Ozment is on organ (there's guitar and drums added), on the later he's on piano, while Hill plays clarinet on four out of ten tracks, and the rhythm section is completed by bass and drums. Both mighty fine albums!

[SimonNZ]

Cool!

I followed Turner and his generation some when I started discovering jazz in my early teens in the early nineties, but I don't know that disc (remember its title though, as it was on one of my messy, purely memory-based wantlists back then) ... still have a few Joshua Redman discs (and Turner's "Ballads", and some Kurt Rosenwinkel), but this ultimately didn't prove to be my thing quite ... Brad Mehldau I still enjoy though, his recent 4-CD-Box is wonderful indeed! The Dexter is wonderful though, no question about that!

That's interesting, that means you're younger than me when I would have picked you as older (I guess because your travel and concertgoing suggests a retired man of leisure).

The Turner was fine and polished but didn't leave me wanting more. The Dexter Gordon I thought was particularly interesting as it covered some of the same material he performed in Round Midnight (a film I adore) a few years later and you can really hear how personal some of these tunes are for him. And the end section of "Body and Soul" is note for note across the whole band exactly the way its played in the film. Also a live version of "Tanya"! (though of course nothing can better the version on One Flight Up).

now:



John Stetch - Exponentially Monk (2004)
Esbjörn Svensson - Plays Monk (1996)



Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra - Monk's Moods (2002)
Jerry Gonzalez - Rumba Para Monk (1989)

[king ubu]

That's interesting, that means you're younger than me when I would have picked you as older (I guess because your travel and concertgoing suggests a retired man of leisure).

The Turner was fine and polished but didn't leave me wanting more. The Dexter Gordon I thought was particularly interesting as it covered some of the same material he performed in Round Midnight (a film I adore) a few years later and you can really hear how personal some of these tunes are for him. And the end section of "Body and Soul" is note for note across the whole band exactly the way its played in the film. Also a live version of "Tanya"! (though of course nothing can better the version on One Flight Up).

Thanks for sharing your impressions on those two! Guess I can live on happily without that Turner. I have the two "Fly, Fly, Fly" discs and a couple of others by/with him on ECM on the piles but it's unlikely I'll search for more of his early releases. I remember reading that he had to totally re-learn playing after an accident a few years ago ... maybe that changed him into what I consider a more interesting player - though maybe that's just natural development/growth.

I'm approaching 40, but having no kids and an okay job with some flexibility, I have some budget for traveling/concerts/vacation and about two years ago I started making use of this situation more actively. And as I enjoy it so much, I have no plans to change this at this time; from Easter Sunday on, I'll be in London to catch the first half of Intakt in London, in early June I'll catch two nights of Louis Moholo (who'll play in London as well) in Novara - not yet on their website -, and in August I will likely have a combined with concerts at Lucerne festival (Sun/Tues/Sun) and in between (Wed-Sat, hop on a train to Lucerne on Sunday morning) my second year at the great Festival Météo in Mulhouse (programme is out in early May) ... so yeah, enjoying it bigtime! But if you look at my complete concert listing, you'll find that most of it is still in Zurich, where we are indeed pretty spoilt actually, but - in jazz at least - there are some musicians that never seem to play Zurich at all (to hear Henry Threadgill, I went to Amsterdam a few years ago - and that was a combined vacation/concert trip as well, that included concerts in Cologne by Craig Taborn and Sex Mob):
http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/2016/05/konzerte-jahresrankings-seit-2010.html

Actually I continue writing about most of those concerts, but usually only in German - would be too much work to do everything in two languages, and actually my writing does work differently when I switch to English (translating isn't much easier anyway) ...

[Bogey]

Mostly from 1963.  I've always have enjoyed Smith's  Hammond B sound, but have very little on the shelf by the great.  I definitively need to rectify this situation sooner than later.

[Bogey]

Not my favorite album from Dexter, but one I enjoy from time to time.

[king ubu]

I've always have enjoyed Smith's  Hammond B sound, but have very little on the shelf by the great.  I definitively need to rectify this situation sooner than later.

Off the top of my head:

Groovin' at Smalls' Paradise (RVG 2CD set) - smokin' hot live session by the working trio, incredible playing by JOS
Back at the Chicken Shack & Midnight Special (Blue Note, 2 separate discs, both available in the RVG Series - this is THE great session by Smith in my book, a perfect companion to the Smalls' live sets, very different, more elegant but just as funky and bluesy, with Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell in top form and Smith's regular drummer Donald Bailey, a vastly underrated musician - more about him here)
The Sermon & House Party (Blue Note, 2 separate discs, RVGs miss some bonus tracks that were on the earlier versions ... long but mostly pretty focussed and darn great jams with Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, Kenny Burrell and others)
There are more great jam albums, such as Cool Blues (Blue Note/RVG, again with Tina Brooks in the line-up) and two later companion albums with Jackie McLean and Ike Quebec Present.
Crazy Baby (Blue Note) - my favourite Smith studio album in the basic trio format
Bashin' (Verve) - another great one, first time Smith is heard with big band (arr. Oliver Nelson) on half of the album
then there are the recordings with Wes Montgomery (again on Verve ... not sure about availabilty, but the Wes Montgomery Verve Studio box put out by Hip-O-Select - r.i.p. - is worthwhile if you're into jazz guitar and into Wes M.)

Big fan of Jimmy Smith's for sure!

[Bogey]

Thanks!  I just need to start by heading to the used shop down the street and culling what they have and then use your list as a reference after.  Just how I work.  Appreciate the list and will update here. 

[king ubu]

Thanks!  I just need to start by heading to the used shop down the street and culling what they have and then use your list as a reference after.  Just how I work.  Appreciate the list and will update here. 

You can basically buy just about every Blue Note album smith made, from 1956 to 1962 - and he made MANY of them in that short span! There are two or three that are a bit on the restrained side ("Plays Pretty" is a bit of a sleeper, "Plays Fats Waller" is nice enough but surely not essential, the one album with Grant Green doesn't let sparks fly as one would hope).

Another essential - also for the cover - I forgot is Home Cookin'!

[Bogey]

Again, many thanks.

TD
1961



April 21 sets.  Davis, Mobley, Kelley, Chambers, and Cobb.

[Karl Henning]

Happy foggy Monday!

http://www.youtube.com/v/AEprp7BVFlg

[Bogey]

Not my favorite Brubeck album, but if someone accused me of having it be so, I would not argue.  For those keeping score, this one goes back to '53. 

[San Antone]

There are some groups and recordings that, for me, are simply perfect.  This is one of those groups and recording (the original LP was perfectly balanced, but having all the alternate performances is extremely valuable since this group did not leave nearly enough behind).

[Bogey]

There are some groups and recordings that, for me, are simply perfect.  This is one of those groups and recording (the original LP was perfectly balanced, but having all the alternate performances is extremely valuable since this group did not leave nearly enough behind).

No argument here.  My problem is that I only have the single Jazz Masters cd, which has to be pathetic compared to the three set edition.  Need to get the complete for sure.

[king ubu]

That three disc box is the one edition to get if you want to go complete on CD - there's a vinyl equivalent to it, I think (but the toupet does not approve, regardless of which edition, I'm sure.)

[George]

No argument here.  My problem is that I only have the single Jazz Masters cd, which has to be pathetic compared to the three set edition.  Need to get the complete for sure.

If you want the best sound, I say the Gold CD on Analog Productions of Waltz For Debby and the XRCD of Sunday At The Village Vanguard are as good as it gets. Uufortunately, both are OOP, but well worth seeking out.

[Bogey]

That three disc box is the one edition to get if you want to go complete on CD - there's a vinyl equivalent to it, I think (but the toupet does not approve, regardless of which edition, I'm sure.)

Saw the vinyl as well.

Impressive, but triple figures.

[Bogey]

If you want the best sound, I say the Gold CD on Analog Productions of Waltz For Debby and the XRCD of Sunday At The Village Vanguard are as good as it gets. Uufortunately, both are OOP, but well worth seeking out.

You know, I still do not have one cd at from either of those companies, buddy.  Might have to give one a try.

[king ubu]

Playing a few tracks from this set - love the three thematic boxes released in the final days of Fantasy and before Concord made it all break into pieces (I don't blame them too much, but I can't not blame them at all either).

[SimonNZ]

Arthur Blythe - Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk (1983)
Elliott Sharp - Sharp? Monk? Sharp! Monk! (2006)