What Jazz are you listening to now?

[king ubu]

As for Abbuehl, Compass is her best album overall IMO, but The Gift has some really interesting and beautiful works as well. April is probably the weakest of the three, although it contains my all-time favorite vocal rendition of 'Round Midnight. I actually do not have Princess--thanks for reminding me of this.

I totally admire Stéphan Oliva, so getting "Princess" was a no-brainer ... didn't have time to try and figure out if I have "Compass" or not, but I'll try to do so within the next few days (thousands of CDs in book shelves in one small room ... two rows, piles on top of the rows, piles in front of the shelves, no other order than "swing and old jazz is roughly there and there and there, opera is there and there, vocal music there and there, Blue Note CDs mostly there but not those by Blakey, Shorter, Hubbard, Hutcherson, Smith ... however, classical and jazz and rock/pop and world are clearly separated).

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

KPFK is a very interesting radio station in the HELL A area, with a fascinating jazz show called Rise that airs from 12-3AM on Monday mornings. The show has always tended toward free jazz and the avant-garde with more traditional jazz mixed in. http://www.kpfk.org/on-air/rise-with-mark-maxwell/

We listen nearly every week. Here are a couple revelations from last night's (this morning's) show:

Seraphic Light with Daniel Carter, William Parker, and Matthew Shipp:



Blue Maqams with ud player Anouar Brahem, Dave Holland, et al.



Just received these last week and they are deeply engaging disks, currently rewarding repeated listening. Highly recommended! Seraphic Light is more on the free jazz side, while Blue Maqams is somewhat slower paced, often contemplative, but no less adventurous, especially in the use of the oud surrounded by more traditional jazz instruments (piano, bass, drums).

[San Antone]

Miles - random play

[NikF]

The Jimmy Giuffre 3: 7 Pieces.

[asin]B004MAM00M[/asin]

[SimonNZ]

^ I played that for the first time recently and was really impressed.

[NikF]

Glad to hear you liked it.    Were you impressed by the bonus live tracks too? I haven't listened to those yet - obviously they weren't part of vinyl copy I used to have.
Jimmy Giuffre - feels kind of ridiculous for me to consider him as a simple pleasure. 

[SimonNZ]

I haven't heard any bonus tracks. Are they worth seeking out?

now:



Count Basie - The Band Of Distinction (1954)
Ralph Burns - Among The JATP's (1955)

[NikF]

I haven't heard any bonus tracks. Are they worth seeking out?

I haven't listened to them yet and was wondering if you had.
I'll update my post if I listen to them soon.

[Papy Oli]

Enjoying Hank Mobley - Soul Station right now :

[asin]B00000I8UI[/asin]

[king ubu]

[SimonNZ]

A good day spent Vervin':



Mary Ann McCall and Charlie Ventura - An Evening with Mary Ann McCall and Charlie Ventura (1954)
Buddy DeFranco - Jazz Tones (1954)



Howard Roberts - Mr Roberts Plays Guitar (1957)
Stuff Smith - s/t (1957)



Count Basie - Basie Rides Again (1961)
Charlie Parker - Plays Cole Porter (1954)



Illinois Jacquet   - Swing's the Thing (1956)
Oscar Peterson - Keyboard (1956)



Jacy Parker - Spotlight On Jacy Parker (1962)
Cal Tjader - Saturday Night, Sunday Night At The Blackhawk (1962)

[NikF]

^ "A good day spent Vervin'" - perhaps an understatement? 

Also with the bonus of a David Stone Martin album cover. 

[SimonNZ]

^ "A good day spent Vervin'" - perhaps an understatement? 

Also with the bonus of a David Stone Martin album cover. 

I'd been wondering about that artist, without ever getting around to finding out who it was. Thanks.

[NikF]

You're welcome. 

[king ubu]

I'd been wondering about that artist, without ever getting around to finding out who it was. Thanks.

DSM is easily one of the most legendary and sought-after album cover designers in jazz ... I guess his following is actually more focused on his art than with Reid Miles who did most of the legendary Blue Notes (there, it's the full package, with DSM fans it seems the cover art gets more important than the actual albums).

A swiss trad clarinetist (and collector, and former vinyl shop runner), Wieni Keller, has a site dedicated to the art of David Stone Martin:
http://www.wienikeller.ch/david-stone-martin.php

Btw: love Stuff Smith! He's one of the big league players of that era, right up with Hawkins, Eldridge, Webster and the like!

--

Lately - all new arrivals (some of them I knew for quite a while) and in two cases (Tippett, Beck) CDs lent to me by a friend, to be returned later today:



The Stan Tracey is drop-dead gorgeous, a classic, and deservedly so. Also it's quite Monk-ish in fact, and Bobby Wellins is amazing! He developed into one of Europe's very best in my opinion! The Shepp/Davis I'd quickly mentioned - a rather accidental catch, though I had my eyes open for it to come my way. It's quite beautiful indeed, although I'm usually not too big on later Shepp (saw him live and he was boring, and cannot stand his sound on the duo album with Mal Waldron, whose music I otherwise love dearly, almost always). The Lockjaw is over two hours from Manchester, from his first tour through Europe as a headliner. The trio of Pat Smythe (known mainly for his stint with the wonderful Joe Harriott Quartet) is pretty good and the music smokes! It can get too much, I guess, Jaws is blowing so intensely most of the time, but I do like his raw power and his gorgeous sound.



The Count Basie/Benny Carter has one disc each of radio broadcasts from the late 30s and 1940 (Basie) and the mid 40s (Carter) - excellent stuff of course! Carter's big band is one of the underrated classic big bands of the era. The Gordon Beck is mostly a solo live concert from a festival, he talks a bit about his Bill Evans influence, about his trio with Tony Oxley etc., it's nice indeed but not something I'd play regularly. Same goes for the Keith Tippett, I think. It has plenty of nice spots, and I can deal with Julie Tippetts' singing - but I prefer other stuff by Tippett.

And I really hope to hear him play solo on Tuesday, opening the Météo Music Festival in Mulhouse as planned. From what I've heard he is recovering well and eager to play that set, so I hope it'll happen! This will be my third (and third consecutive) visit to the festival and it looks easily as promising as the two previous editions, the line-up including Tippett, David Murray, Joe McPhee, Mette Rasmussen, Nicole Mitchell, Peter Evans, Sons of Kemet etc.

Before that, Monday night I'll be at Lucerne festival, and the week after I'll be in Willisau one night (Christoph Erb/Jim Baker/Frank Rosaly and The Thing feat. James Blood Ulmer) and then in Lucerne one more time. Finally some real live music coming up again - I hate summer break! 

[SimonNZ]

Richard "Groove" Holmes - The Groover (1968)

[George]

Second spin.

[Alek Hidell]

Been playing some classic late-60s Aretha lately in memoriam, but I've also had time for these: revisiting a couple of faves from recent years.

 

As well as:

The Stan Tracey is drop-dead gorgeous, a classic, and deservedly so. Also it's quite Monk-ish in fact, and Bobby Wellins is amazing!

+1. I think I mentioned this one not too long ago. Yes, quite Monk-ish and yes, Wellins is great (especially on "Starless and Bible Black," a haunting solo that's kind of like a sax version of Miles' playing on "Générique").

[SimonNZ]

Sonny Stitt - Saxophone Supremacy (1959)
Jimmy Giuffre - In Person (1960)



Bert Dahlander - Skal (1958)
George Lewis - The Perennial (1958)

George singing it's a long way to "temporary" (edit: Joseph Watkins doing the singing). And then "West End Blues" starts! I hadn't realized it was on the album.

[NikF]

Sonny Stitt - Saxophone Supremacy (1959)
Jimmy Giuffre - In Person (1960)



Bert Dahlander - Skal (1958)
George Lewis - The Perennial (1958)

George singing it's a long way to "temporary" (edit: Joseph Watkins doing the singing). And then "West End Blues" starts! I hadn't realized it was on the album.

Good stuff (of the ones I know), Simon.  And more Giuffre - I'm trying to ration him right now.