What Jazz are you listening to now?

[SimonNZ]

Dudu Pukwana - In The Townships (1974)



Arthur Blythe - Lennox Avenue Breakdown (1979)

[KevinP]

(Odd photo from eBay)

[KevinP]

Debated, as I often do, about which thread to put this in.

[ando]

Debated, as I often do, about which thread to put this in.

Ha. No "Third Stream" thread on the site, eh?

Third Stream is, of course, how Orbert Davis describes his muisc; a kind of jazz-meets-classical hybrid. The piece apparently celebrates the history of the Chicago River in the industrial age and as you listen you can hear phrases and passages that clearly quote musical events of the late 19th through early 21st centuries. I see the double CD and DVD (which has hisorical images to accompany the music) have been out a few years. Might pick up a copy. Thanks! full YouTube playlist

[KevinP]

A couple years ago, I tried to purchase all the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic titles I didn't have. They were all unavailable on Amazon, at least for my location, so I ordered them directly from the CJP. Alas, a few hours later, my money was refunded with a note that they no longer ship internationally and a suggestion to order the digital downloads.

I'm not a huge fan of downloads but yesterday I broke down and ordered them.

It seems gone now, but several years back there was a YouTube video (at least I assume it was on YouTube) of the Gil Evans arrangement of the Concierto de Aranjuez with Orbert Davis as the soloist and Bill Russo conducting.

Those two co-taught my Jazz Comp & Orchestration class, which I think was the only class I had with Davis. Our final pieces were performed by members of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and boy did I learn a lot from that.

[ando]

A couple years ago, I tried to purchase all the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic titles I didn't have. They were all unavailable on Amazon, at least for my location, so I ordered them directly from the CJP. Alas, a few hours later, my money was refunded with a note that they no longer ship internationally and a suggestion to order the digital downloads.

I'm not a huge fan of downloads but yesterday I broke down and ordered them.

It seems gone now, but several years back there was a YouTube video (at least I assume it was on YouTube) of the Gil Evans arrangement of the Concierto de Aranjuez with Orbert Davis as the soloist and Bill Russo conducting.

Those two co-taught my Jazz Comp & Orchestration class, which I think was the only class I had with Davis. Our final pieces were performed by members of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and boy did I learn a lot from that.

Interesting. What do you play?

Btw, here's the clip -

Of course, I'm bringing out the Miles recording for comparison. I haven't heard many versions of the piece. Thanks!

[KevinP]

That's it. Thanks.

And piano.

[ando]

It seems gone now, but several years back there was a YouTube video (at least I assume it was on YouTube) of the Gil Evans arrangement of the Concierto de Aranjuez with Orbert Davis as the soloist and Bill Russo conducting...

When I referred to my limited exposure of of Concierto, I meant jazz takes. It's, of course, one of the most famous works written for the guitar and I assumed I owned an Andres Segovia rendition. But he never recorded it. Apparently, Rodrigo offered the premiere of the piece to Segovia but he refused to play it, claiming a scheduling conflict and problems with its construction. Rodrigo then gave it to Regino Sainz de la Maza who performed it in public for the first time in Barcelona, 1940. Whether or not Segovia regarded it as a snub or simply unworthy we'll never know but he never recorded nor performed it live.

[ando]

Stunning version of Concierto -

Frankfurt Radio Symphony
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor
Narciso Yepes, guitar

[ando]

Keeping in the spirit of the Spanish/American, classical/jazz hybrid I'm spinning one I haven't listed to in a while -

White Rabbit George Benson (1972, CTI) full playlist

I also like what Benson had to say about the current state of jazz a couple of years ago -

[ando]

More guitar centered jazz - and a trip to the eye doctor. When a track from Albert Vila's 2023 album came on my Apple Music shuffle I liked it and immediately went to YouTube and typed Beauty is Nuisance, Albert Avila. 

Reality Is Nuance Albert Vila (Fresh Sound New Talent)
full playlist

[KevinP]

Pleasantly weird cover art. Too pleasant for the Worst Cover thread and too weird for the Beautiful one.

Will give it a listen a bit later.

[DavidW]

Pleasantly weird cover art. Too pleasant for the Worst Cover thread and too weird for the Beautiful one.

Will give it a listen a bit later.

It looks like something from Monty Python! Yeah I love it.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The Amazing Bud Powell.

[Henk]

A bit off-topic, but I just saw the documentary 'Inside Joe Scofield' I posted about a couple weeks earlier. It was very pleasant, brings you closer to the musician and the music, you got to see such documentaries. Has anyone other recommandations of documentaries about jazz?

[KevinP]

I mentioned this above, saying they did Gil Evans' arrangement. Now that I've listened to the whole thing, it's not quite that score, though it is very close.

You can't just purchase the score and parts, so to pull this off, they would have to transcribe it from the record. I remember Russo used to hire people to transcribe some big band charts for his performances. (It used to boggle my mind how people could do that, especially in pre-DAW days; today I'm slightly less impressed, not because of technology but because I've developed my abilities a little, but it's still a very impressive skill.)

Anyway, in the end, it's an arrangement that's quite faithful to the original (er, to Evans' rather), but it has been arranged for the CJP and their instrumentation, and they've exercised a very restrained degree of freedom in other aspects.

Note: The digital album does not include the liner notes, which may explain this situation more accurately than I am. There's some guesswork and assumptions on my part.

[KevinP]

Arthur Blythe - Lennox Avenue Breakdown (1979)

What are your thoughts on this album?

[SimonNZ]

A bit off-topic, but I just saw the documentary 'Inside Joe Scofield' I posted about a couple weeks earlier. It was very pleasant, brings you closer to the musician and the music, you got to see such documentaries. Has anyone other recommandations of documentaries about jazz?

Have you seen Ken Burns overview of ten 2-hour episodes?

Besides that I can't think of many jazz documentaries I call much better than just okay. Maybe the one on Chet Baker called "Lets Get Lost". Or the one on Monk called "Straight, No Chaser".

[SimonNZ]

What are your thoughts on this album?

I've only heard it twice, and the previous time was five or so years ago. But both times I loved it, they generate great excitement and interaction from what is an unlikely combination of instruments.

Do you ask because you disagree with its Penguin Crown rating?

[KevinP]

Let's say I find it overstated. The few times I've heard it I thought it was okay, but I tend to forget about as soon as I put it away.