Jessica Williams must have liked it too as she recorded Heather from the album as a solo piano piece on an early cd of hers. It's a beautiful melody. I used to have this on a reel to reel tape back in the 70s but that tape and machine are long gone. So I haven't heard it since some time in the early 80s I'm guessing. I should check it out again. All I remember is that it was vastly different from Spectrum which I love. NP Don Friedman Trio - My Favorite Things (Eighty Eight's) BSCD2 With George Mraz and Lewis Nash.
Care to share your thoughts on the comparison? I have both recordings but have not done such a comparison. Since the Berlin performance was the first recording of the second great quintet and the Plugged Nickel was a year later and under very different circumstances I'm curious as to the differences.
Yes, quite different from Spectrum. Has Garnett Brown, the Brecker Bros. and George Duke and Buster Williams. Really nicely arranged and performed. . .and recorded. More straight ahead than most of Spectrum, and a great listen.
Do you have the bonus disc with the epic Hard to Handle from the LA Palladium? OMG!! Fun Dark Star on that.
The Glenmorangie distillery web site currently references the "legendary Sixteen Men of Tain." Maybe they have expanded?
You should mix in at least several vocal versions of the song to better understand Miles' interpretations. All of the great jazz instrumentalists drew inspiration from both singers and the lyrics.
I know there are many here who enjoy bossa nova. This is a great one. It has obvious Stan Getz inspiration, but it meets the "authenticity" bar (and is on par with the classics) by including Dori Caymmi on guitar and a vocal or two, and Maucha on several vocals. I believe it was first issued in Japan (recorded in NYC by Japanese producers), but it was later issued in the USA. Harry Allen says as much in his liner notes, thanking the Japanese (who have never stopped loving the bossa nova)
I'd like to but I'm not familiar enough yet to really offer anything insightful; I'd need to do another listen, and probably take notes too. The only thing immediately obvious that I recall was that the tempos were more cranked on Plugged Nickel. Also, Miles playing was more melodic on the earlier recording (in Berlin) and it had more of a ballad feel overall. I must not be as familiar with the tune as I thought, though, because, on neither version, did I really have a moment where I could latch on to the tune; although, on the Berlin version I did feel more like "this could be Stella by Starlight" (seemed like Herbie's playing was outlining harmonic progression more obviously than on Nickel). So, I guess all I'm really saying is that I could pick up on the "anti-jazz" approach they had decided on for the Nickel. I don't have many vocal renditions of the tune, but I think I do have Anita O'Day doing it, I should probably break that out too just to get more familiar with it.
Thelonious Monk – Misterioso [CD 9a from the Complete Riverside Recordings session 19b] (Riverside Records) — Thelonious Monk — piano; Johnny Griffin — tenor saxophone; Ahmed Abdul-Malik — bass; Roy Haynes — drums; live at the Five Spot Café, NYC
In a moment: Arthur Blythe Lenox Avenue Breakdown/ In the Tradition/ Illusions/ Blythe Spirit The first Arthur Blythe BGO 2 CD with four original albums. Officially licensed and remastered from "the original tapes". Here's hoping the mastering turns out OK. Good liner notes (original and new).
I'd enjoy seeing a classic photograph, in the spirit of that famous group photo of jazz artists in "One Day in Harlem", where we have at least a half dosen of the classic legends of the saxophone lined up around and on a ladder to take turns blowing the world's largest saxophone, that actually played. There are several photos of different instruments in this multi-story category (all a little different) Below is the tiny kid brother of the big guys, the subcontrabass sax (there are a small bunch of these in the world) They say Charlie Parker switched to alto when his music teacher (below) told him that size was important. He realized that the smaller horn was easier to pack away.
That's cool. I don't mean to put you on the spot and I believe everyone's opinions are valid and worthwhile. I'm off today so after my walk in the park I decided to listen to the Berlin version and the Plugged Nickel version on disc one (there are two more found on disc four and seven). The first notable difference is the piano intro on the Berlin disc and I like what Herbie does there though not being a pianist or having a strong music theory background I can't explain what he's doing. Wayne seems eager to explore on both versions and Miles introduces the PN version and plays more overall. The tempo as you mentioned is slower on Berlin as well. Tribute's recommendation to listen to a vocal version is a good idea and he's right that many jazz musicians are influenced by the words and some vocal versions. One of the downsides to not being a big jazz vocal fan is trying to connect song titles with melodies. When you know the words to the song it is very easy to recognize and remember song titles but alas I was either not alive or in diapers when songs like Stella By Starlight was burning up the charts. It was still an interesting comparison and I may look around for other versions like with the first great quintet just for grins. That's the great thing about jazz imo. Same people, different nights or environments yield different results and that's what makes the genre interesting for me.
I would say that one of the upsides of not (yet) being a jazz vocal fan is that you still have an incredible world of musical discovery totally open and available to you. Check it out someday for an incredible musical, spiritual and physical journey.
NP The Santi Debriano Group - Panamaniacs (Evidence) Santi Debriano - b David Sanchez - ts David Kikoski.- p Tommy Campbell - d Mino Cinelu - perc. This is an energetic set of mostly originals. They cover Herbie Hancock's Mimosa and two other standards.
My first RTF album was with Al Di Meola so the first two RTF lps came later but I now prefer them over other versions of the band. NP Geri Allen Trio Twenty One (Blue Note) W/Ron Carter and Tony Williams from 1994. A muscular trio indeed! Tony is in beast mode.
