It's a weird experiment between a jazz pianist but of classical education and a soprano singer famous for operas and songs (especially German composers). For example, she sang wonderfully The Four last Songs by Richard Strauss. Rilke's poetry deserved a better outcome. It looks like as a kind of chamber third stream music. In my opinion, it is a pretty interesting work, but not so satisfying. I listened to him a couple of times.
... Dirty Guitar ... used to always shuffle up on my Pandora and I really dug everything that I heard. Like, come in from the other room and say “who’s that?” kind of dug it.
A year or so ago we got into a discussion here about music that one wanted to like, tried to like but that try as we might the bridge could not be jumped. YET seemed to be the final point many of us made. Some music takes decades or longer to enter for some was another point I agreed with. Ive really embraced free jazz in the last 3 to 5 years in a way that has surprised me. I found a way of entering it through a different door and then the lights all just turned on for me. Hill is one of my favorite artists. His music ( not what i would call free) has post bop but also does have some freer elements to it. But its not really out there music. Its definately reachable. Consider his music bent but not crazy. The tension between the more classic bop melodic vs the freer elements in his music to me is really sublime. This tension is for me what i love about it. Im sure some of you could explain this in a better way then me but I hope you see what Im trying to say. And The journey is certainly just as fun as arriving at your next jazz station
...funky Friday!! Funkadelic – America Eats Its Young Label: Westbound Records – CDSEWM 229 Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered Country: UK Released: 2005 Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul ...”just because you win the fight don’t make you right. Just because you give don’t make you good.”
Jackie McLean – Destination Out Label: Blue Note – CDP 7243 8 32087 2 2 Series: Blue Note Connoisseur Series – Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered Country: US Released: 1995 Genre: Jazz Alto Saxophone, Liner Notes – Jackie McLean Bass – Larry Ridley Drums – Roy Haynes Trombone – Grachan Moncur III Vibraphone – Bobby Hutcherson Recorded on September 20, 1963 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
I have quite a few Hill recordings and am still struggling to get him. Not quite ready to sell them all though. I had a similar experience with Ornette Coleman for awhile, but then it just clicked.
I’ve been listening to Andrew Hill off and on for 25 years (I discovered him around the same time I discovered guys like Bud Powell, Elmo Hope, among others) until the last two years when I sold all of the albums of his I owned. I don’t mind ‘free jazz’ as long as it’s melodic free jazz like the stuff that comes out on ECM Records like Paul Motian, Kenny Wheeler, and this from Tomasz Stanko, although all three of these musicians don’t necessarily play free all of the time. For example:
I definitely haven’t clicked with much of anything from Ornette Coleman and I think a huge part of this is I’m really into harmony and the lack of a pianist or guitarist in so much of his music really makes it quite inaccessible to me. I do still own Ornette’s Atlantic box set set and haven’t sold it off yet, but I’ve certainly considered it many times. I certainly don’t mind the pianist sitting out for a solo or two like in Miles’ Prince of Darkness for a random example. That’s quite effective and sounds cool, but not for the whole piece.
Do you feel the same way when it comes to those Mulligan or Elvin Jones led groups without piano/guitar?
Yeah, pretty much. The piano is one of my favorite instruments and the absence of it (or guitar) makes it a bit more difficult for me to love the music, but I can certainly appreciate what Mulligan does for example. But, at the end of the day, it’s not really for me.
NP Coleman Hakwins - The Hawk Relaxes (Prestige/Moodsville) dark blue label I've been ignoring Hawkins for no good reason lately so I'm enjoying getting reaquainted. Edit: I just saw that this title was posted yesterday. Coinkeedink! @Stu02 great post re:Hill. I love him too probably because of the reasons others have issues with him. It's that edgy unpredictability combined with a lyricism mixed in from time to time to keep one guessing.
This is something already discussed, but it's a recurrent question I ask myself. What's with modern jazz albums that just don't grab my attention as old ones do? I recon that in a lot of cases they even sound better and the players are technically more evolved, but... My latest conclusion is that the problem is not what's missing but what is in excess. Are they just too perfect?
Hawkins was one of the greats for sure. I feel similarly about Ben Webster. These cats had something special. I never quite got into Lester Young, though.