NP: Paul Desmond (Artists House, Robert Ludwig at Masterdisk) Alto Saxophone – Paul Desmond Bass – Don Thompson (2) Drums – Jerry Fuller (2) Guitar – Ed Bickert Ah, that smooth alto tone! A sympathetic quartet, and this 1975 Toronto set is a pleasure. Thanks to @Lonson for pointing out the recent Mosaic set. Not sure I need the full set yet, but this single LP suggests the quartet were in top form.
There's also a Paul Desmond Qt. Live on A& M (2 lps) available from the same time period that is really good. I'm a huge fan of Desmond but I have decided not to order the Mosaic set either. I have so much, possibly every release or damn close to it and feel I don't need more. It could be age related as I have slowed down my purchases of music in general in the last couple of years. NP Freddie Redd - Shades Of Redd (Blue Note) Japanese facsimile RVG remastered cd from 1999.
I haven't really been to keen on the other hip hop-jazz fusions I've heard. Origami Harvest isn't just a hip hop-jazz fusion, it's also a jazz quartet-string quartet fusion record. It's a pretty unique combination. I dunno why exactly, but I found it flat out spellbinding.
Don Cherry & Abdullah Ibrahim/ Austria 1972-07-20 Some really nice, meditative but groovin' music. Sounds like it was recorded for radio. Imagine turning on the radio and hearing this! Set 1 (the second set is on YT, as well, or you might find the show elsewhere online)
We're all different. Finding out it's also a jazz quartet-string quartet fusion record gives me further pause! Thanks. As time goes by I become less and less interested in "fusions" and more interested in the traditional works of jazz, or jazz with less overt fusions.
NP Miles & Monk at Newport. I feel that I'm at an interesting point in my relatively short (2 years or so) exploration of jazz. First off, I really don't know very much! Have to start with an honest statement ;-) I've listened to 'some' albums from the 40's through to the 70's, and some modern jazz. Without knowing it was call hard-bop, that has been what I've enjoyed the most. Those Blue Note records in the 50-60's are for the most enjoyable for me. I know Miles is a legend and did a lot for jazz, but I really only like 5 or so of his albums (first quintet my favourite). I don't know enough musically with horns and rhythm sections to say what is good and what isn't, I just know what I like. As mentioned above, the interesting point I feel I'm at is with respect to those styles close to hard-bop that I initially wasn't keen on...I don't want to dismiss them entirely. Though what I own and listen to that is considered hard-bop, or close to it, is very limited and I can go way further down that rabbit hole in terms of buying records and CDs. And then a part of me says "just play the 50 or so albums you have and get to know the better". Interesting? Confusing? Not sure but in either case it's a good thing as I love listening to music so it's not like I've tapped the whole catalogue and want to move on.
I LOVE Blue Note in the '50s & '60s, but it's not all 'hard bop' and even when it is there's a fair bit of range within that rubric. And while BN did good work documenting that scene, there's lots of similar excellence to be had on Prestige and Riverside and other labels no closely associated with 'hard bop'. but it sounds like you're well on your way to finding your own way. Enjoy. One suggestion, since you like Miles' first quintet, you may also like the Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet on Emarcy and (under Rollin's name) on Prestige.
Yeah, that's a good idea. I think a lot of people come full circle or close to it with the various branches of this musical vein that didn't sound great at first but get much better after revisiting later on. Has happened plenty of times with me.
I'm kind of the same way too -- draw more away from fusions in my older age -- but man, that album knocked me out. I think one thing I'm draw to is the idiosyncratic and distinctively individual, and Origami Harvest is nothing if not that.
I listened to the CD version of the A&M LP last night; while it was enjoyable to hear Desmond with guitar/bass/drums, I think I'll track down the Telarc companion CD to this album for now...
I really dug the A&M material and that is what propelled me to get the Mosaic set. . . and man the sound is so much richer on the Mosaic! I'm glad I got it.
Cool. My gut tells me to stay away from that one. . . and my gut has been pretty right lately so. . . .
I have that cd as well which along with the Artist House album and the above A&M lp I feel like I have enough of that music. Did you mean purchasing the Telarc instead of the Mosaic?
Another from my pile of recent AP 45s, Sonny Rollins's Volume 2. Man, I was extolling the virtues of the Hall of Fame lineup on Paul Chambers's Whims, but this one has Jay Jay Johnson, Sonny, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Mr. P.C. and Monk! Outstanding stuff!
I did mean purchasing the Telarc CD instead of the Mosaic set...I could see purchasing a 3 or 4 CD set of this material, but I'd rather explore Ed Bickert's catalog for the expense of a 7 CD set instead...
Out of curiosity, do you like Makaya McCraven's Universal Beings and Vijay Iyer's In What Language? (assuming you've heard both)
Call and Response post A lot of times I feel like replying to a post with an album or a track. No words. It can be in the same line as the post I'm replying to or a kind of a challenge, a change of direction. I'm calling those posts: Call and Response. So, @chervokas I agree with you: "Subterfuge" is sensational. And if we were in the same room I would go to the turntable and play: Contemplation, from The Real Mccoy, Mccoy Tyner. That was the track that came to mind with Subterfuge.
Your interest in jazz will probably grow over time as it has with most of us here so be prepared for that change. There was a time when I wasn't interested in something like Paul Desmond's music or Jim Hall for two examples. They seemed too mellow or less exciting to me. Now I am a huge fan of Desmond and I own and appreciate several Jim Hall titles. I'm still not a big fan of large group ensembles though I've found some I really like. Ditto jazz singers and pre-bebop jazz. You've got a lot of listening to do and I'm confident you'll discover artists you never knew existed as I did and your favorites might even change over time as some of mine have.
NP Sonny Criss - Portrait Of Sonny Criss (Prestige) Japanese 20bit K2 mastering from the '90s. Really nice quartet recording with Walter Davis (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Alan Dawson (d).
Jackie Gleason – Jackie Gleason Presents The Torch With The Blue Flame Label: Capitol Records – W 961 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono Country: US Released: 1958