Jaki Byard and The Apollo Stompers: Phantasies Jaki Byard - piano and conductor; Roger Parrot, Al Bryant, John Eckhert, and Jim White – trumpet; Steve Wienberg, Steve Swell, Carl Reinlib, and Bob Norden – trombone; Stephen Calia – bass trombone; Bob Torrente and Manny Boyd – alto sax; Jed Levy and Al Givens – tenor sax; Preston Trombly – baritone sax; Dan Licht – guitar; Ralph Hamperian – bass; Richard Allen – drums; Denyce Byard and Diane Byard – vocals and tambourine. Recorded 1984 in NYC and released 1985 on the Italian Soul Note label.
Here’s a review of Ahmad Jamal’s Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse that were issued by Zev Feldman’s new label, Jazz Detective. The vinyl was issued on RSD and the CDs will be issued this Friday. Ahmad Jamal: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1964/1965-1966 (Jazz Detective)
May I suggest you try For The Love Of Fire And Water by Myra Melford's Fire And Water Quintet ? It includes Melford of course with Halvorson and Reid among others. My choice for album of the year AFAIC.
Exactly. I understand his POV. I mean he's a child of the '70s and '80s. If you looked at the jazzfest circuit of the time and the generation he's talking about, those four were the big piano headliners of the time. And you do hear their influence (as well as the influence of earlier pianists like Bill Evans) among a lot of pianists since (especially Jarrett's). The other big one probably would have been Cecil Taylor, but he was almost 10 years older than Tyner and 16 years older than Jarrett, kind of of an earlier generation maybe. I think the influence and impact of Taylor, then and now, and more slowly over time, Paul Bley (who is mentioned by Iverson), has been equally (or maybe in Taylor's case, more) substantial on later generations of post '50s jazz pianists. I'm talking strictly about pianists in their capacity as pianists, not leaders, composers or whatever. Where he loses me is is when he starts evaluating them on the basis of his impression of their "true command of the true jazz language." Now, I'm actually sympathetic to the idea I think he's trying to express when he writes that jazz is "a repertoire, including what gets played in the solos." There IS a tradition, and a lingua franca, a shared vocabulary and history that shapes and informs subsequent developments in the genre. And the very existence and use in some form of that shared language and repertoire (not just of material but of modes of playing) makes jazz music jazz, as opposed to some other kind of music. That's kind of the way it works with musical styles and forms. But when we start talking about "the true jazz language," we're in the ossifying territory of the faith-based and the exclusionary (I mean, there can only be one "true jazz language" right?). And when we try to evaluate someone's "true command" of that one true language, it puts us in the position of listening not for what's unique, original, personal, new and different, but what kind of formal conventions are conserved and referenced and explicitly put on display clearly and unequivocally. Jazz history is nothing if not the story of new creators coming along and being accused of not adhering to or having "true command" of "the true jazz language," until they jazz speak their dialect, eventually.
I love that Tomeka Reid band, though I must say I like their second set better than I like the debut. For Halvorson, I'd suggest her Firehouse 12 trio album, Dragon's Head, the first Firehouse 12 quintet album, Saturn Sings, and the octet album Away With You. At least those are my favorites. I really like the new album with the string quartet too, Belladonna.
I'd be lying to say that "something" didn't occur to me as well, but without evidence, I'm disinclined to form a belief on the matter. Maybe..? On another note... is there anything essential outside of the Complete Verve Mosaic box?
Not bad for the $7 I paid. I think it is also one of the budget titles (I have a few of these) with RVG etched in tiny letters in the dead wax.
She did some great work with Gene Krupa in the 'forties before the Verve years. There is a Columbia cd that is nice, I have this as the first volume under her name on the French label "Masters of Jazz."
Yeah ive tried them all….I like Saturn Sings the best so far but prefer the Tomeka and i prefer this one to her second one. What can i say , one likes what one likes , though that is subject to change of course.
The word "essential" is fraught with debate as much as the word "best", so I hesitate to be specific. Anita O'Day performed at a very high level until she was nearly 80. Her Verve years ended by age 45. Many of her later recordings, which she or her drummer independently produced (or shared production with Japanese producers), were live dates, primarily to save recording studio costs. My first suggestion might be to try a few of the sessions produced in recording studios. Several LPs derived from 1975 sessions (Anita 1975 and My Ship) are good examples. For fun, you can get an autographed album. Anita signed so many albums. She signed maybe 30 of my albums over the years. She would often ask the fans to tell her something about themselves and personalize the autograph. One of my favorites is when she signed one album "The password is "I Love You"! - Anita O'Day"
Sonny Rollins was the friendliest man alive. Not even debatable. Here is an album that he signed as a Christmas gift for a cashier at his local A&P Supermarket just a few weeks after JFK was assassinated. I like the fact that he signed his name the way a school child would write his name. First name and last initial only. It was his very latest release at the time. This may be the very store in Brooklyn. I worked in one of these stores when I was 17. I gave discounts to all the old ladies. They always came to my register.
I have just received this from the postman. I have to say the cover art is not that inspiring, but it is mastered by Bernie Grundman, this should provide a great listening experience.
WES MONTGOMERY IN PARIS THE DEFINITIVE ORTF RECORDING (Resonance) 2CD Bass – Arthur Harper / Drums – Jimmy Lovelace / Guitar – Wes Montgomery / Piano – Harold Mabern *Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin (on disc 2 - 3 tracks only) Previously issued on many other labels but this edition this is the first official release of Wes Montgomery's one and only concert in Paris, France on March 27, 1965 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. It's always good to hear some Wes Montgomery. The sound quality is on this double is near enough perfect. The discs are presented in six-panel digipak with 32-page booklet. Playing time - Disc One 44:12 | Disc Two 58:15
This one which I like a lot has Tomeka and Mary on it and a whole heap of others. Alto Saxophone – Greg Ward Bass – Joshua Abrams Cello – Tomeka Reid Cornet – Taylor Ho Bynum Drums – Tomas Fujiwara Drums, Electronics, Composed By, Arranged By – Mike Reed Electronics – Nick Butcher (tracks: 1, 4) Guitar – Mary Halvorson Tenor Saxophone – Ingrid Laubrock Vibraphone, Composed By, Arranged By – Jason Adasiewicz
Purity and authenticity are a big deal among some musicians and listeners. I'm with Cage when he said it wasn't new ideas that scared him, it was old ones. Threadgill describes himself as a renegade, a native who has gone in the opposite direction of the tribe.
So is Iverson a pianist who thinks he's a critic or a critic who thinks he's a pianist? And is he actually all that good at either? Have to admit I read him more than listen to him. And have gone seriously off of both.
And Iverson has always struck me as one of those guys who gets ahold of a halfway decent idea and them destroys it by trying to put too much weight on it. Both in his writing and his playing.
Critics often feel their job is to be critical. The harsher the better, in their minds. The elite critics are those that are cute and clever in their harshness. Their mean-spiritedness has a style.
I've always likes his blog very much and his interviews as well, even though I don't always agree with him. I find him thoughtful as articulate in his essays. This was more like dashed off twitter thoughts and not that carefully or thoroughly expressed.
