33 posts tagged “jazz”
It's Herbie Hancock and Tony
WIlliams with Ira Coleman supporting. I should not have to explain why
this is worth listening to and watching.
Scott Colley
Initial Wisdom
2002 Palmetto
I picked this up from a cutout bin for 4.95, and rarely listened to it for a long while. Tonight though, it is a very good listen indeed. I think I finally understand why people dig Bill Stewart's drumming, and Adam Rogers has not sounded this good since his days with Lost Tribe. Ravi Coltrane continues tio impress me, and he does a solid job falling into the mix here. Colley himself has a very dry but full sound, and he does the task of anchorman and leader with an eye towards building a cohesive sound.
This is a tidy, tasty, collection of good tracks (his originals are decent, and his covers of cuts by Miles and Ornette are admirable). It's not groundbreaking, but it is inherently listenable without lacking bite.
Initial Wisdom
2002 Palmetto
I picked this up from a cutout bin for 4.95, and rarely listened to it for a long while. Tonight though, it is a very good listen indeed. I think I finally understand why people dig Bill Stewart's drumming, and Adam Rogers has not sounded this good since his days with Lost Tribe. Ravi Coltrane continues tio impress me, and he does a solid job falling into the mix here. Colley himself has a very dry but full sound, and he does the task of anchorman and leader with an eye towards building a cohesive sound.
This is a tidy, tasty, collection of good tracks (his originals are decent, and his covers of cuts by Miles and Ornette are admirable). It's not groundbreaking, but it is inherently listenable without lacking bite.
Wayne Horvitz
This New Generation
1986
In what appears to be a re-release of much of Dinner at Eight (1985) with some extra tracks.
So this starts with a short bit that sounds (like many of th synthesized drum parts) as very inspired by Steve Reich. It is a good beginning, and most of this album avoids a lot of 80s dweeby trappings. Sometimes though, as in the koto and new wave analog synth boredom of True, or the minimalist sax-in-the-city of Extra Extra it falters. Horvitz is better when he veers closer to aggressive and uptempo weirdness, as is the case of the subterranean tweak-out of Conjunction for C.B. and especially 3 Questions. These Hard Times reminds me of some kind of alternate reality backing track for something on SOLAR records. At heart this is avant-noisy jazz of the NYC downtown variety as it was emerging during the period.
The best part of this for me is Bill Frisell six-stringery on Gravity Falls, the garish noise of Short of Breath, and the aforementioned 3 Questions. And while there is better stuff of the kind out there, this has some good moments worth scoping out.
George Duke
Face the Music
2002 BPM
I always have a lot of mixed perceptions about George Duke. His technical prowess and inherent lyricism musically is clear (he could hold those claims just for his stint with Zappa if he wanted to), and when he wants to make some stunning recordings -weather they be fusion, funk or soulful pop- he certainly can step up. It is tough not to love Brazilian Love Affair, or his live output with Billy Cobham.
But he also has made a rash of half-cocked smooth jazz and pop-bop excursions that become as faceless as mid-range Jeff Lorber (and Lorber is pretty boring most of the time) or watered down fusion as some of his later collaborations with Stanley Clarke bore out. His balladry is often flat out dull.
Face the Music has a little of all of that. When it works, it works pretty well, as it does with opener The Black Messiah Part II, Another Way to Look At It, Let's Roll and the dirty throwback Ten Mile Jog (which makes the three word mantra actually work as a function of its sonority and not due to its total stupidity as a theme at face value), which is over 10 minutes long. It also functions as a great showcase for some over the top playing by his rhythm section of John Roberts (doing his best Dennis Chambers) and the always-extraordinary Christian McBride (doing his best Christian McBride).
In the weaker tracks you have Chillin', which sounds like an incomplete Quincy Jones circa 1989 bed-track. It could have been good, but its only noticeable feature is a few of Dukes piano runs. And while the instrumentals are a better bet overall, the vocal cuts don't do squat.Guess You Are Not the One is one of those horribly dull ballads. Guess its not the song I want to hear George. Close to You is not far behind in terms of snoozy boringness. Creepin' , with its processed vocals and cartoonish vibe, is just a theme song for an after-school Halloween special on TV.
He is still one of the meanest clavinet players, ever. I just felt that needed to be stated, irrespective of anything else.
Face the Music
2002 BPM
I always have a lot of mixed perceptions about George Duke. His technical prowess and inherent lyricism musically is clear (he could hold those claims just for his stint with Zappa if he wanted to), and when he wants to make some stunning recordings -weather they be fusion, funk or soulful pop- he certainly can step up. It is tough not to love Brazilian Love Affair, or his live output with Billy Cobham.
But he also has made a rash of half-cocked smooth jazz and pop-bop excursions that become as faceless as mid-range Jeff Lorber (and Lorber is pretty boring most of the time) or watered down fusion as some of his later collaborations with Stanley Clarke bore out. His balladry is often flat out dull.
Face the Music has a little of all of that. When it works, it works pretty well, as it does with opener The Black Messiah Part II, Another Way to Look At It, Let's Roll and the dirty throwback Ten Mile Jog (which makes the three word mantra actually work as a function of its sonority and not due to its total stupidity as a theme at face value), which is over 10 minutes long. It also functions as a great showcase for some over the top playing by his rhythm section of John Roberts (doing his best Dennis Chambers) and the always-extraordinary Christian McBride (doing his best Christian McBride).
In the weaker tracks you have Chillin', which sounds like an incomplete Quincy Jones circa 1989 bed-track. It could have been good, but its only noticeable feature is a few of Dukes piano runs. And while the instrumentals are a better bet overall, the vocal cuts don't do squat.Guess You Are Not the One is one of those horribly dull ballads. Guess its not the song I want to hear George. Close to You is not far behind in terms of snoozy boringness. Creepin' , with its processed vocals and cartoonish vibe, is just a theme song for an after-school Halloween special on TV.
He is still one of the meanest clavinet players, ever. I just felt that needed to be stated, irrespective of anything else.
Rachel Z
Grace
2006 Chesky Records
I have really liked Rachel Z since first hearing her on the High Life album by Wayne Shorter. All of her early solo albums are some of the best post-bop piano albums of the 1990s, and her contributions to the fusion supergroup Vertu (with Return To Forever beatsection Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) were superb. Even the less muscular work she did with Steps Ahead was pretty good stuff. And yes, she is the keyboardist for the Peter Gabriel Growing Up tours, as seen in one of the 309978972938 DVDs of the tour that Pete put out.
Where she has tended to falter is when she delves closer to the pop/vocal recordings. Her Love Is The Power album was smooth-jazz married to light electronica and the results were without any real character. And while her voice was not distracting, it wasn't engaging either. This album is bipolar; he vocal tracks are just too not-good to ignore to get at the great trio interplay below. Her voice here is too intrusive, but doesn't compel one to do anything except hit the fast forward button to get to the rich and fulfilling instrumental cuts.
But if you find this on sale or in a cut-out bin (as I did) then this might be worth picking up. Her rendition of U2's One is far superior to the original, and is stretched quite a bit. The same could be said for her reworking of Come as You Are by Nirvana and especially Joga by Bjork, although there is a better take done by Greg Osby floating around. In all of those cases, there are no vocals to be found, and you can really get at the strengths of the trio format she prefers to helm.
Here are some of her must get works:
Grace
2006 Chesky Records
I have really liked Rachel Z since first hearing her on the High Life album by Wayne Shorter. All of her early solo albums are some of the best post-bop piano albums of the 1990s, and her contributions to the fusion supergroup Vertu (with Return To Forever beatsection Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) were superb. Even the less muscular work she did with Steps Ahead was pretty good stuff. And yes, she is the keyboardist for the Peter Gabriel Growing Up tours, as seen in one of the 309978972938 DVDs of the tour that Pete put out.
Where she has tended to falter is when she delves closer to the pop/vocal recordings. Her Love Is The Power album was smooth-jazz married to light electronica and the results were without any real character. And while her voice was not distracting, it wasn't engaging either. This album is bipolar; he vocal tracks are just too not-good to ignore to get at the great trio interplay below. Her voice here is too intrusive, but doesn't compel one to do anything except hit the fast forward button to get to the rich and fulfilling instrumental cuts.
But if you find this on sale or in a cut-out bin (as I did) then this might be worth picking up. Her rendition of U2's One is far superior to the original, and is stretched quite a bit. The same could be said for her reworking of Come as You Are by Nirvana and especially Joga by Bjork, although there is a better take done by Greg Osby floating around. In all of those cases, there are no vocals to be found, and you can really get at the strengths of the trio format she prefers to helm.
Here are some of her must get works:
Bobby Hutcherson
Components (1965)
Medina/Spiral (1980)
Blue Note Records
These are the only two releases by Hutcherson that I have on hand (I think I have Dialogue in a box somewhere), and I felt inspired to revisit them after watching the One Night With Blue Note DVD just a few days ago.
Vibraphone gets a bad rap too often. Yes, it is a "pretty" sounding instrument and yes it was often used for cheesy lounge music, but in the right hands it is a great soloing instrument that can exhibit varying characteristics and personality. Hutcherson has a pair of those right hands (although one of them is a left).
Components and Medina both come from his early period on Blue Note, and I like Components only slightly more, because the lineup is so tight and seems to really take to the broad material exceptionally well. How can you go wrong with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Joe Chambers and Freddie Hubbard in tow? That's right, you can't. I think what stands out for me is that it has eight cuts, with half written by Hutcherson and half by Chambers, with the two exhibiting two quite different personalities, but cohering because the musical interplay is so tight. The band plays like an ensemble that has been together for a while (although in the case of Hancock and Carter, this was exactly the case), and deals with the varied material with ease.
Little B's Poem is a breezy sojourn on a Sunday afternoon in the park, and the title cut is uptempo bop with some great sax breaks by James Spaulding (who also provides the chilled out flute parts with aplomb) and West 22nd Street Theme is almost at time like a funny jazz burlesque. The more out side of the proceedings includes the really cinematic Juba Dance, which shows how vibraphone can be used to create a different range of moods than the stereotypical happy jive. Hutcherson searches across the bars for often short, cutting phrases and alternating between damping and sustained notes. About the only track likely to raise some eyebrows is the fairly avant Air.
Medina/Spiral came a few years later, and is in some ways a more consistent, singular sound. The lineup this time still has Chambers in the drum chair, but is pushed along by flautist Harold Land and pianist Stanley Cowell. Hutcherson is still pushing the technical bounds and certainly giving the instrument a new broader character for the period. Several tracks, like Orientale, have these small hints at middle eastern influences, and in that case, a muted joy in Hutcherson's playing. There is also a nice bass bit by Reggie Johnson in there. Visions has a lot of space, and Hutcherson drops these long, sustained, crystalline notes that seem to float away as they are released. Avis shows some of the cascading bunches of notes Hutcherson is capable of doing, but never does it sound as if it lacks purpose. The album as a whole is sophisticated but accessible.
To be honest, it is when Hutcherson either goes more avant-garde or when he goes for broke on the solo tip that one really seems to feel he is in his best element. That when he is pushing the technical and compositional limits of the instrument, it feels the most natural to him playing, and to me listening.
Components (1965)
Medina/Spiral (1980)
Blue Note Records
These are the only two releases by Hutcherson that I have on hand (I think I have Dialogue in a box somewhere), and I felt inspired to revisit them after watching the One Night With Blue Note DVD just a few days ago.
Vibraphone gets a bad rap too often. Yes, it is a "pretty" sounding instrument and yes it was often used for cheesy lounge music, but in the right hands it is a great soloing instrument that can exhibit varying characteristics and personality. Hutcherson has a pair of those right hands (although one of them is a left).
Components and Medina both come from his early period on Blue Note, and I like Components only slightly more, because the lineup is so tight and seems to really take to the broad material exceptionally well. How can you go wrong with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Joe Chambers and Freddie Hubbard in tow? That's right, you can't. I think what stands out for me is that it has eight cuts, with half written by Hutcherson and half by Chambers, with the two exhibiting two quite different personalities, but cohering because the musical interplay is so tight. The band plays like an ensemble that has been together for a while (although in the case of Hancock and Carter, this was exactly the case), and deals with the varied material with ease.
Little B's Poem is a breezy sojourn on a Sunday afternoon in the park, and the title cut is uptempo bop with some great sax breaks by James Spaulding (who also provides the chilled out flute parts with aplomb) and West 22nd Street Theme is almost at time like a funny jazz burlesque. The more out side of the proceedings includes the really cinematic Juba Dance, which shows how vibraphone can be used to create a different range of moods than the stereotypical happy jive. Hutcherson searches across the bars for often short, cutting phrases and alternating between damping and sustained notes. About the only track likely to raise some eyebrows is the fairly avant Air.
Medina/Spiral came a few years later, and is in some ways a more consistent, singular sound. The lineup this time still has Chambers in the drum chair, but is pushed along by flautist Harold Land and pianist Stanley Cowell. Hutcherson is still pushing the technical bounds and certainly giving the instrument a new broader character for the period. Several tracks, like Orientale, have these small hints at middle eastern influences, and in that case, a muted joy in Hutcherson's playing. There is also a nice bass bit by Reggie Johnson in there. Visions has a lot of space, and Hutcherson drops these long, sustained, crystalline notes that seem to float away as they are released. Avis shows some of the cascading bunches of notes Hutcherson is capable of doing, but never does it sound as if it lacks purpose. The album as a whole is sophisticated but accessible.
To be honest, it is when Hutcherson either goes more avant-garde or when he goes for broke on the solo tip that one really seems to feel he is in his best element. That when he is pushing the technical and compositional limits of the instrument, it feels the most natural to him playing, and to me listening.
One Night With Blue Note is a two+ hour document to the 1985 relaunch of the label. It is a sweet trip through some classics and some then new blood, and there isn't a bum note (blue or otherwise) in the set, although the Cecil Taylor solo composition seemed out of place as the only real out performance.
The opening set with the lineup including Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson fire an opening salvo of Hancock's Cantaloupe Island and Henderson's Recorda-me. It gets the party started 32 flavors of right.
Finally seeing the late French piano wizard Michel Petrucciani play was impressive; for someone so afflicted by osteogenesis imperfecta to surmount any potential limitations it might cause is a testament to how much one can love what they do, and he played to that effect.
There was some blistering playing by organist Jimmy Smith (made famous again by the Beastie Boys sampling of Root Down) and several impressive solos by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Everytime I see or hear Hutcherson I think of the time the missus and I went to see him at a listening event for SFJazz and he mentioned that a good night performing was like "finding change in your pocket". His relaxed yet measured style comes off whether he is speaking to 100 people or playing in front of 1000.
The solo piece by McCoy Tyner is a welcome shift, as is the label debut of guitarist Stanley Jordan (who has to be seen to be understood fully). It is easy to write of a Jordan as gimmicky, but his playing --when inspired-- is wholly musical and devoid of artifice. His performance here was one of those, with his sole contribution to the DVD, Jumpin' Jack. The rest of the performers (including Jack DeJohnette, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson and Jackie McLean), are just as solid.
The DVD has some nice album cover (Blue Notes classic art direction is without peer) and a photography section from original label co-founder Francis Wolff.
The opening set with the lineup including Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson fire an opening salvo of Hancock's Cantaloupe Island and Henderson's Recorda-me. It gets the party started 32 flavors of right.
Finally seeing the late French piano wizard Michel Petrucciani play was impressive; for someone so afflicted by osteogenesis imperfecta to surmount any potential limitations it might cause is a testament to how much one can love what they do, and he played to that effect.
There was some blistering playing by organist Jimmy Smith (made famous again by the Beastie Boys sampling of Root Down) and several impressive solos by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Everytime I see or hear Hutcherson I think of the time the missus and I went to see him at a listening event for SFJazz and he mentioned that a good night performing was like "finding change in your pocket". His relaxed yet measured style comes off whether he is speaking to 100 people or playing in front of 1000.
The solo piece by McCoy Tyner is a welcome shift, as is the label debut of guitarist Stanley Jordan (who has to be seen to be understood fully). It is easy to write of a Jordan as gimmicky, but his playing --when inspired-- is wholly musical and devoid of artifice. His performance here was one of those, with his sole contribution to the DVD, Jumpin' Jack. The rest of the performers (including Jack DeJohnette, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson and Jackie McLean), are just as solid.
The DVD has some nice album cover (Blue Notes classic art direction is without peer) and a photography section from original label co-founder Francis Wolff.
I have recently watched a bunch of live Keith Jarrett, both in solo and trio format. What I have come to learn (or confirm what I knew already):
- Jarrett is one of the greatest piano players in any genre
- Jarrett is the first person to remind you of this, and is one of the most self-absorbed people in any place on Earth.
- Jarrett is hard to watch sometimes, as his weird gyrations, and pained facial expressions make it appear he is playing while having an orgasm, a high colonic and a wild chincilla stuck down his shirt.
- His vocalization are still annoying.
- The trio dates with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock are really exceptional
Here we have a jazz vinyl audioblog. Classic, in what looks to be largely out of print and originally vinyl-only.
Make with the clicky-clicky. Cont Basie is waiting.
