scott's occasional swinging old jazz thread (moldy figs to 1980)

Really nice overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC2cAIUhbE8

I wasn't familiar with Gene Shaw (only three records as leader and three with Charles Mingus) but this pseudo Sketches of Spain meets bossa/exotica record is exactly what I'm into right now.

Arranger Richard Evans went on to helm The Soulful Strings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7zYpLkXJzk

Beverly's new to me, thanks! You might dig another recent discovery:

Carol Sloane, whose voice immediately grabbed via in her early 60s tracks, then gradually changed a bit with age, while continuing the same stylistic flight path, fast and slow, into a live set rec. 2019---she died this January, in her mid-80s---as heard in this doc from the ever-handy, frequently revelatory Afterglow:https://indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow/the-song-styling-of-carol-sloane.php

These guys! Not big eyes over the mic, just for you---na, they may be watching the clock, between shifts, fairly plain voices in several cases, but they know every note and what it's made of---in most cases, although I'm still not that into Chet Baker, and maybe a couple others, but mostly, this is pretty refreshing:

On this episode of Afterglow, I'm highlighting some jazz musicians who made their living playing horn, piano, or drums, but who could also sing when the occasion called for it. It's a look at jazz's part-time, unlikely singers, including trumpeter Chet Baker, drummer Buddy Rich, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Oscar Peterson, clarinetist Benny Goodman, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, guitarist Kenny Burrell, saxophonist Tex Beneke, clarinetist Woody Herman, and trumpeter Clark Terry.

Been going through a bunch of Adderley records after someone (sorry can't remember who) posted 'Electric Eel' from "You, Baby" in a recent thread.

Nat Adderley - You, Baby (CTI '68) - such a cool record. Just texturally it sounds very intimate, and his electronic cornet setup almost sounds like a breathy flute at times. Grady Tate's feel on these tracks is incredible, so laid back.

Nat Adderley - Calling Out Loud (CTI '69) - more conventional than You, Baby but still super solid and enjoyable. Idris Muhammed on drums. Joe Zawinul on Rhodes is a huge part of the appeal of all these records, I love hearing him in the Adderley zone.

Cannonball Adderley - The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free ('70) - has a very distinct time & place vibe, like all of the Adderley live records. Lots of astrology and sex talk in the banter, lol, but you can tell it's a hot crowd. Lots of guest appearances by Nat Adderley's playing guitar and singing in this intimate & soulful folk style, but it all works somehow.

Cannonball Adderley - In Person - I just can't get enough of the quintet with the Adderley Bros, Zawinul, and Roy McCurdy on drums and this is a great dose. Good banter about Zawinul.

Cannonball Adderley - Country Preacher - the banter and crowd are really evocative on this one too, it's possible he made the best live albums of all time? This one is full soul jazz/funk mode, maybe the closest in vibe to the Mercy, Mercy, Mercy record. Great tambourine and crowd handclaps. Roy McCurdy is super underrated, he kills it on all these records, in every style.

Looking forward to going through the '70s records when George Duke replaces Zawinul.

that would've been me!

he's also on sam jones's "the soul society" (1960), which i was listening to earlier this morning. fast becoming one of my very favorite jazz records. it definitely scratches a kind of funk / hard bop itch, but it's much more than that. sam jones killing all over the record on double bass and cello.

i love this so much. so funny. someone should teach a class on this paragraph.

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/355117444_10161289158532137_5911693065179377795_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=TV69rAQPU5cAX9wLLEZ&_nc_ht=scontent-bos5-1.xx&oh=00_AfD5OJlKj7fwN2IFPpzqg6mdZ0XP9stS8SbDPN98ESVdCQ&oe=6496A376

haha, that's a+ material

Our little Donald, he's part of the younger generation, you know.

this might be interesting to someone other than me. i made a playlist of 200 interviews with jazz musicians.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE1-7P1reTFjNq4XVFWjPJiymJ7--IBJP

Discovered this through one of the Richard Davis remembrances, apparently he said this David Young record was one of his favorite recordings that he had done (I wonder if it's because the bass is super present in the mix, lol). But it has Sonny Fortune, Harold Mabern, and Idris Muhammad on it. Sounds extremely '70s (recorded in '71).

https://david-young.bandcamp.com/album/david-young

Check out the sax solo on "Friday the Fourteenth" that keeps dipping back and forth between hard swinging and free moments, that's really something.

i see its on my discogs wantlist. probably for richard davis. though i like all those guys. my dad loves harold mabern. he used to take me to see harold and harold's boyhood pal george coleman a lot when i was a kid. my dad worships george coleman.

George Coleman is still going strong! Amazing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClJmhumJPNB/

thanks for the DY link. love this line from the bandcamp copy:

Despite his talent, he had one album he recorded as a lead which was released on mainstream Records.

ouch!

Obsessed with Jakob Bro's records with Lee Konitz...Balladeering (w/Bill Frisell and Paul Motian), Time (different bassist and no drums), and December Song (Craig Taborn on piano). Incredible autumn music.

Best jazz vocal I've heard in a while---lots of folks have the chops and spirit, but there's a world in here, for now:
Kate Kortum - Dreamsville

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btQNuSQZxWM

Jakob Bro is indeed fantastic, have had the pleasure of seeing him quite a few times, once with Lee Konitz!

his first three ECM albums also great

did you catch Music for Black Pigeons? wonderful footage

Pulling up Michael Brecker - Time Is Of the Essence this morning. I'm not a huge Brecker fan but this is sounding great...the drum chair is either Elvin (!), "Tain" Watts, or Bill Stewart and it's a good exercise in comparison (they all sound amazing). Larry Goldings on organ, no bass player.

And "good Metheny records" is a topic that's come up on a few threads recently, and this might be one of the best. His solo on "Half Past Late" is ridiculous.

I never really think about The Brecker Brothers as music for me, lumping them in with stuff like The Yellowjackets, but I heard this cut on the radio the other night that was beefy enough and had enough twists for me to take notice. Guitarist is great, Barry Finnerty, who I don't know but research shows me has played on a ton of records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcPJ8Wop5o

Is 'Work Song' on Live in Tokyo widely accepted as the definitive version? If not, it should be, killer band and much better than the studio version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88M5gwgGPI

can't listen now but will listen later. such a great lineup. i've been so high on nat adderley records for awhile now. he made so much good stuff and i kinda didn't pay attention to them. better late than never. cannonball rules so hard. what a mind.

That's a great album. I just got two live Cannonball albums that will be coming out on Record Store Day — one is from 1969, with almost that same lineup, and the other is from 1972, when George Duke was in the band.

Forgot to mention that I heard the Tokyo recording on some cd comp I had in high school (maybe a Rhino Records thing? I remember a yellow cover). I've never had the full set but it was a great cd-era discovery.

Would love to hear those RSD records.

you can read every issue of nat hentoff's jazz review here. i know i did. i like that he had artists write reviews. one of these days i will find a complete run in real life. i could buy them one at a time when they pop up on ebay but i always forget about ebay.

https://www.jazzstudiesonline.org/content/jazz-review

Wow, thank you, that's fascinating. The first one I clicked on (Feb '59) has a pre-Coltrane article about Elvin Jones, written by a European sax was playing with him in J.J. Johnson's group, that's comes very close to speculatively describing the invention of the Coltrane Quartet. Or rather, it correctly recognizes everything Elvin is already doing (the power, flowing across the bar lines without giving the soloist easy signposts) but that eventually he'll probably have to simplify his style.

"...I have often had the same trouble with Elvin...the tension would build to a point where I had trouble finishing my choruses, and I would begin trembling with internal excitement, but completely unable to tell where we were any longer...that is obviously a situation to be avoided."

...until you find a group other musicians who always know where 1 is and can maintain the tension indefinitely. Now I wanna listen to a bunch of early Elvin.

oh wow the very first issue has the (in)famous Gunther Schuller article about Sonny Rollins.

The reviews are hilarious too:

Relaxin' (with the Miles Davis Quintet) and Musings neither disappoint nor do they set the world on fire. Both call for no excess wordage on the part of a reviewer; they should be enjoyed and not analytically picked apart. I enjoyed them. —Mimi Clar

His (Coltrane's) solo on Giant Steps particularly shows a rhythmic stiffness and melodic tameness. He does not construct any real line with the arpeggios.

--H.A. Woodfin

I didn't know this album -- These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly. It's sick, Richard Davis is going hard (and really keeping tracks like Goodnight Irene from being too straight), the late Tootie Heath on drums & tambourine, Cedar Walton, and amazing vocals by Sandra Douglas on a couple tracks.

Damn, this version of Black Girl (aka Where Did You Sleep Last Night)

Way better than the title suggests, great album

the title makes it sound awesome in my opinion! lol. checking it out now

but then i have a lot of time for Clifford Jordan

I can't find anything about Sandra Douglas besides this album, which she steals.

it seems like you're not the first one to wonder

i've pulled this album out more than once this year. pepper adams and curtis fuller together is such a beautiful pairing. i love them both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyQVtVH-dYQ

Damn, this version of Black Girl (aka Where Did You Sleep Last Night)

Damn indeed so good

that Clifford Jordan record got me wondering what other jazz albums of the era had folk revival themes ... this one, "Jazz Impressions of Folk Music," is not terrible, but sounds more like "The Harold Land Quintet Plays The Kingston Trio":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvV73nA1-gg

both albums have versions of "Take This Hammer" and Land's really suffers by comparison ... "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and lol "On Top of Old Smokey" sound better, but "Hava Nagila" sent me running to Dick Dale

fairly undistinguished and uninspired bop, but like every 1963 jazz album I've ever heard, beautifully played and recorded

hey it's the first sunday afternoon of june this year! if you need a fitting soundtrack, i recommend this trio session led by ray brown. absolutely nothing showy or explosive happens, but i can't help wanting to put it on again after every listen.

I don’t know of any bad records with Cedar Walton playing on them so I’ma check this out.

will check Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly, thanks. Reminds me: you might dig

Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan ‎– Goin' Home (1977) [1985 edition]
Tracklist:
01 Goin' Home 0:00
02 Nobody Knows The Troubles I've Seen 6:11
03 Go Down Moses 10:54
04 Steal Away To Jesus 15:15
05 Deep River 21:29
06 My Lord What A Morning 26:20
07 Amazing Grace 31:01
08 Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child 35:23
09 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 40:44
10 Come Sunday 43:27

Also Shepp & Parlan's Trouble In Mind"

Back Water Blues
Trouble in Mind
Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out Careless Love
Careless Love
How Long Blues
Blues In Third
When Things Go Wrong
Goin' Down Slow
Courthouse Blues
See See Rider
Make Me A Pallet On The Floor
St James Infirmary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHSdXgwwmfk

They also did a third one, Reunion, which I haven't heard.

Listened to a long Pablo Held podcast with Joe Lovano, who has by now had a long & respectable career of playing with everyone, but his playing always kind of washes over me and I've never felt any kind of way about his records. I went back and listened to -

Trio Fascination ('97), which was worth it just because it has Elvin Jones (and Dave Holland). There's some great Elvin but I'll take Bill Frisell's trio with both of them any day.

Scolohofo - I remember liking this (Scofield/Lovano/Holland/Al Foster), and still do, but mostly for everyone else.

And I dipped into a bunch of stuff that wasn't doing much for me. But I know the trio with Frisell & Paul Motian was a big deal, and the recent Jakob Bro & Lovano tribute to Paul Motian is fantastic (honestly the first time I was really blown away by Lovano).

But the big revelation is this McCoy Tyner record 'Quartet', a live record with Jeff "Tain" Watts, Lovano, and Christian McBride that's not on streaming services aside from youtube as far as I can tell. The rhythm section really lays it down, it's heavy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcNuOdW4Z9o

John Scofield’s “Meant to Be” with Joe Lovano is a good record. Some of it is like Ornette’s more bluesy tunes.

I need to listen to that, I started with 'Hand Jive' and can't really hang with the '80s albums. But his early Blue Note albums fall into a gap for me (also learned that Sco's previous album was supposed to feature Wayne Shorter, who couldn't do the date and so Lovano stepped in).

Seeing 'young' (middle-aged) Scofield freaks me out, he's one of those guys who was meant to be a spritely old man.

Ok "Meant to Be" rules, vintage Bill Stewart. Everyone sounds great. And I thought I didn't like Marc Johnson's bass sound for some reason but he sounds heavy here (maybe just a casualty of '80s jazz recording on the stuff he's most well-known for).