Today's Listening

There have been no posts for a while due to the business of school starting and other life changing issues which stole my concentration away. Yesterday I was glad to find out that a new Bill Evans double CD had been released, The SESJUN Radio Shows, comprising two different trios and a fantastic duo session with bassist Eddie Gomez. The duo session is particularly valuable, as we get to hear Eddie's real bass sound, no pick up and no amp. The synchronicity between Bill and Eddie on these tracks is astounding, and even though as improvisers they have very different approaches, the power of their interplay is unmistakeable. Drummer Eliot Zigmund is added for a session a few years later, and although his playing is competent and complimentary, I much prefer the later trio with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera, heard to advantage on the second of the two CDs. Finally we get to hear a well recorded, detailed presentation of this trio. The performance of My Romance includes fantastic brush work from LaBarbera and time shifts each chorus in the trades between Marc and Joe. Bill sounds challenged by these shifts, and his reaction to what LaBarbera is playing makes for inspired listening. Also of note is a fantastic extended version of  Nardis. 

       Then as if we don't have enough to contend with, there are tracks with special guest Toots Thielemans on harmonica and an inspired and beautiful Blue and Green. The sublime accompaniment and duo work between Evans and Thielemans on Days of Wine and Roses is way more inventive and swinging than the famous version on Affinity.

My Romance

Time Remembered

This CD is uneven, but when it's good, it's really good. Vocalist Carmen McRae teams up with Shirley Horn, who mostly sticks to piano accompaniment on this one, along with her trio, noted for their ability to play exceedingly slow tempos with an elastic appreciation of the tempo. Carmen's tribute to Sarah Vaughan has her breathing new life into well worn favorites, which she has no problem doing. Unfortunately, the recording is coated over with reverb, too much reverb, and not the greatest quality reverb either. It would be really nice to hear a remix of this almost dry so we could hear the detail and depth from the trio. I'm also not sure Send in the Clowns would have been my first choice for these two, but somehow Carmen's stretching of the melody and innovative phrasing coupled with Shirley's fantastic sense of space and nuance transcends the material. And rightly so, for this is exactly what Sarah Vaughan did with much of the material that was foisted on her on her EmArcy recordings; no matter what crap she was given to record, she always performed flawlessly and extracted some kind of new life from the selections.

Send In The Clowns

JazzView

Way back around 1994 or 1995, I got it in my head that I should try to interview some of the best Canadian jazz musicians that I could get to talk to me. I was interested in exploring the idea of a Canadian jazz identity or style, and I thought if I asked a bunch of seriously talented practitioners, it might help me settle the matter in my own mind. The result was "JazzView" which lived on the Internet for quite a while. I've resurrected these interviews, because every once in a while, somebody expresses interest in reading them. They exist in a primitive state at the National Library Electronic Archives, but I thought I would clean up the HTML and make sure all the links work properly. I have three interviews which have never been published, including one with my hero Jerry Fuller, who died a few months after we talked. I intend to publish those interviews soon, but in the meantime, here are the five that I was able to realize.

jazzview

Today's Listening

Cannonball Adderley "Portrait of Cannonball"

This 1958 session, notable mostly for its spirited version of Gigi Gryce's Minority and debut recording of Miles Davis' Nardis, features a band made up of Adderley with Blue Mitchell, Bill Evans, Sam Jones, and Philly Joe Jones. Minority is presented three times, the chosen take being an amalgam of takes 2 and 3. Although you can hear why this choice was made, the edit in the "supertake" is not clean at all, and the supposed lesser solo by Cannonball is actually quite good. Everybody seems to be having their problems running through Gigi Gryce's minefield. The trades with Philly Joe are fantastic on both takes; no shortage of ideas, and you can even hear how quickly he recovers from dropping a stick on take 3. Bill Evans has a way of dealing with faster tempos by not playing too many consecutive 8th notes and initiating groups of asymmetric rhythmic phrases. Nardis is treated with kid gloves by mostly everyone in the first take except for Evans, who seems to innately understand the possibilities of the tune. 

Duke Ellington "Latin American Suite"

My friend trumpeter Kevin Dean tells me, "Whenever I feel myself getting depressed, I put on some Duke Ellington, and it always makes me happier." I agree wholeheartedly, and to me this recording is one of Duke's best towards the end of an unbelievably prolific and varied output. These selections are full of little kernels of musical wisdom and impeccable taste. Oclupaca allows us to enjoy Duke's amazing piano effects and Paul Gonsalves' earthy sound while creating a truly Latin-American hybrid. Chico Cuadradino is another perfect example of Ellington's innovative ability to enhance the blues in all kinds of interesting backgrounds and alternate structures. His piano is prominent throughout, acting as a magical guide and musical instigator. Duke's piano mastery is really in evidence on The Sleeping Lady and the Giant Who Watches Over Her. In his gorgeous intro, you can hear something vibrating on the piano strings occasionally, probably a microphone. This distraction seems to even enhance the dramatic effect of Duke's piano work, and his solo coda at the end of the piece is seriously deep. The recording suffers from some distortion at times, but the stereo panning really helps the music reach the listener.

Tal Farlow "Early Tal"

I was lucky enough to see Tal Farlow in Montreal during the early 80's. There were about twenty people in Ivan's Jazz Bar and some of them had no idea who Tal was or why he was there. But I did, mostly because of all my guitar playing friends who spoke in reverential tones about his advanced harmonic approach and unusual technique. He seemed to be an extremely affable character, who really enjoyed nothing more than playing the guitar with other good musicians. These recordings from the early fifties highlight Tal in his prime and should be studied by all jazz musicians who appreciate individualism and musical courage. Amazingly enough, one of the sessions features Gigi Gryce on flute and alto sax, and a few of his compositions as well. In addition, pianist Horace Silver and trumpeter Howard McGhee contribute some fantastic work. There seems to be no problem at all with Farlow and Silver comping, and both fulfill well defined ensemble roles as well as contributing memorable solos. Gryce's Futurity, based on There'll Never Be Another You, and the highly original Shabozz, are compelling examples of his advanced compositional prowess.

Blast From The Past

Here are some tunes from a recording of a rehearsal band I played in with saxophonist Al McLean and bassist Brian Hurley. We recorded at engineer Paul Johnston's basement studio on November 11 2002. All of the compositions are by McLean.

1) Post Haste

2) Jesther

3) Los Finos

Today's Listening

Milt Buckner Rockin' With Milt

This is one of those records that makes you happy as you listen; it swings hard from the first note to the last. Buckner's famous "locked-hands" style is in powerful form here at the organ and his accompanists, bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Sam Woodyard, provide the rhythmic propulsion they were famous for in Duke Ellington's band. Woodyard even manages to make brushes kick with the organ, no small feat. The saxophones are played by Danny Turner, an underrated but expressive Sonny Stitt influenced improviser. 

Kenny Wheeler & John Taylor "Where Do We Go From Here?"

Everything is perfect on this CD; the playing, the recording, the choice of material. These two gentleman have a long musical association and their mutual wisdom, courage, and humility is all available to the listener to enjoy and treasure. What's really obvious is how individual and innovative their approaches are to playing jazz, and how their styles reflect many traditional elements without ever interfering with their own unique approaches. Each musician has transcended his instrument through a pronounced and deeply intuitive sense of time and harmony.

Today's Listening

Jimmy Heath "Picture of Heath"

A solid session from 1976 featuring Heath with pianist Barry Harris, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Billy Higgins. The improvising is inspired from Heath on both tenor and soprano saxophone; he seems to be the only musician besides Lucky Thompson who makes bebop sound good on soprano. A wonderful example of this is the version of Body and Soul. Harris' playing is filled with subtle humor and his uniquely swinging 8th note feel, and even though the recording presentation is what I refer to as "basic" the music speaks clearly to the listener.

Tomasz Stanko "Litania"

I found this recent ECM release due to my fascination with drummer Jon Christensen. The program is a reworking of the film music of Krzystof Komeda, most of which I must admit i was unfamiliar with. Just listening to the way Christensen handles the first tune, how he uses the brushes, how he treats the time, and then where and when he switches to sticks, provides a perfect example of why he is so universally admired by musicians everywhere. The recording is by Jan-Erik Kongschaug, who is mostly responsible for what everyone refers to as the "ECM sound." The other musicians on this CD include Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson and Palle Danielsson with a front line of Stanko on trumpet, Bernt Rosengren and Joakim Milder on saxes. 

Zoot Sims "and the Gershwin Brothers"

Zoot Sims is surrounded here by some Norman Granz Pablo regulars, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, interpreting a program of some of the most famous Gershwin compositions. What I noticed first and really appreciated was the way Pass and Peterson comped together behind Sims and never get in his way, or in each other's. They both contrast well with Sims' improvising as well, as his soloing is mostly very lyrical and expressive, while the pianist and guitarist dish out clean lines and pointed rhythms. The audio quality is like a lot of the other Pablo 80's recordings, clean, not too processed, but not necessarily natural either. If you listen to Sim's bossa nova recordings on Colpix and compare his sound on those with this CD, you might ask yourself what went wrong.

What I've Listened To Today

 New Gary Burton Quartet "Common Ground"

This recent offering from Gary Burton is an excellent combination of old and new musical forces. Guitarist Julian Lage turns in several tasteful solos, and drummer Antonio Sanchez never overuses his abundant technique. His accompaniment is both extremely imaginative and compelling. Burton is the master whose consistent lyricism combines with an advanced rhythmic approach to transcend his instrument, and his recent and vintage compositions on this CD provide fertile common ground indeed. Finally, this recording has a distinctly organic sound to it, without the slickness of some of Burton's GRP offerings. The guitar sounds partly acoustic and electric, the bass is rich in texture and warm throughout, and the detail in Sanchez' playing is clear at all dynamics.

Charles Tolliver "New Tolliver"

This live quartet recording really has two stars. trumpeter Tolliver, whose fiery and angular solos show how strong and powerful his playing was in 1977, and drummer Alvin Queen, whose relentless energy and copious imagination is vibrantly displayed in every tempo and rhythmic groove he provides. Even though it's a live recording and the mix varies from track to track, the instruments have an immediate presence and energy that makes for exciting listening. A couple of the tunes seem long, but there is enough variety in the solos to allow one to hang on.

Johnny Scott "From Now On"

This gem from the past is the first collaboration between vocalist Scott and Montreal pianist Geoff Lapp, a musical relationship that developed for years on a steady gig at "Biddles." The band here contained some of Montreals' best jazz players at the time; saxophonist Janis Steprans, bassist Ron Seguin and drummer Camil Belisle. The arrangements by Lapp of mostly standards are simple yet effective, and even though the audio quality of this CD is generally poor, there is no denying the richness and power of Scott's vocals, and Geoff Lapp's unique and complimentary piano accompaniment and soloing.

What I've Listened To Today

Blue Mitchell "Collision in Black"

As much as I love Blue Mitchell, this recording doesn't present his best work. He still exhibits his impeccable taste and sound, and there are other aspects of the project that make it historically interesting, but that's about it.

Various Artists "Sunset Swing"

A fantastic assortment of small group "prebop" recordings featuring some of the best known advanced swing players of the time. The transfer quality is excellent and everything swings like crazy!

Count Basie and Joe Williams "Memories Ad Lib"

The amazing thing about this recording is that the first track has a guitar solo by Freddie Green. It's almost inaudible since he's playing an acoustic guitar, but it may be the only example of his soloing on record. The other outstanding aspect is Count Basie's minimalistic organ accompaniment, which fits perfectly with Joe William's amazingly rich vocals and Green's metronomic rhythm guitar.

Web Design

After days and days of sweating through tremendous frustration and tedium, I finally got it together enough to put together some web pages. Check again soon for the magic URL!

what i see

drum photo

Here's a picture of me drumming by my friend Hendrick Hassert.

I'm working feverishly on my CD release plans, updating my CD Baby pages and getting my blog/web page presence started.