Alice Coltrane - Huntington Ashram Monastary (Impulse, 1969)
This was Alice Coltrane's second album for the Impulse and featured Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums in additionto the leader's harp, piano and compositions. Many of the titles and compositions have spiritual themes reflecting the arena of Indian spirituality that she was moving to and would eventually lead her away from public performance for over 20 years in the 1980's and 90's.
The title track leads off the record with some sparkling harp over full bodied bass and light percussion. The harp over percussion has the gentle feeling of water falling softly over a waterfall. "Turiya" also features harp, a rare insturment in jazz, over bass and drums with a soft, peaceful, almost new-age feel. "Paramahansa Lake" gives the harp a little darker sound and ends the first side of the record.
The second side of the record finds the group exploring piano based compositions and improvisations. "Via Sivanandagar" puts Ali back on sticks and as does "IHS" which is a very dark piano piece (the title stands for I Have Suffered) with bowed bass adding to the tension. Alice Coltrane plays the piano in a cascading fashion almost like the harp. "Jaga Jaga Rama" ends the album on another strong note with the full trio of piano, bass and drums. It's too bad there's no organ on this record as well, because I think it's the instrument where she has the most unique style, but nonetheless this is an interesting record and is overdue for a CD version.
Send comments to: Tim
Monday, November 29, 2004
Herbie Hancock - Speak Like a Child (Blue Note, 1966)
This was Hancock's follow up to his much-praised Maiden Voyage LP. He adds trombone, flugelhorn and flute to his trio to flesh out the sound of the compositions a little bit, but they really only seem to serve as bookends to the trio - it's a shame the horns couldn't have been more well integrated into the music and given some solo space as well.
Hancock's "Riot" starts out with a unison statement from the horns and flute and then moves into a graceful trio improvisation. This sets the mold for the remainder of the album, as the horns and flute are used to state the melody and then bow out in favor of the piano, bass and drums. The title track starts with slower tapping drums and mellow horns giving the music something of a light latin feel as Hancock improvises over bass and drums. Horns and flute come back at the end to bookend the composition. "First Trip" ends the first side of the record with some spritely uptempo piano over bass and drums.
"Toys" continues the swing onto the second side with another up-tempo improvisation. "Goodbye to Childhood" breaks up the happy mood a little bit with a melancholy feel befitting the composition's title. The horns and flute state the melody with a darker and more ominous feel, and the composition is much more open and uncluttered. "The Sorcerer" ends the album on a fast note with a speedy trio improvisation. Despite my reservation about the uses of the horns and flute in this record, the music is still very well played and introduced some durable and intersteing compositions. This is definately recomended to fans of 1960's Blue Note recordings or of Herbie Hancock's acoustic performances.
Send comments to: Tim
This was Hancock's follow up to his much-praised Maiden Voyage LP. He adds trombone, flugelhorn and flute to his trio to flesh out the sound of the compositions a little bit, but they really only seem to serve as bookends to the trio - it's a shame the horns couldn't have been more well integrated into the music and given some solo space as well.
Hancock's "Riot" starts out with a unison statement from the horns and flute and then moves into a graceful trio improvisation. This sets the mold for the remainder of the album, as the horns and flute are used to state the melody and then bow out in favor of the piano, bass and drums. The title track starts with slower tapping drums and mellow horns giving the music something of a light latin feel as Hancock improvises over bass and drums. Horns and flute come back at the end to bookend the composition. "First Trip" ends the first side of the record with some spritely uptempo piano over bass and drums.
"Toys" continues the swing onto the second side with another up-tempo improvisation. "Goodbye to Childhood" breaks up the happy mood a little bit with a melancholy feel befitting the composition's title. The horns and flute state the melody with a darker and more ominous feel, and the composition is much more open and uncluttered. "The Sorcerer" ends the album on a fast note with a speedy trio improvisation. Despite my reservation about the uses of the horns and flute in this record, the music is still very well played and introduced some durable and intersteing compositions. This is definately recomended to fans of 1960's Blue Note recordings or of Herbie Hancock's acoustic performances.
Send comments to: Tim
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Bittorrent Bliss
There have been some excellent concerts coming down the bittorrent pike recently. I finally got chance to listen to the Groundtruther concert I downloaded a while back. Unfortunately, Greg Osby isn't on this concert, but Charlie Hunter, Bobby Previte and DJ Logic are in fine form mixing up jazz, electronica and a little hip-hop. There are a few dead spots, but on the whole, this succeeds live much better than you would expect. Hunter gets a more piercing rock/blues tone in this setting too, which is nice. A recent Chris Potter concert finds him in the venerable Bimhaus in Amsterdam with Kevin Hays and Scott Colley. Potter sounds great and as this and his officially released live album Lift show, he's really coming into his own as a bandleader - with this string of successes, I wonder how long he'll stick with Dave Holland's band. I recently downloaded concerts by the Brad Mehldau Trio and Gianluigi Trovesi Octet, which I look forward to listening to. On the non-jazz front, I downloaded a Black Keys concert from yesterday(!) in London. Amazing that a concert can take place halfway around the word and then less than a day later I can be listening to it in suburban wasteland of New Jersey. There's so much available from bittorrenting that it's almost impossible to keep up with the interesting stuff.
Send comments to: Tim
There have been some excellent concerts coming down the bittorrent pike recently. I finally got chance to listen to the Groundtruther concert I downloaded a while back. Unfortunately, Greg Osby isn't on this concert, but Charlie Hunter, Bobby Previte and DJ Logic are in fine form mixing up jazz, electronica and a little hip-hop. There are a few dead spots, but on the whole, this succeeds live much better than you would expect. Hunter gets a more piercing rock/blues tone in this setting too, which is nice. A recent Chris Potter concert finds him in the venerable Bimhaus in Amsterdam with Kevin Hays and Scott Colley. Potter sounds great and as this and his officially released live album Lift show, he's really coming into his own as a bandleader - with this string of successes, I wonder how long he'll stick with Dave Holland's band. I recently downloaded concerts by the Brad Mehldau Trio and Gianluigi Trovesi Octet, which I look forward to listening to. On the non-jazz front, I downloaded a Black Keys concert from yesterday(!) in London. Amazing that a concert can take place halfway around the word and then less than a day later I can be listening to it in suburban wasteland of New Jersey. There's so much available from bittorrenting that it's almost impossible to keep up with the interesting stuff.
Send comments to: Tim
Friday, November 26, 2004
An early holiday present for me today at the Princeton Record Exchange - finding a copy for Alice Coltrane's Huntington Ashram Monastery, a record cut for the Impulse label cut in 1969. I think this is the only AC Impulse record I don't have and I think that justifies the princely sum of $24 that I paid for it. In some ways it's probably good that I've chosen to go into a notoriously low paying profession - $24 is probably the most I could ever pay for a record. Watch - now after the release of Translinear Light, Verve will probably put out a special budget edition of that record for $10... although I doubt it.
Reading some of the Gary Giddins book it's interesting to re-visit his reviews of the JVC jazz festivals in the early to mid 90's. The section of the book covering the 90's is called "The Beige Decade" and this is probably part of the reason. There's an almost numbing uniformity on behalf of the festival producers, piling on tribute after tribute to the noble dead. Ellington and Monk compositions are a cornerstone of jazz, but there's also something to be said for giving younger musicians a chance to show off fresh material. No wonder the festivals are in trouble. It will be interesting to see if he covers the Vision Festival later on in the book and whether or not these meet with his approval.
I've been slumming with ebay a little bit, which is a dangerous way to combat boredom. Somebody was practically giving away Keith Jarrett's entry into the ECM rarum series of best of's and in retrospect I can see why. It's a truly odd collection of solo harmonioum, classical music, errie organ and a few pieces of his European quartet with Jan Garbek and a few pieces from the standards trio. Really strange - I like Jarrett's 70's American quartet with Dewey Redman, so this was a bit of a shock.
Send comments to: Tim
Reading some of the Gary Giddins book it's interesting to re-visit his reviews of the JVC jazz festivals in the early to mid 90's. The section of the book covering the 90's is called "The Beige Decade" and this is probably part of the reason. There's an almost numbing uniformity on behalf of the festival producers, piling on tribute after tribute to the noble dead. Ellington and Monk compositions are a cornerstone of jazz, but there's also something to be said for giving younger musicians a chance to show off fresh material. No wonder the festivals are in trouble. It will be interesting to see if he covers the Vision Festival later on in the book and whether or not these meet with his approval.
I've been slumming with ebay a little bit, which is a dangerous way to combat boredom. Somebody was practically giving away Keith Jarrett's entry into the ECM rarum series of best of's and in retrospect I can see why. It's a truly odd collection of solo harmonioum, classical music, errie organ and a few pieces of his European quartet with Jan Garbek and a few pieces from the standards trio. Really strange - I like Jarrett's 70's American quartet with Dewey Redman, so this was a bit of a shock.
Send comments to: Tim
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Art Blakey - The Jazz Messengers (Columbia, 1956)
This group was setting the Ur-text for hard bop in the mid-50's. As a response to the over-virtuosity of bebop and the perceived non-swing of west cost jazz, hard bop brought jazz back to it’s bluesy swinging roots. This is a record of the original Jazz Messengers, an all star band made up of Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Blakey on drums.
"Nica’s Dream" has some great percussive piano from Silver prodded from the rear by Blakey before the horns return to state the state the theme and conclude the song. "It’s You Or No One Else" is propelled along in a swift fashion by a loping bass groove - classic hard bop playing which would become a template for generations of musicians to come. "Ecaroh" has Donald Byrd leading a string of solos from the other musicians over Blakey’s sturdy beat. "Carol’s Interlude" features an upbeat piano solo followed by a storming and confident tenor solo from Mobley. Blakey steps out from his support role to throw a couple of Zeus like thunderbolt drum rolls. He also steps forward on "Hank’s Symphony" to take a lengthy and percussive drum solo.
It’s hard to do much better then this one if you are a fan of hard bop. I have this as a vinyl reissue, so if you go for the compact disc version, you’ll get some alternate tracks and new liner notes and photographs. However you get it, if you’re a fan of hard bop this is a must buy.
Send comments to: Tim
This group was setting the Ur-text for hard bop in the mid-50's. As a response to the over-virtuosity of bebop and the perceived non-swing of west cost jazz, hard bop brought jazz back to it’s bluesy swinging roots. This is a record of the original Jazz Messengers, an all star band made up of Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Blakey on drums.
"Nica’s Dream" has some great percussive piano from Silver prodded from the rear by Blakey before the horns return to state the state the theme and conclude the song. "It’s You Or No One Else" is propelled along in a swift fashion by a loping bass groove - classic hard bop playing which would become a template for generations of musicians to come. "Ecaroh" has Donald Byrd leading a string of solos from the other musicians over Blakey’s sturdy beat. "Carol’s Interlude" features an upbeat piano solo followed by a storming and confident tenor solo from Mobley. Blakey steps out from his support role to throw a couple of Zeus like thunderbolt drum rolls. He also steps forward on "Hank’s Symphony" to take a lengthy and percussive drum solo.
It’s hard to do much better then this one if you are a fan of hard bop. I have this as a vinyl reissue, so if you go for the compact disc version, you’ll get some alternate tracks and new liner notes and photographs. However you get it, if you’re a fan of hard bop this is a must buy.
Send comments to: Tim
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
I picked up a copy of the new Gary Giddins book Weatherbird, which is a continuation of the work he started the collection Visions of Jazz, written a couple of years ago. We’re still under construction in my library and haven’t been ordering new books in a while, so I just broke down and bought it. More about this as I get into it, but it looks really good with many of his essays from the Village Voice reprinted within.
Send comments to: Tim
Send comments to: Tim
Monday, November 22, 2004
Don Byron - Ivey-Divey (Blue Note, 2004)
I went back and forth a hundred times about whether to buy this or not - I’m a big fan of Jason Moran but wasn’t sure how he would sound with Byron - pretty good as it turns out, it’s a tight disc with Jack DeJohnette making up the last member of the core trio and Lonnie Plaxico on bass and Ralph Alessi on trumpet joining in on a few tracks. Moran’s left hand and Byron’s reedy sounding clarinet make up for the lack of bass on most of the tracks. "I Want to be Happy" opens the disc at a very fast pace, with Jason Moran laying down darkly flavored chords for Byron to improvise over while DeJohnette keeps a boiling pace beneath. Two takes of Gershwin’s "Somebody Loves Me" are included, the first being a more spacious and traditionally swinging tune while the second version picks up the pace a little bit with Byron taking a more intense run through of the song.
A couple of Miles Davis pieces are included, "Freddie Freeloader" from Kind of Blue, and the title track to In a Silent Way. The familiar melodies sound good in this format, especially Moran feeding the dark chords behind Byron’s higher pitched clarinet on "Freddie Freeloader." It would have been great for Moran to have a chance at the Fender Rhodes on IASW but it’s not to be as he sticks to the acoustic piano... still sounds good. Interesting though, that they have a trumpet player sit in on a couple of tunes but not the ones associated with a famous trumpet player! Alessi and Plaxico sit in on the swinging "The Good Drag" where Byron switches from his usual clarinet to tenor saxophone and Moran drops in a nice swinging solo.
All in all this is a nice solid mainstream jazz record. Byron and Moran sound comfortable together and of course Jack DeJohnette could make anyone sound good. Now we just need to get Jason Moran back in the studio for another record of his own!
Send comments to: Tim
I went back and forth a hundred times about whether to buy this or not - I’m a big fan of Jason Moran but wasn’t sure how he would sound with Byron - pretty good as it turns out, it’s a tight disc with Jack DeJohnette making up the last member of the core trio and Lonnie Plaxico on bass and Ralph Alessi on trumpet joining in on a few tracks. Moran’s left hand and Byron’s reedy sounding clarinet make up for the lack of bass on most of the tracks. "I Want to be Happy" opens the disc at a very fast pace, with Jason Moran laying down darkly flavored chords for Byron to improvise over while DeJohnette keeps a boiling pace beneath. Two takes of Gershwin’s "Somebody Loves Me" are included, the first being a more spacious and traditionally swinging tune while the second version picks up the pace a little bit with Byron taking a more intense run through of the song.
A couple of Miles Davis pieces are included, "Freddie Freeloader" from Kind of Blue, and the title track to In a Silent Way. The familiar melodies sound good in this format, especially Moran feeding the dark chords behind Byron’s higher pitched clarinet on "Freddie Freeloader." It would have been great for Moran to have a chance at the Fender Rhodes on IASW but it’s not to be as he sticks to the acoustic piano... still sounds good. Interesting though, that they have a trumpet player sit in on a couple of tunes but not the ones associated with a famous trumpet player! Alessi and Plaxico sit in on the swinging "The Good Drag" where Byron switches from his usual clarinet to tenor saxophone and Moran drops in a nice swinging solo.
All in all this is a nice solid mainstream jazz record. Byron and Moran sound comfortable together and of course Jack DeJohnette could make anyone sound good. Now we just need to get Jason Moran back in the studio for another record of his own!
Send comments to: Tim
Saturday, November 20, 2004
David Muray mp3
David Murray is one of my favorite musicians and over the last several years he has taken to exploring the music of different Caribbean cultures and melding it to his own music to great success. This is a 12" remix of the title track from his latest album Gwotet.
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened. The tracks from Geri Allen, Sonny Criss and The Bad Plus are still there, but get them if you are interested because they're coming down soon.
Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the artists or bands by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
Send comments to: Tim
David Murray is one of my favorite musicians and over the last several years he has taken to exploring the music of different Caribbean cultures and melding it to his own music to great success. This is a 12" remix of the title track from his latest album Gwotet.
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened. The tracks from Geri Allen, Sonny Criss and The Bad Plus are still there, but get them if you are interested because they're coming down soon.
Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the artists or bands by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
Send comments to: Tim
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Traffic – Smiling Phases (Island, 1991)
Traffic had a good run from 1967-74 as one of the premier psychedelic rock bands that England produced. Mixing up jazz, r&b, and rock and roll, they kept their music fresh and still managed to score some hits in the process despite being a fairly experimental group for their time. Although their original albums are all valuable for the most part, this collection is an excellent two-disc set of both radio hits and key album tracks and make for the definitive overview of the group.
Some of their early pop hits like “Paper Sun” and the top ten hit “Dear Mr. Fantasy” are represented on the first disc. Then after Dave Mason left the group, they took a more experimental bent, which is documented on the second disc of the collection. Some of the longer, more improvisational songs allowed the band, one of the most instrumentally talented in rock music, to really stretch out and explore the songs. Examples of this are the lengthy “John Barleycorn Must Die” and the jazzy “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys.”
This collection is well designed and flows well and the liner notes are adequate, providing a basic history of the band and a few pictures. This collection fits in well with some of the excellent two CD collections that Rhino has made over the past decade and is recommended to psychedelic rock and jazz-fusion fans.
Send comments to: Tim
Traffic had a good run from 1967-74 as one of the premier psychedelic rock bands that England produced. Mixing up jazz, r&b, and rock and roll, they kept their music fresh and still managed to score some hits in the process despite being a fairly experimental group for their time. Although their original albums are all valuable for the most part, this collection is an excellent two-disc set of both radio hits and key album tracks and make for the definitive overview of the group.
Some of their early pop hits like “Paper Sun” and the top ten hit “Dear Mr. Fantasy” are represented on the first disc. Then after Dave Mason left the group, they took a more experimental bent, which is documented on the second disc of the collection. Some of the longer, more improvisational songs allowed the band, one of the most instrumentally talented in rock music, to really stretch out and explore the songs. Examples of this are the lengthy “John Barleycorn Must Die” and the jazzy “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys.”
This collection is well designed and flows well and the liner notes are adequate, providing a basic history of the band and a few pictures. This collection fits in well with some of the excellent two CD collections that Rhino has made over the past decade and is recommended to psychedelic rock and jazz-fusion fans.
Send comments to: Tim
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Sonny Criss mp3
Here's a track called "Blue Friday" from the Complete Imperial Sessions of Sonny Criss. I took a chance out of this two disc collection in the used section of the Princeton Record Exchange and it was well worth it. Criss recorded blues, bop and ballads from the '50s to the '70s.
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened.
Send comments to: Tim
Here's a track called "Blue Friday" from the Complete Imperial Sessions of Sonny Criss. I took a chance out of this two disc collection in the used section of the Princeton Record Exchange and it was well worth it. Criss recorded blues, bop and ballads from the '50s to the '70s.
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened.
Send comments to: Tim
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
John Zorn w/Susie Ibarra & Wadada Leo Smith - 50th Birthday Party Vol. 8 (Tzadik, 2004)
The latest installment of the John Zorn birthday party series finds the birthday boy in duets and a couple of trio pieces with drummer Susie Ibarra and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. This disc is pretty intense with Zorn employing all manner of squeaks, squeals and overblowing as well as using the alto saxophone as a percussion instrument. Susie Ibarra uses the regular drum kit plus an assorted number of bells and other percussion instruments.
The disc begins with Zorn’s free squeak and squeal over a loose drumbeat. "Rising Sun" features Zorn turning the alto saxophone into a percussion instrument by playing on the pads of the instrument, before evolving into a torrid improvisation culminating with high-pitched extended playing and holding a high note while Ibarra improvises under it. "Spirit Writing" calms things down a little bit with cymbal washes opening, and then Zorn taking a deep, dark nearly Middle Eastern tone. As if to dispense with the meditative stuff, "By the Mark, Eight" goes hardcore, with saxophone squeals punctuated by bursts of drums and brushes. Zorn takes things way out there, but she’s with him every step of the way. An article in The Squid's Ear said Ibarra was "going soft" in some of her recent performances, but it’s sure hard to see it here. I think what they meant was that her recent projects have emphasized a different aspect of her percussion skills than she may have used while playing with David S. Ware and others.
"Visitation" brings the music back down (no choice really - couldn’t have gone any further out!) With a near percussion duet of slap-tongued saxophone and bells. "Ipsissimi" brings up W.L. Smith while Susie Ibarra sits out. Their duet works really well, there is a sense of mutual respect and of leaving uncluttered space for the other musician to create in. This collective improvisation becomes suite-like with pauses in the music as each musician offers something for the other to comment upon and then build into a conversation. The disc ends with Ibarra rejoining the group which then embarks on a charging trio improvisation and a more abstract piece of music to end the disc.
Send comments to: Tim
The latest installment of the John Zorn birthday party series finds the birthday boy in duets and a couple of trio pieces with drummer Susie Ibarra and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. This disc is pretty intense with Zorn employing all manner of squeaks, squeals and overblowing as well as using the alto saxophone as a percussion instrument. Susie Ibarra uses the regular drum kit plus an assorted number of bells and other percussion instruments.
The disc begins with Zorn’s free squeak and squeal over a loose drumbeat. "Rising Sun" features Zorn turning the alto saxophone into a percussion instrument by playing on the pads of the instrument, before evolving into a torrid improvisation culminating with high-pitched extended playing and holding a high note while Ibarra improvises under it. "Spirit Writing" calms things down a little bit with cymbal washes opening, and then Zorn taking a deep, dark nearly Middle Eastern tone. As if to dispense with the meditative stuff, "By the Mark, Eight" goes hardcore, with saxophone squeals punctuated by bursts of drums and brushes. Zorn takes things way out there, but she’s with him every step of the way. An article in The Squid's Ear said Ibarra was "going soft" in some of her recent performances, but it’s sure hard to see it here. I think what they meant was that her recent projects have emphasized a different aspect of her percussion skills than she may have used while playing with David S. Ware and others.
"Visitation" brings the music back down (no choice really - couldn’t have gone any further out!) With a near percussion duet of slap-tongued saxophone and bells. "Ipsissimi" brings up W.L. Smith while Susie Ibarra sits out. Their duet works really well, there is a sense of mutual respect and of leaving uncluttered space for the other musician to create in. This collective improvisation becomes suite-like with pauses in the music as each musician offers something for the other to comment upon and then build into a conversation. The disc ends with Ibarra rejoining the group which then embarks on a charging trio improvisation and a more abstract piece of music to end the disc.
Send comments to: Tim
Monday, November 15, 2004
Dance of the Infidels mp3
I have been enjoying the new Geri Allen album Life of a Song quite a bit, here is an mp3 from that record - her version of Bud Powell's famous song "Dance of the Infidels"
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened. The tracks from a Bad Plus show (in WMA format) recorded at the South Street Seaport earlier this year are still there, but get them if you are interested because they're coming down soon.
Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the artist or band by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
Send comments to: Tim
I have been enjoying the new Geri Allen album Life of a Song quite a bit, here is an mp3 from that record - her version of Bud Powell's famous song "Dance of the Infidels"
Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened. The tracks from a Bad Plus show (in WMA format) recorded at the South Street Seaport earlier this year are still there, but get them if you are interested because they're coming down soon.
Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the artist or band by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
Send comments to: Tim
Sunday, November 14, 2004
The Yardbirds - Ultimate (Rhino, 2000)
There’s about a million a different collection on just as many labels covering this seminal English blues-rock band. Rhino cuts through the clutter to do their usual excellent job of putting together easily digested although thorough collection of a bands work. With the Yardbirds, it’s a particular challenge - the band went through three main phases earmarked by their three famous lead guitarists of each period, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Each brought something different to the table and took the band in a different direction. The early Yardbirds were worshipful of the American blues tradition, so much so that they backed Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) on his final tour of Europe and recorded with him. The early classics from the band are represented here with covers of Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker and many more blues perennials. Some of the more blistering performances come from the Five Live Yardbirds LP, which stands up in its own right as one of the finest live rock and roll albums ever made. After Eric Clapton left the band, the group began to experiment with psychedelic rock, which had taken the country by storm in the wake of The Beatles and groups like Traffic and Soft Machine who experimented with melding jazz and blues with the electricity of rock and roll. The highpoint of the later recording was the LP Roger the Engineer which is also represented on this collection. This is a very well done collection covering the high points of a famous band and is recommended to both fans of blues and classic rock.
Send comments to: Tim
There’s about a million a different collection on just as many labels covering this seminal English blues-rock band. Rhino cuts through the clutter to do their usual excellent job of putting together easily digested although thorough collection of a bands work. With the Yardbirds, it’s a particular challenge - the band went through three main phases earmarked by their three famous lead guitarists of each period, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Each brought something different to the table and took the band in a different direction. The early Yardbirds were worshipful of the American blues tradition, so much so that they backed Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) on his final tour of Europe and recorded with him. The early classics from the band are represented here with covers of Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker and many more blues perennials. Some of the more blistering performances come from the Five Live Yardbirds LP, which stands up in its own right as one of the finest live rock and roll albums ever made. After Eric Clapton left the band, the group began to experiment with psychedelic rock, which had taken the country by storm in the wake of The Beatles and groups like Traffic and Soft Machine who experimented with melding jazz and blues with the electricity of rock and roll. The highpoint of the later recording was the LP Roger the Engineer which is also represented on this collection. This is a very well done collection covering the high points of a famous band and is recommended to both fans of blues and classic rock.
Send comments to: Tim
Friday, November 12, 2004
"New" Blues Blog
While scavenging for mp3's on The Tofu Hut I stumbled across a wonderful blog of pre-war blues and mp3's called Honey, Where You Been So Long. Lots of great downloads and information here, do check it out.
Happy Birthday to Mose Allison, who turned 77 yesterday. I'll try to post a couple of my favorite Allison tracks for downloading when I get home from work.
Finally, there's an excellent new release of a DVD & CD of the Branford Marsalis Quartet performing John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" from the Bimhaus in Amsterdam. So far, I've only listened to the CD, but the music is just burning and it's twice as long as the 20 minute version cut on Marsalis' Footsteps CD released a few years ago. If that's still not enough BM, he's the cover interview in the new Jazz Times - no earth shattering revelations in the interview, but it's still interesting.
Send comments to: Tim
While scavenging for mp3's on The Tofu Hut I stumbled across a wonderful blog of pre-war blues and mp3's called Honey, Where You Been So Long. Lots of great downloads and information here, do check it out.
Happy Birthday to Mose Allison, who turned 77 yesterday. I'll try to post a couple of my favorite Allison tracks for downloading when I get home from work.
Finally, there's an excellent new release of a DVD & CD of the Branford Marsalis Quartet performing John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" from the Bimhaus in Amsterdam. So far, I've only listened to the CD, but the music is just burning and it's twice as long as the 20 minute version cut on Marsalis' Footsteps CD released a few years ago. If that's still not enough BM, he's the cover interview in the new Jazz Times - no earth shattering revelations in the interview, but it's still interesting.
Send comments to: Tim
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
A couple of new releases:
Nguyen Le - Bakida (High Note, 2004) Prog-fusion jazz guitarist Le's new compact disc is an interesting melange of progressive rock, jazz fusion with some post bop burning thrown in for good measure. It's interesting that I had this queued up just after Soft Machine's 5 on my mp3 player and it took me a few minutes to notice the transition. Interesting in the sense that a "rock" band from 1972 and a "jazz" band from 2004 can both blur the lines of improvisation to a degree that makes labels meaningless. A couple of acoustic tracks and a ripe guest appearance from saxophonist Chris Potter keep the disc from blasting too far into the cosmos - recommended to fusion fans.
Little Axe - Champange and Grits (Real World, 2004) The unusual title is most accurate because Little Axe remixes slick electronics and hip-hop with the earthiness of electric blues. Of all of the blues remix projects (Pig in a Can, R.L. Burnside) Little Axe is the most successful in blending the two different types of music. The smooth R&B of "Living in a Dangerous Time" makes an interesting statement as does "Mean Things" which updates pro-labor working class blues for the 21st century. There are some interesting ideas at work here and the mix of modern technology with the timelessness of the blues yields an thought provoking and occasionally potent brew. Adventurous blues and R&B fans should check this out.
Send comments to: Tim
Nguyen Le - Bakida (High Note, 2004) Prog-fusion jazz guitarist Le's new compact disc is an interesting melange of progressive rock, jazz fusion with some post bop burning thrown in for good measure. It's interesting that I had this queued up just after Soft Machine's 5 on my mp3 player and it took me a few minutes to notice the transition. Interesting in the sense that a "rock" band from 1972 and a "jazz" band from 2004 can both blur the lines of improvisation to a degree that makes labels meaningless. A couple of acoustic tracks and a ripe guest appearance from saxophonist Chris Potter keep the disc from blasting too far into the cosmos - recommended to fusion fans.
Little Axe - Champange and Grits (Real World, 2004) The unusual title is most accurate because Little Axe remixes slick electronics and hip-hop with the earthiness of electric blues. Of all of the blues remix projects (Pig in a Can, R.L. Burnside) Little Axe is the most successful in blending the two different types of music. The smooth R&B of "Living in a Dangerous Time" makes an interesting statement as does "Mean Things" which updates pro-labor working class blues for the 21st century. There are some interesting ideas at work here and the mix of modern technology with the timelessness of the blues yields an thought provoking and occasionally potent brew. Adventurous blues and R&B fans should check this out.
Send comments to: Tim
Monday, November 08, 2004
New Downbeat:
The new Downbeat had some interesting stories in it – the Reader’s Poll inducted McCoy Tyner into the Hall of Fame by just a few votes (and no recount!) over Ray Charles. Dave Holland won a slew of well-deserved awards for his great band including Album of the Year for last years Extended Play: Live at Birdland. I wish they would release another disc. A couple of short articles of note: one asking musicians what was on their iPods – Charlie Hunter has a nice diverse range of music on his. A couple of interesting reviews round out the issue – Revolutionary Ensemble’s new one and the new disc by Steven Bernstein. Well worth a visit to you local library or bookstore to flip through.
Send comments to: Tim
The new Downbeat had some interesting stories in it – the Reader’s Poll inducted McCoy Tyner into the Hall of Fame by just a few votes (and no recount!) over Ray Charles. Dave Holland won a slew of well-deserved awards for his great band including Album of the Year for last years Extended Play: Live at Birdland. I wish they would release another disc. A couple of short articles of note: one asking musicians what was on their iPods – Charlie Hunter has a nice diverse range of music on his. A couple of interesting reviews round out the issue – Revolutionary Ensemble’s new one and the new disc by Steven Bernstein. Well worth a visit to you local library or bookstore to flip through.
Send comments to: Tim
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Mp3 (actually WMA) Blogging Redux
(Sigh) Lets try it this way. Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened.
I'm using WMA instead of mp3 because there's a 5 mb limit for each file on Yahoo, and WMA will theoretically keep better sound quality at higher compression levels.
The tracks are from a Bad Plus show recorded at the South Street Seaport earlier this year. Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the band by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
(Sigh) Lets try it this way. Go to my Yahoo Briefcase, right click on the track(s), choose "save target as" and then select where you would like to place the file on your computer and click OK. It should (fingers crossed) download. Send me an an e-mail and let me know what happened.
I'm using WMA instead of mp3 because there's a 5 mb limit for each file on Yahoo, and WMA will theoretically keep better sound quality at higher compression levels.
The tracks are from a Bad Plus show recorded at the South Street Seaport earlier this year. Any music posted on this blog is for sampling purposes - please support the band by purchasing their CD's and going to their live concerts.
A Big Dud
OK, so posting mp3's on my blog didn't work... back to the drawing board, and back tomorrow with another review.
Send comments to: Tim
OK, so posting mp3's on my blog didn't work... back to the drawing board, and back tomorrow with another review.
Send comments to: Tim
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Elvis Costello – Delivery Man (Lost Highway, 2004)
When I heard that Elvis Costello was going to record a “country” record, I cringed a little bit, remembering that his genre experiments were notoriously uneven. Like Neil Young, he makes his best records when he comes in from the cold and plays to his strength – straight ahead rock and roll. Which (thank goodness) is exactly what this is for the most part.
Blasting off with the howling rocker “Bite My Lip” which sounds like it could have been something he cut with the Attractions back in the late ‘70’s, you get the sense that he’s not going to let this opportunity slip away. Another uptempo tune is “Monkey to Man,” sounding great with pounding drums and snarling guitar. This couldn’t be a “country-ish” record without a couple of cry-in-your-beer weeping ballads. Normally this is Costello’s weakest link – he really enjoys lovelorn ballads, but the problem is that he has a maudlin streak a mile wide. “Heart-Shaped Bruise” and “Nothing Clings Like Ivy” do slow the pace of the record a little bit toward the middle, but overall they work pretty well, and he avoids bringing things to a screeching halt.
Everything picks back up with “The Judgment,” a Costello tune recorded by soul legend Solomon Burke on his comeback album. This really has no right to work – don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing song, but he’s taking a huge risk with this track. Burke ate the song alive with his huge soul/blues/gospel voice and Costello damn near scales the same heights, turning in a powerful, emotional performance of the song. All in all, this album works very well and stands as one of his best works of the last several years.
Send comments to: Tim
When I heard that Elvis Costello was going to record a “country” record, I cringed a little bit, remembering that his genre experiments were notoriously uneven. Like Neil Young, he makes his best records when he comes in from the cold and plays to his strength – straight ahead rock and roll. Which (thank goodness) is exactly what this is for the most part.
Blasting off with the howling rocker “Bite My Lip” which sounds like it could have been something he cut with the Attractions back in the late ‘70’s, you get the sense that he’s not going to let this opportunity slip away. Another uptempo tune is “Monkey to Man,” sounding great with pounding drums and snarling guitar. This couldn’t be a “country-ish” record without a couple of cry-in-your-beer weeping ballads. Normally this is Costello’s weakest link – he really enjoys lovelorn ballads, but the problem is that he has a maudlin streak a mile wide. “Heart-Shaped Bruise” and “Nothing Clings Like Ivy” do slow the pace of the record a little bit toward the middle, but overall they work pretty well, and he avoids bringing things to a screeching halt.
Everything picks back up with “The Judgment,” a Costello tune recorded by soul legend Solomon Burke on his comeback album. This really has no right to work – don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing song, but he’s taking a huge risk with this track. Burke ate the song alive with his huge soul/blues/gospel voice and Costello damn near scales the same heights, turning in a powerful, emotional performance of the song. All in all, this album works very well and stands as one of his best works of the last several years.
Send comments to: Tim
Friday, November 05, 2004
Frank Black – Frank Black Francis (Frank Black, 2004)
Frank Black has been back with the re-united Pixies for about a year now, playing to sold out clubs to great success. Still, this is something of a surprise – a “solo” Frank Black set, two CD’s no less, and all Pixies material. Sure, Frank wrote it all the first time around, but still… Surprisingly, it all work pretty well.
Disc one has Black’s original demos for the Pixies, stripped down and raw with his vital energy making up for the lack of the full band. The second disc has his collaborations with The Two Pale Boys, re-mixing and looping the music and lyrics with an ominous effect. For a musician who once said he would never look back, he’s become pretty comfortable with it. Don’t look for him on the nostalgia circuit with Tom Jones any time soon though.
If you’re new to Frank Black’s uniquely fractured outlook on the world, you may be better served by investigating some of the older Pixies albums and then working your way forward. But if you are a Frank Black fan and don’t mind his eccentricity, this is well worth taking a chance on.
Send comments to: Tim
Frank Black has been back with the re-united Pixies for about a year now, playing to sold out clubs to great success. Still, this is something of a surprise – a “solo” Frank Black set, two CD’s no less, and all Pixies material. Sure, Frank wrote it all the first time around, but still… Surprisingly, it all work pretty well.
Disc one has Black’s original demos for the Pixies, stripped down and raw with his vital energy making up for the lack of the full band. The second disc has his collaborations with The Two Pale Boys, re-mixing and looping the music and lyrics with an ominous effect. For a musician who once said he would never look back, he’s become pretty comfortable with it. Don’t look for him on the nostalgia circuit with Tom Jones any time soon though.
If you’re new to Frank Black’s uniquely fractured outlook on the world, you may be better served by investigating some of the older Pixies albums and then working your way forward. But if you are a Frank Black fan and don’t mind his eccentricity, this is well worth taking a chance on.
Send comments to: Tim
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Nels Cline - The Giant Pin (Cryptogramophone, 2004)
Now that this album is finally out in the stores, I feel comfortable posting about it. Emusic jumped the gun by listing this disc in their catalog for a few days over the summer before postponing its release for a while. It's nice to see Cline getting a little higher profile now both through his association with Wilco and his solo projects - this album has even been reviewed in in mainstream bastions of Rolling Stone and Billboard!
Sell out isn't even an option, though. Cline's music is as ferocious and uncompromised as ever. The disc begins with "Blues, Too" a mellow, almost Wes Montgomery like jazz piece that establishes his straight-jazz bonifieds if they were ever in question. "Fly, Fly" is aptly named as they band blasts off into a storm of squealing feedback, rampaging drums and bowed bass. "Touch For Her" continues the uptempo feel, nearly moving into prog-rock territory. I half expect them to break into "21st Century Schizoid Man" at this point!
"Ballad of Devin Hoff" slows thins down a bit in the beginning with acoustic bass and guitar playing with a mild and spacious feel. "The Friar" adds some subtle electronic manipulation giving the music a late night - dark streets feel before turning up the intensity. It reminds me of some of the electronic manipulation that Bill Frisell has done, particularly on his excellent solo album Ghost Town.
It will be interesting to see if any Wilco fans cross over to check this one out. It is another typically challenging album from Cline, and I would recommend it to guitar fans both on the jazz and rock sides of the spectrum.
Send comments to: Tim
Now that this album is finally out in the stores, I feel comfortable posting about it. Emusic jumped the gun by listing this disc in their catalog for a few days over the summer before postponing its release for a while. It's nice to see Cline getting a little higher profile now both through his association with Wilco and his solo projects - this album has even been reviewed in in mainstream bastions of Rolling Stone and Billboard!
Sell out isn't even an option, though. Cline's music is as ferocious and uncompromised as ever. The disc begins with "Blues, Too" a mellow, almost Wes Montgomery like jazz piece that establishes his straight-jazz bonifieds if they were ever in question. "Fly, Fly" is aptly named as they band blasts off into a storm of squealing feedback, rampaging drums and bowed bass. "Touch For Her" continues the uptempo feel, nearly moving into prog-rock territory. I half expect them to break into "21st Century Schizoid Man" at this point!
"Ballad of Devin Hoff" slows thins down a bit in the beginning with acoustic bass and guitar playing with a mild and spacious feel. "The Friar" adds some subtle electronic manipulation giving the music a late night - dark streets feel before turning up the intensity. It reminds me of some of the electronic manipulation that Bill Frisell has done, particularly on his excellent solo album Ghost Town.
It will be interesting to see if any Wilco fans cross over to check this one out. It is another typically challenging album from Cline, and I would recommend it to guitar fans both on the jazz and rock sides of the spectrum.
Send comments to: Tim
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Sun Ra - Live in Paris at the Gibus (Universe 1973, 2003)
After staying up all night watching the election returns, I think I deserved a trip to Saturn (I might want to move there for the next four years, in fact.) I had been eyeballing this on record or CD for a while now, but the import price was a little too high. The Princeton Record Exchange finally realized that no one was going to buy it at the import price, so they dropped the price of the LP to a more reasonable level. Many live Ra concerts have popped up on many labels and like the majority of them this one has slightly dodgy sound, but it's not enough to detract from the music.
The music opens with "Spontaneous Smiplicity" with some mellow vibe like electric piano and synth from Ra, setting an almost swanky-bachelor pad like vibe. Of course, you know this can never last, and when the man from Saturn takes to the organ, you'd have to be one ambitious bachelor to keep this in the pad. Ra's "Lights on a Satellite" comes next with an interesting organ and bowed bass introduction. Mellow horns and flute make this a surprisingly touching piece. Side one of the LP ends with the dark and ominous "Ombre Mode #2" which opens with dark percussion backing an intense free tenor solo from John Gilmore. Not to be outdone, Ra takes to the organ again for a trippy and freaked out solo backed by the tribal-sounding percussion.
Side Two begins with a preview of the swing music Ra would begin to explore once again in the 1980's. "King Porter Stomp" is played straight, the band treats the music with reverence and respect. "Salutations From the Universe" brings us back to familiar Ra territory with the man pontificating his cosmic greeting while the horns improvise collectively. He then blasts the band off into the cosmos with an overdriven synth and organ solo, moving us into a science fiction freakout of organ-driven free-jazz. The record ends with Ra's foil June Tyson leading then band in their chant/plea "Calling Planet Earth." An interesting piece of the Ra puzzle to be sure, if he's your man, keep an eye out for this one.
Send comments to: Tim
After staying up all night watching the election returns, I think I deserved a trip to Saturn (I might want to move there for the next four years, in fact.) I had been eyeballing this on record or CD for a while now, but the import price was a little too high. The Princeton Record Exchange finally realized that no one was going to buy it at the import price, so they dropped the price of the LP to a more reasonable level. Many live Ra concerts have popped up on many labels and like the majority of them this one has slightly dodgy sound, but it's not enough to detract from the music.
The music opens with "Spontaneous Smiplicity" with some mellow vibe like electric piano and synth from Ra, setting an almost swanky-bachelor pad like vibe. Of course, you know this can never last, and when the man from Saturn takes to the organ, you'd have to be one ambitious bachelor to keep this in the pad. Ra's "Lights on a Satellite" comes next with an interesting organ and bowed bass introduction. Mellow horns and flute make this a surprisingly touching piece. Side one of the LP ends with the dark and ominous "Ombre Mode #2" which opens with dark percussion backing an intense free tenor solo from John Gilmore. Not to be outdone, Ra takes to the organ again for a trippy and freaked out solo backed by the tribal-sounding percussion.
Side Two begins with a preview of the swing music Ra would begin to explore once again in the 1980's. "King Porter Stomp" is played straight, the band treats the music with reverence and respect. "Salutations From the Universe" brings us back to familiar Ra territory with the man pontificating his cosmic greeting while the horns improvise collectively. He then blasts the band off into the cosmos with an overdriven synth and organ solo, moving us into a science fiction freakout of organ-driven free-jazz. The record ends with Ra's foil June Tyson leading then band in their chant/plea "Calling Planet Earth." An interesting piece of the Ra puzzle to be sure, if he's your man, keep an eye out for this one.
Send comments to: Tim
Monday, November 01, 2004
Music Bloggers For Democracy
(Snipped from Largeheartedboy)
Hey!! Stop what you're doing! You're not going to find that Arcade Fire live bootleg today, nor will you be stumbling across the b-side to "Hand In Glove", and there's no way you'll be finding that unreleased Pixies album. What you need to do is get ready to vote in the most important election of our lives. Figure out where your nearest polling place is, and tell your friends to do the same, tell your enemies for that matter. But just vote.
Send comments to: Tim
(Snipped from Largeheartedboy)
Hey!! Stop what you're doing! You're not going to find that Arcade Fire live bootleg today, nor will you be stumbling across the b-side to "Hand In Glove", and there's no way you'll be finding that unreleased Pixies album. What you need to do is get ready to vote in the most important election of our lives. Figure out where your nearest polling place is, and tell your friends to do the same, tell your enemies for that matter. But just vote.
Send comments to: Tim
Champion Jack Dupree - The Tricks (GNP, 1974)
Boxer, gambler and piano playing bluesman extraordinare Champion Jack Dupree was just past the halfway point of his epic 50 + year career when this set was cut. Dupree was equally able to sing a deeply felt tribute to Martin Luther King in which he chastises white people for their safety and security (he wonders if he'll be the next to be shot) as he is blasting out good time hokum. It's not all serious social commentary by a long shot though, the title track is about the ladies of the evening in Dupree's hometown of New Orleans and throughout the whole album he keeps up a running commentary with his accampanying guitarist, trading wry jabs at one another.
He thinks of "Going to Paris" where he'll confer with Charles de Gaul about the weighty issues of the world and then slips into "I Had a Dream" in which he fantasizes the demise of his mother in law only to awaken with her standing right over him. In other words this is typically excellent Jack Dupree blues. It may miss the blasting saxophone and guitar of his masterpiece, Blues in the Gutter, but it cuts its own groove with an easygoing informal setting.
Send comments to: Tim
Boxer, gambler and piano playing bluesman extraordinare Champion Jack Dupree was just past the halfway point of his epic 50 + year career when this set was cut. Dupree was equally able to sing a deeply felt tribute to Martin Luther King in which he chastises white people for their safety and security (he wonders if he'll be the next to be shot) as he is blasting out good time hokum. It's not all serious social commentary by a long shot though, the title track is about the ladies of the evening in Dupree's hometown of New Orleans and throughout the whole album he keeps up a running commentary with his accampanying guitarist, trading wry jabs at one another.
He thinks of "Going to Paris" where he'll confer with Charles de Gaul about the weighty issues of the world and then slips into "I Had a Dream" in which he fantasizes the demise of his mother in law only to awaken with her standing right over him. In other words this is typically excellent Jack Dupree blues. It may miss the blasting saxophone and guitar of his masterpiece, Blues in the Gutter, but it cuts its own groove with an easygoing informal setting.
Send comments to: Tim
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