montg

It's hard for me to understand the basis of these types of sentiments. Jazz is more relevant than ever because it's needed in this culture more than ever. Is jazz considered to simply be an artifact by some because it's not popular (as if it ever was--and to carry along that line of thinking, is American Idol relevant because it has mass appeal?). Is jazz an artifact because it doesn't have street cred or something? That's what John Hammond was saying about Ellington in 1935--his music was vapid because it was un-Negroid...Duke "has purposely kept himself from any contact with the troubles of his people..."

Jazz is not an ethnic folk music, like say Greek or Celtic music. It would be less than authentic to see Don Ho or whatever singing Celtic folk songs becasue those songs celebrate a particular culture and a particular time/place. A culture and time/place that Don Ho had nothing to do with. But jazz is a deeper, or more universal, art form. Created by African Americans, but it's not parochial....it's a means for human artistic expression. To me, the authenticity of a jazz player is determined by whether he/she is using the idiom to express something true..the idiom is the means to this deeper end. Or, in contrast, playing jazz is simply the end in itself ("I'm a jazz player, man, I have the degree to prove it"). In the latter case, if jazz is a role that someone plays, then yeah, an African American is better suited for the part.

Another for Point of Departure. It's a beautiful record. 'Dedication' is one of the most moving performances I've ever heard.

Thanks for the link. Phil Woods and Zoot Sims.....BG could sure attract talent to his bands.

That link isn't working for me (nor is the image) It's like some sort of Soviet censorship or something. I'm curious (and clueless) about which session y'all are referring to.

I guess I was thinking there's enough contrast between the old and new testament basie bands to qualify as 'moving on'. I realize Basie's more creative arrangers were somewhat constrained by him (Thad Jones comes to mind) but my impression is that Basie was more adaptible in his approach than BG. I don't think Thad Jones would have lasted quite as long in BG's big band as he did with Basie! I need to check out the Goodman small group stuff, as you suggest.

Is there any BG worth listening to after the 1940s? His career after the 40s seems to be focused on nostalgia, whereas many other artists from the swing era (Duke, Mary Lou Williams, Hawk, Benny Carter, even Basie etc.) moved on.

I recently read an anecdote (maybe apochryphal) where Ruby Braff was in some sort of comatose state late in life until someone played a recording of Pops singing 'I'm in the Mood for Love', which pulled Braff back into consciousness. Lon, you mentioned the autobiographical sessions--I really enjoy those too. Another one from that period that I really enjoy is the ambassador satch album--a positive vibe, for sure.

Some of the newer High Note recordings sound exceptional. Buster Williams (Griot Liberte, recorded by RVG), and Fathead Newman (Davey Blue) are two that come to mind. Vic Dickenson (Mainstream) is another good one, reissued by Koch with the HDCD technology (whatever that means). The new Prestige RVG of the Lockjaw Davis Vol. 1 Cookbook is mighty nice too.

I'm spinning 'Blues and Tonks' right now, with these pictures in my mind's eye. Billie's vocals are so direct. Beautiful music, Albert Jiles playing the bells, with De De blowing away, it's a really haunting sound. Concord seems to have let both of the Billie and De De CDs drift oop. Billie Pierce > Ella ??

That's a beautiful picture thanks for sharing it! From the Living Legends session?

The Max set arrived earlier this week #2737. I've gotten through 2 1/2 discs so far. Kenny Dorham really stands out to me on those first two discs..his consistency more than anything, I guess. Beautiful music, well worth the purchase. It's interesting to read the musicians' recollections in the booklet. A Billy Wallace quote really stands out: "We never thought Max could swing. Now, by today's standards, he swings well, becasue these cats can't swing at all. But then the drummers I liked were drummers that were more interested in the pulsation, and the time, and swinging, and being able to play a rather slow groove, and all those things , and we just never thought that Max could swing that well."

I've only recently begun to seriously explore west coast jazz (term loosely defined) and so I'm playing 'catch up' in tracking down CDs from this series. What I've been able to find recently (Mulligan/Baker; Shank/Cooper; Montrose) has been really enjoyable. Too bad it was discontinued (though some of the series has turned up in the Mosaic Select boxes). I'm spinning the Montrose session right now and really digging Bob Gordon... and I felt like giving a 'shout out' to the WCC. (nice sound, incidentally, from the Mcmaster remastering, imo).

from the press release: Foremost among Redman's guests was his 75-year-old father, the legendary Dewey Redman, who would, unfortunately, pass away several months after the Back East sessions were completed. Dewey plays tenor on "India." "We did a few takes," Joshua remembers, "and everything was cool. I was getting ready to start on another song when Dad said, 'Okay, but now I want to record something else, on alto'" ...and, Dewey added, he wanted to do it by himself, backed only by Grenadier and Jackson. Slightly puzzled, Joshua left his father with his band-mates. "I walked around the corner and got an espresso, came back maybe eight minutes later, and Dad was already packing up. 'How'd it go?' I asked. 'Fine, one take,' he said. So I thought, 'Great. Let's move on.' We were kind of running behind in the session, so I didn't even really listen to the song then. In fact, I almost forgot about it. It wasn't until days later, when I was back at home in Berkeley, that I really got a chance to check it out. Of course, I was blown away. It's an incredible piece of music: so warm, deep and wise." The track Dewey had created, "GJ" had been intended as a gift to Josh's infant son. It took on an even more profound cast after Dewey's passing. That studio date represented the final meeting of father and son as well as the last recording the elder Redman made. "GJ" became a gift to Joshua as well, a reminder of when he was performing back east with his father, in '91 and '92: "I played and toured with Dad a lot when I first came to New York. I really got to know him as a person as well as a master musician. Playing with him, having to solo after him every night, made me realize just how young and immature I was. It was his depth of soul, the hugeness and warmth and humanity of his sound. The wisdom and compassion and patience that lay behind every note he played. Probably more than anything, else, I learned from him about sound, about phrasing, and about how to play the blues." "GJ" is a fitting coda, then, to an album that is as much about generations as geography. With Back East, Redman traces the path inspiration travels from decade to decade, coast to coast, continent to continent, artist to artist, heart to heart.

Redman's new one--"Back East" was just released on Nonesuch. Three different trios across the sessions, with guests sitting in. Has anyone heard it? joshuaredman PLAYERS Joshua Redman Saxophones Larry Grenadier Bass Ali Jackson Drums Reuben Rogers Bass Eric Harland Drums Christian McBride Bass Brian Blade Drums GUESTS Chris Cheek Saxophone Joe Lovano Saxophone Dewey Redman Saxophone

Paul Desmond's liners from Take Ten are very memorable, in Desmond's dry wit fashion: "I should explain who I am and all, especially for those among you who may have picked up the album because of the cover under the impression that you were getting the score from a Vincent Price movie"

apologies if this has been posted elsewhere...the next batch of the OK series, available from cduniverse: Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Caravan (1962) Available: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 Keepnews Col $9.58 Chet Baker Chet (1959) Available: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 Keepnews Collec $9.58 Bill Evans Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958) Available: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 $9.58 Jimmy Heath Really Big (2007) Available: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 Keepnews

I canceled my subscription yesterday. With the 'major' labels increasingly divesting themselves of jazz issues and reissues, the yourmusic/bmg service really doesn't have much to offer. The limited offerings, coupled with the price increase, it all hardly seems worth the hassle.

I have the second volume of these and I agree with everything you said regarding the sound. These classic sides could really benefit from a new clean-up and remastering of the original 78s by Sony/BMG (or Mosaic I suppose). Generally, the studio sound from Victor during this period is pretty good, with a little tlc they could probably really sparkle.

A small NPR feature on 'Power to the People', with three full length cuts: powertothepeople I'm going to pick this up next week, can't wait.

This varies from listener to listener, but I've noticed that the poorer sound quality of this music can be a bit off-putting to newcomers. With this in mind, I always keep it strictly mid 1950's and later on the compilations I make for newbs. Your point about sound quality is well taken. But there's plenty of swing-based stuff from the 50s that sounds great. One of my first jazz CDs was a Count Basie Verve compilation. When I started listening I couldn't believe how purely fun the music was. A cut or two from an early 50s Billie Holiday session would intrigue just about any new listener I'd guess. Interesting comparing the two different theories--would new listeners be more attracted to something qualitiatively/radically different from what they're used to or is the 'nudging' strategy the better route. For me (about 11 years ago), I guess it was more of the former, a Road to Emmaus experience, with the Basieite swing just seeming, ironically, so new and pure. I'd guess that, for newbies, a crazy-sounding Bix cut would win more converts in the end than a Diana Krall-type of CD.

I'm curious what 'politically correct' line is being towed in the book?

cduniverse has a sale on some Steeplechase releases... a pretty good price, considering these usually list for over 18 bucks. Most appear to be reissues? steeplechase Ron McClure Age Of Peace (2003) ! Available: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Denmark $11.09 Ronnie Cuber Airplay (1994) Denmark $11.09 Horace Parlan Arrival Import; Germany $11.09 Doug Raney Blue And White Import; Germany $11.09 LeeAnn Ledgerwood Compassion (2000) Denmark $11.09 Dizzy Gillespie Copenhagen Concert Denmark $11.09 Buck Clayton Copenhagen Concert 2 Germany $11.09 Von Freeman Dedicated To You Denmark $11.09 Doug Raney Doug Raney Quintet Germany $11.09 Danny Walsh D's Mood Import; Germany $11.09 Duke Jordan Flight To Norway (2003) Denmark $11.09 Tony Purrone Guitarisk (2003) Denmark $11.09 Lee Konitz I Concentrate On You (1974) Denmark $11.09 Kenny Drew In Concert Import; Denmark $11.09 Larry Schneider It Might As Well Be Spring (2003) Denmark $11.09 Various Artists Jam Session Vol. 2 (2002) Denmark $11.09 Larry Schneider Jazz (2001) Denmark $11.09 Lee Konitz Jazz A Juan Import; Denmark $11.09 Dexter Gordon Ladybird (2005) Remastered; Denmark $11.09 Jackie Mclean Live At Montmartre (1972) Denmark $11.09 Joshua Douglas Smith Major Incident (2003) Denmark $11.09 George Cables One For My Baby $9.54 Walt Dickerson Peace Pre- Germany $11.09 Peter Zak Trio Peter Zak Trio (2005) Denmark $11.09 Harold Danko Prestigious: A Tribute To Eric Dolphy $9.54 Dave Ballou Regards (2005) Denmark $11.09 Dave Stryker Shades Beyond $9.54 Chet Baker Someday My Prince Will Come (1979) Denmark $11.09 Dave Scott Song For Amy $9.54 Gary Versace Time & Again (2005) Denmark $11.09 Walt Dickerson To My Queen Revisited Germany $11.09 Ari Ambrose Waiting $9.54 Brew Moore Zonky (2005) Denmark $11.09 Vincent Gardner Good Book Chapter 1 $15.18 Andy Laverne Intelligent Design $13.58 Gregory Tardy / Winther Jam Session 21 $13.58 Ari Ambrose Whatever Happens $13.58

I heard a cut from Bunky's new CD 'Another Place' the other day on the radio. Very nice, tons of energy. I need to remember to pick this up.