Jump to content

Overlooked Altos


jazzbo

Recommended Posts

Based on the one Carrier disc I've heard -- the one with Bley, Peacock, and Lambert -- I agree completely with Nate. Remarkably aimless noodling on the leader's part, but I'm keeping at it as kind of litmus test -- living proof that it's not that hard in a free or freeish context to tell the difference between the lame and the purposeful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 233
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Another way to put what I don't like about Carrier, based on that disc with Bley, etc. He apparently can't hear himself (or anyone else either, but especially himself). That is, whatever's happening that sounds momentarily like it might be going somewhere, he stops the flow or smudges or smears things, and every one of these "interruptions" or "deviations" is IMO a bad idea or virtually no idea at all. It's as though, given his skills or lack of same and/or some quirk of ego, he keeps seizing the tiller from his betters and steering right toward the rocks. It seems he can play his instruments in some sense but just has no organic notion of what communal music making is like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One name that seems to have been overlook so far is George Robert ... and considering that he is Swiss, I wonder why Ubu has not championed him?

Because I don't really know Robert all that well, and also because he seems to be sort of the swiss issue of Phil Woods... highly competent, but the incarnation of hardbop/modern mainstream...

He played the French "Jazz à Ramatuelle" festival in '04 with his co-led group with Kenny Barron, and indeed they did well together, but it's just not the kind of music that really interests me all that much... standards your heard a hundred times, coupled with a few good (but not outstanding) originals by Robert.

He sure is an important figure as an educator, being a fonder-member of the first jazz school in Switzerland, "Swiss Jazz School" in Berne.

There are more interesting sax players here, though. Omri Ziegele (though I can't always take his "badlyrics" stuff), Nat Su (cameroonian origin, but as far as I know he's actually swiss, grew up here etc - he has been mentioned, by the way) are the first two that come to mind.

Gianluigi Trovesi is an incredible alto player, by the way (not sure he's been mentioned, I tend to consider him a clarinetist, but each time I hear his alto I know the clarinets are not all he is about).

Kippie Moeketsi

Dudu Pukwana

Robbie Jansen

(all three ZA cats, Garth will know...)

Alban Darche - a french sax player (ts,as,ss, I think), who leads a big band called "Le gros cube". Very nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kind of surprised there's been no mention of Marshall Royal, Basie sideman par excellance. Brother of trumpeter, Ernie. Led the band for awhile after the Count's demise if I'm not mistaken. I used to have a casette tape of five of his LP's that was was pretty nice. Unfortunately, it was stolen along with a case full of other irreplaceable tapes several years back. I remember it well.

With regard to the brief discussion of Jimmy Dorsey. Let me come down firmly on the side of those who recognize his brilliance. I've seen a number of clips of him playing in the '40's and I thought he was about as good an alto player as I've seen. Complete and total mastery of his horn...just like Earl Bostic.

Also noted Lon's mention of T.K. Blue. I caught him on Uncut on the BET Jazz channel several months ago and immediately added several of his CD's to my collection. Very much underrated.

With regard to Stephano Di Battista, he has a CD on Blue Note coming out this month that's based on the music of Charlie Parker. I've heard several cuts from it on our local jazz station and it sounds like it will be worth picking up.

Up over and out.

Edited by Dave James
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might be shocked by this one, but Ornett Coleman. Although he is known to about practically every jazz fan on the earth, he was overlooked as a vital player in jazz movement. Many overlooked his playing, Miles even called him all screwed up inside. Overlooked as a person? I guess not. But as a player, I would say so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nah

Well yes, I have to agree on Ornette. The man is playing beautifully these days (have you heard any of his current quartet's live recordings?), and he hasn't even got a recent disc out... I suppose he's still drawing audiences at concerts, but then an artist of his calibre should be documented the way someone like Cecil Taylor has been documented since the Eighties.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...