25 replies to this topic

[king ubu]

Alright... I'll start filling the gaps now, but I'll have some suspense going on, still

This second disc did not have any such close-knit theme. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- all recordings were made in Switzerland (all live, obviously), with the exception of #7 and #12
- there's some sort of a Ducal theme, that starts off with a track that I - always being aware what it was - never really thought of as being a Ducal one... (#3)
- then there's the tenors... I make some frail attempts at playing saxophone, myself, and I love playing the tenor, it's - in my (and Ornette's) opinion - at the core of jazz... (a few more tenors, of course, can be heard on disc 1, not just Bean and Frog, but also a couple of nice Swiss guys, Roman Schwaller, Bruno Spörri, Hans Koch, Werner Lüdi...)

Again I'm thanking everybody for your interesting and most often insightful posts (that has nothing to do with the ability to nail the tunes or not).

ubu

Edited by king ubu, 27 March 2005 - 07:07 AM.

[king ubu]

1. Unidentified (High Society?)
Gianluigi Trovesi Otetto

Beppe Caruso (t), Massimo Greco (tb), Gianluigi Trovesi (cl), Marco Remondini (g), Roberto Bonati (b), Marco Micheli (el b), Vittorio Marinoni (d), Fulvio Maras (perc)
Jazzfestival Willisau 2002, Willisau (Switzerland), August 29, 2002
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2) (rec. eng.: Martin Pearson), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/2002

Now this is just a little piece of fun, for starters. I love the exuberance in Trovesi's music, but I also love the lyrical side of his playing, as in his duo with accordionist Gianni Coscia. And of course he belongs (belonged?) to the Instabile crew, too...


2. Snippet II - Illinois Jacquet (r.i.p.)
same as Disc 2, #3


3. On The Sunny Side of the Street (McHugh-Fields) | solo & voc: Jacquet (as)
Illinois Jacquet Big Band

personnel unknown, including Illinois Jacquet (as,voc), Joey Cavesino (as), Ed Stoute (p)
Jazzfestival Bern 1996, Kursaal Bern (Switzerland), May 9, 1996
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/prob. 1996

I deliberately chose the one track from that concert that has Jacquet on alto. Creamy big sound, in the tradition of the old guys, Hodges, Carter, Smith. I love it!
Then, his singing is an altogether different affair... love his take on Satch! The man had much fun that night, giving long announcements that often ended up pretty funny! I'd have loved to give a longer snippet, but that would have given away too much information.
His big band, while being a traditional outfit, is quite together. Pity I have no information on the band members. Also I'm not sure if that Ed Stoute is the same person that appeared on one of the Ken McIntyre dates for United Artist (reissued on that great Blue Note doubletime set some years ago).
As Sangrey noted: they get that tempo just right here. And if this is music for the old folks, I have to admit that in some kind of way I have always been old...


4. For Dancers Only (Raye-Schoen-Oliver) | solos: Oatts (or Wess?) (as), Faddis (t)
Carnegie Hall Jazz Band

Jon Faddis (mc,t), Michael Phillip Mossman, Ron Tooley, Scott Wendholt, Tom Williams (t); Slide Hampton, Dennis Wilson, John Allred, Douglas Purviance (tb); Dick Oatts (as), Frank Wess (as/ts/fl), Ralph Lalamo (ts), Jay Branford (ts), Gary Smulyan (bari); Renee Rosnes (p), Todd Coolman (b), Lewis Nash (d); Gerald Wilson (dir)
Jazzfestival Bern 1999, Kursaal Bern (Switzerland), May 9, 1999
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/prob. 1999

Continuing with a bit of big band fun. Jazzfestival Bern is the most traditional among the big swiss festivals (big meaning: four days, two to three concerts per night, nothing going on simultaneously... you see, all in nice relation with the smallness of Switzerland )
I love Lunceford a whole lot, and the Lunceford programme done in 1999 by the CHJB was a whole lot of fun, with seasoned players like Frank Wess and Slide Hampton, as well as great young musicians like Renee Rosnes... Having Gerald Wilson directing that segment of the concert was a nice thing, too (they continued with some Ellington and Coltrane music, as well as a Slide Hampton original, Clarke Terry sat in, too...). Wilson directed all FROM MEMORY! Crazy! After all these years (or rather: decades) he still had it all in his head!
I'm not sure who the alto soloist is, but I think not Wess, so it should be Oatts. Faddis does his shtick, too. You can like it or not (I'm rather on the not side, usually, but I just heard some seventies Mingus with a very young Faddis, and he plays just beautiful there!)


5. Sonnet for Caesar (Ellington-Strayhorn) | solo: John La Porta (cl)
The Ellington Legacy Orchestra

Benny Bailey, Barry Lee Hall, Wayne Burgeron (t); Petar Ugrin (t); Art Baron, Britt Woodman, Buster Cooper (tb); Fritz Renold (as,cl); Bobby Watson (as); John LaPorta (ts,cl); Tommy Smith (ts); Bernd Konrad (bari,blc); Aaron Bell (p); John Lamb (b); Charlie Persip (d); Bill Berry (cond)
Aarau (Switzerland), April 17, 1999
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), Source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/1999

This was a nice project, organized by Frank Renold as a centennial tribute to the Duke. Several old Ellingtonians took part and delivered some great music, bassist John Lamb took over the Ducal chair, Bernd Konrad nicely filled Carney's shoes, while Petar Ugrin (Croatian, I think) filled the Ray Nance role very well, performing on violin just as competent as on trumpet.
I love veteran John La Porta's frail clarinet playing here! In all of the Shakespeare Suite, this stood out as one of the highlights.

Edited by king ubu, 29 March 2005 - 07:34 AM.

[king ubu]

6. Basin Street Blues (W.C. Handy)
Duke Ellington & his Orchestra

Ray Nance (t,voc), Clark Terry (t), Quentin Jackson (tb), Russell Procope (cl), Duke Ellington (p), Jimmy Woode (b), Jimmy Johnson (d)
Kongresshaus Zürich (Switzerland), October 9, 1959
Recorded by Swiss Radio, Source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/1999

This concert (which is also circulating in video format, sometimes said to be from "Germany 1959") was re-broadcasted in 1999, another homage to the great old man. On this tune half of the band sits out, and the others have a lot of fun - not sure who's giving comments on the second trumpet solo, Duke himself?
Jimmy Woode, btw, has been living in Switzerland for decades now, as far as I know, appearing several times as a sideman at the Bern Jazzfestival.
I absolutely love this track, nothing they could do wrong at this point. Nance, Terry, Butter... and it's great to hear Procope getting a bit of solo space, too!


7. Mood Indigo (Ellington-Bigard-Mills)
Mangelsdorff-Liebman-JennyClark-Jones

Albert Mangelsdorff (tb), Dave Liebman (ss), Jean-François Jenny-Clark (b), Elvin Jones (d)
Ravenna Jazz 1985, Teatro Estivo Rocco Brancaleone, Ravenna (Italy), July 4, 1985
audience recording, source: EZtree/2004

Continuing with more Ducal music. I was totally awe-struck when I heard this cut the first time. Mangelsdorff is so good here! Jenny-Clark and Elvin were frequent collaborators, and Liebman doesn't get in the way.
I mostly included this to have Elvin present on my BFT (not just in that final vocal snippet, but playing), but Mangelsdorff alone deserves that this should be heard. I hear a lot of humour going on in his playing.
Elvin plays great here, too, in my opinion. Even if rather sparse, he builds, and he has a weight that other drummers never achieve, yet still he's dancing. When he finally doubles (after the soprano starts intruding for the first time), this does swing a lot!
Jenny-Clark has a nice solo spot (though I'm not so fond of that bass sound - pretty eighties, lacking depth and lacking... well, bass... but that's probably at least partially the fault of the recording, not of him).


8. Blood Count (Billy Strayhorn) [mono]
Andy Scherrer

Andy Scherrer (ts), William Evans (p), Isla Eckinger (b), Dré Pallemaerts (d)
MIDEM 2000, Hotel Carlton, Cannes (France), January 26, 2000
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2/RSR 2/RSI 2), source: Swiss Radio Live Broadcast

Scherrer is the most important Swiss modern mainstream tenor player. Born 1946, Scherrer made his debut record as a leader only a few years ago ("Second Step" on TCB), and has since been leading this quartet with yet another Bill Evans at the piano (and a great one, in my opinion). Isla Eckinger, bassist, is another important personality of Swiss jazz. He played with, it seems, everybody. Drummer Dré Pallemaerts is Belgian and is also part of Bill Carrothers entourage.
Andy Scherrer is a highly self-critical artist (this, partially, explains his late debut on record) and one of the most impressive improvisors around these days. Scherrer's second disc (again on TCB) was dedicated to Mal Waldron, while his third disc, featuring a different line up, is an homage to Joe Henderson ("Serenity", Unit Records). These, and of course John Coltrane, are some of the most important influences on his playing, but he is beyond being an epigone. By other Swiss musicians, he is most highly regarded and considered a grand-seigneur.
His performance of Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count" is a masterpiece, I won't say no more, it's a deeply felt and masterly executed performance of a classic tune. [I do realize now that many of you disagree here, but...]

Here's a photo of the master:


Andy Scherrer performing with the Vienna Art Orchestra, © 2002 by Dirk Stockmans


9. Koko (Duke Ellington)
John Lewis meets Hank Jones

John Lewis (p), Hank Jones (p), George Mraz (b), Lewis Nash (d)
Jazzfestival Bern 1999, Kursaal Bern (Switzerland), May 9, 1999
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/1999

This then is the last Ducal cut, and it features one of my favourite pianists, the swinging John Lewis. The second pianist (and I'd say the second to solo) is Hank Jones, yet another of those avatars of style.
I love how they arranged this one, you can actually almost hear the Ellington sections coming in an out.
I had planned to include another cut from this concert, "Django" (with Lewis the only soloist), but had to omit that for reasons of space.

Edited by king ubu, 27 March 2005 - 07:20 AM.

[king ubu]

10. Fly Me To The Moon (Bart Howard)
Joey DeFrancesco

Joey DeFrancesco (org), Frank Vignola (g), Joe Ascione (d)
Jazzfestival Bern 1999, Kursaal Bern (Switzerland), May 8, 1999
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/1999

The only organ cut to make the final selection, and a great one, from an inspired concert. They did "Volare", a tarantella ("you remember that thing your Grandma used to like?" - "you're Grandma liked it too..." crazy guys, those Italo-Americans, ask catesta )
I love this arrangement (done in the style of the Sinatra/Basie classic), and DeFrancesco has a great sound on organ. Pretty close to Smith, to my ears, but he adds some of his own, too. And as some of you noted, the guitarist is even better!
The steam they build is great here, it starts all relaxed and then starts growing more and more intense. These guys are totally together. (A note on Vignola: at 2001's Bern festival Lewis ought to have played, but died a few weeks before. Vignola should have accompanied Lewis for that concert, but then accompanied Jones, who replaced Lewis - there was a short interview on the radio, and Vignola is an very humble person, who was totally in awe of both them great pianists. Of course he acquitted himself more than nicely with Jones...)


The mighty man with his organ, at a 2003 performance in Switzerland


11. Whisper Not (Benny Golson)
Benny Golson

Benny Golson (ts), Don Friedman (p), Mark Abrams (b), Billy Drummond (d)
Generations 2000, Eisenwerk Frauenfeld (Switzerland), October 6, 2000
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/prob. 2001

Now this, dear guys and gals (or rather dudes and darlin's? ), this is IT! da shit!
Benny Golson has such a good sound on tenor. I loved him since I first got to hear him on Art Blakey's Moanin'. He's a thoroughly modern player, yet he has strong ties to the gloriuos past of jazz tenor, Hawk, Ben, Byas etc. And I admire him for staying around for so long and still doing his thing, still being a first-rate musician.
This cut comes from one of my most-treasured live recordings, ever. Don Friedman shines, too, and while some may consider Drummond a bit obtrusive, I love his performance here. Ray Abrams I don't know at all, but he's good here, too.
Don Friedman appears on this track, as well as on Disc 1 #15, btw.


12. Body And Soul (Green-Heyman-Eyton-Sour)
Bennie Maupin

Bennie Maupin (ts), Wolfram Derschmid (b), Reinhart Winkler (d)
Inntöne, Diersbach (Austria), June 6, 2003
Recorded by Austrian Radio (OE1), source: Austrian Radio Broadcast/2004

Here comes another masterpiece, a performance that fits into the row of impressive interpretations of this tune by some of the greatest tenorists jazz has produced (btw: did I tell you already that I love the tenor sax?)
No more words needed, but I hope this comes as a big surprise for you!


13. Snippet III - Elvin Jones (r.i.p.)
Jazzfestival Willisau, September 2, 2001, taken from Elvin's announcement preceding the encore (guess, guess...)


BONUS TRACK
14. Jada (Carleton)
Glyn Paque

Glyn Paque (as,voc), Bib Thevenaz (p), André Boucquin (d)
Radio Studio Geneva (Switzerland), July 12, 1945
Released on CD1 of "Jazz in Switzerland 1930-1975" (Elite Special 4CD 9544002/1-4)

For this track you got to thanks John Litweiler. He mentioned Paque in the underrated altoists thread and I thought it would be nice to give you an example of what he was talking of... A lovely cut with solid support by, I assume, two more Swiss fellows.
Paque has spent a few years of his life in Switzerland, I found a reference that by November 1939 he was appearing in Switzerland.

Edited by king ubu, 29 March 2005 - 04:13 AM.

[king ubu]

Gianluigi Trovesi

Edited by king ubu, 27 March 2005 - 07:22 AM.

[king ubu]

Isla Eckinger, another "mountain" of Swiss jazz. He is playing with Scherrer's quintet on this BFT. Other jobs he held were a long-time association with Mal Waldron, and he has been all over the place, playing and recording, too for quite some time now (a fairly recent great disc he appears on is Charlie Mariano's "Deep in a Dream" on Enja, there's a thread about it somewhere on the board).

Edited by king ubu, 27 March 2005 - 07:25 AM.

[Д.Д.]

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

ubu, you are the master of suspence.

[mmilovan]

I can't wait to hear who's on that last track...

Listened again to that alto solo, it's really hot.

Edited by mmilovan, 27 March 2005 - 08:19 AM.

[Nate Dorward]

Ah, Trovesi. A good player, though it's not a track that really serves as an introduction to his music. I caught him live about the time that From G to G was released. -- The ECM disc is good but a bit dull, I thought, though how often do you get a CD with liner notes by Umberto Eco?

[king ubu]

Ah, Trovesi. A good player, though it's not a track that really serves as an introduction to his music. I caught him live about the time that From G to G was released. -- The ECM disc is good but a bit dull, I thought, though how often do you get a CD with liner notes by Umberto Eco?

Are you talking about the new Kurt Weill Trovesi/Coscia disc, Nate? I haven't heard that one yet. One of my favourites remain Trovesi's take on "Midsummernight's Dream" (released on Enja).

Of course - AND I HAVE TO STRESS THIS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW TROVESI - this track is not doing him justice AT ALL! I intended this as a piece of fun to get things going, that's all.

ubu

[EKE BBB]

3. On The Sunny Side of the Street (McHugh-Fields) | solo & voc: Jacquet (as)
Illinois Jacquet Big Band

personnel unknown, including Illinois Jacquet (as,voc), Joey Cavesino (as), Ed Stoute (p)
Jazzfestival Bern 1996, Kursaal Bern (Switzerland), May 9, 1996
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2), source: Swiss Radio Broadcast/prob. 1996

I deliberately chose the one track from that concert that has Jacquet on alto. Creamy big sound, in the tradition of the old guys, Hodges, Carter, Smith. I love it!
Then, his singing is an altogether different affair... love his take on Satch! The man had much fun that night, giving long announcements that often ended up pretty funny! I'd have loved to give a longer snippet, but that would have given away too much information.
His big band, while being a traditional outfit, is quite together. Pity I have no information on the band members. Also I'm not sure if that Ed Stoute is the same person that appeared on one of the Ken McIntyre dates for United Artist (reissued on that great Blue Note doubletime set some years ago).
As Sangrey noted: they get that tempo just right here. And if this is music for the old folks, I have to admit that in some kind of way I have always been old...

Greatest surprise in the disc (at least for me).

[Nate Dorward]

No, I haven't heard any new disc by Trovesi/Coscia--the one I have is from several years back, & features readings of "Django" & some Italian composers' tunes as well as some originals.

[mikeweil]

Plenty of sursprises, so far.

- Trovesi: he is a man of many faces! I appreciate they are able to do that much sincere Dixie.

- Jacquet: Never liked his alot sound - as if the horn was too small for him. And maybe it's just me being too tired of Satch imitations.

- Carnegie Hall Jazz Band: I always wondered if I should regret not buying their Blue Note disc ...

- Duke: A litle too sloppy for me, but they einjoyed this for sure. The fun was probably more evident in concert or on the video.

- Scherrer: I have a few discs with him, he's great, and this track is, it's only that Hodges' reading is so superb ...

- Lewis/Jones: Mraz sounds so great, but not with a pickup, same goes for Jenny-Clark. Lewis Nash almost hides behind his ability to perfectly adapt himself to any context. He was on John Lewis' last album.

Great choices ....

[king ubu]

Answers completed above!

[indigo]

Wow! Great! Both the disc and the answers are full of wonderful surprises. I would never, ever have guessed Trovesi on track 1.

I've printed out the answers and will now read along with the next listening, which may affect my reactions. Maybe not. I want to give Koko closer attention. For sure, Mood Indigo, Whisper Not, and Body and Soul will still be the top picks for me.

Thanks again for such a thoughtful, beautifully constructed presentation.

[MartyJazz]

On track #11, once I had id'd Golson, I searched in vain for the recording on which this version of "Whisper Not" appears. And now I see why - it's from a broadcast. How long a broadcast is it and what else is on it?

#12 - Wow, Bennie Maupin! Could not have guessed that ever. The only Maupin I have is from over 30 years ago with Lee Morgan live at the Lighthouse. Stretching out on a standard like "B&S" wasn't being done back then. Nice surprise, Ubu.

[Д.Д.]

Great write-ups, Flurin.

[mikeweil]

12. Body And Soul (Green-Heyman-Eyton-Sour)
Bennie Maupin

Bennie Maupin (ts), Wolfram Derschmid (b), Reinhart Winkler (d)
Inntöne, Diersbach (Austria), June 6, 2003
Recorded by Austrian Radio (OE1), source: Austrian Radio Broadcast/2004

Here comes another masterpiece, a performance that fits into the row of impressive interpretations of this tune by some of the greatest tenorists jazz has produced (btw: did I tell you already that I love the tenor sax?)
No more words needed, but I hope this comes as a big surprise for you!

Here's what I wrote in my guesses:

Track 12: Indeed - one more? Body and Soul. This gets interesting. I will probably kick myself for not recognizing that tenor. Where's Jim Sangrey to tell us?

The only consolation is that Jim didn't get him either! Maupin is one of my favourite tenors!!! There are way too few recordings of this great player.
Now let me cure my aching back side ...

[king ubu]

Mike, when I browsed the board a month or so ago and saw that thread you guys had going on on recent Maupin I hardly could keep my mouth shut! I am so in love with this broadcast of his! The sparse setting fits him just right, the two guys backing him are both very sympathetic, the setting in Diersbach seems to be a small and nice one, too... it can't get better.
Maupin played tenor, soprano, bass clarinet, and piano, that night. A true master musician!

[RDK]

I want to move to Switzerland if for no reason other than to listen to the radio stations you have there! Amazing stuff being broadcast over in Europe these days. I'm constantly stunned by the quality shows I d/l from Easytree, but I see that's just a drop in the bucket.

Love that Jacquet track - may be the highlight of the disc for me.

[king ubu]

I want to move to Switzerland if for no reason other than to listen to the radio stations you have there! Amazing stuff being broadcast over in Europe these days. I'm constantly stunned by the quality shows I d/l from Easytree, but I see that's just a drop in the bucket.

Love that Jacquet track - may be the highlight of the disc for me.

Actually there hardly is jazz on the radio stations around here, but most of the good stations have at least one weekly show where live recordings are broadcast, and that's the cool part. The good thing about Switzerland is that it's so small... we can get Austrian, French, and German radio stations in, in addition to our own (of course no private stations that are worth bothering with...).
I started popping in a tape every Friday night six or seven years ago, to catch the live stuff on Swiss radio, but since I have had cable radio (a year now), I've been able to enjoy more music coming from the national French and Austrian, as well as three German stations.
However, tehre is not one station around that you could just listen to in the background (but that I would not do, anyway). There is a swiss "Culture and Jazz" station, but that's a drag. No tune longer than 4 or 5 minutes (otherwise it could bore some listener), no bass solos (could bore some...), no drum solos (could be too loud and aggressive for some), no free-ish stuff (no need to explain on this point, is there? Ffree jazz does not exist, anyway, I guess they'd take 1964 Blakey as free jazz)... you get the idea, I assume.

[tooter]

Thanks for this one too, Flurin - lots of interesting stuff and such a good job. Don Friedman with Golson - I was never anywhere near guessing him.

[fent99]

Great discs both! Although I only identified a few things (I'm not good at these things but real pleased I id'd Ben Webster) there was a whole heap of music to enjoy and some to cherish.
Goes to show that Orson Welles (through Graham Greene?) was a bit wide of the mark with his remarks about cuckoo clocks and switzerland in the Third Man.
Thanks a lot!

Edited by fent99, 31 March 2005 - 06:35 AM.

[king ubu]

Great discs both! Although I only identified a few things (I'm not good at these things but real pleased I id'd Ben Webster) there was a whole heap of music to enjoy and some to cherish.
Goes to show that Orson Welles (through Graham Greene?) was a bit wide of the mark with his remarks about cuckoo clocks and switzerland in the Third Man.
Thanks a lot!

Wait for my next BFT for some encounter of the third (man)kind...

[brownie]

8. Blood Count (Billy Strayhorn) [mono]
Andy Scherrer

Andy Scherrer (ts), William Evans (p), Isla Eckinger (b), Dré Pallemaerts (d)
MIDEM 2000, Hotel Carlton, Cannes (France), January 26, 2000
Recorded by Swiss Radio (DRS 2/RSR 2/RSI 2), source: Swiss Radio Live Broadcast

Scherrer is the most important Swiss modern mainstream tenor player. Born 1946, Scherrer made his debut record as a leader only a few years ago ("Second Step" on TCB), and has since been leading this quartet with yet another Bill Evans at the piano (and a great one, in my opinion). Isla Eckinger, bassist, is another important personality of Swiss jazz. He played with, it seems, everybody. Drummer Dré Pallemaerts is Belgian and is also part of Bill Carrothers entourage.
Andy Scherrer is a highly self-critical artist (this, partially, explains his late debut on record) and one of the most impressive improvisors around these days. Scherrer's second disc (again on TCB) was dedicated to Mal Waldron, while his third disc, featuring a different line up, is an homage to Joe Henderson ("Serenity", Unit Records). These, and of course John Coltrane, are some of the most important influences on his playing, but he is beyond being an epigone. By other Swiss musicians, he is most highly regarded and considered a grand-seigneur.
His performance of Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count" is a masterpiece, I won't say no more, it's a deeply felt and masterly executed performance of a classic tune. [I do realize now that many of you disagree here, but...]

Very impressed with that interpretation of 'Blood Count'. Never heard of Scherrer. Or the other musicians with him.
Like the disc 1, disc 2 of the BFT was full of surprises! And a real ear-opener as far as I am concerned!

Same goes for the Bennie Maupin 'Body and Soul'. I have heard Maupin on a number of records but his playing here is like a revelation.

Great job, Ubu!

[king ubu]

Thanks brownie! Good to know I'm not alone liking "Blood Count"! And didn't I tell you #12 was going to be a surprise?