B. Goren. Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Which of the Venuses have you heard, Lon? I'm looking for opinions on these: I can easily recommend both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Which of the Venuses have you heard, Lon? I'm looking for opinions on these: I can easily recommend both. Me too. Slight edge to Love Walked In. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPF Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Steve has an interesting sense of humor. At a trio gig at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA, a few years ago, he announced he was going to play his tune "The Zoo," and would sing some lyrics he had written for it. He warned us it wouldn't be very good singing. He played the tune, sang his whimsical lyrics (he was right, the singing wasn't very good, but it was enjoyable) and then played his solo. At the end of his solo, he segued into a two-chord vamp that sounded really familiar to me; after a few seconds, I realized it was the figure that McCoy Tyner played behind Coltrane as Coltrane chanted, "a love supreme, a love supreme..." He continued to play it for about 30 seconds and then started chanting, "I love the Supremes, I love the Supremes." I cracked up and when I looked around, just about no one had gotten it. There were just a lot of puzzled looks. So much for those musically sophisticated Boston audiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 Steve has an interesting sense of humor. At a trio gig at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA, a few years ago, he announced he was going to play his tune "The Zoo," and would sing some lyrics he had written for it. He warned us it wouldn't be very good singing. He played the tune, sang his whimsical lyrics (he was right, the singing wasn't very good, but it was enjoyable) and then played his solo. That sense of humor is not on display on the recordings I cited . The Zoo ( Pearlie's Swine on the Buddah recording ) excepted , the rest of his vocalizing is anything but humorous . A poor singing voice can be forgiven if the aim is jocularity and whimsy , but on those early 70's records both Kuhn and his lyrics are off-puttingly earnest : " Parts of me just ache and cry I know that feeling just because this moment of my lifetime has become the hardest thing I've had to face as the walls all around my life , all around the years , very special years fall apart Time to run away as far away as worlds of empty colors show the sadness in my longing for so much , so many things I'll never know , not now Time to go as fast as all the years went by me waiting for tomorrow's sun to tell me why... " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 Steve has an interesting sense of humor. At a trio gig at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA, a few years ago, he announced he was going to play his tune "The Zoo," and would sing some lyrics he had written for it. He warned us it wouldn't be very good singing. He played the tune, sang his whimsical lyrics (he was right, the singing wasn't very good, but it was enjoyable) and then played his solo. That sense of humor is not on display on the recordings I cited . The Zoo ( Pearlie's Swine on the Buddah recording ) excepted , the rest of his vocalizing is anything but humorous . A poor singing voice can be forgiven if the aim is jocularity and whimsy , but on those early 70's records both Kuhn and his lyrics are off-puttingly earnest : " Parts of me just ache and cry I know that feeling just because this moment of my lifetime has become the hardest thing I've had to face as the walls all around my life , all around the years , very special years fall apart Time to run away as far away as worlds of empty colors show the sadness in my longing for so much , so many things I'll never know , not now Time to go as fast as all the years went by me waiting for tomorrow's sun to tell me why... " Yeah, I just downloaded his self-titled Budha album from '72 (with McFarland), gave it a listen, and it's not very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 He always has nice hair and cool glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Storer Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 " Parts of me just ache and cry I know that feeling just because this moment of my lifetime has become the hardest thing I've had to face as the walls all around my life , all around the years , very special years fall apart Time to run away as far away as worlds of empty colors show the sadness in my longing for so much , so many things I'll never know , not now Time to go as fast as all the years went by me waiting for tomorrow's sun to tell me why... " Those lyrics sound great when Sheila Jordan sings them on their studio ECM album, "Playground." Seriously. She also does "The Zoo." That's a fantastic record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 The new ECM 3CD set (including "Playground" to which - as a big fan of Ms. Jordan's - I look forward to particularly) is on my x-mas wishlist now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six string Posted December 18, 2008 Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 I only have two Kuhn albums, Trance (ECM) on lp and Years Later (Concord) on cd. They are both recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill Barton Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Here's another hearty recommendation for the Live at Birdland set which was among my favorite 2007 releases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fomafomic65 Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 " Parts of me just ache and cry I know that feeling just because this moment of my lifetime has become the hardest thing I've had to face as the walls all around my life , all around the years , very special years fall apart Time to run away as far away as worlds of empty colors show the sadness in my longing for so much , so many things I'll never know , not now Time to go as fast as all the years went by me waiting for tomorrow's sun to tell me why... " Those lyrics sound great when Sheila Jordan sings them on their studio ECM album, "Playground." Seriously. She also does "The Zoo." That's a fantastic record. Agree. Sheila souds magnificient even reading a shopping list -or whatever, as Getz was told. A pure musician with an unique musical skill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 The new ECM 3CD set (including "Playground" to which - as a big fan of Ms. Jordan's - I look forward to particularly) is on my x-mas wishlist now Found it recently, , listening to the CD that worried me the most in the set, the one with Sheila Jordan and enjoying it, highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 It's an overused word, but I do think that "underrated' is the right way to describe Steve Kuhn. You rarely hear his name mentioned when top level living jazz pianists are discussed, but I believe he belongs in that group. Some of his recordings such as the things on ECM are not to my taste, but most of his recordings for other labels are top quality jazz. His two trio CDs on Concord (Years Later" and "Looking Back") with David Finck and Lewis Nash are first rate. The three fine CDs on Reservoir ("Dedication" and "Countdown" and "The Best Things") have Billy Drummond in place of Nash along with Finck. I have six Steve Kuhn trio CDs on the Venus label and they are all winners. His Venus recordings may be my favorites though it's hard to select just one or two favorites as the quality level is so high throughout all of them. Peter Friedman I saw his trio with David Finck and Billy Drummond at the Kitano a couple of years ago--he performed a mixture of standards and his originals--I especially liked the originals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Listening to Promises Kept, Steve Kuhn with strings...digging it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milestones Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Just came upon this thread. No discussion of Mostly Coltrane on ECM? This is a great set with Joe Lovano (on most tracks), and the group mainly plays Coltrane tunes and pieces associated with him--but some originals too. Marvelous record. I remember reviews noting that Kuhn sounds nothing Tyner; I would concur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Just came upon this thread. No discussion of Mostly Coltrane on ECM? This is a great set with Joe Lovano (on most tracks), and the group mainly plays Coltrane tunes and pieces associated with him--but some originals too. Marvelous record. I remember reviews noting that Kuhn sounds nothing Tyner; I would concur. I heard that one quite a few times in the last few months...a real favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Just came upon this thread. No discussion of Mostly Coltrane on ECM? This is a great set with Joe Lovano (on most tracks), and the group mainly plays Coltrane tunes and pieces associated with him--but some originals too. Marvelous record. I remember reviews noting that Kuhn sounds nothing Tyner; I would concur. Yes, this is an excellent record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corto maltese Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Not yet mentioned, I think, is his late 60s work in Europe, where he recorded "Watch what happens" for MPS with Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen (they look very young on the cover) and "Childhood is forever" for BYG, which has a lousy cover but another great rhythm section (Steve Swallow and Aldo Romano). Besides, he would be one of my favourite pianists if for nothing else than his work with Karin Krog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Kuhn's trio is backing Sheila Jordan at Birdland this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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