Jump to content

100 Overlooked Recordings Worth Listening To


paul secor

Recommended Posts

From Paul's original list, I have these:

Muhal Richard Abrams featuring Malachi Favors: Sightsong (Black Saint)

Air: Air Time (Nessa)

Oscar Aleman: Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938-1957 (Acoustic Disc)

Gene Ammons: Live! In Chicago (OJC)

Fred Anderson: The Missing Link (Nessa)

Fred Anderson/Steve McCall: Vintage Duets Chicago 1-11-80 (Okka Disk)

Robert Barry and Fred Anderson: Duets 2001 (Thrill Jockey)

Carla Bley: Dinner Music (ECM)

Paul Bley/John Gilmore/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Turning Point (IAI)

Bobby Bradford & John Stevens Volume One (Nessa) – vinyl only

Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins: Duets Vol. 1&2 (Vanguard)

Ted BrownTrio: Free Spirit (Criss Cross)

The Essential Buck Clayton (Vanguard)

Louis Cottrell Trio: Bourbon Street (OJC)

Ray Crawford: Smooth Groove (Candid)

Meredith D’Ambrosio: It’s Your Dance (Sunnyside)

Walt Dickerson: Peace (Steeplechase)

Roy Eldridge: The Nifty Cat (New World)

Boulou and Elios Ferre: Gypsy Dreams (Steeplechase)

The Bud Freeman All-Star Swing Sessions featuring Shorty Baker (OJC)

Jimmy Gourley: The West Bank of New York (Uptown)

Al Haig: Trio and Sextets (OJC)

Lin Halliday: Airegin (Delmark)

Bill Harris and Friends (OJC)

Elmo Hope Trio: Meditations (OJC)

Claude Hopkins: The Transcription Performances 1935 (Hep)

Joseph Jarman: Song For (Delmark)

Leroy Jenkins: The Legend of Ai Glatson (Black Saint)

Sheila Jordan & Arild Andersen: Sheila (Steeplechase)

Jimmy Knepper: Cunningbird (Steeplechase)

George Lewis: Homage to Charles Parker (Black Saint)

Warne Marsh: Jazz from the East Village (Wave)

Warne Marsh: All Music (Nessa)

Charles Mingus: Jazz Portraits (Blue Note)

Roscoe Mitchell: Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancing Shoes (Nessa)

Paul Plummer/Ron Enyard: Trio & Quartet (Quixotic)

Mel Powell: The Best Things in Life & It’s Been So Long (Vanguard)

Sammy Price: Sweet Substitute (Sackville)

Jimmy Raney/Doug Raney Quartet: Stolen Moments (Steeplechase)

Pee Wee Russell with Buck Clayton: Swingin’ with Pee Wee (OJC)

Dave Schildkraut: Last Date (Endgame)

Leo Smith: The Spirit Catcher (Nessa) – vinyl only

Joe Wilder: Alone with Just My Dreams (Evening Star)

Larry, you turned me on to Gene Ammons: Live!

I had forgotten about this list. Looking back six years, I don't see much of anything that I'm ashamed of today. That surprises me somewhat.

I'm a Gene Ammons lover, but 'Live in Chicago' (aka 'Dig him') doesn't get me nearly as much as his live album for PJ with Groove Holmes. I think he's playing stuff just a bit too fast and loses some of his sound - course, he could do pretty well what he liked in Chicago, I guess - but I love the more relaxed tempos of 'Groovin' with Jug'.

MG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 94
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

From Paul's original list, I have these:

Muhal Richard Abrams featuring Malachi Favors: Sightsong (Black Saint)

Air: Air Time (Nessa)

Oscar Aleman: Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938-1957 (Acoustic Disc)

Gene Ammons: Live! In Chicago (OJC)

Fred Anderson: The Missing Link (Nessa)

Fred Anderson/Steve McCall: Vintage Duets Chicago 1-11-80 (Okka Disk)

Robert Barry and Fred Anderson: Duets 2001 (Thrill Jockey)

Carla Bley: Dinner Music (ECM)

Paul Bley/John Gilmore/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Turning Point (IAI)

Bobby Bradford & John Stevens Volume One (Nessa) – vinyl only

Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins: Duets Vol. 1&2 (Vanguard)

Ted BrownTrio: Free Spirit (Criss Cross)

The Essential Buck Clayton (Vanguard)

Louis Cottrell Trio: Bourbon Street (OJC)

Ray Crawford: Smooth Groove (Candid)

Meredith D’Ambrosio: It’s Your Dance (Sunnyside)

Walt Dickerson: Peace (Steeplechase)

Roy Eldridge: The Nifty Cat (New World)

Boulou and Elios Ferre: Gypsy Dreams (Steeplechase)

The Bud Freeman All-Star Swing Sessions featuring Shorty Baker (OJC)

Jimmy Gourley: The West Bank of New York (Uptown)

Al Haig: Trio and Sextets (OJC)

Lin Halliday: Airegin (Delmark)

Bill Harris and Friends (OJC)

Elmo Hope Trio: Meditations (OJC)

Claude Hopkins: The Transcription Performances 1935 (Hep)

Joseph Jarman: Song For (Delmark)

Leroy Jenkins: The Legend of Ai Glatson (Black Saint)

Sheila Jordan & Arild Andersen: Sheila (Steeplechase)

Jimmy Knepper: Cunningbird (Steeplechase)

George Lewis: Homage to Charles Parker (Black Saint)

Warne Marsh: Jazz from the East Village (Wave)

Warne Marsh: All Music (Nessa)

Charles Mingus: Jazz Portraits (Blue Note)

Roscoe Mitchell: Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancing Shoes (Nessa)

Paul Plummer/Ron Enyard: Trio & Quartet (Quixotic)

Mel Powell: The Best Things in Life & It’s Been So Long (Vanguard)

Sammy Price: Sweet Substitute (Sackville)

Jimmy Raney/Doug Raney Quartet: Stolen Moments (Steeplechase)

Pee Wee Russell with Buck Clayton: Swingin’ with Pee Wee (OJC)

Dave Schildkraut: Last Date (Endgame)

Leo Smith: The Spirit Catcher (Nessa) – vinyl only

Joe Wilder: Alone with Just My Dreams (Evening Star)

Larry, you turned me on to Gene Ammons: Live!

I had forgotten about this list. Looking back six years, I don't see much of anything that I'm ashamed of today. That surprises me somewhat.

I'm a Gene Ammons lover, but 'Live in Chicago' (aka 'Dig him') doesn't get me nearly as much as his live album for PJ with Groove Holmes. I think he's playing stuff just a bit too fast and loses some of his sound - course, he could do pretty well what he liked in Chicago, I guess - but I love the more relaxed tempos of 'Groovin' with Jug'.

MG

I like both but, if I had to choose (glad I don't), I'd go with your pick, MG. I put Live! on the list because it was more overlooked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have these, only seven:

Muhal Richard Abrams featuring Malachi Favors: Sightsong (Black Saint)
Walt Dickerson: Peace (Steeplechase)
Al Haig: Trio and Sextets (OJC)
Julius Hemphill: Raw Materials and Residuals (Black Saint)
Elmo Hope Trio: Meditations (OJC)
Joseph Jarman: Song For (Delmark)
Charles Mingus: Jazz Portraits (Blue Note)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have these, only seven:

Muhal Richard Abrams featuring Malachi Favors: Sightsong (Black Saint)

Walt Dickerson: Peace (Steeplechase)

Al Haig: Trio and Sextets (OJC)

Julius Hemphill: Raw Materials and Residuals (Black Saint)

Elmo Hope Trio: Meditations (OJC)

Joseph Jarman: Song For (Delmark)

Charles Mingus: Jazz Portraits (Blue Note)

I hope no one took my list as any sort of gospel. There are many, many overlooked recordings. Everyone has some in their collection and I hope other people will list their choices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a list which I posted in 2008 on another board. Many of these are too commonplace to qualify as "overlooked" for the Organissimo members, but here is the list I came up with:

Muhal Richard Abrams--Blues Forever
--Afrisong
Cannonball Adderley--Nippon Soul
George Adams--Paradise Space Shuttle
--Sound Suggestions
Henry "Red" Allen--1929-36 (Robert Parker Series)
Louis Armstrong--Swing That Music (1936-38, MCA)
Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt--Jug and Sonny
Rabih Abou-Khalil--Blue Camel
Count Basie--Chairman of the Board
Chu Berry--Chu
The Jaki Byard Experience
Art Blakey--The Big Beat
Carla Bley--European Tour '77
Anthony Braxton--Creative Orchestra Music 1976
Dave Brubeck--Brubeck Plays Brubeck (solo piano)
Don Byron--No Vibe Zone
Sidney Bechet-- Volume 2 (Blue Note LP)
Steve Bernstein with Sam Rivers--Diaspora Blues
Kenny Barron--Maybeck album
Mario Bauza--944 Columbus
Lester Bowie--The Fire This Time
Brother Ah--Sound Awareness
Donald Byrd--Free Flight
Dave Burrell--Windward Passages
Sonny Clark--Sonny's Crib
Avishai Cohen--Adama
Benny Carter--A Gentleman and His Music
Roy Campbell--New Kingdom
Uri Caine--Toys
Betty Carter--Now It's My Turn
Paul Desmond--Pure Desmond
Richard Davis--Philosophy of the Spiritual
Jack DeJohnette--Tin Can Alley
Gil Evans--Individualism of
Duke Ellington--Jazz Party
--New Orleans Suite
--70th Birthday Concert
--Historically Speaking
Booker Ervin--The Space Book
Johnny Frigo--Live at the 1997 Floating Jazz Festival
Chico Freeman--Spirit Sensitive
Tommy Flanagan--Jazz Poet
Ella and Louis (all 3 volumes)
Ricky Ford--Flying Colors
Dexter Gordon--Stable Mable
Johnny Griffin--Return of the Griffin
Dizzy Gillespie and Machito--Afro Cuban Jazz Moods
Stan Getz--Anniversary
Benny Goodman--On The Air (1937-38)
Charlie Haden--Closeness
--The Golden Number
Lionel Hampton--My Man
John Hicks--Inc.1
Heath Brothers--Live at the Public Theater
Coleman Hawkins--Meets the Big Sax Section
--Rainbow Mist
Abdullah Ibrahim--Ekaya
--Ode to Duke Ellington
James P. Johnson--Original 1942-45
Eddie Jefferson--The Main Man
Keith Jarrett--La Scala
Elvin Jones--The Ultimate
Barney Kessel--Easy Like
Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh
Rahsaan Roland Kirk--Bright Moments
The Leaders--Mudfoot
Yusef Lateef--Eastern Sounds
--The Three Faces of
--Cry!/Tender
Ronnie Matthews--Roots, Branches and Dances
Pat Metheny--80/81
Charles Mingus--Tijuana Moods
Modern Jazz Quartet-- The Last Concert
Thelonious Monk--5 By Monk By 5
Jay McShann--Kansas City Hustle
Bheki Mseleku--Celebration
David Murray--Holy Siege on Intrigue
Phineas Newborn--The Great Jazz Piano of
James Newton--Paseo Del Mar
Eddie Palmieri--Palmas
Duke Pearson--Wahoo
William Parker--O'Neal's Porch
Joe Pass--Portraits of Duke Ellington
Art Pepper--Today
Sam Rivers--Waves
Sonny Rollins--Alfie
Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan--Goin' Home
Zoot Sims--Hawthorne Nights
Eddie South--In Paris 1929 and 1937
Jess Stacy--Stacy Still Swings
Sun Ra--Cosmos
--Unity
--St. Louis Blues
Skatalites--High Bop Ska
Clark Terry--Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Arrangements by Ernie Wilkins)
Henry Threadgill--Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket
--Too Much Sugar For a Dime
Lucky Thompson--Lucky Strikes
Art Tatum and Ben Webster
Cecil Taylor--Silent Tongues
McCoy Tyner--Trident
--Supertrios
Lew Tabackin--Rites of Pan
Cal Tjader--Soul Sauce
Sarah Vaughan--Live at Mister Kelly's
Dinah Washington--The Jazz Sides
Randy Weston--Tanjah
Fats Waller--Turn on the Heat
Kenny Wheeler--Gnu High
James Williams--Magical Trio 1
Teddy Wilson--Solo Piano: Keystone Transcriptions 1939-40
Phil Woods--Musique du Bois
Mary Lou Williams--Free Spirits
Lester Young Trio

Edited by Hot Ptah
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given present company, I'm not confident I have the depth of knowledge to assemble a suitable list of overlooked recordings throughout jazz, but here are 20 albums from the last 10 years that I think everyone should hear:

2004 Dave Douglas/Louis Sclavis/Peggy Lee/Dylan Van Der Schyff - Bow River Falls (Koch)

2005 Dennis Gonzalez's Spirit Meridian - Idlewild (Clean Feed)
2006 Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet - Be Music, Night (Okkadisk)

2006 Kidd Jordan/William Parker/Hamid Drake - Palm of Soul (AUM Fidelity)

2006 Ran Blake - All That is Tied (Thompkins Square)

2007 Tyshawn Sorey - That/Not (Firehouse 12)

2007 Available Jelly - Baarle Nassau Set 1 & 2 (Ramboy)

2007-11 Nate Wooley - Seven Storey Mountain I-IV (Important & Pleasure of the Text)

2007 John Tchicai/Charlie Kohlhase/Garrison Fewell/Cecil McBee/Billy Hart - Tribal Ghost (No Business)

2008 Bill Dixon - Tapestries For Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12)

2010 Taylor Ho Bynum/Tomas Fujiwara - Stepwise (Not Two)

2010 Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad/Paal Nilssen-Love - Dragon (PNL)

2010 Irene Schweizer - To Whom It May Concern: Piano Solo Tonhalle, Zurich (Intakt)

2011 Lee Konitz - Live At Birdland (ECM)

2011 Nate Wooley Quintet - (Put Your) Hands Together (Clean Feed)

2012 The Resonance Ensemble - What Country Is This? (Not Two)

2013 Paul Flaherty/Steve Swell/C Spencer Yeh/Weasel Walter - Dragonfly Breath (Not Two)

2013 Josh Abrams Quartet - Uknown Known (Rogue Art)

2013 Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Shadow Man (ECM)

2013 Dave Rempis/Tim Daisy - Second Spring (Aerophonic)

2014 Mikolai Trzaska/Steve Swell/Per-Ake Holmlander/Tim Daisy - Inner Ear: Return From The Center of the Earth (Bocian)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a nice list colinmce. Most of them I know and enjoy too but I'll be looking out for the following a lot more closely off the back of this list

The Resonance Ensemble - What Country Is This?

Ran Blake - All That is Tied

Irene Schweizer - To Whom It May Concern

Paul Flaherty/Steve Swell/C Spencer Yeh/Weasel Walter - Dragonfly Breath

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list consists of Swedish jazz albums. Some of them would perhaps not be considered overlooked in Sweden, but to many American or even European jazz listeners I would presume that some of them are unknown. A couple of them are rare enough not to be mentioned very often in Sweden either. Forgive me for listing three Lars Gullin releases, but I believe that many who will enjoy these recordings have not yet heard them.
Luckily, most of these are quite easy to obtain, if not as actual CD:s. Just before EMI was sold and split up their Swedish subsidiary remastered a lot of Swedish jazz recordings that were previously very hard to find and that in many cases has not been reissued on CD. This project is now seemingly kept alive by the Parlophone label. Production of physical copies was apparently deemed not cost effective enough, and consequently these recordings were released only on Spotify/Itunes and maybe some other streaming services.
All but one from my list are available on Spotify and I'm including links for those interested.
Staffan Abeleen 'Downstream' (Parlophone, originally Philips, rec. 1966)
Jan Allan 'Jan Allan -70' (Phono svecia, oriiginally Telestar, rec. 1968-69)
Börje Fredriksson 'Intervall' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965-66)
Lars Gullin 'Vol 9: Summertime 1954/56' (Dragon, originally EP:s on Metronome)
Lars Gullin ''1959/60 Vol 4: Stockholm Street' (Dragon, originally EP:s on various labels)
Lars Gullin 'Portrait of My Pals' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1964)
Bengt Hallberg 'Piano' (Parlophone, originally Odeon, rec. 1965)
Jan Johansson 'Jazz på Svenska' (Heptagon, originally Megafon, rec. 1962-64)
Nils Lindberg 'Sax Appeal' (Sonorama, previous reissue by Dragon, originally Barben, rec. 1960)
Bernt Rosengren 'Stockholm Dues' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965)
Edited by Daniel A
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list consists of Swedish jazz albums. Some of them would perhaps not be considered overlooked in Sweden, but to many American or even European jazz listeners I would presume that some of them are unknown. A couple of them are rare enough not to be mentioned very often in Sweden either. Forgive me for listing three Lars Gullin releases, but I believe that many who will enjoy these recordings have not yet heard them.
Luckily, most of these are quite easy to obtain, if not as actual CD:s. Just before EMI was sold and split up their Swedish subsidiary remastered a lot of Swedish jazz recordings that were previously very hard to find and that in many cases has not been reissued on CD. This project is now seemingly kept alive by the Parlophone label. Production of physical copies was apparently deemed not cost effective enough, and consequently these recordings were released only on Spotify/Itunes and maybe some other streaming services.
All but one from my list are available on Spotify and I'm including links for those interested.
Staffan Abeleen 'Downstream' (Parlophone, originally Philips, rec. 1966)
Jan Allan 'Jan Allan -70' (Phono svecia, oriiginally Telestar, rec. 1968-69)
Börje Fredriksson 'Intervall' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965-66)
Lars Gullin 'Vol 9: Summertime 1954/56' (Dragon, originally EP:s on Metronome)
Lars Gullin ''1959/60 Vol 4: Stockholm Street' (Dragon, originally EP:s on various labels)
Lars Gullin 'Portrait of My Pals' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1964)
Bengt Hallberg 'Piano' (Parlophone, originally Odeon, rec. 1965)
Jan Johansson 'Jazz på Svenska' (Heptagon, originally Megafon, rec. 1962-64)
Nils Lindberg 'Sax Appeal' (Sonorama, previous reissue by Dragon, originally Barben, rec. 1960)
Bernt Rosengren 'Stockholm Dues' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965)

Hi Daniel,

thanks for your recommandations.

Been just streaming your selection. Frederiksson must have listened a lot to Long Tall Dex. I hear a lot of Gordon in it.

Now just listening to Staffan Abaleen Quintet. To me up til now totally obscure - but this is very good! Will come back to it again.

As a big admirer of Lars Gullin I know a lot of him and got a handful of his recordings. A gentle giant and real poet.

Next I will listen to Hallberg of whom I know only some pieces..

Now again my recommendations of Swedish jazz:

Arne Domnerus Favourite Groups 1949-1950 (Dragon) lots of beautiful clarinet in it.

Rolf Ericson Miles awaý 1950 -52 (Dragon) love his tone and phrasing

Edited by Balladeer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list consists of Swedish jazz albums. Some of them would perhaps not be considered overlooked in Sweden, but to many American or even European jazz listeners I would presume that some of them are unknown. A couple of them are rare enough not to be mentioned very often in Sweden either. Forgive me for listing three Lars Gullin releases, but I believe that many who will enjoy these recordings have not yet heard them.
Luckily, most of these are quite easy to obtain, if not as actual CD:s. Just before EMI was sold and split up their Swedish subsidiary remastered a lot of Swedish jazz recordings that were previously very hard to find and that in many cases has not been reissued on CD. This project is now seemingly kept alive by the Parlophone label. Production of physical copies was apparently deemed not cost effective enough, and consequently these recordings were released only on Spotify/Itunes and maybe some other streaming services.
All but one from my list are available on Spotify and I'm including links for those interested.
Staffan Abeleen 'Downstream' (Parlophone, originally Philips, rec. 1966)
Jan Allan 'Jan Allan -70' (Phono svecia, oriiginally Telestar, rec. 1968-69)
Börje Fredriksson 'Intervall' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965-66)
Lars Gullin 'Vol 9: Summertime 1954/56' (Dragon, originally EP:s on Metronome)
Lars Gullin ''1959/60 Vol 4: Stockholm Street' (Dragon, originally EP:s on various labels)
Lars Gullin 'Portrait of My Pals' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1964)
Bengt Hallberg 'Piano' (Parlophone, originally Odeon, rec. 1965)
Jan Johansson 'Jazz på Svenska' (Heptagon, originally Megafon, rec. 1962-64)
Nils Lindberg 'Sax Appeal' (Sonorama, previous reissue by Dragon, originally Barben, rec. 1960)
Bernt Rosengren 'Stockholm Dues' (Parlophone, originally Columbia, rec. 1965)

Hi Daniel,

thanks for your recommandations.

Been just streaming your selection. Frederiksson must have listened a lot to Long Tall Dex. I hear a lot of Gordon in it.

Now just listening to Staffan Abaleen Quintet. To me up til now totally obscure - but this is very good! Will come back to it again.

As a big admirer of Lars Gullin I know a lot of him and got a handful of his recordings. A gentle giant and real poet.

Next I will listen to Hallberg of whom I know only some pieces..

Now again my recommendations of Swedish jazz:

Arne Domnerus Favourite Groups 1949-1950 (Dragon) lots of beautiful clarinet in it.

Rolf Ericson Miles awaý 1950 -52 (Dragon) love his tone and phrasing

Daniel, I must admit my KEY interest in Swedish jazz STYLES fizzles out as of the early to mid-60s but I have PHYSICAL ;) copies of some of your "older" recommendations (Gullin, Johansson, Lindberg) and can confirm these are very much worth exploring. Same for the two recommendations by Balladeer (two of my favorite Dragon reissues).

I have an unhappy feeling that in 2014 not many jazz collectors of my generation, let alone younger generations, are at all curious about any music recorded before Charlie Parker.

Yes I am afraid this is VERY true (one reason why I have sometimes commented in a bit of a mocking tone about those to whom - by their own admission - even Bird is "old hat" or at best as far back as they'd want to go, because they are so focused on hard bop and beyond but not before). So far, so good (tastes differ, and to each his own, and it would be catastrophic if everybody were hunting down exactly the same records) but still it is a pity IMO because those whose tastes run in that direction are missing out on the FOUNDATIONS of everything that came afterwards.

Now, John, if you would like to list your 100 overlooked pre-Bird jazz recordings, I know that I for one would be VERY interested in seeing that list ... ;)

Edited by Big Beat Steve
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm more concerned that most jazz listeners have limited interest in today's music as compared to their interest of past musics whether it be 20's or through the 60's.

I'm one of those listeners (I'm not a collector - I say that happily) that has in the past listened to a decent amount of pre 1940 music - but I'm not nearly as interested in that music than what came after that due to my issues with the sound - and today due to my evolving tastes in jazz and other musics.

I still listen to some 50's and 60's music but for the most part what excites me today in the music of the present and if the last 20-30 years. Historically I find the decade of the 90's the most vibrant for me and I happen to believe that the musicians I see live today stand strong with any of the musicians who are much more well known historically.

I stand by my thoughts that it would be much healthier for some to make more of an effort to support today's musicians than to revisit the same music via new reissues.

So I don't know why anyone who loves music or more specifically jazz music should feel badly about having limited interests in certain historical periods or types of jazz.

Certainly many completely avoid current musical forms of jazz in droves. I would imagine over half the posters here have little or no interest in anything even close to the avant-garde. If that's OK and it's none of my concern, then why is it important that all of us invest our time and energy in the pre Bird era if we are not as interested in it as we are in other types or eras of jazz?

There are many here who don't like hard bop that much or soul jazz. Is that a problem as well?

Edited by Steve Reynolds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw "Steve Reynolds" as latest poster and jumped back into this thread. It's been a while. Mainly that's because I've got enough material from the 1910s to the 1990s to satisfy my musical explorations for the remaining duration of my life, and that's pretty-much where the thread "lived". Steve Reynolds is a name I know well, though I don't know him - a guy passionate about the stuff I know least about. So I jumped back in, hoping for ideas to fill the 20-year void. He's steered me into a fe explorations in the NYC live scene. I'd be interested.

(Don't take my board name too seriously It dates back 20 years)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love for a few locals to show up at some of the gigs I attend.

Next few are maybe:

10/1 @ The Stone 8:00 & 10:00 sets - Ches Smith's These Arches with Tim Berne, Tony Malaby, Mary Halvorsen & Andrea Parkins

10/4: conflict!!!

Either:

At the Stone:

8:00 Ches Smith with Matt Nelson ( tenor sax ) and William Parker (bass)

10:00 Ches Smith, Tyshawn Sorey & Randy Peterson ( hard to pass up this unusual yet incredible three drummer line-up )

Or:

Capricorn Climber @ Cornelia Street Cafe 9:00 & 10:30 sets

Capricorn Climber is Kris Davis on piano, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor sax, Mat Maneri on viola, Trevor Dunn on bass and Tom Rainey on drums

Open Loose 10/11 @ Cornelia Street 9:00 & 10:30

Open Loose is Mark Helias on bass, Tony Malaby on tenor saxophone & Tom Rainey on drums

I've seen the last two bands many times over the last few years and they are both very exciting and thoroughly unpredictable live

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an unhappy feeling that in 2014 not many jazz collectors of my generation, let alone younger generations, are at all curious about any music recorded before Charlie

Now, John, if you would like to list your 100 overlooked pre-Bird jazz recordings, I know that I for one would be VERY interested in seeing that list ... ;)

The music has been reissued in many many different ways on LP and CD. Offhand I'm thinking of probably more than 100 CDsfull of wonderful music:

the Sam Morgan / Oscar Celestin album;

the Prestige LP by the Fletcher-Horace Henderson band including the epic Coleman Hawkins solos "I've Got To Sing a Torch Song" and "Talk of the Town";

the American Music albums by Bunk Johnson w/George Lewis and the George Lewis w/Kid Shots;

the Spike Hughes Deccas with Hawkins and other Americans;

the Fletcher Henderson Deccas of 1931-33;

the Fletcher Henderson Columbia properties that were in the "Study In Frustration" box;

the Flecher Henderson Victors;

all early Django Reinhardt sessions up to and including the quintet with Hubert Roistang;

the Benny Goodman-Lester Young-Charlie Christian-Basie septet date, which has some of the most detailed and subtle Prez solos ever - mind-blowing;

in fact, all early Basie bands with Prez, especially with him and Hershel Evans or Buddy Tate;

better yet, all 1930s and 1940s Prez;

Armstrong's Hot 5s and 7s are perhaps less overlooked than his later music; definitely his Columbia and Victor big band recordings and his Deccas up to about 1940 or so;

the Chu Berry-Cab Calloway Mosaic box;

pre-LP-era Ellington Columbia, Decca, and Victor properties;

the Bessie Smith Story (4 Columbia LPs);

Tiny Parham's band;

Johnny Dodds' 1920s groups, including the NewO Wanderers/Bootblacks, also 2 songs w/o vocals from Dodds' 1938 Deccas w/Charlie Shavers;

all King Oliver bands;

2 or 3 CDs of the best of Fats Waller singing; another CD of Waller's Victor piano solos; and a few years ago Larry Kart found CDs of priceless Waller solo piano music, CDs that I have never been able to find since then (sigh);

Ma Rainey, Bix, Mildred Bailey, Jelly, Freddie Keppard, Jimmie Noone, Teschemaker, Condon, Teagarden, Goodman, Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Russell, the Lunceford and Chick Webb and Andy Kirk and Goodman and Shaw and Krupa and Thornhill and Woody Herman Herd and Benny Carter big bands;

AND lots of others of the 1920s-40s. I'm also fond of a lot of pre-electric blues and revival jazz, and I think things like the Bunk Johnson and Paul Lingle GTJs and David Dallwitz's "Ern Malley Suite" should be numbers 101, 102, and 103.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@John Litweiler:

Thanks for that list, though I for one would find many of these recordings to be essentials for anybody interested in jazz from that period. I haven't dug that deeply into what would best be referred to as "traditional jazz" (i.e. stylistically pre-Swing era) so have only part of what you list there (but a pretty representative cross-section anyway) but have probably 100% of your swing-era recommendations.

In short, I am a bit surprised that you consider them "overlooked". By those who've never gone to the trouble of exploring pre-Bird at all? Yes, that would make sense.

Maybe I got the idea of this thread wrong but I understood those recommended "overlooked" recordings to mean unhailed heroes, musicians' musicians, recordings unfairly neglected in reissues, recordings not quite as easily available (and not discussed quite as often) as others but just as fine, etc., and all this WITHIN the style(s) of jazz one might already be familiar with.

Anyway, thanks very much again. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The vast majority of the recordings that John listed are probably not in the collections of many people here. In that sense they're overlooked.

Despite my board name, I've got 90 percent of the material on Mr. Litweiler's list (minus the vocal-heavy things), but no more than 30 percent of the material on the bop and post-bop lists.

Edited by BeBop
Link to comment
Share on other sites

John Litweiler, I think you are being a bit pessimistic. I have most of the albums on your list, and your list has just given me a shopping list for the ones which I do not have. I purchased a whole bunch of Fats Waller CDs this year, and look for pre-Bird music all the time at the used music stores. I also search out blues CDs from the pre-1945 period.

In the Blindfold Tests on this board, when a member presents a pre-WWII jazz track, there is intelligent, knowing discussion about it. I think many members here love and appreciate the pre-Bird music very much.

I agree that what is often lacking on this board is discussion of jazz recordings which were released after 1990.

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...