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Playing Favorites: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s


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On 10/17/2019 at 5:44 AM, Shrdlu said:

Not much of value was recorded in the 70s, as far as I'm concerned. The age of development was pretty much over and several top players (e.g. Hancock, Corea, Williams) went into fusion, which, for me, is just a damned noise. I am glad that they were able to make some money from it, though. Herbie wasn't getting rich from his Blue Note albums.

Of course, a lot of the main players continued recording, but it was largely music of a retrospective type.

Weather Report was an excellent exception, especially my favorite, "Tale Spinnin' ". But jazz, after about 1968, well I'll see you later.

To dispel the impression that this is just some old fogey talking, I like the best of house music, which started in the early 80s. That's where it's at now. One can inject a lot of jazz influences into it.

I was there and I totally disagree with you. There are more uncompromised acoustic jazz albums of high quality from the 1970s than one could listen to If one devoted years to it. To say that the 1970s recordings were uninspired or electric jazz means that you have missed hundreds of great, very interesting jazz albums. 

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HutchFan, I hope one aspect you'll touch on is big bands and smaller big bands in the '70's.  Not that I love that music, but it was a part of the jazz ecosystem.  People like Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Akiyoshi/Tabackin, Bob Brookmeyer, among others...it seemed like there was a real effort to keep this style of music alive.

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On 11/3/2019 at 2:48 PM, mjzee said:

HutchFan, I hope one aspect you'll touch on is big bands and smaller big bands in the '70's.  Not that I love that music, but it was a part of the jazz ecosystem.  People like Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Akiyoshi/Tabackin, Bob Brookmeyer, among others...it seemed like there was a real effort to keep this style of music alive.

Absolutely!

I've tried to cast my net as widely as possible, across all sorts of formats and styles and subgenres. So I'll definitely be discussing some of my favorite big band records from the decade.

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On 11/3/2019 at 9:12 AM, Hot Ptah said:

I was there and I totally disagree with you. There are more uncompromised acoustic jazz albums of high quality from the 1970s than one could listen to If one devoted years to it. To say that the 1970s recordings were uninspired or electric jazz means that you have missed hundreds of great, very interesting jazz albums. 

I guess it's obvious that I agree with you, HP.  :)

Not only were there many excellent straight-ahead acoustic jazz records made, I would assert that there was an explosion of new and interesting directions for jazz that are still being worked through today -- acoustic, electric, and otherwise. Basically, the 1970s were a period of unprecedented diversity, a time that one author has called "diverging streams" -- as if jazz were a river entering its delta. For that reason, I would argue that jazz from the 1970s represents the beginning of the jazz world we live in today.

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This topic got me thinking back when you first posted it. Just for fun, I put together a quite lengthy list of jazz from the 70's that fits into my personal taste. My interest is heavily oriented to acoustic straight ahead jazz. I was surprised to find so very many recordings on my shelf from the 70's that I consider to be especially very good to excellent.

If interested I can list a number of my favorites.

Edited by Peter Friedman
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14 hours ago, Peter Friedman said:

This topic got me thinking back when you first posted it. Just for fun, I put together a quite lengthy list of jazz from the 70's that fits into my personal taste. My interest is heavily oriented to acoustic straight ahead jazz. I was surprised to find so very many recordings on my shelf from the 70's that I consider to be especially very good to excellent.

If interested I can list a number of my favorites.

Sure thing, Peter.  Go for it!  I'd love to see your list.

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Here is a "short" list (in random order) of favorites out of more than 150 CDs from the 70's on my shelves.

Hank Mobley - Thinking of Home , Sonny Criss - Saturday Morning, Ray Brown-Something For Lester, Warne Marsh - All Music,Jimmy Rushing - The You and me That Used To Be, Art Farmer - Yesterdays Thoughts, Hank Jones - Groovin' High, Paul Desmond - Live, Bill Perkins - Plays Lester Young, Tommy Flanagan - Eclypso, Zoot Sims - Warm tenor, Howard McGhee & Benny Bailey - Home Run, Charles McPherson - Live in Tokyo, Benny Carter - The King, Dexter Gordon - The Panther, Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron, Sonny Stitt - Tune Up, Jimmy Heath - Picture Of Heath, Johnny Griffin -return Of The Griffin, Duke Jordan - Flight To Denmark, Chet baker - Once Upon A Summertime, Mel Lewis And Friends, Ruby Braff with Ed Bickert Trio, Jimmy Rowles / Stan Getz - The Peacocks, Ben Webster - Gentle Ben, Al Cohn / Jimmy Rowles-Heavy Love, Milt Jackson - Soul Fusion, Kenny Drew Trio - If You Could See me Now, Don Menza - Horn Of Plenty, Teddy Edwards - Feelin's, Sal Nistico - Neo-Nistico, Thad Jones / Mel Lewis - Consummation, Ray Bryant - All Blues, Buck Hill - This Is Buck Hill, Horace Parlan - Blue Parlan, Charlie Rouse - Moment's Notice, Stan Getz - My Foolish Heart, Scott Hamilton - The Grand Appearance, Doug Raney - Cuttin' Loose, Dave McKenna - Cookin' at Michael's Pub   

 

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My favourite playing list of albums recorded in the 70´s is quite long. 

From the older masters it´s those who made very fine albums in the 70´s, like let´s say most of the Milestone artists, stars like Sonny Rollins, Mc Coy Tyner, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson.....

Then the VSOP Albums for CBS, the newly discoverd Dexter on CBS (best: Manhattan Symphony), the Albums Dizzy made with a bit more electric touch, and don´t Forget the huge two double Albums "Montreux Summit" : This is a real history of all styles of jazz, from old Things like "Blues March" to funky stuff composed by George Duke or Bob James. 

Then of course the music that was created in the 70´s because you can´t say you  listen to 70´s jazz if you cut out the electric stuff: The whole jazz-rock Fusion stuff: All the Miles Electric Albums, the Headhunters, Return to Forever, Larry Coryell, Billy Cobham-George Duke, Weather Report...….

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BTW, there's just as much jazz from the 70's that *isn't* my cup of tea, than what is.  That said, I can't imagine a more unfairly maligned decade for jazz than the 70's.  I think a lot of people write off practically the entire decade, when there really was a lot of interesting stuff going on, though much of it under the radar at the time (I suspect, since I was born in 1969, and didn't even get into jazz until the late 80's in college).

Although technically the 60's are probably my favorite jazz decade, I often cite the 70's as having the most recordings that I'm the most enthusiastic about sharing with people -- albums that I'm nearly positive that most folks haven't ever heard, or even heard of.

Should be an awesome series of blog entries to follow closely throughout 2020.  No decade would have me checking nearly daily -- or at least several times a week -- like the 70's will, so an excellent choice there!! - imho, of course.

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1 hour ago, Rooster_Ties said:

BTW, there's just as much jazz from the 70's that *isn't* my cup of tea, than what is.  That said, I can't imagine a more unfairly maligned decade for jazz than the 70's.  I think a lot of people write off practically the entire decade, when there really was a lot of interesting stuff going on, though much of it under the radar at the time (I suspect, since I was born in 1969, and didn't even get into jazz until the late 80's in college).

Although technically the 60's are probably my favorite jazz decade, I often cite the 70's as having the most recordings that I'm the most enthusiastic about sharing with people -- albums that I'm nearly positive that most folks haven't ever heard, or even heard of.

Should be an awesome series of blog entries to follow closely throughout 2020.  No decade would have me checking nearly daily -- or at least several times a week -- like the 70's will, so an excellent choice there!! - imho, of course.

Very interesting !

i was born in 1959, so let´s say I was part of the era of the 70´s, watching out what´s happening. As a teenager I got much influence from those, who were a few years older, those who were let´s say between 20 and 25 years old. Many of them still had John Coltrane as a super hero. And it could be sessions with free form or sessions with funk form, the saxophonists always had Coltrane in their mind. And on the other hand, not too few of the listeners of the electric jazz movement at least had a few Albums of acoustic jazz too. Those who listened to Bitches Brew and Agharta, also had at least one or two Davis albums of the 50´s or 60s. And those who listened to free stuff like Ornette Coleman, at least had one or two Charlie Parker albums too, since they considered Parker the first revolutionary. 

So it was a very cool and easy way to get in touch with many aspects of jazz, and don´t forget one thing. Many Kids played some Instrument and cellar Rooms for rehearsals were cheap, you shared the rent with other bands and could jam a lot and check out what´s were happening. So you could learn a lot about the music and the different styles from acoustic to electric. I started with acoustic Music and then switched to funk an jazz rock, and then back to acoustic……., as I´d say I was part of that generation and a kid of the 70´s. 

 

Edited by Gheorghe
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There were still some major jazz players in the 70s, of course. But a lot of the recordings were retrospective and often ad hoc, and there were a lot of those European "Jazztage" type concerts in the 80s, but, again, retrospective.

I caught The Heath Brothers live, though, and I felt that Jimmy had never sounded better. He played a hair-raising solo on the Marlboro song - much better than on the 1964 Riverside record.

But, for me, the 70s is mainly "meh".

With no disrespect to anyone else.

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9 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

BTW, there's just as much jazz from the 70's that *isn't* my cup of tea, than what is.  That said, I can't imagine a more unfairly maligned decade for jazz than the 70's.  I think a lot of people write off practically the entire decade, when there really was a lot of interesting stuff going on, though much of it under the radar at the time (I suspect, since I was born in 1969, and didn't even get into jazz until the late 80's in college).

Although technically the 60's are probably my favorite jazz decade, I often cite the 70's as having the most recordings that I'm the most enthusiastic about sharing with people -- albums that I'm nearly positive that most folks haven't ever heard, or even heard of.

Should be an awesome series of blog entries to follow closely throughout 2020.  No decade would have me checking nearly daily -- or at least several times a week -- like the 70's will, so an excellent choice there!! - imho, of course.

Thanks Rooster! :tup 

Yeah, it seems like there's so much "undiscovered country" in the 70s, whereas other decades seem like they are fully mapped out, completely explored.  That's probably the biggest reason that I wanted to write about the decade.  Folks are missing out on some great music!  And, as a result, many of these artists aren't accorded the respect and appreciation that (I think) they deserve. So I suppose this whole blog thing is my small way of telling them, "Thank you for the music."

BTW, I was born in '68, so my explorations of jazz in the 70s has been entirely retrospective too.  (Just like you, I discovered jazz in the 80s, at the end of high school into college.)  However, my dad was (and to a certain extent still is) a big music fan. When I was a child, he dabbled in jazz but dug deeply into jazz- and improvisation-oriented bands like the Allman Brothers Band, Santana, and Steely Dan -- along with a bunch of other styles.  No doubt hearing all that music as a kid had an impact on my ears, the formation of my tastes -- even if I didn't discover much of the music that I've explored in my 70s 'survey' until many, many years later.  Funny how that works. 

 

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8 hours ago, Shrdlu said:

But, for me, the 70s is mainly "meh".

With no disrespect to anyone else.

No offense taken by me, Shrdlu.  Everyone's tastes are different.  And, honestly, I think your perspective is not all that unusual. It's the "narrative" that I heard -- and for a long time accepted -- when I was first discovering jazz.

Later on, I found that what I was hearing (retrospectively) didn't match up with that "received wisdom."  So now I'm just trying to do my small part in offering an alternative point of view. ... Some people may love it, and others may hate it.  That's fine -- because I'm NOT trying to convince anyone that I'm objectively right.  All I'm saying (to everyone in general, and no one in particular) is to be careful about forming judgments about this music until you've listened to it with your own two ears.  Otherwise, you just might be depriving yourself of something pretty damn special.

Edited by HutchFan
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18 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I started listening to "jazz" of eventually innumerable varieties in August of 1970, actually. I had no idea there was anything "wrong" with any of it until people in the 1980s started telling me that there had been.

Didn't believe it then, believe it even less now.

Right on!  :tup 

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I think your attitude to jazz of the seventies is likely to depend on when you started listening and whether jazz or rock was your first music of choice.

In my experience people born around 1940 who came to jazz in the late 1950s often regard c.1945-65 as the classic period.

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38 minutes ago, BillF said:

I think your attitude to jazz of the seventies is likely to depend on when you started listening and whether jazz or rock was your first music of choice.

In my experience people born around 1940 who came to jazz in the late 1950s often regard c.1945-65 as the classic period.

I was born in '55 and I consider that to be the classic period.  The jazz from later decades that I enjoy most is rooted mainly in that classic period.  And you know players I'm speaking of, Bill. 

Edited by John Tapscott
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I was also born in 1955!

I also consider 1945-1965 as "the classic" period, but only for one type of jazz - the type that hard-touched "bebop" either right before, during, or right after. It takes about 20 years (analog phonograph years, anyway, too soon to see if the same will hold true for digital always on years), for a thought to run a fully organic life cycle (although, with the recording ban, one could argue that this classic era began a year or two before 1945, as well as that with the late-1960s inside-out Blue Note type music that it ran a few years past 1965)  . Certainly not for New Orleans jazz, or Big Band jazz (several "classic eras there, in fact, imo)), or Soul/Organ Jazz, or AACM jazz (sic), or Electric/Electronic Jazz. or....you get the idea. There are many "jazz"s, and thank god for that!

What was the "classic era" of fashion? Well, what kind of fashion, men's or women's? Men's? Well, ok then, what KIND of men's fashion? If it's true that the classics never go out of style, does that then mean that there's only one classic look? If so, I have no need to wear anything other than my dad's old ties (which I wear with pride, but not exclusively, and certainly not for every/any occasion).

At what point do we consider  "style" over the actual musics? "Styles" are very much imposed categorizations and have the notion of a "golden" or "classic" age hardwired into them (and not without good reason). But music continues to evolve, whether we evolve along with it or not. There is no one "classic era" of music, just moments in time where the people who make musics are in a more fuller sync with the people who receive them than others.

 

 

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1 hour ago, BillF said:

I think your attitude to jazz of the seventies is likely to depend on when you started listening and whether jazz or rock was your first music of choice.

In my experience people born around 1940 who came to jazz in the late 1950s often regard c.1945-65 as the classic period.

Of course, everyone's musical tastes are influenced by the time of their birth. But it's got to be more than just that. It's one of MANY factors. Things like training, temperament, interests, upbringing -- and all sorts of other difficult-to-quantify things -- come into play.

Besides, speaking personally, I like jazz from James P. & Jellyroll to the present. And I think there are many of us here in the board with wide-ranging tastes like that. And our ages are all over the place. 😉

 

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I was trying very hard to follow all of the new jazz releases from 1975-1982 let's say, as they came out. I also attended hundreds of concerts of jazz greats in every conceivable style of jazz in 1975-82.

There was so much great music coming out and being performed that it was difficult to keep up with it. There was a lot of great straight ahead playing by the bop and hard bop masters who were still active. There was a lot of excellent music being recorded and performed by swing era veterans, big bands and small combos. There was the avant garde going full bore, with so much great music coming out that it was virtually impossible to keep up with all of it. There was a lot of music on the edge of mainstream and avant garde, just on that border, which was very exciting. There was the ECM catalog being released faster than you could keep up with it. There was some electric fusion-like music, but less than one would think. The electric jazz was not that prevalent.

Compared to all the decades since, the 1970s, which I think actually ended around 1982 as a musical era, was incredibly rich with great jazz. I could list 500 great jazz albums which I love from the 1970s.

I really think that if you don't respect 1970s jazz, you just have not heard enough of it.

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5 hours ago, Hot Ptah said:

I was trying very hard to follow all of the new jazz releases from 1975-1982 let's say, as they came out. I also attended hundreds of concerts of jazz greats in every conceivable style of jazz in 1975-82.

There was so much great music coming out and being performed that it was difficult to keep up with it. There was a lot of great straight ahead playing by the bop and hard bop masters who were still active. There was a lot of excellent music being recorded and performed by swing era veterans, big bands and small combos. There was the avant garde going full bore, with so much great music coming out that it was virtually impossible to keep up with all of it. There was a lot of music on the edge of mainstream and avant garde, just on that border, which was very exciting. There was the ECM catalog being released faster than you could keep up with it. There was some electric fusion-like music, but less than one would think. The electric jazz was not that prevalent.

Compared to all the decades since, the 1970s, which I think actually ended around 1982 as a musical era, was incredibly rich with great jazz. I could list 500 great jazz albums which I love from the 1970s.

I really think that if you don't respect 1970s jazz, you just have not heard enough of it.

very very good statement.

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I was listening to jazz and other musics in the '70s and there certainly was lots of fine music, some of which I heard then and some I discovered later, but it's IMHO unmistakably a step down from the '60s.  I look forward to this discussion helping me find more to dig.  FWIW I was born in the mid-50s and started listening to music in earnest in the mid '60s.

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