jeffcrom

Lars Gullin - Fine Together (Sonet). One of my recent Scandinavian acquisitions.

Rice Miller Cornbread Singer Soupy Sales

One more 45 before going to bed: John Lee Hooker - I Don't Want to Go to Vietnam/Mean Mean Woman.

Happy birthday 2009!

Another 45 I picked up in Denmark: Sidney Bechet - Silent Night/White Christmas (Vogue), from Sidney's last recording session. I love it - the old man plays with a lot of spirit.

Some Scandanavian 45 RPM EPs I picked up on my recent trip: Tony Scott Swingin In Sweden - Walkin'/Night in Tunisia (RCA) and three by Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband on Storyville: Lazy River/On a Little Bamboo Bridge Schlafe Mein Prinzchen/Wiegenlied (Should this be in the classical thread?) George Lewis and Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband. I like the Vikings - definitely one of the better European trad bands.

Just reviewed this thread as a consequence of picking up the Stan Getz Quartet at Montreux Polydor album on my recent European trip. It's from three months after the Captain Marvel sessions, without Airto's additional percussion. The version of "La Fiesta" here is very hot - Tony Williams!

Stan Getz Quartet at Monteux (Polydor). The "Captain Marvel" band.

Just realized what #23 is from - Radiance by the Susie Ibarra Trio. I have the album, but forgot that there were non-originals on it. The odd bass sound must be pianist Cooper-Moore playing some sort of keyboard bass. (The cover doesn't say.) It's a really nice album, but like I said, I forgot this Hendrix tune was on it.

It's been hard to avoid this thread, but I just found the time to finish listen and write up my comments. Here goes: 1. Very nice. The first eight measures had me worried – thinking that it was just going to be some unimaginative cliché blues, but it started to get interesting almost immediately. Benny Golson for sure, and probably Art Farmer and Jimmy Cleveland. Good, swinging straight-ahead music with nice compositional touches and altered chords. 2. Nice enough soul/bossa, but it was hard for me to enjoy because I just hate tinkly percussion. Good enough, not great, solos. The guitar player has a slightly more distorted version of Grant Green’s sound. 3. I kept waiting for this one to get really crazy, but it never did. The menacing sound of the first minute is the best thing about it. The trumpet solo is interesting, but the alto and organ didn’t do much for me. No idea who it is. 4. This had its moments, but it never could really decide what it wanted to be – genial afro-bossa groove or free jazz jam. I’m guessing that these musicians aren’t American. I’ll be interested to see who this is, but it’s probably nothing I’ll have to hear again. 5. Great complex groove. Nice interaction among the group, and good solos. Excellent music - I don’t know by whom. I like music that’s this rhythmically strong without being stupid. 6. Sounds like Frank Lowe to me. I really want to like this, but every time it starts to get interesting, it changes directions. I think the idea was to create a complex, multi-part work, but it doesn’t really go anywhere. 7. Wayne Shorter’s “Ju Ju,” played by some really excellent musicians. This is thoughtful and passionate – nothing overdone or histrionic. The soprano player has a beautiful sound. 8. This sounds very Blue Note, c. 1970-ish. I feel like this is something I should know, but I can’t place it. I like it a lot – it’s a product of its time, as a lot of music is, but it also transcends that. Nice. 9. I’m intrigued. I think it’s Stan Getz, but I have idea who the other players are, or what the vintage is. I associate Getz-with-vibes with young Gary Burton, but this ain’t him, I don’t think. Very nice music. Like I said, I’m intrigued. 10. The trumpeter (and probably the bassist) is classically trained, it sounds like – complete control over the instrument. Listen to that articulation! Very well-done music. 11. Don’t know what the hell this is, or even what to say about it. I kind of liked it, though – at least for the first five minutes. 12. Interesting, but kind of unsatisfying. The pianist alternated between very square playing rhythmically (I know that’s an odd thing to say about a piece which is mostly in 5/4) and not swinging at all – and he/she left a lot of admittedly interesting ideas unfinished. The drummer is excellent. 13. A gorgeous, Monk-influenced piece. The pianist didn’t really improvise on it, and didn’t need to. Beautiful music. 14. I loved the rich tone of the bassist during the introduction. After that, I kept waiting for the piece to go somewhere. And it started to during the piano solo. But, (and this is probably going to come back to haunt me) but the tenor player seems pretty limited, in terms of imagination and technique. 15. A mid-to-late fifties recording, but I don’t know who it is, except that it sounds like Kenny Clarke on drums. And if you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I’d say it might be Oscar Pettiford on bass. Good piece with interesting changes. I like it. 16. The great Buster Smith, recorded in obscurity in Texas in the early 1960s. I love the story of how this album was made – read Gunther Schuller’s account, if you can find. Good old Southern jump jazz, only with a brilliant improviser playing alto. Listen to the way Buster phrases across the expected bar-line divisions – you can hear what Bird learned from him. Leroy Cooper on baritone and the piano player are good enough, but not in the same league. 17. Impressive playing on the head. And it’s good throughout. I like the touch of metric modulation in the trumpet solo. 18. Accomplished, swinging free jazz – again, without histrionics. I like it, again without having any idea who it is. They’re listening to each other and varying the textures. Good stuff. 19. Some good playing on the changes to “Shine.” Hard swinging and good improvising. Again, no idea who. 20. The alto player reminds me of Gigi Gryce – he has good melodic ideas, but doesn’t always gel with the rhythm section. The tenor player sounds like Charlie Rouse. (I’m pretty sure I’m wrong about at least one of these – did they ever record together?) The tune is very familiar, but I can’t come up with the name. 21. Wow – this is the first recording of “Poinciana” that really made me like the tune. Very creative. I love the collective improvising throughout. Great rhythm section, although their contributions go beyond what is usually considered the “rhythm section” role. I love the drummer’s tribute to Vernel Fournier at the end. Very nice jazz music. 22. This is sick, and I mean that in a good way. The improvising is totally free, but it’s not, really – the opening composed part (I don’t want to call it a “head”) sets up what follows just perfectly. I like this a lot. 23. Nice, open approach to “Up From the Skies.” Unless the violinist is Charles Burnham, I have no idea who it is. The bassist’s odd, tubby sound bothered me, but I otherwise thought this was pretty cool. 24. My first thought was that this is the Art Ensemble with Jarman playing guitar or some sort of string instrument. In any case, it’s that same kind of sound improv. Well done – they keep it interesting. 25. Interesting structure, changes, and arrangement. Not really my thing, though. Thanks for the interesting music. Now let me go back and read.

The ballad solo I play for my trombonist friends (and yes, I have some), is "You've Changed" from Quintergy: Live at the Village Vanguard by J. J. Johnson. It's just heartbreaking.

Thank you for the recommendations. The Jazzhouse didn't have anybody I was interested in hearing during my stay (although I missed John Tchicai by one day!), but I heard Jesper Thilo at Jazz Paradise in the Huset complex and posted my reactions elsewhere. Bob Rockwell is playing there next week - too late for me. The Jazz Kælderen was indeed a great little store, and I found some others - even took the train across the bridge to Sweden and picked up some records in Malmö. The regular sight-seeing stuff was great, too. I'm trying to listen to some of the records and CDs I brought back, but I'm about to give up - it's only eight PM in Atlanta, but I've been up for 22 hours.

It's the same for jazz musicians everywhere. Jesper Thilo and his very creative quartet (Olivier Antunes - p, Bo Stief - b, Frands Rifbjerg - d) played their first set at Jazz Paradise for three of us, and played as if their lives depended on it. Thilo's group played straight-ahead bebop, but constantly listened and responded to each other at the highest level. Bo Stief deserves a medal for following Antunes' harmonic deviations at least 90% of the time. Thilo has a rich, beautiful sound - his low C's, B's, and B flats got to me on the ballads every time. During the second set, the audience swelled to eight!

Buncha jazz EPs at a shop in Cophenhagen: Tony Scott (Swinging in Sweden); Sidney Bechet on Vogue doing Christmas tunes (his last recording session, I believe), and several by Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband - one with George Lewis. They had some cool 78s, but I doubted they would survive the baggage handlers on the trip home. Also picked up a CD by a Danish saxophone quartet: Saxopaths. Never heard of any of them, but I'm a sucker for saxophone ensembles.

Jesper Thilo at Paradise Jazz in Copenhagen.

Stan Getz Quartet at Montreux (Polydor LP). The "Captain Marvel" band. I was totally unaware of this album until I saw it in a little shop in Malmö today.

Very cool. That's one of the things that changed my life.

It's all been going to hell since Columbia started putting Paul Whiteman's picture on the labels.

Atlantic New Orleans - the George Lewis disc. (Well, iPod-ized.) Simple, beautiful music.

Happy birthday from Denmark!

I've heard Evan Parker a few times. The most amazing time was a solo concert held in an old stone church within walking distance from my house. He played five pieces (ranging from 7 to 15 minutes) on both soprano and tenor. I have a recording of the concert, and it's one of the best Parker recordings I've heard, but it doesn't hold a candle to the concert. The natural reverb of the wood (backed up by stone) created an amazing web of sound - it was almost too intense to handle. I think I floated (rather than walked) home.

The Klezmorim - Notes From Underground (Flying Fish)

I knew that, but I'm such a freak for this edition of Miles' band that I was going to buy the download until I realized that it was the same show as the CD. I agree that this is a great site on which to listen to some excellent music.

I got the email, too, and got really excited - was about to download the set until I realized that it was the same performance as disc one of the It's About That Time album. Definitely worth hearing if you don't have the album, but I'm glad I realized what it was before I paid for the download.

Congratulations! What a doll!