mikeweil

After listening to all the vocla tracks I think that Bennett's singing style is not really compatible with the more "modern" backing they provide. Imagine someone like Mark Murphy with these guys. Bennett has not enough drama in "Out Of This World". A bit too proper. At first I thought he may have overdubbed, as the band plays a little too much, but there is a phrase Getz plays that is too much of interaction with the singer. Maybe they all didn't give enough of a damn on these sessions. Just another studio gig?

Only the Brookmeyer/Getz tracks from the latter.

The whole series of sessions in May and October 1964 was produced by Teo Macero and sounds to me like his brainchild, his idea of an all star production. Miles' pianist and bassist, Coltrane's drummer, Getz and his new star vibist, his old buddy Brookmeyer as a leader/writer/arranger, and Bennett as vocal star with an underrepresented jazz side on his Columbia albums. Only Bennett was under contract with Columbia; Brookmeyer turned out to be a one shot deal, all the others recorded for other labels as a leader - that's the only way Macero could have 'em all. There are some excellent solos scattered over the tracks. I wonder how the takes categorized as "no final performances" in the credits of the expanded CD reissue sound. Brookmeyer plays fine throughout, but this is not your idea of a highly charged blowing session. Leave your expectations behind, and you will probably get more out of it. I hear no melancholy or sad strains in this music, btw.. Relaxed and elegant. p.s. the rhythm section stirs the fire at a constant level, but does not intend to burn the forest.

Maybe Columbia had more in mind. The same rhythm section recorded with Tony Bennett, but it remained unissued. This 1987 Bennett compilation saw the first release of four of these tracks.

I don't know anything about the band or that song, butI have the impression that they changed the rhythmic configuration, kind of experimented with it.

No problem with the live tracks. That's black rhythm understanding. You don't have to play the beat to feel it. When Chaka starts singing, it is on the "1", but the second eighth note takes it to the offbeat. In this tune, the bass switches all the time from section to section, but the way he plays it is clear he always feels the beat right. What you as a listener heat and what you feel may differ. I once transcribed all the patterns of an Abakuá toque from a Mongo Santamaria record. All the patterns were coorect in relation to each other, but I had the "1" in the wrong place. Later I attended a clinic by Jon Otis with a few friends/colleagues, and that showed me the clave correctly. No way back after that. How about this version: They are better than we are!

I hear it the other way 'round. The rhythm guitar is on the off beat at first, like in reggae music. That is a Jamaican beat for me. There is no keyboard audible on the audio track. From the B section the guitar is on the beat, and the bass on the off beat. then both are on the beat. Then the bass is offbeat again. They toy around with those reggae patterns.

Okay here's more from my two cents bag. I didn't look at other posts. Track 8 - I relistened again, and am now convinced that this is not Eckstein, although probably influenced by him. Great singer - I wonder who this is. Track 9 - This is a very fine pianist. Technical proficiency and knowledge of the old school of pre-1950 piano jazz coupled with elegance and wit. I probably know that pianist, but .... Oh, this is Ellington's "Solitude". Track 10 - To me it sounds like they intonate differently. Bass sound is very big, as if recorded through a pickup, which I really dislike. Both players' styles are not to my taste. Track 11 - Trumpet player reminds me of Eddie Henderson, but this track is new to me. ECM-ish sound. Track 12 - more trumpet. Why is the trumpet so low in the mix at the end? Did the engineer fall asleep? Well played, but the balance annoys me. Track 13 - this sounds familiar. Yes, this is Johnny Coles - the smears are typical for him. I have this, he's one of my favourites. Not much of a theme, though. Track 14 - more trumpet, very interesting track. I thought of Larry Young, but he would have played more variations. No idea who this is. Track 15 - we get an interesting varied traumpet anthology here. But the baritone player is no slouch either. Nice that they keep solos short. An electric piano, but not a Rhodes, sounds like a Hohner model. Nice chatter from the trumpet. Would have liked to hear more from him. Track 16 - More baritone, nice live sound. Nice track, great atmosphere, but is it they go crazy about? Not so much happening, musically. Nice closer. Very nice compilation! That trumpet series was really good. Geez! I have that record ......

Is that a studio track dubbed over a live performance video? The voice is in sync, the instruments not always or not al of them. That is basically a reggae or ska beat, where the rhythm guitar is on the off beat.

They say in the liner notes that the discographically known unissued material was nowhere to be found and is considered lost.

Will listen to all of them today. Great, swinging music.

Chuck beat me to it. If anyone could do this, it is James Harrod. Those thousands of edits and scattered releases make it a nightmare.

Had another one this weekeend.

from this box set:

"What is this thing called jazz, this funny thing called jazz" 😉

I think the problem lies in the categories and how we define them. With Basie, it's jazz. With a different rhythm section, probably not. I could care less about these categories. It's a nice track, that's good enough for me. I bet there are jazz instrumentalists that do noz "swing" in your ears, but are taken as jazz musicians. Coltrane didn't swing, in a strict sense, in his later years. 👍

.... plus the capability to improvise, ranging from melodic variations of the given material to scatting in a horn-like fashion.

Now that's a very nice one!