Milestones

The River and the Thread is an excellent record.

Isn't this strict definition of sideman too limiting for jazz? I'm always most intrigued by the records on which every player is a leader (albeit at a lower rate for most bassists and drummers); and in Blue Note's heyday this was true of virtually all the great records.

I've been digging into Billy Higgins' music quite deeply of late. I noted him as one of the most distinguished of Blue Note sideman, with immense contributions to albums by Morgan, Mobley, Gordon, McLean, and countless others. He was the drummer on Rejoicing, which may be Metheny's best record. The man had important partnerships with Ornette, Charles Lloyd, Cedar Walton, Clifford Jordan, Charlie Haden, and more. I know he did very little as a strict leader, but I just listened to the title track of Soweto and it sounded quite fine. Offer your praise. I'm pretty sure we all love Billy Higgins.

Yes, I guess this last is the true notion of the sideman--the one who only supports and never (or rarely) leads. I would also add Kenny Burrell, who is great as both leader and sideman. Midnight Blue is definitive as one aspect of the Blue Note sound. Kenny is vital as a BN sideman mainly for Jimmy Smith and Stanley Turrentine.

"Blue Note family" is probably an apt term.

Pepper Adams did do some sideman work, in addition to the group he co-led with Byrd--three with Blue Mitchell, two with Lee Morgan, one with hank Mobley.

In addition to Billy Higgins (who is on my original list), I would add Elvin Jones, Joe Chambers, and Tony Williams as drummers who made major contributions. Williams even contributed in the rebirth era, on records by Geri Allen and Don Pullen.

I would agree with you on Morgan, although I do find that Morgan produced better stuff as a leader than Hubbard (but Lee also had a longer run with the label).

Happy anniversary, Mr. Llloyd. I've been listening to your wonderful music for a long time. I recently acquired Passin' Thru and Acoustic Masters I.

I thought I would give this a try. Part of the interest in Blue Note’s heyday was how seemingly everybody played on everybody else’s records. You could have a record with Shorter, Morgan, and Hancock and it could any one of them who was the leader. I guess you could often tell by who contributed the most compositions. Of course, in this era (the 1960s) everyone was writing. I’m not sure how many visionary artists there were on Blue Note at this time. I would say a visionary is a Miles, a Monk, a Trane. But some musicians were excellent players, but largely lacked vision; thus their own records were rarely of hit-it-out-of-the-park quality, but they made great contributions to the works of others, especially those with more vision or at least with greater compositional ability (Andrew Hill, Wayne Shorter). Anyway, this would be my current choice of favorite sidemen: 1. Freddie Hubbard (definitely my top choice; Freddie was everywhere in jazz in the 60’s, but especially appeared on many great Blue Note albums; somehow his own records are a notch below, other than Breaking Point) 2. James Spaulding (perhaps the #2 man, if only because he never led a date on Blue Note, yet he was all over the place on the label; whether on alto or flute, he would provide something special) 3. Joe Henderson (a lot like Hubbard; he always raised the excitement level; it’s no accident that the 4-CD set overview mostly features sidemen appearances) 4. Curtis Fuller (for his work with Blakey and appearing on quite a few other Blue Note classics; the go-to trombonist on Blue Note) 5. Grant Green (house guitarist for sure; a lot of good records under his own name, but his sideman work is not to be missed) 6. McCoy Tyner (I love Tyner’s leader work, but one should also check out what he did with Shorter, Hutcherson, Morgan, and others) 7. Herbie Hancock (sort of like Tyner, but I think he appeared more frequently as sideman) 8. Bobby Hutcherson (not showing up as much as I would like, but some great appearances with McLean, Hill, Tyner, etc.) 9. Ron Carter (Carter was well on the way to being, I believe, the most recorded bassist ever; his work with the Miles Davis quintet was more significant, but his work for Blue Note is part of his legacy) 10. Billy Higgins (tons of sessions displaying his dancing style)

These videos just seem to scream, "Look at me!"

Wow, I never expected so many posts and the intriguing twists to the conversation. We all want to find the musician who stands out, and our ears are the ultimate judge; but it's also good to know what our kindred spirits hear and how they evaluate.

Thoughts on Grace Kelly? I saw some posts from 2011, and most people were anything but complimentary. I have seen some gimmicky videos of her playing in Times Square and various NYC locations with some baritone player. She seemed more about sexiness and choreographed dance moves than anything else. Also, it's kind of funny that she shares a name with one of the most famous women of the 20th Century. I have really not heard much of her sax work, but apparently Phil Woods and Lee Konitz saw/heard something. I was thinking of catching her on a double bill with Terence Blanchard this summer.

Columbia's jazz purge of 1973 certainly belongs in recorded music's Hall of Shame.

Yes, just for the fact alone that Carter played with EVERYBODY.

No offense to the cult of RVG, but he more captured the sound than created it.

Jazz provides evidence of how willing to stereotype most of are. I'm sure back in the day people would think that Pepper Adams was black because of his gruff, hard-driving sound. Does Jimmy Knepper "sound" white?

How about "Old Blues" (which could be generic), "Royal Duke," "Portrait of Hawk," and "Black Church"?

Isn't the whole thing moot? So many people are bi-racial, or some kind of mix in differing percentages. People achieve different looks. At one time quite a few thought Jarrett was African-American, but after his early period it's clear he's about as white as can be. How different was it in the 1960s, other than perception?

Ellington is Ellington, and he produced brilliant stuff in his later years. Also, I think the orchestra was usually well-recorded and sounds wonderful in stereo. I don't think I see the "Private Collection" series listed; it must be at least 10 volumes--mostly from the 1960s. I have a couple of them, and they are certainly worth hearing.

Sounds interesting. That's a lot of tracks, and a handful are ones that must be obscurities or new pieces. "Children's Icicle Song," "Sister Gladys"--could these be new compositions?

So what is the point? That white musicians contributed little to the "Blue Note sound"?

Seems like Bill Evans and Jim Hall were on the label, or somehow had a few things reissued on Blue Note.

Woody Shaw is not an artist I know all that well. He always seemed under the radar, and although he was releasing plenty of good stuff in the 80s, it was not easy for me to find or hear his stuff. Of course, he appears on quite a few Blue Note dates, including some real classics--I suppose most would point to Unity by Larry Young. I know Steve Turre was in Woody's band for quite some time, and I am particularly interested in hearing those releases.

I don't want to sound dismissive of Joe Pass. I'm not a musician, but I can hear the technical skill and sophistication of his playing; and an awful lot of praise has been heaped on this man. Still, my go-to Pass records are the non-solo ones. I think he did some marvelous things in duo settings, whether with another guitar (Herb Ellis), trombone, tenor, bass, etc.