Milestones

I think this is a tough one, since most jazz most jazz artists are so eclectic and open-minded that we are not terribly surprised by anything that they do. But I'd be willing to nominate Monk's swan song on Columbia: Monk's Blues. Definitely out of character in a bad way.

It's interesting that on The Opener he led off both sides 1 and 2 with ballads. That must be quite rare in Blue Note history.

He got off to a booming start, that's for sure.

He was sure on a lot of different labels, but then that was the case for most jazz players.

I'm wondering what people think of Curtis Fuller. Certainly he was a major of force on trombone a generation after J.J. (or more like half-generation). I find that I have decent amount of his work, though mainly as a sideman. He was often under-utilized, with only a brief spot, or sometimes not even a solo. Of course, he is great on the first Jazztet record, as well several encounters with Benny Golson. He was also a member of the Jazz Messengers for about four year, and I have a lot of those records. But I'm trying to hear him more as a solo artist, and to that end have just acquired The Opener and Soul Trombone--worthy records both.

I enjoyed it a lot. I'm a big Kenny Burrell fan, and it was cool to see him on this show. Tavis loves his music, including jazz, but getting Burrell on the show...I'm simply impressed. Kenny Burrell is all about taste in his person and music, yet he is also one the greatest blues players on the planet.

A fine actor. I liked him as Napoleon Solo (who wouldn't?), and he had some pretty memorable film roles (after Magnificent Seven I usually think of Bullitt). It's too bad he did't get a late-career, long-running, high-profile gig like McCallum as Ducky.

So Lou Donaldson is now 90. Jimmy Heath turned 90. Randy Weston turned 90. Aren't they all still active?

Monk.

Not to mention that Roth is now well past 80, and the Swedish Academy is unlikely to award another American within 10-15 years.

Maybe it's time to add a couple more Nobel categories--cinema and music. In music we could have had Miles, Trane, Ellington, etc. The literature prize has always been the odd one out among the Nobels. As for Dylan, I remember finding a book of his complete lyrics back in 1978. At the time I had not heard much Dylan, but I read through just about all those lyrics--and they were, for the most part, fascinating. As a songwriter/poet, they don't come any better than Bob.

This is a tough thing, and why not 10 instead of 5? My approach would be a top record by my all time favorites, so.... Blanton/Webster Band--Ellington Kind of Blues (or Milestones)--Miles Davis Brilliant Corners (or Monk's Music)--Monk Crescent--Coltrane Great Concert of Charlies Mingus w. Dolphy

Byrd, along with Wes Montgomery and many others, often selected pop material such as songs by the Beatles (the gentler ones) and big pop hits of the day. For that matter, isn't bossa nova basically popular (pop) music of Brazil? This is different from someone like Pat Metheny, who features a strong melodic element in much of his work--but nearly always writes his own stuff. I've always understood "blues" to the a key element to the work of nearly all major jazz players.

Yeah, I remember seeing that one with Ellis on Spotify.

Here's a good one from later career--Moments like This, the ultimate meeting with Peplowski.

There's also an early record named Blues for Night People, which is rather good. But I agree that the track of the same name (on the Village Gate record, yet not on the earlier studio LP) is really superb.

I liked Gary Giddins' collections of articles, such as Visions of Jazz.

Calling on Charlie Byrd fans. This was a guy that I seriously under-valued. I mainly knew him for bossa nova and the Stan Getz connection. I think I actually took more notice of his fine contributions to Ken Peplowski's It's a Lonesome Old Town. And now I have done a little more investigation, and overall I really like what I hear. True, he did have an attraction to pop material, but his huge discography shows what range he had. He was not so soft as I had presumed, and indeed there's plenty of blues quality in his work. He was a well-trained musician and excelled in all kinds of settings. I do wish, however, he'd recorded more often with jazz heavyweights--as he did with Clark Terry on a live record. While not a player who really produced masterpieces, Charlie Byrd offers much that can be thoroughly enjoyed.

He is indeed a subtle player, but this is a man who was certainly committed in everything he did.

Yes, influence can be measured in several ways; and one can make the case for Les Paul. All the same, I don't have a single Les Paul recording in my collection.

It's intriguing to me that so many guitarists with rock in their backgrounds (and not afraid to display it) have been directed influenced by Hall. That's everyone I named in my first post.

He was not in my top 5 favorites either, but the appreciation has certainly been growing over the years. I think now he would be in my top 10.

To me, it seems like he is. You of course have to put Charlie Christian, Django, and Wes at the top. After that? I'd have no trouble placing Hall in the 4th spot. The man made his mark early--legendary meetings with Giuffre, Rollins, Evans. As a leader, he perhaps lagged for awhile, but I think few musicians can claim such a fine run of music near the end: the Telarc records, Something Special, These Rooms, Magic Meeting. The likes of Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, John Abercrombie, and many more have expressed tremendous admiration and cited direct influence. He taught and mentored all of them--and many more. Even Nels Cline is showing the strong debt to Hall on Lovers. He was a special and important man and musician.

Quite a few names I've never heard. I do also like Michael Moore. I have one of his Dylan records, on which he probably plays more alto sax than clarinet--but he sounds very good on both.

Recently I caught Eddie Daniels at Oberlin College, and I really liked the show. I'd never been much into Daniels. I had just one of his albums on vinyl, with nothing on CD or digital download. Maybe it was the GRP thing in the 80s. The tune selection at the concert was generally not imaginative, though there was a lovely piece from Sweeney Todd. The man can play (and has a very pleasant stage presence), and it's hard to believe he is nearly 75. Otherwise, I have one record by Don Byron (though also some prominent sideman appearances), one by Anat Cohen, and a handful by Ken Peplowski. They are all fine players, and I'm feeling I need to explore all of them--plus, I am sure, several more. Despite some attempts to revitalize it, the clarinet still has very low visibility in jazz. I suppose that's not likely to change. But it's worthwhile to seek out the players (most of whom, I've noticed, double or triple on other instruments).