Milestones

It occurs to me that The World Saxophone Quartet (when they actually are a quartet) belongs here too.

Art Ensemble of Chicago without a drummer? There's also the String Trio of New York, though I don't think I've found one album I'd call a true masterpiece.

True, one has to credit Nat Cole and Oscar Peterson. I guess I'm thinking of a group where there's at least one horn or reed. There is also the News for Lulu group of Zorn, Lewis, Frisell. Kind of cool, but I find a little goes a long way.

I am first of all a big fan of jazz drumming. Nevertheless, I sometimes go for the soft side represented by the drummerless group. I am thinking not of solos or duos, but groups at least three in number. Most such configurations I have enjoyed are that size. My favorite would have to be Jimmy Giuffre 3 (the one "The Train and the River," "Crawdad Suite," etc). Giuffre is the pioneer in this kind of group, and perhaps the pinnacle. I have not heard a lot of the later trio with Bley and Swallow, though I do like Fly Away Litlte Bird, which must be among his last recordings. Another good one is Power of Three by Michel Pettrucianni, Jim Hall, and Wayne Shorter (though Shorter is absent on several tracks). Jim Hall is indeed one of the great figures in drummerless groups. We should also include Something Special; and there is quite a bit of drummelress work among the Telarc records (though often solo or duo). I don't think I would include records that use overdubs. Anyway, I am curious to hear your drummerless recommendations.

Hasn't Bill Frisell been playing in Lloyd's band lately--at least at certain times? That sound like an intriguing combination.

I've been listening to Steal Away the last couple of days. In recent years I acquired a lot of stuff by Great Jazz Trio--most of it nearly three decades after I discovered jazz. What a treat to hear these records, especially the ones with Carter and Williams.

It's a pretty wild idea, since the 1960s is either the second-best decade for jazz or the best (1950s). Of course, that's my opinion, but I think a lot of people would agree with me. My list would certainly contain Miles, Coltrane, and Mingus. If you are a fan of mainstream guitar (I am), then how can you leave off Wes, Grant Green, and Kenny Burrell? If you are a fan of free jazz, then you will include Ornette, Cecil, etc. Of course, it does say "favorite." Lately I've been listening to a lot of Blue Note records from the era. There is so much great stuff from Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, Grant Green, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, et al. How much would go into top 5 or top 10, maybe not much; but in terms of current listening favorites, they are well up there.

Seems like a guy who has been a bit below the radar. I've recently been listening to him on some Jim Hall records--and really enjoying his work. He's played quite a bit with Scofield, and he has done a lot of stuff in a trio with Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart. Also on Brecker's "Time is of the Essence," which is my favorite by the late tenor man. Goldings is heard mostly on organ, but also sounds good on piano; his facility on both seems considerable. It can be hard to get a lot of notice when you play keyboards (especially organ), and Goldings is not the flashiest player in the world. But certainly he's a talent worthy of greater recognition.

A pretty cool group. Not too long ago I was listening to a couple of early albums: Out of the Woods and Roots in the Sky. Thse are solid works throughout, with a distinctive sound and a fine conception, with the group (as others have noted ) very unified. Good compositions too, like "Vessel" and "Water Wheel." Towner is the main man, but really more for his dominance as composer than as player. I've kept up more on Towner than the group. In fact, I was quite surprised to learn that have stayed together and releases have been steady, though relegated (I believe) to obscure labels.

A love supreme....

I guess it is true that ballads are usually a feature for one soloist primarily. Note how popular it was on Verve to have ballad medleys--three or four players would have relatively short features, each on a different song that segued together. Otherwise you usually get one main player, but with a shorter spot for another--usually the pianist. One of my all-time favorite ballads, though, is "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love," with lengthy solos by George Adams and Don Pullen (possibly my favorite piano solo ever), plus a longish solo by Mingus himself.

Two points. 1) Yes, there is that mystical/spiritual quality in the later work. There is "Welcome," "Dear Lord," "Wise One," "Alabama," and many more. I mean, how does "Alabama" fit at all into the Tin Pan Alley type of ballad? These are great pieces, and a large part of what makes Coltrane a distinctively great artist. 2) There is much to admire in the traditional ballads found mainly on Prestige. Trane surely loved this material to play it so well. I also read somewhere that Trane knew virtually everything in the Great American Songbook. If Trane and his group had never before played (together) the songs on the Ballads record (Impulse), I'm sure they knew them; these are not obscure standards. As with others, I would think, my appreciation of Ballads has grown with each repeated listen.

I don't think I've ever heard "Seraphic Light" or "Venus."

Coltrane is known for his incredible intensity, marathon solos, sheets of sound. But what of Trane in the opposite mode: the ballads player? As far as I’m concerned, he is one of the greatest who ever lived. The Atlantic and Impulse periods include the fine Ballads album, the Duke Ellington collaboration (most notably “In a Sentimental Mood”), and most importantly (IMO) his original ballads—if we are to consider tunes such as “Naima,” “Central Park West,” “Welcome,” After the Rain,” and “Wise One” as ballads. But he was already great in the Prestige era. What absolutely marvelous work on the likes of “Theme for Ernie,” “Violets for Your Furs,” “Don’t Take Your Love from Me,” “I See Your Face Before Me,” “Solutrane,” “I Want to Talk About You,” and many more. His was not the breathy tenor ballad style favored by most on the horn, but it was completely distinctive and displayed great sensitivity. It strikes me as odd that Trane often sat out on ballads in Miles’ groups. True, he is on “Round About Midnight,” but plays in anything but a ballad manner. It would have been intriguing indeed to hear Trane on “It Never Entered My Mind,” or for that matter Miles on “I See Your Face Before Me.”

If you're at all a fan of guitar, I recommend the 4-CD set Progressions: 100 years of Jazz Guitar. The first disc (26 tracks) goes up to Tiny Grimes, good stuff to hear since I've never been much up on jazz guitar prior to Charlie Christian. These are interesting and entertaining tracks. By the end of the 4th disc you'll be hearing Ribot, Stern, and Frisell.

OK, thanks

Can anyone tell me is "Status Seeking" is from the Five Spot records by Booker Little and Eric Dolphy? It absolutely is the same group, though in browsing around I don't see this tune listed as from those famous records. I discovered it on the Prestige sampler of Dolphy's work. The track runs 13:19, which sounds right for these performances. The first version appeared on Waldron's The Quest, with Dolphy but no Little.

I'm ready to keep this thread going. There is simply so much stuff he recorded for the label. I'm now into Side Steps, and there is certainly some fine stuff there. The best of the complete albums found here are Mating Call with Dameron and Soul Junction with Red Garland. Just lots of wonderful stuff. What's not to love when you hear the great Coltrane--in fine form throughout--with such artists as Mal Waldron, Hank Mobley, Garland, Dameron, Bryd, Philly Joe,etc.

I'm very much a fan of Lush Life, which came out in 1966 or 1967. "Lush Life" the song does not appear, but the album features a lot of ballad standards. It's a 9-piece band that sounds very lush. I think it's about as good as this kind of thing gets. I'm surprised that Donaldson didn't do a couple of more projects like this one.

Lou was/is not an innovater, of course, but it's notable that he was in the company of some greats. Yeah, the Monk sessions. I'm trying to remember on which tunes he was featured.

There must be some fans out there. The man doesn't seem to get much respect, but I'd say he's a decent disciple of Bird, and let's not forget he was in the Blakey group with Horace Silver and Brownie--in essence, the start of the Messengers. His funky side came out in the early 60s, and I enjoy those records where he's backed by Grant Green and Big John Patton.

Toss up between "Funky Mama" and "Holy Ghost" by Lou Donaldson backed by Grant Green and Big John Patton.

Certainly we see divided attitudes about Tokyo Live. I remember being intrigued by it when it came out, but never bought it. I've looked around and it does seem hard to find and expensive. All told, I'm more pleased by by the work Tony did just before these years--for example, several records as part of The Great Jazz Trio, the trio record with Tommy Flanagan, and the record Etudes with Art Farmer, Bill Evans (sax), Ron Carter, and no pianist.

What kind of feelings do we have about these records? I'm sure some find them too conservative, too much in a basic post-bop mode--maybe will some say that Tony hung out with Wynton too much and carried his practices into his own music. Yet this is Tony Williams we are talking about! The group members were good, he seemed to concentrate on his own compositions, and the drumming is always there. I'm not sure if there is a bona fide classic tune after "Sister Cheryl," which anyway is better presented in the versions by Wynton (one of his great moments IMO) and the trio of Flanagan-Carter-Williams. I do own Angel Street and Story of Neptune (slightly favor the latter), as well as the very last record: a trio, which I think was on Blue Note too. I know Mosaic packaged up most of the material, and I've listened to some samples. Great stuff? Probably not. Good stuff? Yes.

I voted for Blue Note in this very lopsided poll. Lots of great work on BN. Anyone mention New and Old Gospel with Ornette? It is also very worthwhile hearing Jackie on several Lee Morgan albums, such as Lee-Way and Tom Cat.