Nate Dorward

1. A Monk blues ("Blues Five Spot" I think) for piano & vibes. The Penguin Guide always natters on about how piano/vibes duos inherently don’t work, for reasons that escape me. I often get the feeling that Monk tunes encourage mainstream players to be deliberately “spacy”, & I can’t quite figure out the angle of these musicians on the tune here -- they seem to be deliberately silly/scatterbrained at points (not least the mugging for the audience) -- but I think it’s still relatively “mainstream”, not the Dada hijinks of the Amsterdam guys e.g. I don’t know, there are plenty of nice bits but I just wished it would settle in one place/groove/attitude for more than a chorus. 2. Seven minutes of my life I want back, Tom. 3. More time for this one (though I don’t like the heavily Milesian trumpet) but still not doing all that much for me. & it’s twice as long as the previous track! Agh! I just find it really hokey & predictable when this chart reaches for moments of intensity. Hm, could be Billy Harper on tenor. There seems to be a strong effort here to pay homage to the Miles/Evans collabs, though I don’t think it’s latterday Evans. Hm, the chords under the guitar solo are heavily George Russellish. Yeah, bingo! This is definitely latterday Russell. I haven’t heard the stuff in between the Riversides & Deccas and the 1980s Blue Notes, but it presumably fits in there. Truthfully, I think Russell is one of the saddest declines in jazz (the recent 80th b.day concert was painful) & this isn’t making me change my mind. This would also fit in with the links to Miles & Gil as much of Russell’s later work seems to be chewing over their work endlessly (esp. the clunky "So What" chart he keeps digging out). Characteristically long-winded too. 4. Dig that touch and that time. One of the old guys at the piano, surely, with a few nifty little passing chords skating over the surface of the tune. I don’t recognize the tune -- is it a half-tempo "I'm Going to Buy Myself a Paper Doll"? This is one nice way to treat a tune -- like a cobweb you’re spinning but don’t want to break. 5: “Delilah” for flute & organ. The flute's fine, but the organ solo's the bit I liked. 6: Great stuff, & I probably should know these guys. I initially thought it might be Getz but it’s a little too robust for him I think. 7: “In Your Own Sweet Way”, with a quirky little piano intro. I think someone’s maybe having too MUCH fun here – I kept wishing for a more straightforward approach, less cat and mouse. Anyway, once it hits the bridge of the tune it goes into a Herbie Hancock modal thing instead. I like the tenor though for the openly rhapsodic approach. I wonder how these guys hooked up – just seems such an unlikely combo of saxophonist with this pianist, do they really regularly play together? Hm, could actually be Hancock on the piano I suppose, in a very strange mood though. Pity the whole thing just stops in midstream. 8: “Darn that Dream” with a really odd pianist there who grabs the ear with those twisted harmonies much more than the OK Lestorian tenor. Maybe if I knew what the tenor guy sounded like in his prime I’d be able to appreciate more what he’s doing now with his evidently very diminished resources. 9: Red Mitchell on bass & vocals? Probably Roger Kellaway on piano. Well, the words at the end are a giveaway! Here ya go: http://www.answers.com/topic/that-was-that

1: I initially feared this would just be a cute 30s retro vibes/slap bass showcase (maybe it’s the lingering aftereffects of having had to review a Roland Guerin album) but this one really does get intense enough to get out of the novelty bag. 2: More or less a Messengers tribute, starting with a hint of “Blues March” but moving into the style of Free for All (in fact I think the rhythm is a direct lift from “The Core” or “Free for All”....). I like the tenor player a lot more than the alto -- so much sharper. Arthur Blythe on alto? Aha!!!! Unmistakably Tapscott on piano! His solo’s brilliant, the joyous push to the edge of chaos (but completely controlled). The rest is just OK. 3: No idea whether this is South African jazz or just players inspired by it – but anyway it’s an enjoyable track that sustains its length, though never really makes me jump out of my seat either. 4: I find the texture with both piano & guitar too busy so I find this more enjoyable once the guitarist & pianist get to their solos. Or perhaps I just like their solos better? 5: Got to be Steve Swallow on bass, though this is not the usual context for Swallow....! I could have lost the extra percussion, but the flute player is good, nice tone & plenty of ideas phrased in interesting across-the-form/bar ways. One of the best tracks on the BFT. 6: The pianist starts like it’s going to be “52nd St Theme” but then with the repetitions it becomes clear we’re going somewhere else. Messy opening, & in general I just can’t get with this one, the loopy drumming in particular. Most interested in what the tenor’s doing. 7: A little pop balladry with tenor & accordion! “Saving All My Love For You”? Uh, well, it’s nicely done, I’m not going to complain. 8: Evidently an edit from a longer performance (pity about the background hiss!). Hm, it’s a surprise when the drummer pulls a contemporary dancefloor rhythm out of there! No idea who it is, but nice to have this somewhat freeish track here. Weird scrapy sound on the drums – is he using those “hybrid” sticks that are bundles of thin sticks? 9: An old-fashioned soprano sound with a contemporary tune & rhythm section. I love that blue 3rd he juggles with 2 & 1/2 minutes in! & a good piano solo too. I liked this track a lot. 10: “Yesterdays”. Weirdly balanced/recorded, the soprano sounding virtually like an overdub on a very quiet rhythm section. Uneventful. I take it this is included because of the bass solo but it’s not really doing a lot for me either.

Got them this morning.

Uh, where did I say that Eugene Chadbourne gives timeless insights? I like his writing a lot, mostly for the Hunter S Thompsonesque quality -- the piece in the new issue is a great saga of the miseries of dealing with insurance companies. Anyway, "timeless insight" isn't exactly how you'd describe the virtues of Eugene's writing.... There are a lot of musicians out there with a lot of good stuff to say, & I wish they had more time/inclination to write. But there are a lot of b.s.ers out there too, or those who seem to be more worried about music-politics than music.

Try Randy Sandke's Subway Ballet. I believe Cecil Taylor also wrote a ballet.

Hey Clem: maybe try underlines for a time instead of slashes? It'd be easier on the eyes I assure you. The duo with Lloyd at the end is avoidable, everything else I've heard has been excellent. Any love for the trio disc with Teddy Edwards?

Wouldn't have been there yet, most likely--I got my copy hot off the presses from Martin just the other day.

They're essentially the same in terms of distribution, &c., but Emanem is Martin Davidson's label, Psi is a label under the Emanem umbrella tghat's curated by Evan Parker.

Wasn't half of what Bird played pop songs? MG Yes, but the pop songs of c. 1945-1955, not the pop songs of the late 1960s.

Thanks for posting this--I'd already put a heads-up in the Tyrone Washington thread. This is a great, great album--been playing it a lot ever since I got the promo from Martin.

Sonny Criss is wonderful but I'd hardly call an album like Up Up and Away bebop--half of it is contemporary pop tunes IIRC.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

Yeah, I really recommend this one--I'd never heard of it before, & apparently it was a Japan-only release originally. The lineup is amazing--it includes Steve Lacy, Kenny Davern, Enrico Rava, Paul Motian, Sheila Jordan, & on one especially memorable track, Louisiana Red on guitar and vocals. Washington gets two long, excellent solos, so fans of his work will definitely be happy. Everything from dixieland to electric blues here, often on the same track.

Just thought I'd let folks know that Tyrone Washington's last(?) recorded appearance is now on CD: Roswell Rudd's Blown Bone is out on Emanem. Washington's on four tracks.

Oh yeah--worth mentioning Henry Threadgill's Carry the Day.

Some of Kip Hanrahan's projects would fit the bill, I think (I say this without knowing his work well, but for instance the new Conjure album has Cuban percussion + David Murray & Billy Bang).

Allen--whatever the merits & demerits of DeVeaux's book, I thought it was written clearly & was admirably free of the numbing linguistic counter-shuffling that is the bane of jazz-studies books and papers. -- Should also point out that DeVeaux's book is rather skeptical about Mary Lou Williams' reported quote from Monk about creating "a music they can't steal" (see p.351).

Right, Duck Baker--I have that one here but haven't listened to it for a while. Aha, that was DeArango........ ick. Renato Geremia sounds like a talented guy, though the saxophone is where it's at!

Larry: sounds a bit like the plot of the film So Long at the Fair--based on the same story?

Santuerio, on Leo, a quartet album with Mark Feldman, Hank Roberts & Gerry Hemingway--her best album, I think.

Well, that may be technically true, but realistically it's hard to imagine any half-million-dollar award where there isn't some SERIOUS politicking & jockeying for position going on. Come on.

Hey, mostly spot-on, plus a few wacko choices. Speaking of which, what has Reginald Robinson been doing since he got his grant?

Hey, even if JZ never played/wrote another note but concentrated on the Stone & Tzadik I'd still think he was putting that money to good use. Carter on the other hand..... ick. One wonders how they go about picking names & voting.

I liked this memorial to Redman, from the pianist Robert W Getz: http://screwlooseum.blogspot.com/2006/09/l...black-star.html Jeez, I should check my TV listings to see if they might rerun that documentary....

Incidentally, re: my doubts about the exact pitches in "Song X" & the rendition on track 10, take a look at this, from the horse's mouth: http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/20..._the_inbox.html (scroll to the bottom).