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Nate Dorward
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Posts posted by Nate Dorward
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It's a very pretty album, but is frankly unexciting to the point of dullness. It's the sound of someone resting on his laurels--can't blame him, but I can't say that's what I like to listen to. There's yet another jazz version of the 2nd movement of Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez", if that turns your crank. There's a placid version of "Autumn Leaves" too, on which Carter is fairly unrecognizable as the work of the man who was there when Miles performed some of his most tempestuous readings of that tune.
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I like Criss's playing a lot; I keep meaning to get Sonny's Dream which I'm told is the best of the Prestige sides. Of those I have I prefer This Is Criss, which is consistently fine. Portrait of... is nice but for me "Wee" is ruined by the incredible amount of reed-squeaks, & Walter Davis's originals don't do much for me; it's the ballads that are best. Pity both albums are so short--barely over 30 minutes (Prestige wasn't big on retakes or other expensive stuff, which I guess explains the lack of extra session material on the CD reissues & also the lack of a retake of "Wee"). The Beat Goes On is surprisingly good, considering the material--the title track is quite effective.
I find myself enormously admiring Criss's playing while thinking the albums themselves could be a bit routine for one reason or another. Out of Nowhere is again nice enough, despite a grade-B rhythm section that's none too subtle--there's a good "Brother Can You Spare a Dime", of all things. "Late masterpiece" is stretching it a bit. Mr Blues Pour Flirter is slightly odd in that I gather there's a second album of material from these sessions (breiefly mentioned in the liner notes) which includes the title-track, which isn't present on the recent reissue I have. It's nice, if again not a world-beater, with a lovely "Day Dream" which suggests how much he learned from Johnny Hodges. Arvanitas sounds good on it, too.
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I was just sent Third Eye. Can't say that so far (having listened to two tracks) is sounds like more than OKish. It's vaguely Latinish, if that's your thing. There's a version of "Body & Soul" in 15/4, which is mildly interesting.
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If I remember rightly the point of the anecdote in connection with King of America was that Costello & Burnett were wondering aloud how the rhythm section & Ella were so tight on those discs.....without cluing in to the fact that Ray Brown & Ella were married at the time.
Re: the thread topic: Rhodri Davies with Charlotte Church & the Cinematic Orchestra. Evan Parker has racked up a few pop appearances with Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker & others, too.
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Hm...the reviews are fine but the "CD List 12" (apparently for 2003) seems to be added to only incrementally (like one or two a month) & they're still chewing through releases from 2001 for some reason. What gives?
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I've only made it through two or three tracks on it each spin before flipping it off. Pretty crummy, if you ask me.
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I'm surprised it's taken this long to reach a mention of Spellbound, one of Jordan's earliest but most impressive recordings. The long version of "Au Privave" at the end is one of my favourite tracks of the period.
Jordan's talents as a composer have been rather strangely underrated. Anthony Braxton was spot on to single out "Toy" as a remarkable composition (it also caught the ear of Cannonball Adderley, who recorded it on an album with Bill Evans). I'm also quite taken by the title composition on Bearcat. -- Bearcat is an excellent album, yes, though I find the rhythm section performance a bit odd--Teddy Smith plays in 2 for virtually the entire album, & JC Moses has a peculiarly bumping, rattly time-feel which I feel works better in the avantgarde contexts he usually playerd in rather than a more conventional context. But I still like the album & play it often--the version of Tom McIntosh's "Malice Towards None" for instance is lovely.
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Well, I'm sure the album is riddled with borrowings, literary & musical, so I'm not terribly surprised. There's a line in one song which is pinched verbatim from The Great Gatsby for instance ("Can't repeat the past? of course you can!").
I should also add that I think it's an absolutely stunning album.
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Joe: no, Lovano's not on the Silvano/Waldron disc, though he cowrote one track. The disc was the last release during Waldron's lifetime but the session was in the can for a little while--there are more recent recordings of his (e.g. the Sketch disc with Avenel & Lacy). -- I can't say I really like Riding a Zephyr all that much, though it has its moments: but the lyrics are hit or miss & Silvano's voice doesn't greatly appeal to me. Waldron is unimpeachable throughout, though. There's also the use on one track of Silvano's multiply overdubbing her voice to create a chorus, which irritates me a bit, & the final track has one of those "[Jazz Musician X] is the greatest" lyrics which comes off as awkward flattery when the subject is Waldron himself & he's in the studio there accompanying the words.......
Yeah, Blossom Dearie can be good--Once Upon a Summertime has truly stunning versions of "Tea for Two" & "Manhattan", in particular. I have a couple other Verve discs of hers but they haven't grabbed me as much.
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It's good music of course--the first two discs are some of Powell's greatest recordings, & the last two while not nearly as essential are at a consistently good level, unlike some latterday Bud. That said the RVG remasters are I understand a considerable improvement on the rather unimpressive sound of some of the earlier sessions (I haven't done the comparison myself: I'm going on what Stuart Broomer tells me) so bear that in mind. The liner notes are OK but not remarkable.
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Jeri Southern recorded a nice version for Decca. It's available on the compilation The Very THought of You.
Virginia Mayhew
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"Babble On" is an original but it's not Mayhew's--it's by Steve Swallow.
I thought Phantoms was fine but it didn't enormously excite me. Ingrid Jensen is certainly a better player than Mayhew, & I found myself listening with more interest to the trumpet solos.