JSngry

In (sadly) typical "jazz fashion", we're sitting here worrying about the past, as if what's passed is still happening now and can somehow be "fixed". In the meantime, Aric has resurfaced as a cyberwoman, fooled damn near everybody (including myself - I saw some "signs" but never really made the connection), gotten really wrapped up in the whole Bird Flu thing, is moving to Canada as a result, and has placed Hawk & Tatum above Hank (what about Warne?) in his pantheon of musical gods. Ya'll tell me what's more interesting here, the past or the present?

What label is this on, and can we get an obligatory CDU link?

I knew there had to be a good reason!

I'vre always liked Chico, but seldom "love" him. His "inside" playing usually sounds kinda "un-natural" to me. The intent (and sincerity) is certainly there, but... Truthfully, I've not heard his more recent work. So the above is based on his work up until the mid-80s or so. The thing I have him on that I really like is Warriors, a Black Saint date co-led by him, Don Pullen, Fred hopkins, & Bobby Battle. That shit is off the hook!

Depends on what your preferences are. If you want to get your first hit from something with an overt jazz flavor, by all means start with 4 Seasons. If you want something with a poppy yet kinda wacked-out Brazillian/Salsa flavor, go with Optimista. And if you want something that's got all that plus some techno-dance touches, by all means get Routes, which is available in a Japanese version (usually in stock at Dusty Groove or one of the sites you can link to through this board) that has a bonus cut, or domestically through her website (she's part of the same ArtistShare program as Maria Scnieder & Jim Hall). The domestic version lacks the bonus cut but comes with a lot of other downloadable "extras". And don't let the "techno" thing scare you off. Monday's really impressing me with the way that she's using drum programs for rhythms in much the same way that Zawinul used synths for tonal colors. Her programming doesn't sound at all "mechanical" or otherwise oppressive. this stuff is at once rhymically complex in its layerings and irresistable in its propulsiveness. No small feat that, and coupled with her consummate musicality and arranging/production skills, I'd be tempted to say that she's on the forefront of creating a a new form of contemporary dance music that's as much focused on musicality as it is groove, but I don't know wnough about what's happening in contemporary dance music to make that kind of claim with any real confidence. Two things I do know, though, is pop production/arranging skills and songwriting craft. And on these counts, she's about as dazzling a talent as any I've heard, ever. Lon's comparison to "golden age" Stevie Wonder is not at all incorrect afaic, but Monday ups the ante by leaving room for extended jazz solos in a lot of her tunes. And she uses "real" jazz players like Conrad herwig, Dave Kikowski, her husband Alex Siapigin, Bryan Lynch, Dave Valentin (whose talents far exceed his limpy GRP efforts of yore), and Donnie McCaslin, whose playing elsewhere has me intrigued. McCaslin, in fact, has a long solo on the most techno/dance piece on Routes, "The Right time". What impresses me about him is that almost any other tenor player called to solo on this kind of piece would either do a total outjob deconstruction thing or else do a Breckerish hooty-tooty gland-stimulation. Both of these types approaches are tired cliches that were never much fun to begin with, especially the latter. But McCaslin PLAYS, develops ideas and motifs, playing some subtle harmonic games along the way while never losing his feel for the underlying groove. Maybe there's lots of cats who could play like this on a dance cut, but how many producers would allow it? And that's one of teh many things that I really dig about Monday - as her own producer, she not only allows this kind of shit, she obviously encourages it. It's obviously what she wants on her records - playing, real playing, real music, no "role playing". "The Right Time" is nearly 10 minutes long, but it's arranged in such a way that it doesn't plod on with the Fascistic Beat Beating of so many dance cuts. It's sectionalized (seamlessly), and there's an attention to pacing, dynamics, and texture that makes it very clear that although this is dance music, and that there's technology at play (GASP!), that this is first and foremost music, not "product" for the clubs. It's tempting to say that not since the Swing Era has social functionality and "art" been so organically blended, but that might be hyperbole. But then again, it might not be. Time will tell, but the evidence is available now for your consideration. I can definitely say, though, that it's not the type of thing that you ever encounter on a regular basis. "The Right Time" is the most overtly "club" cut on Routes, but it's not the only one that seamlessly melds "machines" (really, though, at this point in the game it's time we start thinking of them as instruments and start blaming the players, not the machines, for the far-too-often unhuman results that come from their usage) and "real time" playing. There's 2-3 cuts on the album taht fall flat for me, but the rest is as daring and satisfying a "pop' album (and this might well be a case of something being too good to be thought of as "pop", although as with the machines, I say it's time to start blaming the practitioners rather than the idiom for the rampant failures therein) as you're going to hear. The songs are bold and meaty, the arrangements oft-times startling (Siapagin's work adds a distinctly,as FFA noted, Woody Shaw-ish element to the proceedings when it appears, and again - if this is a "producer's music", then Monday's "allowance" of this type thing is her choice alone, and how many pop producers encourage the inclusion of Woody shaw type horn lines on their records?), and the production is more often than not downright bold. Routes is probably too "contemporary" for many here, but if you're not one of them, I'd suggest checking it out ASAP. Remember, her mom & father(s) are all serious jazz musicians, so she grew up surrounded by/immersed in non-idiotic music. And she herself was raised/trained as a classical flautist (in line for a scholarship at Oberlin, I believe, until a jaw injury sidetracked her focus for several years, but that's another story...). so this ain't no DIY geek with ideas but no chops to execute them in anything more than a manner that suggests what they really want to hear. This woman's got bold ideas and the skills to pull them off exactly as she hears them. Monday Michiru is the real deal.

Well, other than the truly fine Jones/Lewis stuff & (occasionally) the Hubbard cut, I don't listen to it much, simply because there's really nothing to listen to, the cuts are so short. The Steig thing is ok at best, but you can get better Steig in any number of places. But a 2:41 solo Burrell piece ("People" no less!), what are you gonna do with that other than recognize its existence? Or include it as a CD bonus cut. But where? The McGriffcut is a tasty item, but w/o context in the album. Again, what are you gonna do with that? BTW - the tour wsa the same one that resulted in two MPS albums - The Hub Of Hubbard & Richard Davis' Muses For Richard Davis. Both are fine albums that probably/hopefully capture the energy of the tour better than this Lester-released "document'.

I have it. Got it as a cutout back in the day. Very good stuff, but perversely short playing time. "Don't Get Sassy" features a lenghty (& delirous) extended Joe Henderson solo. Worth the cost of admission for that one alone. No Volume 2 that I know of. I've heard stories that that tour was a "source of friction" between the players and Sonny Lester.

Yes, it is. Although I don't know if it's "club" live or "live in the studio". With David Axelrod producing, you never know. I got it on a Capitol reel-to-rell that I can't play any more. I think. I'm afraid to plug in my reel-to-reel for fear that it'll blow up after years of disuse... That's another good'un that's unduly lumped in the "all commercial" bag. It's a little more commercial than most, but there's still some good meat on that plate.

Yeah, that's a good'un. Desmond on "What Is This Thing...", wow. Although by this time (or this album, he wsa basically playing his solos and then sitting out. But such solos they are! Still remember buying it (mono 360 in a plastic inner sleeve with a tear-off top!) for $0.99 at a Kilgore, Tx TG&Y store on a 1972 Wednesday night before a Lent service at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, corner of Broadway & Flory, Rev. Harold Wageman (the only clergyman in my life for whom I still have high - the highest, actually - respect), Pastor. It's still there, against all odds (and against all hope...). Doesn't every family go shopping at an out-of town dime store before going to a mid-week church service? Why I remember this is because during the entire service, all I had on my mind was those legs. Even now, if I think of Brubeck, I think of those legs. And since I got a MONO copy, I got me a little bit more leg to remember. (the young men don't know, but the old folks understand). Also semi-remember (although from a later date) the classic opening line from the DB review: "The pedant of the piano meets the poet of popular music". Or something like that. Agree or not, it's still a great line.

i don't think they need to have ambitions beyond that!

LL Cool J LL Bean Matt Pinto

Yeah, well, that's why we're where we're at today.

Do they have Tower in Bulgaria?

EX-cellent choice.

Yes, he does have a point, and a good one, at least about the type of jazz that he thinks he should be thinking of as jazz. I just don't think he realizes why he has a good point, or how things got to the point where his point is a good one. In fact, I know he doesn't. Well, I kinda know. Like I said, I've heard stories, and if they're even half-true, the guy would be better suited running a brokerage firm than a jazz label. Totally concerned with "foregone conclusions" in terms of sales, not at all concerned with "artist developement". I know you gotta have both, but this guy only has one, and only one concern. That ain't gonna get it done. As for Threadgill & Coleman, Threadgill actually was "on the verge" in the late 70s. Then the world, including the jazz biz, took a hard right. Coleman was caught in the aftermath. No sense rehashing all that. But I still say that "exciting" new jazz could and still can capture its own market, which might never be as large as that for the old stuff, but is probably bigger than the corporate heads think it is. You just gotta get behind the shit the way you do anything else. Get people curious, give them a fair chance to hear/buy it, and then let the chips will fall where they may. If 2 out of 3 people don't like it, that's still one new fan you din't have before. What I think is the problem is that A) the suits just flat-out don't like that kind of music; & B) the size of an audience that could eventually be developed is smaller than they've been trained to think of as "acceptable". And maybe for a mega-corp, the numbers aren't worth fucking with. Probably not. But that's not the music's fault. And maybe these are not the people to be handling the business end of future of the music. Probably not. But if that's the case, Mr. Goldman should just shut the fuck up and move his product as best he can.

Boy-howdy-ar-dee!

To be honest, though, I've always liked the concept more (relatively) than the results. But I guess the concept might have been the point.

NOW. Dude - you don't want to fuck around with anything that close to your brain. Get your ass up off the computer and go get it looked at NOW. And don't come back until you can tell us that you got it taken care of.

You know where I think I first read about this album back then? In a review that made me go right out and buy it? Penthouse. I kid you not.

Yeah - the later live stuff on RCA and the live stuff on Label Bleu. It's got some hip freestylin', it's got some badass horn playing, it's got killer grooves that go in a bunch of different directions at the same time, it's all good, it's got at least a modicum of street cred, and don't none of it sound old. In other words, it's "exciting". But your average "jazz" person has been so brainwashed, wish-fullfilled, and fantasy-seduced that they would probably say that it wasn't jazz. Oh well. Can't help that. After all, the price of making a deal with the devil is the loss of your soul to eternal damnation.

Damn, has it been 25 years? I feel old...

And that would be where some sort of hip-hop/jazz that was rooted in music rather than hype would be something that should have happened a loooooong time ago, except that "jazz musicians" were too busy putting on suits, moving into Lincoln Center, and in general becoming snoots rather than remaining connected to the hereandnow of their communities. M-Base was an early attempt, and although the results were mixed, Steve Coleman does have it going on today. The kinks have all been worked out and that shit is together. Hell, Threadgill always plays something with a danceable pulse, and so do a lot of the "free" players who represent the last pure wave of non-reactionary evolution. But they're those "not really jazz" guys who've adopted the pretensions of European concert music, remember? And in the meantime, those who refute the pretensions of European concert music play repertory concerts in massive concert halls as part of subscription series and go after government and corporate patronage. Boring? Oh HELL yeah. The irony is rich, to put it mildly...

True on both counts, although the only cuts I can really call lame are the two that bring Mike Deasy to the forefront. But "The Chocolate Nuisance" more than makes up for it.

Rick Henderson Paul Horn Geezil Minerve

Peggy Lipton Billy Swan Meade Lux Lewis