Joe M

Ahhh! "Mel Lewis" that's the one. Thank you. Sounds like a very interesting album. Sundog - PM me, perhaps I can help.

You all know that Norah makes a guest cameo on the album?

Try this: Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra "Make Me Smile & Other New Works By Bob Brookmeyer" Recorded in Concert at the Village Vanguard Finesse Records FW 37987 Recorded January 7th thru 11th, 1982 featuring Dick Oatts, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Jim McNeely, Bob Brookmeyer & Mel Lewis Don't know if it's ever been on cd.

BTW, Jan (and everyone else) sounds great, wait, make that GREAT on this new cd. Bev is right it is more mainstream than what Jan has been doing for some time now, but it's very good, and I think all fans of Jan's playing, old or new would really enjoy this, and perhaps even be a bit surprised at times.

Well, yes and no. The days of the big labels putting out new hard bop records by young, relatively talented young lions is over. For example, Verve wouldn't release any Harper Brothers records in this era. You have to be either a big name (Wayne or Herbie or Brecker) or have some crossover appeal, for the most part. Or be a vocalist. Still, while you may not see as large of a jazz section in stores today, from what people in the business tell me, the jazz imprints at the major labels are holding their own, in many cases far better than their pop counterparts. There's money to be made in jazz, even for the big guys, they just can't go out and start signing Marlon Jordans and Javon Jacksons to multi record deals anymore.

I just got this in the mail today from Savoy. If you thought the whole Verve Remixed thing was controversial, I guess this one just upped the ante. Just the idea of this record turned me off, and I don't consider myself to be a mouldy fig (there's some nice stuff on the new Verve Remixed 2 album). This one just makes no sense, and totally passes over the true briliance of Parker's work. People featured on the project include Me'shell NdegeOcello, Dr. John, the Kronos Quartet, Dan the Automator, Hal Willner, Hubert Laws, Ravi Coltrane, Rob Swift and others. And the record sounds as just as odd as all those names thrown together would lead one to believe. It seemed like a bad idea, and sounds like an even worse one (at least to these ears). Any thoughts on this, even the idea, if you haven't heard it?

I'm surprised no one has talked about this new cd yet. It was recorded live at Antibes last year. It's a very inspired trio set, recorded under some apparently less than perfect conditions, but all three (Peacock and DeJohnette) rise to the occasion. I think it's easily among the best cds by the group. Almost all of the material has been recorded by Keith, but it's all very fresh. Keith's solo on Someday My Prince will come also really surprised me, for at times it sounds (at least to these ears) as though he's making some very subtle allusions to Wynton Kelly's solo on the Miles album of the same name, which certainly caught me off guard. He's not quoting Wynton, but at times he approaches the various changes in a way that seems to make reference to Kelly's solo. It's also interesting to hear the trio return with a cd of standards after the last two records, they sound energized. Any thoughts?

Luciana Souza

Dave Douglas That being said, I like much of his music, but I'm just tired of hearing how "brilliant" he is! Good, but not brilliant.

Yeah, I think the last person that had been playing "pre 60's" blues and swing based jazz just quit last week, so I guess it's now officially "over". It's all just hype, "movement" or not. They never stopped playing that music, and they never will. Maybe the media just isn't going to talk about it much, just like the didn't around 1973 or so. What IS over is the era of the "young lions" on big record labels. But hard bop, bebop, whatever you want to call it is still alive and is being played by quite a few musicians, even many of those who have released "fusion" albums. For example Roy Hargrove has a new neo-soul cd, but he still has his quintet and continues to tour with both groups. BTW, add Nicholas Payton to the list of those going down the "fusion" road.

Pardon me while I go vomit... (inside joke for Harley fans)

That's cool, I stayed away from Goodman for a long time, and when the Charlie Christian box came out last year, it really changed my opinion of his music. It's almost unfair to call it the Charlie Christian box, there's so many great musicians on those sessions. Also, try checking out some Artie Shaw, I think Bluebird has but together some nice reissues/comps in their new incarnation in the past couple of years.

I know Goodman might not be to "hip" these days, but if you write him off, you're writing off a lot of excellent music. That said, maybe try some Phil Woods, though you're not likely to find more than a few clarinet cuts on any one of his recordings. He has some very nice clarinet work on Mike Melvoin's new cd "It's Always You" but he's only on a few cuts. One of my favorites is Paquito D'Rivera, who is a highly underrated clarinetist, he has complete mastery of the instrument, and has a nice modern conception. Peploski also has a recent cd out on Nagel Heyer, with some nice Strayhorn material as I recall, and a nice band (I think w/ Lewis Nash). And then there's always Jimmy Hamilton's work with Ellington!

Wayne.

A very nice disc, nothing surprising, but these guys are the real deal and know how to make it happen. 100 percent genuine. This is like a Prestige release from the late 50's early 60's - not earth shaking, but very tasty.

Yes, I was at the Monterey Concert in 2000. Here's the setlist- 9-17-00 The Monterey Jazz Festival The Wayne Shorter Quintet - w/ Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Alex Acuna Masquelero Aung San Suu Kyi Ju Ju The Wayne Shorter Quintet with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra Orbits Angola Vendiendo Alegria

Yes, I have. It's a nice record, the tracks with Jeremy Pelt are especially good. Yoko's Delight is very cool. EJ Strickland is also becoming very quickly someone to look out for, he really sounds exceptional on everything I've heard from him.

Any more feedback on this one? I think it's brilliant. I had never really thought of Wayne as an arranger, but he does some great thing with the large ensemble. It's interesting to hear how these pieces developed over time. He performed some of them with an orchestra at Monterey in 2000, and it's great to hear them on record. It would have been nice if they had put the recording dates somewhere on the cd. Also, has anyone else noticed the peak distortion on She Walks Through the Fair? I looks like they tried to mask it with a crazy pan effect on the soprano and some reverb, but it's noticeable.

I think Jim would have been better off if he had a more experienced arranger write the charts for the strings. They sound kind of dated, though it's still a nice session, but not great. A good album to compare it to is Stefano DiBattista's new cd on Blue Note, Round About Roma. I'd put both Stefano and Jim on about the same par as players, good players, not on the level of Kenny Garrett or Jackie Mac, but good regardless. Well, Vince Mendoza did the charts for Stefano's cd, and they're wonderful (and I'm not always a big Mendoza fan). They integrate very well with the quartet and the original compositions. By comparisions Snidero's charts just seem to be lacking something.

I'm surprised Osby sells that much! People would be shocked if they found out how few units a lot of well known jazz musicians actually move. That's not to say that you have to do a fusion record to get good sales. Regina Carter's new disc is doing incredibly well, it sold 5,000 in one week, and knocked Norah Jones off the #1 spot at Amazon for the first time in weeks. The thing is, in order to sell, it seems that more than anything else, an album needs to have a compelling story behind it (and be somewhat accessible). Another album of standards or hard bop tunes by a 19 year old trumpet player isn't going to do well anymore, at least not right now, or not well enough for a major record label. People will buy the reissue instead. Now, say what you want about record companies, but I think this album was Roy's baby, though Verve certainly didn't try to stop him. I asked Roy back in 98 about what he wanted to do in the future - the first thing he said was a strings record, the second was some sort of jazz funk electonic record. The good thing about Roy is, he's still got the quintet, and is still doing the bop thing, and I think will keep doing the bop thing, even if this project does really well. By the way, there is no "scratching" on this record (at least that I remember). And there's very little hip hop - freestyles by Common and by Q-tip.

Yes, some of this material was from the Happy People sessions (I think that album was unfarily mailgned. Even if you didn't like the cuts with the vocalist, the Hutcherson tracks, and the rest of the album were all excellent, with lots of great blowing). Now about the 9/11 thing - they recorded more than one albums worth of music on 9/11 and 9/12/01. The press release says nothing about those cuts being "inappropriate for the time" (Happy People was release in spring 02) but rather being inapproriate for the album concept, which was to feature Bobby Hutcherson, that vocalist Jean Norris, and be a little less intense. I think they were going for a bridge between the pop sound of Simply Said and this, more open ended blowing sort of a session, though the Billy Harper tribute was a pretty intense. Now about the album, it's obvious that Kenny's back and is still on fire. Some journalists still don't get it though, I read one review that said Standard of Langauge was full of smooth jazz / r&b tunes!!! Please, these critics have no clue at all. That said, I still don't think this is as good as Songbook, which is my fav thus far, but that's probably because Vernell Brown is no Kenny Kirkland...

I don't have time for a detailed review of this one right now, but I think it's a very nice record, and a nice contrast from the dense textures of the PMG recordings. Pat covers both Keith Jarrett's My Song, and Jessie Harris' (Norah Jones) Don't Know Why, which he really gives a memorable reading of, with some nice reharmonizations.

It's an interesting record, certainly not what a hard bop fan would expect from one of the young lions (though they all seem to be branching out these days, wait till Nicholas Payton's new one hits the streets this August!). That said, I think it's very well done, in fact, it's exceptionally well done, especially from a production standpoint. Like I said, it's not a hard bop record, I'm not sure if I'd call it a jazz record, though parts certainly are jazz. It's a little jazz, a little funk, a lot of neo-soul / r&b, with a hint of hip hop. Roy's playing obviously takes a backseat on some of the tracks to the vocals, etc, but on others, he's on fire. Still, this isn't the kind of record you want to buy if you want to hear a blowing session. I think Roy described it in Downbeat as a party record, and I think that's a good description of it. Roy certainly sounds like he's having fun, which one some of his other records doesn't always happen. When I first heard it, on an advance sampler, I didn't like what I heard, but the finished product is really well done, better than I had expected in fact. It's selling well too. In the first week, it sold 5,600 copies, which is exceptionally good.

Matt Wilson has some very interesting things to say about Wynton's participation on this album in the recent issue of CMJ. Bascially he says he's become a Wynton fan, especially after his playing on the record. He also has high praise for his work as an educator. I'll give you the exact quotes tomorrow. Matt also mentions he's working on a project with Dewey Redman, Joshua Redman, and Charlie Haden!!!

NY YANKEES STAR BERNIE WILLIAMS SIGNS WITH GRP FOR DEBUT RECORDING NY YANKEES STAR BERNIE WILLIAMS SIGNS WITH GRP FOR DEBUT RECORDING 5/29/2003 NEW YORK – GRP Records will release the debut recording of NY Yankees star Bernie Williams, widely ranked among baseball’s best, entitled The Journey Within on July 15. The first single “Just Because” (which features pianist David Benoit) will impact radio on June 9. Williams, who is a highly accomplished guitarist and composer, penned an impressive 7 out of 11 tracks on his debut, which was produced by Loren Harriet (NBC Celebrity Christmas CD, Big League Rocks). GRAMMY® Award-winning artists Bela Fleck and Ruben Blades make guest appearances, along with Gilberto Santa Rosa, and top session players Leland Sklar (Phil Collins, James Taylor), Kenny Aronoff (Melissa Etheridge, John Mellencamp), David Sancious (Eric Clapton, Sting) and Luis Conte (Santana, Celine Dion) among others. Williams, who is a native of Puerto Rico, has composed a refreshing blend of highly melodic, contemporary and Latin-flavored jazz selections with an undeniably soulful delivery. The CD also includes covers: Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes,” a gorgeous rendition of the Kansas classic “Dust In The Wind,” Academy Award-winning songwriter John Denicola and Patti Maloney’s “The Way,” and “Samba Novo” by Baden Powell, who was instrumental in creating the Bossa Nova. A special limited-edition pressing of The Journey Within will feature original cover art of Williams as depicted by legendary artist LeRoy Neiman. “The Bernie Williams signing is not about a future Hall of Fame baseball player. It is about a talented and dedicated musician whose newly-recorded album deserves the best in the way of marketing and distribution. We are very proud to have Bernie on the GRP/Verve roster,” says Ron Goldstein, President and CEO of The Verve Music Group. The Verve Music Group is a division of the Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company. Based in New York, The Verve Music Group houses the Verve, GRP, Impulse!, and Blue Thumb record labels. Williams, who studied music on scholarship beginning at age 13 at the Escuela Libre de Musica in Puerto Rico, had initially planned on a career in music before segueing to Major League Baseball. He has won four World Series Championships with the New York Yankees; a Gold Glove; a Batting Title, and is a lifetime 300 hitter. Williams will kick off The Journey Within with a live concert event at Chicago’s House of Blues on July 13, which will coincide with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week. For more information please visit www.grprecords.com