Rabshakeh

Steven Bernstein - Diaspora Soul (Tzadik, 1999) Nice and swampy / sleazy. I like the mix of electric piano with subdued afrocuban percussion.

Thanks everyone. Smooth jazz is serious stuff. I feel better already.

Glenn Spearman - Free Worlds (Black Saint, 1999) Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano - Complete Recordings (Definitive, various)

Solo Guitar Vol 1 is the definitive early solo Bailey in my eyes. It’s my favourite of his solo pieces along with the later Aida. I am also interested in any recommendations on the Companys.

They've got a couple in. Its hard to get normally.

A last pre-lockdown treat: A copy of the LP reissue of Horace Tapscott's The Call and the book Free Jazz In Japan: A Personal History by Teruto Soejima, from Cafe OTO's new books wall.

Double thumbs up on this one.

I was asked for a post 80s McPhee recommendation by a friend today, who loves Nation Time, and who had come with me to see him play semi-recently off the back of that record and enjoyed the gig. The friend is a jazz fan but chary of the more abrasive stuff typically. I can think of around ten recommendations, but doubt there's that bandwidth in practice. I'd be interested to know which album (one album only) people would recommend.

Thanks everyone!

This is the kind of glowing endorsement that I was looking for.

For no apparent reason, today (3 November 2020, GMT timezone) I woke up with a pressing desire to listen to something smooth, calming and entirely without edges. I can't identify the reason; it must be something in the air. So, what are your top three records from the universally beloved smooth jazz format? I have kept it to three, because I am not 100% sure that even existential dread will persuade me to listen to more than three back to back. Bonus points for actual "jazz" content (presence of improvisation, etc.).

I have sometimes wondered, in my idler moments, who the girl on the front cover of Snurdy McGurdy is. Is it a granddaughter?

I think probably Waves or the first Duo with Holland, although hard to ignore Crystals too.

Was he playing on the album or is it his compositions?

Just in case the message needs to come cross again, these are really highly recommended. I love them.

I'm slightly surprised at the choice of Rivers from a decade that saw him in his pomp. It's a good album, but a long way from what I'd consider his best from the decade. Perhaps I need to reconsider.

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core - The Neon Truth (2001, Black Saint)

A great album.

I listen to this first Live one every so often. Obviously it’s a rehash of what went before, but Herbie is more confident and Wayne is on another journey by this point. Downsides are Ron Carter’s awful bass sound and Freddie Hubbard not being in his prime. In the Late 70s rechauffee stakes I’d probably pick Old and New Dreams as my choice long before VSOP, but It’s worth it every so often.

Darius Jones Trio - Big Gurl (Smell My Dream) (AUM Fidelity, 2011) It's not my favourite of Hutcherson's performances, and his playing does colour the album as a whole, I guess. Hubbard seemed to get everywhere at that point, including places that he probably could have stayed out of. But I think he's good here, certainly compared to the lost soul on some other records from the period. VSOP - The Quintet (Columbia, 1977). This album's a bit like a school reunion. Everyone is a bit heavier and balder, but you quickly remember why you were friends originally. Wayne in particular seems to be relishing his day out away from the family.

Really?! I prefer some of his other records, but I'm not sure this is exactly fair. I'd still put this above almost any Sun Ra record, cute kitsch or no kitsch. Not necessarily by a long way, but... come on! It hasn't dated a minute.

Warne Marsh Quintet - Jazz Exchange Vol One (Storyville, 1978).

Was there some sort of air of mystique then, such that you would have purchased a Blue Note record if you saw it? Or was the Blue Note of the 60s just seen as a just another label until the reissues got underway in the 80s (noting the fact that Blue Note had a life of its own in the 70s)?

As someone who wasn't there, I'd be interested to know whether jazz fans at the time were actively chasing Blue Note in comparison to other labels of similar vintage like e.g. Prestige. From the point of view of the '90s, when I started to listen to jazz, Blue Note was the king - it was the great era of reissues, hip hop tie ins (Guru etc.) and coffee table books. If there were Blue Notes crowding the bins in the mid 70s then I suppose that must not have always been the case.

Thanks! Not suitable for family listening I guess.