Tom Storer

EKE, why does your subtitle to the thread say "with Dexter Gordon and EKE"? Are you the unknown guitarist? ;-) Or does EKE mean something I don't know?

I'm another fan of both Desmond and Konitz, and apart from an early similarity in tone I find their styles radically different. As one of the articles quoted in the thread pointed out, Konitz's improvisations are quite abstract. I think he delves into the chords and the melodies result, whereas Desmond is pure, shapely melody. Their phrasing and rhythmic feels are miles apart, and certainly by the 60's Konitz's tone had evolved into something much less smooth and sweet than Desmond's, which had only become smoother and cooler over the years. And Desmond's pitch was always spot on target whereas Konitz is a lot looser, getting more of a bluesy, dragging, almost-sharp sound rather frequently.

OK, coming in late on this one. Here are my guesses: 1. "Body and Soul." I have this one, so I won't say who it is, and it's no doubt already been identified. What a wonderful pianist, one of my very favorites. And although he sings, too, he's undersung. 2. Several decades earlier... I love it! Great phrasing, great swing. I recall that Jelly Roll Morton recorded some trios with clarinet and drums, and I'm guessing this is one of them. 3. I'm less enthralled with this one. To be lyrical enough to pull it off, the composition would need to be more memorable and the rhythm less plodding. It reminds me of the Alan Pasqua-Dave Carpenter-Peter Erskine trio, but on their "Live at Rocco's" they have more success with a similar approach on some tunes. No idea. 4. Beautiful! I know this tune, but what is it? There's something very modern-sounding and old-fashioned about it at the same time, making an appealing contrast. Very nice pianist, too. I'll be interested to see who this is. 5. "Satin Doll." No idea. Kind of loose around the edges but nice. 6. "Just One Of Those Things." Very polished; very strong technique in a roaring-ahead, fleet-fingered kind of way. Energetic, athletic; the drummer's great and in the same vein. I'd say it's the swing side in the swing-to-bop era. Tatum is the name that comes immediately to mind. Can't think of anyone else quite so assertive and ironclad in their technique. 7. "Lush Life." No idea. 8. "The Man I Love." Hmm, two pianos. No idea. 9. I wonder if this isn't Lionel Hampton on piano. There's a kind of xylophone-like, hamming-it-up style that fits both his persona and his main instrument. 10. "Blackbird." I'd guess Mehldau. I've always thought this a particularly cloying melody, and jazzing it up doesn't help. 11. The name of the tune is on the tip of my tongue but won't come. Keith Jarrett Trio. 12. This is also a very familiar voice on piano. Definitely Monkian in the general approach. I thought of Mal Waldron, but this has more personality to it than Waldron generally musters. Don't know that I actually like it very much. 13. No idea. 14. No idea. I like this one. 15. Nice! Another "Body and Soul" to close. The vamp thing reminds me of someone but I can't think who. Great collection! High-quality music throughout, and that's what really counts. I had a great time listening, and will continue to listen to it!

I think the first time I saw Elvin was at the Village Vanguard in the early 80's. I don't remember the band much, except for Ari Brown on tenor and Andy McKee on bass. Another saxophonist showed up and jammed but was never introduced to the audience. I was sitting front and center and what I really remember was Elvin - this was the first time it really hit me how LOUD he plays. He was flashing that big grin and just slamming the hell out of the drums, rolling all over the set like thunder. I had seen Haynes, Higgins, Blakey, and quite a few others, but I'd never seen drumming like that before, and it was just washing over me. It was like being in the heart of the hurricane. I stayed until the wee hours. The last set was over around 2 AM or so, and there were maybe a dozen or so of us left, including a table of Japanese tourists. When the band finished playing, Elvin mopped the sweat from his bow, stepped down off the stand still grinning and bowed low to each remaining table in turn, thanking us for coming in a voice whose soft courtesy contrasted with the raw power of his drumming. He radiated charm, strength, and glowing, positive energy. I saw him many times after that, including once in a supergroup with McCoy Tyner and Sonny Fortune in which after Elvin started counting off the tempo, Tyner stopped him to say, "No, faster"; Elvin gave him a look, chuckled, and said, "You want faster? You want faster?" and proceeded to race out of the starting block at a startling pace. But it's 2 AM at the Village Vanguard, when Elvin bowed to each table, that stays in my mind. Here's hoping he stays healthy for years to come. Cardiac conditions and his kind of drumming don't go well together, it seems to me - he should take it easy!

I saw him a couple of months ago, solo. Beautiful set. He has a glorious voice, a beautiful sensibility forged from gospel and jazz, and the hippest taste of any male jazz singer extant. I've heard his newest, "American Song," and it's on my short list, but so is another newest one, "Chillin' with Andy Bey," on Minor Music. I think it's a German label. I first heard Bey on "Children of Forever," which was Stanley Clarke's first solo album, lo these many years ago--released on Polydor in 1973, if I'm not mistaken. I'll have to pick that one up on CD, if it's available of course. Off the top of my head, I believe it had Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes, Pat Martino and Lenny White, with Andy Bey and Dee Dee Bridgewater singing.

Who votes on who gets into the Jazz Hall of Fame? I confess I was a little surprised to see Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk and Perry Como. And Martha Tilton? I'd never heard of her, but a little web research shows that she was a 40's big band singer with a fine reputation but whose career never really took off. I mean, more power to her, I'm sure she was great, but Hall of Fame?

As for "so-lul" and "jucky," I think you guys are confusing a French "ah" sound with an English "uh" sound. They don't say "Jacky" like an American would, but nor do they say "Jucky" like that would sound in English. It's more like "Jah-cky". Closer to "jockey" than "jucky." And Solal is pronounced more like "so-lol" than "so-lul." How about Paul Quinichette? Is it "Kinishett" or "Kwinishett"?

Four days without a post? Surely there are still a few out there who haven't posted their guesses yet! [taps foot impatiently]

Great story, Johnny E. Woo hoo, I'll be seeing Sheila sing tonight!

How do you know? Do you just call up Mosaic and ask them?

Oh, no you don't, Sangry. You mean "in case I get around to it late." There's no time limit for posting your "guesses/critiques whatever" and we're going to hold you to it!

I'd rather keep my pretty face intact, thanks. ;-)

So, you know the personnel, the tunes, the date and general location... that's not enough for you? What more do you want to know, what color ties they were wearing? ;-)

So who's in the trio?

We know what Solomon would recommend.

I saw her in a club once with her own group and they were trying hard to sound like the Tony Williams quintet. She was doing a pretty good job of it on drums - strong arms and chops galore. It was lacking in originality, needless to say.

Who's a Tony Williams emulator, then? Cindy Blackman? A possibility. She was heavily into a Tony Williams bag and played with young lions for a while. Last I heard (years ago) she was touring with some rock act.

Corea was one of the first jazz pianists I discovered, and I discovered him playing Fender Rhodes on "Light As A Feather." The generous, melodic lyricism, that beautiful, light but still cooking Brazilian swing, Flora Purim's singing--all that had a profound influence in weaning me off blues-rock guitar heroes and substituting a jazz jones instead. Later I explored, more or less simultaneously, his past and his ongoing present: on the one hand his work with Miles, Circle and the Vitous/Haynes and Holland/Altschul trios, and on the other electric RTF. By the time Romantic Warrior came along, I was growing skeptical, and after Romantic Warrior I wasn't buying it anymore. I kind of dug some of the stuff on "My Spanish Heart" (which as someone else mentioned now sounds embarassingly dated) and that was that. Those bands with Pattitucci and Weckl were light years away from my preoccupations as a listener, and I felt that despite his undeniable brilliance as an instrumentalist he was basically just hamming it up for years. He seems to be returning to the fold now, which is a fine thing. I saw the tribute-to-Bud-Powell band in concert, and while it had its problems as a concept, I was again impressed at what a motherfucker of a pianist he is. Christian McBride was bopping along on bass and the kids (Roney and Redman) were out front soloing and being little stars, and meanwhile Corea and Haynes were in constant eye contact and wailing away against each other, jousting and playing games and one-upping each other in as hip a way as you can imagine. They were right in the heart of joyful, playful, carnal swing, and there aren't that many piano players who can give Roy Haynes a run for his money. I haven't checked out Origin and his new trio as much as I should have yet.

Now for the bonus CD... 1. I find this profoundly dull. The thudding bass vamp, the aimless solos. What's the point? 2. That's got to be John Carter on clarinet. (Don Byron, take a seat.) Is this one of those famous Horace Tapscott quartet things that are always raved about? The Dark Tree? This also has that bass vamp thing, but better done, and the solos are far more interesting than those in number 1. This is the real thing. Very nice. 3. This has a bit more of a compositional bent than number 1, at first. But after the drum solo it's just free-jazz collective blowing as practiced since time immemorial. Well, forty years anyway. Nothing too original but I find I like it pretty well. They're comfortable making all those nice, noisy textures together, and I like the textures they come up with. Good music to do the housekeeping to when there's no one around to complain about it. Self-indulgent but fun. 4. My first thought is that this could be same guys who did number 3, but playing something with a beat. This has a very familiar vibe. Is it David Murray's octet? Ah, there's the tenor solo - that clinches it, definitely Murray. They're a spunky little group.

Here are my first impressions of CD1. Impressions of the "bonus CD" coming later--when I've posted them, I'll go back and read through the thread and kick myself for my ignorance, as usual. ;-) Disc 1 1. I can't say I recognize anyone, but the general mood and procedure, plus the somewhat lame clarinet playing, make me think this is Don Byron (my apologies to Don Byron fans). Therefore it could be Craig Harris on trombone, although actually it doesn't really sound like his vocabulary. 2. Nice. No idea who it is. 3. Trumpet and tenor sax sound very familiar. I like it very much but as usual, have no clue who it is. 4. I like the dirty electric keyboard sound, very 70's. I thought of Flora Purim at first but came to doubt it. Maybe Tanya Maria? Sheer speculation, I don't really know what she sounds like at all, but this seems to be Brazilian Portuguese. At first I was annoyed at it because it was repetitive, but by the end I was enjoying it for the same reason. 5. I could see getting drunk and whirling around the dance floor to this. 6. I'll guess it's something by Tony Williams' quintet. That would be Billy Pierce, Wallace Roney, Mulgrew Miller and Charnett Moffett. This guess is mostly because this kind of aggressive, tentacular drumming sounds like Williams to me, and he had a quintet with this instrumentation, and it could conceivably be Pierce on soprano. On the other hand, that doesn't sound like Roney to me, so WTHDIK? Jeff Watts could conceivably have done this, too, but the drumming isn't crazy enough. 7. Reminiscent of a Mingus performance in many ways but definitely not a Mingus group. Very tasty drummer. I assume it's the tenor player who doubles on flute, since that's generally the way, but what kind of flute is that? I love the whole thing--I'll be looking for this when I find out what it is! 8. Well, that alto player is no shrinking violet. Hot stuff here, perhaps a little overheated at times. The rhythm section sounds familiar, especially the pianist, but I don't know who they are. 9. No idea. I like piano/vibes combinations when the music is right for it, but this is a bit plodding. I know Bobby Hutcherson did some live recordings with this instrumentation, but I'd have expected better, or at least different, from him. 10. Can't say I think much of this one. This sounds like a funky pop tune without the lyrics. As a matter of fact I keep thinking I know the tune and ought to be singing along. The baritone playing is spirited. 11. I don't know this singer and don't think I'll search her out on the strength of this. She has nice pipes but her phrasing is kind of all over the place, and the accompanying musicians never really hit a groove. 12. Not my cup of tea. The rhythm is too relentless, the arrangement is just muscle-bound--no finesse, no subtlety. Even loud, storming big bands should have a little finesse and subtlety.

Another superb Jim Hall recording is "Live At Village West," a duo with Ron Carter. Carter is also superb, and the sound is beautiful. If you listen carefully you can hear Hall's occasional intakes of breath - he often takes a big breath at the start of phrases as if he were singing or playing a horn. The first time I saw Hall live was at a club called Boomer's on the Bowery in New York sometime in the mid-70's, playing with Cedar Walton's trio. Sam Jones was on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The band was in the middle, the patrons seated around at little tables. I was behind Higgins, and for a teenage jazz fan just getting to know this kind of stuff, that evening was a revelation. That was around the time Jim Hall Live! came out, and I wore my vinyl copy to dust.

Just look at the child's expression of gravitas! Can't you tell he's listening hard to a blindfold test? Congratulations, Jim! And Mrs. Jim!

Listen, everybody, there's no point ordering the Tristano set. It's just no good at all. Really. Terrible music all around, bad sound, lousy photos, the booklet sucks. Marsh? Konitz? Amateurs. You'd be much better advised to spend your money elsewhere. Trust me on this one. - Tom (who won't be able to order his until April and is desperately hoping it won't sell out in the meanwhile)

I only wish I could afford to buy Mosaic sets so frequently that I couldn't find the time to open them all! Sheesh.

I like Nina Simone well enough, but I think she had a narrower range of interpretative ability than Carter. For me, Carter's achievement, not to mention her lasting influence, was much greater, musically speaking. Ballad-wise, I'd suggest "This Is Always," "Beware My Heart," and "Some Other Time" from "Inside Betty Carter" (mid-60's but the beginning of her more personal style); "Body and Soul/Heart and Soul," from "Finally" (1969); "Everytime We Say Goodbye" and "I'm Pulling Through" from "Round Midnight" (1975); "I Was Telling Him About You" and "Just Friends/Star Eyes" from "Now It's My Turn" (1976); "You're A Sweetheart" from "The Betty Carter Album" (1976); "I Think I Got It Now" and "Everything I Have Is Yours" from "The Audience with Betty Carter" (1980). That's eleven recorded ballads that I think easily withstand charges of "butchering," in fact I think they're all lovely, moving performances. In concert, I saw her, on numerous occasions, keep packed houses holding their breath and hanging on every syllable for her ballads, and applauding enthusiastically when they were finished. One could say they were all duped, but winning over a house full of savvy jazz fans with butchered ballads would be quite a feat; winning over a house full of jazz newbies with butchered ballads would be even more of a feat. One could also speculate that those who were so moved by her ballad performances, over a period of perhaps fifteen years that I saw her regularly in concert, were all trendy poseurs anxious to embrace a grotesque, strained effort at artificial originality, but one would be talking out of one's hat.