Muskrat Ramble

The BMG Club has it too.

There are people who'd buy a piece of poop if it said "Blue Note" on the side.

Hey Jazzmoose, good to be here. Btw, for those who dig the great Art Blakey, I strongly recommend searching out the unjustly obscure Hard Drive. Here's part of what I wrote about it elsewhere: If someone ever asks you what "hard bop" is, just hand them this album. This captures it all: soulful, bluesy, just a bit unpredictable, and seriously hard swinging. This one features the second major edition of the Jazz Messengers with Bill Hardman (t), Johnny Griffin (ts), Spanky de Brest (B), and Sam Dockery (p), though Junior Mance (known for his work with the Adderley brothers around that time--check out their awesome Sophisticated Swing double CD) sits in for Dockery on all but one tune. This disc boasts some cool tunes by Jimmy Heath, Griffin, and Hardman and features great sound quality, to boot. Hardman has some really nice moments, but Griffin steals the show. This is the first time I've really listened carefully to him--man, that cat can flat-out play. In nearly every solo, he does something interesting and imaginative. The dude has some wicked chops--he can blast through the changes as fast as the rocket on the cover of the album--and possesses the soul to match them. Another really neat thing about this album is the reprint of the original liner notes, which include Blakey's surprisingly frank comments about his bandmates, noting Dockery and de Brest's shortcomings (it really is a good thing that Mance sits in for most of the album) and the way so many jazzers can't or won't play the blues, which Art sees as the root and heart of jazz. Because of the simple changes, the blues really expose a player and show what he's made of, says Art. "It's the same thing over and over again, so you have to think to make them come alive. And the guys hate to think; they'd rather just run changes on their horns."

Here's some post-bop in the finest tradition. This disc features Jimmy Greene (ts), Xavier Davis (p), Ugonna Okegwo (B), Quincy Davis (d). These guys are all good, though Greene resorts to overblowing at some inopportune times--he seems a bit infatuated with the techniqe, like "Look what I just discovered! Cool!" Harrell's trumpet sound is dry and a bit brittle (think along the lines of Miles); some might even think it too flaccid and unfocused at times. But even if his tone won't be to everone's liking (I dig it), he more than makes up for it in other ways. Lots of cats can play jazz well, but what I love about this disc is that between his compositions and playing, Harrell creates his own unique, personal sound-world. His tunes create a dreamy, exotic, melancholy vibe while still swinging hard, which is no mean feat, and they feature some truly beautiful melodies--not to mention intriguing harmonic and rhythmic ideas. Two of the many standouts include "Asia Minor," which sounds a bit like a long-lost foreign cousin of McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance," and "Where the Rain Begins," with its gentle and haunting theme. Harrell isn't merely a great composer, but he's a damn fine soloist, too, with a distinctive rhythmic conception and colorful sense of harmony. He also passes two of the greatest tests of a musician with flying colors: he can play a slow ballad with real feeling (without instinctively resorting to the old double-time crutch), and he knows when not to play, letting the music breathe. Knowing when to shut up is a mark of a mature musician. Overall, a great disc--well recorded and a generous 70-minute running time, too. Another good one by Harrell: his big band disc Time's Mirror.

Africaine is a wonderful Blakey disc. Snap it up if you have any interest in the principals or just good hard bop.

Regarding I, Eye, Aye, it's worth it just for the blazing ten-minute version of "Volunteered Slavery"--those cats cut a groove as deep as the Grand Canyon. Exactly--see the above track Rahsaan was uneven, to say the least, but his musical personality was so huge that even his mediocre stuff glowed. And when he was really on, he was like some kind of musical supernova. Bright moments, indeed

You all may find this column relevant and interesting: http://www.classicstoday.com/features/f1_0104.asp

I see that some other folks here dig classical music. It's been a love of mine for a long time now. What sort of stuff do you all like? I've been re-listening to Beethoven's symphonies for the first time in a while, specifically Nikolaus Harnoncourt's set with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on Teldec. This set was showered with hosannas of praise when it was released a decade or so ago. It's hardly the be-all-end-all of Beethoven sets, but it is really fine. Harnoncourt plays down the joie de vivre and humor of the symphonies in favor of Beethoven's stern and serious side. While Harnoncourt's approach lacks some desired warmth, he excels at highlighting the awesome rhythmic drive of these works. The fast movements are exciting--even thrilling--and the overly familiar 5th symphony feels wonderfully fresh and vital here, with the first and third movements steeped in intensity and ferocity without any sort of exaggerated wildness. With his emphasis on short, punchy, repeated rhythmic themes, Beethoven has often sounded to me like a sort of spiritual antecedent to heavy metal. These recordings really highlight the connection. But if you don't like heavy metal, don't worry: it's still good old Ludwig! The recordings themselves sound a bit too dry and raspy for my tastes, like they've been scoured down with fine-grit sandpaper, but the performances are definitely worth hearing.

I don't have any of the Collectables releases yet, but I do know that many of the sessions they've re-issued are available on other labels, either as new releases or easily-found used discs. I'm thinking in particular of Rahsaan, Blakey, and Ornette. So, it might be worth considering the various options before buying.

I absolutely love The Infinite (though I'm not so keen on Freak In), so I can't wait for the new album.

Thanks! Good to be here.

The Infinite is one of my absolute favorite jazz discs from the hundreds lining my shelves. Gorgeous, fascinating, subtle stuff with some beautiful playing in a Filles-era Milesian vein, particularly from Douglas himself, Caine, and Clarence Penn on drums. I'm having a hard time getting into Freak In, though. I have no problem at all with electronics and whatnot in jazz, but I just don't really find it musical or interesting on that particular album. I sort of get this "Wheee! I just discovered synthesizers!" vibe. I'll need to do more listening to be sure. Can't wait for Douglas's next album, nonetheless.

Classical and rock mainly, though I keep an open mind and ear. For the former, I particularly enjoy baroque, late romantic, and early 20th-century works. For the latter, mainly metal (the real thing: old Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, etc., not 80's pop metal hair bands), classic punk, alternative/college rock, classic rock (Zep, Hendrix, etc.). I also like some new-agey electronic stuff, like old Tangerine Dream.

Budget-priced classical discs are extremely common and often excellent. In addition to checking out Gramophone's site and the mag itself for reviews, consider mags like Fanfare (for the hardest of the hardcore collectors--I remember a Wagner opera review that ran for like four pages) and books like the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and the Good CD Guide (from Gramophone). In addition to Naxos and the budget discs from once-dominant labels like EMI, DG, Decca/London, etc., an interesting budget-priced label well worth checking out is Brilliant Classics. They sell a combination of their own new recordings and recordings licensed from other labels. They sell their discs insanely cheaply and some of them are awesome, award-winning recordings.

Way, way too much to list, but here's some recent stuff: Steve Turre--In the Spur of the Moment Hank Mobley--Roll Call Art Blakey--Hard Drive (see my avatar) Jim Hall and Bill Evans--Undercurrent The Mount Everest Trio--Waves from Albert Ayler Albert Ayler--Live in Greenwich Village Beethoven--symphonies (Harnoncourt, COE) Shostakovich--symphonies (Barshai, WDR Sinfonieorchester) Bruckner--masses (Best, Corydon Singers and Orchestra) Bach--misc. from the complete Bach edition on Brilliant Classics Iced Earth--Alive in Athens Slayer--Seasons in the Abyss Weezer--Weezer (the "Blue Album")

One guilty musical pleasure: the BeeGees. Actually, those cats were great tunesmiths, whatever you think of their style. (I'm more a metal guy myself, but good music is good music.) Someone mentioned Doris Day above. I've never heard her music, but she made some great romantic comedy films: Pillow Talk, That Touch of Mink, etc. Classic romantic comedies are another guilty pleasure of mine, but that's a matter for a movie thread