Mark Stryker

A good day yesterday at various used record stores yeild Kloss' "Sky Shadows" from 1968 with Martino, Byard, Cranshaw, DeJohnette. Don't know the progression of the earlier LPs that well, but this certainly feels as Kloss was turning a corner -- all his originals (one by Martino), one in 9, one in 7, one in 6 -- harmony opening up, lots of interaction with the rhythm section, some anchored freedom, some eccentricity but not excessive (is there any more of a wildcard in jazz than Jaki Byard?) and a lot of stuff in the arrangements and solos that really sounds improvised in the studio. Kloss sounds good on alto and tenor -- right in there.

Detroit is pretty heavyweight too, though more along the the bebop to post-bop to funk continuum without much free/post-free. In roughtly chronological order: Al McKibbon Paul Chambers, Doug Watkins, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee, James Jamerson, Michael Henderson, Ralphe Armstrong, Jaribu Shahid, Bob Hurst, Rodney Whitaker. Among the secondary line: Ernie Farrow, Ray McKinney, Ali Jackson Sr., Herman Wright

Completely new to me too -- intriguing! But I don't understand the idea that Sony won't touch this for fear of retribution -- from who and for what? If Sony/Japan bought it outright then they own it and can do anything they want with it. The surviving sidemen might be pissed that they never got paid, but their beef is really with Vitous who would appear to have gone behind their backs. I guess a question would be under what contractual circumstances did everybody participate in the first place and who paid for the session. But in any case, Sony owns it and since when do they care about retribution if there's no legal ground for opponents to stand on? Frankly, they probably wouldn't care if there was legal ground if there was real money to be made by reissuing. More likely they won't touch it because nobody but, um, us and a few our friends would buy it. Might be different if there was a horn player here with some marketplace value (Wayne Shorter? Joe Henderson?) or perhaps if the more saleable Chick Corea were in place of Zawinul. Just speculating.

A favorite recording for reasons you elucidate -- it's got passion, linking (rightly) Webern within post-romanticism and implying all of the stuff Webern distills into those pregnant gestures rather than treating them as thin/empty pieces of whispy rhetoric. At the same time, there's plenty of modernist clarity -- Abbado doesn't pretend this music is actually Mahler but remembers it is informed by Mahler.

Ethan Iverson has writen an in-depth interview with George Walker, the first African-American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music (1996) that dissects in detail a number of his works. I contribute a guest post that anthologizes/digests a number of my own pieces from the Detroit Free Press that touch on Walker's music and/or issues related to black classical composers. Ethan also has sidebar about Walker's compelling memoir. http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-george-walker.html

BTW, since it hasn't been mentioned yet, 2013 marks the centennial celebration of "The Rite of Spring," which made its debut May 29, 1913.

Don't necessarily know the overall critical consensus on Boulez/Cleveland but my own recollection -- haven't listened to this one in a long time -- is that it was typical Boulez, which is to say meticulous, precise, super-transparent and emotionally cool. I like lots of Boulez's work as a conductor but find his "Rite" too dry without enough heat and primal energy that makes the piece really come alive. He's more interested in delineating structure and establishing it's central role in development of modernism. Ok as far as it goes but not to my taste.I once heard Boulez lead Cleveland in the "Rite" one week after hearing Neeme Jarvi conduct it here in Detroit and much preferred the almost jazzy rhythmic pop and sense of freedom that Jarvi got out of the piece, even though the ensemble playing was not nearly as "perfect" as in Cleveland. As an aside, I've heard Boulez conduct both Cleveland and Chicago live and while on paper you might think his approach would be better suited to Cleveland since that orchestra has always been known for its chamber music-like clarity and precision, I always enjoyed the Chicago performances more because the more muscular, brassier sound of Chicago brought Boulez out of his shell a bit and he tamed their worst excesses -- the creative tension led to an interesting meeting in the middle, whereas with Cleveland the reinforcement of similar qualities led to impeccable but pretty dry performance, though this is generalization and some repertoire (Ligeti, Messiaen) benefited from the marriage. Coda: I love that early Bernstein recording for its unbridled passion; a contemporary account I like a lot is Gergiev/Kirov -- primal, brooding, very "Russian"

Even harder: Single most definitive Blue Note LP of the 50s? '60s? You almost have to break it down by genre: bebop; hard bop; soul jazz; post-bop; avant-garde. Awfully hard to not just make it a list of faves and I could see inumerable variations. Here are two approaches avoiding perhaps some of the more famous records ("Moanin', Maiden Voyage, Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers). Bebop: Monk's "Genius of Modern Music" or Bud's Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1" Hard Bop: Mobley's "Roll Call" or Horace Silver's "Horace-Scope" Post-Bop: Shorter's "Speak No Evil" of Tyner's "The Real McCoy" Avant-Garde: Cherry's "Complete Communion" or Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch" Soul jazz: Jimmy Smiths "Back at the Chicken Shack" or Turrentine's "Blue Hour" . Wlid card: Rollins' "A Night at the Village Vanguard" (in my top 2 jazz albums of all time.)

Hey, I just learned from Oliver Lake's twitter account (seriously) that today is Freddie Hubbard's birthday. So in honor of Freddie and this thread ....

With respect to Brownie and leaving aside matters of personal taste, I'd say that objectively speaking Freddie Hubbard would be the defining Blue Note trumpeter of the '60s, for the number, quality and stylistic variety of his appearances and his ultimately sweeping influence.

As a newspaper man I completely understand the world Larry is describing, the characters therein and the meetings so described. Discerning the motivation of critics is slippery of course, and what's conscious or sub-conscious is equally slippery. What Larry is describing in terms of strategic tempering of opinion certainly happens, but Jim's take can also be true. I would only add this: Though the level of celebrity was completely different, we had a similar situation here in Detroit between the movie critics at the Free Press and News: Highly competive market, writers who did both reviews and features and competed fiercely in the same manner for exclusive interviews. And there was always a feeling in both newsrooms that the other critic, when praising a consensus dog of movie by a big name director or actor, was just angling for an eventual interview. For me, if Ebert played with this line on rare occasions, it wouldn't change my basic opinion of him or of the trustworthiness of his work. (On a personal note, as someone who functions as both a critic and reporter, I would add that negotiating the issue of always being truthful with your own opinions and honest with readers but also knowing that, for example, the same music director you blast as a dork in Mahler on Saturday you're going to have to request an interview from on Monday, is one of the biggest challenges of the gig.) I have tremendous admiration for Ebert on many fronts, but one thing that's worth noting beyond the actual work are the many stories of his professional courtesy and generosity toward writers, editors and critics who were much lower on the food chain than himself. That's exceedingly rare in the world of big-time journalism, and a reminder that one key measure of a person's character is not how they treat people above them but how they treat those below them.

Kenny Dorham's Blue Notes as a leader in the '60s are all special and all very different in character from each other -- Whistle Stop, Una Mas, Trompeta Toccata. Sometimes I think people overlook Whistle Stop because it's still more hard bop tan post-bop but KD plays incredibly well on it, not to mention Mobley, Kenny Drew, P.C. and Philly Joe. Una Mas, of course. Herbie-JoeHen-Tony Williams in fantastic form, and KD hanging right with them. TT has yet another feel with its rhythm section of Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis, Albert Heath, plus Joe and KD in what I think is the lasst of their recorded collaborations, or am I forgetting something?

Going back to Milestone's first post, while it's true that Freddie's sideman appearances are extraordinary -- among them Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage, Contours, Components, Speak No Evil -- I would not go so far as to say these are all more enduring than his own records. You mentioned Breaking Point, but Ready for Freddie is one of the great trumpet records and Hub-Tones is pretty special too. Having said all that, if I'm taking one record to represent Freddie on my desert island it would be Herbie's Empyrean Isles.

Yes, much to counter that conventional view. First, the decline started as early 1960-61, and I talked to several people who said Byrd told them it was a result of overwork, "blowing out his chops," especially when he was going to school all day and then playing all night in clubs without properly warming up. The irony is that this happened directly after his chops were at their iron-man peak, a result of studying with a couple of trumpet gurus at the Manhattan School -- William Vacchiano and the elder Joe Alessi (Ralph and Joe's grandfather, not their father, who was also a great classical trumpeter and teacher and was also named Joe -- too many Joes in that damn family!) It is interesting that Byrd barely records at all in 1962 which was a peak year for him going to school -- he completes the non-music courses for his bachelor's degree in '62 and his master's in music ed in '63, and in the summer of '63 he goes to Europe to study with Nadia Boulanger and starts writing for European studio ensembles, etc. But his chop problems predate this. Later in the '60s is when he gets more involved in formal teaching, taking the job at Howard in 1968, and certainly by the early '70s he's got his fingers in so many things that he's not practicing enough to repair his technique or really keep up what he still had. There's another wildcard that I'm still trying to nail down: At some point he dealt with Bell's Palsy, which probably came on the late 70s or early 80s. He makes no records for five years starting in 1982, until the Landmark CDs 1987-91 and by then there's very little left. As I said, I'm still trying to get more details on this particular issue. To be clear, some of the responses listeing various trumpet players were in response to Chuck's secondary question about what post-bop figures of the era didn't appear on Blue Note. Perhaps we need to refocus on your original query...

Well, the decline is slow at first and there are definitely moments -- and "Cristo Redentor" is one of them -- where he's still very focused. I agree with you about this solo -- very soulful. It's interesting in that he really doesn't improvise. The power comes from sticking very close to the melody within the context of the choir and Herbie's bluesy obbligato. One other thing I think is interesting: Byrd's style changed in these years as he was more influenced by Miles, and, while it's only speculation, I think it's possible that his slowly faltering chops helped push him into a less virtuoso style.

Interesting question. Off the top: Booker Little (died in 61) Marcus Belgrave (NY 59-61, then back with Ray Charles, settled in Detroit in '63) Thad Jones (GREAT records in the '50s but nothing as leader in in the '60s, though cameos here and there and some midsize ensemble writing) Don Ellis Nat Adderley A young Randy Brecker Ted Curson Art Farmer Dizzy -- is he on any Blue Note record? Joe Newman A young Jimmy Owens Richard Williams Lonnie Hillyer Alan Shorter Charles Tolliver (nothing as a leader) Tommy Turrentine

As it happens I just did a deep dive into all of Donald Byrd's discography for a long piece in my book. I don't want to go into too much detail at this point but I can offer a few quick observations. He signed with Blue Note at the end of 1958 and the early years of his tenure overlap with his peak as a bandleader and as a trumpeter, though starting sometime in 1960 you start to hear chinks in what had been a remarkable sound and technique, and his chops decline from this point forward. The sound is thinner by 63 and really thin by 65-68. Best overall album: "Royal Flush" (1961) with the quintet with Pepper Adams, Herbie Hancock in only his 2nd record date and the first appearance on BN of Butch Warren Billy HIggins together. Byrd's best representation as a composer and Hancock pushes the music out of the 50s and into the 60. Some folks like the follow up "Free Form" from a few months later in '61 which has the same band, with Wayne Shorter in for Adams -- but I like the balance on "Royal Flush." Best overall pre-Hancock record: "Byrd in Hand" (1959) sextet with Pepper, Charlie Rouse, Walter Davis, Sam Jones, Art Taylor. Quintessential hard bop and Byrd's sound and fluency are incredible. The other Byrd LPs from this period ("Off to the Races," "Fuego," "Byrd in Flight," the two volumes of "At the Half Note Cafe," "The Cat Walk," "Chant") all have different reasons to recommend them. I would just note a couple of things aimed at this board: Hank Mobley plays his ass off on "Byrd in Flight" (which comes from the same period as "Soul Station/Roll Cal/Workout") And if you want to hear some really beautiful trumpet playing listen to "When Your Love is Gone" on "Off to the Races." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWgBqOKtUi8

No, never seen/heard it. Is the big band or small group? When was it recorded. There was an ugly falling out between Von Ohlen and Allee, yes?

"Baby Einstein on the Beach" http://bam150years.blogspot.com/2013/04/bam-announces-world-premiere-of-baby.html

Step away from the credit card, sir!

Don't think Andrew Hill's "Shades" has been mentioned -- Jordan plays great on that. FWIW, that Farmer record "Blame It On My Youth" is tremendous all the way around -- one of the best records of the 80s in that idiom.

Answering my own question, Max Roach's "It's Time" incorporates a choir and was recorded in Feb. 1962, about 11 months prior to "A New Perspective." Unless anyone can come up with evidence to the contrary, I think this may be the first time a choir in the African American tradition was mixed with a modern jazz group.

Von Ohlin is a very musical drummer -- underrated. One of the best big band drummers who also sounds good in a small-group setting. If he had a different temperament, he'd be much better known -- living in LA or NY, recording, traveling with bigger name folks. But he's really a Midwesterner. For a long time he co-led a once-a-week band in Indianapolis with pianist-composer-arranger Steve Allee that I think ran concurrently with the Blue Wisp band for a bit. A nice guy too -- I wrote a chart in high school once on "Billie's Bounce" and -- in a ballsy move I had no business making -- called him up and told him who I was and asked if his band would read it at one of their rehearsals. He agreed, and somewhere I have a tape of it I made on a crappy little machine. It was my first real big band arrangement and there was some funky stuff in it (as in "wrong"), but a lot of it worked and the guys were generous with praise. Kiger was there; so was the late tenor saxophonist Paul Plummer. Anyway, I was always grateful Von Ohlin took the time ...

http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/commentary/Remembering_the_Blue_Wisp.html Here's a nice piece about the Blue Wisp club in Cincinnati. Coda: the writer was my editor for a few years in Detroit. Nice woman who really knows the music.

A couple of stories about the sale. Unclear, of course, what this will mean long term for the stuff we all care about ... http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/indies/1554424/concord-music-group-to-be-sold-to-wood-creek-capital-management http://fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2633171