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Steve Reynolds
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Posts posted by Steve Reynolds
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On 10/17/2022 at 8:03 PM, T.D. said:
Matthew Shipp Quartet (w. Jason Hwang, violin/viola; Michael Bisio, bass; Jay Rosen, drums/perc)
Where was this or is this show? I saw this group at Vision Fest in June and they were spectacular. Plus Shipp has never been my favorite pianist. On this night he showed a side of his composing & piano mastery I had not experienced previously.
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Phil Lesh & Friends
with John Scofield, Grahame Lesh, Ivan Neville, Karl Denson, Eric Krasno & Alex Koford
2nd Row Loge @ Capital Theatre in Port Chester, NY
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To my ears, she’s one of the greatest improvisors on the planet.
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Hoping Dan is OK
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8 minutes ago, mjazzg said:
I often envy the great shows you see/have seen but this one is just unfair!!
Tonight Tomeka Reid with Mary!!!, Jason Roebke & Tomas Fujiwara!!
you also see stuff I will never see:)
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1 minute ago, Rabshakeh said:
I am not going to argue with any of the above! You are all referencing great records and great groups.
But it was noticeably confined to one part of the jazz ecosystem. I think that, judged from a wider perspective, jazz as a whole was very boring at that time (1987 - 2007). It was the time of Redman Jr, and Brad Mehldau, and ECM's dominance.
Agree / a bunch of us were on this board and JCS during this time railing about the dross that was and still mostly is “mainstream” jazz.
long live Jazz Corner & Jazz Central Station
Alive in the House of Saints, baby
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other great shows
One of the Eskelin/Parkins/Black shows at Tonic was so beyond incredible. Maybe 1999.
Berne/Gress/Rainey maybe 98 or 99 stunning
Drake with Mat Maneri & Rob Brown / stunning
DKV on 3/27/2001 / unbelievable
Evan Parker, Berne, Gress & Mark Sanders May 2001 at Knitting Factory / set 2 !!!!
Trio 3 Knitting Factory
Dunmall with Rogers & Norton knitting factory in a small room!!!!!! With bagpipes!!!
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17 minutes ago, colinmce said:
No surprise, I agree with Steve. I feel almost the exact opposite. I think the 90s was a time of great flourishment across different styles in modern jazz, I never get tired of digging though that body of music and finding more-- in fact next to the 60s I would rate the 90s as a favorite period for this music. What I would say myself is that these tributaries began to dry up as the new century dawned; I think the 2000s period sounds more like what you describe; a lot of the great players and ensembles of the 90s split up or moved on and the newer generation that came to flower about 10 years ago was just getting their feet under them.
More highlights from the era I would mention (also must say that Gayle and Ware are two of my favorite musicians ever-- I listen to them as much as Ayler or Sonny or Coltrane):
Bill Dixon's albums with William Parker, Barry Guy, and Tony Oxley
Cecil Taylor's FMP recordings
Horace Tapscott - The Dark Tree & Arabesque albums
Marilyn Crispell on Music & Arts
Clusone 3
Myra Melford's trio and various groups
John Lindberg on Black Saint
all the great music on eremite from Glenn Spearman, William Parker, Raphe Malik, Jemeel Moondoc, Denis Charles, TEST, Marco Eneidi et al
Dave Douglas' incredible Soul Note quintets
Ellery Eskelin/Andrea Parkins/Jim Black on hatOLOGY
Don Byron's Tuskeegee Experiments
Thomas Chapin's Knitting Factory albums
Franz Koglmann on hatART
Matthew Shipp's early music
Thomas Borgmann Trio
the Wobbly Rail label
Rudiger Carl/COWWS on FMP
King Ubu Orchestru
Sam Rivers Rivbea All-Star Orchestra on RCA
Mal Waldron on Soul Note & Tutu
The Herbie Nichols Project
Ab Baars Trioetc. etc!
This!!!
Emphasis on Denis Charles, Eskelin-Parkins-Black, Clusone 3, Thomas Chapin, Tapscott
eremite records was a force / 2 Days in April with Fred, Kidd, William & Hamid
seeing that band circa year 2000 was incredible.
add What We Live / the 2 CD’s with Dave Douglas & Wadada Leo Smith
Even The Sounds Shine, baby!!
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6 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:
Thanks for posting.
My own personal view is that, as the 80s drew to a close, jazz (and music in general) enters its least interesting period, lasting from around 1988 to perhaps until the early/mid 00s. There's still lots of good stuff happening, but to me that is the point when the mainstream in particular begins to get very stale: second/third generation Young Lions, moody pianists, wobbly free jazz revivalists, endless ECM wallpaper, hip hop crossover, dreadful 90s fusion and 'jazz rock', etc.. An era when the Bad Plus and Zorn seemed interesting against a backdrop of creeping Mehldau-isation.
I'm not unsurprised to see that I own or know almost all of these from the recent posts, including the classic Code Violations, which is as good an album as they come.
Some of the greatest things ever from the 90’s are:
Braxton’s hat ART classic quartet Willisau & Santa Cruz
Gerry Hemingway’s hat ART European quintet recordings
Joe Maneri’s great recordings on hat ART & Leo
Ivo Perelman on Leo
DKV trio live in Wels/Chicago from 1998
Evan Parker’s peak period was the 90’s
Paul Dunmall & Mujician from the 90’s is extraordinary
David Murray’s numerous quartet & quintets from the early 90’s are great (although not my ring these days)
Fred Anderson’s stuff / plus all the great okkadisk releases in general started here
Mats Gustafsson’s great early trio stuff with Barry Guy
I saw a bunch of shows in the late 90’s and early 2000’s in NYC and none of it was warmed over free jazz. Tim Berne, Mark Whitecage, Andrew Hill, Dave Holland, Marty Ehrlich, Ray Anderson, Fred Anderson, Joe Maneri, David S Ware, Instant Composers Pool, Willem Breuker, Joe Maneri, Gerry Hemingway, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Marilyn Crispell with Barry Guy & Gerry Hemingway. Etc.
Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet, Die Like a Dog, Evan Parker with Mark Dresser & Bobby Previte, Dunmall with Paul Rogers & Kevin Norton. John Lindberg, etc.
this live music changed my life
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Tomeka Reid Quartet @ Jazz Gallery in NYC
7:30 & 9:30 sets
Tomeka on cello
Mary Halvorson on guitar
Jason Roebke on bass
Tomas Fujiwara on drums
center table first row:)
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The last real connection to Coltrane’s working band(s)
loved the early screaming wailing beautiful music. Some said it was ugly but Beauty is a Rare Thing. Oh to have been there.
RIP, sir
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9 hours ago, CJ Shearn said:
Right on. Back in my college, my suitemate played the Dead constantly, it was like the guy stepped out of 1969-- wonder how the guy is these days. I should probably be a bit more fair to the Dead, but I once heard a version of "Impressions" from a show and honestly the improvisation really bored me, and Garcia is an excellent guitarist.
Sorry but the Dead never played “Impressions” at a live concert. You must have it mixed up with something similar. In their later years they riffed on So What a bit but that is really ancillary to what they were doing.
Not from you CJ, but I hear more opinions about the music of the Grateful Dead from those who know songs like Sugar Magnolia, Truckin’, Casey Jones or Touch of Grey than those who have actually made an effort to listen closely to some of their famous shows - most of which are commercially available and often in very good to excellent sound. The reason it’s apt for this thread is that they are really the *only* extremely popular rock group whose music has a huge component of improvisation. The classic live performances of one period as an example: 1972 through 1974 has some of the most astonishing improvised passages of music ever created. Just the Dark Stars played and recorded in 1972 reveal musical depth that many are still coming to terms with. Jerry, Phil & Bob in that year (and from 1969 through 1978 in general) are playing at a very high level. Keith Godchaux in the years 1972 & 73 (to a lesser extent in 74-77) is improvising on a surreal level. He was a truly great pianist from an improvising perspective. But Garcia & Lesh were the true core and both were masters at their craft. It’s my view that Jerry Garcia was just about the best guitarist I’ve ever heard. I used to mock Dead Heads who thought like this. It took me hearing a massive amount of improvised music from the greatest musicians in the world to think about Garcia like this. In fact he stands right next to all my favorites as an improvisor. Current & historical. From Coltrane to Evan Parker to Cecil to Misha to John Butcher to Nate Wooley to Joe McPhee to any of them. Don’t let the overwhelming “thing” that is the Grateful Dead cloud what actually happened.
Certainly the “scene” is insular and many of it's most fervent followers/listeners don’t know a thing about jazz, other improvised musics, etc. This was a huge turnoff for me as well in my formative musical years when I was amazed many of them never heard of King Crimson or other creative rock groups. As the decades have passed my musical tastes have gotten much more geared to the avant-garde. Especially the last 10-15 years. But rediscovering the Dead 7-8 years ago revealed a group that at their peak played the most extraordinary improvised music with a rock vibe I’ve ever heard. So to me they are all that and often more.
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25 minutes ago, T.D. said:
Many people whose taste / judgment I respect dig the Dead, but my opinion happens to be "No thanks".
I grew up fanatical about early Dead recordings. Skull and Roses and Europe '72, as they were released, were among the first LPs I ever purchased. But after a string of albums I didn't care for (Mars Hotel through Shakedown Street (ouch)) I wrote the band off and never looked back. To my taste (which I admit is questionable) the extended improvisations are mostly tedious. The culture is somewhat cool, and despite misgivings I came to somewhat enjoy clone band Phish (for example), but (a) the music wears on me after a short time; (b) I no longer have time for potheads (or boozers or other big-time substance users).
YMMV of course, no arguing with taste and there's room for both viewpoints. I don't, for instance, go on Dead threads and trumpet the fact that I don't dig 'em.
Thanks for the post. I haven’t listened to a Dead studio album in years. Mars Hotel & Wake of the Flood were the last ok records. Live shows from 68-78 are mostly tremendous and thankfully we have many great officially releases recordings from 2-track reels and quite a few great multi-track recordings as well. Thankfully I love most of the Garcia/Hunter songs and I’m in recovery so I don’t concern myself with those who smoke weed or do whatever they do!! As far as the improvisation I used to think the same thing but like some of the best jazz & free improvisation it took some time for me to truly “hear” Lesh, Garcia & Weir. Their collective improv with Jerry mostly in front driven by Phil created some music that has no point of comparison to any other music I know of. I certainly had no idea that starting ~2015 that I would feel this way about The Grateful Dead.
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The “Dead” culture and music is often mocked but that judgment is usually made by those unfamiliar with the music (especially the genius level improvisational aspect of the music). Just because they played in front of more people than any band in the history of music doesn’t mean what some thinks it means.
At 57 I went to my first Grateful Dead related concert since seeing the actual band on 5/11/79 and over the last 5 years have experienced a loving culture of music and spirit while attending maybe 16 to 20 theatre shows from bands that play Grateful Dead related music.
I’m also thrilled to be seeing Tomeka Reid’s quartet with Mary Halvorson on 9/27, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on 9/30 (Russo is one of the greatest drummers on the planet including my jazz heroes), Pavement on 10/3 - seeing this band is a dream of mine and it’s happening - and then 3 shows with maybe the greatest living electric bassist on the planet, the *great* Phil Lesh for 3 shows in October at The Capital Theatre. Then Billy Strings in November. Myra Melford’s Fire & Water Quartet in November and Sylvie Courvoisier with Nate Wooley & Wadada Leo Smith in December.
what did Duke Ellington say about great music?
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Pillars is my favorite by a good bit.
20 minutes ago, mjazzg said:Another new one from Sorey, on Pi, quartet playing standards amongst others. Following in Braxton's footsteps?
https://tyshawn-sorey.bandcamp.com/album/the-off-off-broadway-guide-to-synergism?from=fanpub_fb
Last 2 shows I’ve seen Tyshawn have been “jazz” shows. One pre-pandemic and the other earlier this year. At the show earlier this year Greg Osby played a fine alto saxophone with a good straight ahead bassist (who did not once use his bow:() and a decent but flowery pianist. Osby never exploded the music so I came away disappointed. I didn’t stay for the second set as I knew what I’d hear so no “sound of surprise” which is still what I’m looking for at live shows.
Very good but nothing like a few years back with Mary Halvorson & Jon Irabagon as one of a few examples of seeing Tyshawn & band mates destroy the room.
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6 hours ago, Clunky said:
Olie Brice------Trio/Octet Fire Hills-------(West Hill Records)
New double CD from one of our number. Great sound from Alex Bonney. First spin of the trio disc suggests this'll be one to return to.
In my Bandcamp cart
Not that new but just have to say that the 3 CD set from AMM Unintended Legacy is beyond incredible. These 3 concerts from December 2015 thru June 2016 sound great and hearing Rowe once again with Tilbury & Prevost is priceless for me. I’ve come back to this set numerous times since I bought it maybe 18 months ago. The long set from December (65 minutes) is especially dynamic. As expected Prevost plays in the manner that he did on Fine - no standard drums, almost all cymbals and drony scratches. As always there is nothing in this world remotely like this trio version of AMM. Without Rowe it was never the same and it’s pretty incredible that Rowe & Prevost dropped their little tiff and even appeared together a short time ago at Cafe Oto despite Rowe’s declining health. Too bad Tilbury was not able (health?) to appear.
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41 minutes ago, colinmce said:
The upcoming FS batch is very promising:
Crispell/Fonda/Sorgen
Graewe/Lonberg-Holm/Gratkowski
Futterman solo
Futterman/Hal Russell 3xCDNot a Futterman fan
I’ll buy the second disc. I’ll also probably get the recent release with Lonberg-Holm, Steve Swell, Ben Stapp & Marco Colona although I normally far more prefer longer pieces that little mini improvs.
One of the previous sets of recordings back much more interesting to me. I mentioned 3 of them above but add Substantial Myths. Quartet session with unfamiliar players to me save for John Edwards. Takes a bit to get going but it evolves into drony wonderment through the second half of the improvisation. Why I buy so many of these releases.
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1 hour ago, Rabshakeh said:
Thanks. Will check these out.
Which of the Playfields have you enjoyed the most?
The last one might be the best. They are all sui generis to any other music. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not a big fan of Carter’s very subdued playing and his seemingly rote switching from one horn to another but this stuff is captivating.
another nice one:
Room with no name
Luis Vicente on trumpet, Seppe Gebruers on piano & Onno Govaert on drums30:57
18:47
recorded live on 7/10/2019
very special sound quality on this one / lots of space
Fundacja SLUCHAJ
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Lots of GREAT stuff available and I’m limiting my purchases to select CD releases
the 4 Playfield recordings are amazing with Daniel Carter quieting leading ethereal freely improvised music with a fine drummer, singer, another horn and 2 guitars. I’ve been taken.
Among others the John Dikeman quartet with Pat Thomas, Edwards & Noble is blazing. From Cafe Oto on 2/24/2019
577 records for all of the above.
Look for the 2 large ensemble releases on Fundacja SLUCHAJ. One with some of the older Dutch & Italians, Soundscapes 3, the other from the Samo Salomon Freequestra. The latter is especially incredible. More good ones depending on one’s taste from this amazing label.
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20 hours ago, Jason Bivins said:
When my uncle passed in 85 we took his records home. A bunch of Monk and Bill Evans, but I wasn't feeling them at the time. Couple years later, first semester in college, it was Inner Mounting Flame that turned me around. From there, a series of fusion mixtapes curated by a dearly departed friend, then Coltrane Live at Birdland and that's been all she wrote.
I had Birds of Fire in college maybe in 1980 but it drove me more towards King Crimson, Gong et al. Loved Inner Mounting Flame as well. I tried some other fusion like RTF and I disliked it intensely.
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Bought 3 jazz CD’s in 1991
Kind of Blue
Mingus at Antibes
Waltz for Debby
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Light Trigger
Mat Maneri & Randy Peterson
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22 minutes ago, bertrand said:
Lesh's experiences with Coltrane are hardly unique. But he has the cache to sell books. I find this state of things frustrating.
Grace Slick has stated that Sketches of Spain inspired White Rabbit, but I don't expect her to write a foreword to a Gil Evans bio.
Phil Lesh became one of the greatest improvising musicians of the 20th century. The Grateful Dead was the first rock band to incorporate avant-garde into their long form improvised jams.
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Sure sounds like it was. Maybe I’m wrong. Happens often.
Why don’t you let Bertrand answer. Are you familiar with Phil Lesh’s experiences with Coltrane’s music?
Paul Dunmall
in Recommendations
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Birdman & Colours Fulfilled are among the best 2 free jazz records ever made.