Jazz for aficionados


Jazz for aficionados

I'm going to review records in my collection, and you'll be able to decide if they're worthy of your collection. These records are what I consider "must haves" for any jazz aficionado, and would be found in their collections. I wont review any record that's not on CD, nor will I review any record if the CD is markedly inferior. Fortunately, I only found 1 case where the CD was markedly inferior to the record.

Our first album is "Moanin" by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. We have Lee Morgan , trumpet; Benney Golson, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie merrit, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

The title tune "Moanin" is by Bobby Timmons, it conveys the emotion of the title like no other tune I've ever heard, even better than any words could ever convey. This music pictures a person whose down to his last nickel, and all he can do is "moan".

"Along Came Betty" is a tune by Benny Golson, it reminds me of a Betty I once knew. She was gorgeous with a jazzy personality, and she moved smooth and easy, just like this tune. Somebody find me a time machine! Maybe you knew a Betty.

While the rest of the music is just fine, those are my favorite tunes. Why don't you share your, "must have" jazz albums with us.

Enjoy the music.
orpheus10

@acman3 

Great stuff. 

I just received the remastered stereo and mono 2CD set of My Favorite Things yesterday.  Also Blue Train, The Complete Masters.  Can't have too much Trane.

 

Cheers

@curiousjim @mahgister I'm glad you both are enjoying the "Scandanavian Jazz".

The Soren Bebe Trio is something I stumbled upon recently. I'm just as new to them as you both are and I think they are a pretty good trio.

Speaking of a trio This is one of my all time favorite live trio recordings. Its on the top shelf of my desert island recordings.

Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

There is also two other "Montreal Tapes" with Haden and Motian but the pianists on the other 2 sets are Geri Allen and Paul Bley. You cant go wrong with any of them and I believe there is a box set available for streaming in hi res.

 

Here is a physical copy of the Montreal Tapes with all of the musicians who recorded with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian at the venue. As you can see its way over priced because its OOP.

Charlie Haden – The Montreal Tapes (2009, CD) - Discogs

I have hunted down all of the individual performances over the years for very reasonable prices.

I think Qobuz has the complete box set. Have not checked Amazon hi res.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought Haden also performed with E. Gismonti during that same festival. 

OK. I found this:

https://ecmrecords.com/product/in-montreal-charlie-haden-egberto-gismonti/

Maybe it was a different gig? 

@stuartk Same gig different night. From Wiki:

 

In 1989, Haden inaugurated the "Invitation" series at the Montreal Jazz Festival. With different musicians he selected, they performed in concert for eight consecutive nights of the festival. Each of these events was recorded, and most have been released in the series, The Montreal Tapes.

I did not know that there was 6 cd...

I will look for them...

Thanks a lot ...😊

Here is a physical copy of the Montreal Tapes with all of the musicians who recorded with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian at the venue. As you can see its way over priced because its OOP.

Charlie Haden – The Montreal Tapes (2009, CD) - Discogs

Eddie Daniels clarinetist and saxophonist is simply a genius....

i could not pick one among my 10 albums save by randomness ... Sorry...

 

@mahgister Eddie Daniels plays tenor sax and takes a solo on this cool tune by the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Orchestra with the great Joe Williams on vocals.

 

Have a bad headache, so I’m listening softly to Charles Lloyd,  The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow.

I just listen to him  right now thanks to your recommendation ...

It seems magical spoken sax...

 

@jafant 

I'm not surprised to read on Wikipedia that R. Haynes is "among the most recorded drummers in Jazz". 

In addition to his own recordings, he's played on an amazing variety of sessions in many different sub-genres. A master!   

 

All your recommendation are interesting anyway ... And i must confide i had put Lloyd too much far away in my list...

@mahgister 

I’m glad you enjoyed the Charles Lloyd album.😀.

 

I am suprized nobody take my first suggestion here of this guitarist who is not the last one on the scale...And who is less known than many others...

 

Just stumbled upon an album Jazz Audiophile, Just Relax Jazz. It’s actually quite pleasant. Has anyone else heard this album before?

Hmmm,

couldn’t edit the above.  I wanted to add that Jazz Audiophile seems to have a bunch of albums out there. 

Another fun album that’s out there  is the Mary Poppins soundtrack by The Duke Ellington Orchestra. From 1963.

@mahgister 

I listened to a couple of Jazz Audiophile albums this morning and they were both a fun listen.

I concur... Thanks to you i put audiophile jazz youtube in my list...😊

@mahgister 

I listened to a couple of Jazz Audiophile albums this morning and they were both a fun listen

 

 

Miroslav Vitous w/Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette.

 

 

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Has anyone here ever heard of the Steve Gadd Band?  I’m listening to their Self Titled album from 2018 and it’s really nice.

This album of Chet Baker at the end of his career is moving...And we see that drugs could impede him but not kill his genius ...

Read the interesting article about Chet behaviour with the public ...

https://jazzfromitaly.blogspot.com/2010/05/chet-baker-trio-live-from-moonlight.html

 

None of the albums i know of this pianist is bad...(49 albums)😁

How many pianist can rival Bill Evans? For me none, save Montoliu rythmic colors  inventiveness which i put beside Evans  poetical lyricism...

 

 

@curiousjim I bought a copy of Steve Gadd Band maybe 4-5 years ago and don't think I've even broken the shrink wrap yet! haha Guess I need to check it out.

@pjw81563 

I’m listening to The Montreal Tapes now and I am throughly enjoying it.  I plan on listening to the other one, dated 1996/1997 next.😁

I enjoyed it too..😊

I never realized that they exist many albums...

@pjw81563 

I’m listening to The Montreal Tapes now and I am throughly enjoying it.

@mahgister Here is an interesting Charles Lloyd article. Lloyd got his start with the great drummer Chico Hamilton's quintet.

It has a list of recommended albums of the best Charles Lloyd collaborations with the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

Charles Lloyd: Defiant Warrior Still On Song article @ All About Jazz

Here is one of the suggested albums on the list. It features the great Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo as well

 

@ho249 That Miroslav Vitous session is great.

At that time (late 60s I believe) Vitous, IMHO, was a great bass player and composer/arranger. The album Mountain in the Clouds was originally released titled Infinite Search.

Vitous later became a core member of Weather Report.

Here is another really good session by Vitous

 

Thanks it really interested me ...😊 I will go for a hunt ... I am already buying some ...

My honored salutations and thanks for your helping ears ...

 

@mahgister Here is an interesting Charles Lloyd article. Lloyd got his start with the great drummer Chico Hamilton’s quintet.

It has a list of recommended albums of the best Charles Lloyd collaborations with the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

Charles Lloyd: Defiant Warrior Still On Song article @ All About Jazz

Here is one of the suggested albums on the list. It features the great Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo as well

 

@pjw81563

... and yet another is "Journey’s End" on ECM with John Surman.

YouTube only has one track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRyDDBeOWCA&list=RDwRyDDBeOWCA&index=2

 

BTW, have there been previous discussions of John Surman, here? 

 

 

 

 

 

Only Bill Evans for me rival Montoliu by far ...

Yet he is not American then not well known as it is a genius pianist ... ( Keith Jarrett in third in my best of jazz pianists)

As for Evans i can listen to him without fatigue...

I own 50 albums on the 100 available ...

Why this musician is not more well known here in America ?

https://www.amazon.ca/Beyond-Sketches-Spain-Montoliu-Construction/dp/0197549284

Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz by Benjamin Fraser

 

«No musician did more to shape Iberian jazz than pianist Vicenç Montoliu i Massana (1933–1997), who was known simply as “Tete.” Reflecting his fascination with the modernist aesthetics of mid-century jazz, Tete Montoliu was known for his quick fingering, his carefully crafted mix of lyricism and dissonance, his penchant for discordant crashes, and his development of highly original compositions. He boasted some 100 recordings spanning Denmark, Germany, Holland, Spain, and the United States, and performed with the most notable jazz luminaries, including Lionel Hampton, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, and Archie Shepp. Acknowledging and drawing musical inspiration from the Black American jazz form, Tete fashioned an adjacent critical space shaped by his experiences as a Catalan and a person with congenital visual impairment living under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz explores the artist’s life, musical production, and international reception within a cultural studies framework. This book moves beyond mere sketches of Spanish nationhood to challenge conventional scholarly narratives and recover links between the United States, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Europe in the investigation of an impressive and often overlooked transnational modern jazz legacy. Eschewing Theodore Adorno’s denigration of Black American jazz, a more compelling model is found in Fumi Okiji’s notion of gathering in difference. In this work, Benjamin Fraser deftly mixes musical biography with urban history, spatial theory, and disability studies, fashioning a highly readable text for readers from all disciplines.

Tete Montoliu with Dexter Gordon, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Alex Riel 

 

 

Tete Montoliu with Archie Shepp, Lars Gullin, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Alex Riel

 

 

Tete Montoliu with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Tommy Potter, and Kenny Clarke

 

 

Tete Montoliu with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Tommy Potter, and Kenny Clarke

Roland Kirk  as Sun Ra live in their own planet...😊

Some artists cannot be judged according to our taste but must be investigated so unique they are ...

 

I have been listening to Tete Montoliu all day today. I never realized that he had or played on so many albums.

I only discovered 50 of them ....on near 100 possible ...

We can debate if he is beside Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett , but he is not far from them in creativity and originality ... I dislike none of all the albums i listened too ... I can listen to him for days as Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett ... I own 50 of Montoliu and near 100 of Evans and near 100 of Jarrett ...

I dont need to upgrade my gear but i need  to upgrade regularly  my musical country ... 😊

i came to you and few others here for suggestions ...

 

I have been listening to Tete Montoliu all day today. I never realized that he had or played on so many albums.

With 50 albums of Montoliu i am now in my second day of exclusive Montoliu listenings ...

 Which album is the better ...I dont know ... 😊