Hello from New Orleans Updated!

I have been in New Orleans for the last few days, drinking beer and eating Cajun and listening to lectures on the Second Amendment.  In between all this serious activity, I managed to visit one of my favorite music places, the Louisiana Music Factory, on Decatur Street in The Quarter.  It still has one of the most inviting jazz sections available.

I picked up (finally) Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, Intuition by Lennie Tristano and Warne Marsh, Kenny Dorham Una Mass (with Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Anthony Williams), and last but not least, True Blue by Tina Brooks.  I'll try to post a sample or two when I get home this week.

Until now, here is a beautiful picture.  If you cut me out of it.

Update!  I blogged about Harold Floyd (Tina) Brooks back in April.  Doesn't it sound like I know what I am doing when I call him by his real name.  Kinda like when a jazzman leaves out the "King" between Nat and Cole.  In fact, I know very little beyond what is in that post.  But I did obtain Brooks' wonderful Minor Move just about the time I began my (semi) serious collecting. 

True Blue is almost as good.  The late Freddie Hubbard plays trumpet, Duke Jordan piano, Sam Jones bass, and Art Taylor drums.  It is a fine piece of hard bop.  Listening to it is a lot like watching the DVD set of Firefly.  Its great but bittersweet, as I know the series will end prematurely.  Here is a sample, an alternative version of the first cut.

Good Old Soul

And here is a cut from the Dorham album mentioned above.

Sao Paolo

Jaki Byard

The "J" section on my iPod takes a long time to scroll through, what with all the Johns and Joes that fill up the jazz fan's soul (does Apple have a copyright?).  And then there are the Jacki(e)s.  Keyboard genius Jaki Byard is not one to be missed.  Perhaps his most important date was with Eric Dolphy at the recording of Far Cry.  You will find it well positioned in my list of best jazz albums. 

Byard  played with the authority of someone who had mastered a lot of the music's history.  A better trained ear than mine can find volumes of jazz tradition on any Byard album, and more than one in one song.  Just now I am listening to The Jaki Byard Experience.  This album features Rolland Kirk "switching between tenor, clarinet, and manzello" (All Music).  What the Hell is a manzello?  Wikipedia saves me here.  It's a mutant soprano saxophone. Rolland Kirk rings my bells.  Richard Davis plays an exquisite and well represented bass, and Alan Dawson drums. 

The opening number, 'Parisian Thoroughfare', is an example of what one might call "traffic jazz."  As the sound of a railroad car clacking over ties inspired many a bluesman, so the sound of a busy street corner has inspired more than one jazzman.  For examples see Charlie Mingus and Arthur Blythe. 

Well, here is a sample. 

Memories of You/The Jaki Byard Experience

One can only wish that Byard and Kirk and Davis got together more often.  This one is a keeper. 

Guide to Wayne Shorter 2

It is astonishing that three of Shorter's four "spooky" middle period were recording in 1964 and the fourth in 1965.  That was a burst of creative genius.  His third period, in my classification, begins in 65.

The Final Three

1. Etcetera (1965) Herbie Hancock (p) Cecil McBee (b) Joe Chambers (d)
2. The All Seeing Eye (1965) Freddie Hubbard (tp, flh) Alan Shorter (flh -5) Grachan Moncur III (tb) James Spaulding (as) Herbie Hancock (p) Ron Carter (b) Joe Chambers (d)
3. Adam's Apple (1966) Herbie Hancock (p) Reggie Workman (b) Joe Chambers (d) 

 Etcetera and The All Seeing Eye represent Shorter's avant garde adventure, the second more than the first.   Both indicate the influence of Miles Davis, who was doing the same thing at that time.  It would be interesting to compare these recordings with the contemporaneous Plugged Nickel sessions where Shorter joined the Miles Davis Quintet.  Both of the first two albums are fine, edgy, page four jazz.  If you have your ear trained by the Plugged Nickel document, The All Seeing Eye will open for you.

This is not music that you can take away with you and hum on the way home.  You are in it only while you are listening to it.  Ron Carter's bass is worth way more than whatever he paid for it.  Etcetera is less adventurous, but only by a bit.  'Indian Song' expresses the same attempt to get at the unspeakable truth about melody by leaving melody behind.  What was your face before you were born?

And then there is Adam's Apple.  This recording returns to the work Wayne was doing in the core period, and it surely ranks along with Night Dreamer, Juju, and Speak No Evil.  'Footprints', one of Shorter's most covered songs is on it.  But I think that the title song is among his most compelling compositions.

I expect that a reader might wonder why I call these "The Final Three".  Shorter records more albums, and there is his work with Weather Report.  I don't want to write off his later work.  I confess that I don't know the Weather Report stuff well because I just can't get interested in it.  The ten albums I have listed here are a monumental contribution to jazz.  I'll leave it at that for now, and I will try to get around to commenting on his work with Art Blakey and Miles Davis in a later post.

Here are some samples to illustrate my comments and whet your appetite:

Penelope/Etcetera 

Chaos/The All Seeing Eye 

Adam's Apple/Adam's Apple

A Guide to Wayne Shorter

Of all my jazz heroes, and that's a lot of heroes, I probably have the greatest affection for Wayne Shorter.  I got interested in Shorter when I saw one of his recordings featured in the Zen Mountain Monastery catalog of meditation supplies.   I started picking up Shorter discs after that, and I have not been disappointed in any of them.

I think that Shorter is one of the most underrated geniuses in the history of modern jazz.  His work on the saxophone easily puts him in the top ten bop and post bop players; his work as musical director for Art Blakey and later for Miles Davis has no comparison anywhere; he is also one of the most brilliant composer/players of his generation.  What ties all these achievements together, what is at the heart of the Shorter phenomenon, is storytelling.  Listen to any Shorter line, no matter when or where, and you will hear a story.  Much the same is true of his composition when they are played by others.

Well, I think this should be the decade when Wayne is rediscovered by the jazz world as the indispensable man that he is.  To that end I offer a simple guide to Shorter's first decade.

The Early Recordings

1. Introducing Wayne Shorter (1959) Lee Morgan (tp) Wynton Kelly (p) Paul Chambers (b) Jimmy Cobb (d)
2.  Second Genesis (1960) Cedar Walton (p) Bob Cranshaw (b) Art Blakey (d)
3. Wayning Moments (1962) Freddie Hubbard (t) Eddie Higgins (p)  Jymie Merritt (b) and Marshall Thompson (d)
   

The first of these recordings is a superb statement of Wayne's genius.  It is solid hard bop, with rich and distinct melodies.  Morgan's horn does what God intended, and the rhythm section speaks for itself.  By contrast, Second Genesis is a very weird album.  With Walton and Blakey on board you would expect something grand, and in a way you get it.  The trouble is, it seems that the recording is the same song done over and over again.   The most you can say is that each number is a variation on the theme established by the first cut.  It's great playing and improvisation, but I'd leave this one until you are nearing a complete collection.

The Spooky Core

1. Night Dreamer (1964) Lee Morgan (tp) McCoy Tyner (p) Reggie Workman (b) Elvin Jones (d)
2. Juju (1964)  McCoy Tyner (p) Reggie Workman (b) Elvin Jones (d) 
3. Speak No Evil (1964) Freddie Hubbard (tp) Herbie Hancock (p) Ron Carter (b) Elvin Jones (d) 
4. The Soothsayer (1965) Freddie Hubbard (tp) James Spaulding (as) McCoy Tyner (p) Reggie Workman (b) Tony Williams (d)

This is the core of Shorter's corpus.  Speak No Evil is widely and deservedly regarded as one of the most perfect jazz albums ever recorded.  I put it in my top ten.  Night Dreamer and Juju are nearly as good.  The storytelling element is most evident in these recordings, and both composition and execution are classical.  I confess that I am biased.  I really like spooky stories, and the low mist flows over slightly raised earth in all of these works.  The Soothsayer is the weakest of the four, but it is still well worth having.

I'll stop here for now.  Here are a couple of samples from the lesser known works.

Blues A La Carte/Introducing Wayne Shorter

Lost/The Soothsayer

So join me in my quest to elevate Wayne Shorter. 

Brilliant and Crazy: Thelonious Monk

If you have seen A Beautiful Mind, Russel Crowe as the brilliant and nuts logician John Nash, you have a sense of the connection between mental impairment and genius.  Another case in point is one Thelonious Sphere Monk.  I have loved Monk for a long time now.  Today I read David Yaffee's review of "Robin D.G. Kelley's exhaustive, necessary and, as of now, definitive Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original"  at The Nation.  I can't wait to read the book, but the review is a fine presentation of the man.

If you are interested in digging into some Monk recordings, I have some suggestions.  Monk's best single album, imho, is Brilliant Corners.  Even the title is pure Monk.  Here are some more:

1. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
2. Misterioso
3. Thelonious Monk in Action
4. Mulligan Meets Monk
5. Alone in San Francisco
6. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane
7. Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
   

Discs 1-3 feature Johnny Griffin on sax, who turned out to be a very fine interpreter of Monk's genius.  But Monk's encounter with Trane is one of the immortal gifts that jazz keeps giving.  Number seven was my first exposure to Monk, and it left and indelible mark. 

Monk was always a bit nuts.  He knew it, and he used it, but it also irritated him that everyone else knew it.  What can you do?  Of course, there was that hat.

Happy new year. 

The Powerful and the Subtle: Dave Holland and Chris Potter

The difference between a listening to jazz live and listening to a jazz recording is analogous to watching a baseball game in the stands versus watching the game on TV.  Some there are who will tell you that only the live experience is real.  This is truer among jazz fans than among baseball fans. 

The latter example tells the tale.  All things considered, I'd rather watch a great ballgame in the stadium.  The late evening summer sun, the air and the echoes, the smell of popcorn and beer, these don't come through even in HD.  Nevertheless, there is much to be said for TV.  You see more, and when it counts, you get to see it twice.  These days you can run the DVR back to take a third look.  No seat in the stadium beats the camera view. 

The analogy breaks down over the fact that one will listen to good music over and over.  The ideal, I suppose, would be to sit in a jazz club listening to a great performance, and then get the recording of that performance on your iPod.  Even better, you might get a video recording on the event. 

For Christmas this year I got a new iPod.  My old one had 60G's of storage space.  With 750 jazz albums and a lot of podcasts, I filled the damn thing up.  My new one has 160G of space.  So much to do, so little time.  I confess: I want to have my whole collection at my disposal all the time. 

The first new thing I put on my new baby was The Dave Holland Quintet/Extended Play:Live at Birdland.  This is live jazz at maximum power.  Almost all the cuts are more than ten minutes in length.  I would love to have been there, but I can be there again and again.  Here is a sample. 

Dave Holland Quintet/Prime Directive/Extended Play: Live at Birdland

 This is live page four jazz at its best.  Trust me.  There will be that guy who keeps dancing ridiculously hard, only he will be in your head.  Chris Potter fills in on sax.  He is as sharp and compelling as ever.  I think that Holland's genius is evident in the inclusion of a trombone (Robin Eubanks) and vibes (Steve Nelson).  Billy Kilson plays drums. 

For a little contrast, here is a cut from a recent Chris Potter album.  Potter has a large ensemble behind him.  It is lush, poetic, bread and sauce.  Hearing this live would be a great experience.  But it is just as well heard on your iPod, and it's easier to go to the bathroom.  This cut is wonderful:

Chris Potter 10/Family Tree/Song for Anyone

Well, Happy New Year, Jazz Babies!  I am getting pretty lonely here.  If you like this blog, post a note or two. 

Merry Christmas

Maybe light blogging ahead.  It's hard to tell.  I am on my way down south to see my favorite hero of the Republic, my father.  Here is a sample from an album I tried to find years ago and failed.  Kenny Burrell's Stormy Monday.  All things considered, Burrell is probably my favorite jazz guitar player.

This is Burrell's version of a recently featured song.  Burrell is less interested in the mood of the song and more in it's musical architecture than Wes Montgomery was.  Enjoy the comparison.

Kenny Burrell/One for my baby/Stormy Monday

From the All Music Guide:

[Burrell is] joined by pianist Richard Wyands, bassist John Heard, and drummer Lenny McBrowne

 And here is something else:

Barney Kessel Kenny Burrel Grant Green _Blue mist
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