In London to see the Pharoah

This blog has enjoyed visits from a considerable number of folks who reside in the UK.  I have decided to alert you that I will be in London on July 2nd, and I will be at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club to hear Pharaoh Sanders.  Just on the off chance that some reader will be there, don't hesitate to say hello.  I am the short, bearded guy with a beautiful woman on his arm. If anyone has any tips on where to buy jazz cd's in London, now would be the time to post a comment. 

I am playing 'Mile's Mode' from Africa N'da Blues, by the Kahil El'Zabar Trio with Pharaoh Sanders.  In addition to Sanders on tenor and El'Zabar on percussion, there is Ari Brown (piano, tenor and soprano sax), and Malachi Favors (bass).  

Ceil Taylor Pure & Raw

I recently acquired an extensive Cecil Taylor recording, 2 Ts for a Lovely T.  You won't see this one in record stores.  In fact, you will not see it again.  This is raw, uncompromising avant garde indulgence.  I doubt that it will win a lot of stars on my Live365 site, but I am putting it up anyway.  Every now and then one must sacrifice for the sake of art.  I am playing 'Owele Standing (Small Bird)'.  William Parker is on bass, and Tony Oxley on drums. 

Red Garland & Paul Chambers

 

Pianist Red Garland shares at least one honor with John Coltrane, besides often playing behind Trane.  Both were fired by Miles Davis.  I finally got around to adding Red Garland Revisited to my collection.  The cause in both cases was heroin.  

Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones were often referred to simply as the rhythm section.  That is mostly due to their work as the platform for Davis and Trane in Miles' first great quintet.  You can find Garland and Chambers on a lot of seminal albums in the late fifties. 

I finally got around to adding Red Garland Revisited to my collection.  It is a superb showcase for Garland's talent and also features some fine work by guitarist Kenny Burrell.  I am playing the two cuts with Burrell on them, both Miles Davis standards: 'Walkin' and 'Four'.  Chambers plays bass and Art Taylor is on drums.  

I bought the album on the recommendation of the Penguin Jazz Guide 1001.  Shortly after the entry on the above disc, I read one on Paul Chambers Bass On Top.  Had to have it.  Burrell shows up again, as does Art Taylor.  Hank Jones plays piano.  This is a great one for bass fans, especially if you like jazz bass played with a bow.  I am playing another piece from the Davis playlist: 'The Theme'. 

The Pharoah

I am traveling to England in a couple of weeks.  I just noticed that Pharaoh Sanders is playing at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club when I will be in London.  If I can get tickets, I will be there.  I don't have a lot of Sanders' recordings in my library, but I have thoroughly enjoyed his tribute to Coltrane: Crescent With Love.  This is a wonderful two disc set.  Don't miss it.  I am playing 'Crescent'.  Here's the lineup:

• Double Bass – Charles Fambrough
• Drums – Sherman Ferguson
• Piano – William Henderson
• Tenor Saxophone – Pharoah Sanders

I am also playing 'You've Got To Have Freedom', from Live.   I got this one on a business trip many years ago.  It is one superb live album.  Sanders opens up the cut with a very screechy intro, but hang on.  It is freedom writ in musical notes.  God, but I love jazz. 

• Bass – Walter Booker
• Drums – Idris Muhammad
• Piano – John Hicks
• Tenor Saxophone, Producer, Written-By – Pharoah Sanders

Cliff Jordan & John Gilmore: The Neglected Masterpiece of Blue Note Hard Bop

 

That, at any rate, is how the latest edition of the Penguin Guide (The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums) describes Blowin' In From Chicago (1957).  The recording is often listed under the leadership of Clifford Jordan, though the two get equal status on the album cover.  Gilmore is almost solely known for his work with Sun Ra.  Blowin', however, suggests that these were two under utilized talents.

The solos are fierce and uncompromising. The album features 

1.  John Gilmore on tenor sax
2. Clifford Jordan on tenor sax
3. Curley Russel on bass, 
4. Horace Silver on piano, and 
5. Art Blakey on drums.   

That makes is a classic item in your hard bop collection.  I am playing 'Status Quo' and 'Billie's Bounce'. 

Red Mitchell and Bill Mays: Some Video Clips from Memory Lane

I am feeling a need to put up more hard bop to balance out all the avant garde on my station.  The next entry in the PG1001 after the John Gilmore/Clifford Jordan album that I blog on is Presenting Red Mitchell.  Presenting is a very fine piece of work.  I don't know James Clay except for this recording, but man does he swing. I am playing 'Sandu'. 

1. Red Mitchell b
2. James Clay ts, f
3. Lorraine Geller p
4. Billy Higgins d

Many years ago (okay, it was 1982) I recorded a concert off TV with Mitchell and pianist Bill Mays.  I played that cassette tape over and over.  I have no idea what happened to it and I haven't been able to find their recording, except for ridiculous collector's prices.     However, clips are available from that show on YouTube.  Here are a couple of them. 

Hello!  Here are two more:

This might actually be the whole thing.  I seem to recall that there wasn't much of it.  This was the beginning of my love for jazz.  I could appreciate, here, the pure joy of two superb musicians exploring a realm in musical space.   Thanks to the wonders of recording, this one wasn't lost. 

More El'Zabar

I listened again this evening to Kahil El'Zabar's album Live At The East River Art Center.  I am moving the rating up a notch from very fine to magnificent.  If you want something to listen to while chopping peppers for fish tacos, this is definitely your disc.  I am replacing one cut with another on my L365 station.  'Big M' is longer, but so bloody awesome they should put it on the soundtrack in Heaven.  

I am also playing 'Nia', and 'The Ebullient Duke,' an Ellington tribute, from Love Outside Of Dreams.  The Kahil El'Zabar Trio includes David Murray on sax and Fred Hopkins on bass.  It was Hopkins' last recording.  The album is a showcase for Murry, who plays like he did on his magnificent early albums, but El'Zabar's brilliant drumming lays down a delicious cushion under the horn.  It is a very fine sax trio album. 

Archie Shepp

I have been loading some Shepp onto my Live365 station.  Today I put up 'Emotions', from Don Cherry Live in Europe '64.  Shepp is listed as the leader in some accounts.  It's basically the same combo as recorded Shepp's seminal album The New York Contemporary Five.   Shepp on tenor, John Tchicai on alto, Cherry on cornet.  The New York album is one of those that belongs in any modest jazz collection.  The '64 recordings are priceless because they further document a band that had no commercial potential.  

I also uploaded 'Hambone' from Shepp's wonderful album Fire Music.  This is raw, dig down along the live wire avant garde.   Here's the band:

• Alto Saxophone – Marion Brown
• Bass – Reggie Johnson (tracks: A1, A2, B2, B3)
• Drums – Joe Chambers (tracks: A1, A2, B2, B3)
• Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
• Trombone – Joseph Orange
• Trumpet – Ted Curson

I'll let that stand for now.   Oh, okay, here's one more.  I love this duet album with Shepp and Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen.  It's a great horn/bass duo.  I am playing 'Billie's Bounce' from Looking at Bird.