This One's For Doris

Sitting in my car. Lunchtime. Shelley Manne's "Live at the Blackhawk" is playing. Wonder Why. Victor Feldman has a light touch on the keys in this one. The band's channeling the Ahmad Jamal Trio.

(Though let’s be honest: I enjoy Feldman’s playing, but it doesn’t have those astonishing otherworldly moments of Jamal.)

The season is finally turning over. I think spring is here to stay. A lot of change in the world right now. A new day job for me in a few days. A new book percolating and maybe ready to come out.

Lets agree that Wonder Why will be my soundtrack for the coming weeks. Upbeat. Cool. Relaxed yet propelled forward at a steady pace.


Turn off the news, sweet Doris. There’s nothing we need there today. 

Ahmad Jamal smiles, as we all do when we hear him play

Ladies and gentlemen, Ray Crawford

you don't get much cooler than this

I am new to the music of Ray Crawford, and friends, I wish he recorded more. His incredible album Smooth Groove has been in constant rotation this week, making for a very groovy few days.

I am familiar with him from his recordings with the great Ahmad Jamal (he played on his earliest recordings before Vernel Fournier joined the group. I would have loved to hear what Crawford and Fournier would have done together!), but on Smooth Groove (1961) he has a bluesy feel that I can't get enough of. Have I mentioned that I wish he recorded more? Cecil Payne is a stand-out on baritone sax and the entire band is in top form.

Have a listen to the delightful "Miss April" then do yourself a favour and buy this disc immediately.  Weekend is upon us and you'd be hard pressed to find a better summer weekend soundtrack. If only he'd recorded more...

The Best Pianist You've Never Heard Of

The best pianist you've never heard of just may be Herbie Nichols.

play it, Herbie

(If you haven't heard of the great Lennie Tristano I might place him first, making Herbie the second best pianist you've never heard of...) Friends, surely you'll remember those jazz cliches I have spoken about several times and Herbie fits the 'never received the acclaim he deserved during his lifetime' (he also died too young, so fits two cliches).

Let's make sure he gets plenty of posthumous attention shall we?

As I was driving west on Water Street this afternoon I was happily listening to the wonderful 'Rif Primitif' which displays his divine sense of rhythm. Truly a masterful trio. How did the jazz public of the 1950s not realize the genius that was recording at Blue Note? Was it just that he was one of many and got lost in the shuffle? 

Blakey brings the thunder

It took me a long time to come around to appreciating the piano trio in general.

Perhaps I had never heard the best ones and associated it with lounge music and always found myself missing the fire of a horn-player. I liked piano players like Monk and Brubeck but never focused on them in the trio format. Bill Evans changed it for me, and then I discovered that the piano trio offers the jazz lover a wide variety of soundscapes. Bill Evans offers a gentle mood with the bass sharing centre stage (especially in his recordings with Scott LeFaro), the exquisitely talented Ahmad Jamal is a joy to listen to (are you getting tired of me talking about the masterful drumming of Vernel Fournier?) and his exploitation of the dynamic range is astonishing, and then there is Herbie Nichols who is completely different. There is a logic to his playing; effortless and beautiful runs that I know you will appreciate. He seemed to have an affinity with drummers the same way that Bill Evans had with bassists. It doesn't hurt that Art Blakey, one of the two or three greatest jazz drummers all time (and I know some of you are at the moment shocked that I wouldn't immediately place him at #1 but you know that there are so many incredible jazz musicians and how accurately can one rank them?) played with him a freat deal.

Do yourself a favour and have a listen.

How much MJQ is too much MJQ?

the modern jazz quartet

If I have one weakness it is Mosaic Records. Well... I also have a weakness for strong dark roast coffee.  I try to keep it at two cups a day but that 2:30 cup is often the best.

Mosaic Records puts out amazing jazz box sets full of rarities and unreleased material.  I could go on and on about some sets of the past but I will restrain myself.  Okay, I'll just mention that the Ahmad Jamal set is superb.  I will have to write about him soon.  His drummer Vernel Fournier! A revelation!

Coming soon from Mosaic is this:

The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings of The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-64 (7 CDs)

And here's what they say about the MJQ: "That sound. One group conceived it. Defined it. Perfected it. The Modern Jazz Quartet was certainly one of the most distinctive voices in the history of jazz, thanks to the unique qualities of personal expression and collective vision of its members."

And they are very good. They are one of the tightest bands in the history of jazz.  They preferred the concert hall over the nightclub.  These were skilled and serious men, serious about the music and about presenting it with class and dignity.  And the music is strong!  I admit, sometimes I miss a horn player... but Milt jackson sure can ring those bells.

So the question is this: is seven CDs of MJQ too much MJQ?  The set contains fourteen albums! MJQ is not in regular rotation in this house.  I listen to them for a few hours but then I drift away again.  I should admit that I already own MJQ: 40 which is a four CD greatest hits so there is bound to be some overlap...  Surely four discs is enough, right?

Ahhh, who am I kidding. I'm going to buy it.