Jazz or Food: a young man's dilemma

I loved this place.

I’m loathe to say it for fear of sounding crotchety, but people today have it good, not like when I was younger. Yikes. That’s sounds like an old man talking…but it’s true when it comes to jazz.

I’ve written before about my early days of discovering jazz thanks to my local public library and I continued to make full use of library jazz collections in various cities that I’ve lived. I spent days at the University of Ottawa importing the entire Bill Evans Complete Riverside Recordings. Sure, technically it was copyright infringement, but I didn’t have the cash for expensive sets like that. Not having the money to pay is hardly a justifiable excuse for theft, but let’s table the whole music piracy issue for another day.

The point I’m trying to make is that music was damned expensive, especially in a genre like jazz. When I was a student in Toronto there was still three or four jazz clubs that I frequented, of which only one (The Rex) remains. I favoured vodka on the rocks back then and spent a fair bit of time and money drinking and loving the live music.

I also LOVED the used CD shops where I would routinely drop $40-$50 a month. I couldn’t really afford it, but for jazz I was willing to live on rice pudding and grapefruit.

strange and cool and a bargain

You couldn't find everything used, so I spent hours pouring through the fantastic jazz collection at the now defunct Sam the Record Man on Yonge Street. The jazz section was up on the second floor. It was possible to get deals now and then.

I remember that sweet day I found Carla Bley's two-CD set 'Escalator Over the Hill' for $20. That gold box shone light some holy relic and I listened to that strange, interesting, avante-garde music and thought what an odd and wonderful world we live in that there were people out there in this world making music like this.

Verve put out Verve Jazz Masters recordings that cost less than $10 new and they helped me in my musical education. Blue Note, Verve and others had 4 CD best-of-the-label sets that were less than $30. Other than that, it was $20+ for a CD. They had so many CDs that I wanted and couldn’t afford that going there was a bit torturous.

I wonder how many times I stood there holding Yusef Lateef's Detroit: Latitude 42° 30′ Longitude 83°? I loved the song Russell and Elliot and wanted to hear the rest of the session. It cost $26 for 30 minutes of music. I couldn't justify it. I kept hoping it would turn up at one of the used CD stores I frequented (and I traveled from one end of the GTA to the other in search of Jazz).

too $$$ for me

Now though…sign up for Spotify or Apple Music and suddenly you get the entire store at your finger tips for a few bucks a month. I know I love it and can finally listen to Coltrane’s “Heavyweight Champion” set without dropping $100+ for it. You can listen to Russell and Elliot without having to decide if it was worth going without fruit and vegetables for the month.

There's a downside to this though. Man…I cherished those CDs I could barely afford. I was literally choosing them over complete nutrition so I damned well better enjoy them. Let the jazz drown out the hunger grooooooaaning from my belly.

Do we appreciate things if they come without a bit of struggle? I’m sure any psychiatrists in the room could expound on this theory. I suspect they’d echo that old cliché that nothing worth having comes without a price. Like many jazz musicians, I went hungry for the music.

I hope the new generation of jazz fans (whatever age they might be) will take full advantage of the musical splendor available to them.

I hope Beginning With Mingus offers some advice on where to start or continue your jazz journey. It never ends. I'm still growing and learning more about this greatest form of music. I know this site helped you, Harry, and I appreciated the note and bottle of Scotch saying thanks for the education. Thanks for taking this walk with me.

Fabulous Flamenco on a Winter's Morn

Miles & Bill - I wish they had recorded 100 albums together...

Friends, I know I've spoken a great deal about spending a lot of time listening to lesser known jazz musicians and while this is true, the track that accompanied me through my drive to work on this unseasonably mild January morning (what happened to northern winters?) was the absolutely lovely "Flamenco Sketches" from Miles Davis' seminal recording Kind of Blue. You know that I am in love with Bill Evans and to hear him playing with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Cannonball Adderley and Jimmy Cobb... well it doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Enjoy this classic, my friends.

Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time for a very good reason, don't you think? After all, I named it an Essential Album That All Humans Should Own, so I imagine you've already bought it, listened to it constantly like I did upon first hearing it, then rushed out and bought as much Bill Evans as you could afford.

Eddie Costa, Another One Who Died Too Young

happy hipster

I've been on a real kick of exploring some of the lesser known lights of jazz, as my last few posts will attest. Have you heard of the incredible Eddie Costa? He was a West Coast player who was equally proficient on piano and vibes, he had a percussive attack on the keys that really is all his own.

He played some great music with Bill Evans handling the keys while Eddie played vibes. Another great group in the history of jazz.

Luckily Eddie left some fine music behind before his tragic car accident (wait, ignore that - we avoid talking about the details of the bad endings that came to jazz musicians, though perhaps if I am feeling particularly nihilistic one day I could write all about it) and one of my favourites, at least as of this morning as I drove to work, is his rendition of 'Get Happy'. Friends, listen for a few seconds and you'll see what I mean about his wonderful rhythmic talents. It's a gem of a song and I urge you to seek him out.

The Art of the Trio - Barney Kessel

I've written a fair deal about how I have recently been enjoying the jazz trio and the vast variety of sounds that can be produced, and that isn't just with the piano at the centre; the guitar trio also offers delights.

I have been loving Barney Kessel lately and this amazing song 'Crisis' is not only a great example of Barney's swinging style, but, like the Bill Evans Trio, shows how large a role the drummer and bassist play in the song. This isn't just Barney saying 'Listen to me! Aren't I amazing??' since from those opening moments of Shelly Manne and Ray Brown (both giants in their own right) laying down a captivating beat, you are aware that this group is a strong and cohesive unit.

I know you will enjoy this one my friends!

Oscar Pettiford: Another Bass Master Revealed

Friends, even those of you who are casual visitors to this site know that I have a fondness for the bass. Not only is this site named in honour of Charles Mingus, but I written at length about my man Paul Chambers as well as Scott LeFaro's masterful performances with the Bill Evans Trio. Well, I have more proof that even two decades of enjoying jazz will continue to reveal wonders. In this case, the wonder is Oscar Pettiford.

Listening to his music, the finest of which was recorded in the early to mid 1950s, he sounds like a bridge between the 1940s and the modern postbop surge of the 50s. He was an amazing soloist, made all the more interesting since he often soloed on the cello, which was pretty rare in jazz. I know Chico Hamilton employed a cello in his fine group that featured a young Eric Dolphy, but other than in orchestral settings, I can't think of another group that employed cello. Those tracks with Oscar on cello are all the sweeter since it was often Charles Mingus who took over on bass, and it's hard to imagine two more talented people playing those eight strings.

He died too young, like so many jazz artists, yet left behind a wealth of wonderful music. I know you are interested in some advice on where to start, so let me recommend two albums that I have no doubt that you will enjoy. "Complete Jazz Series 1951-1954" and "Complete Jazz Series 1954-1955".

Just looking at the names that join him on those album covers must have you intrigued...

I dare any of you to listen to 'Marcel the Furrier' and not agree that his music is a must for your ever-expanding jazz collection.

I look forward to speaking with you about this exuberant music. Over a Bodum perhaps?

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.

My Man Paul Chambers and the great bassists of his time

Mr. Chambers takes a rest

Friends, it's been too long since we've talked about Paul Chambers.  It is not a contentious statement to say that he is one of the top two or three bassists of all time.

That being said, when you are talking about that elite calibre of musician, it is difficult to rank them based on skill but purely on personnel preference.  Off the top of my head I'd have to say Charles Mingus is the only player that was his equal in terms of proficiency (or was it just that he was a better composer?).  Well... in terms of skilled players you know how much I love Scott LeFaro with the Bill Evan's Trio, but can a few months recording, even though they were stellar recordings, put him into that elite category?  And what about Ray Brown? Ron Carter?  Percy Heath?  Charlie Haden? maybe even Steve Swallow?  Ah now you see why I stay away from ranking musicians.

Have a listen to the Paul Chambers Sextet's 'Whims of Chambers'  (from the album Whims of Chambers, Blue Note, 1956).

Fabulous!

Post-birthday party

everyone digs Bill Evans

Whew.  It's over.

Everyone's gone home and babies are in bed after a busy and wonderful day.  Not sure what is in store this evening but I think it would be a good night to chill out with some fabulous Bill Evan's Live at the Village Vanguard.  Perhaps the wonderful song 'Gloria's Step'.  Isn't that a great song?  Don't you love Scott LeFaro's bass?  I could get mournful here and talk about his tragic end shortly after this recording, but as I have said many times, we dwell on the positive here.  Let's focus on his masterful technique and not talk about the tragic car accident.

 I know I have talked about this Bill Evans album before, my friends, and with good reason.

It's one of the greatest.

So What!

On hold to talk to the government about this and that. 

What should be playing?

So What by Miles Davis.  Not a lousy Muzak version either, but the original recording!

Sure, the fidelity is terrible and I couldn't make out much of Miles' muted trumpet or Paul Chambers bass, but that song has a great mid-range. Bill Evans, Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley have my toes tapping.

Say what you will about the Canadian government, and believe me there's a lot I could say, (proroguing Parliament twice! slashing funding to the arts, to hell with the environment, etc etc etc) but I will give them their due: their on hold service has great taste in music!

Keep me on hold a little longer! I don't mind!

Albums That All Humans Should Own #4

My fourth pick is one of the first jazz albums I ever bought.  My cousin Glenn and I used to listen to it driving around town in his old Chevelle.

Not only does it have one of the best album titles of all time (okay, I know the name of the album shouldn't affect the music therein but it does, doesn't it?) but it also features one of the greatest bands ever assembled and it's a shame that this all-star unit never recorded more.

'The Blues and the Abstract Truth' (1961) by Oliver Nelson is my third pick of essential albums that all humans should own.


Check out the names on that album cover.

• Bill Evans - Piano
• Roy Haynes - Drums
• The multi-instrumentalist-who-died-too-young Eric Dolphy
• Oliver Nelson - Alto
• My man Paul Chambers - Bass
• Freddie Hubbard- Trumpet

Few bands have that kind of talent and the music is diverse and has incredible flow. It's a sextet that sounds like an orchestra.  Take a listen to Stolen Moments, one of the all-time great songs in the history of jazz. After that slow build-up, Freddie Hubbard plays some nice trumpet, but then comes one of my favourite moments in all of recorded jazz: Eric Dolphy's flute solo.

It is spectacular stuff.  Spectacular flute solo? Is that what you're thinking? 


Trust me, in the right hands the flute can be great. Admittedly, there are only a few masters of the instrument in jazz other than Eric Dolphy. (Yusef Lateef for one... I'll have to think to find a third. Sonny Red maybe?)


If you were sitting here with me drinking a martini as I am, I could hum it to you as it is a passage I know by heart. The consummate skill with which he plays astounds me even after countless listens.

I ask my wife who is sitting across from me doing some work she brought home from the office -Would you like me to whistle Eric Dolphy's flute solo from Oliver Nelson's masterful Stolen Moments?

-Tempting. Thanks but no.

Trust me friends, even if you don't want to splurge for the entire  disc, download that one track and brace yourself for the magic that comes at the 3 minute mark.  Eric Dolphy is a jazz god.

On a parting note I will mention that Oliver Nelson not only recorded one of the greatest jazz albums of all-time, but in the 70's he got a lot of work scoring for film and TV (which the snooty jazz community poo pooed him for) and some say that this hard work drove him to an early grave. One of the highlights of this second career? Writing the music for that classic series of my childhood, The Six Million Dollar Man.

If you are thinking that I mention that fact just so I had an excuse to post this great photo of the great Lee Majors, you may be right.

I mean, the theme song is written by Oliver Nelson and take a listen. It's not Stolen Moments, but it is pretty cool. 


PS: Okay, I can't resist: you can watch the $6,000,000 man battle Sasquatch here. Dig that Oliver Nelson score! 

Albums That All Humans Should Own #1 & 2

Here we go, my friends. I am going to begin giving some essential albums picks so you too can enjoy the wonderful world of jazz.

On a weekend in 1961 The Bill Evans Trio played the Village Vanguard in New York City. The group had been together for a few years but this was the first time that they had been recorded with top-notch equipment.  The three men (including Scott LeFaro, bass, and Paul Motian, drums) had a interesting take on what a piano trio should be: they didn't want it to be a piano trio at all. The bass and drummer were not there simply to support the piano; all three musicians were equal.  Sure, the group had Bill Evans' name, but he was a star after his role in Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue'. The three men play together beautifully.  It is the sort of music that you can keep in constant rotation over the course of the day and create a gorgeous soundtrack.

My wife did this when she was pregnant and at home. Perhaps that's why our babies are so happy and mellow.

The trick is what specific album to buy... The weekend's performance (5 sets worth) was released on a few different albums.  You can get the entire performance on a three disc set 'The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961'. I think most people don't need that set (do you need 3 takes of All of You and two takes of Alice in Wonderland, Detour Ahead, Gloria's Step, Jade Visions, My Romance and Waltz For Debby? If you do, I understand completely) but why not save a few dollars and pick up the albums 'Sunday at the Village Vanguard' and 'Waltz For Debby'.

If you are trying to decide which one to get first, may I suggest you choose 'Waltz For Debby' since it has the stunningly gorgeous Some Other Time. Just listen to that incredible song! Does it have you rushing out to buy it right now? I thought so. I would love to know what Paul Chamber's thought of LeFaro's work.

'Waltz For Debby' (1961) and 'Sunday at the Village Vanguard' (1961) are my first and second picks of essential albums that all humans should own.

A sad note: these recording are all the more special because Scott LeFaro died in a car accident a couple of weeks after they were recorded.

He is woefully under-recorded and few aficionados doubt that he would have become a major force in jazz. His playing is unique. He spends much of his time high up on the neck of his bass creating captivating melodies and rhythms that help make this Trio so unique in jazz. Some say that Bill Evans never got over the loss, and even suggest that though he recorded voluminously  until his death in 1980, he never again achieved the transcendent quality on display on that day. I have listened to a lot of Bill Evans and have never heard an album that has me arguing against that statement.

Early morning Joe

As my wife and I were feeding our babies at 6:36am this morning, I clicked on Galaxie Jazz and who should serenade us but our old friend Joe Henderson (I admit I am surprised by how often he has been mentioned in this blog!) playing Portrait, a beautiful ballad that I believe is from the early 60's Blue Note recordings.

Next comes Vince Guaraldi's Linus & Lucy, which my wife loved, and why not? How many of us were introduced to jazz by Charlie Brown cartoons?

Grant Green on guitar

-I wish Bill Evans would have played this, I said.

She thought the original version was just fine, and she is undoubtedly correct.

Two hours later, after grandparents had fed our babies their second last bottle before the journey home, we go back downstairs and Grant Green's Sookie, Sookie is playing, another Blue Note classic.  See my friends? Blue Note is everywhere! Even our our blue-eyed babies love the label (or am I projecting?)

Waltz for who? Zweetie??

 I was all set to write about Waltz for Debby as recorded by The Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard.   As lovely a song as has ever been recorded. I have mentioned Bill Evans a couple of times already and have certainly focused a lot on bassists, so the Trio’s masterful Scott LeFaro would have given me no shortage of material.  He was massively influential, played in a very unique manner, and died a couple weeks after this seminal performance was recorded. 

I was thinking about perhaps comparing the versions (I have three on my iPod) and I could have even talked a bit about the vocal version recorded by Johnny Hartman, about a father singing about his little girl growing up and how her toys, including her ‘silly old bear’ will miss her once she grows older, as will he - a song which has all the more impact now that I have a little girl of my own.

Well, as I sat down and spun the wheel to get to Waltz For Debbie I went a little too far and ended up on Waltz For Zweetie instead and decided to stay.

Zweetie? Sure.  Sounds like an interesting woman, doesn’t she?  You must admit, the name Debbie sounds a bit dull but the same could not be same for Zweetie!

The song is by tenor sax man Joe Henderson and on the 'Tetragon' album recorded in 1967-68.  It’s a solid piece of music which is what us fans of Joe have come to expect.

The piano intro is reminiscent of McCoy Tyner (who worked with John Coltrane on his later period - who can forget those power chords on My Favorite Things?) but it is Kenny Barron doing his best impression.  There is an echo of Waltz For Debbie in that opening as well.  I need to mention the bass of course, in this case it’s Ron Carter, another master of four strings (I have already introduced you to some great bassists, haven’t I? With more to come, my friends!) who is bouncing around in my right ear at this moment along with the drums of Louis Hayes.  On the left is Kenny Barron and Joe blows his smooth tenor dead centre.  Gorgeous tone.  Gorgeous tune.  Well worth a listen, my friends! I haven’t sat and listened to this one, really listened to it with my full attention, since the title track is such a winner that it pulls me towards it.

I am sure this will not be the last time we take a look at Joe Henderson and I hope you will not mind this trip into a somewhat obscure jazz track instead of looking at an all time classic.  There are many riches to be found if you stray.  Isn’t there some poem about the road less traveled something something something?  We will likely look at jazz and poetry at some point (Mingus’ The Clown comes to mind...), but not now.

Who was Zweetie?

What would a woman named Zweetie look like?

Great hair I bet.  Gorgeous too.  And cool sunglasses. And attitude to spare. A real firecracker!