Because Sometimes You Need to Strut

love the title track for some serious strutting

Jazz is many things.

It's very diverse, which is why fans like me bristle when someone says they don't like jazz. How can you not like jazz? It's so many things!

I suppose there are those poor people out there who generally don't like music, and they have my deepest sympathy.

Depending on the album you're listening to, jazz can relaxing, energizing, intellectually stimulating, inspiring, fun, beautiful and more.

It can also give you a soundtrack for those days that are going so well that you just need to strut.

Cue "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones. This killer track is from the album Right On Brother (Prestige, 1970). Some of the songs have a bit more organ than I can enjoy, but "Right On" hits that perfect balance.

Life is treating me fine lately, so I think I'll plug in my headphones and strut for 5 mins and 42 seconds while Boogaloo Joe Jones and his band do their thing.

Because it's hard to get enough Jim

more Jim, if you can find it

A few years back someone came across some tapes, I assume they were reel to reel. I'm not sure of the exact story of how these lost recordings came to light, but somehow they were found in  someone's closet or in a box in a garage, or some collector had been hording them and not sharing.

What I know for certain is that word got out that there may be, just may be more of that magic that the Jim Hall Trio recorded in 1975 and was released as Jim Hall Live!

It turns out that other Toronto dates that fantastic trio played in June of 1975 were recorded. Could it be possible that these newfound recordings were as good as Jim Hall Live!?

They were. These new recordings are absolutely fantastic. It's the same trio of Hall, Thompson and Clarke and you'll hear that the band was brilliant night after night. You'll also notice that people in jazz clubs yap on and on. I've noticed that when I'm out at a club. I want to turn to people as they yammer on about their cell phone plan "Don't you hear the magic that's happening on that stage?" 

The albums were released as Jim Hall Live, Volumes 2-4.

Though the albums are pricey and could be hard to find, I wanted to let you know about them and that you should snap them up if you find them somewhere. If they were more readily available, I would have put them all together and said that Jim Hall Live Volumes 1-4 were my 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th picks for Albums That All Humans Should Own.

Of course, I couldn't resist buying this set, so you can listen tonight when you stop by.

Albums That All Humans Should Own #10

Jim and Sonny

I’ve been thinking about Sonny Rollins lately and wanted to put out there again that despite saying I can’t bear to hear “St. Thomas,” I’m a big fan. 

It got me thinking about his music and what album of his I would pick as my all-time favourite. Yes, you know how I like lists and rankings when it comes to jazz.

My first thought was The Bridge (RCA Victor, 1962), which is one of his most famous albums and has all sorts of mythology around it. 

The story goes that Sonny was tired of the music biz and was feeling like his playing wasn’t developing like he wanted it to, so he walked away from recording and performing. 

Instead, he’d take his sax out to the Brooklyn Bridge and play for the pigeons, trash barges and passing cars. After a certain amount of time, Sonny felt ready and he returned to the studio and recorded one of the great jazz albums, The Bridge.

Now as much as I love The Bridge, this isn’t my recommendation of Albums That All Humans Should Own. It might come later, but I’m going a different direction today.

The reason The Bridge came to mind last night as a potential Favourite Sonny Rollins Album is due to Jim Hall’s appearance on that album.

I've written before about how much I love Jim’s playing. He’s one of the top few jazz guitarists of all time. I love his playing on The Bridge. He is unobtrusive and gives Sonny a perfect place to lay down his tenor sound. Jim played with just about everyone during his long career. If some evil genie said that you could only listen to albums that had Jim Hall on them, your jazz collection would still be fantastic.

If I were to list all of the Giants he played with, this post would be far too long, so here's a brief highlight of some of my favourite Jim collaborations: Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Desmond, Art Farmer, Jimmy Giuffre, Chico Hamilton and Hampton Hawes. 

So enough beating around the bush. 

ok, not the greatest cover, but the music is tops

Jim Hall Live! (Horizon, 1975) is my tenth pick of Albums That All Humans Should Own.

It’s a gorgeous record that shows the master at the apex of his powers. Maybe I also like the fact that it was recorded at a Toronto jazz club. By the time I moved to Toronto, the Bourbon Street club was closed, but there were still a few great places open back then.

I’ve said it many times: a trio sinks or swims on the strength of the group. The greatest trios have three players working together, it’s not just the leader’s show. Jim Hall’s trio on this date is fantastic.

Jim Hall-guitar

Don Thompson-bass

Terry Clarke-drums

Don Thompson on bass

It’s no secret I’m a fan of the bass, and even have a couple of them in my basement (or bassment? No, that’s a terrible pun, ignore that). Don Thompson is one of the best, though he won’t make many best-of lists. That’s okay. He doesn’t need a list. He’s got the talent. He sounds great backing Jim, but Don really shines when it’s time for his to take the spotlight. His solos are beautiful and perfectly suited for Jim’s sound. Don has a long list of credits and it’s no surprise that he was a sought after bassist.

He’s Canadian too, which is nice. Canada has a decent number of Jazz Greats, but we’ll save that topic for another time. Perhaps tonight over a stout?

Have a listen to 'Angel Eyes' and see for yourself why I love this album so much.

Sorry Sonny, I Can't Do St. Thomas

Relationships are tough. Even great relationships will have times that are damned difficult. Relationships can do permanent damage. Relationships can even destroy a perfectly fine jazz standard.

That look...You're making me feel guilty.

Okay. It's confession time.

I don't like Sonny Rollins' classic tune "St. Thomas" that was first released on the album Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, 1956).

In fact, I don't like any version of that song.

'Why?' you ask.

I understand your confusion. You know better than anyone how much I like Sonny Rollins. He's one of the greats. Top 5 tenor sax players all time.

But as soon as I hear those first playful notes that should bring to mind Caribbean joy, I cringe.

I went out with someone who loved that song. Oh god how she loved it. She loved it so much that she wanted to make a CD (yes, this story takes place in those archaic days of the compact disc) that contained every version of "St. Thomas" that she could find. Could you image that? 70 minutes of St. Thomas over and over and over and over? There are no shortage of recordings of that track since it has become a jazz standard so she could have done it, but no. No, no, no, no. Not for this guy. Sorry Sonny, but your happy song brings back the blues.

The Saxophone Trio. part one

have bike, will travel

Yesterday we spoke about the trio combination of saxophone, bass and drums. It’s certainly not your most common form of trio, but once you start thinking about it (as I did last night as I sipped a northern IPA) you’ll realize there are no shortage of fantastic examples of the saxophone trio.

I think we should look into this phenomenon over the coming weeks.

There’s a lot to like about a sax trio. Well…if you don’t go for saxophone music in general for some reason, and I know there’s some people so afflicted out there in the world…then move on. You won’t go for a sax trio. For the rest of us, let's break it down.

What I like is that each piece is so integral. This is not a lush quintet with a three piece rhythm section and a couple of horns. No, this is lean. It’s immediate. You need to be one damn fine sax player to make it work and it helps if your two-piece rhythm section is skilled too. You’re going to need everyone at the top of their game to make it work.

Last night’s example was led by Dexter Gordon. I was listening to the album Lullaby for a Monster (SteepleChase, 1981, recorded 1976)

He’s a jazz giant, of course, and there’s a biography of him called The Sophisticated Giant, so I guess he had class as well. Or maybe they’re talking about his playing. Sophisticated could work as an adjective. He was also damned tall, though 6’6” isn’t quite giant. Close enough I guess.

the jazz man and jazz dog

The band on Lullaby for a Monster is:

Dexter Gordon-tenor saxophone

Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen-bass

Alex Riel-drums

Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen is arguably the best jazz bassist Europe ever produced. I might have simply said ‘best bassist’ and cut the ‘jazz’ qualifier, but John Entwistle’s ghost might haunt me if I didn’t at least acknowledge that he might also be in the runner for the ‘Best of Europe’ crown. 

you'd be happy in this trio too

Pedersen is a great bass player, let’s leave it at that and not get too far off topic. Listening to him and Alex Riel is a delight. Riel sounds so much like the great Elvin Jones that I had to check the liner notes to see if it was indeed Coltrane’s favourite behind the skins. It wasn’t. Riel can hold his own in this illustrious company.

Have a listen to the title track. Oh yeah. You’ve got to love Pedersen and Riel’s groove as we lead in. Enjoy this one. I’ll listen to this as I drive home today. Tonight I’ll choose something else though. A bit of lovely chill after a long week. Are you still coming by at 8:30?

Jazz Giant Dresses For The Cold

very cool and very warm

This cold weather theme continues.

Even in my cold state, I remembered a great photo of Eric Dolphy and thought "Here's a man who knows how to dress for winter."

A jazz giant, and knows how to rock the knit sweater and hat.

I could talk at length about Dolphy, and I will do so soon. I wrote about his integral role in Oliver Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth", which was one of the albums I discovered and fell in love with very early in my jazz journey. It could also be the best album title of all time.

The guy was a shocking talent. He excelled at the flute, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, soprano clarinet, baritone saxophone and piccolo. I'm sure he could have made great jazz on any woodwind that came his way. He played with most of the giants before setting out on his own, including playing on some of my favourite Mingus recordings including the brilliant but oddly titled  album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse! 1963).

I also love his recordings with Chico Hamilton and that California sound is called cool jazz, but maybe it will warm us with thoughts of beaches and margaritas and bright sunshine.

His playing on "Beyond the Blue Horizon" is lovely. 

Music for a Polar Vortex

It’s cold. So damned cold it’s making headlines around the world. It got me thinking about winter-themed jazz and I think I found the album for this Polar Vortex (which sounds like the name of a 1970s jazz combo, maybe one featuring one of the Brecker brothers...).

one of my favourite album covers

Let’s take a look at the Ornette Coleman Trio’s “At the Golden Circle, Stockholm” volumes 1 & 2 (Blue Note, 1965). It was the cover that came to mind.

I’ll say that I know some of you won’t go for this. It might push too many boundaries for you, and that’s okay. No judgement from me. I’m fine to follow Ornette on this musical journey. I’m listening to “Faces and Places” right now. Yeah, this music cooks and will help warm you from the ears on down. Your feet will be tapping and blood will be flowing to your icy appendages.

The trio is unusual in a Sonny Rollins kind of way, Sax, bass, drums. No where to hide here. It takes a tight group to make it work and Ornette and company have what it takes to make this album cook.

The band:

Ornette Coleman-alto saxophone, violin, trumpet

David Izenzon-bass

Charles Moffett-drums

Like any great rhythm section, Izenzon and Moffett are so good that I’ll listen to the two of them on their own, like on the last half of the track “European Echoes.” They might not be known to you, but they are brilliant musicians and free jazz specialists who played with a who's who of that sub-genre. 

Aside from Ornette Coleman, David Izenson also recorded with Jaki Byard, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Steve Kuhn, Paul Motian, Yoko Ono, Archie Shepp and Sonny Rollins.

Charles Moffett recorded with Archie Shepp, Prince Lasha, Ahmed Abdullah and Joe McPhee.

If you really want to push things, you can listen to Ornette screech away at the violin on “Snowflakes and Sunshine.” I’m always up for a bit of adventure, but I admit I didn’t quite follow Ornette on that violinistic journey. He also pulls out the trumpet on that song and fares better.

The album is good, adventurous stuff and worth a listen if you need to expand your mind and concept of what jazz can be.

a trio pushing the limits

A Few Hundred Words About Charlie Rouse

no pressure...but Monk's watching

Yesterday I tossed Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophonist, at you without much preamble or story. I was too damned cold and barely had feeling in my digits to post to the blog. Yes, it was that cold. Still is. 

Charlie Rouse was born in Washington D.C., so he grew up with some snow over the winter, but has that city ever seen -40 degree temperatures? Doubtful. That city is all about the heat. Not some sort of metaphorical heat linked to his status as seat of government, but literal heat with records being broken each summer.

Rouse knew about heat, some of the metaphorical kind, as sax player in Thelonious Monk’s band from 1959-1970. This was not an easy gig. Monk could be a tough boss, as a genius can be I guess, and he expected his players to be able to pick up what he wanted from them quickly and without much direction. He didn't want players to learn from a written score since he felt learning without it helped them understand the music on a deeper level. 

Rouse seemed to fit in with the eccentric player and he played on many Monk albums in the 1960s including the all-time classics “Criss Cross”, and “Monk’s Dream”.

rouse on sax, watkins on french horn

In the 1950s, Rouse made several albums with Julius Watkins, who is, as far as I know, the only French horn player in jazz. Okay, surely there are others out there but I’ve never heard of them. They formed a group called The Jazz Modes and I like some of their recordings, but as soon as vocals kick in on some of the tracks…I’m out. It dates the record. 

You could always find those albums and make a playlist out of the non-vocal tracks if you care to. Have a listen to them on Bohemia.

This band also features the obscure and fabulous Gildo Mahones, who didn’t record nearly enough under his own name.

Years after Monk's band, Rouse played on one of my favourite live albums, and one that I’ve discussed before, “The Seagulls of Kristiansund” (Soul Note, 1987) by the Mal Waldron Quartet. That album also features Woody Shaw and is essential listening.

Charlie Rouse is a fantastic player and I know you like Monk and have listened to him often, so you’re probably familiar with his outstanding talent without realizing it.

I hope this makes up for yesterday's brevity.

YEAH!

Sometimes the title says it all. Yeah! by Charlie Rouse is spinning while I sit in a car in the heart of a deep freeze.

Warm me, Charlie Rouse!

Jazz to Play While Reading

It’s nice to spend a lunch hour in a comfortable chair reading a book. A pleasant break from the work day.

Sure, I can hear you say that I could read in the gym while pumping an elliptical machine, but at least I walked up to the third floor and found a spot near a window where I could warmly look out at the frigid winter chill while I read modern lit.

good and sweaty

I was listening to jazz as I read. Something that wouldn’t distract me too much. I needed to get away from horns and large bands that would pull me from the words. A piano trio was a fine solution. I turned to one of my finest countrymen, Oscar Peterson’s Trio-Live in Chicago.

The trio consists of:

Oscar Peterson – piano

Ray Brown-bass

Ed Thigpen-drums

Brown and Thigpen are seasoned pros and they lay down a crisp and mellow place for Oscar to display his genius. He’s one of the greats of course, though he probably doesn't get the cred he deserves these days. The Trio is definitely worth a listen. It would have been a great show that night in Chicago, 1961.

I can give you a taste for now. How about ‘Sometimes I’m Happy.’ 

Enjoy my friend and let’s talk tonight about that screenplay. A know a guy who suggested he could compose a cello-based score.

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.

A Unique Take on Monk by Miles Okazaki

This train is worth a ride

If I were to tell you that a jazz musician has put out an album called “The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Monk for Solo Guitar” would your first thought be, like mine, that that album couldn’t work. I mean, one of the great eccentric pianists, a man who played the keys unlike anyone before or since, can’t be brought to life on six strings can it?

If you’ve got the skill of Miles Okazaki, you can pull it off with style.

Trust me my friend, once you listened to Miles Okazaki’s recordings you’d admit, like I did, that these are damn good versions of classic jazz tunes. I’ve been listening to them a lot. I’ll have them spinning tonight.

They’re perfect to write to, perfect for a cocktail party. I urge you to visit his site  http://www.milesokazaki.com/ and listen for yourself. Spend a bit of money and buy it while you’re there.

Remember that? When we used to buy music? Go retro and show Miles some love.

What Time Is It?

he knows what time it is.

Feeling like I need something to pick me up.

Life can push you down sometimes, this isn't news to anyone, but music is the redeemer. Music can obliterate the worst of what life can dump on you.

Today I need some serious firepower so who better than Joe McPhee? He recorded the fantastic track 'Nation Time' in 1970.

I need to write about him but there's no time today so let's just stick with the music. It simplifies things anyways.

My wife doesn't want to know a thing about her favourite musicians in case they turn out to be assholes and that sours the music. I, for instance, wish I didn't know a thing about Woody Allen the man because it makes it damned hard to enjoy Woody Allen the filmmaker (or Woody Allen the old-time clarinetist). So maybe it's best that I don't know anything about Joe McPhee the man. It would be a shame if he turned out to be an asshole. I know Joe McPhee the saxophone player, and he's tops.

Have a listen, dear friends, to Joe McPhee and band kicking serious ass on Nation Time

John Coltrane gives me a Bernsteinian moment

You’re a film nerd like me, so you know that famous scene in Citizen Kane where Mr. Bernstein (played by Everett Sloane) says this to Charles Foster Kane:

he'll never forget her

“A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.”

This scene came to mind last night when I put on John Coltrane’s ‘My FavoriteThings’ (click to listen) at high volume, which I find essential for this tune.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to it. It came at me yesterday from the album “1963: New Directions” by John Coltrane. It’s a three-disc set that gathers his 1963 master recordings. It’s a fantastic album that includes his lovely recordings with Johnny Hartman which I have written about before.

The 1963 recordings also have some live cuts from the album “Newport ‘63”, which has a version of ‘My Favorite Things’ in all its bombastic glory.

Now why did I start this piece by talking about Citizen Kane?

I can still remember the first time I really heard Coltrane’s recording of ‘My Favorite Things.’ I was in university and doing some work in the library. I had headphones on and was listening to my Discman. (Remember those gadgets?) 

I wanted this sooo badly

It was one of the discs from the “The Last Giant” 2-CD set. What I really wanted was “The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings” but that was far too expensive for a student’s income. I had to settle for the 2-CD version, which was still pretty fantastic.

As I heard that soprano wail yesterday, and McCoy Tyner’s masterful playing, I was instantly transported back through the decades in a Bernsteinian flashback. 

Me and jazz...we've been together a long time.

ADDITION: Upon further reflection, as much as I like the term, this isn't a case of Bernsteinian flashback is it? No, it's more like a Proustian version, where my hearing a song is like Marcel eating a madeleine and is suddenly brought back in time... Oh well. Forgive me for this won't you?

The New Voyage of Discovery - The Clarinet

It was a great meeting last night. It’s always a pleasure to talk about educating the next generation of musicians, even if these are classical string musicians for the most part. I suppose getting the education first is important and hopefully some of them will realize that jazz is the truest path.

As I drove home along Hazelwood I was listening to a great album led by a man on a clarinet. The clarinet gets a bad rap and I haven’t written about it often here. If you were to ask ten jazz buffs their list of the Top Ten Jazz Musicians Of All Time (and you know we love making those kinds of lists), how many clarinetists would there be? Not many.

The exception would be those people who favour the old-time stuff. Woody Herman or Artie Shaw might make it. I like Woody best when he sings songs for hip lovers. The last clarinetist that was cool and hugely famous was probably Artie Shaw. He was a big star and was married to Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, though not at the same time. 

Not bad for a clarinetist

Last night it was neither Artie Shaw nor Woody Herman that was spinning, but Buddy DeFranco playing with the Oscar Peterson Quartet. This is a killer band, which doesn’t hurt, but Buddy holds his own with that legendary quartet.

Clarinet – Buddy De Franco

Piano – Oscar Peterson

Guitar – Herb Ellis

Bass – Ray Brown

Drums – Louis Bellson

The track that hit me as I drove those country roads was ‘PickYourself Up’. Yeah, I can hear you say that the title is appropriate given my current gloomy perspective. Buddy shows how it’s done on this track. Just trace his solo around the 5:50 mark and hear him piling phrase on phrase and Oscar and the band humming beneath him and you know you’re onto something special.

Maybe the clarinet should be our voyage of discovery for this new year. What do you say? Jimmy Giuffre anyone?