What's Spinning Today

cool guys wear glasses

I really need to run as I have a short window of time to get work done before I pick up the kids from daycare but I have enough time to point out the cooking Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer Quintet.  The music is fun, melodic, uptempo and fabulous.

A perfect soundtrack to a busy day.

Sorry, Red

one of these men does not belong here

I have a confession to make.
When I listen to the Red Norvo Trio playing Move I find myself wishing that Red's tinkly vibes could be wiped from the track leaving us to enjoy the duo of Tal Farlow on guitar and Charles Mingus on bass. I would have liked the Red Norvo Trio, without the Red Norvo.

Sorry, Red, I feel like I'm being extremely blunt and that you're scowling from beyond the grave.

We all know that you helped bring the vibraphone to jazz, so thank you thank you thank you for allowing us to hear the beauty of Walt Dickerson's 'To My Queen' and Milt Jackson on just about every track he ever recorded, yes thank you for the MJQ but please stop looking at me like that.

Modern Jazz vs. Labour Dispute

one of the greatest quartets of all time

Canada Post is on strike again.

Not only will this cause delays with Emmerson Street Press (I was going to send out promo copies this week!) but it will in all likelihood delay me receiving my long-anticipated Father's Day gift (ordered early in case the limited edition sells out) of Mosaic Records' Modern Jazz Quartet box set.

C'mon folks, settle your differences! There are Canadian jazz aficionados out there who need their mail!

Trombone, pt 1

that amazing Blue Note design team...

If you think it is tough to love a baritone sax (as discussed a few posts back...), it may be even more difficult to love the trombone.  Again like the baritone, in the hands of the top few players in jazz it transcends the corniness that one might expect from the horn.


It's almost time to get the kids to bed so I don't have much time to write, but let me direct you towards Curtis Fuller, the fine trombonist who is perhaps most famous for playing on John Coltrane's brilliant 'Blue Train'.  Have a listen to the delightful toe-tapping Quantrale.  Be sure to admire Art Farmer's trumpet work as well as the great Louis Hayes laying down that beat.

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!

What's Spinning Today

Hank Mobley's 'Carolyn' from his brilliant album No Room For Squares (Blue Note, 1963).  If I had to pick one Mobley album (no easy task!) it would be this one.

I love you, Hank Mobley

He has a stellar band.  It was the same cats that played on one anothers sessions and helped make Blue Note the finest label in jazz.

Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd alternate songs on trumpet and two of the finest pianists to come out of the 1960s, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock alterate songs.  Add the master, Philly Joe Jones on drums and you have the makings of a classic album.  You could pick any track on this album, but 'Carolyn' is playing at the moment.  Lee Morgan wrote it and the band plays it perfectly.  I challenge you to listen to this track and not become, like me, a life-long devotee of Mobley and Morgan.  Enjoy my friends.  I am tired and this song is helping lift my spirits.

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.

Birthday Eve

This evening as we get the place ready for the babies' second birthday my wife and I are listening to the new Radiohead album.  That's right, my friends, not jazz.  I mean, 80% of the time it's jazz (95% of the time when I am alone) but there is an awful lot of great music being made these days in the non-jazz world.  I thought I'd let you know about tonight's music choice.  I hope you're not disappointed.

The Felice Brothers

Oh, and to forewarn you, the new Felice Brothers comes out next week, as well as a new Okkervil River so I am sure I will listen to them a lot too.  They are both great bands and not at all jazz.

I will be sure to listen to at least some jazz during that time, okay? I have a good idea about baritone sax players that I can do a few pieces on.  Will that balance out tonight's choice in music?

Blues is the Preacher, Jazz is the Teacher

Lennie Tristano, blind & beautiful

Thinking about idiosyncratic pianists following the comments in the last post.  After Monk, my mind then turned to Lennie Tristano.  He was a genius of composition who taught everyone who played with him and made them that much better.  Lee Konitz, who played with Tristano for years and was a innovator in his own right, said:

'He was an overwhelming influence. I swear that ten years later I could identify someone who had worked with Lennie by the way they drank a glass of water.'

Have a listen.

I have a busy day ahead and I think that the upbeat music of Lennie Tristano will help energize me.  We could all use a little more genius in our life, don't you agree my friends?  It can help balance out some of the drudgery that surrounds us. Yesterday as I was going into a bookstore a man ahead of me leaned over, placed a finger over one nostril, and blew a line of grossness from the other.

Oh Lennie, help me rise up!

The Man With The Baritone

The Gerry Mulligan Quartet

It's hard to love the baritone saxophone - that ungainly twisted beast - but Gerry Mulligan, you got it going on, baby. 

Your piano-less quartet with Chet Baker on trumpet, the brilliant Chico Hamilton on drums and Bob Whitlock on bass is essential listening.

I am loving your California sound as I drive south through Thunder Bay on this cool spring afternoon.

Defending Aurora

Oregon, not the sexiest band in the world

Back when I was in film school I briefly dated a woman whose name I won't mention. I played her a song by the band Oregon called Aurora which may not seem very jazz-like to some of you but it is a lovely song nonetheless.  At 1:30 the band plays a beautiful refrain; that oboe!  Isn't it nice? So I played this song for her, wanting to share that moment of beauty and she hated it and even made fun of me for it!  Imagine that!

'Are you going to play that song for every woman you date and marry the first one who likes it?'

So rude! In defense of Oregon I stopped seeing her after that.  I didn't even like the band that much, just that moment of that song was a favourite at the time.  Just the same, she was out.

I should also point out that I just played Aurora for my wife and she didn't like it one bit and that's okay with me.

Silver's Spinning

the great Horace Silver

My wife and I are making pasta after an hour of pulling up carpet to expose 100 year old oak. Que Pasa by Horace Silver is playing. It's from his all-time classic album 'Song For My Father'.

'You love Horace Silver,' I say to my wife, 'Everytime he comes on you dance.'

'I know,' she replies.

Clifford Brown: Trumpet

Clifford Brown going for it

Busy today with literature.  It's a glorious burden.  Only stopped in to tell you that Clifford Brown is spinning.  One of the greatest trumpet players of all time.  Perhaps you've never heard of him.  There are several cliches in jazz and Clifford fits the bill on two of them:

1. He/she was under-appreciated as a musician.
2. He/she died before their time.

As mentioned yesterday, we dwell on the positive here.  Clifford Brown's trumpet playing is intense, smooth and extremely inventive so let's not talk about how his life ended on that rainy night. Instead let's talk about the fact that he put out some of the finest jazz of the 1950s.

Listen here and prepare to be converted.

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.

The Best Singer You've Never Heard Of

I am working today in our lovely sunroom/library and Beverly Kenney is singing.  She is yet another tragic story from the world of jazz, but in this site's ongoing effort to avoid dwelling on the numerous sad stories in jazz, let's focus on the music.  If you want the full tragic story, you can do your own googling.

poor sad Beverly

Kenney has a wonderful voice; relaxed, cool, and as easy to listen to as a Chet Baker trumpet solo.  Her best known album is 'Born To Be Blue' (listen to the gorgeous title track!) and if you can find it, I recommend it.  She only released seven albums (one consisted of demos and was put out forty years after her heartbreaking suicide - oops! I didn't want to get into any of that....) so all of them are worth getting.

It's perfect music to work to.  A shame her life went the way it did...  No, no, no, I won't get into it.  Let's just focus on the music my friends!