Questions for Jazz Aficionados

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:09 am

Eldarion wrote:Hi,
I managed to borrow Coltrane's "My Favourite Things" for a listen and I really love it. The modal modifications to the old standards and all the crazy solos are really nice, and "But Not For Me" is just about my current favourite jazz track. I certainly wouldn't have minded if Coltrane had longer solos though. Does anyone have recommendations for other albums I might enjoy if I like "My Favourite Things"?

Btw regarding the Ian Carr/Don Rendell track, Tuaz managed to recommended something that was close soundwise - Wayne Shorter's "Adam's Apple".

Thanks!

I'd try Ole but I can't really predict whether or not you'll like it. Listen to the title track and not others on that CD.

BTW, the Wayne Shorter 60s albums are all pretty strong and he plays well as a sideman on many others.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:26 am

Wombat wrote:
BTW, the Wayne Shorter 60s albums are all pretty strong and he plays well as a sideman on many others.

Didn't he play with Weather Report at some time?

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:43 am

Flyingcursor wrote:
Wombat wrote:
BTW, the Wayne Shorter 60s albums are all pretty strong and he plays well as a sideman on many others.
Didn't he play with Weather Report at some time?

Sure did. Throughout I think. I like them very much, especially at their peak.

For reasons that aren't clear to me, he seemed to take a back seat to Joe Zawinul in Weather report. I saw them live in the late 70s and they were fine but Shorter did little more that play the themes. He didn't look fully involved and I wondered at the time if he were having substance problems or other personal issues. I don't think I've ever seen confirmation of that theory so perhaps it was just a mattter of the band's direction at the time.

I guess the reason I didn't recommend WR albums is that Eld seems to be in love with his much busier playing of about a decade earlier.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:16 am

I saw them around late '82 or early 83. They were outstanding.

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:42 am

A great band,without a doubt.
For me their finest hour was the second track on Heavy Weather,"A remark you made".
Rarely has the sax been played more sensuously and the interplay between Shorter and Pastorious on this track is just mind boggling.
One of my top ten jazz tracks for sure.

Slan,
D.

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Fri May 27, 2005 7:18 am

Okay I finally found what I was looking for. I got exposed to the Ian Carr Don Rendell's "Blue Mosque" track from Gilles Peterson's compilation CD "Worldwide", and have been craving for similar stuff ever since.

Today while browsing for CDs I stumbled upon another Gilles Peterson CD "Impressed 2" subtitled "rare, classic & unique modern jazz from Britain 1963-1974". Boy was I glad, a full Gilles Peterson compilation this time just on obscure jazz. This is good stuff, every track is beautifully modal and entrancing, most having a similar dark, serene but dischordant feel to the "Blue Mosque" track that got me hooked. Highly recommended!

Gilles Peterson's taste in jazz is totally impeccable and I'm getting exposed pretty fun stuff. Right now I'm also trying to find "Impressed Vol 1", and I've heard that he co-produced this "Talkin Jazz 3" CD that features German jazz musicians.

JS · Post by JS » Fri May 27, 2005 2:51 pm

I wonder if you'd like the title cut to Dave Holland's "Conference of the Birds," with Sam Rivers on flute? (It's also on the ECM Rarum selection of Holland's recordings, if you're looking for a sample to check out on line.) The rest of the cd might be too far in the post-Coltrane direction for your taste, with Rivers and Anthony Braxton both on sax. It's probably self-indulgent of me to offer a single cut recommendation, but it is a very nice piece, both mellow and challenging in that "My Farvorite Things" sort of way.

Anyway, very interesting thread, folks.

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Fri May 27, 2005 9:49 pm

Hey JS, I checked out the first minute of that "Conference of the Birds" track and yeah its what I like too. Some stuff on the rest of the CD sounds nice as well but I'll probably not get it just for a couple of tracks. Some of it does sound like "Interstellar Spaces" indeed..

I'm finding some Sun Ra tracks that are of the same vein as well, when he's not going overboard with the chanting or going too big bandish. On another Gilles Peterson compilation (Gilles Peterson Worldwide Exclusives) I across a Sun Ra track that has a similar feel, titled "When there is no Sun", pretty interesting stuff.

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sat May 28, 2005 1:22 am

Eldarion wrote: Today while browsing for CDs I stumbled upon another Gilles Peterson CD "Impressed 2" subtitled "rare, classic & unique modern jazz from Britain 1963-1974". Boy was I glad, a full Gilles Peterson compilation this time just on obscure jazz. This is good stuff, every track is beautifully modal and entrancing, most having a similar dark, serene but dischordant feel to the "Blue Mosque" track that got me hooked. Highly recommended!

When I got into Jazz in my late 'teens,I naturally heard a lot of British Jazz musicians,both in person and on the radio
,and I have to say that I think the British 'Modern Jazz' of the 60's and 70's that I was weaned on (and even the British Jazz of today) has a flavour of it's own.
You may enjoy the music of the British Baritone ansd Soprano Saxist John Surman.
John played with the Mike Westbrook big band from the age of 16,had a tremendous powerhouse of a band (The Trio) with Americans-. bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Stu Martin in the 70's,and continues to this day playing in all sorts of collaborations and musical settings.
A Devonshire man,he was exposed early on to Folk music,and can be heard playing Concertina (and whistle?-can't remember) on his early solo album 'Westering Home'.
Oh,and he's a brilliant Bass Clarinetist,and has worked extensively with Synthesisers in Jazz too!

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sat May 28, 2005 1:29 am

A further thought - have you heard Sonny Rollins?
A magnificent Tenor Player and magical improviser when he's on form- he's also one of the 'interesting' characters of the Jazz world.

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Sat May 28, 2005 6:05 am

Hi Kevin, yeah I do agree that after listening to all that British modern jazz seems to have a different flavour of its own. I wonder how much of it is due to the musicians being further removed from the roots of blues than their American counterparts were.

I've checked out some John Surman on amazon and its interesting, somewhat reminds me of Jan Gabarek's stuff. By the way which albums of Sonny Rollins would you be refering to, I've some tracks off him and checked out more on amazon but what I found seems pretty conventional post-bop.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sat May 28, 2005 8:28 am

Eldarion wrote:Hi Kevin, yeah I do agree that after listening to all that British modern jazz seems to have a different flavour of its own. I wonder how much of it is due to the musicians being further removed from the roots of blues than their American counterparts were.

Many British jazz musicians played in blues bands and on blues recordings. There was a huge R&B boom in Britain in the 60s and blues was everywhere. British jazz musicians were playing bluesy jazz rock long before it appeared in America.

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sat May 28, 2005 3:35 pm

'Tenor Madness' is a good Sonny Rollins starter (admittedly,it probably sounds fairly standard stuff these days),'Live at The Village Vanguard' with the mighty Elvin Jones on drums and Wilbur Ware on Bass is just fantastic.
Also,I particularly enjoyed 'Sonny Rollins meets Thelonious Monk'-the lengthy solo on 'Friday the Thirteenth' followed by a Jazz FRENCH HORN solo (

) just used to knock me out.

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Sat May 28, 2005 4:43 pm

kevin m. wrote: Also,I particularly enjoyed 'Sonny Rollins meets Thelonious Monk'-the lengthy solo on 'Friday the Thirteenth' followed by a Jazz FRENCH HORN solo ( ) just used to knock me out.

Do you recall who the French horn player was? I saw a group at Birdland once with a French horn player but I'm having a hard time coming up with his name. There was also a well-known tenor player and I can't think of his name either.

Anyway the group was called Les Modes. Pee Wee Marquette, the MC at Birdland, announced the group as Less Modz. "Let's have a big hand for Les and the boys." It turns out that Pee Wee did this all the time unless you crossed his palm with a little bread. They must have done that because on the next set he pronounced the Les Modes as well as an Alabama boy could. Ahhhh...Julius Watkins was the French horn player.
I didn't think much of his solos. For my money Willie Ruff was much better.
The vibes player Don Elliot played a mellophone sometimes and I think it's a much better instrument if you want to go that route.

Steve

I had to look up the tenor player's name-Charlie Rouse. He played with Thelonious Monk a lot.

Paul Thomas · Post by **Paul Thomas** » Sun May 29, 2005 12:03 am

recommend:
- Monk & Coltrane live at the 5-Spot. Hoo boy. Even get Coleman Hawkins there too.
- Coltrane & Ellington - more thoughtful, but a gem.
- Elmo Hope, a little known bop pianist that really deserves to be better known. Can sometimes seem like there are few compromises where the cerebral bends for the sensual, but that can be good depending on yer mood.