Jazz | Pint | Braxton minus Braxton

 I’m still undecided as to what to play at next week’s listening session. So I’ve been working through the pile of albums. There’s been quite a bit from ECM – Mette Henriette’s debut album had a spin last night (I still haven’t got to her follow up Drifting), Tim Berne’s Snakeoil has seen some action too. But tonight it is Anthony Braxton.... Well kind of – it’s Braxton minus Braxton. Thumbscrew’s Anthony Braxton Project and Marilyn Crispell/Mark Dresser/Gerry Hemingway Play Braxton. I started with the latter – three quarters of Braxton’s quartet from the mid-80s-mid-90s. And this album is much more approachable than I remembered (it has been a while between listens) but still will be pushing the limits of the listening group which leans far more mainstream. But maybe throwing in one of the shorter pieces could work. It’s definitely an album I will keep up my sleeve for next week (I’ll likely make my decision on the night). The Thumbscrew album has an advantage in that a number of tracks clock in at 3 minutes or under which could allow me to play a track from another album too. Typically the group prefer to share shorter tracks – even 8 minutes can be pushing your luck – and that can make it hard to select tracks. So, will the friends be listening to people playing Anthony Braxton next week? I’m not sure just yet, but sometimes I see it as my role take things in a different direction from their usual fare – and both of these albums check that box.

Tonight’s listening was accompanied by a Sin Eater from North End... in a chalice.... because why not?

Jazz | Pint | A Night of Variety

Usually I just sit back and listen to a single album when I write one of these posts, but tonight I changed it up. The theme for next month’s listening session we’ll be sharing recordings from 2010-present (we’ve been working our way through the decades). So, tonight I’ve been playing selections from a bunch of albums to try and narrow down a track or two to play to the group. Usually I take along a few recordings so I have a couple of things up my sleeve based on what others bring along.  It won’t necessarily be something I like (it might be though!), but it might be related to another recording played that night or something that adds variety to the evening or a stimulant for discussion – maybe all of the above. Sometimes my selection might on the fringe of the tastes of others in the group, but I figure the idea is to introduce them to artists and recordings they otherwise may not have listened to without a prompt. Of course there was no chance I’d get through this pile of albums tonight, but I’ve made a start. There are plenty of names that the crew up the coast won’t be that familiar with James Brandon Lewis, Masabumi Kikuchi, Tomeka Reid, Michael Formanek, so it’s tempting to take that route. I played a Fieldwork track last month so they’ve had a very brief intro to Vijay Iyer and Steve Lehman... it didn’t go down well, but I’m tempted to play something from Iyer’s sextet album 'Far From Over' as perhaps that is a bit more approachable. But Thumbscrew’s Anthony Braxton Project is nagging away at me too as is Trio Tapestry. And after a bit of listening tonight, other names keep popping into my mind....Mette Henriette is another that I’ve marked down as another possibility....Tim Berne's 'Snakeoil' is another. If I was going down the ‘favourites’ path, Evan Parker’s 'As The Wind' would be right up there... so who knows where I’ll end up at this stage. Anyway, I have a few weeks before I need to have an idea of what to play. There’s a very real chance that on the train ride out I’ll still have no idea – but that’s part of the fun I guess.

It was all washed down with a bottle of Craftwork and another round was accompanied by some ooloong tea. 

Jazz | Pint | West Coast Live

I have bouts of listening to Stan Getz… most recently (late last year) it was the 3 disc set East of the Sun – The West Coast Sessions ….that, and pretty much the rest of his albums I have are from the 1940s - early 60s… and the 2 disc West Coast Live is no exception. Considering it’s a live recording from 1953/1954 the sound is really nice. Getz was subbing on the gig for Mulligan, and the quartet (with Carson Smith on bass and Larry Bunker on drums) stick to standards from the great American songbook and a few bop lines. No complaints there. It’s all about the horns out front really.... and that’s why I grabbed this disc. So no complaints there either. Considering Baker and Getz were known not to get on, there are moments when they really hit it off musically.. ‘Strike Up The Band’ has some wonderful swinging intertwined lines. But they don’t always gel (and I don’t think either are consistently at their best) but that’s one of the things that make this recording interesting and also speaks to the nature of live performance – it is what it is in the moment. Just in this case, we get to have a listen again over 70 years later. Maybe eventually I’ll get around to listening to Stan Meets Chet from later in the 50s and see how they fared in the studio. But I have a feeling that these 2 live discs will fill my Chet with Stan needs.

While listening tonight I’ve been sipping on Scotch Bonnet from Craftwork.

Jazz | Pint | Return From The Stars

 

For whatever reason, Mark Turner was on my mind recently so I picked up a couple of his albums when I was up in Auckland - Year Of The Snake, and tonight’s listening, Return From The Stars. Often the slickness of contemporary jazz from the likes of Turner and his associates isn’t really my thing so I just dip in and out on the odd occasion. As a result, I haven’t really kept up with Turner’s recordings – just keeping an eye what's happening without giving things more than a cursory ear. Looking back, I think part of it had to do with so many tenor players chasing after Turner that it put me off a little, which seems a little stupid as I reflect on it. But maybe that break has been a good thing as I’ve really been enjoying this disc. Jason Palmer (trumpet) is not someone I’m familiar with but he and Turner and work well together and get a nice blend (the unisons/melody on “Bridgetown” and “Nigeria II” leapt out at me), and there’s some nice interaction on “Terminus” too. I like the way the album eases into things as the leader steps aside and the bass of Joe Martin gets the first solo spot. I’ve enjoyed the space that the piano-less quartet brings, especially given so much contemporary jazz can be rather cluttered. Let’s face it, Turner’s a pretty notey player (“It’s Not Alright With Me”) but I’ve noticed on this recorded that he paces himself a bit more than I remember from earlier recordings. Maybe that’s a more recent development in his playing but I have plenty of gaps in his discography... even if it’s something he’s done all along, I noticed it this time and I like it. At times I wanted Jonathan Pinson (drums) to settle down a little too (like at the start of Turner’s solo on “Bridgetown”) and that would have brought that sense of space more to the fore.

I have a feeling there will be more some Mark Turner getting a spin around here. Return From The Stars made me want to check out his previous piano-less quartet album Lathe of Heaven, and earlier in the day I gave the debut FLY album a run for the first time in I can’t remember how long. I picked it up in NYC shortly after it was released, and perhaps it will make an appearance at an upcoming 2000s themed listening session... I’m still wading through some tracks to decide what to play. I’m tempted to hold off listening to Year Of The Snake until I get my hands on Sky & Country so I can run through the FLY albums in order of appearance.

The pint tonight took the form of peppermint tea.

Jazz | Pint | Rip, Rig and Panic

Some who know me might find it a little surprising that I enjoy the music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk as much as I do. That said, I’ve only managed to accumulate a few of his albums over the years... ‘The Inflated Tear’, ‘I Talk With The Spirits’, ‘Domino’, and most recently ‘Rip, Rig and Panic’. And it was that album that did the rounds tonight accompanied by Citron Soleil from Craftwork. There’s something about his energy that appeals to me. That things often get a little rough around the edges just seems to work for me when it comes to Kirk. And lets not forget that he one of the very few utilizing the soprano pre-Coltrane too. The album features the stellar threesome of Jaki Byard (is there anything he couldn’t do?... seriously), Richard Davis, and Elvin Jones alongside Rahsaan’s multiple horns. Did he record with a better rhythm section than this? As a guy with only four of his albums it might be a little hard for me to pass judgement. But this is one fine rhythm section and they work well in the Kirkian world – one of swing, blues, some abstraction, plenty of personality, and energy. This disc also includes ‘Now please don’t you cry, beautiful Edith’ but I didn’t get to that tonight, choosing instead to give ‘Rip, Rig and Panic’ a couple of runs. Because why not? Often I feel Kirk is shortchanged. I guess people just don't listen to his recordings. And I just remembered I also have 'Dog Years in the Fourth Ring' - I must pull that out again.

Jazz | Pint | Dave Brubeck Octet

 

Earlier in the day I was reading a little on the Gerry Mulligan Quartet over at Point of Departure (here and here), and that may have been on my mind when I pulled the Dave Brubeck Octet recording from the pile tonight. Brubeck is not usually one of my go-to artists but the octet is a pretty fascinating recording from sessions in 1946-1950 that I don’t hear getting mentioned all that often. Not sure why really, I guess it’s not that hip to drop Brubeck’s name, but from a writing/arranging angle it’s worth checking out (more so than the soloists even with the presence of a young Paul Desmond). Dated.... yes, but quite different for it’s time too. Pushing ahead in it’s own way with plenty of signs of what would become known as “Cool Jazz” and/or “West Coast Jazz”. Arranging and composing duties are split amongst about half the group (with saxophonist David Van Kriedt contributing the most... although not all the arrangements are credited). And across the 18 tracks I tend to prefer the standards which all get pretty interesting treatments, although “How High The Moon” suffers a bit as it moves through various styles in conjunction with a corny narration. There’s plenty of counterpoint, colourful harmony, and 5/4 even makes an appearance during “What Is This Thing Called Love”. A number of the octet had studied with composer Darius Milhaud and the classical influences come through across the work as a whole and on the original compositions in particular. The original compositions feel a little more forced than the arrangements of the standards, like they are really trying to do something and it comes off more stilted (there’s a bit of that in the standards too). All that said, listening tonight has made me think it’s a shame that Brubeck didn’t use some of that Time Out money to reform the octet but with all that touring, I guess there wouldn’t have been much time to write material. The listening was washed down with Zest saison from Craftwork.

Jazz | Pint | Always Let Me Go

 

After bit of an odd day it was nice to take out the evening listening with some music. Tonight’s listening was washed down with “Poodlefaker” from Craftwork.

I picked up this two-disc live recording on a whim fairly recently and this was my first listen. And while I have a few albums from Keith Jarrett’s “Standards Trio”, ‘Always Let Me Go’ is the first from the trio that I have that is comprised of free improvisations – and that was my motivation for buying the album (I remember listening to ‘Changes’ many years ago but that’s all I remember from it).

I was surprised by how quickly the music passed. For me, that’s a good sign, especially when the opening track is 32 minutes (moving from the more abstract through to something more spacious and lyrical, before eventually settling into a satisfying mid-tempo swing). The second piece is a brief, lyrical solo feature for Jarrett which works as a nice link into the sparse opening of the third piece. Are free ballads underrated? I really enjoy hearing them, particularly when played by an ensemble with a rapport such as this. And the piece works so nicely towards the fourth piece which rounds things out with some energetic swing. The first disc is well paced with a nice ebb and flow within and between works. And I guess that’s similar to the second disc... which had to wait until the following evening for its first run (note: I would return to both discs over the next week... sometimes listening to a track or two... or a whole disc... but my comments in this post were all taken during the first listen).

The opening is spacious and some romantic bass work from Peacock emerges. By the time DeJohnette enters the piece has taken on a completely different shape with tension increasing until quite abruptly shifting gears. A fine drum solo opens the second piece opens which at times has the feel of hand drums – dynamic playing, great colours, and groove. In contrast to the third piece which is more pointillistic with quick, stabbing phrases from the piano from which powerful drums emerge which morph into a moody bass solo. Across both discs the trio is not compelled to give it all at once – solos, duos, and trios come and go throughout which adds plenty in terms of texture and form. It’s still early days and I’ve only listened to it a couple of times, but ‘Always Let Me Go’ might be my favourite from this trio (or somewhere near the top). It just goes to show what you can do if you’re able to keep a band together (and you happen to be Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette!). It left me wondering if this trio’s free improvised recordings been a gateway for fans to explore similar forms of jazz?