COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 9

A frustrating day of work was alleviated by some very enjoyable sounds. Kicking off the day was the new disc featuring unreleased recordings by Lennie Tristano - The Duo Sessions. It features Tristano is duo with Lenny Popkin, Connie Crothers, and Roger Mancuso. I’m a huge fan of all involved so this is going to get a lot more listening time. Due to the pandemic Dot Time Records were unable to post the physical disc but gladly sent me a digital copy.

Then I continued with my tour of the Root 70 discography with Getting Rooted. I hadn’t listened to this one for a while and was a little surprised how well I remembered it. Then I recalled just how much I used to listen to this album and I was somewhat less surprised. In turn, I started recalling the time I first heard this album - New York City, 2004 (ahh nostalgia). And realized that these two albums are linked, as NYC 2004 also happened to be when I met Connie. Time Flies. Kind of. In some respects in seems like yesterday, and then suddenly it feels like another lifetime.

Lennie Tristano at 100

The music of Lennie Tristano holds a special place in my heart. No one told me to listen to him, I discovered him largely my accident - hearing Lee Konitz on Birth of the Cool was the kicker. That led to the recordings on Capitol, which remain some of my all time favorites - "Intuition" and "Digression" blew my 18-year old mind and they still do today.  My interest continued to grow as I saved up busking money to buy the Atlantic set on Mosaic records. The  exchange rate at the time made it horrendously expensive - but worth it!

Considering what Tristano's music means to me, I really haven't written much about him. That's true for a few other musicians that have affected me on a very deep level (Connie Crothers and Richard Tabnik). Maybe in time I will write more about them too, it just hasn't happened yet.

There was that period where it was rather hip to name drop Tristano (and/or Warne Marsh & Lee Konitz) as an influence. I don't hear it nearly as much nowadays. For the most part, it was simply a name drop, as any influence I could hear was largely superficial if it existed at all. And I'm not only taking about nuts and bolts (notes, rhythm, harmony) but aesthetics too. And while the name-droppers got some attention those with deep connection to Tristano were for the most part ignored.

For the week leading up to what would have been his 100th birthday, I've listening to Descent Into The Maelstrom. It's great the album has finally been re-issued by Jazz Records Inc. (the label founded by Tristano in the early 50s) - hopefully they delve into the archive and provide us with a few more gems. Originally released in the 1970s it features tracks selected from various sessions in the 50s and 60s.

The title track is a wonderful reminder of what a visionary Tristano was. In the early 50s many were still trying to come to terms with Bird, yet Tristano was blazing a path of his own. It's a shame it stayed unreleased until 1976, I wonder what the reception would have been like in 1953?

"Stretch", from 1966, is another track I have listened to a lot over the years. It was introduced to me during my studies with Richard Tabnik [one of the highlights of studying with RT was hanging out and listening to records.... everything from Prez to Lenny Bruce to Zappa to Konitz to Armstrong to The Beatles to Bach to Lenny Popkin and more!]. The drive is reminiscent of his work at the Half Note on Continuity (which also featured the pairing of Sonny Dallas and Nick Stabulas on bass and drums).

The interweaving lines on "Pastime" was something that grabbed me this week. It reminds me a little of his trio sides from the 40s moreso than the slightly later Capitol sides. I like the way he and Billy Bauer (the forgotten man of jazz guitar?) bounce off each other on those trios sides. The recordings of the trio from the 40s tend to be overshadowed by his later work, but don't sleep on them! But here, and on "Ju Ju", Tristano weaves contrapuntally with his own overdubbed lines. I'd have to look it up, but I think those two overdubbed tracks kind of slipped under the radar when they were released. Not so once Tristano was recording on Atlantic. It's funny how, due to the overdubbing, there was uproar when Tristano released "Line Up", yet less than 8 or 9 years later Bill Evans wins a Grammy and gets a 5-star review for Conversations with Myself." 

There are times when I have binged on all of his recordings (the last time was probably with the release of Chicago April 1951). Do I listen to his music as much as I used to? No, these days I'm more likely to listen to a track or two here and there. But his music still travels with me every day, and it still thrills me.

Max Roach WKCR Interview Transcript

This is Ted Panken's transcription of Ed Scarvalone's interview with Max Roach on WKCR-FM from January 22, 1979. The discussion focuses on Lennie Tristano, who died the previous November. An accident prevented Roach from performing at the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert the week following the interview but he contributed a solo piece to the live concert recording at a later stage (available on Jazz Records Inc.). Be sure to check out Ted Panken's blog too.
Click on the image to view full transcript as PDF (16 pages).

Lennie Tristano Down Beat Feature 1958

In this feature from October 30, 1958, Lennie Tristano (b. March 19, 1919) discusses his return to live performances and plans to open a jazz club as well as his thoughts on the scene in general. Never one to hold back his thoughts, interviews with Tristano make good reading and always make me think about things in a different light.
Click in the image to view PDF of full article. More vintage magazine articles can be found here.

2014 Round Up

This is not a "best of" and it's far from a comprehensive overview of my listening over the past 12 months - just a taste of albums I enjoyed that were new to me during 2014 (I've not focussed on new releases). Aside from the 2014 releases being first, things are in no particular order.


Connie Crothers: Concert In Paris (New Artists)

Perhaps I biased, but you'll find Connie's albums on any favourite's list of mine. Recorded in October 2011 (not long after I returned to NZ following a period studying with her) and released in August during Connie's residency at The Stone - another highlight from 2014. I'm always left wondering, "how does she do it?"

Slowfox: The Wood (Jazzwerkstatt) Root 70 with Strings: Riomar (Nwog)

As with Crothers, I'm a big Hayden Chisholm fan. The Wood got plenty of spins this year and I hope this trio record more in the future. There are a few videos of concerts from them floating around YouTube too. I may be a little cheeky including the Root 70 album here as I got it in 2013 but listened to it more in 2014.

Lennie Tristano: Chicago, April 1951 (Uptown)

Two discs of previously unreleased live recordings, tells you this is essential for anyone interested in Tristano, Konitz and Marsh et al.. The sound quality is pretty descent and the music is excellent. Lets hope for more releases from the Tristano vaults. For whatever reason, this one didn't quite get the same media attention as the Guiffre release.

The Jimmy Giuffre 3 & 4: New York Concerts (Elemental Music)

Another important historical release of previously unissued concert recordings, filling a gap during the post-Free Fall years that went unrecorded. Giuffre (on tenor and clarinet) along with trio (b/d) and quartet (p/b/d), fascinating listening and excellent notes too.

Kazzrie Jaxen Quartet: Callicoon Sessions (New Artists) A Million Shimmering Fish (New Artists)

Kazzire's lush piano shines across both of these quite different releases.  The latter features Kazzrie's piano and the poetry of Mark Weber - mostly piano responding to the spoken word (as opposed to the piano accompanying the spoken words). The Quartet has just released a new album which I am yet to hear.

Lester Young: Lady Be Good (unreleased alternate take)

From the collection of George Avakian comes an alternate take from the 1936 "Jones-Smith Inc." session. I hope someone dives in to the collection and discovers more gems such as this. The find of the year?

Paul Bley: Homage To Carla (Owl)

I do enjoy hearing Bley play Bley and this solo disc was on heavy rotation for a while (along with a few other Paul Bley albums). I'll be keeping an eye out for his trio disc on Steeplechase that tackles Carla's songs. In general, I still feel Paul Bley is under appreciated by the jazz community.

Various: West Coast Soundings (EWR)

I got this from Frank Gratkowski after his gig at Constellation (which was excellent). This is two discs of compositions that I guess fall into the the "new music" category. There's a lot of minimalism and drones. My interest was sparked when Frank mentioned there were times during the recording that he felt every note he played was too loud - I think he did pretty well. This was a nice accompaniment as I worked on school stuff.

Steve Lacy: Spirit of Mingus (Freelance) Steve Lacy & Evan Parker: Chirps (FMP)

As usual I listened to my fair share of Lacy this year. It was great hearing the master play a full set of Mingus tunes and how could I resist the Lacy/Parker duo (Parkers debt to Lacy is evident).

Paul Plimley & Lislie Ellis: Kaleidoscopes (HatArt)

This was a surprise disc that I picked up purely because this duo (who I was unfamiliar with) was playing the music of Ornette Coleman. I thoroughly enjoyed this album and recommend it to anyone interested in Coleman's music.

Lol Coxhill: Ear of Beholder (Esoteric) Milwaukee 2002 (Emanem) Alone and Together (Emanem)

There has been a steady stream of Coxhill on throughout the year. His personal approach to the soprano has drawn me in - there's a vulnerability and a rambling quality that appeals to be - a very distinctive player. The opening (included here) and closing tracks on Behearer hit my funny bone.

Ran Blake: Plays Solo Piano (ESP) Free Standards (Fresh Sound)

The fidelity of the solo disc is far from ideal but that didn't stop me from enjoying the music. On the duo disc I found that the original compositions written by the producer didn't grab my attention the way the standard tunes (solo & duo) did.

Ornette Coleman: In All Languages (Harmolodic/Verve)

Around the middle of the year I revisited some album's of Ornette's I hadn't listened to for some time. Along the way I picked up this one which I hadn't heard. The disc splits Prime Time and a reunion of the original quartet and it's worthwhile checking out the two groups takes on the same songs.

Art Tatum: Exactly Like You

This comes from a mid-1940s live recording (sorry but I've misplaced the full info!). Lewis Porter played this to us in class early last year. Check out striking chorus of single note lines.

John Surman: Fragments (ECM) Thimar (ECM) A Biography Of The Rev. Absalom Dawe (ECM)
Stranger Than Fiction (EMC)

I haven't listened to much John Surman over the years. For me, he's a player that has slipped through the cracks so this year I made bit of an effort to listen to some of his work. I focused on his soprano work but he is strong on baritone sax and bass clarinet too. It was enough for me to want some more.

Norman Winstone: Somewhere Called Home (ECM)

I went to the Jazz Record Mart on New Year's eve hoping to find Jay Clayton's Sound Songs. They didn't have it and I was in the mood for some vocals so on a whim I picked this up - a nice mellow way to take out 2014.

Impact Records: Miles Davis - Birth of The Cool

It's been a while since added to this series of the blog. Here are the previous entries - Kings of Swing, Kind Of Blue, Charlie Parker, Billie and Pres, Out To Lunch.

I'm not sure what led me to this album. Perhaps someone mentioned it to me or I read about it somewhere. This was early in 1999 during my first year at music schools and hitting the library was almost part of the daily routine (I lived just a couple of blocks away). Sometimes I was there for something specific, other times I would just choose albums at random. Either way, I returned home from one of my many visits to the library with a stack of CDs to listen to and in amongst them was Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool. The first track "Move," grabbed my attention - this was a different sound from the ensemble. But the thing that really made me pay attention was the alto saxophone solo. So this was Lee Konitz - a name I had come across but had yet to hear. A personal approach to the horn - tone, phrasing, time, the line. This album got a lot of air time that week/month and at times I would just loop Konitz's solos. Not long after hearing Birth Of The Cool (maybe the same week) I was exposed to him again during one of our Improvisation classes. Our teacher (Hi Nick!) talked about Konitz's 10-step method and played us "All The Things You Are" and "Too Marvelous For Words" from Konitz Meets Mulligan. I purchased this album not long after with money from playing on the street [This was how I funded most of my CD purchases during my time at music school… I enjoyed the expression on their faces as I handed over $20-$30 in change]. Not long after that was Lennie Tristano/Warne Marsh Intuition (the reissue of Tristano's Capitol Recordings and a Marsh session from the 50s) and Konitz's Subconscious-Lee, which I had to special order and it was expensive. I'll probably write a bit on those albums in the future.
During my first visit to NYC (April 2002) I heard concert by a college faculty band playing the Birth Of The Cool charts. I can't remember what school but John Faddis was on trumpet, I think Jim Snidero was on alto and John Riley on drums - I'm sure I have it written down in a notebook somewhere. I took me a little while to get the live recordings once they were issued. I haven't listened to them in a while so maybe I'll head there next.

Solo Mix Tape

With the wintery blast taking hold of Chicago (and the rest of the U.S) I decided to use some of the time I had indoors to put together a mix tape/playlist of solos (at both regular and half speed) that I want to spent time with this year. Here's what has made the list so far, with more still to be added.

Apparently it is "Sitting In."

Roy Eldridge
"Body and Soul"
"Stardust"
"Sittin' In" (I also included Chu Berry's solo)
These three tracks come from a session in 1938 for Commodore released under Chu Berry's name with Clyde Hart (p) Danny Barker (g) Artie Shapiro (b) Sid Catlett (d).

Warne Marsh
"Remember" (Live at Birdland 1949)
One of my favourite solos from Marsh. Based on "I'll Remember April."

Charlie Parker
"All of Me"
"I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me"
These two tracks were recorded with Lennie Tristano and Kenny Clarke in 1951.

Lennie Tristano
"Line Up" 
One of Tristano's best known solos. There was a time when I was listening to this solo everyday. I'm looking forward to sharing some time with it again.

Lester Young
"Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" (two takes of Tenor and Clarinet solos)
I plan to add the remaining tracks from 1938 on the Kansas City Sessions (Commodore) when I get the chance.

There are still a few others I would like to add… some more by Tristano and Lee Konitz to start.

The Jazz Review

Recently, I sent this link to some friends and thought I may as well post it here too.

The Jazz Review was published between 1958-1961.

Lots of interesting articles including album reviews by musicians - The February 1959 issue has Cannonball Adderley reviewing albums by Ahmad Jamal and Tony Scott and Bill Crow reviews Adderley, Paul Bley and Ray Charles.

The same issue contains a review of Warne Marsh's self-titled album on Atlantic. Possibly one of Marsh's longest reviews.... about 75% of which is dedicated to his tone (reviewer Mimi Clar is not a fan!). Great album - be sure to check it out!

Currently there are about half a dozen copies online (PDF files) - they intend to upload the journal's entire run.

Jazz Studies Online has plenty of other articles and book excerpts
Here's Barry Ulanov's feature on Lennie Tristano from the August 1949 issue of Metronome.

Questionnaire

I lifted this questionnaire straight from bassist Ronan Guilfoyle's blog Mostly Music (he adapted it slightly from Ethan Iverson's blog Do The Math). 

It's a few years old but I thought it would fun to fill out. I tried not to spend a lot of time making my choices - here's where they stand at this time.

Here's part one & two from Ronan's blog.

Give us an example or two of an especially good or interesting:
1. Melody: 

J.S Bach: St. Matthew Passion - "Aus Liebe Will Mein Heiland Sterben" The recording I know best has beautiful ensemble playing with Barbara Schlick's soprano voice.

Early Lee Konitz (as a leader and with Tristano Sextet/Birth of the Cool/with Kenton etc) 

2. Harmonic language: 
Connie Crothers
Hayden Chisholm: saxophone works such as "Love In Numbers" & "Auto Poetica."

3. Rhythmic feel: 
Jo Jones/Walter Page/Freddie Green
Billie Holiday/Lester Young - individually & together
Ken Filiano/Roger Mancuso - great pairing I've hear live a few times. There are a couple of recordings here & here that feature them.

4. Classical piece: 
Bach Two Part Inventions
Bartok String Quartets

5. Jazz album: 
Lennie Tristano: Intuition (Capitol)
Billie Holiday: Columbia Recordings

6. Book on music: 
Steve Lacy: Findings

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:
Bill Payne & Connie Crothers: Conversations (now part of the 2cd package - The Stone Set).
Lester Young: Kansas City Sessions. The first 10 tracks (from 1938) are gems.

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by: 
Evan Parker.

Many seem surprised when I tell them how much I enjoy Frank Sinatra.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated: 
Hayden Chisholm (as/ss)
Richard Tabnik (as) 
Lenny Popkin(ts)
Steve Lacy (!) Ok, so this one may be a bit contentious - but I feel he is. Most people focus on the sidebars of the soprano (it's still a novelty to many) and his embrace of Monk's music and forget the original approach he brought to the music.

Feel free to send in your answers.

In the original, Ethan Iverson threw in a few more: 
- Movie Score
- T.V Theme
- Hip-Hop Track
- Smash Hit
- Non-American Folkloric Group
- Name and Rock or Pop album that you'd wish had been a commercial smash hit
- Name a favorite drummer, and an album to hear why you love that drummer:  

Some of these make me wonder if he was looking for Bad Plus repertoire ideas ;-)

Lennie's Listening Lessons with Connie Crothers

Starting next week (April 2nd) Connie Crothers is back at Jazz at Lincoln Center's "Swing University" - It just so happens to be I'm in town for the opening night - Billie Holiday.
Here's the info from the website:

Lennie's Listening Lessons with Connie Crothers
Register Now!
$200.00
Eight Tuesday Nights: April 2 (Billie Holiday), 9 (Lester Young), 16 (Roy Eldridge), 23 (Charlie Christian), 30 (Charlie Parker), May 7 (Bud Powell), 14 (Fats Navarro) , 21 (Lennie Tristano)
6:30–8:30pm
Irene Diamond Education Center (IDEC)

Lennie Tristano, a virtuoso jazz pianist and a primary performer in the Bebop and Cool years of the 1940s and 1950s, was also a pioneer in jazz education. Tristano had his students listen to Lester Young's work from 1936–1941, Billie Holiday (primarily in The Swing Era), Roy Eldridge, Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro, and Bud Powell's 1944–1953 output. Pianist Connie Crothers has been the central teacher of Lennie's Listening Lessons since Tristano's death in 1978, and carries on his credo: if you listen to these artists, then you will know jazz.

Free Jazz Project

I'm currently working on a project to send back home to John & the rest of the 'Friends of Jazz' gang - a jazz appreciation group on the Kapiti Coast.

The plan is to write a series of emails under the subject heading "Free Jazz: An Introduction" with the hopes to open the ears to some new sounds.
Making brief notes on key artists and recordings is leading to an ever expanding list as I think of things along the way.

Lots and lots of listening to get to in the coming weeks. Lately there's been plenty of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and Sam Rivers resonating throughout the apartment.

Tonight I'm off to hear Ken Vandermark's "The Midwest School" at the Green Mill.

Recent Listening March 12 2013

Recent Listening - from the last week and a bit

Jimmy Giuffre: 

Flight, Bremen 1961 (Hatology) 

The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic)

Steve Lacy Five: The Way (Hatology)

Lennie Tristano: Intuition (Capitol) 

Warne Marsh: Personal Statement (Interplay)

Hayden Chisholm: Circe (Jazz Haus Musik)

King Oliver: Jazz Greats (a random compilation)

Son House: Father of The Delta Blues (sony)

Olivier Messiaen: The Works for Orchestra (disc 8)(Hanssler Classic)

Chris Kelsey Trio: The Ingenious Gentleman of the Lower East Side (CIMP)

Roscoe Mitchell Solo: Live At The Muhle Hunziken (cecma)