COVID-19 Level 3: Day 16

I might have one more day of Billie accompanying me at work before the commute kicks back in. Disc 7 marks the start of the alternate takes and the air-checks. These are super valuable for anyone undertaking study of these works. When I work with these, if multiple takes available, they get plenty of attention too. It can be interesting to compare recordings from different eras too. “All of Me” was the first piece I worked on during my studies with Richard Tabnik. At the same time I was also working with the Frank Sinatra version from the 1940s. Whenever I hear them I can’t help being taken back to that space and time. It wasn’t until I picked up this set and got back home that I worked on the alternate takes of “All of Me” (and others). For many years it was a regular part, and a large focus, of my practice, but these days I’m more likely to check back in with a particular recording or two here and there. Perhaps it’s time to ramp things but up again. 

I forget how young Billie was one the first couple of discs (the recordings start in 1933, aged 18). Quite remarkable. I was pretty lucky to have stumbled upon some of these recordings early on in my exploration of jazz. I’ve been listening to many of these recordings for 25 years (some closer to 30). I haven’t tired of them yet, and I doubt I will as I still get so much from them. They’re always there to turn to when you need them.

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 15

It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get through the entire set before heading back to work. We’ll see I guess. In the meanwhile, disc 6 had a spin today, moving us into sessions from 1940 and 1941. Plenty of favourites here “Swing Brother Swing”, “Body and Soul”, “Laughing at Life”, “Time on My Hands”, “Practice Makes Perfect”. There was a time when I’d sing 3 versions of “Them There Eyes” back to back; Louis Armstrong’s version from 193, the Kansas City Session version with Freddie Green singing, and Billie’s version. Wild stuff and highly recommended. I’ll have to have a think about commuting music in the coming days. I’ll probably use the Dizzy stuff as a starting point. I have some piano albums I want to give some time as well (Elmo Hope, Wynton Kelly, Red Garland, Horace Silver).

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 14

Today it was recordings featuring the larger 10 or 11 piece groups from late 1938 - early 1939. I haven’t spent as much time listening to these as I have the smaller groups. In general when it comes to jazz, I prefer the looseness of the smaller groups – and that’s true this set too. It was nice to hear a couple of soprano features by Tab Smith on “Everything Happens for the Best” and “Long Gone Blues”. Anyone with some spare time wish to collate a list of non-Bechet soprano saxophone solos pre-1950s? I should start noting them down each time I cross paths with one. I can’t remember much about the background of these sessions – who was the arranger etc. I do remember reading (somewhere) that Teddy Wilson and Billie would get together in the days before a session to select tunes. Teddy would have a big stack of sheet music and they’d run through them and make selections. This mornings listening had me imaging just how many arrangements from this era exist only on recordings. And then there are all the pieces that were never recorded. Somewhere along the line I heard that the number of surviving original Ellington charts (from any era) is shockingly low. Another project could be to create a list of recordings of stock arrangements – it would be interesting to hear different bands playing the arrangements. I’ll leave it there for today, Dizzy made a brief appearance, but I wasn’t in the mood for it today and I tuned out (sorry Diz!).

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 11

I do wish Billie would have sung two choruses (or more) a little more often (we do have the alternate takes though). It’s an awfully minor complaint. There are some great bass and drum pairings across the set. Of course there’s the classic combo of Walter Page and Jo Jones, but I’ve also been enjoying John Kirby and Cozy Cole take care of business together. I have to throw some love in the direction of Buck Clayton too. In the history books he’s a little overshadowed by others. But how about that cup mute tone? And his melodic solos and blend with Prez is top notch. While we’re on the subject, Prez plays a little clarinet on Disc 4 (“The Very Thought of You”, “I Got a Date with a Dream”) - always a treat. If you’re after more clarinet from Prez, check out the Kansas City Sessions (with Buck and the Basie rhythm section) recorded about a week apart from this session with Billie in September, 1938.

Although some of these Dizzy discs are revisits, today’s outing was a new one for me. It’s nice hearing Dizzy revisiting pieces from the 40s and setting them next to slightly more contemporary pieces of the time (1963), hence Something Old, Something New. I can’t say I’ve ever been much of a fan of James Moody. He fits in well here, and the flute is a nice touch and today I preferred it over the sax playing, but he just doesn’t do it for me. I think horn blend and intonation was bugging me. It’s not always a factor, but today it was catching a nerve. I just seemed a bit inconsistent. But as a soloist Dizzy was pretty well on form throughout and that’s why these discs are getting a spin (although it’s always nice when someone else catches your ear).

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 10

And I’m onto disc 3. Cloudy, cool day here and the music did pretty well to warm me up. Old favourites a-plenty... “Sun Showers”, “I’ll Get By”, “Mean to Me”, “I’ll Never Be The Same”, “Foolin’ Myself”, “Without Your Love”, “Sailboat In The Moonlight”, “Me, Myself and I”.... studies in feel, balance, weight, colour. I love the mystery.

People always mention the pairing Billie Holiday and Lester Young – and it really is one of my favourites. But I don’t hear as much about the Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday match up. Teddy’s touch is all over these sides – as a leader and sideman - and the magic would sound a lot different without him.

I’m definitely getting my fill of rhythm guitar with these discs. There’s a lot of Allan Reuss, Dick McDonough has some nice moments, and of course there’s Freddie Green. I’ve never had the chance, but I’d like to work with someone on acoustic archtop some time - I think it would be really interesting in a contemporary setting.

Then it was onto the after Dizzy session with Roy and Diz #2 – a recording I hadn’t heard for probably 15 years, maybe more.. It’s very much in the jam-session mold with the out-and-out pyrotechnics of “Limehouse Blues”, but I prefer when they tone things down a bit on “Sometimes I’m Happy” (with Diz double timing while Roy just chills out) and “Blue Moon” (but once they pulls the mutes out they crank it up again). The ballad medley isn’t something you encounter all too often these days but back then it was pretty common on those Norman Granz dates. He needed to place it after the high wire acts for some release though! The budget reissue is definitely not the highest quality sound-wise (regardless of what the cover says!). Might be the way it was recorded but it’s pretty muddy and the rhythm section is well down in the mix. I'll survive.

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 9

More Billie Holiday on Columbia was on the menu this morning. The box set contains so many songs that you never hear these days and that in itself is refreshing. And of course there are plenty of old favourites - “Pennies from Heaven” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (also check out Pops’ version from the early 30s too - amazing phrasing). “This Year’s Kisses” was on a disc I had pretty early on as I was getting into jazz. Still a favourite. Irving Fazola’s clarinet tone on the session from September 1936 (“A Fine Romance” etc) popped out at me this morning. What was it with New Orleans and clarinetists? Is it the whole opera and the blues thing? Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Edmond Hall, Barney Bigard, George Lewis.... not a bad run

Yesterday I mentioned how the Billie Holiday sessions don’t feel like all-star outings. Well a bunch of the Dizzy Gillespie albums I have are along the lines of “Dizzy meets” type albums. And those jam-type sessions can fall into the trap of spectacle rather than music making (like heaps of those videos of all-star jams at festivals during the 70s). Duets is blowin’ session Diz with his rhythm section (Ray and Tommy Bryant and Charlie Persip) along with Sonny Rollins for two blues and two Sonny Stitt for two afro-cuban numbers. I think I would have preferred it the other way around. Or perhaps that’s just me favouring Rollins over Stitt. The upside with Sonny Side Up.... you get to hear both on all the tunes. And I’ll get to that one soon enough.

COVID-19 Level 3: Day 8

It’s funny how a lot my favourite music doesn’t get much room on the blog. Often I just don’t feel the need to write about it... or that I can’t really express what it means to me in a way that does it justice. The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944 is one of my all-time favourites – a desert island pick for sure.

Some of favourite memories from my lessons with Richard and Connie is working with recordings from this box set. Her unparalleled phrasing and swing - she makes it sound effortless. Some critique her tone and range. But she worked with those supposed limitations and did things that have been seldom matched before or since.

It's not just Billie though, so many greats were assembled for these sessions - Teddy Wilson, Roy Eldridge, Freddie Green, Chu Berry, Jo Jones, Walter Page, Lester Young, John Kirby, Cozy Cole, Buck Clayton, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman and so on! - yet they never fall into the trap of many “all-star” outings. 

The concise nature of the records appeal to me and the endings always put a smile on my face. It’s hard to play favourites, but some standouts include “What A Little Moonlight Can Do”, “Miss Brown to You”. How about that swinging opening ensemble work on “What a Night, What a Moon, What a Boy”? Another that stood out this morning was “No Regrets” - I was digging the ensemble interplay and breaks, including the one for the opening vocal line (I think the lyric hit a personal note with me this time around).

Sometimes there’s no option but to reach for the classics, and that’s how I was feeling this morning.

Then it was onto some post-lunch Dizzy with Dizzy Gillespie at Newport. Keeping things upbeat and high energy, even if the exuberant big band isn’t my favourite setting to listen to people improvise, it’s great listening to Dizzy swinging and the band is on form. The downside to budget reissues is they don’t contain the bonus tracks, but I’ll survive. I’ve got a bunch of 1950s Dizzy to lend an ear to over the coming days.

End of June Listenings

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges (Verve 1959) with Claude Williamson (p) Buddy Clark (b) Mel Lewis (d) Had this one on while I was preparing dinner. A nice casually swinging session.

Disc 1 from the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz had a bit of playtime over the week. Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith in particular. "Livery Stable Blues" & "Tiger Rag" from the Original Dixieland Jass Band and Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" made the playlist too.

Sidney Bechet & Martial Solal Quartet "The Complete Recordings." These are two sessions from 1957.  The first (March) is with Lloyd Thompson (b) and Al Levitt (d). The second (June) has Pierre Michelot (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). While they don't have the fire of earlier sessions, Bechet's soprano tone is well documented on these sessions - the cleanest recordings I have of his by far. The repertoire is interesting - "All The Things You Are", "These Foolish Things", "Embracable You", "All Of Me", "Pennies From Heaven"- none of which I had heard Bechet perform. His playing seems more refined with less bravado.
The last 10 track are from a 1952 trio session with Lil Armstrong (p/v) and Zutty Singleton (d) These didn't get the repeated listenings - the "four-on-the-floor" was a bit overbearing for me. I will give them another chance though.

Steve Lacy Snips: Live at Environ (Jazz Magnet 2000) 2cds recorded at the NYC loft space Environ in 1976. This was Lacy's first solo concert in the USA. The fidelity isn't the greatest but the music more that makes up for it. The Tao suite gets a run through as does "The Four Edges" which I wasn't familiar with. A very nice birthday present.

Ted Brown Shades of Brown (Steeplechase 2007) Ted Brown (ts) Steve LaMattina (g) Dennis Irwin (b) Ted Brown has been on my radar since I first heard the "Intiuition" disc released under Lennie Tristano & Warne Marsh's name (it compiles Tristano's Capitol sides with a Marsh Quintet session from the mid 50's).  Since then, I have picked up his discs when I can. When I feel like listening to melodic, swinging improvisations, Brown is one of my go to players. I am particularly fond of this album - wonderfully intimate and relaxed sound to it. His tone is full of nuance and subtle inflections that I feel is missing in many players conception of tone. It's been wonderful to see him get some well over due attention in recent years.
He has recently released a couple of discs but I haven't got them yet.

Billie Holiday's version of "Miss Brown To You" has been getting plenty listens.  Does anyone know a "straight" version of this tune? Clarinetist Ron Hockett plays the melody pretty straight on Larry Eanet's album "Sunset Stomp" (Arbors Jazz 1999). I'd like to find a vocal version that sticks close to home base.

listening june

It has been refreshing to listen to a number of alternate takes from the Billie Holiday Columbia box set. This led me to give back to back listens of Lester Young's solo on the two takes of "Back In Your Own Backyard." Lester's solo on "Easy Does It" with the Basie Orchestra had a few spins too.

Steve Lacy is still getting plenty of airtime. The Holy La (Free Lance) - a solid trio outing from the late 90's with Jean-Jacques Avenel (bass & kalimba) John Betsch (d) There's plenty of variety throughout the album (old and new tunes plus one from Monk). The addition of Irene Aebi's vocals the group expands to a quartet for two of the nine tracks. On 'Cliches', Avenel puts down the bass to play kalimba (thumb piano). Lacy had very solid rhythm sections over the years - Buell Neidlinger/Dennis Charles, Kent Carter/Oliver Johnson or Avenel/Betsch - they may not have got the acclaim of other bass & drum pairings but they were vital in bringing Lacy's music to life.

It had been some time since I listened to Weal & Woe (Emanem). I skipped the first half of the disc (it's part of the "Avignon and After" reissue that I've listened to a bit lately) and jumped straight to the four pieces that make up "The Woe" by Lacy (ss) Steve Potts (as) Irene Aebi (cello/voice) Kent Carter (b) Oliver Johnson (d) from 1973.  I believe the last time I heard it was when my friend John lent me the album - six or seven years ago. I had forgotten about the recordings of gun fire and explosions. Full on.

I've been looking back to my jazz soprano roots and that means Sidney Bechet has shared some of my time this week. While I can't say I'm into the vibrato, his tone is so bold and distinctive. I don't have that much of his work, just one disc on which he plays soprano as well as clarinet. I would like to get some more where his focus is purely on the soprano. Any suggestions?

A few different recordings of Bela Bartok's String Quartet #1 have been on throughout the week. A nice way to break up the jazz.

Impact Records: Billie Holiday & Lester Young

Slight change from the regular edition: Instead of focusing on a particular album I'm looking back at a couple of artists. Earlier entries can be found here: Kings Of Swing - Kind Of Blue - Charlie Parker
During my teens I picked up a number of 'Best Of' cds. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charlie Parker were among the featured artists in a series called "Jazz Greats." The three discs that grabbed me were those by Count Basie, Lester Young, and Billie Holiday - with Billie & Pres quickly becoming my favorites.
There is something in this music. What was it that left a teenager from New Zealand captivated?

The discs contained tracks from Lester Young such as: 'Taxi War Dance', 'Shoe Shine Boy', 'Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie', 'Tickle Toe', 'Lester Leaps In' ('Lady Be Good' came along a few years later)
And Billie Holiday: 'Pennies From Heaven' 'What A Little Moonlight Can Do', 'These Foolish Things', 'Miss Brown to You', 'God Bless The Child'
And Billie & Pres together: 'Me, Myself & I', 'This Years Kisses', 'When You're Smiling', 'Foolin' Myself', 'All of Me'
Gems, all of them!

The ensembles contained some of the greatest artists in jazz - Teddy Wilson, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Walter Page, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, Cozy Cole, and Kenny Clarke.

Everyone contributes. There's no star on show, just great music.

More than any other this is the music I return to. At the top of my listening list are the Columbia Recordings of Billie Holiday and the 1930's - early 40's Lester Young. As cliched as it is to like the early stuff, to me, this is their best work. Great Jazz Music. If you are interested learning jazz improvisation, check out these two artists - they unlocked so many secrets!

And remember, this was the pop music of the day.... It happened once it can happen again! (as Connie would say).

Listening: Early May

Evan Parker - Chicago Solo

Evan Parker: Chicago Solo (Okka Disc 1995)
Parker's first solo disc devoted to the tenor saxophone (20 years after his first album of soprano solos). Glad I picked this disc up. 14 solos ranging from less than two - eight minutes in length. I gave this a couple of listens last week - Initial thoughts... quite different from his solo soprano tracks (even if only in the shortness of tracks). Some of it quite intimate sounding. Plenty of similarities too.... 'illusions of polyphony' a plenty. I have kept it out for more listening.

Kaum Quartet: At St. Audeon's Church (Plush 2008)
Fantastic alto saxophone quartet with Sean Mac Erlaine, Hayden Chisholm, Frank Gratkowski & Christian Weidner. I have been enjoying a few alto only groups of late - a post is in its infancy..stay tuned (or should that be detuned?).

Various Billie Holiday (Columbia box set) & Lester Young (30's-early 40's).
All Of Me, A Sailboat In The Moonlight, Sun Showers, You Go To My Head, Shoe Shine Boy, Pound Cake, Laughing At Life, Me Myself & I, Texas Shuffle, etc etc.

Billie & Pres could pretty much be a default entry for the listening lists!  In the not so distant future they will be the subject for an 'Impact Records' entry.

John Coltrane was revisited. A few select tracks ... "One Down, One Up", "Brazilia" and some others plus these albums:
Live At The Village Vanguard (1961) I listened to this quite a bit when I started getting into Eric Dolphy during my music school days.
Expressions (1967)
Ascension (1965) I first heard this shortly after hearing Ornette's "Free Jazz" and thinking... 'damm' - I had no idea what to expect.
Interstellar Space (1967....released 1974)
One of the things I am enjoying about the 'Friends of Jazz Free Jazz Project' is that I am revisiting a lot of music I haven't listened to in quite a while - as was the case with the 4 discs above..... I hadn't listened to them in years.

The next email will be #5 - subjects so far have included Lennie Tristano, Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman. Coltrane is up next.

Albert Ayler: Spiritual Unity (ESP 1965) also got a revisit as part of the project. I also re-watched the Swedish film "My Name is Albert Ayler." Recommended. Though I wouldn't mind hearing what the Swedes were saying.....I watched it online without subtitles.

Djivan Gasparyan: Heavenly Duduk (Network 1999)
An excellent release from all the free jazz :-)

The week in NYC

I’m back in Chicago after a week in New York City - great view of the city and its surrounds on the way home yesterday afternoon. In fact it was quite clear all the back to Chicago with wonderful views of the great lakes. Anyway.... Here’s a quick run down of the last week.

Got straight into things on my first night in town. The New York Jazz Workshop held an interview with saxophonist John O’Gallagher. The two hours served as an introduction to O’Gallagher’s workings with twelve tone techniques in jazz composition and improvisation and coincided with Advance Music’s publication of O’Gallagher’s book on the subject - available this month... It’s a thick volume accompanied with two CDs. An interesting talk but don’t expect this method to be a quick fix - it is very involved and I imagine would take many years to absorb and use these ideas spontaneously.

A number of my friends have been playing at the Friday evening jam session hosted by pianist Galen Pittman at Tender Trap in Williamsburg. It’s nice and low key without the ego you associate with some jam sessions around NYC. It was great hearing them play again but the evening was somewhat frustrating as the soreness in my arm (I had been playing a little in the afternoon and it didn’t agree with me) was stopping me joining in. The guys really enjoy playing there so hopefully it continues to develop.

Richard Tabnik Trio

A few of us left the session early to head out to ibeam for the Richard Tabnik Trio - RT (as) Ken Filiano (b) Roger Mancuso (d). I was stoked to be in town when Richard had a gig. The trio improvised on standards and played a couple tunes from Richard’s later album. These three are full of surprises - Mancuso & Filiano are great pairing and there is something about Richard’s tone that needs to be experienced in the flesh for its full spectrum to be revealed.

Tagged along with some friends to another Williamsburg jam session on Sunday night. This one is hosted by saxophonist Matt La Von at Ba-sik. There’s a little attitude on show here (mostly from just 1 or 2 players) but for the most part it’s pretty good. We arrived in time to hear Nick Lyons tearing it up. Nice to hear some flute too (hi David). Afterwards there was a fun hang over falafel sandwiches.

Ba-sik Jam Session

About nine of us got together for a session at Carol’s on Monday night. Over the span of the evening I played four pieces - three free improvisations (duo & trio) and “Out Of Nowhere” with a larger group. I was careful to pace myself leaving time between tunes to rest my arm - there was some aching towards the end of the night .... I would have loved to played more but I'm glad I didn’t over do it. Lorenzo was quick to sense the tiger balm. Considering the lack of playing of late I was pleasantly surprised - sure, my execution wasn’t always top shelf but I feel I contributed to the music. Great company too.

I was glad to be in town for Connie’s opening class at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This week the focus was on Billie Holiday (Lester Young got a bit of attention too). Many of my favourite tracks were played including.... "All of Me", "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", "Them There Eyes", "God Bless The Child", "Body & Soul", "Foolin' Myself", "Laughing At Life", "A Sailboat In The Moonlight" among others.

The message from the night - "Sing with these recordings!" - Tristano said that singing with records was his greatest teaching discovery and the key to transmitting jazz feeling to the student.

If you are a student of the music and want your playing to open up invest some time into singing with the great jazz soloists - it's a blast!

Played a duo session with Pianist/Vocalist Carol Liebowitz - a mix of standards and free improvising. Again, I took things pretty easy so as not to aggravate anything. Similar feeling to Monday night - while I wasn't at 100% we still made some nice music.

Roulette was the venue for my last night in NYC and then scene of a spellbinding set of solo piano improvisations from Connie Crothers. The next morning I made a few notes in the gig book - Mesmeric, Relaxed Intensity, Nuance, Sound Transformation, Clarity, Surprise, Dynamic. It really was a thrilling experience... I could go on and on.
This was my visit time at the new location - very nice space. Thankfully the roadworks out front didn’t bleed into the concert hall.

Lots on this weekend too. The ICP Orchestra is in town - they have gigs on Saturday & Sunday night and Ab Baars is playing a solo set on Sunday afternoon.

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.