Music for Commuting: More Soprano (I got a fever)

It was Wayne Shorter's 86th birthday last week so 1 + 1 was a fitting (although completely coincidental) choice. I don't hear too many people taking about this album, maybe it's bit of a sleeper in his discography, but I dig it. Bonus points as Wayne sticks to soprano throughout and I particularly like his tone on this album.

It took a bit of hunting to track it down, but I really wanted to find a copy of Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner after reading that David Liebman rates it as one of his finest outings. The album has grown on me over the years and not having listened to it for a while, I really enjoyed it this time around. It's an all-soprano outing - solo with multi-tracked soprano. Lieb signed the album for me following a masterclass at PM Woodwind - I don't know why I didn't ask him about the recording process and how he put the work together. It's a must listen for Liebman fans, those keen on the soprano saxophone, and solo sax recordings. For those interested in composition, it's worth checking out how much Liebman can extract from the brief main theme. And again, completely coincidental, I'm posting this on Lieb's 73rd birthday.

Music for Commuting: Miles Davis Quintet box set

Lets face it, the rumble of the road isn’t exactly the ideal listening environment, but it provided an interesting listening experience this past week or so as the Miles Davis Quintet box set accompanied the daily commute. Tony’s cymbals and snare on my right and Miles and Wayne to the left. Herbie made appearances mostly in the form of solo lines with some comping popping out here and there. While Ron’s presence was felt at times, there was very little in the way of clarity. Not exactly what I had in mind but it was great to be able to focus on the horn/drum pairings. Maybe I need to round things out and have a session or two to zone in on Ron and Herbie.

Call me old fashioned, but it's the first three discs that really appeal to me - before the introduction of the electric piano and bass. E.S.P and Miles Smiles are two of Miles’ albums I've listened to the most alongside the likes of Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue and The Plugged Nickel recordings. Nefertiti isn’t too far behind either. The addition of guitar to the group has never really appealed to me. And although I hadn’t listened to those recordings for ages, I still haven’t warmed up to them - it just seems extraneous.

Wayne Shorter's Blue Notes

Earlier in the year I picked up a collection of Wayne Shorter's recordings for Blue Note and I have been working my way through them ever since. Note: for those that want the liner notes, this set isn't for you.... you can probably pick up all the individual reissues used for about the same price as this set.

JuJu and Speak No Evil got some heavy rotation in the early 2000s and I have returned to them on fairly regular intervals over the years. My knowledge of Night Dreamer, The Soothsayer, The All Seeing Eye, Adam's Apple and Schizophrenia came from listening sessions at the public and university library (along the way I must have missed Etcetera). Spending more time with them this year has been time well spent.

I was surprised by how many of the tunes from Night Dreamer seemed familiar to me. Either I must have listened to that album more than I realized or perhaps in the years following I've heard others playing songs like "Black Nile," "Virgo" and the title track. Or maybe the stickability of the tunes is testament to Shorter's ability as a composer. Of these, I was least familiar with The All Seeing Eye. It's an interesting work and I can think of a couple of friends who may enjoy the writing for five or six horns and rhythm (a line-up I don't really associate with Blue Note or music of this era). I remember thinking to myself, "I thought the pianist was Herbie?," then double checking the liner notes and being pleasantly surprised as I couldn't recall him playing like he does on "Chaos."

While I know some people who don't really care for Shorter's tone, I find it quite appealing (although I do prefer his Shorter's more recent soprano tone to his early years on the straight horn). There is something about his tonal inflections that remind me of the way Warne Marsh colored individual notes and I think this contributed to my initial attraction to his playing. In fact, this may even be my favorite element of his playing.

Purchasing this set was an in-the-moment decision and the motivating factor was the last three albums - Super Nova, Moto Grosso Fein and Odyssey of Iska. First, because they are early examples of his soprano work and, secondly, because when people speak of Shorter's Blue Note era these albums don't get a mention (no doubt due to anti-fusion sentiments that are part of the jazz world) and this makes me curious. Someone leant Super Nova to me a while back and I had forgotten the dense quality and intensity of some of the tracks. He sticks solely to soprano here and I need to get around to comparing the tunes he recorded with Miles that also appear here. I had heard one track from Moto a few years back (thanks Paul) and I remember it sparked my attention but I never followed through checking out the album. Both Moto and Odyssey have a similar vibe with the music slowly unfolding. The unhurried, wandering, exploratory quality appeals to me. I don't listen to a lot of music of this ilk, so these last three albums have made a refreshing change of pace. For those after some adventurous and exploratory music or fans of early(ish) fusion, make sure you check out these albums.

All this talk and I haven't mentioned any of the sideman, and lets face it, they're not light-weights. Joe Chambers, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter make regular appearances (on 4, 5 and 6 albums respectively), Freddie Hubbard is on form, Elvin Jones is superb (Joe Chambers also caught my ears) and James Spaulding contributed some fiery playing. Aside from a smattering of sideman appearances in the 60s, I've never really checked out his work.

This set is a reminder of just how much contemporary jazz (as soloists, accompanists, compositionally and the approach to ensemble playing) owes to the music from this era. I'm looking for to delving into more from Shorter when I tackle the Plugged Nickel box set in the new year.

Lambic Jazz Vol.11

Here we are again. Tonight was the final class of the semester, so I'm celebrating with a beer and a couple of albums of been listening to this past week.

Wayne Shorter: Odyssey of Iska (Blue Note)
Shorter (ss/ts) Dave Friedman (vibes/marimba) Gene Bertoncini (g) Ron Carter, Cecil McBee (b) Billy Hart, Al Mouton (d) Frank Cuomo (d/prec.) .... is it just me or but I think I hear some harmonica in there too?
I've enjoyed making my way through Wayne Shorter's Blue Note albums this year. This was one of the albums that was new to me and I'll post more on it soon. But for now I'll keep things brief - I enjoy Shorter's sense of economy and the way he can float over dense accompaniment yet still be rhythmically interesting.

Christian Weidner: Dream Boogie (Pirouet) 2012
Weidner (as) Achim Kaufmann (p) Henning Sieverts (b) Samuel Rohrer (d)
Back in Vol. 6 I mentioned that I was planning on picking up his last couple of quartet albums. Well, the first of those has arrived and the other is on the way. Although I've give it a couple of spins this week I'm yet to really give it a solid listen. As is the case with many European (or non-American) musicians, I don't hear Christian mentioned much here in the U.S. Like Choral, the tracks are concise with 10 of 11 tunes between 3-5 minutes and even the "long" track (the opener "Windchoral") is a reasonable 7 and half minutes. It keeps things moving - moods, feeling, tempos and textures shift at a nice rate of change while maintaining unity across the album. All involved make strong contributions. Kaufmann replacing Colin Vallon is the only change in personnel from The Inward Song and I feel it had a positive effect. This album will be in for many more listens and I'm looking forward to spinning it back to back with Every Hour of the Light and Dark when it arrives.

Tonight's music was accompanied by Lambickx (Wambeek, De Troch). And now it must be about time to tune in to the fourth test - India vs England. India are up 2-0 in the series (of 5) and it looks like England won the toss and will bat.

The Lambic Jazz Series: Vol.10 - Vol.9 - Vol.8 - Vol.7 - Vol.6 - Vol.5 - Vol.4 - Vol.3 - Vol.2 - Vol.1

A bit of recent listening

In addition to the albums mentioned in other posts, here's a taste of what else has been having a spin over the past couple of months.

photo credit: my wife (thank you!)

Herbie Hancock: Inventions and Dimensions (Blue Note)
It's not nearly as well known as the albums that proceeded it (Empyrean Isles and Maiden Voyage) but I'm not too sure why because it's a fine, fine album. Maybe it's because the latter albums featured tunes, whereas the music on Inventions is largely improvised.

Marilyn Crispell: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock (ECM)
This is one of my go-to albums when I'm after something with a great sense of space. Even when things get a bit busier, the trio still maintains a vastness to the sound. The last listen through I focussed on Paul Motian's very conversational playing.


Roland Kirk: Domino (Verve)
Regardless of the instrument(s) he's playing, I love the infectious energy that Rahsaan Roland Kirk brings to the music. I've said it before and I'll say it again - a lot of people sleep on Rahsaan, don't let him pass you by.

Mat Maneri: Trinity (ECM)
I picked up this solo violin/viola album on a whim as I have been meaning to listen to his work (I heard him at the Hungry Brain a couple of years ago and really enjoyed his playing). Maybe it will strike me when the mood is right, but so far I haven't been able to get into the flow of this one.

Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now (Reprise)
Sometimes (not always) I feel the arrangements are a little bit overblown, but regardless of that, the vocals always hit the spot. Added bonus are some nice Wayne Shorter solos scattered throughout. His short soprano feature on "Answer Me, My Love" has a speaking quality that appeals to me.

Jazz April: week 1 listening

Here's a rundown of my listening over the past week.

Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil (Blue Note) Of Shorter's albums, I'm most familiar with this one but I'm still giving it attention as I make my through his work on Blue Note (one album per month). It had been a while since I last gave this a spin. Top playing, great tunes and a stellar line-up. Hard to go wrong really.

Steve Swell: Kende Dreams (Silkheart)
Released last year (I picked it up last week) the presence of Connie Crothers made this a must-have and it hasn't disappointed. The album features interesting tunes (all by Swell) and a very cohesive group [Swell (trb) Crothers (p) Rob Brown (as) William Parker (b) Chad Taylor (d)]. The improvising and accompaniment from all involved is dynamic. This one is set for many more listens. Recommended.

Jochen Rueckert: Introduction (Jazzline)
I'll keep things very brief as I am planning to write about this one at some stage. My accidental introduction to the world of Hayden Chisholm.

Ran Blake: Film Noir (Arista)
I picked up this one (along with two others) when Blake played at Constellation at the end of last month. Recorded in 1980 (reissued late last year) and comprised of varying line-ups from solo to 11 piece ensembles, this album sounds remarkably fresh.

Sal Mosca: Too Marvelous For Words (Cadence)
I've been listening to disc 2 from this 5 disc set of a 1981 concert tour of the Netherlands. A "must have" for Mosca fans but I urge pianists and fans to solo piano to check out this album. I remember Don Messina's enthusiasm as he told me about this upcoming release (6 months or so before its release) and I can hear why - staggering stuff.

Yusef Lateef: Before Dawn (Verve)
I've been meaning to check out more of Yusef Lateef and now I'm finally getting around to it having picked up a few albums (including this one) recently. I only managed to have one listen to it this week but the bluesy-bop brought to mind my friend Johnny Lippiett.

A few different versions of Thelonious Monk's song "Jackie-ing" have been getting a run. 5 by Monk by 5 (Riverside) and The London Collection (Black Lion) got me started. I can't think of a better Charlie Rouse solo on the former (Thad Jones is excellent too) and the latter is a great solo rendition with a different feeling to the quintet recording. Steve Lacy's More Monk has been another source too.