Jazz & Blues Music Reviews

New Yorker Jazz

The occasionally annoying but often interesting jazz DJ Phil Schaap is profiled by David Remnick in The New Yorker:

"Not long ago, I listened to him play a recording of “Okiedoke,” a tune that Parker recorded in 1949 with Machito and His Afro-Cuban Orchestra. Schaap, in his pontifical baritone, first provided routine detail on the session and Parker’s interest (via Dizzy Gillespie) in Latin jazz, and then, like a car hitting a patch of black ice, he veered off into a riff of many minutes’ duration on the pronunciation and meaning of the title—of “Okiedoke.”"

Inspired by his profile of Schaap, Remnick goes on to list 100 Essential Jazz Albums:

"These hundred titles are meant to provide a broad sampling of jazz classics and wonders across the music’s century-long history. Early New Orleans jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, hard bop, free jazz, third stream, and fusion are all represented, though not equally. We have tried not to overdo it with expensive boxed sets and obscure imports; sometimes it couldn’t be helped."

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Labels: Charlie Parker, misc.

Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra (Thrill Jockey, 2008)

Trumpeter and cornetist Rob Mazurek is the nominal leader of the Exploding Star Orchestra, a Sun Ra Arkestra like ensemble that made its debut last year with the interesting album We Are All From Somewhere Else. Trumpeter and educator Bill Dixon had been a longtime influence on Mazurek, and who invited Dixon to make an album with his large ensemble as featured soloist. Dixon and the Orchestra have stretches where the musical sound is reminiscent of the early fusion of Miles Davis, with the shimmering vibes and pungent and mysterious trumpet echoing the music of classic albums like In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, then giving way to stretches which sound like Sun Ra at his most cosmically cacophonous. The space poetry of the second track is certainly a Ra trip, but the abstract sequences of fractured poetic trumpet is pure Dixon. Full, beefy improvisation of a intergalactic big band with splashes of vibraphone providing Jackson Pollock like swathes of color compete with sections of spacey interlude are the order of the day here. This is challenging music to be sure, but it is also quite rewarding. Just as there are visionary scientists exploring the edge of the cosmos, Dixon, Mazurek and this ensemble are exploring the edges of the musical cosmos.

Send comments to: Tim

Labels: Bill Dixon, Exploding Star Orchestra

I have a new online mix tape for your streaming pleasure at Muxtape. It contains music that I have been listening to recently, blogged and unblogged. Enjoy!

The playlist:
Bill Frisell - Sub-conscious Lee
Fleshtones - Shiney Hiney
Sun Ra - El is a Sound of Joy
Mudcrutch - Six Days On The Road
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Stella Hurt
Sékouba Bambino - Famou (Remix Danse)
Brad Mehldau - Wonderwall
Elmore James - Sho' Nuff I Do
Lionel Loueke - Seven Teens (Featuring Herbie Hancock)
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - More News From Nowhere
Willis Jackson and Pat Martino - The Goose Is Loose

Send comments to: Tim

Labels: podcast

Commentary on Musical Inclusiveness

Saxophonist Ken Vandermark and drummer Tim Daisy are currently on a short duo tour of Europe. Someone posted an audience recording of the concert from Graz, Austria on the Internet and it was interesting to hear Vandermark talk between songs about the grass roots organizing that had led to his tour. He talks about how difficult is to find places to play “creative music” in this challenging economic environment, and thanks the people that made the tour possible. Vandermark is one of my favorite musicians, and his music is certainly creative, but I have always been uncomfortable in labeling improvised music in this manner. Many musicians, in particular Miles Davis, have been unhappy with the word “jazz”, feeling that it did not fully describe the depth and complexity of their music. But in applying the moniker “creative music” to free jazz or improvised music outside of the jazz mainstream seems to sell other types of music short. Does this mean that when Bill Frisell deconstructs an American folk song, or James Carter improvises on a song by the rock band Pavement, that their music isn’t creative? It seems that this throws down an unnecessary gauntlet of snobbishness that isn’t required. Of course Vandermark and other musicians on the cutting edge are creative, but I think that musicians who play bebop, ballads and blues can be so as well. Arguably, they have to be even more so, since they tread on ground that has already been well trodden by others and in order to get attention for their performances they need to be especially creative in order to stand out from the crowd. It’s interesting to think about this as the Vision Festival begins next month in New York City. As the festival season begins in earnest with the JVC Festival, there will be a lot of music competing for a limited dollar. It doesn’t seem like a wise idea to split an already fractured scene even further, for example on New York City, with the mainstream centered around The Jazz Standard and Village Vanguard, the “creative” musicians around The Stone and venues in Brooklyn and Jersey City, and everybody else scrounging for gigs and recording opportunities wherever they can get them. A philosophy of musical inclusiveness would be beneficial to everybody, with a rising tide hopefully raising all boats. It’s fascinating to look at concert posters from the 1960’s to see venues hosing two or three bands a night of wildly diverse musical focus. It would be a great way to broaden horizons and break down barriers if this could be done today. If musicians and fans work together to support the music as a whole, and recognize that all musicians are creative people instead of allowing further faults to develop between groups that have more in common than they realize, there could be substantial benefits for all.

Send comments to: Tim

Labels: commentary

Bill Frisell - History, Mystery (Nonesuch, 2008)

As ambitious and eclectic as ever, guitarist Bill Frisell's most recent release is a two CD set of live and studio songs covering Frisell's beloved Americana, along with jazz, classical and world music. The band joining him is made up of Jenny Scheinman on violin, Eyvind Kang on viola, Hank Roberts on cello, Greg Tardy on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Ron Miles on cornet, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums. Jenny Scheinman and the other string players really shine on the shorter more atmospheric studio pieces, while the band as a whole gives a great reading to the Boubacar Toure song "Baba Drame", and Greg Tardy takes a majestic, explosive and deeply soulful solo on "Change is Gonna Come". The breakneck pace of the band's cartoon theme like version of Monk's "Jackie-ing" is excellent fun. After the uneasy calm of the studio pieces, the live cuts where the band takes off and really blows are welcome. The leader himself finally breaks out with a scalding electric guitar and drums interlude on "Struggle Part 2." Disc two features the beautiful and vaguely middle eastern melody of "Faces", and the gleefully impish version of Lee Konitz's "Sub-Conscious Lee" with another fine Tardy solo. The saxophonist shines again on "Waltz for Baltimore" with swaths of deep and bold tenor bursting out kaleidoscopically. Careful listening, especially on headphones will reveal details about how finely crafted this album is. There is quite a bit of music to absorb, but the depth and breadth of the band's vision is inspiring.

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Labels: Bill Frisell

World music roundup

Toumani Diabaté - The Monde Variations (Nonesuch, 2008)

The kora is one of the most beautiful and expressive instruments in music. A 21-string harp-lute used extensively by peoples in West Africa, Diabate is a contemporary master, and a crossover sensation who is popular at festivals and concerts. Although he plays with bands and other musicians, this is a crystal clear solo recital that is very well recorded so that the depth and breadth of the instrument shines through. The sound is light, but emotionally resonant, and the music is deeply thoughtful and meditative, sometimes melancholy, but never sorrowful.

Various Artists - African Party (Putumayo, 2008)

The mission of the Putumayo music label is to introduce people to a wide range of music from many cultures. To this end, they release sampler CD's from different geographic areas and musical genres. This is one of the most successful of their discs I have heard, focusing on the upbeat celebratory music of the African continent. While none of the names found on this disc may be immediately familiar, the groups play some very upbeat and enjoyable music which is buoyed by insightful horn charts and percussion.

Send comments to: Tim

Labels: africa, Toumani Diabaté, Various Artists, world music

Rock 'n' Roll Roundup

The Fleshtones – Take a Good Look (Yep Roc, 2008)

The deans of New York City garage rock, The Fleshtones, Keith Streng guitar, and vocals, Peter Zaremba, harmonica and vocals, Bill Milhizer on drums, and Ken Fox on bass, play fresh, fun and completely unpretentious rock and roll. This album is consistently good and filled with enjoyable and reliably entertaining songs, and simple but effective playing. The raucous and funny "Shiney Hiney" and strutting "Never Grew Up" set the tone for the record, with juvenile lyrics and in your face music. "Jet Set Fleshtones" and "New York City" strut with good natured humor and the ironic "Back to School" proves that they aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. While other bands may be looking to make grand statements with their music, the Fleshtones have a more more modest, but still noble goal of playing straightforward guitar based rock 'n' roll and having fun with it. The perfect soundtrack to a summer afternoon, it's shallow but never stupid, flaky but always fun.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig! (Anti, 2008)

Speaking of grand statements, a rock and roll album about the biblical story of Lazarus rising from the grave might seem like a pretty heavy subject for a rock band to take on, but when it is from a songwriter as good and pleasingly warped as Nick Cave, it is a blessing indeed. In the first song alone "Larry" comes back from the dead to cruise Los Angeles and San Francisco only to end up strung out in a New York City soup kitchen. The religious themes are always delivered with a skeptical sly wink, like in "We Call Upon the Author to Explain" where answers are demanded from God, but none are forthcoming. It's not all deep navel gazing, "Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)" is a pulverizing rocker that sounds like an outtake from last years Grinderman project, and "More News From Nowhere" taps a great melodic feel with some excellent wordplay. This is an excellent album, deep but never pretentious, it's a thinking man's rock record.

Send comments to: Tim

Labels: Fleshtones, Nick Cave, rock and roll