J*** 4 Fredrik

Dear Nic,

That is very kind. I put it into the favourites space so I can keep returning to it. I sure think I should try to leven the weighty style in my listening sometimes, just so I don't become a total bore! Thanks from Fred

I need a little time but will contribute soon

Fredrik

Two of my very favourite recent jazz albums (both on ECM as it happens) are 'The Ground' by Tord Gustavsen, and 'Shades of Jade' by Marc Johnson. My overall favourite jazz album is 'Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section', from the late 50s. Art was a great alto player, very passionate buy never screechy. It's a beautifully recorded album.

And if you want some vocal, Stacey Kent comes highly recommended - by me anyway.

See what you think.

Nigel

PS to Huwge - don't recommend too many please, I'm broke. Following your recent post, I bought 'Sensus' by Cristina Branco. Fantastic. Have you heard Mariza?

quote:

Originally posted by hungryhalibut:
Fredrik

Two of my very favourite recent jazz albums (both on ECM as it happens) are 'The Ground' by Tord Gustavsen, and 'Shades of Jade' by Marc Johnson. My overall favourite jazz album is 'Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section', from the late 50s. Art was a great alto player, very passionate buy never screechy. It's a beautifully recorded album.

And if you want some vocal, Stacey Kent comes highly recommended - by me anyway.

See what you think.

Nigel

PS to Huwge - don't recommend too many please, I'm broke. Following your recent post, I bought 'Sensus' by Cristina Branco. Fantastic. Have you heard Mariza?

Both Tord and Marc Johnson are excellent albums and I think would be a good move into jazz for fredrik.

Nigel - I saw Mariza a few weeks ago - she is just amazing - get tickets when she is in the UK.

Below is the review of her show in a national Australian newspaper.....

I like her recent album - Transparente a lot - however they are all good.

Diva delivers glimpse of heaven
Michael Rofe
January 23, 2006
Mariza
Sydney Opera House, January 20.

OCCASIONALLY in life we are blessed and privileged to experience something unique, so magnificent that it sets the standard for everything else. A magical performance, a work of art, an affair of the heart, or perhaps a glimpse of heaven.

Such was the concert by the stunning Portuguese fado singer Mariza at the Sydney Opera House.

Only a few years into an international career, she is the new diva. She was backed by a perfect acoustic, seven-piece ensemble, and Nuno Marques's remarkable lighting, which went from pastel shade and subtlety to pulsing strobe and monochrome.

It was clear from Antonio Neto's clenched attack on his classical guitar in the instrumental introduction that this was going to be no ordinary concert. With Vasco Sousa playing acoustic bass guitar and the wiry Luis Guerreiro delighting on Portuguese guitar, this trio became Mariza's backbone.

She appeared out of the darkness, gliding tall and slim into the light. From that instant she took control of the stage. Lithe and athletic, she danced and floated. Sometimes her African heritage was apparent in her performance style. Sometimes she was coy like a young girl, then conveyed the power of a woman scorned as she ripped apart her heart. Sometimes she simply strode majestically.

A string trio comprising Antonio Barbosa, violin, Ricardo Mateus, viola, and the haunting cello of Paulo Moreira came and went, as did the percussionist (and manager) Joao Pedro Ruela, who delighted with his solo on a single drum.

When Mariza sang her cri de coeur, Meu Fado Meu (My Fado), she tore it from her soul, a blinding, aching reinterpretation of the delicious tune on her most recent disc.

She and her three guitar troubadours stood together at the front of the stage and sang a traditional fado number without amplification, starting from silence and climbing towards the sky.

Between songs she held the audience in the palm of her hand with her tender explanations. Without any pretension, her wonderful charm and humility delighted all. Visibly overcome at one moment, this was the sort of intimacy that is rarely encountered.

She took Gershwin's classic Summertime, the only song she sang in English, and made it her own. As she knelt on stage at the end, she looked at each one of us.

If you were there you will always remember it. Mariza. Her name is written in the stars. We can but gaze in awe.

Fredrik - Some of the jazz trio albums by Keith Jarrett would be excellent places to start - try Tribute, Whisper Not or Still Life - all excellent examples.

I will also make some more recommendations soon of music that I think you may like.

Adrian

At first it seems easy to think of a list of albums that could act as a pleasant introduction to jazz music, however, once you start you realise how subjective and personal the list becomes. Also, jazz is really a format that covers such a diverse collection of sub-genres that what might be jazz for one is an intolerable racket for another.

My approach is therefore twofold. First, I would like to recommend Gary Giddins “Visions of Jazz: The First Century,” both the book and the accompanying double CD. The recommendation comes with a caveat in that Giddins limits himself to the US experience and excludes Europe’s not insubstantial contribution to the format. That said, my recommendation is unreserved for anyone interested in the evolution of a music form. The book is written with equal parts of knowledge and love.

Secondly, I will offer some artists or discs that may tickle Fredrik’s fancy, based on what he has written here about his preferred music and some others that I believe are worthy of consideration. These are just discs that I have grown to love and that are probably loathed, loved or considered odd in equal measure by other listeners.

Louis Armstrong – his entire output with the Hot 5s and 7s. For many, this is where it all began in the recorded form. I also love the discs that he cut with Duke Ellington, somewhat heretical I guess in that here it is the voice of Satchmo rather than his qualities on the horn that appeal. Still, anything in association with the Duke has to be worthy of a cursory listen. If your foot isn’t tapping on “it don’t mean a thing,” then there is something materially wrong with your hardware.

From the same era, I would throw in greatest hits collections from Bix Biederbecke, Sidney Bechet and Django Reinhardt

Count Basie – The complete Decca recordings; Swinging at the Daisy Chain; the complete Atomic Basie are all tremendous examples of this master of tempo and rhythm.

Duke Ellington – from the Blanton-Webster years through to Money Jungle it’s difficult to put a foot wrong, but sandwiched between these works there should be space for “Newport 56,” “Black, Brown & Beige” and “And his mother called him Bill.”

John Coltrane – “Ballads” for the wee small hours and “A love supreme” for a work of soul shredding intensity that can never be heard as background music

Miles Davis – I read earlier that Fredrik might have expressed a dislike for Miles, but I would offer his collaborations with Gil Evans as examples that might be easier to digest

Thelonious Monk – I have to be careful as Monk is a personal favourite. “Monk’s Music” is one of my desert island discs and there is little that I dislike. The Riverside recordings are probably the most consistently good (a subjective opinion). Two related discs that I love and which might appeal more to Fredrik are Milt Jackson’s “Memories of Thelonious Sphere Monk” for Ray Brown’s bowed bass on ‘Round Midnight and the Kronos Quartet’s tribute in collaboration with another great bassist – Ron Carter.

From this springboard you can then find your way through discs by Bill Evans, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Grant Green …

It’s an endless journey. One thing about jazz discs is that there is a great focus on collaborative effort such that the load is often (but nor always) carried on more than one set of shoulders. There are often guest players and this can lead to new discoveries. If an artist you like chooses to have accompaniment from someone else that suggests a synergy. You can then seek out works under the lead of that artist and then their accompanists ad infinitum.

For me, Paul Motian (who played with Bill Evans) led to Bobo Stenson; Bollani to Rava; Pepper to Leviev, Konitz to Mehldau. Here are examples of the past reaching out to the future and vice versa. I have not included much new jazz as my personal preferences come from further back but that does not mean they are any less valid. Only time will tell as to whether they merit and maintain the same level of love and affection as other discs cited by me.

Finally for Fredrik, as a bass player, check out Charlie Haden – either as lead, accompanist or in the Liberation Music Orchestra.

I’ve probably forgotten to include and offended in equal measure. The exclusion of some of the more difficult free form players is not meant to be dismissive, but rather reflects my interpretation of the post. I think this is not an easy way into jazz but, for many, this is the only place to be.

Happy listening

PS – I haven’t included singers (except for subordinately Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong, but both related to Ellington), but if I had to pick one it would be Lady Day – in her early years for the glorious range and timbre and in the later years for the experience and pathos in her singing.

Hello Fredrik,
A suggestion.
When you go & have a listen to that Linn you will find a pile of records by it. (No great surprise there then)
Amongst them is an all time classic calld 'Jazz at the Pawn Shop'. It will be easy to find.

Put that on & let us know what you think.

I am about to order ir from that thread on XRCD.. a wapping great 60 euro! It is rather special.

Also, if you dare, there is an imaculate copy of TuTu - Miles Davis. (Black and white photo of his face on the cover.. no wording)

That was one of my all time favourites. Bass by Marcus Miller. Tasty stuff.

Fredrik
Want some more:

Coleman Hawkins "Nighthawk"

Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges "Back to Back"

Ben Webster & Joe Zawinul "Soulmates"

Oscar Peterson "Night Train"

Horace Silver "song for my father"

Ella Fitzgerald with Count Basie "Ella & Basie"

Ray Brown "The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio"

Duke Ellington "Piano in the background"

Lester Young "The President with Oscar peterson"

Hank Mobley "Soul Station"

Count Basie "The kid from red bank"

Dexter Gordon "Go"

Bill Evans "A potrait in jazz"

Charlie Mingus "Dynasty"


Lots more if you want them.
regards
Geoff

Fredrick
As a bassist you might enjoy "Laughing at Life" by Milt Hinton. I went through a phase of buying a lot of double bass recordings, classical and jazz in the early 90s, when my son was studying the instrument.

Fredrik,

As has been suggested, you should certainly give the Miles Davis/Gil Evans a try (especially Porgy and Bess).

Also Bill Evans (see other thread).

I wonder that nobody has mentioned Ben Webster meets Oscar Peterson (one of my favourite records).

Lastly, as a classical fan, I wonder if Stan Getz's Focus might not appeal.

regards, Tam

Tam,

Good call on Focus by Stan Getz, and for the same reason I would suggest Guitar Forms by Kenny Burrell conducted by Gill Evans. A line up to die for.

Regards

Nic

Fredrik, I was secretly hoping someone else would do this for me so I could avoid the excruciating embarrassment of plugging myself yet again, but as no one has, and because you asked about me in another thread, and because we share the same name, I'll capitulate. Plus, my accountant requires it of me.

I suggest you try this:


Dreamhouse




and this:


Remember the River




You'll be glad you did.

All best,
Fred

Dear Friends,

I promise to investigate these lovely suggetions over time! Fred, I am glad you are plugging your own material. When I used to play bass, I dragged alsorts of people to my concerts, and sometimes even surprised them (not with my playing, which was never the focus obviusly!), with how accesable was some classical stuff!

Golly, I never had a Thread named for me before. When I used to play I used to be put in the program (if the band was listed by name) as Fiske, but using my first Christian name rather than my second, so somehow Fiske is my musical alter ego, now in print, in this extra-ordinary and sometimes very nice Forum. I am touched by this very much.

Many thanks from Fredrik