What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2017
2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Today's arrival, first Art Pepper in the house. All the ingredients (Garland, Chambers and Jones) are also very promising.
Haim, you should try this
Horror of horrors, I'm listening to live performances on Youtube (and definitely not reading the comments from the music zombies that seem to live there). I love it more than I hate it.
Notwithstanding the trauma of listening on a USB speaker bar, I've discovered a lot of great artists and their music I wouldn't have otherwise...the price of exploration. That can lead me to seek their recordings, or revisit ones I already have but listened to with a different focus when I originally acquired them. I bought the 1987 CD release of Lou Donaldson's late 50's Blues Walk when I was saxophone student...sold the horns to pay credit card bills, but kept a guitar. I started listening again as a guitar student to see what I could 'steal' from a horn player, and became obsessed with the piano player Herman Foster...don't know how I ignored him before. I think a measure of good art (visual and audible) is if it keeps your attention or you keep finding new focal points, vs. total boredom after a week.
1) Poking around the video archives of the NYC jazz club The Iridium where Les Paul ran the house band, Youtube user Chris Lentz has been posting videos of random guests sitting in with Les or taking over the stage from the late 90's onward. The content is reasonably searchable and since the quality of guests varies with your expectations, you can filter somewhat. I have several CD's by Frank VIgnola who played with Les for 8-9 (?) years, so I'm going backward to hear his live performances. The most frequent upright bass player I've seen in these recordings has been Australian transplant Nicki Parrott, a talented (and attractive) player. She has some CD's of her own I may explore.
2) Performances of living and deceased players I will not have the opportunity to hear in person due to an inability to travel far enough, or back in time. Lou Donaldson (just turned 91) live performances with Dr. Lonnie Smith and guitarist Randy Johnston, old Dizzy Gillespie and James Moody concerts from the 60's , Emily Remler (I should not have passed up opportunities to hear her live in the 80's, but I did), Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley & other people I enjoyed on LP...kind of eerie and inspiring at the same time to see notable players live for the first time when they are no longer alive.
3) Manouche/gypsy guitarists. I used to think they all sounded alike...now not at all...I can sometimes recognize someone's vibrato now. I found in my LP collection Birelli Lagrene's first (I'm pretty sure) album (early-mid 80's?) as a young teen, so he must have caught my ear early on. Definitely so now. Recent download CD's (I know, MP3 
(): Wawau Adler's Expressions and Songs for Guitar & Bass, and French guitarist Aurelien Robert's CD "Invite (list of guests)"...confusing title.
4) Cyrille Aimee's CD Let's Get Lost. Acquired at a local concert a year or two ago. I'm pretty picky about vocals, but I really like her, in any language. (Sings in French, English, Spanish). I like some of her earlier live performances better, but I guess that's what Youtube is for.
0) What does all this keyboard dysentery have to do with Naim? I have a Nait (1, I guess, because I don't remember a number when I got it) somewhere in the house (I'm not joking), and I'm intent on finding it and setting up 1 of the 2.5 turntables I have. (Had 4 at one point).
Thanks for reading and admission to the community.
Murray
Now Playing......
M People - Bizarre Fruit
A recent mention that I put into the TIDAL Queue! Some solid beat to end the work day, definitely got the feet moving and that is a good thing on a Monday evening!
Four tracks down and the heart hate is up!
Now Playing.......
Tomasz Stanko Septet - litania - Music of Krzysztof Komeda
Tomasz Stanko (trumpet), Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone), Joakim Milder ( tenor and soprano saxophones), Bobo Stenson (piano), Palle Danielsson (double bass), Jon Christensen (drums) and Terje Rypdal (guitar)
Arrived in the afternoon mail, ripped to NAS and now streaming
Comment from the EMC webpage found here:
Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) wrote music for more than 40 films, including classics of the Polish cinema by Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda, and Polanski brought him to Hollywood to work on Rosemary's Baby. His soundtrack music, however, was only part of his achievement. Komeda almost singelehandedly instigated the modern jazz movement in Poland and made important contributions toward the shaping of a European aesthetic in jazz composition. Tomasz Stanko was Komeda's closest musical associate. At ECM's urging, Stanko returned to the archive to reinvestigate Komeda's work, rearranging both his intensely melodic film themes and his extended compositions for an all-star Scandinavian band.
Jackson Browne. I'm Alive. On CD from 1993. Quality album on par with his earlier stuff.
A superb start for todays music what next ??
Charlie Cawood - The Divine Abstract
Wonderful musicianship, using instruments I'd never heard of are making this a fascinating listening experience. A true (7 year) labour of love from Charlie has succeeded in creating something complex, dense and interesting and deserves a wide audience to enjoy his ensemble compositions 
Was quite skeptical at first - given the typical over marketing around Mike Portnoy. But it's actually in the genre quite good.
Incredible budget box release on Sony. Performances/recordings (produced by Steve Epstein) are wonderful! Listening to No. 15 in B-flat, K450 composed in 1784. Highly recommended!!!
Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Some nice rock music to start with in the afternoon.
DenisA posted:
Charlie Cawood - The Divine Abstract
Wonderful musicianship, using instruments I'd never heard of are making this a fascinating listening experience. A true (7 year) labour of love from Charlie has succeeded in creating something complex, dense and interesting and deserves a wide audience to enjoy his ensemble compositions
It’s had multiple plays here since you flagged this up (cheers again), and you’re right - it’s just delightful. Better not be another 7 years before a follow-up though 
Now Playing......
Allen Toussaint - The Bright Mississippi
Allen Toussaint (piano, vocals), Don Byron (clarinet), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Marc Ribot (acoustic guitar), David Piltch (bass), Jay Bellerose (drums and percussion), Brad Mehldau (piano), Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone)
A mention from HAIM RONEN a couple of days ago peaked my interest and I placed this in the TIDAL Queue and now taking it out for a spin.......
Three tracks into the album and it is definitely worth your time to give a listen, very, very, nice!
Review from Mike Perciaccante in All About Jazz found here:
On The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint re-imagines ("covers" is not the proper descriptive word) classic jazz pieces originally made famous by Jelly Roll Morton ("Winin' Boy Blues"), Sidney Bechet ("Egyptian Fantasy"), Louis Armstrong (the Joseph "King" Oliver-composed "West End Blues"), Duke Ellington ("Day Dream" and "Solitude"), Django Reinhardt ("Blue Drag"), Thelonious Monk (the title track) and many others. Additionally, the CD features Toussaint's versions of the traditional songs "St. James Infirmary" and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee."
Almost entirely instrumental, the CD has the feel, vibe and cadence that only an Allen Toussaint project has. Toussaint, with producer Joe Henry, has crafted a sound that is modern yet traditional, jazzy yet funky, soulful yet pristine and completely elegant. The players chosen by Toussaint and Henry (Nicholas Payton on trumpet, David Pilch on upright bass, Don Byron on clarinet, Marc Ribot on guitar and Jay Bellerose behind the drums) make the recording come alive with a warmth and texture that is usually only heard in live performances.
The Bright Mississippi is a rich and multi-layered CD. Each track deftly mines the musical milieu of what many just categorize as New Orleans music. While the title track has a very funky and somewhat bluesy and soulful 'Nawlins feel, "St. James Infirmary" has a little bit of a country feel under the traditional jazz arrangement. "Singin' The Blues" could easily be heard at Preservation Hall. Each of the twelve tracks, when taken on its own merits, is a lesson in the musical history and expression of the Delta.
To paraphrase producer Henry, the CD is loaded with performances of classic songs that sound both completely fresh and entirely familiar.
seakayaker posted:Now Playing......
Allen Toussaint - The Bright Mississippi
Allen Toussaint (piano, vocals), Don Byron (clarinet), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Marc Ribot (acoustic guitar), David Piltch (bass), Jay Bellerose (drums and percussion), Brad Mehldau (piano), Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone)
A mention from HAIM RONEN a couple of days ago peaked my interest and I placed this in the TIDAL Queue and now taking it out for a spin.......
Three tracks into the album and it is definitely worth your time to give a listen, very, very, nice!
Review from Mike Perciaccante in All About Jazz found here:
When asked about Allen Toussaint, Van Dyke Parks once said, "he's the greatest pianist alive, only no one knows it... including him." High praise from one legend to another. With The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint has finally released a jazz-oriented album. Though jazz-influences can be found on many of his rock/funk sides as well as in many of the songs that he has written (including "Whipped Cream," which was morphed into the theme from The Dating Game), arranged and produced, this album, a salute to the timeless music of his hometown of New Orleans is his first foray into jazz. Though he'd never recorded any of them, as a native New Orleanian, Toussaint was well-acquainted with the songs and music that has made The Big Easy synonymous with the phrase "The Birthplace of Jazz."On The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint re-imagines ("covers" is not the proper descriptive word) classic jazz pieces originally made famous by Jelly Roll Morton ("Winin' Boy Blues"), Sidney Bechet ("Egyptian Fantasy"), Louis Armstrong (the Joseph "King" Oliver-composed "West End Blues"), Duke Ellington ("Day Dream" and "Solitude"), Django Reinhardt ("Blue Drag"), Thelonious Monk (the title track) and many others. Additionally, the CD features Toussaint's versions of the traditional songs "St. James Infirmary" and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee."
Almost entirely instrumental, the CD has the feel, vibe and cadence that only an Allen Toussaint project has. Toussaint, with producer Joe Henry, has crafted a sound that is modern yet traditional, jazzy yet funky, soulful yet pristine and completely elegant. The players chosen by Toussaint and Henry (Nicholas Payton on trumpet, David Pilch on upright bass, Don Byron on clarinet, Marc Ribot on guitar and Jay Bellerose behind the drums) make the recording come alive with a warmth and texture that is usually only heard in live performances.
The Bright Mississippi is a rich and multi-layered CD. Each track deftly mines the musical milieu of what many just categorize as New Orleans music. While the title track has a very funky and somewhat bluesy and soulful 'Nawlins feel, "St. James Infirmary" has a little bit of a country feel under the traditional jazz arrangement. "Singin' The Blues" could easily be heard at Preservation Hall. Each of the twelve tracks, when taken on its own merits, is a lesson in the musical history and expression of the Delta.
To paraphrase producer Henry, the CD is loaded with performances of classic songs that sound both completely fresh and entirely familiar.
Thanks for posting this one seakayaker! Looks intersting. Going to put it on my play list. Regards, Jeroen.
On CD:-
Sade - Lovers Rock