Hubbard

This is some fat Freddie Hubbard footage. I’m thinking this is very early 60s Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey, of course, on drums. Hubbard has always been one of my favorite trumpet players, behind Miles and Dizzy, and this first solo confirms that. He’s lightning fast but never sacrifices the groove for the sake of showing off. This song has some exemplary call-and-response that gives it the feel of an old spiritual. It’s too bad the clip is so short.

Pepesito Reyes

Pepesito Reyes spent the 1940s in New York City playing clubs like the Café Metropolis, where he made fast friends with admirers like Duke Ellington. Of all jazz musicians, Ellington was usually the object of admiration, not vice versa. Reyes also bewitched musicians such as Nat King Cole and Tito Puente, when they first heard his bold blend of majestic, yet spicy danzón, or Cuban dance music. Reyes is a true romantic in the best sense of the word and dances musically on this album, with the accompaniment of a cavalcade of extremely capable musicians. Anibal Ávila and Adonis Machado especially, add trumpet flare to the compositions, and act as the perfect foil for Reyes as he positively jumps through each song with an energy and verve that belies his 85 years.

Cole Porter’s Begin the Beguine starts this disk, and this moody number does indeed seem to “bring back a night of tropical splendor,” as Reyes’ lyrical piano practically sings the words to the classic, jazz standard. Beatriz Márquez fades into Como Arrullo de Palmas like the diva you’ve always dreamed of and the intensity builds, by turns soft and elegant and then more forceful and upbeat. Escucha mi Piano finds Reyes indulging in flourishes and wisecracks that never seem out of place, as he stakes his claim, alongside Rubén González, as grandmaster of Cuban piano.

I can now add Mami Me Gustó to the list of things that I like, as this cut is the standout of the album. Sitting back and closing your eyes to this song brings a Cuban street party to life on a perfect summer day. Anibal Ávila and Adonis Machado make this song a mysterious trumpet masterpiece. Each cut, in fact, is a tiny, nostalgic gem, as Reyes riffs and moves to a crescendo toward La Guantanamera.

This song is so familiar (think hard and it will come to you) that kids on the playground used to hum its melody replacing the lyrics with nonsense words, as I remember. Of course, the real test of any art form is the test of time, and this CD is a nostalgic trip back to some, but to jazz aficionados Reyes’ sound is as unmistakable as a habanero on the tongue.

Cannonball

Cannonball Adderley has always been one of my favorite sax players and this footage finds him beside the über-hip Yusef Lateef. Lateef’s Psychicemotus is one of my favorite jazz albums. My vinyl copy hasn’t seen the light of day in a few years.



I still haven’t bought a turntable [since moving to Chicago five years ago], so my vinyl collection is sitting in limbo. I know Impulse and Blue Note have reissued most of the classics on vinyl, but it’s a better feeling when a day spent going through the record bins results in finding an original pressing of something you’ve been searching for. This group alternated players during the same time period, so I think the other incarnation of Cannonball’s lineup included Victor Feldman (p, vib), Wes Montgomery (g), and Ray Brown (b) instead of those in the video.

There’s a lyrical quality to Cannonball’s solos that simultaneously hold the aloof phrasing of cool jazz but also an element of a sort-of musical sarcasm. Cannonball, in his solos, seems evasive. Its apparent that he has a musical depth that saves songs such as this from what might have seemed like a forgettable pop tune if it were played by lesser hands.

Miles was it.

Was Bud Powell the best bop pianist? Yes.

Let's Get Lost

Of course, I wasn’t around when most of the great jazz was being played. Not to say that there isn’t a lot of great jazz being played right now, but jazz today exists on the foundation built by the giants. Chet Baker wasn’t a giant, but he was a solid trumpet player with a mystique about him that lives on to this day. From the clean-cut, good boy looks of his younger days, to the gnarled and haggard visage that stares out from the last few photos of him after the trouble that had been chasing finally caught him, Baker was one of those who defined West coast cool jazz with his laconic singing style and minimal playing.

Coltrane footage is probably old news to jazz fans, but I can never get enough of watching Coltrane tell his story. Dolphy on this clip complements Coltrane's stuff perfectly. Too bad when I saw McCoy Tyner at Gilly's in Dayton, Ohio, he'd seemed to have lost his touch. The ballads he played that night were nice but not what I came to see.

Point of Departure

Andrew Hill recently passed away. His album Point of Departure is worth a listen if you haven't heard that one. I originally bought it because I wanted to hear even more of Eric Dolphy, but I ended up appreciating Hill's sparse style. He is rather influenced by Monk to an obvious degree but his compositions usually seem less grouchy or funky than Monk's stuff. Hill's perspective is more cerebral and spacey, from what I remember, and my only criticism of what I ever heard by him was that some of what he wrote seemed nearly *too* formless. I was left hoping that his songs would start to groove a little more, even if only for a few bars. Dolphy on Point of Departure is his usual absolutely original self.

Speaking of Eric Dolphy, I did listen to my Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot again the other day. Dolphy paired with Mal Waldron I think is a better combination for whatever reason. I think Mal Waldron's meditative and somewhat repetitive musings are a needed counterpoint to Dolphy's wild pyrotechnics. And on the Five Spot recording you also get Eddie Blackwell and Richard Davis providing rhythm and you can't get better than that. I've always loved Blackwell playing alongside Ornette Coleman--they both had kind of an undercurrent of humor to what they did. Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison leap to mind as another great rhythm duo that provided a foundation for another legendary improviser. Coltrane was on a spiritual journey that was deadly serious, though.

The Duke

Steve Halle’s comment to my Mingus post made me break out the Mingus box set, Thirteen Pictures, which I haven’t listened to in a while, to hear one song, Duke Ellington’s "Wig Wise." Ellington, Mingus, and Max Roach on drums make one of the best lineups for a trio ever. Ellington on "Wig Wise" plays as if he were Mario Andretti alone at the test track casually taking a new prototype Ferrari for a leisurely 200 mph first spin. There’s nothing to prove when the world has already been conquered. He only turns up the heat once in the entire song, as his first solo reaches a mild crescendo of self-assuredness and then Ellington slyly pulls back and retreats again into subtlety and wisdom. Mingus cleverly squeezes solos neatly inside his backbeat bass rhythms almost nearly at the same time that Duke is taking his own lush solos, and both must’ve been smiling at this interchange—a game of chess between mafia don and his number one hired gun. Three+ minutes of jazz perfection.

This morning I also felt like throwing on the ESP Milford Graves disc, You Never Heard Such Sounds In Your Life. ESP, the record label, has a stellar catalogue, and the story of ESP records is nearly as interesting as the list of artists they recorded. From 1964 to 1975 ESP issued many remarkable dates with jazz and folk artists, starting in '64 with the Albert Ayler side, Spiritual Unity. ESP avowed that they would record iconoclasts and let the artists decide what constituted a final take--ideas that seem even more avant-garde in light of today's music scene, where corporate interests have eclipsed what remained of artistic integrity. You Never Heard Such Sounds In Your Life, with Milford Graves and Sunny Morgan, is a certified gem because its multi-layered, waves of percussion are so rewarding after repeat listenings. It's one of the most unique discs I own because it's completely free of any influence other than the sounds that may be produced by percussive effects. Within the span of any given two minutes on this recording there are numerous percussive infinitesimals, which lead the listener down multiple sonic pathways--some are blind alleys, but the sum total of the effort is huge. ESP's catalog is amazing.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Roland Kirk was an eccentric, even by jazz standards, who was capable of playing several instruments simultaneously. By using circular breathing he could sustain a single note indefinitely, and he had the finesse and technical ability to play simple melodies and complex multi-harmonic solos effortlessly. With the rough edges of a street musician, he was typecast early on as a player who relied on gimmicks to gain an audience. It took some time for critics to realize he was the real thing, although the musicians he played with had known it all along. The man was ran·dom.

Miles Smiles

Ok, so this is what they're doing inside the YMCA. Sun Ra provides us with perhaps the most bizarre keyboard solo ever caught on tape. Half Parliament and half Duke Ellington, Sun Ra was wholly unique. His musicianship was incomparable and this video isn't the best representation of his capabilities, but I thought you may enjoy it.



Miles playing So What. Nothing needs to be said about this. It speaks for itself. From the very first note, Miles takes you back to school. He defined cool.

Mingus Ah Um

When I think of the greatest jazz albums of all time I always have to think of Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Mingus is my favorite bassist of all time--at least today. Ron Carter and Ray Brown are up there too. Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a feast unlike any other jazz album. The moods swing from euphoria to despair and all points in between with bluesy beats, flamenco guitar, and heaps of soul. The album doesn't let up and the listener is transported to another place entirely. It's relentless, brilliant, and after repeated listenings just gets better with age.