An introduction to jazz This damned post follows me everywhere... "The greatness of jazz is that it is an art of the moment" - Charles Mingus "What [Coltrane] finally had, what he really had and wanted and developed, he could no longer play because that wasn't new anymore... It destroyed him... And he became frustrated and worried. Then he started hurting, getting pains, and he got scared... And the pains got worse... they got so bad he couldn't stand the pain... So they carried him to a hospital but he was too far gone... Fear killed him. His life killed him. That thing killed him." - Art Pepper Here follows a highly partial and opinionated account of some of the greatest music and musicians you will ever hear. I'm making no attempt to be comprehensive (the subject is far too big for that), and wouldn't expect anybody else to agree with all of my choices. Additions, disagreements, catcalls, are all welcomed. In the end I decided it was better to concentrate on a dozen or so acknowledged geniuses of the music in a little bit of detail than try to cover too much. Nearly all the records I recommend are easy to get hold of on CD, and most can be found on vinyl with a bit of searching. A few notes about history and method. Jazz is predominantly a black working-class American music, but I won't get much of a chance to explore the connections between its sociology and its sound. Where appropriate, though, I have suggested some books that help put this stuff into context. The music stands entirely on its own, but most of the great jazz musicians led intense, fast, and frequently tragically short lives, at a time of war and rapid social change, and the kinetic excitement and improvisational dynamism of the greatest jazz reflects that experience (this is why jazz is one of the few popular musical forms to have inspired great literature). The music has a history of at least a century, and to keep this post manageable I'll concentrate on what is generally regarded as its golden age, from the 1950s to the 1960s, with only a brief nod to the early and the contemporary. I will also miss out entirely the great jazz singers (Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, et al), who deserve their own post, fusion, and also the monstrous supper-club light entertainment which is a lot of what passes for "jazz" today (I think Frank Zappa had that in mind when he said "Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny"). Early Pioneers No room for Jelly Roll Morton or any of the others who lay claim to inventing jazz in New Orleans at the turn of the century, so straight onto: Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971) Born in New Orleans, spent a very rough childhood in children's homes and on the streets, living a life of hustling and petty crime. Nowadays mostly regarded as a bit of a joke, or at best a light entertainer, largely because of the success of his vocal hits, Hello Dolly, Wonderful World, and We Have All the Time in the World, few now realise he was one of the most innovative and influential trumpet and cornet players who ever lived. (Miles Davis famously said of him, "You know, you can't play anything on the horn that Louis hasn't already played".) Armstrong's great contribution was to revolutionise the possibilities inherent in the blues tradition, by stamping his own unique, dirty, wild and mostly phenomenally powerful trumpet tone on the plantation music and country blues that had previously defined this new music, "jazz". He was the first player to foreground the improvising soloist, a development that changed the music forever. His early recordings, from 1926 - 1930, recorded with two groups, the Hot Fives and the Hot Sevens, are amongst the bluesiest, most rhythmically dynamic and plain entertaining records in all of jazz, and are available in complete form on CD in a box set called Hot Fives & Sevens (JSP Records). If you don't buy anything else I recommend in this post, buy this. Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974) Made his first recordings in 1924, and his last in 1973, an astonishing achievement when you consider the quality of his work throughout most of those 50 years. Generally regarded as the most important bandleader and composer in jazz, and widely admired as one of the pre-eminent American composers in any genre. Probably the single most important individual the music has produced, with an enormous back catalogue, much of it compilations of varying quality and legality (lots of jazz is heavily bootlegged, even on labels widely available in any record shop), so it's impossible to do justice to him here. A few cast-iron classics: Anything with the great Blanton-Webster band of 1939-1941 (there's a lovely 3 CD box of this on RCA Victor, called, oddly enough, The Blanton-Webster Band), which features Ben Webster on sax, the wonderful Johnny Hodges (also sax), and Jimmy Blanton, a magnificent bass player. Black, Brown and Beige (1958, recently reissued on Columbia CD with extra material). A highly political suite, but also a beautiful, almost sacred piece of work, featuring gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Ellington at Newport 1956 (Columbia). By the mid-50s, many thought Ellington was running out of ideas, and the economics of taking a large band on the road were beginning to tell. Then he played the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956, one of the most talked-about gigs of all time, and proved he still had greatness. Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (1962, Impulse Records). More about Coltrane later, but here Duke meets the king of the new, and proves he can hold his own with any avant-guardist. Includes the most sublime version of "In a Sentimental Mood" I have ever heard, in which Trane plays the most delicate tenor imaginable over Duke's gorgeous, sketched, piano line. ... and his mother called him Bill (1967, RCA/Bluebird). A tribute to Duke's co-writer and pianist, Billy Strayhorn, recorded very soon after Strayhorn's death. One of the most yearning and exquisite records I know, and my favourite Ellington record. Includes a solo version of "Lotus Blossom" (the tune Strayhorn most liked to hear Duke play), with just Duke on piano, the tape still running as the rest of the band can be heard packing up in the background, Duke playing just to himself, with such tenderness for the memory of his dead friend it can make a grown man weep. The High Point - 1950s to 1960s Charlie Parker - aka Bird (1920 -1955) The archetypal live fast, die young story, except he didn't leave a beautiful corpse - when the coroner examined Parker's drug and alcohol ravaged body, he assumed he was dealing with the corpse of a man in his 60s. Parker was 36. He was also the greatest alto sax player who ever lived, and is widely credited (along with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk) with inventing bebop, the small-group musical form of the late 40s and early 50s which raised frenetic improvisation on the melody line to the centre of jazz, and was among the most radical and startling turns genuinely popular music (in a mass-market sense) ever took. (Important point, that - for the period up to the 50s, jazz, even in its most experimental form, was a popular, not an "art", music. Later, when it became dislocated from that audience with the arrival of, first rock 'n roll, and then, the British Invasion of the 60s, it took a much more insular, abstract turn.) Virtually everything Bird ever recorded (including many live performances) is available, and it's hard to know where to start. If nothing else, go for The Complete Dial Sessions (a 4 CD box containing essential sessions from 1946-1947), and for the later recordings on Verve there are several excellent compilations (Bird's Best Bop and Confirmation are very good). Real afficionados should get the 7 CD Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings (Mosaic Records). Benedetti was a Bird fan who recorded hundreds of his solos at live performances throughout 1947-48. Sound quality is ropey at best, but the music is amazing. Parker also played in 1953 (as "Charlie Chann", since he was under contract to another label at the time) in what was billed as "The Quintet of the Year" (with Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Charles Mingus on bass, Max Roach on drums, and the troubled but brilliant Bud Powell on piano - Powell's life story is a painful and sad history of mental illness and depression) on a live album released as Jazz at Massey Hall (reissued on the OJC label), probably the most famous jazz gig ever. A recent book (Quintet of the Year, by Geoffrey Haydon, published by Aurum) gives a fascinating account of the interlocking histories of the five men concerned, and is a very good introduction to the 50s "New Thing". Having mentioned Bud Powell (1924 - 1966), now would be a good time to recommend any of his Blue Note recordings of the early 50s, especially The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 1 and Volume 2, or, if you're feeling flush, the CD box The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings. Bud's music can be very dark (much like his mental state), but has a weary beauty that is unlike anything else in jazz. He also, by contrast, plays one of the most joyful, swinging, piano solos on record on Charles Mingus's 1960 Live at Antibes (Atlantic), on "I'll Remember April", an album worth buying for that alone. Hmmm, Mingus. Now things are starting to get really interesting. Charles Mingus (1922 - 1979) A force of nature. A huge bear of a man, with correspondingly huge appetites (of all kinds), and a genius to match. After Ellington (his most-loved inspiration), the greatest bandleader and jazz composer, and the best bass player ever, bar none. His music is sacred and profane (often highly so), masculine and muscular, but interestingly in my experience he is the one jazz musician women can grow to really love, even those who don't like jazz. There is something very dangerous and alluring about Mingus's personality, no doubt. Caught in the maelstrom of American racial politics in the 1960s, and of half-black half-Indian ancestry, Mingus was always prepared to stand his ground and brook no compromise. (As an example, he wanted to call his autobiography Half Yeller Schitt-Coloured ******, and this at a time when racial politics were at their most sensitive. In the end the book was published under a title the publishers preferred - Beneath the Underdog - but is still a powder-keg, one of the funniest and most gloriously obscene autobiographies I have ever read.) My view of Mingus is that any sane and rational human being should own everything he ever recorded, but that's not very helpful I guess, so here's the edited highlights: Pithecanthropus Erectus (Atlantic 1956). His first masterpiece, and often regarded as the birth of a consciously post-bebop modernity, which will lead eventually to the completely free jazz of the late 60s. (Another important sideline - the great jazz musicians always knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish musically, even when improvising the most freely.) Some great alto playing from Jackie McLean, and the lovely "Profile of Jackie". Imagine Ellington's big-band dynamics and lushness seen through the prism of small-group bebop with its harder, more urban rhythm, and freer melodies, and you get some idea of what Mingus is beginning to achieve. Blues and Roots (Atlantic 1959). Under-rated, because it is followed soon after by a string of masterpieces, but massively enjoyable. Gospel and blues get thrown into the already potent mix (a lethal combination which swings harder than any music ever made, and a trick Mingus will pull off many times again). Wonderful, especially the opener, "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", which is so goddam joyous I challenge anyone to listen to it at top volume without grinning like an idiot. Mingus Ah Um (Columbia 1959). Another masterpiece. More gospel joy on "Better Git It In Your Soul", and an exquisite tribute to Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat". By now Mingus is unstoppable. Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (Candid 1960). Contains the original "Fables of Faubus" (a withering attack on a racist politician), the astonishing "What Love" (an incredible duet between Mingus and Eric Dolphy), and a tune with the best title ever ("All the Things You Could Be By Now If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother"). Features virtuoso sax and clarinet from Eric Dolphy, probably the greatest woodwind player in jazz history, and somebody who won't get enough space in this summary, but who made many great records as both bandleader and with others (notably as a guest player with John Coltrane). Like too many, Dolphy died far too young (36, diabetes). Mingus Oh Yeah (Atlantic 1961). Features the astonishing blind multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk, who was fond in later life of playing two saxes simultaneously. Opens with "Hog Callin' Blues", a raucous stomp, and includes the wondrous "Ecclusiastics", which is another joyful noise unto the creator. The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse 1963). Mingus's greatest record (which, if you've been following closely, gives you an indication of just how good it is). The point at which his Ellington inspiration is most exquisitely integrated into his own unique musical universe, features liner notes by Mingus's psychiatrist (!). Often overlooked is an album of Mingus playing solo piano (Mingus Plays Piano, Impulse 1963), which I love for reasons I can't explain. Opens with a beautiful version of his "Myself When I Am Real", a title which tells you a lot about Mingus's uncompromising musical honesty, and is also the title of a terrific recent biography (Gene Santoro, Oxford University Press). Miles Davis (1926 - 1991) I'm not going to say much about Miles, which some will find very surprising, but to be honest others are better placed to comment. I'm simply not convinced by him. However, there is no denying his influence and importance, over a very long period. My favourite Miles albums are 4 records he made for Prestige over the space of a couple of days in 1956: Relaxin', Workin', Steamin' and Cookin'. There are also other good things like Birth of the Cool (very important, Capitol 1950), Milestones (Columbia 1958, includes a terrific version of Monk's "Straight No Chaser"), ESP (Columbia 1965, with Wayne Shorter to the fore), Miles Smiles (Columbia 1966, also with some excellent Shorter tunes), and, from the later period Live Evil (Columbia 1970, in my view the best of his fusion albums by some distance). I think my problem with Miles is that his trumpet tone is simply too beautiful, too honeyed, for my taste, or too smothered in the fractured funk of the later period. I also think Kind of Blue is the most over-rated record in jazz history, much as I love "So What". Don't flame me if you think different, just come up with some better suggestions! Thelonious Monk (1917 - 1982) Credited as one of the inventors of bebop, and wrote many tunes that are now standards ("Round Midnight" and "Straight No Chaser" are two of the most-covered tunes in history). To me, his music sounds nothing like bebop, in fact it sounds like nothing else I've ever heard, and he's my favourite piano player by a long way. Monk was a deeply strange, introverted man, apparently living almost entirely in his own private universe. One gets the feeling that nobody ever really got to know him, neither his wife, nor any of his close friends or fellow musicians. But his sax player, Charlie Rouse, a major talent in his own right, loved Monk deeply enough to stay with him, playing his difficult, argumentative, angular music for many years, instead of branching out on his own. John Coltrane (who played with Monk for many months at the Five Spot in New York in 1957, when Miles had sacked Coltrane from his band for heroin addiction), said of him, "He would show me all the answers to my musical questions just by playing them." Monk also taught Coltrane the technique of circular breathing, by which a horn player can play for long periods without pausing to take a breath, even though Monk himself was a pianist, not a horn player. The best illustration I know of Monk's technique can be found in the 16 CD (!) box The Complete Riverside Recordings (released originally, I believe, on the 1956 Prestige album The Unique Thelonious Monk). It's a version of the old chestnut "Tea For Two", in which Monk completely dissects the tune and rearranges it in utterly surprising, and extremely surreal, ways. It's a bit like watching somebody creating a piece of dazzling abstract modern sculpture from entirely familiar and prosaic source material. On the whole, people either love Monk or hate him. If you hate him, it's because you find his music dissonant and arhythmic, or frustrating because you simply can't find any historical precedent for it. If you love him, it's probably for the same reasons. He's not a delicate player by any means (although he wrote some beautiful ballads, like "Pannonica", which he plays exquisitely), but he's a genuine original. In my view, he's the first truly "modern" modernist, but I hope that doesn't make him sound austere. He was also a playful and witty performer, fond of getting up and dancing a soft-shoe shuffle around his piano as his band played his quirky, askance-looking music. "Music with one eyebrow raised" is as good a description as I can come up with. All of Monk's great early recordings from 1947-1951 are collected on two Blue Note records, Genius of Modern Music, Volumes 1 and 2, which are also available in a nice CD box with extra takes. Contains one classic tune after another ("Humph", "Ruby My Dear", "Well You Needn't", "Off Minor", "In Walked Bud", "Round Midnight", "Criss Cross", "Straight No Chaser", etc - all of these are now standards and would secure Monk's place as an important composer even if he'd never written anything ever again). In 1955 Monk signed for Riverside Records and released a string of classic records (all collected on the 16 CD box mentioned above, which is really essential for anybody who loves this stuff, but also all available separately). All of his Riverside material is worth hearing, but the stand-outs include: Brilliant Corners (1956, featuring the great Sonny Rollins on tenor, and Max Roach on drums), Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane (1957), Misterioso (1958), Thelonious Alone in San Fransisco (1959, a beautiful solo recording). Sax player Charlie Rouse joined Monk in 1959, and there is a wealth of live and studio material from this band (usually featuring Larry Gales on bass and Ben Riley on drums), much of the best of it released by Columbia. Three highlights from the Columbia period: Live at the It Club (1964). Recently reissued on double CD, this is a great place to start with Monk. Very good for a live recording, this finds Monk and band on great form, and shows the telepathic understanding Rouse has of Monk's methods. If you don't like this, chances are you won't like any Monk, which is why it's such a good place to start. Straight No Chaser (1967). Some new material, and surprising re-workings of some classics. Monk Alone (1968). A double CD compilation of all of Monk's solo recordings for Columbia. Impossible to over-rate. Two good documentaries, available on DVD: Straight No Chaser (produced by Clint Eastwood, who should be beatified for putting the money up), and Thelonious Monk: American Composer. Both of these are available from amazon.com in the USA, and are region-free, so will play on any DVD player. Watching Monk play is delightful, and both contain good live footage. John Coltrane (1926 - 1967) To my ears the greatest musician who ever lived. (Sorry, this whole thing is turning into a stream of superlatives!) I have almost no critical sense when it comes to Trane, since IMO he has the most beautiful tenor and soprano sax tone I have ever heard, whether he's playing ballads or some of the free-est, angriest music ever put on tape. Even though he was only 40 when he died, he crammed enough musical invention into a short (around 10 year) period to last a lifetime. If I ever end up on Desert Island Discs I could happily take all 8 records from Trane, and not feel I was missing anything. His music encompasses everything I could possibly want. Trane is the fulcrum of the development of the music from post-bop to what is loosely termed "free jazz", and his development can very roughly be split into four phases: 1. His early period with Miles, up to 1957 - he's the tenor player on Kind of Blue, for example. At this time, Trane is playing a very poetic, but also a very dynamic, modal music, often described as "sheets of sound", giving a bit of grit to Miles's "cool" style. 2. The early period as a band-leader, mostly with Atlantic, which begins with pure statements of modalism (on the sitar-influenced "My Favourite Things", for example) but then develops beyond sheets of sound into more meditative, blues-inflected territory. 3. The 1961-1965 period on Impulse Records, with the classic quartet (McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums) in which his music develops great spiritual weight and depth, and which is many people's favourite period. 4. The 1965-1967 final period, also on Impulse, in which Trane disbanded the quartet, and recorded totally free large-band pieces (such as "Ascension"), and furious small-group explorations with a second, extremely free, sax player (Pharoah Sanders), his second wife Alice on piano (with an angular, discursive style entirely unlike the more poetic McCoy Tyner), Garrison on bass, and furious polyrhythmic drummer Rashied Ali. Many people who like his earlier work find his later music very hard going, so be aware of that if you hear something you don't like - try something else, you may be surprised. Impossible to list everything, so here's some highlights (missing out all the pre-Atlantic material, much of which is great): Giant Steps (Atlantic 1959). One of Trane's most purely enjoyable records, containing a beautiful ballad for his first wife, "Naima", and a fantastic, swinging blues ("Mr PC"), with a great bass line by Paul Chambers (for whom it is titled). My Favourite Things (Atlantic 1960). One of the biggest-selling jazz records ever. The title track - yes, it is the tune made famous by Julie Andrews - is one of the most famous recordings in jazz history, an incredible, Indian-inflected take on a saccharine sweet tune which completely turns it inside out, exploring endless avenues of possibility. Trane continued to play "My Favourite Things" in live performances throughout his career (often playing versions lasting over an hour, such as that on the much-later Impulse release Live in Japan), transforming it in startling ways and never playing it the same way twice. The Heavyweight Champion (Atlantic, 7 CD box) collects all of Trane's Atlantic recordings, and is an essential document. Rhino Records released a limited edition vinyl version (which I'm lucky enough to own), which can still be found if you hunt it down. The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions (Impulse 4 CD box, also available as originally released as a 3-track album, Live at the Village Vanguard). Recorded over a few nights in 1961. Completely astonishing music, years ahead of its time, which shows how far Trane had come in a short time (his studio albums of the period only give a taste of how advanced he was). Trane's live performances were extended, improvisational marathons, and when he didn't have to concern himself with editing his playing for the demands of 30 minutes or so of LP reproduction he really flies. Includes a radical reworking of Miles's "So What" (called "Chasin' the Trane"), which is as free as music got in 1961, and a beautiful, weighty blues, "Spiritual". Ballads (Impulse 1962). By way of contrast, an album of lovely, meditative ballad playing. Recently reissued with lots of extra material, as part of a lovingly-executed ongoing programme of reissues to commemorate Trane's 75th anniversary. Crescent (Impulse 1964). Often overlooked. Quite dark and sombre, but very bluesy and delicate. A Love Supreme (Impulse 1964). What can I say? Also one of the biggest-selling jazz albums ever. An unchallenged masterpiece. Impulse are reissuing it at the end of October with extra material, and everybody should own it. A new book by Ashley Kahn (published by Granta, and called, unsurprisingly A Love Supreme) documents its making and is fascinating reading. The Classic Quartet - Complete Impulse Studio Recordings. As it says, a box containing all of Trane's classic quartet studio work, beautifully packaged, with very informative booklet and extra takes. Ascension (Impulse 1965). Post- classic quartet big band record, extraordinarily wild and exciting. Not everyone's cup of tea, I think it's fair to say. Meditations (Impulse 1965). A year after A Love Supreme, another suite, but this could not be more different. Incredibly muscular, and, in places, downright scary in its fury and intensity. Has the impact of a primal scream. Interstellar Space (Impulse 1967). My favourite record, in any genre. A series of completely improvised duets with drummer Rashied Ali, recorded on one afternoon in 1967. No second takes. The point at which jazz folds in upon itself, and reaches the singularity, becoming pure energy. Trane sounds like a man who has been mute all his life, suddenly given voice, and trying to say everything that can be said. Within a few months of this recording, he was dead. DVD: "The World According to John Coltrane" is an interesting documentary, with some terrific live footage. The Shock of the New, or, "Cor Baby That's Really Free" (with apologies to John Otway) - the 1960s to now Post-Trane, and in many ways as a direct result of his influence, jazz becomes dominated by the ethos of total group improvisation, rather than soloist improvisation around a composed melody. At its best, fully improvised music can be extraordinarily dynamic, injecting an overwhelming sense of the now-ness of the moment of its creation into normal reality. It is rarely easy listening, but offers tremendous emotional rewards if you give it focused attention. This post is already far too long, so I can't even begin to do this area justice. I'll concentrate on two prime examples - Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor - but be aware I'm missing out an enormous amount of other worthy stuff. Ornette Coleman (1930 - ) The most important post-Trane innovator. In fact, his early records are contemporaneous with Trane, and they had a major impact on Trane's own development. Also a very important influence on avant-rock (Captain Beefheart and The Soft Machine, for example, both name Ornette amongst their inspirations). Mostly an alto player, but occasionally tenor, trumpet, and violin (with a technique which will probably not endear itself to the classical heads on this forum!). Generally prefers to play a plastic alto, favouring its dry tone. (No, that is not a cue to start a flat/round earth debate, although I can't resist pointing out that if a musician of Ornette's calibre knows what "dry" means in a musical context, that's good enough for me!) Ornette's music is very wide ranging, from small-group improvisation to symphonies ("Skies of America", played by the LSO, featuring Ornette on sax, has recently been reissued on CD by Columbia), but its great strength is its organic connection to the blues, which gives it a solid anchor in human experience. At its best it has a mournful dignity, which is why I personally found it very easy to get into, I think. Others find it harder work, but I think if you concentrate on the earlier material and give it time you'll find yourself enjoying the experience more and more. Something Else! (OJC 1958) and Tomorrow is the Question (OJC 1959). Ornette's first records, and impossible to overstate the impact they had at the time. Completely divided critics and fellow musicians. In light of the turn the music later took, can now, with hindsight, clearly be seen as extremely influential and important, although Ornette had not yet found entirely sympathetic players for his music. That changed in the next year, when he put together a band to rival Trane's classic quartet - Don Cherry on trumpet, Billy Higgins on drums, and the fantastic bass player, Charlie Haden - and recorded three essential albums for Atlantic, all in 1960: The Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, and This Is Our Music. Change of the Century is my favourite Ornette album, containing beautiful, fractured blues. The first track, "Ramblin", is the piece I play to anybody who wants to hear some modern jazz for the first time, and I have yet to meet anybody who doesn't think it's great. (BTW, if you recognise Haden's terrific bassline on this track, it's because it was lifted - unchanged - for Ian Dury's "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll", something Dury was happy to admit when he chose it as his favourite record on Desert Island Discs.) All of Ornette's classic Atlantic albums are available on a 6 CD box (Beauty Is A Rare Thing). Irritatingly, the box organises the material chronologically, and breaks up the running order of the original albums, but if you're not familiar with the records as originally released I guess that won't bother you. It's an essential purchase despite that. At The Golden Circle (Blue Note 1965). Available on two CDs (Volumes 1 and 2), a live concert from Stockholm. Volume 1, particularly, is superb, particularly "Faces and Places" and "European Echoes". This is a trio performance, featuring David Izenzon on muscular bass, and a truly great drummer, Charles Moffat. Volume 2 foregrounds Ornette's violin, and is probably a more acquired taste. Ornette at 12 (Impulse 1969). For some unaccountable reason, this appears to be unavailable in any format, although I have a much-treasured vinyl original. A live recording from 1969, featuring Dewey Redman on tenor, Charlie Haden on bass, and Ornette's 12 year old son (!), Denardo, on drums (very impressive he is too, and he has gone on to become an extremely accomplished drummer working with a wide range of groups). Well worth hunting the second-hand shops for. There may well be a Japanese reissue available from somewhere (the Japanese have an abiding love for quality modern jazz, and Japanese CD and LP reissues are generally beautifully done). In the late 1960s, Ornette created what could be described as a fusion group, Prime Time, which recorded periodically up to 1995, featuring a number of great guitarists (including, briefly, Vernon Reid, who later went on to form Living Color), and the incendiary drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. Ornette's approach to fusion is radically different from the norm - he tends to bleach the funk out of the mix, making for a combination of amplified guitar and squalling brass that is often very impressive. Sadly, a lot of Prime Time records are unavailable, but two of them at least are still in print: Body Meta (Verve 1975) and Dancing in Your Head (A&M 1975). Cecil Taylor (1930 - ) An extraordinary pianist, with a playing style that treats the piano as, in the words of Val Wilmer, "88 tuned drums". (Wilmer's book, "As Serious As Your Life", is an essential introduction to post-Trane improvisation, and she's a terrific photographer too.) Taylor is unique amongst jazz musicians in that his music seems to bear very little relationship to the blues. He has an unbelievably percussive, quick-fire style, and, although now in his 70s, is still capable of playing at quite astonishing levels of intensity for hours at a time. (I saw him play at the RFH as a guest of Bang On A Can a few months ago, and the power of his playing scared the youngsters so much that two of them found themselves unable to keep up with him at all, and decided not to play.) Taylor has amassed an enormous back catalogue, but unfortunately some of his best records are hard to find (often they were released on small labels who simply don't make enough money from sales to justify keeping his albums in print, although thankfully he is now gaining the recognition he deserves, so sales are correspondingly higher. For years he had to work as a dishwasher to make a living.) Although Taylor's music has evolved over the 45 years he has been recording, his greatness is confirmed by the fact that he seemed to arrive fully-formed, with no historical precedent. I would recommend buying any one of the records I mention here, and then, if you like it, just dive in and get hold of anything you can. Although not uniformly excellent, all of his records are worth hearing. Much as with Trane, I find it hard to pick favourites, but here's just a taste: Jazz Advance (Blue Note 1956). Taylor's debut, and probably one of the most incendiary opening statements of intent ever recorded. Features Steve Lacy on soprano sax, one of the few musicians in this period who really understood Taylor's genius. The World of Cecil Taylor (Candid 1960). With Archie Shepp on tenor, one of the greatest post-Trane tenor players (his own tribute to Trane, Four For Trane is well worth investigating). Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come (Revenant 1962). A recent reissue on John Fahey's Revenant Records, a beautifully packaged (but poorly recorded) reissue of concert material from Copenhagen in 1962. Also available with some tracks missing as Trance (Black Lion) and on Polydor vinyl (hunt the second-hand shops) as Innovations. One of the greatest live records I know of, and probably Taylor's most important statement. Features his regular sax player Jimmy Lyons, and the great Sunny Murray on drums. An intense experience, a bit like being carried over the edge of a waterfall. One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (HatHut 1980). A live performance of a single, unbroken piece of music from 1978, spread over 3 albums in the original LP release, and recently reissued in limited edition CD form by HatHut's HatArt imprint. A music with no concept of the soloist, the whole band playing for nearly 2 hours as a single, organic, pulsing unity. Tremendous. OK, there you have it. Time to stop, I think. If you made it this far, you probably already know all this or you're a glutton for punishment. Either way, get yourself down to a record shop and start listening! Finally, this is a long way from being the last word on the subject, so I hope others add to what I've written -- Ian
An Introduction to JazzRock An Introduction to Jazz Rock/Fusion The obvious definition: Essentially a midpoint between rock song forms and jazz instrumentation. It is easier to say what it isn't! Unfortunately many people associate Fusion with elevator music and shopping malls, with that wistful sax playing over a gentle drum beat. Kenny G has a lot to answer for, as has Syrogyra (with a couple of exceptions). If you were to do a search on Jazz Fusion, Dave Koz will be found to be the biggest selling artist on Amazon. This is smooth Jazz and is about as close to Fusion as ELO's Roll over Beethoven is to Classical music. No you'll have to read on to get an idea of what it is. Certain parts will appeal to some more than others but I can guarantee that no matter what your musical taste there is a Fusion album out there waiting for you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jazz/Rock didn't evolve until the late '60s. The first acts to be widely identified as jazz-rock bands (and, to this day, the most successful) weren't so much jazz-rockers as R&B-oriented White rock bands with jazzy horn sections. The Electric Flag featuring Mike Bloomfield, Buddy Miles and Nick Gravenites were the first of these; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago became huge stars, although the MOR nature of their hits led some critics to dub them as "wedding band" or "bar mitzvah" soul. A more ambitious, although extremely obscure, jazz-rock record that predates any of the bands in the above paragraph was the sole album by the New York-based Free Spirits featuring the young Larry Coryell on guitar. This interesting but erratic effort came much closer to truly striking a midpoint between rock song forms and jazz instrumentation, although the songs remained in the neighbourhood of three minutes, and the vocals were fairly weak. Concentrating more on the jazz and instrumental side of things, Coryell became one of the leading early jazz-rock and fusion performers as the leader of Eleventh House and as a solo artist. Several British '60s bands featured players that emerged from a jazz background, most notably the Graham Bond Organization. Besides the leader, they featured Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in their pre- Cream days, and, for a time, guitarist John McLaughlin, although they quickly gravitated toward the R&B and blues sounds of the day. Bruce and Baker have occasionally recorded respectable jazz albums right up to the present, and Bond- John Mayall spin-off-band Colosseum were probably the best jazz-oriented act to emerge from the British R&B-blues scene. The most successful British jazz-rock band of all, and indeed the one act that could be termed to have truly fused the two styles more than any other, were the Soft Machine. Starting as an underground psychedelic group (and a very good one), their late-'60s and early-'70s albums turned toward an increasingly improvisational and instrumental sound, retaining rock elements in Mike Ratledge's buzzing organ and Robert Wyatt's brilliant drumming and soulful vocals. For most critics, though, the true peak of jazz-rock was reached by Miles Davis on his early-'70s recordings. Impressed by Jimi Hendrix and other late-'60s rock musicians, Davis brought electric guitars and keyboards into his band, culminating in the landmark 1970 LP Bitches Brew, roundly acclaimed as one of the most influential jazz recordings of all time. That record featured guitarist John McLaughlin, who would immediately become a leading jazz-rock figure himself, on his own, with Davis, with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and in collaborations with ex- Davis drummer Tony Williams and Carlos Santana. Other jazz musicians took the cue from Davis, always a leader and innovator, and added electric instruments and rock-influenced rhythms to their sound. Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Weather Report were the best of these groups, although it's fair to say that, even more than Davis, they were really "rock-influenced jazz," not "jazz-rock." The compositions were usually instrumental, the melodic themes and improvisations clearly from the jazz tradition; the rock influence was felt in the electric instruments and the forceful funk of the arrangements. Not unsurprisingly, jazz-rock quickly turned in a more commercial, watered-down direction that resulted in the style known as "fusion." As work became harder to find in the struggling jazz scene of the late '60s, notable jazzmen like Lou Donaldson, Herbie Mann, Les McCann, Hugh Masekela and Grant Green had already been turning in a jazz-soul direction as a means of both broadening their horizons and survival. Many jazz players, usually for brief periods, brought electric instruments and funk rhythms into their arrangements during the 1970s, resulting by and large in unimpressive, at times embarrassing, results. Guitarist George Benson and trumpeter Donald Byrd, to name two of the most obvious examples, found much greater commercial success as pop-fusioneers than with their more critically respected straight jazz efforts of the '60s. Jazz-rock hasn't been a big critical or commercial deal since the mid-'70s, but occasional innovators have produced interesting efforts along the lines of the best jazz-rock pioneers. Frank Zappa couldn't properly be considered a jazz-rock musician, but several of his '70s recordings, most notably Hot Rats, rank among the most ambitious blends of rock and jazz principles. Guitarist James Blood Ulmer and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson (whose band, the Decoding Society, featured future Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid) were both students of the Ornette Coleman school of harmolodics. The best of their records have melded jazz improvisation, funk rhythms, and visceral electric drive as well as anyone. Coleman himself drew on jazz-rock innovations with his Prime Time band. Streetwise jazz poets Gil-Scott Heron and the Last Poets helped lay the foundation for rap music. Defunkt merged jazz and funk rhythms without, at least at the beginning, pandering to watered-down commercial fusion interests. And, most unpredictably, folk-rock star Joni Mitchell delved heavily into jazz improvisation in the late '70s with the help of sidemen Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny and put lyrics to Charles Mingus' last compositions (at his request) on the 1979 album, Mingus. The jazz-rock fusion continues to tempt musicians intermittently in the '90s. Several bands on the alternative rock label SST, most notably Alter Natives and Bazooka, played what was essentially improvisational jazz with fierce electric guitar-driven arrangements. The downtown New York avant-rock-whatchamacallit scene is too eclectic to be figured easily into the jazz-rock equation, but many of its performers are clearly strongly influenced by both worlds. Under the pseudonym Buckshot LeFonque, leading contemporary jazz musician Branford Marsalis took a stab at jazz-funk-R&B-soul-hip-hop. British act Us3 grafted hip-hop samples onto classic Blue Note jazz recordings, sparking some occasionally inspired jazz-hip-hop crossover recordings in the jazz community itself. Below is 7 must have Jazz/Rock Albums Bitches Brew(1969) Musicians: MILES DAVIS-trumpet; WAYNE SHORTER-soprano sax; LENNY WHITE-drums; BENNIE MAUPIN-bass clarinet; CHICK COREA-electric piano; JIM RILEY-percussion; JACK DEJOHNETTE-drums; HARVEY BROOKS-fender bass; CHARLES ALIAS-drums; DAVE HOLLAND-bass; JOHN MCLAUGHLIN-electric guitar; JOE ZAWINUL-electric piano; LARRY YOUNG-electric piano This is the album that started it all. Though it was by no means the first recording to attempt a jazz-rock merger, Bitches Brew became the catalyst for a movement that would raise jazz to unprecedented heights of popularity. The list of musicians that performed on this album reads like a Who's Who of future prominent jazz-rock artists. Recorded six months after In a Silent Way, the music of Bitches Brew refines and extends the incipient steps taken towards jazz-rock integration on the previous album. Comprised of extended, freely improvised pieces, the album is nevertheless made accessible by the use of popular electronic instruments and by a reliance on a rock rhythmic underpinning . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emergency(1969) Musicians: TONY WILLIAMS-drums; JOHN MCLAUGHLIN-guitar; LARRY YOUNG-keyboards Tony Williams's Emergency was recorded three months before Bitches Brew and is in many ways a more satisfying statement. Charged by Tony Williams' aggressive drumming and John McLaughlin's Tal Farlow meets Jimi Hendrix approach to guitar playing, the music on the album approached a new level of jazz-rock synergy. The compositions on the album are more structured than those on Bitches Brew, but not to the extent of stifling group interplay. Of particular interest is the use of complex musical passages played in unison. The track "Spectrum" is a fine example of this type of playing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inner Mounting Flame(1971) Musicians: JOHN MCLAUGHLIN-guitar; BILLY COBHAM-drums; RICH LAIRD-bass; JAN HAMMER-piano; JERRY GOODMAN-violin Guitarist John McLaughlin, who had served his musical apprenticeship with Tony Williams and Miles Davis, formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971 and soon afterwards released Inner Mounting Flame. The music on this album is a revolutionary synthesis of various musical styles united by the energy of rock and the improvisational freedom of jazz. Elements from the blues, country, Indian classical music, and European classical music are found in an ecletic mix of compositions that range in emotional expression from the drive of "The Noonward Race" to the tenderness of "A Lotus On Irish Streams." An important factor of the overall sound of the album is the use of electric instruments. In particular, the distorted timbres of McLaughlin's guitar, Jerry Goodman's violin, and Jan Hammer's piano as well as the use of effects such as the "wah wah" pedal, give the album much of its rock sensibility. A sensibility, however, that is augmented by an unprecedented level of instrumental virtuousity. Even today the drum introduction to "Vital Transformation", the guitar playing on "The Noonward Race" and the ensemble playing on "Awakening" strike the listener as feats requiring superhuman technique and endurance. The album is also notable for a variety of technical innovations. Among these are the use of Indian melodic and rhythmic phrasing, group improvisation, the use of non-standard time signatures, the superimposition of rhythmic "feels," and the tight integration of drum parts with musical passages. Some of these had been explored by past jazz artists but never fully developed. One especially interesting musical technique that was first explored on this album is the use of overlapping musical sections. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Headhunters(1973) Musicians: HERBIE HANCOCK-fender rhodes electric piano, hohner D 6 clavinet, arp ddysey synthesizer, arp soloist synthesizer, pipes; BENNIE MAUPIN-soprano and tenor saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute; PAUL JACKSON-electric bass and marimbula; HARVY MASON-yamaha drums; BILL SUMMERS-congas, shekere, balafon, agogo, cabasa, hindewho, tambourine, log drum, surdo, gankoqui and beer bottle Herbie Hancock's Headhunters was both groundbreaking and immensely popular. A mixture of jazz, electronics, and Sly Stone influenced funk rhythms, Headhunters became the best selling jazz album in history. It was also one of the most influential albums of the 1970's and was responsible for the rise of a funk based sub-genre of jazz-rock. Most of the pieces on the album are based on hypnotically repeating rhythms that, along with the African and Latin based percussion playing of Bill Summers, lend the music an earthiness that was new to jazz of the period. Two of the pieces, "Chameleon" and "Watermelon Man" became jazz standards. Despite the fact that it was an instrumental, "Chameleon" also became a hit single. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heavy Weather(1976) Musicians: JOE ZAWINUL-rhodes piano, acoustic piano, arp 2600, oberheim polyphonic, guitar, tabla, melodica; WAYNE SHORTER-soprano and tenor saxophone; JACO PASTORIUS-electric bass, mandocello, vocal, drums, steel drums; ALEX ACUNA-drums, handclap; MANOLO BADRENA-congas, tambourine, vocal, percussion Heavy Weather was Weather Report's breakthrough album. The sound of their earlier albums was a blend of free jazz, psychedelic rock and Bitches Brew period Miles Davis. Abandoning the style of these earlier albums for an approach that utilized elements from older jazz traditions allowed Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter to find the band's true focus. Some of the important elements of this new approach were Joe Zawinul's organic synthesizer voicings, Jaco Pastorious' sinuous bass lines, and Alex Acuna's ethnically informed percussion work. All of these elements are in evidence on the album's signature track "Birdland" which is a joyous ode to the legendary jazz nightclub named after Charlie "Bird" Parker. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Romantic Warrior(1976) Musicians: CHICK COREA-acoustic piano, fender rhodes, honer clavinet, mini moog, moog 15, micro mini moog, arp odyssey, yamaha organ, polymoog, marimba, percussion; STANLEY CLARKE-alembic bass with instant flanger, piccolo bass, acoustic bass, bell tree, hand bells; LENNY WHITE-drums, timpani, congas, timbales, hand bells, snare drum, suspended cymbals, alarm clock; AL DIMEOLA-electric guitars, acoustic guitar, soprano guitar, hand bells, slide whistle Romantic Warrior was Chick Corea's sixth album with the group Return to Forever(RTF). It was the first RTF album in which the various musical influences Corea had been experimenting with started to gel. The music is an eclectic melding of musical elements that range from Latin and classical to jazz and rock. Especially interesting in this respect is the extended piece "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" in which elements from classical music, such as counterpoint, are used to good effect. The fact that the members of this particular incarnation of RTF were all extremely advanced technically on their instruments resulted in an exceptionally well balanced instrumental performance. The role of the bass guitar as a solo and melodic instument in the music is especially notable and was a reflection of the general trend towards musical liberation that jazz-rock helped to foster. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I.O.U.(1982) Musicians: ALLAN HOLDSWORTH-guitar, violin; PAUL WILLIAMS-vocals; PAUL CARMICHAEL-bass; GARY HUSBAND-drums I.O.U. was Allan Holdsworth's second album as a leader and was the first album that fully showcased his unique talents as a performer and composer. Thoughout the album, Holdsworth's fluid, saxophonelike guitar solos wind through harmonically dense chord progressions held together by the tight bass playing of Paul Carmichael and the complex, uninhibited drumming of Gary Husband. Highlights include the haunting guitar swells in the introduction to "Shallow Sea" and the Coltranesque "sheets of sound" guitar technique on "The Things You See When You Haven't Got Your Gun." Holdsworth's legato soloing technique and unique harmonic sensibility influenced many jazz and rock musicians. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have many source on the web to thank for the above as a lot of it was select from various sites. That said, if I was enough of a wordsmith I may well have come up with something very similar and I agree entirely with the above recommendations.
Sideshow Bob- Thank you LARGE for that insightful post. Were I to recommend Trane tracks for inquiring minds it would be these . . My Favorite Things (from the album by the same name) Spiritual (from Live at The Village Vanguard) Afro Blue, The Promise and Alabama (from Live at Birdland) Out of This World (from Coltrane) Parts Two and Three (from A Love Supreme) Out of This World is transcendent to me as Coltrane remains faithful to the melody (written by Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer) returning to it many times to launch his excursions with more incredible depth of passion, mastery of his instrument (the tenor in this case) and intensity with each flight. Tracks Two and Three from A Love Supreme are similar but not quite the trip as they are shorter in length but contain (on Part Three) McCoy Tyner at his young and yearning best. Had the pleasure many times of seeing his core quartet at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. I would just add that the best sonics for all the band members are to be heard on the Verve release of a remastered John Coltrane- The Impulse! Albums.
Some comments and recs about and from and the Blue Note label . . You jazz aficianados may find this of interest or amusement: Under the cover photo of Hank Mobley written by Jim Goulding (who would be me)- http://www.hifizine.com/ By the way, this is a pretty well thought out online magazine from Australia. Get a load of the article about the wooden tonearm. Wow. In past issues which are accessible at the site, I've also written about Gil Evans, the recording quality of some Scandinavian labels, and more. Good articles about speakers and room acoustics abound and your comments or questions about any featured article are welcomed at the site. Enjoy.
I lived in New Orleans as a kid when Louis (Loui e)Armstrong was all the rage! I was aregular @ mardi gras, and lovef the pastry at the french quarter. But I also remember hearing & loving the music of a band called "Bill Blacks Combo"-extraordinary music! Even @ 8 or 9 yrs old , (60s) I still remember that band & their music.Was wondering if anyone else has heardof or heard them?
You can listen to them here - https://open.spotify.com/album/4ENjMOJ2vi38Ql7sDnVOGH First track 12-bar blues
