Archive for the Jazz Category

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Remembering Bird

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , , on March 18, 2012 by telescoper

Last week saw the 57th anniversary of the death of Charlie Parker, aka Bird, a musical genius on the saxophone whose influence not only on jazz but on twentieth century music is incalculable. I’ve posted quite a few tracks by Bird over the years and one thing I’ve learned from doing that is that he’s by no means everyone’s cup of tea. I can’t do anything about that, of course, but I can at least point out the existence of his wonderful legacy to those (regrettably many) people who’ve never heard of him or his musicI still remember the mixture of astonishment and exhilaration I felt when I first heard him on record and if I can give that sense of joy to just one person via the blogosphere then it’s worth a hundred posts.

Here’s Kim, another one of Bird’s tunes based on the rhythm changes, with an alto sax solo improvised at breakneck speed and with incredible virtuosity. The other day I was talking to a friend of mine who only has a passing interest in jazz and he asked me whether Charlie Parker really was that good. Well, if you’re asking that question to yourself, listen to this and then you’ll have the answer. As far as I’m concerned this is three minutes of pure awesome….

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Laughin’ to Keep from Cryin’

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , , , , on March 13, 2012 by telescoper

Neither the time nor the energy to post anything other than a bit of music, so I’ve picked a track someone happens to have posted on Youtube. I have Laughin’ to Keep from Cryin’ the original vinyl LP on the Verve label, but it’s still waiting for me to transfer it to digital. I love this record so much because it’s so joyful and at the same time so tragic. There’s some wonderfully upbeat stuff from the two trumpeters, the great Harry “Sweets” Edison (whom I’ve had the privilege to hear play live), who opens the piece, and then the perhaps even greater Roy Eldridge, but it’s also one of the last recordings made by legendary saxophonist Lester Young who was terminally ill with cancer at the time of this session in February 1958; he died just a year later. His formerly smooth tenor tone now ragged, barely able to stand or hold the saxophone, and playing almost in slow motion, he nevertheless manages to cast his fading light over the latter part of this tune and conjure up something quite magical. The other members of the band are Herb Ellis (guitar), Hank Jones (piano), George Duvivier (bass) and Mickey Sheen (drums) and this track is called Romping.

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Waltz of the Demons

Posted in Jazz with tags , , on March 3, 2012 by telescoper

I stumbled across this on Youtube; it’s in 3/4 time and I’ve never been very good at waltzing. I thought I’d post it on here because it features Booker Little, fabulous trumpet player who sadly died very young (at the age of 23) in 1961. He was an inspired improviser with a highly individual sense of phrasing, and an amazing ability to articulate complex ideas at fast tempi. Listening to him playing makes you wonder into what new directions he might have taken jazz had he lived even just a few years longer.

The band was led by alto saxophonist Frank Strozier, and the excellent rhythm section of Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) will be familiar to fans of Miles Davis. This track is called Waltz of the Demons..

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Wee

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , , on February 20, 2012 by telescoper

Here’s an exhilarating little duo featuring alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and the extraordinarily brilliant  pianist Tete Montoliu. Lou Donaldson at times sounds more like Charlie Parker than Charlie Parker ever did, but if you’re going to play bebop there’s no better example to follow. Tete Montoliu on the other hand never sounded like anyone other than himself. He was from  Barcelona, by the way, and was born completely blind. The tune, written by drummer Denzil Best, is called Wee although it does have an alternative title, Allen’s Alley; it’s yet another one built around the chord changes of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm. Anyway, it’s a typically intricate and edgy tune that finds these great musicians at their playful best.

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My Funny Valentines

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2012 by telescoper

I’m not really into all this St Valentine’s Day nonsense (meaning: “I never get any cards”), but at least it provides me with an excuse to post three versions of the great Rogers & Hart ballad  My Funny Valentine.

The first is by the great Miles Davis Quintet featuring Miles Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter bass and Tony Williams on drums. This was recorded live in Milan on October 11th 1964. There’s a slight distortion in the sound in the form of a pre-echo, which is a bit eery, but I still think it’s a marvellous performance.

And if Miles Davis isn’t your cup of tea, here is something completely different. It’s by Julie London, but very late in her career in 1981 when she was 55. Her voice was much smoother in her heyday in the 1960s, but I love the smokey sound of this very characterful rendition. By ear I’d say the bass player on this is Ray Brown and the guitar is Barney Kessel, both of whom (like Julie London herself) are no longer with us.

Last one up is a miracle of joint improvisation between the great Bill Evans on piano and Jim Hall on guitar, the sort of music that mere mortals can only dream of…

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Flyin’ High

Posted in Jazz with tags , , on February 10, 2012 by telescoper

I’m in need of a bit of a pick-me-up today, because it’s wet and gloomy outside and we’re all busy making the final push to get our STFC consolidated grant application together. I found this on Youtube the other day and it definitely does the trick for me. It’s by the marvellous Jazz clarinettist Edmond Hall. I always thought he was very underrated, but judging by the superbly detailed wikipedia page devoted to him, someone out there rates him very highly indeed! Ed Hall’s clarinet style is immediately recognizable for the incisiveness of his tone, which made him one of the “hottest” jazz clarinet players of all time. He’s also pretty much unique because he stuck with the old Albert System (aka “Simple System”) clarinet; the vast majority of practitioners prefer the Boehm System. In fact I don’t even know if it’s possible to buy an Albert System clarinet these days.

Anyway, whatever clarinet he played, he played it beautifully. I love the way he keeps changing gear throughout this performance, especially around 2.42 when he pulls out all the stops and shifts into the higher register for a sizzling last set of choruses. Wonderful.

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Giant Steps, from Astrophysics to Jazz

Posted in Jazz, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , on January 21, 2012 by telescoper

I’m indebted to Alan Heavens (currently of Edinburgh University, shortly to move to Imperial College) for drawing my attention to outstanding young jazz pianist and composer Dan Tepfer. I’ve been listening to quite a lot of Dan’s music, over the past few days and I think he’s brilliant. What’s even more interesting about him from the point of view of this blog is his background:  he is a former Astrophysics student (at the University of Edinburgh). He changed direction away from academic studies in order to focus on his music, relocated to New York and has subsequently received rave reviews for his performances both live and on various albums. He tours extensively in the USA and worldwide; next time he’s in the UK I’m definitely going to check out one of his live gigs. Do visit his website; as a taster here’s his  highly original (and pretty long) live version of the John Coltrane classic Giant Steps..

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Weather Bird

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , on January 15, 2012 by telescoper

Time to try countering the melancholy mood that has settled on me over the last few days. I just heard this track on the radio and coincidentally it came up on a random play on my iPod on Friday too. Clearly someone up there is telling me to share it with you.

This gem, recorded in New York city in 1928, is a duet between Louis Armstrong (on trumpet) and Earl Hines (piano). Both were marvellous musicians in their own right but in combination they were dazzling. This piece  is obviously totally spontaneous and it’s almost miraculous how it holds together while the two men attempt mischievously to pull it in different directions. But hold together it certainly does; this piece takes “making it up as you go along” into another dimension altogether and the result is 2 minutes and 38 seconds of the most joyful music-making you can ever hope to hear..

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Backwater Blues

Posted in History, Jazz with tags , , , , on January 5, 2012 by telescoper

Although the risk of flooding has abated somewhat in these parts, the various alerts reminded me that I should post this classic piece of music. It’s not only a definitive example of the art of the blues, sung by the incomparable Bessie Smith with James P. Johnson on piano, but also an important piece of American social history, as it documents the Mississippi River flood of 1927, which brought death and devastation to seven southern states, including Tennessee and Arkansas as well as  Mississippi. It’s mistitled “Black Water” on the clip – it should be “Backwater”, but whatever its name it’s definitely the Blues.

 

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Stormy Weather

Posted in Biographical, Jazz with tags , , on January 3, 2012 by telescoper

The weather has been inclement since New Year’s Eve, but today it got even worse.  Things are even more scary elsewhere in the UK; I heard from friends in Edinburgh that gusts of 102 mph have been recorded at the Royal Observatory, for example. I hope they’ve battened down the hatches. Here in Cardiff its pretty windy too, but the main problem has been heavy rain. There are flood alerts all across South Wales, including on the River Taff very close to my house as I write this. Since I’ve got a few things to do I think I’ll go and take a peek. The last time such a thing happened, the city’s flood defences held but the Taff did break its banks on Pontcanna Fields (which is actually meant to happen, to take the strain off the flood barriers nearer the city). Anyway I’ve got a few things to do so I think I’ll take a walk to the river and see how it looks. If I don’t come back please send a lifeboat.

In the meantime, here’s a piece of music to calm the storms, by the great Ella Fitzgerald accompanied by the equally great Joe Pass on guitar. ..

Well, back from a short trip down the Taff Embankment, here are a few pics of the scene…

The SWALEC Stadium is to the left, water level about 2m above the pitch right now, but protected by the embankment

The trees are usually above the water level, the nursery beyond is about 2m above current water level

I have seen the Taff higher than this, but only once!

White Water with Weeping Willow

The Millennium Stadium is just beyond the Bridge

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