Pat Metheny - American Garage Year: 1979
Style or Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
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Pat Metheny -Offramp Recording Date: 1981
Release Date: 1982
Style or Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
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Sometimes Metheny really hits me, sometimes he misses. These albums are far more hit than miss. Pianist Lyle Mays does some truly marvelous work here, especially on the first of these albums, American Garage. Interestingly, Metheny personally notes that "Airstream" is a personal favorite and it is mine as well. I guess I'm in good company! The title cut is also special while the closing "The Epic" goes off the rails a bit, but still makes for a good listen. The latter album, Offramp, has a different mood, with the guitar synth more prominent and the songs more cerebral. "Are You Going With Me" is itself epic, especially the way it builds and swells, growing in sound and intensity, a real solid centerpiece for the album. They do get away from the more cerebral approach on "Eighteen" with catchy melody and a fun, swinging, almost big band vibe.
Dave Grisman - Dawg '90 Year: 1990
Style or Subgenre: Progressive Bluegrass, World Jazz
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Jazz mandolin? Sure, why not? If Bela Fleck can become a respected in jazz with his banjo, no reason Mr. Grusman can't with his folky strings. Indeed, if you dig the Flecktones, you'll probably dig this as well. Whether or not this actually qualifies as jazz may be open to debate, and Grisman bends and blends genres even harder than Fleck; in addition to swinging a little jazz into bluegrass, he also incorporates some gypsy influence a la Django for an even more diverse hybrid.
There's some serious composition and quality playing on this album (in addition to Grisman getting some great sounds out of his mandolin, I really enjoyed Jim Kerwin's bass playing, but the whole ensemble is outstanding). While this is strong music, much of the time it is just serious musicians having some silly fun too. Hey, if it raises the corners of your mouth, it's all worth it.
"I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I'm a 50-year-old, heavy-set black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." - Emily Remler, 1982
Emily Remler - Firefly Year: 1990
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Guitar Jazz
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Emily Remler - Take Two Year: 1990
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Guitar Jazz
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In the early '80s, an exciting new guitarist burst on the scene and started dropping some retro, but excellent albums. Emily Remler was pretty much a straight bop player for the most part, with more than a passing influence from Wes Montgomery. It would have been easy to write her off as yet another Montgomery Wannabe, but she did have a voice of her own, along with fantastic technique, gorgeous warm tone, and an extra layer of (at the risk of sounding sexist, I'll say feminine) beauty in her playing. None other than Herb Ellis introduced her at the 1978 Concord Jazz Festival as "the new superstar of guitar." If she's good enough for ol' Herb, she's good enough for me!
These are her first two albums and they show her heavily rooted in the Montgomery school, not just by her occasional use of octaves, but also her phrasing, tone, and the exceptionally fluid lines she would build in her soloing. While Montgomery is her largest and most obvious influence, I also hear a little Johnny Smith in there and I love the final product. So while she's not doing anything groundbreaking, what she's doing, she's doing exceptionally well and it's an absolute joy to listen to.
The first album, Firefly, is composed of six standards/covers and two Remler Originals and is a pleasantly well rounded program. She also receives outstanding support from the rest of her quartet with pianist Hank Jones warranting special mention. On Take Two, Emily and her fellow musicians start out lighting it up on Cannonball Adderley's self titled tune. Over the course of the rest of the album, also comprised of six covers (mostly obscure) and two originals, we hear something a little less derivative and more Emily, which is nice. Not that there was anything substandard about that first album, but a little dose of uniqueness while still maintaining homage to tradition works very well here.
That Emily would suffer a drug related death less than a decade later, just as she was really starting to establish her own true voice is a loss on par with the likes of Hendrix. She could swing ans she could make her Gibson sing. She could also let you into her musical world with something a little more intimate. So versatile despite the association as a Montgomery clone; I'd gladly have looked forward to another dozen or two more albums beyond just the seven she gave us (one a duet with Larry Coryell).
Marion Brown - Porto Novo Year: 1967
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
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Maarten Altena - Rif Year: 1987
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde, Modern Creative Jazz
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I was rather pleased with myself for being adaptable enough to appreciate a good deal of avant garde that turns a lot of folks. Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, late Coltrane, and furthest out of the bunch, Albert Ayler all had something I could latch onto and enjoy. I had hoped fro the same reaction when encountering Marion Brown, but it didn't quite work out that way. For some reason, I just couldn't get into this album as much as the aforementioned list. It wasn't bad, incomprehensible, and certainly not further afield than those artists, so why was I not able to connect? I did give it a second and third listen, and with each turn, I felt like I was getting closer, and even began to genuinely appreciate it, but moments that really grabbed me were still few. To be honest, I much more enjoyed the rhythm section with Maarten Altena playing a seriously frenetic bass and some very creative percussion work from drummer Han Bennik.
Brown's bassist on Porto Novo, Maarten Altena became a leader in his own right, but not releasing any albums as leader until the '80s. Rif comes exactly two decades after Porto Novo and is still in the avant garde side of things, but isn't afraid to grab a groove and ride it once in a while. Unlike Porto Novo, I enjoyed Rif thoroughly right from the first listen. Aside from just being more "listenable," it felt better balanced. Second and third listenings seemed to reinforce this. It'll be interesting to see if I still think this is so marvelous after a dozen or more listenings or another year or two goes by. At least for now, I'm proclaiming this one a real keeper.
Bobby Hutcherson - Live at Montreaux Year: 1973
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop
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I either like very much or love all my Bobby Hutcherson albums, but this was my first foray into his live recording. I have to say I found this even more exciting most of the time. Hutcherson really knows how to construct an extended solo; in addition to great note selection, his solos always seem to go somewhere in a way that seems more formally composed than purely improvised, so we get the best of both worlds. Woody Shaw on trumpet also seems to be an ideal match to trade solos with Hutcherson and the music in this performance is effective validation of that.
Tal Farlow - Cookin' On All Burners Year: 1983
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Cool Jazz, Guitar Jazz
Tal Farlow - Chromatic Palette Year: 1981
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Cool Jazz, Guitar Jazz
All the Tal Farlow love of late around here inspired me to return to Tal, who has long been one of my favorite guitarists. '50s albums like The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow and Tal are rightfully considered prime examples of the genre and seminal recordings of the instrument. Here, I move forward in time just over a quarter century to hear Farlow still kickin' it in a big way. These are two fantastic jazz guitar albums.
On Cookin' On All Burners, Tal lays out some of his liveliest, most inspired playing and I enjoy this one every bit as much as his most famous albums from his earlier golden age. Tal was often criticized for being too much technical speed demon and not enough interpreter. That wasn't really fair as he's one of those rare musicians who can play fast and still demonstrate feeling... you just have to be able to keep up as a listener. While he was never really lacking, over the years between his early recordings and these, he also be came more comfortable, and more fluid with the ballad. He is indeed cookin' on all burners and cookin' with gas! This is one of my all time favorite guitar albums from any artist, any genre, any time frame.
If anything, Farlow was even more accomplished overall on the previousChromatic Palette. While I often prefer the latter album for its sheer shredability, the earlier still shreds lively but also gets my nod for the upgrade to Tommy Flanagan on piano and, more importantly, the incredible interplay that occurs between he and Farlow. This album is another genuine marvel, and may actually be the most well rounded, complete album in Farlow's formidable library. At least between my two CDs, this album has the superior engineering and sound quality, adding to the joy of soaking this one in.
You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (from Cookin' on All Burners)
Stanley Clarke - If This Bass Could Only Talk Year: 1988
Style or Subgenre: Fusion
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Renowned fusion and jazz funk bassist Stanley Clarke is all over the place on this album with mixed but mostly good results. There are gimmicky things like bringing in Gregory Hines to tapdance as percussion accompaniment to a Frampton-esque voice box, which don't really do much for me. But when he plays it straight, there's some real magic in there. He does great things with "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and delivers a most formidable ballad in "Funny How Time Flies" which includes some rather sublime soloing from none other than Freddie Hubbard. Allan Holdsworth's appearance on "Stories to Tell" is also most welcome, as is Stuart Copland's drumming. One surprise was "Workin' Man," which should be just this side of intolerable with it's unimaginative drumming and ham-fisted 80s production, but Clark's playing easily pulls this one out of an otherwise forgettable gutter. Clarke has put out dozens of albums and, aside from the early-to-mid-70s classics, this is one of the better ones overall.
Bela Fleck - Tales from the Acoustic Planet Year: 1995
Style or Subgenre: Progressive Bluegrass, Fusion
Bela Fleck - The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2 Year: 1999
Style or Subgenre: Progressive Bluegrass, Fusion
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For his Allmusic review of Bela Fleck's Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Brian Beatty opens with "Whether this exceptional album is jazz with its roots in bluegrass or vice versa doesn't matter, because whatever it is, it works." I concur. Genre is irrelevant; "exceptional" is the operative word here. That said, I put this much closer to the bluegrass side of that continuum than Fleck's earlier albums. The folk is strong on this one. The lack of improvisation is also nicely compensated for by exceptional melody and an ensemble that is exceptionally tight. If anything, the sequel goes even further into the realm of pure bluegrass, but that shouldn't turn off a jazz fan too badly as it is also not only exceptional bluegrass, but also exceptional music.
Up and Running (from Tales From the Acoustic Planet)
Nina Simone - I Put a Spell On You Recording Date: 1964 - 1965
Release Date: 1965
Style or Subgenre: Vocal Jazz, Blues
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Nina Simone - High Priestess of Soul Recording Date: 1965 - 1966
Release Date: 1967
Style or Subgenre: Vocal Jazz, R&B
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Sunday Morning Simone!
I was in the mood for some vocal jazz this morning and I'd never listened to much Nina Simone, so this was the perfect time. So I grabbed a couple of her more popular outings and sat with Nina. What struck me was the facility with which she genre hops. Jazz, Blues, Gospel, R&B, Rock & Roll, standards and torch songs....she does it all. Making it all special is that she does it all with an amazing voice brought out with incredible depth of soul. She seems to be pretty solid with the piano as well. She can get a bit heavy, as in the title cut of the first album, but the variety keeps things fresh.
Kenny Burrell / Jimmy Smith - Blue Bash Year: 1963
Style or Subgenre: Hard Bop, Soul Jazz
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This album, previously unknown to me, popped up on one of my jazz streaming channels last night and I was in heaven. Jimmy (Smith) and Wes (Montgomery) may have been "The Dynamic Duo," but Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith have to be the perfect pair! To be honest, as jazzed as I got about this album, I know it's not really up there with the dynamic duo, but these guys are tight... and they're feelin' it. Burrell's tone has never been better, even on his most famous albums. Smith is groovin'. The rhythm section is playing it pretty straight, but in this case, they don't need to do anything special as Kenny and Jimmy more than have that covered. I think this album deserves to be far better known.
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