Herb Ellis - Ellis in Wonderland Year: 1956
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Guitar Jazz
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Herb Ellis - Texas Swings Year: 1992
Style or Subgenre: Swing, Bop, Country,, Guitar Jazz
Today was guitar day. More specifically Herb Ellis day. These two albums were released a formidable 35 years apart, almost bookending Ellis's career, and both have something different to say, but both are unmistakable Herb.
Ellis's first release, "Ellis in Wonderland," often seems a bit of a throwback, even for 1956. But it is exceptionally good at what it does, which is swing to bop along with Ellis's guitar playing some truly wondrous counterpoint against various melody instruments. Just when I think a song is going to settle into routine bop, there it is, multiple melodies bouncing off each other and exciting pathway in my musical mind. No matter how hard I try to put this one away, I just can't.
Now an album called "Texas Swings" which also features non other than Willie "Nasal" Nelson is really hits right in the heart of my negative bias. But I saw this thing sitting in the used bin for $1.98, and I knew Herb Ellis was a total six string badass and maybe Willie keeps his nose shut (no mention of vocals on the personnel list), so what the hay.... may as well give it a shot! Truth be told, I could live without the exceedingly country-fied versions of "The Old Rugged Cross" and "It Had To Be You," or another rehash of "Sweet Georgia Brown" and the lifeless "America the Beautiful" as a closer, but there's six other cuts on the album, all of them excellent, with the Ellis original richly blue and surprisingly titled "Country Boy" being an all time favorite. So yeah, $1.98 well spent.
Coleman Hawkins - Body and Soul Recording Date: 1939 - 1956
Release Date: 1996
Style or Subgenre: Early Jazz, Swing, Bop
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What a wonderful retrospective of this swing to bop swath of Coleman Hawkins's recoding career. The fun only intensifies when trumpeter Fats Navarro and trombonist J.J. Johnson join the cast. And I daresay I've never heard a more entertaining version of The Sheik of Araby. To call this collection essential might actually be selling it short.
Barney Kessel - Let's Cook Recording Date: 1957
Release Date: 1962
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz, West Coast Jazz, Guitar Jazz, Jazz-Blues
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Barney Kessel - Carmen Recording Date: 1958
Release Date: 1959
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Cool Jazz, Guitar Jazz
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Last Sunday was a guitar day, specifically devoted to Herb Ellis. Today, I repeated the pattern, this time with Barney Kessel. Let's Cook may be my favorite Kessel as it weaves its way from jazz blues through bop and hard bop and all the way to west coast cool, the album never fails to keep me engaged. Following Let's Cook I wondered where to go next. Carmen was a most unlikely candidate; as much as I love classical music, I've never warmed up to opera, and Carmen in particular is full of popular melodies that I never really took to in the first place and felt were badly overused since. So putting them in a jazz setting just seemed a good way to ruin jazz.
But what the heck, let's give it a go anyway and.... Viola! What a fun album. Is that because those are really great melodies and I had unfair let their ubiquitousness sour me on them? Or is it because this Kessel guy is some kind of six string wizard that can turn anything into a great listen? I suspect it's a bit of both.
Simon Nabatov - Tough Customer Year: 1993
Style or Subgenre: Modern Creative, Piano Jazz
This was my first encounter with Russian born pianist Simon Nabatov and his trio. They say you never forget your first impression and that will certainly be the case here; what a marvelous album! Very modern, yet full of melody, sometimes dissonant but always listenable, with some very long cuts, but they never wear out their welcome. Nabatov's playing is nothing short of masterful, and the compositions never sit still or fall into a repetitive groove, but they keep me hooked nonetheless. The drumming throughout is also spectacular. At times I couldn't help but think of this as a modern jazz piano trio with a bit of a progressive rock heart. Yeah, this hit me in all my sweet spots.
Wolfgang Muthspiel - Real Book Stories Year: 2004
Style or Subgenre: Post-Bop, Guitar Jazz
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Expressive and tasteful guitar trio here. Muthspiel give mostly a sort of Abercrombe meets Metheny vibe here, which works well for these harmonically adventurous but mostly subdued post-bop takes on standards. The disc is further elevated by the exceptionally tasteful bass of Marc Johnson and drums of Brian Blade, two more of my favorite musicians.
John Wolf Brennan - Shooting Stars & Traffic Lights Recording Date: 1993
Release Date: 1995
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
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Either
1. I was just in the perfect mood to hear something like this
or
2. This is just great music
There's so much happening in these 63 minutes, and so much of it just doesn't seem like it would go together on paper. But this quintet, let by John Brennan is exemplary in their bringing forth eclectic forms and sounds into a coherent whole. It's definitely avant garde, but it's rarely austere; in fact it is often full of wit and even momentum. The deftness with which this group handles their collage is evident very soon in the 10+ minute opening title cut. I was captivated right from the start; never did I want to skip ahead (as I often do on first listens) to see where this is going... I wanted to hear every last quirky twist and turn. As much as I enjoyed that, it was the 6th cut, Kabak, that had me jumping for joy. So much melody and momentum!
Recorded in 1993, and released in 1995, this hasn't aged one bit; this is moving right to the fore of my avant garde collection.
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew Legacy Edition Recording Date: 1969 - 1970
Release Date: 1998
Style or Subgenre: Fusion
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I decided it was time to write down my thoughts on Bitches Brew. So today I pulled out the Legacy Edition and gave it a whirl. It seems like it had been forever since I got down with the Bitches Brew, so this was almost like a fresh listen. In the past, I never really agreed with the folks who were two shocked, decided this wasn't jazz, or for whatever reason decided they'd just never be able to get into this album. At the same time, I could never see my way through to elevate this among the smallest handful of the most elite jazz albums. I was a rare middle of the road guy.
Well, I've changed a lot since the last time I listened to this. In the interim, I've come to love a lot of so called "shocking" albums. And with Miles in particular, I've come to appreciate his fusion phase most of all, with In a Silent Way and Jack Johnson being my all time favorite Miles albums, and the likes of On the Corner, Agharta, and Pangaea all earning special places in my musical heart.
So it seems I was now more prepared to properly receive the Bitches Brew. It all made perfect sense. I totally loved it. I was either grooving with the intensity or flat out getting excited myself. Today, I was especially excited about "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down."
I love it when something really clicks, even if later than I think it should (not too long ago, I had a similar epiphany with Mingus's Black Saint and the Sinner Lady).
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew Legacy Edition Recording Date: 1969 - 1970
Release Date: 1998
Style or Subgenre: Fusion
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
I decided it was time to write down my thoughts on Bitches Brew. So today I pulled out the Legacy Edition and gave it a whirl. It seems like it had been forever since I got down with the Bitches Brew, so this was almost like a fresh listen. In the past, I never really agreed with the folks who were two shocked, decided this wasn't jazz, or for whatever reason decided they'd just never be able to get into this album. At the same time, I could never see my way through to elevate this among the smallest handful of the most elite jazz albums. I was a rare middle of the road guy.
Well, I've changed a lot since the last time I listened to this. In the interim, I've come to love a lot of so called "shocking" albums. And with Miles in particular, I've come to appreciate his fusion phase most of all, with In a Silent Way and Jack Johnson being my all time favorite Miles albums, and the likes of On the Corner, Agharta, and Pangaea all earning special places in my musical heart.
So it seems I was now more prepared to properly receive the Bitches Brew. It all made perfect sense. I totally loved it. I was either grooving with the intensity or flat out getting excited myself. Today, I was especially excited about "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down."
I love it when something really clicks, even if later than I think it should (not too long ago, I had a similar epiphany with Mingus's Black Saint and the Sinner Lady).
Life is good..... even when it's Bitchin1!
Especially!!!
Glad it finally clicked with you! I LOVE those moments!
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