Steve Deutsch - Going Somewhere Fast Year: 1998
Style or Subgenre: Mainstream Jazz, Latin Jazz
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This is a seriously fun bit of mainstream/Latin jazz with leader Deutch playing tenor, alto, soprano, and flute, starting with quality compositions (including 7 of 10 originals) in which to express his warm and friendly soloing style. I can sit down and really focus on this, or let it play as background music while doing chores or driving to work. Delightfully versatile listening.
Chris Standring - Hip Sway Year: 2000
Style or Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Guitar Jazz
About half of this is a hard pass for me, either because of those mindlessly repetitive, simple smooth jazz beats or because of the selection of material (IMO 10cc's "I'm Not in Love" is not the basis for a jazz instrumental, even a smooth jazz guitar one). But the other half of the album is a better than most bit of contemporary/smooth guitar jazz.
Bev Kelly - Love Locked Out Year: 1959
Style or Subgenre: Standards, Vocal Jazz
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After a month of Sundays being home runs discovering new to me jazz vocals, today was merely good; a basic infield ground single with no RBI. Bev Kelly strikes me as a fine vocalist no doubt, but I just didn't find the timbre of her voice as pleasing as the artists I was discovering on previous Sundays. Adding to the lack of appreciation was that the entire album is slow to moderately slow tales of unrequited love; too much torch and not enough life! This is one of those albums where I'd be happy with a cut here and there, but it's not a great end-to-end listen for me.
David Hazeltine - The Classic Trio Meets Eric Alexander Year: 2002
Style or Subgenre: Neo bop, Post Bop, Straight Ahead Jazz
David Hazeltine - Classic Trio Recording Date: 1996
Release Date: 1997
Style or Subgenre: Neo bop, Post Bop, Straight Ahead Jazz, Piano Jazz
I had been wanting to try some David Hazeltine, and I recalled how much I liked the Eric Alexander in Europe album where he hooked up with an organ trio, so Hazeltine's The Classic Trio Meets Eric Alexander was an obvious choice.
I guess I just wasn't in the mood for all that sax on a Sunday morning. Honestly, this is very good straight ahead jazz, but I just wasn't getting into it. I was, however, very much appreciating that trio, so I then decided to give just the trio a go, starting with Hazeltine's Classic Trio album. Well, that was the ticket right there. Everything about this classic trio playing neo bop/straight ahead jazz just hit me perfectly. I cant praise the joy of listening to this album enough. I was starting to feel a little curmudgeonly, thinking I was going to find fault in everything, but the Classic Trio lifted me right out of it.
On the Boulevard (from The Classic Trio Meets Eric Alexander)
McCoy Tyner - Trident Recording Date: 1975
Release Date: 1976
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Spiritual Jazz
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McCoy Tyner - Horizon Year: 1980
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Spiritual Jazz
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Two Tyner albums very much unlike what came before as well as the rest of the Tyner catalog.... and still both truly exceptional. The earlier Trident was a significant surprise, opening with.... harpsichord! WTH is Tyner doing playing a harpsichord? But fear not, just like everything else he ever did, this is money... and when he transitions to piano after the initial introduction, it gets even better. There are some really clever, and delightful to listen to, licks from Tyner, even by his near impossibly high standards. A unique and marvelous trio outing here.
The later Horizon is itself an entirely different kettle of fish, expanding the instrumentation to include flute, all manner of saxes and percussion, and violin. With the larger ensemble, Tyner himself plays a smaller role, and isn't quite as interesting in his licks as usual. This should be cause for disappointment, but the creativity here lies more in the arrangements and variety, and Tyner's parts support and fit into that overall scheme perfectly. Something completely different and still something completely wondrous to these ears.
Toshiko Mariano - Toshiko Mariano Quartet Recording Date: 1960
Release Date: 1961
Style or Subgenre: Hard Bop
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Having enjoyed Monday Michiru so much, I thought it time to give her parents a spin. All the better since they made hard bop (my never fail subgenre) and I seem to have a real thing for Japanese pianists. Well, I was reminded of the dangers of expectations. This is a fine album, but I just didn't get into it much. The main culprit was husband Mariano's alto tone, which just didn't hit my ear well, and seemed not a great match for wife Toshiko's more elegant piano. Future listens may enhance appreciation, but my queue's so long, I doubt I'll be making an effort to return to this one very soon.
Joe Magnarelli - Why Not Recording Date: 1994
Release Date: 1995
Style or Subgenre: Hard Bop, Neo Bop
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This is my first exploration of Joe Magnarelli, at least as leader, and it was a good one. This is pretty much all straightforward neo-bop/hard bop, but it is delivered so sweetly, I have to just appreciate the hell out of it. Magnarelli's trumpet tone doesn't really stand out as unique, but it suits this music beautifully. I doubt I've heard much middle-of-the-road music that has delighted me so. This is also an album where I'm really into Eric Alexander's sax contributions; like Magnarelli, he seems really in his element here. As much as I love Magnarelli and Alexander on this album, I think the biggest treat is the piano of Renee Rosne; perfectly supportive as appropriate, but also way out front and really grabbing the listener when given the solo space. Really electrifying. While I love every cut, I think the biggest impression was how the ensemble takes an old standard war horse like Irving Berlin's How Deep Is the Ocean, and while not really doing anything earth shatteringly new with it, still make it a very fresh sounding and joyous listen. The closing Blues for B.G. is killer retro hard bop which is huge fun for me.
Ken McIntyre -Stone Blue Year: 1960
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop
This was a rather enjoyable bit of post bop with an occasional nod toward avant garde jazz. The interesting this is that, while these are serious (if not well known) musicians leaning into the future, the music is totally accessible. It's not lite jazz, but it is mostly lighthearted. A very nice find.
Denny Zeitlin -Stone Blue Year: 2004
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Piano Jazz
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Denny Zeitlin -Wishing on the Moon Year: 2018
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Piano Jazz
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Well, here's one of my favorite discoveries in a long time! I had the as yet unknown to me Denny Zeitlin in my queue and began looking into him. The first thing I learned was that he has spent his professional career splitting his time between being a musician.... and as a practicing psychiatrist! That initially gave me pause as to the quality of his music (not being a full time musician), pause which ultimately proved completely unfounded. Certainly an interesting combination. I then noticed he has released more recordings in his active period than most full time musicians do, and they all seem relatively unknown, again giving me concern, again proven completely wrong.
With many recordings to choose from, where to start? In browsing his catalog, I saw an album called Slickrock. As a long time avid Mountain Biker and former mountain biking journalist, Slickrock means only one thing to me... the first most famous mountain biking trail in the world; an otherworldly red rock landscape outside Moab, Utah where the rock, called slickrock due to its smooth appearance, actually provides incredible traction, allowing strong riders to climb otherwise impossible grades. But could this be inspiration for a jazz album? Surely there is some other reference of which I'm unaware? Nope. It turns out our psychiatrist/jazz pianist is also an avid mountain biker, so indeed, that's where the album gets its title! Well, I now know what album I'm starting with!
But what about the music? There is a four song suite dedicated to the slickrock trail (Dawn Gathering, On the Trail, Recovery, On the Trail Again) on the album. Now I don't often take to overtly impressionist music, and even when I do, it's usually just because I like the music independent of the source of inspiration, not because I actually hear that origin in the actual notes. So even as a fanatical mountain biker finding songs about my favorite pastime in my favorite music genre, I had zero expectations.
Turns out I loved it. All of it. The slickrock cuts as well as the rest of the album. Lively, inspired post bop that tickled my musical mind in all the right places. This is just a basic piano trio (with both bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt , but they fill my musical space with so many marvelous connections, happy neurons firing about all through my brain. Did it actually take me back to Moab? Not really, but who cares... this is wondrous music.
Riding the Slickrock Trail, Moab, Utah.
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I immediately gave this album a second listen in my euphoria, which did not wane, but rather found new things in the listening that made it even more impressive. Still wanting more, I then decided to make a run at a different Zeitlin album, but again, which one? Then I came across the live Wishing on the Moon, which includes a performance of the aforementioned Slickrock suite. On the whole, this album was every bit as joyous a listen as the previous one, with all three members of the trio getting seemingly equal measure, producing a beautifully balanced album full of wonder in almost every moment.
Slickrock I: Dawn, Gathering (Live, from Wishing on the Moon)
Alain Goraguer - Jazz in Paris: Go-Go-Goraguer Year: 2002
Style or Subgenre: Piano Jazz
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This is sometimes clever and often entertaining piano trio jazz with a strong French flavor. The rhythm section shuffles more than swings and in the end is really nothing more than a competent if uninteresting substrate for Goraguer's piano, which is the real star of the show. Goraguer's style brings forth a sort of French carnival atmosphere, sometimes even calliope-like, occasionally with a touch of Can Can.
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