Listening Room – “Life Time”

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Jazz Sermon

From “Life Time” : 1964 : Blue Note BLP 4180

Tony Williams debut album as a leader (he was still going by Anthony Williams when it was issued) is a great example of some classic Blue Note post bop. The lineup features a strong group of label regulars at the time, including the under appreciated Sam Rivers on tenor saxophone. The tracks Two Pieces of One: Red and Two Pieces of One: Green took up all of side one of the original LP and feature all the players except Hutcherson. Williams wrote all of the compositions on the album and the open feel to much of the music shows that even as a young eighteen year old he had many of the chops in place that would make him one of the all time great jazz drummers.

Players:
Sam Rivers – Tenor Sax
Gary Peacock – Bass
Richard Davis – Bass
Ron Carter – Bass
Bobby Hutcherson – Vibes
Herbie Hancock – Piano
Tony Williams – Drums & Percussion

Listening Room – “Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian”

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Jazz Sermon

Frisell/Carter/Motian – “Eighty-One”

Frisell/Carter/Motian – “Raise Four”

Frisell/Carter/Motian – “I’m So Lonesome, I Could Cry”

From “Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian” : 2006 : Nonesuch 79897

A meeting of the minds and sounds of three jazz pioneers – two are legends from the classic heyday of jazz, one is a leader in exploring new regions for modern day jazz. Bill Frisell’s guitar is front and center on the album, but the interplay between the three would have you believe they have been playing together for years. The song selection is great, as the album starts off with Ron Carter’s composition with Miles Davis Eighty One and continues with some originals by the band members as well as some perfectly chosen covers (Monk’s Raise Four and Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry). A nice little gem of an album that deserves to be more widely heard.

Players:
Bill Frisell – Guiter
Ron Carter – Bass
Paul Motian – Drums

Listening Room – “Sunflower”

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Jazz Sermon

Milt Jackson – Sunflower

Milt Jackson – What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?

From “Sunflower” : 1972 : CTI 6024

Another CTI classic from the early 70′s and although this one has a larger ensemble it still stays away from the over-produced commercialized sound the label would soon be putting out. Freddie Hubbard and Herbie Hancock are simply spectacular throughout, especially on the title track. Billy Cobham’s drumming stays in the groove and the interplay between him and Milt Jackson is really happening. What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life is a ballad shows off the skills that made Jackson a legend on the vibes and the string arrangements are for the most part tasteful and not over the top.

Players:
Milt Jackson – Vibes
Freddie Hubbard – Flugelhorn
George Marge – Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, English Horn
Phil Bodner – Flute, Piccolo, English Horn
Romeo Penque – Oboe, English Horn
Herbie Hancock – Piano, Electric Piano
Jay Berliner – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Billy Cobham – Drums
Ralph MacDonald – Percussion
Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green,
Charles Libove, Joe Malin, David Nadien,
Gene Orloff & Elliot Rosoff – Violins
Charles McCracken, George Ricci
& Alan Shulman – Cellos
Margaret Ross – Harp
Don Sebesky – Arranger, Conductor

Listening Room (Repost) – “Keep Your Soul Together”

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Jazz Sermon

Freddie Hubbard -”Keep Your Soul Together”

Freddie Hubbard – “Destiny’s Children”

From “Keep Your Soul Together” : 1973 : CTI Records 6036

Recently scored myself a pristine copy of this on vinyl and have been trying not to wear it out listening to it too much. Just an awesome album from start to finish, has to be counted among Hubbard’s best moments in the studio.

Players:
Freddie Hubbard – Trumpet
Junior Cook – Tenor
George Cables – Keyboards
Aurell Ray – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Kent Brinkley – Bass
Ralph Penland – Drums
Juno Lewis – Percussion

Miles Davis Quintet – “So What”

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Jazz Sermon

Live on the Steve Allen Show, 1964. Miles, Herbie, Wayne, Ron and Tony. Nuff said !!

Listening Room – Expansions

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

McCoy Tyner – Vision

McCoy Tyner – Smitty’s Place

From “Expansions” : 1968 : Blue Note BST 84338

A classic (but out-of-print) session from a post-Coltrane McCoy Tyner. With a group of all-star players – including Wayne Shorter, Woody Shaw, Gary Bartz and Ron Carter – this album deserves a wider audience. The album opens with Vision which fully showcases the soloing skills of all the players, with Carter’s cello and Shaw’s trumpet playing really standing out. Smitty’s Place has a great enthusiastic feeling as the group bounces and swings with each other. Overall the record is a nice blend of the hard-bop and post-bop styles, with just the right amount of free-jazz and avant-garde elements to make the record a nice summation of Tyner’s career up to this point and where it would soon be heading in just a few years with his outstanding albums of the 1970′s.

Players:
McCoy Tyner – Piano
Woody Shaw – Trumpet
Gary Bartz – Alto Sax, Wooden Flute
Wayne Shorter – Tenor Sax, Clarinet
Ron Carter – Cello
Herbie Lewis – Bass
Freddie Waits – Drums

Listening Room – “Schizophrenia”

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Wayne Shorter – Kryptonite

Wayne Shorter – Tom Thumb

From “Schizophrenia” : 1967 : Blue Note BST 84297

Players:
Wayne Shorter – Tenor Sax
James Spaulding – Alto Sax, Flute
Curtis Fuller – Trombone
Herbie Hancock – Piano
Ron Carter – Bass
Joe Chambers – Drums

“Bobby Hutcherson – 1989″

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums) performing Hutcherson’s classic Little B’s Poem live in 1989.

Listening Room – “Mama Wailer”

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

“Mama Wailer” was the second release on Creed Taylor’s Kudu imprint and is a funky soul-jazz classic. Lonnie Smith is joined by a group of like-minded players (including an in-the-groove Grover Washington, Jr. on tenor) and the music is dirty low down jazz-funk that never strays too far from it’s improvisational roots. The group’s take on Sly and The Family Stone’s Stand is the centerpiece of the album and took up all of Side 2 on the original LP. After this recording, Lonnie Smith disappeared from the scene for awhile, he wouldn’t make another record until “Afrodesia” showed up on the Groove Merchant label in 1975.

Buy at Amazon (Japanese Import Only)

Released 1971 : Kudu Records : Catalog # KU-02

Players:
Lonnie Smith – Organ, Clavinet
Grover Washington, Jr. – Tenor Sax
Danny Moore – Trumpet
George Davis – Guitar
Jimmy Ponder – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Billy Cobham – Drums

Lonnie Smith – Stand from “Mama Wailer”

“Cantaloupe Island – 1985″

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This is a performance of “Cantaloupe Island” from the “One Night with Blue Note” film celebrating the historic concert in 1985 that brought together Blue Note Records legends to celebrate the revival of the label by Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna. This performance certainly features legendary players: Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Tony Williams!