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Hampton Hawes – “Blues for Walls”

Hampotn Hawes – “Hamp’s Collard Green Blues”

Hampton Hawes – “Rain Forest”

From “Blues For Walls” : 1976 : Prestige P 10060

Let’s start off the New Year right !!

The title track alone is worth the price of admission to this out-of-print gem by Hampton Hawes (one of our favorites around here).  Hawes turned off a lot of his admirers when he switched to the electric piano in the 1970′s, but hindsight has shown that criticism to be unfounded. Hadley Caliman is on fire and the rhythm section is especially on point, especially on the trio selections.  [Note: There is a fair amount of vinyl surface noise from the rip, but it's worth it to hear this rarity!]

Players:
Hampton Hawes – Piano, Elec Piano, Synthesizer
Oscar Brashear  – Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Hadley Caliman – Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax
George Walker – Guitar
Henry Franklin – Bass
Leon “Ndugu” Chancler – Drums

Johnny Griffin – “The Congregation”

Johnny Griffin – “I’m Glad There Is You”

Johnny Griffin – “I Remember You”

From “The Congregation” :  1957  :  Blue Note BLP 1580

“The Congregation” is a flat out hard-bop classic from one of the all-time tenor greats.  Often billed around this time in his career as “the fastest saxophone in the west”, this album downplays that aspect of his talent for a more laid back session that shows off his phenomenal tone and soulful playing.  The great Sonny Clark contributes heavily to the album on piano and the symbiosis between Clark and Griffin is evident throughout.  1957 was a busy year for Griffin, who joined  Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers for a few months before replacing Coltrane in Thelonious Monk’s quartet (with whom he appeared on two classic live albums, “Misterioso” and “Thelonious in Action” in 1958).  Legend has it that Monk pushed Orrin Keepnews hard to sign Griffin to Riverside Records, but Blue Note snatched him up first.  “The Congregation” was his third and final Blue Note recording, before he eventually ended up on Riverside where he would record a handful of classic recordings to start out the 1960′s.

Players:
Johnny Griffin – Tenor Sax
Sonny Clark – Piano
Paul Chambers – Bass
Kenny Dennis – Drums

The John Scofield Band – “Creeper”

The John Scofield Band – “Thikhathali”

The John Scofield Band – “Freakin’ Disco”

From “Up All Night” : 2003 : Verve Records

This is John Scofield at his funky and adventurous best, playing with some like-minded individuals who present the listener with music that both grooves and shows off the impressive chops of all involved.  Creeper starts off with a quiet theme but builds nicely as Scofield’s guitar plays over a nasty rhythm laid down by the band which then develops into a playful set of noise before returning to the original melody of the tune.  Thikhathali is a wicked jazzy take on Nigerian funk as only Scofield could put together.  Freakin’ Disco is a personal favorite of mine, with the players setting down a groove while the guitars fuzz and jam their way over and all around the place.  Any way you slice it, “Up All Night” is a new millennium classic that pushes jazz into new territory while still be mindful of it’s classic past.

Players:
John Scofield – Electric Guitar and Guitar Samples
Avi Bortnick – Rhythm Guitar, Samples, Loops
Andy Hess -  Bass
Adam Deitch – Drums

Horn Section on Thikhathali:
Craig Handy – Tenor Sax
Earl Gardner – Trumpet
Gary Smulyan – Baritone Sax
Jim Pugh – Trombone

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 11, 2011
By MARC MYERS

El Cerrito, Calif.

Orrin Keepnews can be prickly. The celebrated co-founder of the Riverside, Milestone and Landmark jazz record labels has been known to scare off the uninitiated with his blunt temperament. But when the 87-year-old greeted me at the front door of his ranch-style home here last month, he was borderline cuddly. “Cranky?” he asked, dismissing my description. “Impatient—I’ll go along with that, but not cranky.”

On Tuesday, the National Endowment for the Arts will honor the five-time Grammy winner with its Jazz Masters Award. For nearly 60 years Mr. Keepnews has produced a sizable chunk of jazz’s most enduring recordings—including classic releases by Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery and Sonny Rollins.

Mr. Keepnews was the creative force behind Riverside, the influential independent record label where he produced 300-plus LPs between 1954 and 1964. An accidental entrepreneur, he leveraged a simple idea: Find promising jazz musicians and inspire them to be original.

Today, he is keenly aware of his place in jazz history and role in preserving the music of geniuses at the height of their powers. “I have no musical training, which turned out to be my strong point,” he said. “When you subtract what I don’t know, you’re left with my taste, enthusiasm and respect for what jazz musicians were trying to do.”  Full Article…

Another really good year for jazz releases, and as with the past few years it was dominated by great independent releases rather than major label offerings.  Christian Scott, Dave Holland, the Clayton Brothers and Rudresh Mahanthappa continued their run of outstanding musical output, while some relatively unknown players (outside of the jazz world, anyway) put out some great albums.  The picks are a varied bunch, but the one common strain is that all these artists continue to move modern jazz forward in new and exciting ways.

It was a tough call for album of the year between Pathways and Apex.  In the end, though, I am such a big fan of Mahanthappa’s recent work, and his collaboration with the veteran Bunky Green just continues to blow me away every time I listen to it.  It just edged out the exciting live energy of the amazing band that Dave Holland put together for yet another amazing entry in his ever expanding jazz discography.  As always, these are my personal favorites for the year and by no means dismisses the fantastic work of the many great jazz artists who put out meaningful and outstanding work over the past 12 months.  I would love to hear your comments on these picks.  Enjoy !!

(#10) Christian Scott  – “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow” : 2010 : Concord Jazz

Christian Scott – “American’t”

(#9) Cory Weeds – “The Many Deeds of Cory Weeds” : 2010 : Cellar Live

Cory Weeds – “Corner Kisses”

(#8) Jeremy Pelt – “Men of Honor” : 2010 : Highnote

Jeremy Pelt – “Us/Them”

(#7) Scott Dubois – “Black Hawk Dance” : 2010 : Sunnyside

Scott Dubois – “River Life”

(#6) Jae Sinnett – “Theatre” : 2010 : J-Nett Music

Jae Sinnett – “Straight Around The Corner”

(#5) Ted Nash & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra – “Portrait in Seven Shades” : JALC Records

Ted Nash & JALC – “Picasso”

(#4) Clayton Brothers – “The New Song and Dance” : 2010 : ArtistShare

Clayton Brothers – “The New Song and Dance”

(#3) Pat Bianchi – “Back Home” : 2010 : Doodlin’ Records

Pat Bianchi – “Hammer Head”

(#2) Dave Holland Octet – “Pathways” : 2010 : Dare2 Records

Dave Holland Octet – “Ebb and Flow”

(#1) Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green – “Apex” : 2010 : Pi Recordings

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green – “Summit”

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green – “Playing with Stones”

Stefon Harris & Blackout – “Gone”

Stefon Harris & Blackout – “Tankified”

Stefon Harris & Blackout – “They Won’t Go (When I Go)”

From “Urbanus” : 2009 : Concord Jazz CJA-31286-02

Stefon Harris is one of the finest young vibes players on the scene today.  “Urbanus” is his eighth solo release and his first since leaving Blue Note after seven strong releases on that label.  The album features his group Blackout which has to be one of the strongest jazz touring outfits working today.  The album alternates between a nice modern urban funky sound and a 70′s fusion sound thanks to Marc Cary on the Fender Rhodes.  A great, very forward thinking release that hopefully portends much more great music to come from Harris and Blackout.

Players:
Stefon Harris – Vibraphone, Marimba
Marc Cary: Piano, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards
Casey Benjamin: Alto Sax, Vocoder
Ben Williams: Bass
Terreon Gully: Drums

Stanley Turrentine – “Love Letters”

Stanley Turrentine – “The Hustler”

From “Hustlin” : 1964 : Blue Note BLP 4162

This 1964 session is another great album from the husband and wife team of Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott.  All of their recordings are worth checking out and this one is no exception, especially with the addition of Kenny Burrell on guitar.  One year earlier Turrentine had joined Burrell on his classic album “Midnight Blue”, so the two were familiar with each other and it shows.  The somewhat obscure drummer Otis Finch anchors the group very well, and as always Bob Cranshaw is solid on the bass.  When Blue Note put out “Hustlin” in 2002 as part of their Rudy Van Gelder series it was the first time that the album had been released on CD in the U.S.

Players:
Stanley Turrentine – Tenor Sax
Shirley Scott – Organ
Kenny Burrell – Guitar
Bob Cranshaw – Bass
Otis Finch – Drums

Herbie Hancock – “Succotash”

Herbie Hancock – “A Jump Ahead”

From “Inventions & Dimensions” : 1963 : BLP 4147

After debuting on Blue Note with two very successful albums (“Takin’ Off” & “My Point of View”), Herbie Hancock quickly showed off the adventurous spirit that would go on to make him one of the most important purveyors of jazz over the next 4 decades (and still today!).  Rather than continue with his previous winning formula, Hancock changed gears and put together a quartet that focused almost entirely on rhythm.  Even though Willie Bobo and Chihuaha Martinez are providing the percussion, this album is not Latin jazz in the least, but rather is a classic hard bop session.  The overall feel of the album is a very spacious one, as if there is larger group playing than the one assembled.  Because this album preceded two stone cold jazz classics from Hancock (“Empyrean Isles” and “Maiden Voyage”) it is often overlooked in his vast discography, but it certainly should not be.  In the hands of a lesser talent this recording could easily fall flat, but as he has done so many times over Hancock finds a way to take the expected and make it unexpectedly amazing.

Players:
Herbie Hancock (p)
Paul Chambers (b)
Willie Bobo (d, tim)
Osvaldo “Chihuahau” Martinez (cga, bgo, finger cymb, guiro)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet “Time Out”  : 1959  :  Columbia CL 1397

The Jazz Messengers “The Jazz Messengers” : 1956  : Columbia CL 897

Charles Mingus “Mingus Ah-Um” : 1959 : Columbia CS 8171

Miles Davis “‘Round About Midnight” : 1955 : Columbia CL 949