Last Tango in Buenos Aires

Gato Barbieri blowing away while the endless tango accompanies him for a song of utter beauty. 

Encontros

I miss Gato Barbieri so much that even his more standard Latin jazz fare is more precious than ever. While lacking more of the extreme playing you might expect from his work with Don Cherry, Alan Shorter and others, Barbieri's Latin-inspired music is usually capable of taking Latin American folk styles, songs, and rhythms into interesting directions. This number, a cute song with what sounds like a Brazilian beat, forays into some of Barbieri's famous honking without disrupting the melody. 

Don Cherry's Brown Rice

One of Don Cherry's most intriguing works in jazz fusion is surely "Brown Rice." Combining free jazz dissonance with funk and his usual interest in Indian and African music, "Brown Rice" also features Charlie Haden playing the funkiest bass with a wah wah pedal. It's hypnotic groove is so irresistible that even Cherry's vocals and chanting do not ruin it. As Ornette Coleman told us, beauty is a rare thing.

Parabola

Alan Shorter was never as successful or accomplished of a musician as his brother, Wayne Shorter, but "Parabola" is where he shines. Sounding like Grachan Moncur III, Shorter's simple vamp lets Charlie Haden, Gato Barbieri, and the amazing drummer Muhammad Ali shine. Barbieri recently passed, rest in peace.

Black Satin

One of the more interesting pieces from Miles Davis's On the Corner is a rather short funky number, "Black Satin." Combining Indian percussion and sitar with soul claps and funk, Davis and company produced the most rhythmically interesting song of Davis's jazz-funk period, and all with tabla, Miles clapping his hands, and a tabla. Sometimes it was the jazz artists who produced the most arresting funk of the 1970s, such as Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" with the African-inspired bottle blowing that opens the song. 

Magwaza

Legendary South African jazz bassist Johnny Dyani at his best on "Magwaza." Much like Abdullah Ibrahim's South African-inspired compositions, "Magwaza" is a deceptively simple, multi-layered groove echoing Dyani's Xhosa and traditional influences. Much like Abdullah Ibrahim's meditative work celebrating Africa, Dyani, Tchicai, and Pukwana capture the splendor of traditional and popular South African musical traditions. This meeting point between jazz and traditional music is what others have tried to accomplish successfully, from Coltrane to Ayler, but the majesty of South African folk styles brings to the forefront something lacking in Coltrane's "Africa."

Jacki Bee Tee

Charles Bobo Shaw playing "Jacki Bee Tee," which sounds suspiciously close to Willie Bobo's "Haitian Lady." Of course, "Jacki Bee Tee" is more interesting, mainly because of Charles Bobo Shaw's ties to the free jazz and avant-garde scene, as well as his relationship with creative black jazz circles out of St. Louis. The bassist is on fire.

Herbie Hancock's Funky Drummer

Harvey Mason's drumming on Herbie Hancock's "Shiftless Shuffle" is a new and improved "Funky Drummer." James Brown's Clyde Stubblefield was the star of Brown's illustrious tune, but Harvey Mason's prowess in "Shiftless Shuffle" is unforgettable. And surely Hancock must have been thinking of the famous Brown tune because the head is so quintessentially James Brown. 

Theme From a Symphony

Ornette Coleman dabbled in just about every genre of music. Here, performed live and shared on Youtube for posterity, someone has shared a funky number from Coleman's Dancing In Your Head. At first, one would think Coleman's singular style could not work in funk, but Coleman found a way, even pulling out his violin for a brief solo. Very simple yet effective, and given funk's origin in blues, Colemand and Prime Time were not really out of their element entirely. 

Matthew Shipp's Equilibrium

Equilibrium is all over the place. But that's a good thing, in this case. Shipp's album combines his piano, William Parker's bass, Khan Jamal's vibes, synthesizers and effects from FLAM, and Gerald Cleaver on drums for a unique sonic journey, exploring everything from funk, acid jazz-type stylings to more abstract and somber pieces. "The Root" and "The World of Blue Grass" are perhaps my highlights from this rather short album, but the entirety is worth a listen. Despite FLAM's presence, it does not sound too out of place when one thinks of jazz or Shipp's unique style. In addition, one detects other influences on Shipp's style here, such as Tyner and Andrew Hill. Plus, anytime William Parker is playing funkier bass lines is always okay. 

There Are Other Worlds

One of the more typical or representative songs from Sun Ra's Lanquidity, an important album of his oeuvre and an excellent introduction for beginners to the world of Ra. Lanquidity shows Sun Ra expounding upon his jazz and blues past within the disco and funk idiom of the 1970s. One finds the chants, space themes, ethereal touch via special effects and electronic instruments, a hint of the Orient and 'world music' (a trait in Sun Ra's music since the 1950s) and one has the usual potent brew of Sun Ra. Although not the best composition on Lanquidity, it exemplifies the continuity in Sun Ra's work, despite the vastly different material and styles he played in throughout his long career.

Que Bueno Baila Usted

Beautiful song from one of the lesser known talents of 1960s Latin music. Quijano is clearly influenced by "Que Bueno Baila Usted" for the lyrics here, but manages to to something unique here.

Just One of Your Kisses

Ralfi Pagan, Latin soul legend whose voice is reminiscent of Michael Jackson here. Unless I'm imagining it, it's almost as if Michael is singing right now. This guy beats Joe Bataan any day. 

April Fool!

Eric Dolphy on flute in 1960, displaying his playful side. Early Eric Dolphy recordings aren't free-jazz or necessarily avant-garde, but much like Ornette's early work, one can sense great things in the work, as well as a singular voice. Moreover, Dolphy always knew how to get down to bluesy numbers, too. 

Thembi

A favorite of mine from Pharoah Sanders. Sanders has a soft, lyrical side that is sometimes forgotten when we stereotype free jazz as always atonal or a collection of honks and screeching. The inimitable Lonnie Liston Smith is also present, on piano, playing a solo that surprisingly has not been sampled by the hip-hop generation yet?

Toro

Art Ensemble's exotic "Toro" brings to mind Sun Ra's best exotica pieces. Although I am merely a novice when it comes to the world of Art Ensemble of Chicago, I have always appreciated free jazz music for its ability to incorporate so many different sounds and traditions into a unique experience. Art Ensemble of Chicago is exceptionally brilliant in this area, often adding African flavors and flourishes to their "out there" sound. "Toro" almost sounds like it could have been a cut from Sun Ra's Futuristic Sounds or Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy because of the Afro-Latin percussion, but the horn action is utterly different, with a hint of the 'East' in a tight groove. 

Impressions

Video footage of Coltrane performing live is usually precious. McCoy Tyner is on fire, as one would expect from the likes of him. 

New Africa

One of my favorites from Grachan Moncur III, a tribute to a decolonizing Africa. Other jazz greats included in this are Archie Shepp, Roscoe Mitchell, Haitian-American Andrew Cyrille, and David Burrell kinda sounding like McCoy Tyner. 

Askim

Listening to Kamasi Washington's The Epic this week and "Askim" stands out. Not sure why, but it brings to mind Eddie Gale without being far "out there" like Gale's work.