Señor Blues

We here at the blog are currently constructing a Horace Silver playlist. While we are mostly drawn to his recordings featuring Joe Henderson, especially The Cape Verdean Blues and Song For My Father, we are forcing ourselves to listen to music from his various outfits and eras. Always the master of a funky Latin number, "Señor Blues" shows off Silver's mastery of a minor blues in 6/8 time. Silver, as always, shines in live performances with his deep blues and percussive piano style. 

Chet Baker's My Funny Valentine

Late Chet Baker at his zenith. Later recordings of Baker are, like those of the later Billie Holiday, often too painful. But this is Baker at his best, and a worthy listen. 

Directions

Randomly heard this yesterday and could not resist sharing. I have not paid proper respect to the fusion period of Miles Davis's career. 

Wes Montgomery's All of You

I'm still a novice to Wes Montgomery, but he's growing on me as a potential favorite guitarist. This live performance of one of my favorite standards shows an impeccable sense of swing and playfulness I love. It's a shame that so much of Montgomery's recorded later work does not do justice to his talents, but his brilliance shines here. Cole Porter must be smiling from beyond the grave...

Brubeck's Jeepers Creepers

I've been listening to this old standard incessantly for the last 24 hours, and never realized that Brubeck recorded it live! A silly song like this is really better with the lyrics, however.

Dexter Gordon & Kenny Drew & Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen

I'm really enjoying this today, particularly the second song, "Fried Bananas" (based on the changes of "It Could Happen To You"). It's a delight to hear Niels-Henning and Kenny Drew live with another jazz legend. I believe the drummer is the legendary South African Makaya Ntshoko, too. I need to find some books on the Jazz Diaspora in Europe...

Carmen's Not For Me

Carmen McRae has long been one of the jazz singers I've meant to fully explore. She's always highly recommended and she certainly possesses an interesting voice. Here she is singing one of my favorite standards, accompanying herself on piano, I believe. She slows down the tune while accentuating its playfulness. Chet Baker could never do this. What she's lacking in the acrobatic vocal display of Ella or Dinah, she makes up for in an earthy tone. 

Bill Evans and Tony Bennett

Although I am not a big fan of Tony Bennett, I always enjoyed the way in which Evans accompanied vocalists. I think his best work with a vocalist was a too-brief LP with Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, Waltz for Debby, but with Tony Bennett, we are treated to a more intimate setting with just piano and vocals. 

Springtime

Remember when Eric Dolphy played flute for Coltrane's Ole Coltrane? This extended composition, "Springtime," returns to Spanish themes with an irresistible bass groove. Eric Dolphy's solo starts off bumpy, as if unsure of himself, but wows with his utterly unique snarl. Dolphy speaks through his horn in a way very few musicians can emulate. 

On Green Dolphin Street with Keith Jarrett

Sometimes you just prefer Keith Jarrett's later trio work over his earlier albums from the 1960s and 1970s. And accompanied by such a powerhouse trio, Jarrett tackles standards in a different way. I think I still prefer Charlie Haden as his bassist instead of Gary Peacock, but the trio complements each other excellently here. Jarrett's solo is nothing but delightful.

Someday My Prince Will Come at Montreux

With Eddie Gomez on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Gomez doesn't have the soft melodic side of Scott Lafaro and is reminiscent of Charlie Haden in tone. DeJohnette is more lively than Paul Motian, which I like. So, good and bad in this incarnation of the Bill Evans Trio.

Bill Evans in 1970

Lovely and short video of Bill Evans live with Eddie Gomez and Morell. Gomez's style has really grown on me. He's no Scott LaFaro, but he has a thick sound with its own rich sense of melody. Hearing Bill respond to questions is always a pleasure, too. Jazz as an intellectual process, indeed! 

Isn't It Romantic?

Isn't it romantic? One of my favorite standards because Ella once sang it, Evans gives this lovely number graceful swing and passion. Chuck Israels, though no Scott LaFaro, plays an incredibly melodic solo, too. Chet Baker also recorded this standard a number of times, including once at a European show.

You've Got To Have Freedom

Haven't listened to this Pharoah Sanders classic for several years. A nice tribute that made me smile. 

Our Second Father

Stunning drumming in this tribute to Coltrane, recorded live at Slugs' Saloon, a legendary club in New York (Sun Ra had a famous stint there, documented in John Szwed's excellent biography of Ra). Jimmy Hopps on drums sounds a little like Elvin Jones, but with a little of Rashied or Muhammad Ali, and it's all fantastic. Stanley Cowell, on the other hand, really does sound like McCoy Tyner, but that's okay. 

Donny Hathaway's Live

1. "What's Goin' On" (Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, Marvin Gaye)
2. "The Ghetto" (Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson)
3. "Hey Girl" (Earl DeRouen)
4. "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King)
5. "Little Ghetto Boy" (Derouen, Eddy Howard)
6. "We're Still Friends" (Hathaway, Watts)
7. "Jealous Guy" (John Lennon)
8. "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)" (Richard Evans, Philip Upchurch, Ric Powell)

Jazzy, funky, soulful, and awesome crowd participation, this live set takes from Hathaway's performances in New York and LA. Some tracks, such as "The Ghetto," ain't nothing but soul-jazz and instrumental funk(and you can hear the blues here, too, in solos and the vamp, and the influence of Afro-Caribbean music in the congas playing a sacred 6/8 groove; but don't forget about the nice soul-clap that leads to the song's final movement!), whereas other tracks achieve a balance between Hathaway's not-quite but very similar to Stevie Wonder-esque vocal style and technique. Unlike Stevie, however, there is more jazz here than most of the former's 1970s releases, including Hathaway on the electric piano and organs. The brother knew how to play, too, though acknowledging that the album was not primarily jazz so his voice prevails. His cover of Gaye's "What's Goin On" is superior, with a jazzed-up refinement and unique interpretation that surpasses Gaye's original (though Marvin Gaye plays some nice acoustic piano for a jazz live rendition, here). The instrumental delights of "The Ghetto" come out again in "Voices Inside (Everything is Everything)," which additionally features a funky bass solo from Willie Weeks. And of course the crowd's participation in "You've Got a Friend" is nothing short of a direct transport back to the club in the early 1970s, a powerful feeling that only the best live albums truly capture. "Lil' Ghetto Boy" may be the best track on the album, perfectly jazzy yet funky and soulful, later sampled by Dr. Dre in the 1990s because of its message (with nice electric piano soloing by Hathaway but definitely not McCoy Tyner or Herbie Hancock, and heavy bass). More so than even Marvin, Hathaway's social consciousness permeated his oeuvre so that his music contained poignant and relevant social and political commentary. So, while you're getting down to his quasi-Wonder vocalization, which is strongest in "We're Still Friends," and the funk, the jamming bandmates and political subtext pervades the entirety of the recording. Moreover, the John Legend cover "Jealous Guy" shows off the band's flexibility, playing a 'rock' song while Hathaway's Stevie Wonder-like style, far more appealing as a vocalist than Lennon, actually works.

Any fan of live 1970s soul recordings will love this. In fact, listening to this album reminds me of Curtis Mayfield's Live, recorded at the Bitter End in New York in the same period. Like Mayfield, this album fuses 1970s funk and soul with touches of jazz and extended bouts of improvisation with social commentary. The instruments used are both typical of 1970s soul: electric piano and organ, congas, electric bass, electric guitar, drums, and, in other forms of funk and soul groups, horns. Both artists are signifyin' and "testifyin' to their hearts content, as well as that of their respective audiences. Remember, "lil' ghetto boy, playing in the ghetto street, what you gonna do when you grow up and have to face responsibility?" Also, "everything has got to get better" shows a profound sense of optimism, joy, and determination in the face of great obstacles, best exemplified by "Lil' Ghetto Boy" and "The Ghetto." As for those who want to knock Hathaway for sound too similar to Stevie, I say, well, he's playing a different style of jazzy soul that Wonder, also proficient in the jazz idiom, recorded less often. Moreover, he does not aim for the Wonder falsettos or other characteristically Wonder style. Thus, Hathaway remains singularly and uniquely Hathaway, while also performing fascinating covers. Regardless, this style of early 1970s soul is among my favorites of the genre, an atmostphere successfully created in early Gil Scott-Heron albums such as Pieces of a Man (blogged about here). As a fan of both jazz and soul, seeing their successful fusion into the 1970s remains utter delight.