Post-bop is jazz from the mid-1960s onward that assimilates hard bop, modal jazz, avant-garde and free jazz without necessarily being immediately identifiable as any of the above. According to musicologist Jeremy Yudkin, post-bop does not follow "the conventions of bop or the apparently formless freedom of the new jazz". He wrote in his definition of … Continue reading Four Post-Bop Classics on Blue Note
Category: Reviews
This is where I will post my thoughts about my favorite classical or jazz CDs and sometimes survey the various recordings of a specific piece.
Miles Davis “Lost Quintet” : Live in Europe 1969
It’s been said, "You haven't heard Miles Davis, until you've experienced him live in concert.” And with with over 36 official live recordings (and countless unofficial bootlegs) the release in 2013 of the Miles Davis Quintet from 1969, Live in Europe, adds what amounts to one of the most important live recordings ever. "It was … Continue reading Miles Davis “Lost Quintet” : Live in Europe 1969
Athens, Alabama-based Alabama Shakes : Sound & Color
Muscle Shoals-inspired, Athens, Alabama-based quartet Alabama Shakes formed in 2009 around the talents of Brittany Howard, Zac Cockrell, Steve Johnson, and Heath Fogg. Originally simply called the Shakes, the band's blend of fiery blues-rock and hard-hitting Southern soul drew comparisons to the Black Keys, Drive-By Truckers, the Detroit Cobras, and even Sharon Jones & the … Continue reading Athens, Alabama-based Alabama Shakes : Sound & Color
Lucinda’s Louisiana Ghosts : Highway 20
One year after the release of her double album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Lucinda Williams has released another record. The Ghosts of Highway 20 (February 5th), which focuses on a region which I know well. Having grown up in Shreveport, Louisiana, I-20 (which Lucinda calls a highway) runs right through my home … Continue reading Lucinda’s Louisiana Ghosts : Highway 20
American Original : Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974)
"I am not an instrument-maker, but a philosophical music-man seduced into carpentry." American composer Harry Partch (1901-1974) had a musical vision for which 12-toned instruments were not enough. His objection to the standard western classical scale wasn’t so much along the philosophical lines of Schoenberg and other early 20th-century atonalists; he was mainly frustrated by … Continue reading American Original : Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974)
Muddy Water[s] : Down on Stovall’s Plantation
“Name McKinley Morganfield, nickname Muddy Water, Stovall’s famous guitar picker,” Muddy clearly said in his first ever recording session, August 1941. McKinley “Muddy Water” Morganfield, of course, the father of modern Chicago Blues, and the only household Blues name – along with B.B. King. Note that “Water” is singular, and the beauty here is that … Continue reading Muddy Water[s] : Down on Stovall’s Plantation
Miles Davis : Bitches Brew (1970)
Shortly before his death in 1991, Miles Davis remarked “You don’t change music, music changes you.” While that statement is unassailable regarding the vast majority of artists, no matter how influential, Miles Davis was definitely an exception. Indeed, the Man with the Horn was being uncharacteristically modest, and he knew it. He did, after all, actually … Continue reading Miles Davis : Bitches Brew (1970)
Charles Mingus : The Jazz Workshop Concerts: 1964-1965
When Sy Johnson, a jazz pianist and arranger, used to visit Charles Mingus at his apartment in the East Village in the 1960s, there was always a pot of soup on the stove, and Mingus—a gourmand who once interrupted a concert to eat a steak dinner on the bandstand—was constantly tasting it. “He would say—‘Needs … Continue reading Charles Mingus : The Jazz Workshop Concerts: 1964-1965
American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
“I consider myself a classical guitar player, but I’m categorized as a folk musician,” John Fahey says ruefully in the new documentary In Search of Blind Joe Death—The Saga of John Fahey. In true Fahey fashion, he speaks humbly while taking Occam’s Razor to his own complicated place in music history. One thing that Fahey … Continue reading American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
Abbey Lincoln : A Turtle’s Dream
Singer Abbey Lincoln has been persuasive in her recordings over the past few years, but in her latest release, "A Turtle's Dream," she attains a new expressive depth and ardor. Probably the best recording of her career, "A Turtle's Dream" documents an artist who has pared down her means and her message to their essence. … Continue reading Abbey Lincoln : A Turtle’s Dream
Musica Kaleidoskopea 