The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

New stuff...

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Kenny Burrell. A very lyrical pianist -- but in a "1960s new thing" way which, depending on one's ideology on what constitutes melody, either makes or breaks interest in the overall proceedings. Fast, progressive company is present with Sirone and Sonny Murray present, which is to say, Dave's music is not for the faint of heart, yet, the melodic tradition is in there...one needs to take the time to discern and pull it out (as one of my bandmates told me back in the '80s: "Jazz if music for those who wish to take the time to figure it out"). I have this single trio date for Dave from the 1955-70 in-the-pocket period. The eight originals are offset by his 19-minute West Side Story medley that leads off the 1968 date and which sets the mood for the overall progressive proceedings.

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Listening to the fourth "live" side right now. 😁 The US version had five studio tracks on the fourth side of this set, whereas the UK version had "One for the Vine" (from Wind and Wuthering), "The Fountain of Salmacis" (from Nursery Cryme, but with Tony Banks playing Steve Hackett's "tapping" guitar part on the synth 😐), and "It/Watcher of the Skies" (the former the final track from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the latter from Foxtrot--I didn't realize how easily the two could be merged). In the digital age, I don't know why they just didn't standardize the CD version around the world and include all the tracks--there certainly is room, as the three additional live tracks are only an additional 26 minutes, and each CD probably had at least 30 minutes of available space remaining.
 
Chick Corea. There are a few musicians where words just don't work...Corea's one of them.

Just listen...

(The recording below was his first recorded trio date (MAR68); by good luck he was paired with two like-minded souls who were also virtuosi -- Roy Haynes, and Miroslave Vitous. By this time, Corea's merits were widely known throughout the jazz community: he had been the arranger in Blue Mitchell's quintet, 1964-66; played with Getz, 1966-67; then replaced Herbie in Miles' famous 2nd quintet in later '68. The below trio date was his 2nd LP as a leader, his debut was recorded in DEC66: Tones For Joan's Bones was a quintet date with Joe Farrell, Woody Shaw, Steve Swallow and Joe Chambers. Man, it doesn't get any better than that.)

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I've been digging the new Lindsey Buckingham album, which is self titled. The tunes are mostly exceptionally catchy and will infect your brain faster than Covid, and even in his 70s his guitar-picking is as amazing as ever. Just listen to the first three songs, I guarantee you will be humming at least one of them, if not all three. The only complaint I have is, lately he insists on singing in this breathy tone that gets kind of repetitive. This is an album that would be a worthy contributor to a best-of compilation, but listening as a whole, it gets a little long.

But the man definitely still has a way with a hook.
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I've also been checking out the new Doobie Brothers disk, which is called Liberte (after a club which they performed in in their early days). It has one of the best looking album covers of their career, but it's kind of a disappointment otherwise. Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons' voices are still in great shape, but the band sounds generic and undistinguished. I have a feeling this might be due to the fact that they recorded the album during the height of the pandemic, so they were never in the same studio together; and they receive (IMHO) a little too much help from producer John Shanks, who co-wrote all the songs, plays electric and acoustic guitar on all songs (what the hell... an outsider playing guitar on a Doobie Brothers album?!) and also contributes vocals, bass, dobro, keyboards, and "programming." It feels like he may have recorded all the basic tracks and emailed them to the rest of the group, who added their parts and sent them back. The result is a record that doesn't sound much like a Doobie Brothers record. The best songs all happen in the second half; "Easy" and "Just Can't Do This Alone" have some of the old Doobies glory, while "Amen Old Friend" is a bit of a rarity -- a ballad sung by Tom Johnston, that gives heartfelt closure to the album and is one of the best songs he's ever done. If only the production and performances were a little more rowdy, this would have been a better record.

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Just downloaded on Apple iTunes, French guitarist Marc Antoine (including a duet with pianist David Benoit "So Nice!" from 2017)!! Antoine's latest is "Something About Her".
 
I brought my turntable downstairs to the living room today. I have pulled old A&M albums and have been putting them on. I started with Michel Colombier and now have Miguel Rios playing. Next up will be Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream. Brasil'66, Other TJB Lani Hall, Rita Coolidge, Carpenters, Pablo Cruise, Captain and Tennille will be on deck over the next few weeks.
 
Playing this one at the moment, mainly for the correct version of "Soul Makossa."

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My cousin just posted a song by Tuba Skinny. I had not heard of them. I have some Hot8 Brass Band, Revival Brass Band of coarse Wynton's "Sweet Jelly Lord". Tuba Skinny is some good dixieland.
 
Stanley Cowell. If you like Chick Corea's '68 trio album, then you may find Cowell's debut offering (JUN69) similarly enticing. Like Corea, Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Joe Zawinul, and other pianists at that time, he was part of the then-new vanguard of melody-centric progressive musicians (as opposed to their "free jazz" cousins) pushing '60s post-bop into uncharted territories. The recording below, originally issued as Blues for the Viet Cong, is timeless and arguably does well to exemplify the overarching influence of Jaki Byard and Bill Evans on late '60s emerging pianists. Like Corea and Hancock, Cowell is a fine writer. He played in Bobby Hutcherson's group, 1968-70 -- with Hutch recording a few of Cowell's memorable originals.

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Just downloaded on Apple iTunes, guitarist Adrian Gurvitz "Acoustic Heart" (from 1996). Adrian was a member of the late Graeme Edge Band (Moody Blues drummer) which made 2 albums in 1975 & 1977 & a member of Baker-Gurvitz Army (the late Ginger Baker of the trio Cream on drums).
 
I've been playing this overlooked gem the past couple of days:

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This was the last full album with Silver's famous quintet of Roy Brooks, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor and Blue Mitchell. My two favorites (out of five--they're all good) are "Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty" and "Sweet Sweetie Dee." On these two tunes, I realize how Silver named his compositions--he fit words to the rhythm of the melody line. On the former, we hear this in the horns when the tempo kicks up. And on the latter, the repeating horn figure does sound a lot like "Sweet Sweetie Dee."

This one hasn't had a legit vinyl release since a 1993 Japan release. Blue Note hasn't touched it in any of their recent series (like Music Matters, 75th Anniversary, Classic Vinyl Series or Tone Poet Series). Prior to 1993 there were a few United Artists-distributed versions, and then the originals released in 1963 and 1966. There is an unofficial mono release on the pirate DOL label out of Europe.

There is an earlier Horace Silver album coming on the Classic Vinyl series. (Might be Six Pieces of Silver.)
 
Back in 1996, I remember getting a review copy of the first in the "Latin Side of..." series by trombonist Conrad Herwig. That was The Latin Side of John Coltrane, and he has done a handful of other tributes. Far as I can tell, the most recent is The Latin Side of Horace Silver, and I have that one spinning at the moment.

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NIca's Dream, Song for My Father, Nutville, The Cape Verdean Blues and Filthy McNasty are among the tracks here. 👍👍
 
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Lowell Davidson. ...and if you liked Dave Burrell (embarrassingly listed as "Kenny" Burrell (no relation) on my 27OCT entry), Lowell's music may be to your liking. It's a bit further out there (imagine his work played by a couple of saxes...!). The album is one of those ESP-Disk releases -- so we all know what ocean we're sailing into, though I would more accurately qualify it as "ESP-lite". We're heading into Cecil Taylor territory and to the casual ear it will be a challenge to determine whether these are actual compositions or on-the-spot improves...but, then again, why should it all the more matter? By 1969, Miles and company popularized (for lack of a better word) the notion of how musically skeletal "feels" could develop through group interplay into a viable composition (e.g., In A Silent Way). The above LP -- his only release -- is a trio date from 1965 and features Gary Peacock and Milford Graves, so his musical company is well known and technically gifted.
 
Back in 1996, I remember getting a review copy of the first in the "Latin Side of..." series by trombonist Conrad Herwig. That was The Latin Side of John Coltrane, and he has done a handful of other tributes. Far as I can tell, the most recent is The Latin Side of Horace Silver, and I have that one spinning at the moment.
Well, it was nice, but...

I don't know what it is about Latin jazz bands in the recent past, maybe the past 20-25 years. It lacks soul. It's lifeless. Tito Puente's ensemble was usually smokin' pretty good up until the end but even on his Concord Picante albums, the music was sometimes just a little too sterile and polite sounding.

This Conrad Herwig CD is a prime example. It has great playing, fine soloists taking their turns in the spotlight, nicely written charts...yet there's no fire. Nothing compels me to listen to this another time, despite liking Horace Silver's compositions and the high caliber of musicianship here. Going back to the 70s' Latin jazz recordings, they were playing their asses off with a barely-contained energy--Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Chico O'Farrill, jeez...I could list dozens I've heard. The only time I really hear fire these days is in some of the Salsa bands coming out of NYC. It's not mainstream, but at least they have their hearts in it. Otherwise, honestly, there are very few Latin jazz recordings in the past 20 or 30 years that have caught my attention. For any album I've listed here that I've liked, there are probably a dozen where I've said "meh, pass."
 
Well, it was nice, but...

I don't know what it is about Latin jazz bands in the recent past, maybe the past 20-25
From what I can figure, once an art form become stable -- that is obvious progression / development has ceased -- subsequent artists act more as caretakers to maintain the now established form. (For instance, compare the development of jazz 1920-1970 to 1970-2020...need I say more?)
 
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