The Jazz Thread

[Sam]

There don't seem to be many jazz threads in this forum. How about we use this thread to discuss our favourite jazz artists and albums. We can also recommend recordings to newcomers who are interested in jazz but haven't heard much yet.

I'll return to this thread later and post about some of my favourite jazz, but in the meantime it's over to you! Neil? Ciaran? Gazeuse? Anybody?!

[Funcrusher]

Well, I'm listening to Miles Davis' "Big Fun" at the moment. Also played Alice Coltrane and a Mingus album today.

[Neil]

Good idea!  

Which Mingus, Funcrusher?

[Sam]

I mainly listen to sax players. Favourites include Dexter Gordon (I highly recommend his album "Go!"), Sonny Rollins (check out "Saxophone Colossus"), Michael Brecker ("Don't Try This At Home"), Joshua Redman ("Freedom in the Groove"); Jan Garbarek ("Twelve Moons"), of course Coltrane ("A Love Supreme", "My Favourite Things", "Giant Steps") , John Surman ("Stranger Than Fiction").

Favourite pianists include Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, the little known but amazing Phineas Newborn Jnr, Brad Mehldau and Kenny Barron.

I absolutely adore Pat Metheny. He's most well known for his Pat Metheny Group releases which combine jazz with Brazillian world beat. Check out "First Circle", "Letter from Home" and "Still Live (Talking)". As for straight ahead stuff his best his "Question and Answer" with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes. His trio albums are great too.

I thoroughly recommend all the albums I've mentioned in this post; they're all fantastic!

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

When my Dad died a few years back, I inherited an enormous collection of jazz - mainly British modern stuff, quite a bit of Norwegian, and also classics such as Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey. This stuff used to drive me crackers growing up, but I'm determined to get to grips with it so I'm working my way through it all. Loose Tubes were a particular favourite of my Dad's. I don't think all their stuff is available on CD though, and I don't have a working record deck at the moment to play the rest of it. I recall them playing on (I think) the Wogan show years ago - the trumpet player had a great big X gaffer-taped onto his bald head, which I thought was very funny as a wee lad. Anyway, their music is pretty crazy.

So far I'm liking Iain Ballamy, Django Bates, Steve and Julian Arguelles, and especially Billy Jenkins who is just nuts. Scratches of Spain (with the Voice of God Collective) is the best of his jazz albums, I think. It's very tongue-in cheek but he's a brilliant guitarist - one of the few I've heard that can make a guitar sound funny. I'm sure there's loads of jokes I'm not getting, but Scratches of Spain is obviously a play on Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain for starters, and you can catch things like "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside" in it. Here's a track called Monkey Men:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zcf6iq

The guitar work on that is very unrepresentative, but it's a good tune. I found a spoof documentary about the Billy Jenkins Blues Collective on YouTube the other day in case anyone's interested. "How can you play in a blues band if you don't hate dogs?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vQLuzjkFBo&mode=related&search=

Parts 2 and 3 should be in the Related box.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

I mainly listen to sax players. Favourites include Dexter Gordon (I highly recommend his album "Go!"), Sonny Rollins (check out "Saxophone Colossus"), Michael Brecker ("Don't Try This At Home"), Joshua Redman ("Freedom in the Groove"); Jan Garbarek ("Twelve Moons"), of course Coltrane ("A Love Supreme", "My Favourite Things", "Giant Steps") , John Surman ("Stranger Than Fiction").

Have you heard Courtney Pine, Tommy Smith, and Andy Sheppard? They were some of Britain's best. I went to see Tommy Smith a few years ago but it all struck me as a bit stale and knowing, so maybe he's not on top of his game anymore. I might upload an Andy Sheppard tune later on.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

Since I can't edit out all that guff, I'll bash on regardless. Here's a couple of tracks from the third Loose Tubes album - the only one that was released on CD. In a travesty of Travelling Wilburys proportions, all their stuff is out of print anyway.

Accepting Suites from Strangers

The Last Word

Wikipedia entry.

[Funcrusher]

Good idea!  

Which Mingus, Funcrusher?

Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

[niat]

Since I can't edit out all that guff, I'll bash on regardless. Here's a couple of tracks from the third Loose Tubes album - the only one that was released on CD. In a travesty of Travelling Wilburys proportions, all their stuff is out of print anyway.

Accepting Suites from Strangers

The Last Word

Wikipedia entry.

Cardinal Tit Storm, I love you. This is probably my favourite album of all time ever ever ever. My school music teacher took a bunch of us to the Covent Garden Jazz Festival and Loose Tubes blew our minds. Saw them live a couple of times after that and they were fantastic.

I have a very old copy of the self-titled first album on cassette, which was copied from vinyl, and an original cassette of Delightful Precipice, the second album. I don't suppose you have any MP3s of them?

I keep meaning to attach a cassette player to my PC and copy them as MP3s, but if there are any decent copies available, I'd love to know how to get hold of them.

Maybe we should start a campaign to get them all re-released on CD, what with their wide-reaching influence on modern British jazz. (Try reading the weekly Jazz listings and not stumbling upon an ex Loose Tubesman.)

[The Region Legion]

Rare mention of Iain Ballamy and Django Bates there - along with Mick Hutton and (later) Tim Harries, they were one half of the incredible Bill Bruford's Earthworks from 1987 to 1994, and their solo output has been pretty excellent across the board also (Ballamy moreso than Bates I'd say - if you can find "Organic & GM Food" by Ballamy's group "Food" then get it).

Tim Berne is also a big favourite of mine - avantgarde jazz in a John Zorn fashion,  perhaps with a little more structure and dynamics though. He's playing The Vortex in London on March 25-27th with some of his incredible bandmates including Marc Ducret, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey, so London whores should get themselves down for one of those nights, shouldn't be disappointed.

I started a Michael Brecker thread recently but he had to die to get it, and no fucker bothered paying tribute except Sam and Ciaran.. you should all be ashamed...

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

I have a very old copy of the self-titled first album on cassette, which was copied from vinyl, and an original cassette of Delightful Precipice, the second album. I don't suppose you have any MP3s of them?

Not at the moment, but that could well change once I get a record player - which will be in the very near future as there's loads of stuff I'm dying to listen to. I'll get back to you on that. In the meantime, it sounds like you already have Open Letter but just say if you want anything else off that.

if you can find "Organic & GM Food" by Ballamy's group "Food" then get it

I haven't heard that one, but I liked the first Food album a lot. The Dave McKean-designed packaging you get on some of Ballamy's stuff is very nice, too. I didn't think his music fit so well with McKean's film Mirrormask though.

[Brian Coat]

Sun Ra: 'Languidity' -  This is the most accessible of  the Sun Ra back catalogue which is a very daunting one this side of Frank Zappas..so start here.

Miles Davis: 'Bitches Brew' or 'Agartha' - Forget the 'Birth of the Cool' sessions, in my opinion Davis'  jazz fusion period is more interesting to listen to and frequently set to a funk backbeat.. nice and surreal.

Donald Byrd: My favourite of his is a song called 'The Emperor' ..  jazz funk
from the top drawer

Courtney Pine: Cant think of any songs or albums but the guy is well known on the jazz circuit and I saw him live once .. good gig.

[Lfbarfe]

Ah, Loose Tubes. It's the trombone passages that do it for me - the modulations on something like 'Yellow Hill' are stunning. I think I've got all the LPs (were there only three?) and I've got 3 TV shows - the C4 documentary from 1987, live at Bath Festival from 1986, and an edition of A Plus 4 where they're interviewed by Mavis Nicholson. Shall I turn YouTube into LooseTubes?

Apart from all of the obvious candidates (Duke, Miles, etc), my main jazz obsession is Tubby Hayes. I'll put a link in the YouTube jazz thread that I hope will show why.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

Shall I turn YouTube into LooseTubes?

It'd be a supremely good use of YouTube if you did.

[Lfbarfe]

It'd be a supremely good use of YouTube if you did.

A shame that certain torrent sites have a downer on music progs, cos I'd bung them all up there in luvverly Xvid.

[niat]

Shall I turn YouTube into LooseTubes?

It'd be a supremely good use of YouTube if you did.

Hear, hear! Do it!

I did have an appearance on Wogan, of all things, on VHS, but most of my VHS tapes have been binned prior to a house move. If I can find it, I'll try to encode it and put it up. I think the song was "Sunny" off Delightful Precipice, but I haven't watched it for years (decades?).

[Lfbarfe]

Are Nic France - Loose Tubes' original drummer - and Martin France - who seems to be Django's drummer of choice now - brothers?

[Lfbarfe]

Meanwhile, I've dug out my Loose Tubes LPs as a result of this thread, and after years of regarding 'Yellow Hill' as their finest moment, it's being challenged by 'Hermeto's Giant Breakfast' from 'Delightful Precipice'. I'll get round to YouTubing the video I have. Honest.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

Meanwhile, I've dug out my Loose Tubes LPs as a result of this thread, and after years of regarding 'Yellow Hill' as their finest moment, it's being challenged by 'Hermeto's Giant Breakfast' from 'Delightful Precipice'.

Heh, yeah. 'Hermeto's Giant Breakfast' is just bloody brilliant.

I've been busy converting the first two albums from vinyl to mp3 and cleaning them up. I'll be putting them on a well known torrent site later on, but here's the aforementioned tune for anyone who might be interested:

Hermeto's Giant Breakfast

It's quite tricky removing hiss and crackle without creating nasty artifacts in the music. I think it's about as good as I can make it, but any feedback would be welcome.

[Lfbarfe]

It's quite tricky removing hiss and crackle without creating nasty artifacts in the music. I think it's about as good as I can make it, but any feedback would be welcome.

What software are you using? I've been thinking about having a go at these albums myself. I think the trouble with home-brew remastering (and some professionals) is that many people think noise removal is the name of the game - for me it's about noise reduction. If I can make tape hiss or surface noise a little less obtrusive, that's a start. Also the condition of the source media counts for a lot.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

What software are you using? I've been thinking about having a go at these albums myself. I think the trouble with home-brew remastering (and some professionals) is that many people think noise removal is the name of the game - for me it's about noise reduction. If I can make tape hiss or surface noise a little less obtrusive, that's a start. Also the condition of the source media counts for a lot.

I used two bits of software for that - tried out a demo of ClickRepair to take out the worst pops and clicks, and Audacity (which is free), to filter out background noise and chop up the files. ClickRepair is really quite amazing, but it has a bit of trouble with brass. Seemingly, brass and unwanted crackle look very similar to it, so to remove clicks and pops without damaging the music you have to use a ClickRepair function which ignores background crackle. The noise reduction function in Audacity is very brutal and definately needs to be used sparingly. I don't think it's good enough to use on its own.

You're right about the noise reduction thing. I may have strayed a little too far into noise removal, but the only place I found it really bothersome was the fade out at the end of Eden Express, where the clarinet (is it?) faded into background hum. It was virtually impossible not to lose some of the clarinet in attempting to reduce the hum.

[Lfbarfe]

You're right about the noise reduction thing. I may have strayed a little too far into noise removal, but the only place I found it really bothersome was the fade out at the end of Eden Express, where the clarinet (is it?) faded into background hum. It was virtually impossible not to lose some of the clarinet in attempting to reduce the hum.

How's about I have a go in Audition/Cool Edit Pro?

[Lfbarfe]

Tell you what - there's a sincere offer of apes, ivory and peacocks for anyone who can turn up a copy of the Loose Tubes version of 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' that I've just read about in the Infax listing for a Prom they did. My mouth is watering at the prospect.

[Cardinal Tit Storm]

How's about I have a go in Audition/Cool Edit Pro?

By all means. Mind you, I don't consider that bit I was talking about at the end of Eden Express to be a serious problem. A real audiophile would, but an audiophile shouldn't really be listening to mp3s!

[Lfbarfe]

Well, I've had a look at the ending of Eden Express (yes, it's a clarinet - think it's a bass played high - either way it'll be Dai Pritchard, love child of John Lennon and Mario Fabrizi) and I've tried all sorts of things, but fear you'll need to live with a little noise. Putting that tiny end section into mono helps hugely (the noise nasties largely cancelling each other out), but it's subtly different to the full stereo and the switch is quite noticeable on earphones. I'll persevere with it, but I suspect that it'll be a case of diminishing returns. I think the idea of getting these into shape and sharing them is excellent, though.

[Lfbarfe]

A couple of desert island selections for you all here:

First up, it's Ken Moule's London Chamber Jazz Group - a standard septet with a string quartet added for a bit of tonal variety. My copy of the LP is the only one I've ever seen (given to me by a mate who used to work on the inkies in the 1960s - if I'd had to buy it, we'd be talking spare kidney territory), but someone else must have one, because this track is very popular for trailers at the BBC, and Alex Lester has used it as a talkover on his Radio 2 overnight show. The soloists are Roy Willox on alto, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and Ronnie Stephenson on drums.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u8ojwy

Sticking with Ronnie Stephenson (just about my favourite jazz drummer, British or American), here's the EmCee Five in 1961 (not to be confused, etc...) with 'The One That Got Away'. The soloists are Miles Davis' biographer and all-round lovely man Ian Carr on trumpet, his brother Mike (EmCee) Carr on piano and Gary Cox on tenor.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/529feo

More Ronnie Stephenson-fuelled greatness, this time from Stan Tracey's 1966 follow-up to Under Milk Wood - 'Alice in Jazz Land'. It's 'Murdering the Time', with solos from Keith Christie on trombone, Kenny Baker on trumpet and Ronnie S on drums, then a typically brisk Stan break before the outro. This album is about to be reissued on CD - about bloody time. My copy's ex-Sheffield public library and you can bloody hear it too.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nyaj80

And finally, the best pop/jazz crossover track ever. I'm sorry, but my conviction is unshakeable. The sound you will hear is the Gordon Beck Quartet in 1967 resoling and reheeling 'These Boots Are Made For Walking' with help from 'Milestones'. GB on piano, the guitarist is 'Johnny' McLaughlin, and the drummer is an absolutely incendiary Tony Oxley*. Although he doesn't get a solo, let's hear it for Jeff Clyne's superb bass playing. This one's available on a CD called 'Experiments with Pops', without which no home should be.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2oxdta

* I never tire of what Stan Tracey said about Tony Oxley - "Most jazz drummers play 'ten-to-ten, ten-to-ten, ten-to-ten'. Tony's more 'A-round-a-bout-a-quarter-past-eleven'.

[Sam]

Has anyone heard of Jerry Bergonzi? He's probably the best tenor sax player in the world. When Michael Brecker was asked "what does it feel like to be the king of the tenor saxophone?" he said "I don't know - ask Jerry Bergonzi"!

Here's a great version of the standard "Have You Met Miss Jones" from his album "Live Gonz!"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dra118

Let me know what you think.

[Lfbarfe]

Has anyone heard of Jerry Bergonzi?

He was with Brubeck for a bit - I've got a Brubeck Montreal Jazz Festival show on video with him on tenor. Good player.

[Lfbarfe]

Mention of Michael Brecker and the presence of some righteous funk on the YouTube Jazz Thread has suggested to me that it might be a good idea to share 'The Chicken' by Jaco Pastorius with you all. The tenor soloists are Bob Mintzer and Michael Brecker, the trumpet solo is Melton Mustafa and the bass player is soloing all the fucking time under the band, and I find it all absolutely electrifying. The drummer is Peter Erskine - a player whom I've always loved for his willingness to subjugate his considerable technical skill in the interests of supplying an impeccable groove. It took years for Dave Weckl to reach the same state of grace.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/apuo6v

[Lfbarfe]

Let me know what you think.

Mountains of technique, but I'm afraid that left me cold. I liked what they did with the changes in the header, but it all became a bit disorienting after that.