What jazz music are you listening to?

[bart]

Sarah Vaughan - At The Blue Note
via Qobuz




Certainly not her best, but a nice way to end the evening...

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Atzko Kohashi - Frans van der Hoeven - Sebastiaan Kaptein - Lujon
24/96




The Sound Liaison albums are a feast to the ear!
Good ensemble.

We gave this another go.

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers
Qobuz 24/192




Simply superb.
Also the sound.

Recorded Jan. 57.

Billie Holiday - vocal
Harry Edison - trumpet
Ben Webster - tenor saxophone
Jimmy Rowles - piano
Barney Kessel - guitar
Red Mitchell - double bass, on One-1-2 and Two-3 and Bonus
Alvin Stoller - drums, on One-1-2 and Two-3 and Bonus
Joe Mondragon - double bass, on One-5 and Two-3-4-5
Larry Bunker - drums, on One-3 and Two-1-2

We're enjoying this again.
Splendid on all accounts, even the worn out voice of Billie.
She's accompanied in a truly perfect way by especially Ben Webster and Harry Edison.

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Billie Holiday - All or nothing at all
Qobuz 24/192




Only 3 years before she died, but oh my, she does touch the sensitive soul...

Billie Holiday – vocals
Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet
Ben Webster – tenor saxophone
Jimmy Rowles – piano
Barney Kessel – guitar
Red Mitchell – bass
Joe Mondragon – bass
Alvin Stoller – drums

Delicious... and with a single malt and some dark chocolates, we make the best of it during lockdowns...

[bart]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Thelonious Monk - Criss-Cross
Columbia (1973) vinyl

Streaming this via Qobuz (24/96).
One of his better albums.

[bart]

Thelonious Monk
with John Coltrane
Qobuz 24/192

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

The suggestion in another thread inspired me to play this again:

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
Qobuz 24/96




What a great album!!

As Oliver Nelson is known primarily as a big band leader and arranger, he is lesser known as a saxophonist and organizer of small ensembles. Blues and the Abstract Truth is his triumph as a musician for the aspects of not only defining the sound of an era with his all-time classic "Stolen Moments," but on this recording, assembling one of the most potent modern jazz sextets ever. Lead trumpeter Freddie Hubbard is at his peak of performance, while alto saxophonists Nelson and Eric Dolphy (Nelson doubling on tenor) team to form an unlikely union that was simmered to perfection. Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums) can do no wrong as a rhythm section. "Stolen Moments" really needs no comments, as its undisputable beauty shines through in a three-part horn harmony fronting Hubbard's lead melody. It's a thing of beauty that is more timeless as the years pass. The "Blues" aspect is best heard on "Yearnin'," a stylish, swinging, and swaying downhearted piece that is a bluesy as Evans would ever be. Both "Blues" and "Abstract Truth" combine for the darker "Teenie's Blues," a feature for Nelson and Dolphy's alto saxes, Dolphy assertive in stepping forth with his distinctive, angular, dramatic, fractured, brittle voice that marks him a maverick. Then there's "Hoedown," which has always been the black sheep of this collection with its country flavor and stereo separated upper and lower horn in snappy call-and-response barking. As surging and searing hard boppers respectively, "Cascades" and "Butch & Butch" again remind you of the era of the early '60s when this music was king, and why Hubbard was so revered as a young master of the idiom. A must buy for all jazz fans, and a Top Ten or Top Fifty favorite for many. ~ Michael G. Nastos

A true classic.

Recorded Feb 23, '61.

Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone; flute on "Stolen Moments"
Oliver Nelson – tenor saxophone; alto saxophone on "Teenie's Blues"
George Barrow – baritone saxophone
Bill Evans – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Roy Haynes – drums

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Almost another decade younger and as brilliant as the album above:

Joe Morris Quartet - Today On Earth



On of the more accessible outputs of this guitar player. (He's also a bassist).
Very inventive compositions, perfect and delicate interplay (the alto sax and Morris, yummy!), truly excellent bass and drums and a really good recording.
5 stars all the way!

I play this every couple of years and it never ceases to please me.

[bart]

Joe Morris Bass Quartet - High Definition
via Qobuz




I wanted to hear more of this ingenious musician.
With Roon and Qobuz, this not an insurmountable task fortunately.

Another album that contains great, original jazz.
It's not easy listening though.


The All About Jazz review by Glenn Astarita states "With the undeniably synergistic interplay of the ensemble, Morris pursues a striking balance between ultra-modern mainstream, and avant-garde tinged progressive jazz."

In his review for The New York Times, Ben Ratliff notes that "High Definition is more traditional than most of Mr. Morris's albums, and not only because it recalls 50-year-old sources. It's also because Mr. Morris is more conventional as a bass player than he is as a guitarist."

The Down Beat review by Peter Margasak says that "the real accomplishment on High Definition is how Morris fits invisibly in the group flow, particularly with drummer Luther Gray. Together, they mete out an imperturbable pulse."

[bart]

A new ECM release:


Thomas Strønen
Ayumi Tanaka
Marthe Lea - Bayou
Qobuz 24/96




Subtle and delicate.
Lea's vocals give a tender accent.