What jazz music are you listening to?

[PierreB]

[joel_hifi]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Graham South Quartet - By and By
via Qobuz and on Bandcamp

More new jazz, from a Presto recommendation. Very nice lyrical improvisations on traditional spirituals, well recorded.

Very good first album as a leader!

Edit: and very good collective work

[crwilli]

Melody Gardot - Sunset In The Blue (Qobuz 24/96)

Very nice collection of very well recorded songs.

[joel_hifi]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Joel Ross - Who Are You
Blue Note (2020), via Qobuz

This got a very good review in the most recent Stereophile, but unfortunately didn’t really do much for me. Ross and his band are technically excellent and well polished, but the musical ramblings just left me a little bored. YMMV

Tony, as you said the band is technically very good, but I also enjoyed the rhythmic arrangements and the melodies, maybe I'm biased since vibraphone is one of my favorite instruments in jazz (after piano and saxophone of course!), anyway a nice discovery for me, thanks!

[bart]

Frank Sinatra - This is Sinatra!
Qobuz 24/192




Released in '56, and I was wondering why it didn't sound as good as his other albums from around that time until I saw it was recorded in '53 and '55. In the 50s, recording techniques evolved quite a bit.
This album contains a couple of big hits, like 'Love and Marriage', 'I've got the world on a string'.

[bart]

Cyrus Chestnut - Natural Essence
Qobuz 24/96




Very entertaining album with impactful sound.
Buster Williams and Lenny White are brilliant in accompanying the piano player.

[crwilli]

Bob Mintzer Big Band - Gently (DSD64)

[joel_hifi]

Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano, Jan Lundgren - Mare Nostrum III

Last one of the trilogy, released in 2019

[bart]

Cyrus Chestnut - Cyrus Chestnut
via Qobuz




If you look at the list of musicians, you see Cyrus was well surrounded for his debut album.

Joined by several important guests, Cyrus Chestnut proves once again that he is among the brightest, post-bop players of his generation. For this effort, his trio includes legends Ron Carter on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Joining them are all-stars Lewis Nash (drums on two tracks), James Carter (alto on three tracks), Joe Lovano (tenor sax on two tracks), and two significant appearances by vocalist Anita Baker. This album is very good as well as very solid, with no tracks that clearly stand above the rest. Nash and Baker appear together on the album's only two standards: the slow, sexy "Summertime" and the bright, scat-filled "My Favorite Things." Carter's virtuoso brilliance dominates "Miss Thing" and "The Journey." Lovano contributes his unique intensity to "Any Way You Can" and joins Carter for the impressive two-horned workout "Sharp." As for the leader, he continues to demonstrate the rare ability to generate soul from the percussive piano. Though his versatility and technical facility is plainly evident, it is this emotional gift which sets him apart. He can play loud and fast; he has developed a lighter, more delicate touch on the ballads; he imparts elements of both blues and gospel in his sound; and he writes his own music. Cyrus Chestnut is recommended -- the album and the musician.

© Brian Bartolini /TiVo

[bart]

While having dinner we listened to an agreeable and easily digestible album:

The Benny Green Trio - That's right!
via Qobuz




Nice discovery.

At the time of this 1992 recording, Benny Green had developed into a masterful pianist who thought fast, swung hard, and played with soul, mixing together Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris, and Bobby Timmons. The only issue was that his music had become somewhat predictable, sticking closely to the boundaries of hard bop circa 1962. In his trio with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Carl Allen, Green is heard in top form for the period (his version of Bud Powell's "Celia" is particularly memorable) and performs a program that is easily recommended to lovers of bop. Benny Green plays with such enthusiasm and joy that it almost sounds as if he had invented the style.

© Scott Yanow /TiVo