For Jazz fans...

[Whitty]

To hear Frisell really connect with horns, I suggest listening to "What Do We Do?" off of Blues Dream. Absolutely majestic playing.

 

Gone, Just Like a Train is an excellent starting point for his repertoire- gentle (not to be confused with sappy) acoustic numbers mixed in with some wilder freakouts like "Blues for Los Angeles" and "Lookout for Hope". Ghost Town is suitable music for chilly, grey Autumn days like the one I'm experiencing here in VA today.

[Vacant Horizon]

these guys are easily my favorite modern jazz group. Just so good.

If you are enjoying them you should seek out a group called Fat Kid Wednesdays. It's the same saxophonist from Happy Apple playing with a couple other guys and they are really good. Their records are released on a french label so sometimes they are hard to find but I think they might be on itunes

 

 

thanks. i knew those dudes had other gigs. the drummer is in bad plus, no?

 

thanks also for all the other suggestions. no pun intended, but my miles, vishnu, return to forever, years coincided with my jam band days back in the 90s. i am kinda done with that. i am really more interested in melody and exploring in the trad set up. maybe with rhodes added in. so i got some stuff to check out!

 

I can relate to that. I really like, admire and am inspired by Frisell, but a lot of his work doesn't connect with me. I haven't been able to get into Intercontinentals or Blues Dream, just to name two albums with larger lineups. As I said before, I gravitate towards his trio albums. For that reason, other favorites of mine include:

 

East/West

The Willies

Ginger Baker Trio: Going Back Home (my intro to Bill, and possibly the reason why I favor his trio albums/albums that feature his guitar as the primary solo instrument)

Bill w/ Dave Holland and Elvin Jones

 

Ive probably only heard about 10-15% of Frisell's output. There's SO much that he's on as a leader or as a sideman.

 

A few exceptions to my "I like Bill better without horns" thing:

 

Dave Douglas: Strange Liberation

Tim Berne: Fulton Street Maul (Nels' brother Alex is on this one)

Jenny Scheinman: 12 Songs

 

 

for some reason frisell makes me sick to my stomach sometimes. seriously. i have spent time with his live album from 91, gone, just like a train, and good dog/bad dog. he's still on my list though. the day will come.

 

 

for fans of rhodes...check out New York Electric Piano. mellow, but sick.

[MrRain422]

The one guy I always go back to is Ornette Coleman.

[Lammycat]

I know the GD shared a bill with him a few times in the early 70s and Garcia played on a few tracks on of one of his albums. Coleman also joined the GD on stage a few times in the 90s.....

[Vacant Horizon]

I saw Chris Potter at my school last year when he gave a masterclass and a performance. Moreover, his drummer Nate Smith in his group Underground gave a masterclass at my school too a few months later. I enjoyed his stuff at the time (I did not listen to any of his stuff prior to performance), but recently I decided to check out his stuff, and now I am realizing it's just okay in my opinion.

 

I dig Jeff Parker a lot lately. I've heard Brad Mehldau is good (he's also coming to my school in May), and I am starting to dig deeply into all of the projects Ken Vandermark has done.

 

And on a side note: I saw Dave Douglas with his brass band quintet at Chicago Jazz Festival this summer, and I thought it was decent.

 

I'm sure Louie B can give you some great advice too.

 

 

yeah, i like potter's composed melodies, but the underground stuff gets a bit jammy for me. same with dave douglas on the composition front. Mehldau is great, but i don't have anything by him. he's on my list. Jeff Parker is okay too. i need to get more into him. he just sounds like tortoise to me so i need to get a bit more open minded.

[Vacant Horizon]

Oh yeah, Naked City. Definitely challenging/abrasive.

 

Well, duh, I totally spaced on an opportunity to pimp Nels. Some great stuff that might appeal to Rider is the Scott Amendola Band. I like "Cry" best. Or, just check out any album Nels plays on that was released by the Cryptogramophone label.

 

 

yes, amendola is on my list. and i gotta check out nels stuff more carefully!

[Vacant Horizon]

Right....are these guys jazz actually? I suppose so.

 

LouieB

 

 

well there's the rub. i am into jazz. not funk or jamband stuff. some of these bands cross over, but the stuff that originates from jazz resonates most with me at this point. i would count mmw jazz, even though they have a following in the dying jamband circuit.

 

incidently, i also like ECM. is that a guilty pleasure?

[jff]

incidently, i also like ECM. is that a guilty pleasure?

 

Only if you feel guilty about it. I'm not sure why you would.

[jff]

for fans of rhodes...check out New York Electric Piano. mellow, but sick.

 

Also, anyone who likes Rhodes should watch the dvd "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue". Herbie and Chick each have segments where they play solo Rhodes and demonstrate how they achieved some of their freakier sounds.

[MattZ]

I realize that terms like jazz, as much as terms like alt-country, are artificial boxes that we put bands/music into because we are lazy, but for purposes of this discussion, can someone explain to me why there appears to be some debate about whether MMW is jazz or not? Give Tonic a spin. Or Friday Afternoon in the Universe. I know that some of their releases push the envelope a bit, but at heart, this is a jazz band, no? I've seen this band several times sit down and play an improv set for the night (see Tonic, which actually is a live release of one of those improv nights). Truly exhilirating.

[remphish1]

I realize that terms like jazz, as much as terms like alt-country, are artificial boxes that we put bands/music into because we are lazy, but for purposes of this discussion, can someone explain to me why there appears to be some debate about whether MMW is jazz or not? Give Tonic a spin. Or Friday Afternoon in the Universe. I know that some of their releases push the envelope a bit, but at heart, this is a jazz band, no? I've seen this band several times sit down and play an improv set for the night (see Tonic, which actually is a live release of one of those improv nights). Truly exhilirating.

 

Notes from the Underground (Which I highly recommend!) is a straight up Jazz record from MMW...Tonic and Friday are classics too!

[mfwahl]

Also, anyone who likes Rhodes should watch the dvd "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue". Herbie and Chick each have segments where they play solo Rhodes and demonstrate how they achieved some of their freakier sounds.

Is that the DVD with the complete Isle of Wight performance? I used to watch that every morning for a couple months after it came out.

[jff]

Is that the DVD with the complete Isle of Wight performance? I used to watch that every morning for a couple months after it came out.

 

That's the one.

[jff]

for purposes of this discussion, can someone explain to me why there appears to be some debate about whether MMW is jazz or not?

 

Maybe because Billy Martin's ride cymbal doesn't go "ting ting ta-ting ting ta-ting ting ta-ting ting" through every song?

[mfwahl]

That's the one.

The interviews with Airto on that DVD are inspirational. He has such a great soul. I'm pretty positive he was tripping his balls off during Isle of Wight (or he was posessed).

[remphish1]

Maybe because Billy Martin's ride cymbal doesn't go "ting ting ta-ting ting ta-ting ting ta-ting ting" through every song?

 

One could argue their albums such as Combustication, The Dropper (some songs), and Uninvisible could fall into a funk, electronica or other genre. They're many examples of recent MMW songs that don't fit the Jazz mold at least in my book. I think MMW's last Jazz record was Shackman (excluding Tonic)....

[jff]

One could argue their albums such as Combustication, The Dropper (some songs), and Uninvisible could fall into a funk, electronica or other genre. They're many examples of recent MMW songs that don't fit the Jazz mold at least in my book. I think MMW's last Jazz record was Shackman (excluding Tonic)....

 

That's all true, but when you have to come up with descriptive names for everything it get's rather annoying. Why not just let MMW be called jazz? Miles Davis spent half his career doing music that didn't fit the jazz mold. Cecil Taylor doesn't fit the jazz mold. Sun Ra. Art Ensemble. Anthony Braxton. Are they not jazz? Should we make up descriptive words for the music all those guys make, none of whom sound at all alike? What purpose would that serve?

 

Or should we just listen and hope we hear something we enjoy?

 

In the end it's all just people hitting and blowing into things at different intervals, with varying degrees of skill.

[Leo]

Not obvious choices, but heavy in my recent rotation:

[Vacant Horizon]

I realize that terms like jazz, as much as terms like alt-country, are artificial boxes that we put bands/music into because we are lazy, but for purposes of this discussion, can someone explain to me why there appears to be some debate about whether MMW is jazz or not? Give Tonic a spin. Or Friday Afternoon in the Universe. I know that some of their releases push the envelope a bit, but at heart, this is a jazz band, no? I've seen this band several times sit down and play an improv set for the night (see Tonic, which actually is a live release of one of those improv nights). Truly exhilirating.

 

 

my sense is that there's no argument. they, like scofield, just kinda found some following with the jamband scene. been meaning to check out Tonic for years!

 

Only if you feel guilty about it. I'm not sure why you would.

 

 

kind of a joke. a little of ECM has a bit of a smooth jazz feel to me.

[Vacant Horizon]

That's all true, but when you have to come up with descriptive names for everything it get's rather annoying. Why not just let MMW be called jazz? Miles Davis spent half his career doing music that didn't fit the jazz mold. Cecil Taylor doesn't fit the jazz mold. Sun Ra. Art Ensemble. Anthony Braxton. Are they not jazz? Should we make up descriptive words for the music all those guys make, none of whom sound at all alike? What purpose would that serve?

 

Or should we just listen and hope we hear something we enjoy?

 

In the end it's all just people hitting and blowing into things at different intervals, with varying degrees of skill.

 

 

to me the dividing factor is skill. training, skill, talent all seem to move me these days. funk/jam bands that sound okay are a dime a dozen. then you got a totally trained/talented/skilled group like mmw and its 'miles beyond'. having knowledge of theory, improve, etc. really sets mmw apart.

[jff]

kind of a joke. a little of ECM has a bit of a smooth jazz feel to me.

True. I've only heard a few ECM records. Some were smooth, others weren't.

 

This one is pretty cool:

 

 

EDIT: That image is supposed to be Jack Dejohnette's "New Directions: In Europe" (w/ Lester Bowie, John Abercrombie and Eddie Gomez...the image wasn't working a minute ago, but now is. ??)

[Vacant Horizon]

True. I've only heard a few ECM records. Some were smooth, others weren't.

 

This one is pretty cool:

 

 

 

will check it out! jan garbarek is an ECM sax player and his stuff gets a little smooth. but nothing like WJZZ, the local smooth station.

[jff]

but nothing like WJZZ, the local smooth station.

 

Fellow Atlantan. Cool.

 

I had completely forgotten about WJZZ until I went to the dentist recently.

[Vacant Horizon]

Fellow Atlantan. Cool.

 

I had completely forgotten about WJZZ until I went to the dentist recently.

 

 

yeah, they used to play it in the bathrooms at a former employer. it was fun when they would drop in a little santana or steely dan;)

[Mr. Heartbreak]

I finally saw the movie 'Round Midnight and was really blown away by Dexter Gordon's performances. I went ahead and got the soundtrack and then also the additional music under Dexter's name. Some good stuff on there.

Also listening to a lot of Miles and Coltrane, as usual. Just finished listening to Grachan Moncur III, New Africa/One Morning I Woke Up Very Early.