Ornette Coleman: Change of the Century

There is a generation of jazz musicians that we are rapidly losing and yesterday another giant passed on.  Bassist Charlie Haden, whose work with Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and his own Liberation Music Orchestra and Quartet West projects among many others put him at the forefront of so-called "avant garde" or "new jazz" playing, died at age 76 in Los Angeles after a long illness.

Haden, who came to Los Angeles to study music and met Coleman in the mid-1950s, first came to attention in the legendary Coleman quartet that made a splash at the Five Spot Café in New York in 1959 and in subsequent classic recordings for Atlantic Records.  The first, The Shape of Jazz to Come, has been featured here and is one of the great jazz records of all time.

The second album, recorded in Los Angeles in October 1959, is Change of the Century and its assertive, provocative title, as with its predecessor, is more than apt and delivers fully on its promise.  Coleman was hitting on all cylinders with his unusual composition and arranging method, as well as his emotive and innovative playing and his telepathic harmonizing with Don Cherry, on pocket trumpet, continues to astound.  Billy Higgins, an always-versatile drummer who could play as easily with the freest of players as well as the most traditional, is relentlessly swinging even as he adapts his playing to match the unusual structures established by the leader.

Then there's Haden, whose supple, flexible, creative and spot-on tone works in tandem with Higgins to keep those free rhythms with enough organization to allow the soloists to work without hindrance and provide the listener endless enjoyment—provided that the listener appreciates the yeoman work that a bassist provides.

This album is filled with great pieces, from the opening "Ramblin'" to the self-evidently titled "Free," the Higgins-showcase "Forerunner," which also has an excellent blistering Coleman solo and the sublime "Una Muy Bonita," which starts with Haden's low, simple but powerful underpinning riff and Coleman and Cherry's great melodic harmonizing to start a great piece of music.  "Bird Food" has a melody that is, of course, highly evocative of Charlie Parker, showing the importance of tradition expressed in new ways.  Cherry also gets an extended solo here.  Finally, "Change of the Century" features a head arrangement of great complexity and speed with that Coleman/Cherry interplay that may well have peaked on this album and its title track.  Coleman's solo work is also something to behold here.

 

Again, Haden's consistency, inventiveness and dependability in holding down the bottom is nothing short of remarkable on each of these tunes.  He does get to put his playing more in the forefront on "The Face of the Bass" but it is not one he uses to show off, but instead displays his technique in more subtle ways which make his understated playing all the more remarkable.  Sadly, as was too often the case in the jazz world, a heroin addiction led to Haden's departure from the Coleman quartet in August 1960.

 

But, as noted above, Haden went on to other impressive work, but his years with Coleman are likely the most memorable and it's hard to top the fabulous Change of the Century, which had the unusual distinction of being a sophomore release (well, in this case, a major-label followup--two albums on the Los Angeles-based Contemporary label predate the Atlantic albums) that was every bit as good as its forerunner.

 

30 years later, as part of the Los Angeles Festival, a reunion of the Coleman Quartet was scheduled at the beautiful old Orpheum Theatre in downtown.  The September 1990 performance, however, became a late-hour trio when Don Cherry came down sick after a dental appointment.  This listener, just starting to become exposed to jazz in a big way, happened to have great orchestra-level seats near the center of the former movie palace and listened with enthusiastic amateur wonder as Coleman, Higgins and Haden performed two hours of magical music.

 

It was an unforgettable experience and, pondering the death of Charlie Haden, it is one that came immediately to mind when the news was read.  Long may his music be heard and appreciated!

Salamat Ali Khan: Ragas Gunkali, Saraswati, Durga

The British Nimbus label has released many recordings of classical music from the Indian subcontinent over the years and this very fine album of Hindustani vocal music, recorded in November 1990 at the label's studio at Monmouth, England, by the master Salamat Ali Khan and his sons, Sharafat and Shafqat, features three long ragas. 

As pointed out in the notes, very helpful to an amateur (however enthusiastic) such as YHB, Hindustani music from northern India is also found in Pakistan, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), Nepal and parts of Afghanistan.  It is also observed that Muslims and Hindus are practitioners of the ghazal form of the music and often perform together despite the political differences that have driven the two groups apart.

Salamat and his brother Nazakat became known for their vocal duet performances from childhood in the early 1940s and were partners until 1974.  Sharafat then began working with his father and Shafqat joined the two for this first recording session with this album.  The partition of India in the late 1940s meant that the Khans moved to Pakistan and performed there for many years, although their return to India much later was widely hailed, as audiences recognized the brilliance of these amazing vocalists.

The first, the Gunkali, running over 20 minutes, highlights the singing of Shafqat and, while this was his debut on record, his vocal technique is outstanding with power, deft handling of complex lines, and beautifully-controlled tremolo as he navigates the tricky crescendos and diminuendos germane to the form.

On the half-hour Saraswati, Salamat and Sharafat sing with the elder Khan leading and the younger supporting beautifully.  The song is filled with great technique and expressiveness, despite Salamat's recovery from a recent stroke, and his sons obviously learned well from their father's tutelage.  The piece begins quietly and solemnly with the two vocalists accompanied by the harmonium before the tabla breaks in with a flourish at 3:45.  From then on, the Khans work their magic with the fine underpinning by the instrumentalists.

The closing Durga, at a hair over 20 minutes, is a tour-de-force with Salamat and both his sons.  The intertwining and harmonizing of their vocals is a wonder to behold and makes this wonderful song the highlight of the album, even through the other two ragas are remarkable on their own.  The improvisations and vocal gymnastics are spectacular and the three frequently return together to the composed main vocal line.  The tabla player also has the chance to demonstrate more of his skill here than on the other pieces.

The supporting musicians do an excellent job of providing the right balance of playing to buttress the singing of these masters and include Sharafat on harmonium, tabla player Ghulam Abbas Khan, who had accompanied Salamat and Nazakat from the age of 13, and tambura player Christian Ledoux.

The notes also have a useful history of the "khyal" or vocal music embodied by the disc and detailed explanations of the form of each raga.

For a novice, quickly absorbing what he can of the amazing variety, tradition and beauty of the music of India and Pakistan, this is another phenomenal recording among many that will be highlighted here.  While Salamat Ali Khan died in 2004, his sons continue to work as ustads, or masters, in their field. 

Archie Shepp: Four for Trane

Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp's Fire Music was highlighted here before, as the first Shepp recording this blogger heard back in the early Nineties.  The predecessor and the leader's first recording for the Impulse label paid homage to John Coltrane, Shepp's supporter who lobbied hard to have the label sign the young firebrand.  To date, Shepp had played for a period with Cecil Taylor and recorded with Don Cherry, formerly with Ornette Coleman, and others in the New York Contemporary Five.

Four for Trane was not only a tribute to the jazz giant who got him signed to a major jazz label, but a way for Shepp to combine his deep blues feel with a very fine band and the arranging abilities of trombonist Roswell Rudd, who worked frequently with Shepp in the 60s.  The title directly refers to four of Coltrane's pieces covered by the band and this was a smart move by the leader, because it was said to producer Bob Thiele had to really be convinced by Trane to sign and work with Shepp.  This album rewarded Coltrane's persistence.

The opening track "Syeeda's Song Flute" is something else--Rudd's complex and rich arrangement shone through beautifully, as it does on the gorgeous "Naima," one of Trane's greatest compositions.  The way the various horns engage in interplay on both pieces, but especially on the intro to "Naima" is something to behold and it's a shame Rudd didn't get more credit for his arranging work.  Moreover, the other two tunes, "Mr. Syms" and "Cousin Mary" are also solid blues pieces and they provide apt forums for Shepp's earthy and raw playing to their best advantage.

Also a standout throughout this recording is the underappreciated altoist John Tchicai, a half-African, half-Danish player, who performed with Shepp in the New York Contemporary Five and went on to work on Coltrane's free ensemble album, Ascension.  Rudd also plays well and his instrument proved to be an interesting counterpoint to the saxes in the septet.  Trumpeter Alan Shorter, brother of the famed tenor player Wayne Shorter, then just getting his name recognition going with the Miles Davis Quintet, doesn't get that much opportunity to solo.

It's the rhythm section that also gets tremendous credit for holding down the bottom and keeping things truly swinging on this album.  Bassist Reggie Workman had played with Coltrane a number of times and was a very reliable, supple and flexible player behind the band.  Drummer Charles Moffett would go on to achieve his best-known work with Ornette Coleman with the great recordings in Copenhagen in 1966 in the two-disc Golden Circle albums already featured here and others.  His timekeeping is relentlessly sure and confident and he and Workman team up beautifully.

The one Shepp original is the provocatively-titled "Rufus (Swung, his face at last to the wind, then his neck snapped)," a tune that appeared later on a Coltrane/Shepp album recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965.  Tchicai plays fantastically on the opening solo and Shepp comes in with his distinctive earthiness for some excellent interplay and then his own solo, while Workman and Moffett keep things moving with great efficiency and verve.  In a way, "Rufus" was an announcement that, after the fine covers that started the album, Shepp was a fresh, new and exciting voice in the so-called "New Thing" or "Avant-Garde" that was sweeping through jazz in the Sixties.

Shepp followed this record with Fire Music and another excellent album, Mama Too Tight, which will also be featured here in the future.  He spent some time in France recording there at the end of the sixties before returning to America and more Impulse albums.  As jazz continued to decline in popularity, so Shepp's profile dimmed, but he has continued to make excellent music over the years, including a duet album with Dollar Brand that will make an appearance here someday.  He is still with us, as are Workman and Rudd, and Four For Trane is definitely a highlight of his long, interesting and under-recognized career.

Wire: The Ideal Copy

The Ideal Copy was the first Wire album purchased by YHB and was a memorable acquisition in 1987.  The band had recently reunited after several years of inactivity and the change in their sound caused  no small amount of comment (and consternation, in some cases) from fans of their first period from 1977-80 when they issued classic records like Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154.

The truth is that any band that is going to last is going to have to change so that members feel like they're growing and fulfilled and Wire's decision to move into more electronics, while retaining their experimental bent, should, in retrospect, have come as no surprise.

For this listener, there was no predilection to compare this record to those of the earlier era, because there was no previous experience with those great records (that came not long after buying The Ideal Copy led to an exploration of those first discs.)

In any case, this is a memorable album, led off by a trio of tremendous songs: "The Point of Collapse," "Ahead," and "Madman's Honey."  It's no surprise that when the band wisely allowed fans and friends to vote for their favorite tracks for The A-List, a compilation of their late 1980s output, these songs were all included.  "The Point of Collapse" and "Madman's Honey" are more melodic and atmospheric, with minimal guitar lines and enhanced use of keyboards than earlier recordings and Colin Newman's singing was, well, more "honeyed" and far removed from the Cockney sneer of days of yore.  "Ahead," which came out #1 in the aforementioned poll, is more aggressive, but still melodic and more ordered than anything found in the earlier work.

The more experimental and off-kilter work comes with the remainder of the work, including decidedly different vocal turns by Graham Lewis on the intriguing "Feed Me," with its washes of guitar bursts and its repetitive five-note "bass" accompanied by a low, rumbling drone.  The catchy "Ambitious" has a bouncy drum beat, processed guitar riff and another "bas" riff which might have been done on keyboards and a string-like riff that runs throughout the piece.  Lewis talks, roars and sometimes sings through the track in his inimitable way and there is a typical obtuse chanting of various acronyms at the end.  The song is definitely about "The Ideal Copy," though, not atypically for a Wire song, the meaning of the lyrics is unclear (Graham Lewis stated in an interview that the concept referred to DNA, but then guitarist and sound manipulator Bruce Gilbert decided to remove references to DNA from the song!)

The short, cheeky "Cheeking Tongues" has a spiky processed guitar riff, sampled voices and a spry bass line, kept together by Robert Gotobed's metronome-like drumming.  Newman either sings in a higher register or the vocals or processed and they are double-tracked.  Again, there are the impressionistic lyrics, but the "soundtrack to your silence insincere" is a cool-sounding phrase.  The atmospheric "Still Shows" has a sweetly-sung vocal, also by Newman and there is something about "cutting a rabbit/dressing the skin/selecting gear/tearing about" as a kind of chorus.  But, the atmospherics are quite interesting, including a repetitive drumming pattern and a reggae-like rhythm guitar pattern and an echoed bass figure.  "Over Theirs" has a very trebly guitar line, propulsive drum pattern, and a sinewy bass line while Newman sings about things that happen "over and over" in a , surprise, repetitive way.  But, the track is instrumentally rich and compelling and holds the listener's interest.

At a little over 34 minutes, the proper album is a bit slight for a compact disc, so the band included the Snakedrill EP from 1986 with the standout opener "A Serious of Snakes," with its notable line, "I'd rather make furniture/than go to Midnight Mass," an oblique (naturally) reference to Christ and religion complemented by "They abandoned the baby/The baby trained/The baby returns/Baby kills Mary and Joseph."  And, there's some reference to ancient Persia.  But another interesting lyrical element comes with the stanza that runs:

Please send your God
My very best wishes
Does he still sing
Does he still fish
Does he still help you
On your days off

Again, who knows what it all means overall, but there's something impressive about the word play and the impressionistic imagery.

The comes "Drill," a piece the band has frequently referred to and revived as a template of sorts for the general sound that was developed over the course of their late 80s and very early 90s work.  Here, repetition is taken to its (perhaps) logical conclusion and an entire album was devoted in 1991 to the "Drill" concept in several reimaginings.

"Advantage in Height" has an electronic riff, more slashing and trebly guitar, that steady drumming and an impressively deep throbbing bass line behind Newman's vocalizing.  The closer on the EP is the strange "Up to the Sun" intoned largely a capella by Lewis and Newman, with a background of atmospheric electronic textures.  Despite an obvious flub by Lewis early on, the tape kept rolling and then the two harmonize in a strangely effecting way before Newman concludes with Lewis humming a backing line.

A further bonus are three tracks recorded in London.  "Ambulance Chasers" has an off-kilter guitar line and the lyric seems to be about money-grabbing lawyers who are "fucking and sliming/[with] no sense of timing" and someone is warned to "watch the front/[and] watch your behind."  Notably, Robert Gotobed actually breaks away from strict timekeeping to hit a few short fills on his drum kit. 

After a live rendition of "Feed Me" with a stronger guitar wash freed from the processing of the studio version and featuring Newman's vocals, which are not as striking though as Lewis's studio version.  "Vivid Riot of Red" is a live version of "Up to the Sun," and is completely a capella.  The track is made more interesting with audience participation, including shouts, whistles, yells, laughter and the strong burst of applause at the end.

The first album heard from most groups and performers tends to be the one that lives longer in the memory.  The Ideal Copy is, of course, a hodge-podge of a short studio album joined to an earlier EP and the bonus live tracks.  But, what holds it all together is Wire's determined effort to move forward in their unusual and impressionistic musical world.  Many fans of early Wire were disappointed by the late 80s direction, but for YHB who started listening to the band with that material, it seemed entirely fresh and exploratory and, so, was also revelatory.

This listener appreciates the brilliance of the 1977-80 version of the band, but also enjoys most of the 1985-1990 output, too, even the much-maligned Manscape.  Then, to see the band reemerge in the 2000s with a new bent that somehow channeled some of the elements of its past while pushing relentlessly forward was fantastic.  Again, no band or performer can maintain a creative, viable long-term career without changing and adapting and Wire has proved more than adept at that.  Despite Bruce Gilbert's retirement, Wire remains a strong, viable and intensely interesting band.  The Ideal Copy has proven to be an ideal way to start listening to the band.

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians

This is generally considered a landmark "minimalist" recording and perhaps the most renowned of the works of Steve Reich.  The composer and colleagues first recorded the work for this release on ECM (notable as the label of jazz pianist Keith Jarrett among many others) in 1978 and there are detailed explanatory notes by Reich.

He stated in the notes that the earliest work on the piece took place in Spring 1974 and completion took place a little under two years later.  The organization of the instrumentation was new with a violin, a cello, two clarinets doubling the bass clarinet, four female singers, four pianos, three marimbas, two xylophones and a metallophone.

Notably, Reich observed that "there is more harmonic movement in the first 5 minuts of 'Music for 18 Musicians' than in any other complete work of mine to date," though he added that most of this consists of "a re-voicing, inversion or relative minor or major of a previous chord" within a narrowed key signature limit.  Certainly, anyone who has heard his "Early Music" recording (featured here previously) or other works prior to 1976 can identify with his statement on harmony.

Concerning rhythm, always a significant component of Reich's work, he pointed out that there were two simultaneous types in the piece, with the first being "a regular rhythmic pulse in the pianos and mallet instruments," while the other consists of "the rhythm of the human breath in the voices and wind instruments."  These pairings involve playing or singing notes "for as long as their breath will comfortably sustain them."  Reich's discovery that these dual rhythms are akin to "waves against the constant rhythm of the pianos and mallet instruments" and constitute a new sound source that he wished to develop in future work is something the listener can easily pick up on, even amateurs such as YHB.  Even though the strings don't "breathe," Reich wrote that the players can "follow the rise and fall of the breath by following the breath patterns of the bass clarinet.

There are also, he went on, a cycle of eleven chords played at the beginning and end of the nearly hour-long piece, that determine the structure, as "all the instruments and voices play or sing pulsing notes within each chord."  In addition, each "pulsing chord" is held for several minutes, during which a construction is added that changes the following chord and stretches them out.  Moreover, repeated elements will vary by harmony and instrumentation, so that a pulse played by the pianos and marimbas in one section will be followed by marimbas and xylophones in a following one.

Reich also employs interesting relationships between harmony and melody, pointing out that "a melodic pattern may be repeated over and over again, but by introducing a two or four chord cadence underneath it, first beginning on one beat of the pattern and then beginning on a different beat, a sense of changing accent in the melody will be heard."  Again, this is also very discernible and is one of several techniques that reveal how repetition can be given variety to develop a freshness that holds the listener's interest in a long, uninterrupted piece.

Finally, the composer explained that the use of the metallophone is as a cue to guide the musicians from one section to the following one "much as in a Balinese Gamelan a drummer will audibly call for changes of pattern, or as a master drummer will call for changes of pattern in West African music."  Because there isn't a conductor who isn't playing, Reich concluded by stating that "audible cues become part of the music and allow the musicians to keep listening."  This also seems to provide a state of constant interplay that aids in the sense that the music flows smoothly in an organic way, though obviously it is a structural facet of the piece.

It is worth pointing out that Reich's studies in drumming in Ghana in 1970 and then study with gamelan in 1973 and 1974 in Bali gave him the underpinning to introduce concepts of these musics in this composition.  Gamelan has influenced a number of composers, including Satie, Cage, Harrison, Bartok and others.

What stands out to this listener on "Music for 18 Musicians" is that there is obvious repetition and order, but the way that the sustained "pulsing chords" evolve harmonically in tune with melody and with varying combinations of instrumentation following from section to section provides a much-needed variation to keep the listener's attention in focus.  Moreover, there is a true warmth to the playing of these acoustic instruments within the evolving framework of the piece.  The result is a richness and beauty that makes for an important benchmark in the development of so-called "minimalism."  Repeated hearing of this fascinating work continues to yield a great deal of enjoyment and it is a testament to Reich's careful and thoughtful approach that this is the case.

Anthology of World Music: China

This is another entry in a stellar series of traditional world music reissued by Rounder Records from originals produced by the International Music Council and the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation, edited by the institute's founder Alain Danielou and Ivan Vandor and done as a tribute to Danielou's long work in documenting indigenous music.  Vandor, who succeeded Danielou as director of the institute, continued the work of issuing the recordings, which comprised fifty albums released between 1968 and 1987.

The album consists of seven selections for the pipa (four-string lute--already focused on in this blog with the work of the great Wu Man); the zheng (a 16-string zither); the qin (a 7-string zither) and the xiao (a bamboo flute.)  The recording is bookended by the two lengthier tracks (which this blogger most enjoyed), the Haiqing na tian'e (Haiqing Seizing the Swan) and Guangling San (The Song of Guangling.)  But, all the pieces are excellent and highly enjoyable, reflecting the long tradition of Chinese classical music.

The 29-page booklet includes a general essay on Chinese music, including vocal music, as well as the three stringed instruments heard on the recording, commentary on each piece and biographies of the performers.  These latter include Chen Zeming on pipa; Li Tingsong, also on pipa; Ding Boling on zheng; Guan Pinghu on qin; Zha Yiping on xiao; Fu Xuezhai, also on qin; and Wu Wenguang on qin.  Some of them were born in the 1890s and 1900s and others are from a generation or so later.  The performances are striking and, while the sound quality is not likely to please audiophiles, it is hard to argue with the sheer beauty of the playing.

In addition to this great recording, others in the series will follow on Tibetan Buddhist music, Iranian classical music, and a 4-CD compendium of the music of North India.  Rounder, a label founded by three university students in 1970 and which was bought by the Concord Music Group in 2010, deserves a great deal of credit for reissuing this valuable and amazing music.

The Miles Davis Quintet: The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions

After his early development in the bands of the great altoist Charlie Parker followed by his leadership in the so-called "Birth of the Cool" sessions, all in the last half of the 1940s, trumpeter Miles Davis returned from triumph in Europe in 1949 to an indifference in the U.S. that he said fostered his addiction to heroin (after being clean even during his time with the omnivorous Parker).  That descent to hell lasted several years and marked a clear decline in Davis' powers as a player and band leader.

Still, in 1951, as recording technology with the LP was allowing for longer pieces of music and the resulting expanded expression for musicians, Davis signed with the new Prestige label, founded by Bob Weinstock and made a series of recordings that were, generally, hit and miss.

Yet, by 1955, Davis kicked his habit and began making recordings that reflected his healthier status, including works with the great tenor player Sonny Rollins, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, altoist Jackie McLean and others.  He had, however, not had a working band during the first several years of his Prestige era, but that all changed after the trumpeter put on a masterful performance of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, which is thought of as marking his true return to prominence in the jazz world.

In fact, his performance at Newport prompted him to pursue a contract at Columbia Records, which would give him better facilities and promotion for his work, but he still had to deliver product to Weinstock for Prestige.  So, Davis worked out a deal in which he could record for Columbia in 1956, but not be able to release anything until he satisfied the terms of his Prestige contract first.  Weinstock was also compensated for his willingness to abide by the terms of the unusual arrangement.

Davis made his initial Columbia recording debut in October 1955 and followed with sessions in June and September 1956.  The resulting album, the classic Round About Midnight (a strange corruption of the Monk composition mentioned above), could not be released until March 1957 in accordance with the Columbia-Prestige deal.

With his future with Columbia (which turned out, probably, to be brighter and longer-lasting than anyone could have imagined) assured, Davis took his new band into the studios of Rudy Van Gelder in New Jersey and quickly recorded enough material in three long sessions in May, October and November 1956 to be the basis of four major albums:  Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, and Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.  Released between 1957 and 1961, these fine records benefitted from being issues during the years when Davis' Columbia albums, including Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Porgy and Bess and others were establishing the trumpeter as a household jazz name.

This 4-disc set of the Prestige recordings from 1955 and 1956 was issued by Prestige's owner, The Concord Music Group, in 2006 and features an excellent 40-page book with background on the quintet and sessions and some great photos of the band members in the studio and at live gigs.

Unlike the Columbia recordings, in which Davis was given more opportunity to rehearse and record, as well as having access to better studio and recording facilities and equipment, the Prestige sessions were marked by the quick, one-take approach that was favored by Weinstock as closer to a live performance, but also done for economic reasons, given that the label was much smaller.  This doesn't mean the Prestige sessions suffer greatly, but there is a discernible difference in hearing the albums from the respective labels.

As for the band, no one in 1955 knew much about the quartet that Davis recruited.  Pianist Edward "Red" Garland had a light, lyrical touch the leader liked from his years with and admiration for Horace Silver.  Young bassist Paul Chambers had a strong, supple sound and remarkable technique, but was still in his teens and not known when he joined the group, though that soon changed.  Drummer "Philly Joe" Jones was better known and, in fact, had served as a sort of talent scout for his boss and was generally thought to be responsible for pointing Davis towards another Philadelphia musician, tenorist John Coltrane.  Davis and Coltrane had met some years before, though the trumpeter did not apparently remember this when he saw Trane again in 1955.

Once the band began working together, including a long stint at the Café Bohemia, it was apparent that something special was happening, though not without problems.  One was the fact that the other members of the band were heroin addicts and, in Coltrane's case, alcoholics and Davis often had a difficult time keeping his sidemen together to make concerts and sessions.  Coltrane appears to have been the most affected by his addiction and was known to show up at concerts in rumpled, dirty clothing, nodding off on the stage, and otherwise being distracted.  Davis fired members of the band on occasion and even punched Trane in the stomach in a rage after finding his tenor player high.

Coltrane, in fact, was a rough talent even at 30 years of age during these early years with Miles because of his addictions.  Davis frequently kept Trane off the mike at recording sessions when ballads were performed, feeling that his sax player was not well enough developed to play on these sensitive tunes and used him for up-tempo pieces.

It was not until 1957, after Davis punched him and Thelonious Monk, who witnessed the incident, encouraged Trane to join his band, that the tenorist's playing improved markedly.  This was not unlike what Davis had done a few years earlier in kicking his habit and when Trane played in the legendary Monk band at a lengthy engagement at the Five Spot during the latter part of that year, he was clearly a changed man.  In fact, Trane was so superior a player once cleaned up that Davis hired him back and the two went on to make the great Kind of Blue not long afterwards.

The Prestige recordings of 1955 and 1956 are full of remarkable performances, including standards, pieces by Davis, Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, Sonny Rollings and Trane's first recorded piece, "Trane's Blues."  In addition to the studio sessions over three discs, there is a fourth that comprises two songs performed on The Tonight Show in November 1955 (including awkward introductions by sincere jazz fan and host Steve Allen), two songs at Philadelphia's Blue Note club in December 1956 and four tracks recorded at the Café Bohemia in New York in May 1958, well after the group left Prestige.  An enhanced section provides transcriptions of five Miles solos from two sessions and three live performances, as well.

The rhythm section of Jones and Chambers, with Garland's consistent comping, are excellent and, on those occasions where Coltrane was really on, glimpses of his future greatness are in evidence.  Meanwhile, Davis had mastered the art of finding the right note for the right time, of using the trumpet's middle range to execute beautiful lyrical emotion, and of adapting and arranging pieces to fit the band's strengths. 

If anything, his skills as a band leader were as important, if not more so, than that of a player from the time this band came together to make these great recordings.  And, it was only going to get better with the Columbia sessions, as will be covered here soon.

Black Uhuru: Chill Out

For a few years after the death of Bob Marley and before dancehall turned the music into an electronic shell of its former self, reggae had Black Uhuru as its biggest offering to the wider world.  A trio of great albums on Island Records from Sinsemilla in 1980, to 1981's Red (already featured here) and then 1982's Chill Out, today's selection, put the band, which was first formed in 1972, on the map.

With lead vocalist and chief songwriter Michael Rose providing memorable socially conscious lyrics and melodic ideas, and supported by backing vocalists Sandra "Puma" Jones and founder Duckie Simpson, the band was further strengthened by the amazing "Riddim Twins" of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, whose telekinetic synchronicity was mirrored by the production and arrangement skills, and the session band, The Revolutionaries, are also highly impressive.



The great 1982 Island Records release, Chill Out, by Black Uhuru featured the distinctive vocals and songwriting prowess of Michael Rose and harmonies from Puma Jones and Duckie Simpson, the latter writing two and co-writing a third of the album's nine tracks.

Chill Out is a strong album from start-to-finish with its title track, credited to Rose, Simpson, Dunbar and Shakespeare, featuring an off-kilter guitar line, distinctive percussion touches and the deep, smooth bass and steady drumming of the rhythm section keeping a groove going behind Rose's keening vocals.

"Darkness" by Rose is another standout, taking a different tack tempo-wise from the opener and highlighting Rose's strong sense of wordplay and unique vocalizing with Shakespeare's peerless bass playing shining through.  "Eye Market," has a cool backing vocal refrain by Jones and Simpson and some notable synth touches.  "Right Stuff" is another great tune, even if the vocoder element dates the song a bit."  "Mondays" is a bit simplistic lyrically, but Rose's vocals are so unique that it really doesn't matter and the band plays great.  "Fleety Foot" and "Wicked Act," complete a run of six consecutive Rose tracks, all quite strong.

"Moya (Queen of I Jungle)" by Simpson is probably the one track that might be of lesser interest, though Shakespeare hits single bass notes perfectly to make things move along.  But, Simpson followed that with a masterpiece, "Emotional Slaughter," a deep, emotive and moving song that features Rose's singing at its searching best and another great Shakespeare bass performance, while Dunbar keeps the acoustic and electronic drum patterning steady as she goes.

The Revolutionaries' three lead guitarists, rhythm guitar and two percussionists provide a wall of dense, but very enjoyable and diverse sounds along with the supremely confident playing of the rhythm section, who are slyly (get it?) referred to in the credits as "Sly Drumbar" and "Robbie Basspeare.

"Sly Drumbar" and "Robbie Basspeare," the sublime Riddim Twins rhythm section and producers, arrangers and co-mixers of Chill Out, a stellar album when Black Uhuru produced a trio of fine albums between 1980 and 1982.

As great as this album is, the companion dub album, The Dub Factor, proved to be as innovative and forward-thinking of any post-Marley recording and will be given due attention here some day.  This blogger well remembers being at a Bakersfield Red Lion Inn hotel on a weekend work trip and blasting The Dub Factor on a boombox (it was 1984, after all), perplexing and intriguing co-workers in the next room.

Black Uhuru rode fairly high in those days, but it all fell apart after their 1984 album Anthem was released, this record, ironically, winning the first Grammy award for top reggae album.  Rose left the group and Simpson and Jones and then Simpson alone kept the band going for quite a while, but it just never was the same.  After a long hiatus, Rose resumed a solo career, largely steeped in dancehall, but also never reached the heights of prime early 80s Black Uhuru.

Franz Josef Haydn: Symphonies 94. 99 and 101 & Concerto For King Ferdinand, No. 5

This double-disc budget release on the German Pilz label from 1990 features fine performances of three of the great Haydn's later symphonies by the Philharmonia Slavonica, the Süddeutsch Philharmonie and the Camerata Romana--none known in the upper echelons of orchestras or smaller ensembles, but still excellent nonetheless.

Haydn was one of the modern developers of the symphony, though the form was still relatively brief at roughly 25 minutes for each four-movement work, even in the composer's later years--nothing like the gargantuan works by Mahler, Bruckner and others who followed a century and more later.  These were also not monumental sonic blockbusters as with those later composers and were, instead, lighter, more melodic and, yet, still quite rich and complex.

Each of the three symphonies featured in this set was composed during Haydn's first stay in London.  The Symphony #94 was written in 1791 and is usually denoted as the "Surprise Symphony" because of a famed little joke the composer inserted in its second movement.  There is a quiet passage with piano when suddenly a quick loud fortissimo burst erupts from the orchestra before the movement resumes its ambient quietude.  A biographer asked the aged composer whether this was done to awaken a sleeping audience member, to which Haydn replied, "No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new."

The Symphony #99 was written in late 1793 and premiered early the next year on Haydn's second visit to England and is notable for being the first of the composer's symphonic works to feature clarinets.  Coming at around the same time and premiered within a couple of months as the other, the Symphony #101 is usually known as the "Clock Symphony" because of a notable "ticking" rhythm in its second movement.  As with most of the dozen London (or Salomon, after Johann Peter Salomon, a musician, composer, and impresario who brought Haydn to Britain) symphonies, it was very warmly received and, like the others, is frequently performed.

The fifth concerto for King Ferdinand of Naples (later of "The Two Sicilies" in Italy originally featured a pair of that monarch's favorite instrument, an Italian one similar to a hurdy-gurdy.  Modern performances forego that unusual sound and soloists usually feature flutes and oboes.  The second and third movements of the concerto, which was completed in 1786, were recycled the following year in Haydn's Symphony #89.

Haydn is often overshadowed by Mozart, who was a generation younger, but his later works in particular are amazing and the composer became a favorite of this listener from the time his music was first heard a quarter century ago, in 1990.  These symphonies are timeless classics that never get old or timeworn.

Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest

Recorded in the late 1950s, this Smithsonian Folkways album became a favorite for this listener when bought on its CD reissue in 1992.  This was because the way in which the album was recorded and edited was immersive.  The ambient sounds of the Ituri rainforest in what is now The Democratic Republic of Congo is an essential part of the simple, but profoundly affecting, music-making of the Mbuti.  Their story is even more poignant given the turmoil and tragedy experienced by these people in the decades since these recordings were made.  The Congo and the situation of the Mbuti can be read about in many places, including this 2005 National Geographic piece here.

Consequently, this album takes on a greater significance because of what it documented before Congo degenerated into its current state.  The vivid sounds of the rainforest are brought forth throughout and a variety of songs relating to hunting elephants, gathering honey, engaging in ritual dance, holding tribal initiations, and so forth open a window into a little-known and threatened society.

Flutes, a hunting bow played like a jawharp with the mouth, and a variety of choral performances and chants are the centerpieces of this album, with the last fifteen minutes devoted to the sacred ritual of molimo, in which the centrality of the rainforest to the worldview of the Mbuti is honored.  A long, hollowed out piece of wood, like a trumpet and also called a molimo, is used as an instrument in which to sing during such festivities as a fire dance.

Western music tends to emphasize an abstract formality, in which the performance of music is presented in contrived settings.  This is not to be seen as a criticism, but merely as an observance of how far "advanced civilizations" have moved from the genesis of music as part and parcel of everyday activities among pre-literate societies. 

Yet, there are still parts of the world, like the remote Ituri rainforest of northeastern Congo, where, with all the threats and destruction, there are some people, like the Mbuti, who are still connected to music in an aboriginal form, as a part of everyday activities celebrating the forest, animals, hunting, food gathering and religious/spiritual ritual.

Obviously, listening to an album like this gives only a glimpse into that world, but it is a fascinating one.  Over twenty years after the first hearing, this blogger still is awestruck by the plain beauty of the rainforest setting and in the way the Mbuti utilize music as part of the view of their unique world.

Anthony Braxton: For Alto

Anthony Braxton, recently honored as a NEA Jazz Master, has had his music stereotyped as cerebral, dense, impenetrable and more.  The difficulty probably stems largely from the fact that he follows his vision for sound in ways that don't easily dovetail into neat categorizations about what separates improvised jazz from notated composition and that he puts such a great deal of thought into what he creates that his music doesn't provide easy benchmarks from which to listen.  Braxton's music does take effort, more than most people would want to (which is obviously just fine), but the rewards, at least for this listener, are palpable and long-lasting.

There are times, however, when his music has more approachability than others and, while it might be thought that a double album of solo saxophone would be the last place to approach approachability, For Alto actually has a lot that can appeal more broadly than Braxton's debut record, 3 Compositions of New Jazz, which was highly complex, ambient and "difficult."

Still, this is Anthony Braxton, so there are plenty of moments of knotty abstraction, but there are also many instances in which he plays quite melodically, soulfully and with a passion that is, to these ears, accessible, if a listener takes that great advice from saxophonist Albert Ayler and his trumpeter brother, Donald, to "follow the sound" rather than the notes.

After a brief and relatively placid forty-five second opener, the altoist tears into the next track, dedicated to composer John Cage.  Though it is nine minutes long, a concentrated listening to the way that Braxton develops his solo, from the very fast and aggressive first third to a quieter, if still quite intricate, following section that then goes into a remarkable section of overblowing at the upper register after about 4:30 and then carrying the piece through to the end, it is easy to get caught up in Braxton's sheer inspired passion for what he was doing. 

By contrast, the third piece, dedicated to artist Murray De Pillars, is, at first, more melodic and drenched with soulfulness, demonstrating that Braxton could play with a simplified emotion, while still tackling complex structures, such as a notable array of trills, in very effective ways.  Then, he turns to some harsher sounds, alternating between mid and upper range blowing and then punctuated with harsh honks that are very interesting.

A smooth segue into a track dedicated to the great pianist Cecil Taylor moves the tempo up, but not as frenetically as the Cage piece.  Again, Braxton is a marvel in terms of his mixture of formidable technique and the sheer joy of expression.  While it would be tempting to try to equate the saxophonist's approach on this piece of Taylor's ways of playing the piano, it is almost certainly more plausible to think of the spirit of exploration to be the linkage.  In fact, towards the end the playing gets quite bluesy.  In any case, it is great to have one intrepid explorer saluting another.

The longest track, at nearly thirteen minutes, is dedicated to Ann and Peter Allen and the piece is very ambient, understated and the silences or near-silences are notable given much of the busy playing that came before.  The beauty of this piece and in much of the ten-minute one that follows, dedicated to Susan Axelrod, is that Braxton provides the opportunity for ample space in terms of varieties of sound that he works with.  The altoist does open up more with the Axelrod work, turning up the volume, increasing the tempo and playing with more blues feeling, while keeping a strong melodic current going.

It makes the album much more interesting and compelling when he sequenced the tracks to give the listener a chance to enjoy a full range of emotion and sound, from hard-charging, complex runs and blasts of intensity to the more introspective and moodier elements, as found in the Allen and Axelrod pieces.

In fact, the ten-minute piece dedicated to friend Kenny McKenny moves into very experimental territory with multiphonics, unusual breathing and fingering technique and other technical displays that are very much contrasting with the two works before.  Again, though, for those willing to go on that journey into new territory, it is fascinating being in "the bubble" with Braxton as he explores ways to play the saxophone that are probably the most innovative after the death of John Coltrane two years before.  Still, it could easily be understood why the McKenny piece could prove difficult to many listeners and play right into the stereotype mentioned at the outset.

Fittingly, the album concludes with a nearly twenty minute work dedicated to Leroy Jenkins, who worked with Braxton on the 3 Compositions of New Jazz record and subsequent albums recorded for the Actuel label in France and others.  The piece starts off quietly and slowly, with repetitive patterns dominating and then punctuated with more honks and odd blasts of sound to contrast.

Braxton was only 24 when this album was recorded, but it sounds the summation of years of careful accumulation of sounds developed in live and recorded situations by someone much further along in years.  It also bears remembering that this was 1969 when jazz was largely dominated by psychedelic and spiritual music, much of it fantastic, by such major figures as Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders and with Miles Davis's electric revolution just around the corner (yes, not quite "On the Corner".)

Whereas the work of Mrs. Coltrane or Sanders or Davis definitely sounds "of the time," For Alto has a timeless quality to it.  Obviously, being a solo album makes it easier (without harps or electric keyboards or the blissed-out vocals common to the period).  But, it's also that listening to this album makes the listener feel that it's just you and the alto player as he bares his soul through a dizzying palette of sounds that probably was not thought possible at the time. 

For Alto was audacious then and now, over 70 minutes of solo alto saxophone playing by a young man already determined to rewrite the rules of not just playing his instrument, but of composing and of working with sound.  Forty-five years later, the album still sounds ground-breaking, hugely ambitious, fully immersive and impressively realized.

If the NEA Jazz Master program had existed 45 years ago, it seems plausible that Braxton could have been given the award just on the basis of this fantastic and essential document.  In any case, it was great to see him get the honor this late in his life and finally receive some belated recognition for his immense, if somewhat challenging, body of work.

Method of Defiance: Inamorata

Bassist and producer Bill Laswell's career has been a long and varied one, but few of his many recordings feature as many intersections of musicians as his Method of Defiance project's 2007 album, Inamorata. 

This album has a slew of renowned jazz performers from the 1960s onward like tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, keyboardist Herbie Hancock, tenor player and flautist Byard Lancaster, sax player Dave Liebman and guitarist Pete Cosey. 

Younger jazz performers like trumpeters/cornetists Graham Haynes (son of the great drummer Roy Haynes), Toshinori Kondo, and Nils Petter Molvaer,  and keyboardist Craig Taborn are also on board. 

Frequent Laswell collaborators John Zorn, along with his Masada String Trio, guitar wizard Buckethead, former Parliament and Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell and table player and drummer Karsh Kale. 

Finally, as Method of Defiance, in its early incarnations, was heavily driven by the electronic bass 'n drum sound, a plethora of performers from that genre were matched up with the aforementioned musicians, including Paradox, Black Sun Empire, D Star, SPL, Fanu, Outrage, Corrupt Souls, Amit, Evol [misspelled "Evil" on the sleeve] Intent, Fanu and Submerged, the latter being Laswell's partner on the first M.O.D. album and who released this album on his Ohm Resistance label.

These recordings are uniformly interesting and entertaining and some of the performances are just outstanding, including the impassioned playing of Sanders, Liebman and Zorn (and the Masada String Trio's jittery strings with a mournful and brief interlude in the middle of the piece) on their tracks, "Ta' Wil", "Aibi Virus" and "Pattern Engine."  The cooler sounds of the several trumpeters provide a nice counterbalance, while Hancock, Worrell and Taborn use their keyboards to nice effect in providing another palette of sounds to contrast with the horns.  Notably, Cosey and Buckethead, both incredibly inventive and fast players, are somewhat muted here, using their guitars for color and ambience more than for blazing solos or heavy riffs.

The many electronic performers here work well with the other instruments, providing a diverse array of drum machine patterns, electronic percussion and processed sounds that make this more than a typical drum 'n bass record, introducing diversity in its mixings of "live" instruments in the horns, keyboards and guitars categories.  Karsh Kale's excellent table playing on "Aether" is also a highlight, especially as it dovetails with Molvaer's cool keyboards and Laswell's loping bass.  "Remains," featuring Corrupt Souls has several cool and varied electronic "riffs", a sampled voice intoning something about science and technology, and another solid Laswell groove on bass.  "Black Water" has a solid flow to it and Haynes' ultra-smooth cornet work is countered by Lancaster's hard blowing, while Laswell holds it all together with more great playing.

Holding much of this together is Laswell's bass playing--consistently in touch and integrated with the other sounds and highlighting his talent for holding down the bottom of a piece with little wasted effort and flashes of dub and jazz elements.  His work in bringing in a staggering array of jazz-based talent, mixed with Submerged's recruiting of electronic artists makes Inamorata an entirely successful foray into expanding drum 'n bass out of electronics and into a fruitful collaborative partnership with other instruments.

Method of Defiance:  Inamorata (Ohm Recordings, 2007)

1,  Ta' Wil
2.  Humanoid
3.  Hidden Killer
4.  Amenta
5.  Panepha
6.  Babylon Decoder
7.  Aibi Virus
8.  Anti-Jazz Glitch
9.  Black Water
10.  Pattern Engine
11. Aether
12.  Remains

Claude Debussy: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 3: Preludes, Books 1 and 2

This recording, the third of a series of five discs issued by the British Nimbus label in 1998, features the two books of preludes, totaling two dozen pieces, created by the great French composer in 1909-10 and 1912-13.

Although inspired generally, it is said, by the exceptional series of 24 preludes by Frederic Chopin, these works don't bear much resemblance structurally to those classic piano works, which were progressions in key signatures.  Rather, Debussy was motivated by a variety of source material, from a statue in the Louvre museum to a line from poet Charles Baudelaire to a label from a bottle of Italian wine to a reminiscence of days spent by Debussy in Eastbourne, England.

The composer did not take kindly to being labeled "impressionistic" in his style of writing, with the liners by Roy Howat noting that Debussy was interesting in "'something different'—in a sense, realities" though these could be seen as part of a mystery, a natural splendor, a spiritual grandeur that reflects in the emotive, dynamic and shifting elements of his music, in which it is easy to see why "imbeciles" (as he called them) would apply the label "impressionistic" rather than "realistic."

Notably, the composer wrote in 1911, between the production of the two prelude books, that "the noise of the dea, the curve of the horizon, the wind in the leaves, the cry of a bird; all leave impressions [bold added for emphasis] on us."  Howat suggests that Debussy's fascination with musically reflecting environmental aspects was a reality for him, because of an alienation from "an everyday world with which he never quite came to terms."  This, in fact, is not a surprising judgment, given the position of artists of all types, who often develop a "reality" that seems fantastic to others.

In any case, these two dozen pieces do show a range of atmospheres and stylistic variation that show that Debussy was both reflecting tradition while working with a modern palette of sounds and concepts, with unusual scales and the use of chromatic, rather than tonal, elements employing new chordal approaches in his music.  The preludes bring out contemplation, excitement, mystery, playfulness, experimentation, and many other feelings and ideas in a way that is simply unique to the composer.

During the time he was working on the first book of preludes, Debussy learned he had rectal cancer and, as his condition worsened, he underwent an early form of colostomy surgery.  The disease progressed, though, and the composer died of it in Spring 1918.  He was buried in Paris amidst a furious round of bombing by the Germans as the First World War ground to a close.  This aspect lends, perhaps, a further interesting meaning to the debate about musical "reality" as opposed to "impressionism."  Whatever labels are applied to Debussy's music, his unerring instinct for new ways of creative expression and experimentalism are noteworthy throughout his career and the preludes exemplify this.

Martin Jones, a celebrated British pianist whose work for Nimbus includes recordings of all the Felix Mendelssohn piano pieces and those of Spanish composers like Enrique Granados and Isaac Albeniz, as well as Johannes Brahms, Percy Grainger and Carl Czerny, among others, plays beautifully and sensitively.

Raices Latinas: Smithsonian Folkways Latino Roots Collection

Problematic as it can be to identify music by genre, it becomes even more so when confronted with an impossibly broad ethnic term like "Latino."  The prevalency of the Spanish language and the often-brutal history of Spanish colonization might be among the few links between countries as widely differentiated as Cuba, Argentina, and Mexico.  Otherwise, the specific local conditions in these and other places in the "Latin" world get obscured by the identification of "Latino."

Still, Raices Latinas is a fantastic release from Smithsonian Folkways, which always seeks to present interesting material with historical and musical context, so whatever misgivings a listener might have with "Latino" music, it would be really hard not to enjoy this impressive collection.

The album gets off to a fine start with the irrepressible "Un Gigante Que Despierta" (An Awakening Giant" from Nicaragua, followed by a pretty flute-based dance called "Ballecitos" or "Little Dances" from the Andes.  The African-infused rhythms of merengue from the Dominican Republic follow in "Apágame la Veia" (Put Out My Candle) and the diversity and variety flow effortlessly from there.

Music from Puerto Rico, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, the American Southwest, Colombia and Cuba feature great sound and excellent playing.  Lots of fine percussion, passionate and romantic vocals (check the great "Seis Mapeyé" from Puerto Rico and "Los Arrieros", or The Muleteers, a fine mariachi piece from the Mexican state of Jalisco), guitar, flutes and other elements permeate the twenty generous selections.  There's even a nod to California's historical fable involving the possibly apocryphal bandito, Joaquin Murrieta, who was said to have terrorized the state during the peak of the Gold Rush before being captured and executed by a posse in 1853.

For this listener, it is hard to top the Cuban son titled "Yo Canyo en el Llano" (I Sing on the Plain) with its harmonized vocals, fleet-fingered guitar work, and bubbling percussion and the fantastic and plaintive "Las Naranjas" (The Oranges), a beautiful tonada from Chile.  The percussion workout, "Adios, Berejú" sounds like it could have been made in West Africa, from which, of course, much of Latin American music derives.  The "Corrido de Joaquin Murrieta" has a gorgeous melody and is sung beautifully by Luis Méndez.  The album closes with an epic "Las Leyendas de Grecia" or The Legends of Greece, a rumba guaguancó from a live recording in Cuba that makes for a thrilling closer.

As enormous as the so-called Latin world is with all of its varied societies and musics, this survey of twenty pieces is really a great introduction to the sounds of places so vastly different.   The 28-page booklet features two short introductory essays on the Latino Roots collection and on Latin music, followed by song-by-song descriptions that give historical background as well as information on the performers and pieces.  Raices Latinas is a fine way to sample the varied musical heritage of the Spanish-speaking Americas and has great sound to boot.

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman: Song X

Pat Metheny has had great success with his Pat Metheny Group, but lesser known are his occasional forays into "outside" music and he has developed quite a portfolio of collaborations as part of his obvious interest in experimental music.  His "Electric Counterpoint" with minimalist composer Steve Reich and a recent album performing some of John Zorn's Book of Angels works are examples that will be covered here eventually.

One of his more notable collaborative efforts, however, is with alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman on the amazing Song X, Metheny's first album for the newly-launched Geffen label and which was released in 1986.  Back in the early 90s, this was among the first jazz albums purchased by this blogger and it made a big impact then (along with "Electric Counterpoint").  Listening to it nearly a quarter century later does not diminish that feeling. 

Song X was an opportunity for Metheny to "stretch out" and for Coleman to "rein in."  By that, the dense and complex electric funk of the sax giant's Prime Time ensembles was stripped back, allowing Coleman and Metheny to employ the kind of harmonic interplay that stretched back to Coleman's work with Don Cherry in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Making the marriage even more harmonious was the fantastic support of bassist Charlie Haden and the dual drumming of Coleman's son Denardo, who has been an excellent ground for his father over the years, and the always-amazing Jack DeJohnette.

Metheny's decision to record the album live over three days in mid-December 1985 allowed the band to maintain a freshness, immediacy and intensity that could be lacking in something more polished and produced.  Moreover, some of Coleman's best writing is found, either on his own or with collaborative works. 

Among the more adventurous pieces are Coleman's title track and the phenomenal collaboration "Endangered Species."  "Video Games" has a cool theme, reminiscent of some of Coleman's earlier work, but with Metheny harmonizing instead of Cherry and the two go off into extended interplay that is striking.  "Trigonometry" has another one of these fine head arrangements, before Coleman launches into an excellent, exploratory solo, reaching high into the upper register of his alto.   It is also something to hear Haden roaming his bass during Coleman's solo.

Meantime, there are some very fine ballads, including Coleman's "Mob Job" and "Kathelin Gray," by him and Metheny--this latter being one of the prettiest pieces either men has likely done.  Actually, all the pieces are strong, providing for a cohesive and smoothly-flowing sequencing.

For those who want to further revel in the telepathic interplay of the two leaders, "Song X Duo" fits the bill--if anything, at just over three minutes, the piece may be a few minutes too short!  "Long Time No See" is a fine close to a remarkable record and is another piece replete with tight interplay between Metheny and Coleman.  The guitarist even manages some Latin melodic elements in his solo.  Here, as well, the dual drummers do a great job of laying down solid and complex rhythms with nice cymbal work to boot.

Metheny's obvious respect for Coleman is manifested by the fact that, though this was his album and the first for David Geffen's ambitious label, he treated the experience as a true collaboration, giving the saxophonist equal billing and equal time and space.  His guitar work is excellent and understated, not only allowing for Coleman to share plenty of the spotlight, but also for the tremendous support of Haden, Denardo Coleman and DeJohnette to be heard.

Ultimately, Song X is a generous and humble statement of respect by a younger modern musician for one of his musical heroes and it has been viewed as a classic since its release.  A 2004 remastering included six previously unreleased songs.

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman:  Song X (Geffen, 1986)

1.  Song X  5:36
2.  Mob Job  4:07
3.  Endangered Species  13:16
4.  Video Games  5:17
5.  Kathelin Gray  4:13
6.  Trigonometry  5:08
7.  Song X Duo  3:10
8.  Long Time No See 7:39

fIREHOSE: fROMOHIO

After the tragic death of Minutemen guitarist and vocalist D. Boon in an Arizona car accident in late 1985, that great San Pedro-based band suddenly ended, its remaining members, drummer George Hurley and bassist and vocalist Mike Watt, devastated and unsure what to do next.

What took place then was remarkable, but also typical of the kind of loyalty fans of Minutemen had.  Ed Crawford, an Ohio State University student, was deceived by members of the band Camper van Beethoven that Watt and Hurley were auditioning guitarists for a new band.  Crawford called Watt, after finding his home number, and learned the "news" was false.

Still, Crawford showed up at Watt's apartment unannounced and by good old fashioned persistence got the bassist and Hurley to listen to him play.  The two were so amazed at Crawford's passion and determination that they agreed to form fIREHOSE, named for a scene in Don't Look Back, the documentary on Bob Dylan, in which the troubadour held up a hand-lettered board that had the word "firehose" on it.

While there were certain elements of Minutemen that showed through with fIREHOSE, including Watt's distinctive impressionistic lyrics, the dynamism of the rhythm section, and the overall DIY attitude, Crawford's presence (he was known as Ed fROMOHIO for some time) marked a needed contrast from D. Boon.  Namely, Crawford's guitar playing was more of a standard rock sound and less intense.  His voice was more plaintive and emotive and the overall effect was lighter and more folk-like.  Again, this helped give fIREHOSE an identity distinct from Minutemen and certainly energized Watt and Hurley.

By summer 1986, the band was playing gigs and later recorded its debut record, Ragin', Full On, released at the end of the year on SST Records, which had been the Minutemen label.  After a follow-up in 1987 called If'n, the band released what this blogger considers to be its best record, fROMOHIO, released early in 1989.

The album is packed with excellent songs and its recording in 30 hours over four days in October 1988 in a studio in Painesville, Ohio (a town of 20,000 northeast of Cleveland along Lake Erie) probably gave the impetus for a more laid-back, folksy, and relaxed feel.  The band was also well seasoned and fully integrated.

From the opener, "Riddle of the Eighties," to the excellent "In My Mind," and the funky "What Gets Heard," the first half of the record has some strong points.  But, the second portion is uniformly excellent, from the anthemic "Liberty For Our Friend," to the four top-notch pieces in a row, including, "Time With You," "If'n," "Some Things," and the tremendous "Understanding," and then the closing "The Softest Hammer."  The consistency of the songs is really solid and the band plays so well together that fROMOHIO is, to this listener, the highlight of an eight-year odyssey that culminated in a major label deal with Columbia Records and ended with the breakup of the band in 1994.

Watt went on to an interesting solo career, punctuated by a series of "rock operas" for Columbia, as well as a number of collaborative projects with Hurley, and former wife and ex-Black Flag bassist  Kira Roessler, as well as a long stint with Iggy Pop and The Stooges.  Hurley and Crawford have been not as prominent, but still busy with music over the years.  In 2012, fIREHOSE reunited to play at the Coachella festival and a short tour and there has been talk of possible future work, though nothing has been specified.

As great a shock as it was to hear of Boon's death and the demise of the great Minutemen, it was heartening and gratifying to see the formation and career of fIREHOSE, which included almost 1,000 shows and five studio albums.  fROMHOIO is definitely a highlight to YHB and continues to be a favorite recording, especially that run of four songs towards the end of the album.

fIREHOSE: Fromohio (SST, 1989)

1.  Riddle of the Eighties  2:04
2.  In My Mind  2:19
3.  Whisperin' While Hollerin'  2:05
4.  Vastopol  1:29
5.  Mas Cojones  2:05
6.  What Gets Heard  2:29
7.  Let The Drummer Have Some  1:02
8.  Liberty For Our Friend  2:09
9.  Time With You  3:15
10.  If'n  3:17
11.  Some Things  2:46
12.  Understanding  3:15
13.  'Nuf That Shit, George  :40
14.  The Softest Hammer  3:05

Sergey Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 4 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

The Naxos label, so well known and regarded for high-quality and modestly-priced classical recordings, has a series of historical works that might be a problem for audiophiles, but present truly classic performances.

In this case, you can't get much more notable than two of the concertos (though not the notoriously difficult and renowed third) of the great Sergey Rachmaninov, performed by the maestro, with the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra under two of the greatest conductors of the 20th century in Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski.

Recorded between 1939 and 1941, these performances make up for lack of stereo sound what they possess in boundless amounts:  sheer technical and emotional brilliance.  Even though the composer was within a few years of his 1943 passing and his best-known concert days were from the World War I era, it is truly a treat to hear him playing with such precision and passion some of his best-known concertos. 

Amazingly, the liners indicate, Rachmaninov's hands were so large that he could span a chord of a thirteenth (this is twelve keys apart) on his left hand and could do so on a tenth on his right by using the first finger on the lower note and then hitting the upper by thumb crossing.  This kind of technique obviously required enormous amounts of practice as well as physical gift. 

Rachmaninov left his native Russia in the wake of the revolution of 1917 and resided in America for some years before moving to Europe.  With the outbreak of World War II, however, he found himself back in the U.S., where he spent his remaining years touring with a regularity not found since his performing heyday of a quarter-century or so before.

While the composer and pianist is in great form, so is the famed Philadelphia Orchestra under its legendary conductors.  Stokowski, of Irish and Polish extraction, was born in London in 1882 and came to New York in his early 20s as an organist of note.  His first conducting spot was in Paris in 1908 and, within a few years, held the baton in Philadelphia, where he was conductor for a quarter-century.  Stokowski continued to conduct, however, until his death at age 95.

During the last two years of Stokowski's tenure, Eugene Ormandy joined the orchestra.  Born in Hungary in 1899, he was a violinist and arrived in America in the early 1920s.  He worked in an orchestra accompanying silent movies and conducted serious music before becoming conductor with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, where he was well-known for his recordings.  After Stokowski passed the baton on to him, Ormandy led the Philadelphia Orchestra for 35 highly productive and well-known years, retiring in 1973.  He died a dozen years later.

Rachmaninov's first piano concerto was completed in 1891, when still in his teens, and revised it in 1917.  The fourth concerto was finished in 1926 and debuted under Stokowski's baton in Philadelphia in the spring of the next year.  The work, however, was revised in 1941 and recorded under Ormandy's conducting.

The "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" was completed in 1934 and debuted that year with Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  It involves variations on the theme of the 24th and final caprice of the famed 19th-century violinist Niccoló Paganini and runs about 25 minutes long, about the same length of the each of the piano concertos.

It is one thing to hear great music performed by a fine orchestra, but quite another to have the composer as the featured soloist.  This fantastic historical recording is a remarkable document of a top-flight ensemble, conductors of the first order, and a superlative composer and performer.

King Sunny Ade: Live Live Juju

As stated here before, a true concert highlight, among hundreds, experienced by YHB was a 1984 pairing of reggae giants Black Uhuru and the Nigerian juju artist King Sunny Ade.  This was basically the first time hearing music outside of American and English sources and it was a powerful performance with King Sunny's ensemble featuring some twenty musicians and dancers and putting on an uplifting show, combining traditional African drumming and singing with Western instrumentation and grooves, including some spacey keyboard flourishes.

It is also hard to imagine more of a contrast than between the lighter, more playful sounds of King Sunny and the denser, funkier, angrier and more controversial work of Fela Kuti, whose work has been highlighted before.  The question isn't: who's better?  Rather, it is acknowledging (perhaps not unlike comparing Cecil Taylor and Keith Jarrett in the jazz world) the differences and appreciating the varied forms of artistry.

King Sunny had his heyday in America in 1983-84, when he toured to support releases on Island Records, but, by the time Live Live Juju was released in 1988 by Rykodisc from a Seattle show the prior year, his "fifteen minutes" had passed him by.  You wouldn't know it from this excellent album, though, as it features Ade and his band moving through a number of fine pieces, including "Ase," "Maajo," "Moti Mo" and a medley of "E Ba Dupe/F'Oluwa and Sunny Loni Ariya."

As noted in the liners, what this album (and the Live at the Hollywood Palace recording from a few years later) provides is the lengthier, funkier workouts found on Ade's Nigerian albums but edited and repackaged in ways more accessible, presumably, to Western listeners on his Island albums.  Particularly enjoyable in this sense, especially for those who love African percussion, are the longer drum workouts that resound with the intensity, volume and power that is well recalled from the concert that took place a full three decades ago.

By 1987, when this was recorded, King Sunny may have been dropped by Island and the wave that carried him to some notoriety had long receded back to sea, but his sound was still top-notch and Live Live Juju provides ample documentation of the greatness that he and his band possessed.  Long live the King!

Charlie Parker: Yardbird Suite

In 1990, YHB was moving from a predominant interest in alternative rock (whatever that seemed to mean at the time) to a wide-ranging mix of rock, world, classical, hip-hop, reggae and jazz.  With the latter, there had been an initial exposure starting in 1984 to the music of Miles Davis, mostly of that era with a look back at Bitches Brew because of its historic connotations as well as its inherent musical interest.

With the sea change in '90, though, came an opportunity to research the early history of jazz for a project at work.  This involved buying vinyl recordings of such performers as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke and the amazing 1925 and 1927 work of Louis Armstrong and his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens.  It also meant listening to George Gershwin's notable Rhapsody in Blue, as well as wading through such pop confections that appropriated shallow imitations of jazz sounds as those produced by Ferde Grofe, Jean Goldkette and the so-called "King of Jazz," the massively popular Paul Whiteman.

It was naturally Armstrong's work, including small ensemble work with the great pianist Earl Hines and the remarkable bandleader Fletcher Henderson that made the biggest impact.  Before he became popular and settled into an entertainment mode that left the innovations of the Twenties behind, Armstrong was so far beyond his contemporaries in power, control, intonation and improvisatory ideas, in addition to his innate entertainment skills, that it was as if he occupied his own distinct musical world.

After Armstrong, the next musician in jazz who made that sort of impression was the masterful alto saxophonist Charlie Parker.  This blogger saw Clint Eastwood's well-intended, but somewhat one-dimensional film Bird, but had not heard any of Parker's music until a double vinyl album of his Savoy and Dial recordings of the middle to late 1940s was acquired.

What an impression!  It was similar to hearing the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens material--realizing that here was someone who singlehandedly led a musical form into another direction.  Years passed, though, and, while appreciation for Parker's astounding achievements remained, nothing was purchased on CD until quite recently.

Which leads to Rhino's excellent two-disc survey of Parker's short recording career of about a decade, Yardbird Suite.  This well-chosen and sequenced recording, aptly subtitled "The Ultimate Collection," takes the listener from Parker's appearance on a single by his collaborator and fellow innovator, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, from March 1945 to work done under the production of Norman Granz shortly before Parker's death in 1955.

Masterpieces abound, including Gillespie's 1945 renditions of "Salt Peanuts" and "Hot House", Parker's Savoy and Dial recordings of "Ko Ko," "Moose the Mooche," "Yardbird Suite," "Ornithology," "Relaxin' at Camarillo," "Donna Lee," "Chasing the Bird," "Embraceable You," a Gershwin and Gershwin chestnut, the mysteriously named "Klactoveedsedstene." "Scrapple from the Apple," and "Parker's Mood," and his work under Granz  from the early to mid Fifties such as "Star Eyes," "My Little Suede Shoes," "Bloomdido," and "Confirmation."  There is also a nice selection of live recordings from concerts at Birdland, the famed club named for Parker, and Rockland Palace from 1951 and 1952, the latter showcasing him with strings.

It's easy to focus on the Savoy and Dial pieces, which are, without question, where Parker's greatest work is heard, but the judicious selection of material of post-1948 work under Granz' supervision has plenty of excellent playing by the sax legend and his various bands.  In fact, the level of musicianship from his sidemen is generally top-notch, including a young and maturing Miles Davis, the master drummer Max Roach, Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich (on 1950s "Bloomdido"), the great drummer Roy Haynes, who is still with us, Percy Heath, and Bud Powell.

Naturally, hearing Parker create magic time after time on this recording is something to behold.  His sureness of touch, strong tone, speed, power and breathtaking  development of ideas during his improvisations is staggering.  It is easy to see why he was legendary during his short life and so influential (and daunting) to alto sax players and other musicians afterward.  He was truly in his own musical world, as Armstrong was, and others who followed, like Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane.

Attention focuses too often on Parker's drug and alcohol addictions, his behavior towards fellow musicians and people close to him, and so on, but his music, starting with recordings that are seven decades removed, is still powerful and affecting, ensuring he will have a legacy for as long, probably, as music is heard.

In addition to the great music, there is a 60-page booklet chock full of essays with biographical and discographical information, as well as a number of excellent photos of Parker, Harlem during the era, and many of the musicians who played on the tracks.  As a summation of his career and a good introduction to newcomers as well as a satisfying compendium, presumably, for devotees, Yardbird Suite is a great document of the one of the greatest of all musicians, the incomparable Charlie Parker.