20-02-2019 # JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1989-1998

Carla Bley

20-02-2019 # JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1989-1998 # WATT Works Family - CARLA BLEY, MICHAEL MANTLER, STEVE SWALLOW, KAREN MANTLER, STEVE WEISBERG, John Scofield, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, Al Di Meola, Tom Harrell, Patricia Barber, Dave Douglas, Diana Krall, Zachary Breaux, Jane Bunnett and The Spirits of Havana

J A Z Z   M U S I C

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1989-1998

CARLA BLEY, MICHAEL MANTLER, STEVE SWALLOW, KAREN MANTLER, STEVE WEISBERG
Walking Batteriewoman (Carla Bley) 3:57
Steve Weisberg - I Can't Stand Another Night Alone (In Bed With You) (Clifton Chenier / Steve Weisberg) 5:37
Michael Mantler - Alien, Pt. 2 (Michael Mantler) 3:56
from The WATT Works Family Album / Rec. 1973 - 1989

A dazzling electric guitarist with a steely tone and fluid lines to earmark his distinctive post-bop style. Known for his distinctive, slightly distorted sound, jazz guitarist John Scofield is a masterful jazz improviser who has straddled the lines between straight-ahead post-bop, fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. One of the "big three" of late 20th century jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), Scofield's influence grew in the '90s and continued into the 21st century.
John Scofield
Wabash III (John Scofield) 6:22
So Sue Me (John Scofield) 6:03
Flower Power (John Scofield) 5:01
from  Time on My Hands 1990
John Scofield has turned the corner from journeyman jazz guitarist to become one of the most inventive and witty players on the contemporary scene. This date, his first for the Blue Note label, builds on a discography following several recordings for the Gramavision label, and also progresses this contemporary jazz music into an individualism that can only bode well for his future efforts. Teamed with the rising-star saxophonist Joe Lovano and the bulletproof rhythm team of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Scofield is emerging as a player of distinction on the electric guitar, and a composer whose mirthful ideas add spark and vigor to his newfound musical setting. In this co-production with Peter Erskine, Sco has found his melodic stride in making music that is bright and clever without being overly intellectual, retaining a soulful quality enriched by the deep-rooted, bluesy tenor sax of Lovano...

Alto saxophonist, composer, producer, and MacArthur Fellow who founded the influential cross-genre M-Base movement and leads several bands. According to many musicians who came of age between the 1980s and the early 21st century, the influence of M-Base founder, composer, and alto saxophonist Steve Coleman cannot be overstated. His technical virtuosity and engagement with musical traditions and styles from around the world are expanding the possibilities of spontaneous composition.
Steve Coleman and Five Elements
Twister (Steve Coleman) 7:48
Beyond All We Know (Steve Coleman) 4:10
Black Phonemics (Steve Coleman) 4:01
Magneto (Steve Coleman) 2:52
from  Black Science 1991
The mixture of complex funk rhythms and inside/outside soloing performed by the "M-Base" stylists, although similar to Ornette Coleman's free funk, is quite different from any other earlier idiom. Altoist Steve Coleman's CD is recommended as a good example of his music. The improvisations are dynamic, unpredictable, and quite original and the ensemble (which includes pianist James Weidman, guitarist David Gilmore, and three guest vocals by Cassandra Wilson) is tight. Coleman, who wrote all but one of the originals, is the dominant force behind this often-disturbing but generally stimulating music.

Spellbinding jazz guitarist who is revered for his blazing, complex fretwork in the vein of jazz fusion, Latin fusion, and acoustic styles. Guitarist Al Di Meola first rose to prominence as a blazing jazz fusion artist before his playing matured and he began to conquer other styles, such as acoustic Latin music. Born on July 22, 1954 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Di Meola briefly studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston during the early '70s before accepting a job replacing guitarist Bill Connors in fusion trailblazers Return to Forever (a group that also included monster instrumentalists keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, and drummer Lenny White) in 1974. It was with Di Meola that Return to Forever enjoyed their greatest commercial success, as such releases as 1974's Where Have I Known Before, 1975's No Mystery, and 1976's Romantic Warrior cracked the U.S. Top 40 before Di Meola jumped ship to launch a solo career...
Al Di Meola
July (Al Di Meola) 5:25
Maraba (Al Di Meola / Clara Sandroni) 5:22
Song to the Pharoah Kings (Chick Corea) 8:47
from The Best Of Al Di Meola: The Manhattan Years 1992
This is the best of Al di Meola's years with the Manhattan label, which only included three releases: Cielo e Terra, Soaring Through a Dream, and Tirami Su. The selections here are an adequate representation of his output during this three-session stint, so this is fine for the casual fan. Those with more interest are encouraged to check out all three of the aforementioned releases, as they are all excellent.

A first-rate, hard bop-influenced soloist with a lyrical, harmonically sophisticated style informed by his early years with Horace Silver. A highly gifted jazz soloist, Tom Harrell is generally considered one of the top trumpeters of his generation, known for his sophisticated harmonic approach that combines the the power of Clifford Brown with the lyricism of Chet Baker and Art Farmer. Born in Urbana, Illinois in 1946, Harrell grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he first started playing trumpet around age eight. By his teens, he was gigging locally and eventually graduated from Stanford University with a music composition degree. After college, he joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra, touring with the ensemble until 1969. He then spent time in Woody Herman's big band before joining pianist Horace Silver's quintet. He made his recorded debut with Silver, appearing on a handful of albums throughout the mid- to late '70s...
Tom Harrell
Upswing (Tom Harrell) 8:58
Train Shuffle (Tom Harrell) 10:26
Blues Connotation (Ornette Coleman) 6_36
from Upswing 1993
An all-star frontline of Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, and Phil Woods head this impressive sextet record on the Chesky label. The writing on Upswing is inspired throughout, as is generally the case on Harrell's albums. The addition of a third horn allows Harrell to create colors in his arrangements that weren't possible with the two-horn format of many of his previous recordings. The playing on the Upswing is uniformly exceptional. Harrell sticks to flugelhorn for most of the date, often favoring it in situations that would instinctively call for trumpet, and sounds marvelously lyrical throughout. Tenorist Joe Lovano also plays strongly, contributing a wonderfully aggressive and energetic solo on Harrell's "Train Shuffle." Fans of altoist Phil Woods will be delighted by his performance here, as he sounds in fine voice, bringing his idiosyncratic pitch bends and witty in-jokes to the session. Pianist Danilo Perez accompanies enthusiastically, raising the intensity of all those involved. Upswing should be considered an essential purchase for those interested in exploring the Harrell discography.

Barber performes in a cooly understated vocal style influenced as much by film noir as by Carmen McRae and Peggy Lee. Patricia Barber's unique style and unusual voice made her an easy target for critics in the early days of her career. Her piano playing and singing, while inventive, never ventured close enough to the avant-garde to earn her artistic license, and her insistence on writing her own material and adapting songs from the pop world made her difficult to categorize. A tireless performer who refused to conform to more conventional vocal jazz idioms, she worked her way up through the Chicago jazz scene slowly, almost reluctantly, after having spent several years in Iowa attending college and performing with local groups.
Patricia Barber
What a Shame (Patricia Barber) 5:24
A Taste of Honey (Ric Marlow / Bobby Scott) 4:28
The Thrill Is Gone (Lew Brown / Ray Henderson) 4:39
from Cafe Blue 1994
Patricia Barber, who is both a fine keyboardist and an atmospheric singer, contributes roughly half of the material to her Premonition debut. Her dark voice and the generally esoteric program takes awhile to get used to (listeners will have to be patient), but after two or three listens, this thought-provoking and rather moody set becomes more accessible. The music ranges stylewise from sophisticated pop sensitivities to the avant-garde and even touches of minimalism, while not fitting securely into any category. Barber gives a new slant to "The Thrill Is Gone," "Ode to Billy Joe," and even "A Taste of Honey," and her vocals are all quite haunting and contemporary. An added plus to this unusual music is adventurous guitarist John McLean.

Cutting-edge trumpeter who seems equally at home in the avant garde jazz world and the pop milieu. Dave Douglas arguably became the most original trumpeter/composer of his generation. Douglas' stylistic range is broad yet unaffected; his music is not a pastiche, but rather a personal aesthetic that reflects a wide variety of interests. He explicitly cites such diverse influences as Igor Stravinsky, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane. As a composer, Douglas adapts and synthesizes unusual forms and creates his own out of disparate elements. As a trumpeter, he possesses a comprehensive jazz technique; certainly one hears the ghost of Lester Bowie in Douglas' expressive manipulations of timbre and pitch, but more pronounced is the integration of distinctive compositional and improvisational conceptions that ultimately defines his work.
Dave Douglas
Mirrors (Dave Douglas) 3:03
Going, Going (Dave Douglas) 5:47
Who Knows? (Thelonious Monk)
from Five 1995
Trumpeter Dave Douglas' unusual string group (which also includes violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassist Drew Gross and drummer Michael Sarin) is reminiscent in some ways of Ornette Coleman's free-jazz quartet despite not playing any of Ornette's originals and having a very different instrumentation. All of the musicians function as equals, the interaction is often intuitive, and the improvising on eight Douglas originals (including tunes dedicated to Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, Mark Dresser, Woody Shaw, John Cage and John Zorn), Thelonious Monk's "Who Knows," and Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "The Inflated Tear" is on a high level. Well worth exploring.

Contemporary jazz singer and pianist who took the pop world by storm in the 1990s, often echoing early swinging simplicity in her work. At the outset of her career in the 1990s, Diana Krall appeared to be a throwback to a different, classier era -- specifically, the mid-20th century, when the Great American Songbook experienced a revival in the hands of singers such as Nat King Cole. Krall's 1996 breakthrough, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio, deliberately paid tribute to this period, but Krall didn't focus merely on singing the song in an old-fashioned way: as the subtitle of All for You suggested, Krall placed equal emphasis on the piano playing...
Diana Krall 
I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm (Nat King Cole) 2:56
You Call It Madness (Russ Columbo / Con Conrad / Gladys Dubois / Paul Gregory) 4:36
Hit That Jive Jack (John Alston / Alex Alstone / Skeets Tolbert) 4:16
from All For You (A Dedication To The Nat King Cole Trio) 1996
Pianist/vocalist Diana Krall pays tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio on her Impulse! set. In general, the medium and up-tempo tunes work best, particularly such hot ditties as "I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm," "Frim Fram Sauce," and "Hit That Jive Jack." Krall does not attempt to directly copy Cole much (either pianistically or vocally), although his influence is obviously felt on some of the songs. The slow ballads are actually as reminiscent of Shirley Horn as Cole, particularly the somber "I'm Through With Love" and "If I Had You." Guitarist Russell Malone gets some solo space on many of the songs and joins in on the group vocal of "Hit That Jive Jack," although it is surprising that he had no other opportunities to interact vocally with Krall; a duet could have been delightful. Bassist Paul Keller is fine in support, pianist Benny Green backs Krall's vocal on "If I Had You," and percussionist Steve Kroon is added on one song. Overall, this is a tasteful effort that succeeds.

Influenced by George Benson and Wes Montgomery, Zachary Breaux was a flexible guitarist who could handle soul-jazz, post-bop, and hard bop as well as more commercial pop-jazz and NAC music.
Zachary Breaux 
Breakfast at the Epiphany (Zachary Breaux) 0:16
Cafe Reggio (Isaac Hayes) 6:06
The Thrill Is Gone (Arthur Benson / Dale Pettite) 5:10
All Blues (Miles Davis) 6:33
from Uptown Groove 1997
Guitarist Zachary Breaux, who tragically died just a few months after recording this CD (his debut), was a potentially great guitarist with a style coming from George Benson. In fact, his solos are generally more memorable than the purposely commercial material on this set, which largely consists of melodic, jazzy funk jams, usually with rather basic electronic rhythms... Among the other guest musicians are flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Brian Bromberg and pianist Renee Rosnes.

A highly acclaimed Canadian jazz saxophonist known for her cross-genre explorations of Latin and Afro-Cuban traditions. 
Jane Bunnett and The Spirits of Havana
Mondongo 9:55
Inolvidable 7:34
Freedom at Last 8:27
from Chamalongo 1998
Through the years, top Canadian soprano saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett has been an important force in helping to publicize and document some of the top Cuban jazz and folk musicians whose music had rarely been heard previously in the U.S. This particular CD mixes an Afro-Cuban group (that includes Bennett, trumpeter Larry Cramer, either Hilario Duran or Frank Emilio on piano, a couple of percussionists and singer Merceditas Valdes) with the Cuban Folkloric All-Stars, which are comprised of five singers and five percussionists. Since there is a lot of singing in Spanish on this CD, it may not interest jazz purists all that much, but there are also many fine solos from Bunnett and the musicians. The music is quite spirited, stretches the boundaries of Latin jazz beyond bebop, and is certainly full of life. Well worth exploring.