03-24-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1980-1990 # John Scofield,Carla Bley, Don Cherry, Latif Kahn, Kenny Burrell,Pat Metheny,Wynton Marsalis, Ginger Baker, Steve Tibbetts,Bill Frisell, Either/Orchestra, Rabih Abou-Khalil
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1980-1990
Fat Dancer (John Scofield)
Beckon Call (Gary Campbell)
Never (Steve Swallow)
from Bar Talk 1980
1980's Bar Talk features a young John Scofield already showing the virtuosity on guitar that subsequently made him a giant in his field. Scofield -- who honed his chops with artists like Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Chet Baker, and Charles Mingus -- displays his talents here as both a player and composer. Scofield is joined in the venture by Steve Swallow on bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums -- a perfectly balanced trio... The album was well received at the time of its printing in 1980. Its influence has grown, becoming a jazz guitar classic, often listed as a favorite recording by professional critics, other musicians, and fans alike...The musician likes to joke around and have fun, but make no mistake, John Scofield is serious about his music.
Reactionary Tango (In Three Parts) (Carla Bley / Steve Swallow)
Útviklingssang (Carla Bley)
Walking Batteriewoman (Carla Bley)
from Social Studies 1981
Not everything Carla Bley has done has been artistically successful, but much of it has -- and the imaginative, good-humored pianist/organist/composer certainly deserves credit for daring to take so many risks. Bley's risk-taking serves her quite well on Social Studies, an unorthodox and adventurous pearl that is as rewarding as it is cerebral. Highlights of this LP range from "Reactionary Tango" (an abstract take on Argentinian music) to the melancholy "Utviklingssang" to the angular quasi-hard bop number "Walking Batteriewoman." This time, Bley leads a nonet, and the star soloists include Carlos Ward (soprano and alto sax), Tony Dagradi (tenor sax, clarinet), Gary Valente (trombone), and frequent allies Michael Mantler (trumpet) and Steve Swallow (electric bass). Bley doesn't allot herself much solo space, but the results are appealing when she does.
Untitled / Inspiration from Home
Air Mail
Sangam
from Music / Sangam 1982
Awesome trippy slow pulsing space jazz with electronics, spacey vocals, and Indian percussion! This is a great reisue of a little known Don Cherry album that was recorded in collaboration with Indian master percussionist Latif Khan. Recorded in 1978 and released in the early eighties on a small European label, this is the nearest thing to a follow-up to Don Cherry's essential Brown Rice album. Like that album, it fuses cosmic electronics, hypnotic percussion, and spacey vocals to create a kind of forward-looking worldbeat jazz that sounds fresher than ever!
All Blues (Miles Davis)
Lament (J.J. Johnson)
from Laid Back (1998)
This Kenny Burrell compilation from 32 Jazz collects some of the guitarist's best work recorded for the Muse label between 1978 and 1983... Featuring variously Larry Gales, Reggie Johnson, and Rufus Reid on bass with Sherman Ferguson and Ben Riley on drums, the tracks are resolutely stripped back. In fact, the real joy here is that with the intimate trio setting one really gets to hear Burrell attack each song head-on in his own bluesy, minimalist style. Included here is an earthy rendition of "All Blues" that showcases Burrell comping behind his own tasteful blues choruses and a gorgeous afterglow version of J.J. Johnson's "Lament."
Guitar virtuoso whose accessible, original style and extraordinary sense of technique bridged the gap between jazz and rock. Since arriving on the jazz scene as an adolescent in the mid-'70s with Gary Burton, guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny has established himself as one of the most original jazz musicians in the world.
An esteemed trumpeter who worked tirelessly to ensure the status of jazz as a respected American art form into the 21st century. The most famous musician in contemporary jazz, Wynton Marsalis had a major impact almost from the start. In the early '80s, it was major news that a young and talented black musician would choose to make a living playing acoustic jazz rather than fusion, funk, or R&B. Marsalis' arrival on the scene started the "Young Lions" movement and resulted in major labels suddenly signing and promoting young players.
Legendary rock and jazz drummer, best known as a member of seminal rock/blues supergroup Cream... Baker made his name entirely on his playing, initially as showcased in Cream, but far transcending even that trio's relatively brief existence. Though he only cut top-selling records for a period of about three years at the end of the '60s, virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Baker's playing...
St. Paul-based guitarist and sonic experimentalist whose urban-landscape fusion offers a totally original approach to the creation of sound. Steve Tibbetts is a contemporary American guitarist, producer, instructor, recording engineer, and composer. His fusion of exotic and urban landscapes offers a widely acknowledged, totally original approach to the creation of sound. He plays acoustic and electric guitar as well as numerous percussion instruments including kendang and kalimba.
A stunning, eclectic guitarist who blends the best elements of rock energy with jazz harmonic sophistication and melodic interpretation. Guitarist Bill Frisell is widely known as one of the most versatile players in jazz history, despite possessing an instantly recognizable warm, bell-like tone on his instrument. Whether playing avant-jazz with his own bands, exploring various aspects of Americana and pop, or composing film scores, Frisell's focus on timbral clarity and elegance shines through.
The Either/Orchestra play challenging large ensemble jazz in the tradition of visionary artists like Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, and Duke Ellington. On-and-off for over 15 years, Boston's ten-piece Either/Orchestra has performed engagingly idiosyncratic large-ensemble jazz while serving as a formative workshop for musicians who have received significant popular and critical recognition in their post-E/O careers. Since the band's inception in 1985, the guiding force behind Either/Orchestra has always been composer and tenor/soprano saxophonist Russ Gershon.
Lebanese-born oud player who mixes traditional Middle Eastern folk with jazz improvisation. The musical traditions of the Arabic world are fused with jazz improvisation and European classical techniques by Lebanese-born oud player and composer Rabih Abou-Khalil.
Pat Metheny Group
Forward March (Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny)
The First Circle (Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny)
Tell It All (Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny)
from First Circle 1984
In First Circle, the Pat Metheny Group settled into a lineup that lasted for quite a while -- with Metheny, keyboardist Lyle Mays, bassist Steve Rodby, and new drummer Paul Wertico forming the core quartet. The ever-restless Metheny also mixes up the music, not quite leaving the Brazilian glide behind but coming up with some fascinating permutations always affixed with his personal stamp. "Forward March," the album opener, is a bizarre parody full of detuned instruments and half-cocked trumpet from Mays; one wonders if this was directed at a few silly skirmishes of the day (Grenada? the Falklands?). "The First Circle" has Brazilian elements, but now in the service of a grander architectural context...
Black Codes (From the Underground) (Wynton Marsalis)
Delfeayo's Dilemma (Wynton Marsalis)
Aural Oasis (Wynton Marsalis)
from Black Codes (From the Underground) 1985
This is probably the best Wynton Marsalis recording from his Miles Davis period. With his brother Branford (who doubles here on tenor and soprano) often closely emulating Wayne Shorter and the rhythm section (pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Jeff Watts) sounding a bit like the famous Herbie Hancock-Ron Carter-Tony Williams trio, Wynton is heard at the head of what was essentially an updated version of the mid- to late-'60s Miles Davis Quintet (despite Stanley Crouch's pronouncements in his typically absurd liner notes about Marsalis' individuality). The music is brilliantly played and displays what the "Young Lions" movement was really about: young musicians choosing to explore acoustic jazz and to extend the innovations of the pre-fusion modern mainstream style. Marsalis would develop his own sound a few years later, but even at age 23 he had few close competitors.
Interlock (Ginger Baker)
Dust To Dust (Ginger Baker)
Uncut (Ginger Baker)
from Horses and Trees 1986
Bill Laswell's musical career has been a highly collaborative one. Almost every new release from solo excursions to a variety of mercurial group projects finds him engaged with a notable instrumentalist from the arenas of jazz, electronica, funk, hip-hop, reggae, and world music... Horses & Trees is no exception. Persuaded by Laswell to continue working throughout the second half of 1980s, drummer Ginger Baker produced some of his most stimulating collections, not least of which were the Laswell produced Middle Passage and this 1986 set. The drummer is rock-solid throughout, which means that most of the compositions become a showcase for an impressive lineup of guest musicians that reads like a list of the Bill Laswell all-stars... "Dust to Dust" is the only piece composed solely by Baker (he shares credits everywhere else) and is the most stunning of the set with a repeated section that sounds like an alien hoe-down with world music undertones... "Uncut" finds the likes of Bernie Worrell, Shankar and Laswell in fine form, taking solos like a jazz combo... Baker, while never caught stealing the show on any track, looms large. On Horses & Trees, his big beat pulls the greatest weight.
Name Everything (Marc Anderson / Steve Tibbetts)
Your Cat (Marc Anderson / Steve Tibbetts)
Drawing Down the Moon (Marc Anderson / Steve Tibbetts)
from Exploded View 1987
Opening with a bang that builds to a thunderstorm, Exploded View is the definitive Steve Tibbets album. His electric guitar howls defiantly without a lot of power chords or convention, and his musicianship is top-notch, perhaps an Adrian Belew without the pop, plus a nod toward world music in production value. Tibbets scrapes and tears through the sky ("Name Everything," "Your Cat") with jaw-dropping intensity, but it would all be too much if there weren't such rich texture and softness folded into the disc as well. "Drawing Down the Moon" is a comparatively restrained piece with acoustic guitars, shakers, kalimba, congas, and a mixed bag of other percussives. .. The album is also a great showcase for Marc Anderson, a fantastic percussionist who shines here. He really understands the musical dialogue going on between himself and Tibbets' guitar...
A stunning, eclectic guitarist who blends the best elements of rock energy with jazz harmonic sophistication and melodic interpretation. Guitarist Bill Frisell is widely known as one of the most versatile players in jazz history, despite possessing an instantly recognizable warm, bell-like tone on his instrument. Whether playing avant-jazz with his own bands, exploring various aspects of Americana and pop, or composing film scores, Frisell's focus on timbral clarity and elegance shines through.
Lookout for Hope (Bill Frisell)
Lonesome (Bill Frisell)
Hackensack (Thelonious Monk)
from Lookout for Hope 1988
Bill Frisell's early work even in its retrospectively rawest form holds all of the values that he has evinced through his entire career. Country and eastern sounds merge with a signature sky church electric approach that is unique unto only himself. Lookout for Hope brands Frisell as a visionary, a virtuoso, and a fusioneer of many sounds that set him far apart from labelmates Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, and Terje Rypdal... there is a sense of peace and serenity that puts soulfulness on a different plane. Cellist Hank Roberts and bassist Kermit Driscoll have much to do with giving Frisell his head, weaving similar silver sounds in and through him. Then add Joey Baron's deft, precise, and colorful drumming to put the exclamation point on Frisell's new approach to improvised music... With Lookout for Hope, Bill Frisell is not so much setting trends and fashion as he is establishing a fresh sound, utterly unique from all others, and laying a foundation for many things to come.
Strange Meridian
Red (Robert Fripp)
He Who Hesitates
Circle in the Round/I Got It Bad (Miles Davis / Duke Ellington)
from The Half-Life of Desire 1989
A lot of bands do covers. Some bands do oddball covers. But few and far between are the bands who dare to end an album with back to back to back covers of a Bing Crosby hit, a Miles Davis/Ellington medley, and Robert Fripp's "Red"! But on The Half-Life of Desire, Either/Orchestra's finest, most accomplished release, that's exactly what this Boston-based ensemble does. Russ Gershon leads the 11-piece group (including future demi-celeb John Medeski) through four originals as well, all strong, especially his own "Strange Meridian" and trombonist Curtis Hasselbring's "He Who Hesitates."... Perhaps the highlight of this set is "Circle in the Round/I Got It Bad" with its furious bass intro segueing into the billowing Davis melody as though skirting a thunderstorm, only to merge unexpectedly into Ellingtonia. Quite a journey, resulting in arguably the best of this unusual band's release. Very highly recommended.
Remembering Machghara (Rabih Abou-Khalil)
Wordless (Rabih Abou-Khalil)
Caravan (Rabih Abou-Khalil / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol)
from Roots & Sprouts / Rec. 1990 (1994)
In a satisfying stylistic experiment, Lebanese composer and oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil has decided to put together an album of jazz numbers with no Western instruments other than Glen Moore's standup bass. There is Yassin El-Achek on violin, but the violin is almost as much a Middle Eastern instrument as a Western one. El-Achek usually remains in the Middle Eastern style of playing, but occasionally, as on "Wordless," he double-stops and trills like Paganini... This conceit paves the way for the extremely rare event of Abou-Khalil covering someone else's song. And which did he choose? Duke Ellington's "Caravan," the all-time most famous faux-Arabic jazz number! The song turns into a duet between El-Achek's violin and Selim Kusur's nay (Arabic flute). It's fun but lightweight compared to the album's originals. All the instrumentalists are in fine form, particularly Glen Velez, who really shakes his tambourine as well as pulling out his snare drums for several numbers. Abou-Khalil has never been better as a performer, especially on the opening of "Remembering Machgara," where he makes his oud sound like an electric guitar...
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