Jazz for aficionados

It was always a real treat to catch Bob Parlocha's show on my morning drive to the gym. Not only did he have vast knowledge of jazz, but we was also humble and teachable ... especially when it came to sharing music from young up-and-comers. Definitely a sad day when we lost him.

The jazz world lost a couple more great artists. Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson left us last week, and today I learned that harmonica player Toots Thielemans passed away.

Hutcherson was one of the very first jazz musicians I experienced in a live performance at San Francisco's Both And Club in the '70s. Being rather Bay Area based, there were other opportunities to see/hear Bobby over the years. Although I never caught Toots live, I remember first hearing that sweet harmonica solo from Quincy's "Walking in Space" album. He always had his own recognizable sound. These guys will be missed.     

Orpheus10, thanks for the additional information and commentary. Always grateful for your contributions and insight. This thing called jazz needs folks who are real students of the art. And you are so right ... it has special meaning to play something I saw Bobby perform. He was also pretty much of a regular guy. There was an occasion when he finished a set at the Oakland Arts & Jazz Fest and there was Bobby, chattin' it up with a few young, up-and-coming aficionados, signing vintage albums. Kinda makes me sad right about now, but still great memories.

Enjoy the music.

Orpheus10, I didn't know Toots played guitar until this morning ... riding in, listening to the local jazz station. They were featuring a cut from something he did in 1953 as George Shearing side man. BTW, vibe player in that group - Cal Tjader.

Many thanks to you and Frogman for sharing those "Toots" recordings. Good stuff!

 

Admittedly kinda late to the party, but wanted to weigh in on this. I understand completely what @frogman is getting at; and for the record, I would call what's in @orpheus10 's Hank Crawford youtube post some form of soul jazz. No doubt, Hank was one of the best.

Also agree with observation about his influence on David Sanborn, although I never really thought about it that way. I caught Sanborn a few years back at Yoshi's San Francisco, and if I remember correctly, he gave homage to Maceo. My wife really likes him. We also saw Gerald Albright at the same venue, as he is one of her favorite artists (good show, BTW). You get the idea. At any rate, this seems to be a discussion about derivations on a theme  ... whether it's jazz-funk, smooth jazz, new jazz, or soul jazz for that matter. To me, there's jazz and then there is everything else. With all due respect, label it what you will, but please don't call it jazz. I mean no disrespect to any of the regulars on this thread. So please forgive me if that appears a little strong.

I have been incredibly blessed to have seen/heard many of the greats in this genre - from Adderley to Zawinul. One of my very early and fondest memories was being in the audience in '71 at a concert featuring Roland Kirk, Gerald Wilson, and Lee Morgan. Along the way there's been a sampling of so-called "smooth jazz" (which I enjoy) and soul jazz, like the stuff that CTI was putting out in the 70's and 80's. When I went to those clubs/shows to see/hear Hank Crawford, George Benson (when he first started singing), Stanley Turentine, Grover Washington, Esther Phillips, Johnny Hammond, and Lonnie Smith ... it was mostly because the women I dated at the time liked "new" jazz, but they didn't care for real jazz.

What always struck me were those times when Grover, George, or Stanley played some of their old stuff - "straight ahead" jazz ... I was really diggin' it. Then the crowd would grow restless and bored. But they came alive as soon as there was something you could clap to or snap your fingers. It was during those times that I came to realize that many of those artists played that type of music because it was generally more popular and therefore, more profitable. Think of the transitions Wes Montgomery and Bird made, playing popular music with strings in order to make a living.

As far as I can tell, so very few ever had much commercial success playing straight ahead jazz. Other than Miles or perhaps Herbie, I can't think of any. That is really a shame. Over the years, many Bay Area jazz-only clubs came and went ... like Kimball's, Keystone Korner, Jazz Workshop, El Matador, Mandrakes, The Both/And; and these all came well after the Black Hawk. I loved those places. Now Yoshi's SF is the latest casualty. They featured a mix of folks like Branford, Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, as well as the Yellow Jackets and Spyro Gyra. But it's hard to remain commercially viable when Diana Krall is the only artist to sell out the place.

Well, I guess that's it. I'm pretty well "ranted out". Thanks for your time; and again, pardon me for hijacking the thread and going off on a bit of a tangent. I'll go back to the sidelines now and take in the commentary. You guys keep on doing what you're doing. It's much appreciated. Happy Listening!

Jumping in real quick to give a big THANKS to all the regular contributors ... and especially @orpheus10  and @frogman for making me feel welcome.

You know it @frogman . One of the few albums I got on vinyl and CD.

Found this nice 3 piece set of Dexter Gordon. Solid all the way 'round

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woVHjtWaVoY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmiRnPjLCA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVEA6dLRbOs

@orpheus10 thanks for Mark Masters "Blue Skylight" . Streaming it now. Great production quality.

Mostly agree with you @orpheus10 regarding Lee Morgan. With me, it's always been a toss-up between Lee and Miles. One thing I may have noted before, in interviews where Miles gives a rundown of his trumpet contemporaries, he never had anything to say about Lee Morgan - good or bad. He  talked about other folks, but not Lee. I always wondered what that was about.

Just as an aside. Checked out a biopic this weekend of Chet Baker "Born to be Blue" ... a fairly good movie IMHO. Apparently he had the chops early on to be picked up to play with Birdman when Chet was in his early 20's. Drugs derailed his career.  

Not to re-open the debate about "best of" but I agree with @orpheus10 somewhat. That is, nobody could touch Lee Morgan. There was no better trumpet player from the hard bop era. To me, that period is synonymous with what I call "straight ahead" jazz.  Miles was hanging tough during his time with Prestige joined by Coltrane. Not close to what Lee was doing.

[+1 with @frogman ]But as far as this art form we call jazz, taken in its totality ... Miles is at or near the top. Miles continued to evolve and innovate beyond hard bop. There were large ensembles, full orchestras, a movie score, various kinds of arrangements and presentations. My personal tastes span from the 50's through some of his electrified stuff like "Jack Johnson" and "In A Silent Way" and most everything in between. He lost me at "Bitches Brew".

I have plenty of Miles and Lee, and thoroughly enjoy both.Thinking about it in terms of which artist I would miss most, if removed entirely from my collection, as a headliner (vs. sideman) -  I'd let go of Lee before Miles. We all have opinions. This is mine.

Please forgive me if this has been posted elsewhere on the thread. Hard to believe Lee was only 20 years old or so when this was done. So mature and professional after just 7 years of playing. Found myself sayin' "wow" out loud: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjG7IQIqN32eTtxW6Fph9gFVyGubGWF26

Happy Listening!

 

@orpheus10 first, I can’t presume to speak for @frogman or @learsfool . They’ll have to weigh in themselves. But what I can say is when we look at jazz, unless we accept the premise that it encompasses more than bebop and hard bop, then there is no need for further discussion.

“Bird was the giant among us. He was our musical and spiritual leader. Bird died before I had a chance to let him know his message got through to me.” Sonny Rollins, in a snippet from interview on local jazz radio station 4/15/17

Miles carried a message too. What Sonny’s statement says is that Miles’ legacy was through how he influenced other musicians. By the way, I feel that’s an important distinction between Lee and Miles. Morgan was a better bebop/hard bop trumpet player; Miles was a superior musician. That was reflected in how Miles interacted with Gil Evans on big band and larger ensembles, in addition to Miles’ many groups … including his two great ensembles . Many would say they were perhaps the greatest groups ever assembled: Coltrane, Cannonball, Bill Evans, and Paul Chambers; then Shorter, Hancock, Tony Williams, and Ron Carter.

So, there were 8 other musicians – each considered a virtuoso in their own right – who Miles drove to their better selves. Then you have Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, and JJ Johnson. Adding to that list, we have those who became part of the electrified era. True, it was the forerunner to “fusion”; but I certainly wouldn’t put it in the same class as so-called “smooth jazz” [please don’t get me started!]. How about Chick Corea?  

The most amazing thing about “Kind of Blue” is that each cut was done in one take. It was an intricate expression of a type of jazz based more on scales than chords. That was Miles. He communicated his vision of what he wanted to the group, laid it out, and then they jammed. I think the result speaks for itself. In the DVD “Herbie Hancock: Possibilities” Herbie talks about Miles’ influence on him and his stable mates and how they all learned to create on the fly and to exhibit exceptional artistry while staying “in the moment.”    

Miles’ view of jazz was that it was always changing and evolving … pushing the limits. He was not alone in that. There was the “free jazz” period, with the likes of Anthony Braxton. [I walked out on folks like Oliver Lake and Archie Shepp]. Years ago I went to see Cannonball  at the Both/And Club in SF. Joe Zawinul was on keyboards (he would later collaborate with Miles on” Bitches Brew”). A couple of years later Zawinul teamed up with Wayne Shorter to form Weather Report. I went to check them out not knowing what to expect. Was it mainstream jazz? No. It was something different; and I liked some of it. Isn’t that all that really counts?  

One more thing. It's easy to have a certain disdain/dislike for Miles the person ... the attitude, the ego, all of that. But as a musician and a contributor he has very few peers IMHO. 

Happy Listening!

Thanks for the links @frogman ... good stuff indeed. I agree with what you said and how you described the differences between Morgan and Miles.

I'm torn between the two great groups though. BTW, if you haven't already gotten it, check out " '58 Sessions" featuring the "Kind of Blue" ensemble. To me "Bitches Brew" and beyond went a little too far. 

I went back and looked up some history too ... like that Miles was already 30 when Clifford Brown died. Having kicked his heroin habit, he was poised to ascend to the throne; and here comes this newcomer. Listen to Lee Morgan's solos on Blue Train ... recorded when Morgan was just 19 years old. Man, talk about blazing! @orpheus10 I really get your Charlie Parker/Lee Morgan sax/trumpet comparison. Little wonder Lee was never mentioned by Miles. He was not likely to offer any praise; and criticism would have come off as jealousy or bitterness. At least that's my take.

+1 with @schubert . Marian McPartland was a great personality and an elegant lady. She was one of my wife's favorite artists. We had the good fortune to be stage-side for what would be one of Ms. McPartland's last performances. She had to be assisted to her seat, and still put on an excellent show. I'm glad our local station continued to run her recordings of "Piano Jazz." 

Thanks @frogman for clearing that up. Time to let go of the myth. I was going by past limited experience with just a few interviews that I've read. Never thought to look into it further.

The piece you shared shows him giving props to pretty much everybody; and then there's this: http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_4.html

Happy Listening!

@minorl I hear you on Trane. Had the same feeling with his stuff in the latter years "Live in Seattle" (I think?). But from "Blue Train" to about '62-'63 Cotrane was superb. In a class by himself.

And Miles ... I felt disrespected when he turned his back to the audience. As much as I have enjoyed his music over the years, that one and only live performance ranks as probably the worst in my experience. It may have been a function of the let-down from all the anticipation.

Best concert: Sonny Rollins at Zellerbach in Berkeley. The man played his heart out non-stop for a good while, did a couple of encores, and was just cookin' the whole time!

Correction re: best Coltrane years. "A Love Supreme" 1965.  I should've checked first. Happy Listening!

Just this moment, Lee Morgan's "Search for a New Land" came up in my Qobuz queue. Wayne's sax work woven into that piece ... man I could just cry.