Jazz Recommendations

Thanks to Audiogon's redefinition of the threadbank, I stumbled upon this treasure trove! While vacationing last summer in Bordeaux I wandered into a book/music store and heard Didier Lockwood's"Tribute to Stephane Grappelli" playing. WOW! This guy swings!...AND is superbly backed by N. H. Orsted Pedersen (bass) and B. Lagrene (gtr). Well-recorded by SONY-FRANCE, just released in the US on Dreyfus. It won 5 jazz awards in Europe last year......... (As much as I like Grappelli's work, I've always been disappointed by the recorded quality of his efforts: I attended a concert of his (with the Pizzarellis) at the fine-sounding Sanders Theatre at Harvard a few years ago, and asked the sound guy (who had EQ's the room very carefully) why Grappelli's violin sounded so bright and hard. He said it was due to Grappelli's insistence upon using his old favorite mike, with a decidedly bright lower treble, allowing Grappelli to monitor himself despite his hearing loss! So this tribute by Lockwood et al is doubly rewarding in that the upper partials and harmonics of the violin are so well-recorded. It'll REALLY test your upper crossover and tweeter, as well as keep your toe tapping.) Hope you enjoy it. Ernie. (PS Yeah, Charles Lloyd's Water is Wide is great, and getting a lot of airplay in Boston.) Cheers.

Some incredible trombone jazz artists are J.J.Johnson, Kai Winding, Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Curtis Fuller, Bill Watrous, Jiggs Wigham. Keith Jarrett has been mentioned but check out his six sessions at the Blue Note in 1994. Have fun.

Miles Davis: Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain. Frank Morgan, Mood Indigo. Horace Silver, Song for my Father. Charlie Haden, Quartets West Series. Mose Allison. Duke Ellington. Chick Corea, Cannonball Adderly...

Read quickly through the various posts. Seems no one mentioned big bands. I like the Toshiko Akioshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band, Tales of a Courtesan and Long Yellow Road. Rob McConnell & the Boss Brass (I know the name sounds lame) Big Band Volume 1 on PAUSA and The Brass is Back on Concord. Merely suggestions. Not exhaustive for sure and not necesarily winners of desert island sweepstakes either. They just sound good to my ears and they certainly swing, each in their own way.

Me again, Didn't see any mention of Oscar Peterson in there. He is a giant. Oscar Peterson in Russia on Pablo with Niels Pedersen and Jake Hanna is one old piece of vinyl I still go back to once in a while. I like Sonny Stitt also, I remember one Sunday night, over thirty years ago, going alone to a small club here in Montreal run by Doudou Boicel and hearing Mr. Stitt live. There wasn't more than fifteen people in that place and Mr. Stitt appeared to be in a foul mood, but the playing was fine by me and the immediacy of it all still makes me think he was playing just for me. I am sure I am not the only one out there who has fond memories of Sonny Stitt's playing. Geez, I guess I'll go to my purveyor of fine (and not so fine, believe me it takes all kinds) music tonight and check out what recordings of Sonny Stitt are available.