Jazz Articles about Elvin Jones

Larry Young: Into Somethin'

by Greg Simmons
January 5, 2013

Organist Larry Young's Into Somethin' is full of relaxed grooves, great melodies and strong performances from tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers and 1960s stalwarts Elvin Jones (drums) and Grant Green (guitar). Originally released in 1964, this record has been remastered and released on 45 RPM vinyl by Ron Rambach at Music Matters. Soul Jazz? Groove Jazz? Whatever. It's good jazz and that's what matters. On the opening “Tyrone," Young plays deep blues at a straightforward, un-showy pace that gets ...

McCoy Tyner Trio: Inception

by Lawrence Peryer
January 15, 2012

Though two tracks from October 1960 were previously issued under McCoy Tyner's name, they were outtakes from John Coltrane dates where the saxophonist sat out. Inception marks the pianist's first proper release as bandleader, with the sessions for Impulse! taking place at Rudy Van Gelder's studio on January 10 and 11, 1962. Of the set's six tracks, four are Tyner compositions, with “Effendi" becoming something of a modern jazz standard and embraced, most notably, by pianist Ahmad Jamal.

McCoy Tyner: McCoy Tyner: Extensions

by Chris May
December 13, 2011

Languishing off-catalogue for many years, McCoy Tyner's Extensions may be the pianist's most unjustly neglected album. Strange days, for not only is the music ineffably vibrant, but Extensions is the only recording ever to feature Tyner alongside pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane, who replaced him in saxophonist John Coltrane's group in 1966. The album has one foot in the echoes of John Coltrane's “classic quartet," of which Tyner was a member from 1960-65, and the other in the astral jazz ...

Grant Green: Matador

by Matt Marshall
December 7, 2009

Grant Green Matador Blue Note / Music Matters 2009 (1964)

This may be the reissue of 2009: a resplendent vinyl pressing of guitarist Grant Green's Matador on two 180-gram, 45-rpm records from Music Matters. This May 1964 recording was, like many Blue Note sets, not released until many years later (November 1979 in Japan in this case) and only reached the U.S. on CD in 1990. It has not been remastered since. The record ...

Elvin Jones: Jazz Machine

by Jerry D'Souza
February 22, 2009

Elvin Jones Jazz Machine View Video 2009 Elvin Jones may have established himself as one of the greatest drummers of all time, but equally important to him was his nurturing of young musicians. His Jazz Machine opened the door to several upcoming musicians, including Delfeayo Marsalis, Antoine Roney and Ravi Coltrane. He characteristically took delight in their playing, thus forging an emphatic bond. His attitude also served to enrich the music of the ...

Elvin Jones: Jazz Machine

by Graham L. Flanagan
January 18, 2009

Elvin Jones Jazz Machine View Video 2008 Some might argue that Elvin Jones was, along with Art Blakey, one of the top two hard bop jazz drummers of all time. In the '60s, he cemented his legend on numerous John Coltrane recordings and performances and what might be Jones' most-underrated work also emerged during that decade: trios and quartets under the leadership of guitarist Grant Green featuring organist Larry Young and a trio ...

Coda For Elvin

by Rob Mariani
November 18, 2006

Coda: a musical passage used to conclude a movement. It had been over 40 years since I'd seen Elvin Jones in person. Now here he was at 72-plus years of age, appearing with his Jazz Machine at the Regattabar in Cambridge, Mass., an exquisitely intimate room with a sound just perfect for acoustic jazz. Outside a March rainstorm swept the streets and tapped staccato notes on the windows. As the place began to fill up, I estimated that ...