Jazz Articles

Various: Head Jazz

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

Slap on your big ol' '70s headphones and get ready for a ride. Cozying up with Eddie Harris's “Silver Cycles," Head Jazz takes your ears (and whatever may be between them) on a hairpinned tour of contemporary jazz. A combination of a Magritte painting and Fellini film, Head Jazz leads listeners down path after crooked path in a never predictable but always fascinating and oddly rewarding series of twists and turns, many of which are contained within the songs themselves.

Stan Getz: My Foolish Heart

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

Opening with a snappy “Invitation," this newly-found home recording shows off what producer Joel Dorn calls “prime Getz." Rodgers and Hart’s “Spring is Here" wafts and splashes through a fragrant rain chilled by Jack DeJohnette’s shivery brush work, but DeJohnette sharpens the tempo for Chick Corea’s “Litha," sparking Stan and Richie Beirach to burning life.

This is not another “Desafinado" compilation. This is Getz cookin’ it up with a team of ‘big name’ players. Dave Holland’s bouncy ...

Sonny Stitt: Just the Way It Was: Live at the Left Bank

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

To inaugurate his latest musical milestone--the starting of Label M--one of jazz’s most underrated production legends, Joel Dorn, has taken a set by his musical counterpart, the electrifying saxophonist Sonny Stitt, from the vaults of the Left Bank Jazz Society and put it back on vinyl (er- plastic). In doing so, he helps sustain the Society’s mission of keeping a jazzy light in the window for new and future generations.

From a sobbing rendition of "Cry Me ...

Eugene McDaniels: Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

This is soul. Not Al Green soul. Not Isaac Hayes soul (but perhaps a bit closer to that). This is the soul of the black man. It is the soul of a student of history who is sick and tired of force-feeding and ready to spit back. This is the soul of a man tired of the system and using his art to reframe and correct it.When it first came out in 1971, Eugene McDaniels’ vitriolic statement irked ...

James Blood Ulmer: Memphis Blood

by C. Michael Bailey
October 1, 2001

Memphis Blood could very possibly be as historic a recording as Howlin' Wolf's Evil .

Everything about this release is Romantic. The music ranges from some of the earliest recorded blues for the 1920s to novelty tunes from the '50s and '60s. The recording venue is perhaps the most famous ever, the home of seminal recordings by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, and Ike Turner, not to mention Elvis Presley. The universal concept of man reckoning ...

Gary Burton and Stephane Grappelli: Paris Encounter

by C. Michael Bailey
September 1, 2001

The old guard meets the new. Here is the phenomenon Gary Burton, before he became an institution.

In 1969, Gary Burton was blazing jazz trails that could not exactly be described as traditional. He teams up with Le Hot Club of France Stephane Grappelli, conservative stalwart in the European tradition, for a little stroll around the block. The year 1935 was a long time ago. Here we have an electric bass. Not only that, Steve Swallow is behind it. Round ...

Stan Getz: My Foolish Heart "Live" at the Left Bank

by Matthew S. Robinson
August 1, 2001

Opening with a snappy “Invitation," this newly-found home recording shows off what producer Joel Dorn calls “prime Getz." Rodgers and Hart’s “Spring is Here" wafts and splashes through a fragrant rain chilled by Jack DeJohnette’s shivery brush work, but Jack sharpens the tempo for Chick Corea’s “Litha," sparking Stan and Richie Beirach to burning life. This is not another “Desafinado" compilation. This is Getz cookin’ it up with a team of name’ players. Dave Holland’s bouncy upright runs are electric ...

Sonny Stitt: Just the Way It Was: "Live" at the Left Bank

by Matthew S. Robinson
August 1, 2001

To inaugurate his latest musical milestone, the starting of Label M, one of Jazz’s most underrated production legends, Joel Dorn, has taken a set of his musical counterpart, the electrifying saxophonist Sonny Stitt, from the vaults of the Left Bank Jazz Society and puts it back on vinyl (er... plastic) to sustain the Society’s mission of keeping a jazzy light in the window for new and future generations. From a sobbing rendition of “Cry Me a River" which is recognizable ...

Hubert Laws: Wild Flowers

by Craig Jolley
July 1, 2001

Wild Flower is the best flute record I know of. Hubert Laws plays flawlessly and sensitively as usual, but the record really belongs to John Murtaugh. Murtaugh came up as a Los Angeles tenorist in the 1950's but made his reputation as a writer. The program was thoughtfully considered. Each composition has its own identity and feeling. Taken together there is variety and balance. Five tunes feature Murtaugh's magnificent string writing.

The string sound is dry and tart, not lush ...

Ray Bryant: Somewhere In France

by Jim Santella
July 1, 2001

Recorded in 1993 before a live audience somewhere in France, this session was sitting around in Ray Bryant's home on a cassette tape that the sound man had handed him after the performance. The artist hadn't had time to listen to it; he hadn't even realized he was being recorded until the performance was over.

The session turns out to be a significant milestone that documents this unique pianist. As a solo piano performance, the music is unobstructed. The sound ...