My Blue Note Obsession
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My Fats Waller Obsession: Why Do We Collect Music?
The collector pauses to reflect. As a young pianist back in high school in the 1970s, I fell into the theater crowd. We put on shows and we went to shows on Broadway. One of my favorites was Ain't Misbehain', the tribute to pianist-composer Fats Waller. I was enthralled. This was music with verve and personality, and it swung like crazy. I bought the soundtrack record and wore it out. I bought the music book and taught myself ...
read moreIke Quebec: Blue & Sentimental - 1962
Everyone loves a good comeback--especially if the second act is better than the first. Think of Tina Turner, Marlon Brando and George Foreman. Or tenor saxman Ike Quebec. Quebec isn't exactly a household name, but his seven Blue Note records are uniformly terrific, and Blue & Sentimental is among the best ever produced by the label. That it came after Quebec had already achieved success (if not fame) among the big bands of the 1940s, and ...
read moreJack Wilson: Something Personal – 1966
Maybe I'm imagining it, but pianist Jack Wilson owes a great big thank-you to John Coltrane on Something Personal. At least that's how I hear it on the opening track, “Most Unsoulful Woman," one of two highlights on this 1966 album. Coltrane, the legendary saxman, released his masterpiece A Love Supreme in 1965. It is as introspective and spiritual as any music ever recorded. That's the part you know. Here's the part you don't: A year ...
read moreRonnie Foster: Two Headed Freap – 1973
The critics hated Blue Note in the 1970s, and that might be an understatement. Me, I'm kind of intrigued. Fans of good old hard bop, or even soul jazz, were largely left out in the cold. Blue Note in the '70s was a label struggling for its very existence, desperate to find a niche and snag some sales. All of which drove the critics and jazz purists nuts. Richard Cook, in his 2001 book Blue Note ...
read moreBud Powell: The Scene Changes - 1958
The legend of the tortured, tragic jazz genius exists because of people like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell. Both are bebop legends, among the greatest of the greats, founding fathers of the genre. Both were brought down by drugs and mental illness--Parker at 34, Powell at 41. Bird and Bud had a lot in common. Not only were they creators of the new sound of bebop, both were astonishingly fast players--Parker on sax, Powell on piano. Powell took ...
read moreWalter Davis Jr.: Davis Cup - 1959
Every now and then, I hear a musician in a band and I think, “Damn, can we get rid of the other guys and just hear this one by himself?" That was my immediate thought after listening to Davis Cup, a hard bop cooker from 1959. Walter Davis Jr. is a pianist with a slim discography. He recorded exactly one Blue Note CD as a leader--this one, his debut--and appeared mostly as a sideman on other people's records. ...
read morePaul Chambers: Paul Chambers Quintet - 1957
From 1955 to 1965, Paul Chambers was probably the most prolific jazz bassist in the world. He appeared on scores of albums, including some of the best and most famous of all time. So it was not a huge surprise when, in 1957, he turned out a classic of the genre. Bass on Top literally turned jazz on its head, transforming the bass into the lead melody instrument. It was a novel idea, but difficult for some fans to digest. ...
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Prize: Ragmala: A Garland Of Ragas by Adam Rudolph
World music pioneer Adam Rudolph and his groundbreaking Go: Organic Orchestra join forces with Brooklyn Raga Massive to create the monumental new album, Ragmala – A Garland of Ragas (Meta Records). Ragmala bridges generations, cultures and traditions in a deep-rooted, forward-looking sound born of 21st-century innovation and hybrid voices. Epic in scale and ambition, the project features 40 world-class musicians including Gnawa master musician Hassan Hakmoun, legendary drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake, forward-thinking cornetist Graham Haynes, and tradition-blurring flutist...
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