Jazz for aficionados

****You have the memory of an elephant!!****

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b1z4JfxFb6c

You gotta love it!

Today's Playlist:

Chano Dominguez -- HECHO a MANO

Interesting. Well played and the recording quality is awesome. Apparently this is an effort to merge Jazz and Flamenco.

Things are real Jazzy on two tunes. Bill Evans' "Turn off The Stars" and Monk's "Bemsha Swing". The other 10 tunes are composed by Chano Dominguez. Excellent piano, Spanish guitar and percussion.

The liner notes are of such detail, that only The Frogman could understand or appreciate them. The writer 'explains' what is going on. The music is enjoyable, but it did not grab me. Not a must have.

Randy Crawford -- BEST OF RANDY CRAWFORD

I have a few lps by her that include a lot of these tunes. This is Pop music at it's best.

Great selection of tunes. Includes, Street Life, Imagine, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Give me the Night, and Your Precious Love. All done in an outstanding manner.

This woman has an outstanding voice. Brings back a particular time in my musical journey.

She should be singing Jazz!! Check it out.

Cheers

I, too, feel lukewarm about Chano's flamenco/jazz marriage; interesting, but it doesn't grab me. Extremely accomplished player, but aside from the heavier dose of flamenco, I don't hear anything in his piano playing that Chick Corea wasn't doing thirty+ years ago; and it is, well, not quite as good. He has clearly studied Chick Corea's playing. I have a soft spot for flamenco and always appreciate an honest attempt to bring the music of various cultures together, but in this case......

A couple of things don't work for me: in the "jazzier" tunes there is a rhythmic conflict when the flamenco hand claps are part of the musical picture. In jazz, the emphasis on beats two and four is key and an important part of what gives it it's swagger; in flamenco, there is an emphasis on beat one that creates an odd rhythmic feeling in jazz and makes it sound a little messy to my ears. In addition to that, and at the risk of making politically incorrect generalizations, many (if not most) Latin jazz musicians bring a particular rhythmic feeling to jazz that is unique. This should not be surprising and is as it should be; the same can probably be said, to some degree, about any nationality. If you have ever ordered spaghetti and meatballs while visiting Mexico you know that it tends to taste a little, well, Mexican :-).

In the Monk tune Chano plays great, but it doesn't have that unique and kind of quirky rhythmic feeling that Monk's music likes: more emphasis on two and four and further behind the beat as if each beat is being stretched. Chano plays it with that typical Latin feel that is more on top of the beat, and sometimes has a "ball rolling down the stairs" sensation; probably an exaggeration, but gives an idea (I hope).

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7cR-nHNPROU

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl8jSzwvtsw

This one is for you Rok. You can skip to 23:00; very nice playing by Wynton with that impossibly beautiful trumpet tone of his:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ILJmn0041dg

Today's Playlist:

Keith Jarrett -- AT THE DEER HEAD INN
with/Peacock and Motian

The Inn is in his hometown of Allentown,PA and site of his first Jazz gig. This is 30 years later.
Not his usual quasi-classical recital type thing. Just Jazz. Great tunes and playing. The crowd adds to the ambiance.

Jarrett hums along as he plays, but it is not obtrusive at all. I think it's a positive. It's amazing how no matter how far out his solos get, the melody is still there. I love that. "Basin Street Blues" was my favorite.

Rachelle Ferrell -- FIRST INSTRUMENT

AWESOME!! Another 'discovery' that has been on my shelf forever. This is one you have to hear. The usual adjectives don't do it justice.

Good tune selection and outstanding support. Not a weak track or filler in sight.

On the last tune, 'Autumn Leaves', she is joined by Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani and Stanely Clarke. On CD it was spellbinding, so I looked for a possible youtube of the performance. Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u34fj0fdFDM

The CDs share two tunes. "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "You don't know what Love is". Comparing the two performances / interpretations just demostrates the unlimited potential of Jazz Improvisation.

Cheers

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I saw Monty Alexander about 30 years ago at the Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Up until that time, I had never heard of him. It was a great show. Today while listening to Pandora, this swinging piano came on...I went over to my stereo to see who it was. It was Monty Alexander playing 'Call Me Irresponsible' from his Echoes of Jilly's album. I had forgotten how good this cat is.
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