Jazz for aficionados

Take Two:

Freddie Hubbard -- READY FOR FREDDIE

Hubbard(trumpet),McKinney(euphonium)WTF???,Wayne Shorter(tenor Sax), Art Davis (bass), McCoy Tyner(piano).

As The O-10 previously pointed out,(stealing my thunder in the process), good straight ahead Bebop.

There was a time when I felt Miles Davis was the Alpha and Omega of Jazz trumpet. No more.

I was a little late 'discovering' Freddie Hubbard. My loss. He is for sure among the top trumpet players ever.

Three of the five tunes are by Hubbard and they are the best on the CD. The aptly named "Birdlike" is the best cut. It and "Crisis" rise above the typical BlueNote stuff.

I don't get the Euphonium, seems to me that if they wanted another horn, someone like, Al Grey on trombone would have been a better fit.

McKinney plays well, it's just that the tone of the instrument does not seem to add much to the proceedings.

Tyner is the consummate sideman. Giving just what is needed. I guess he learned to be low key playing with the biggest ego in Jazz, Coltrane.

Shorter comes close to stealing the show, esp on "Birdlike". I guess that would be fitting.

The rhythm section keeps everything moving, even the tuba guy. Elvin Jones is another great on drums.

Overall, a very good Blue Note outing. But with the talent avalabile during that time, it was sort of difficult to make a bad record.

O-10 says it's on youtube. Check it out. Esp "Birdlike"

Cheers

Jimmy Scott -- MOOD INDIGO

A truly unique talent. The epitome of a Song Stylist. 10 songs, all well known standards, from Mood Indigo to How Deep is the Ocean.

Backing group includes Hank Crawford, Cyrus Chestnut, Joe Beck etc....Gregoire Maret does great work on Harmonica.

Crawford and Chestnut are the perfect type players for Scott's style of singing.

Scott had a rough time of it in the music business. He often times didn't even get paid. His trusting and honest nature seems to come thru in his voice. Great for his art, but very bad when dealing with the sharks in the music business.

Every Jazz fan should own some Jimmy Scott. I have several CDs and they are all exceptional performances without a weak track in the lot.

Give him a listen.

Cheers

Orpheus, that was definitely on the bizarre side. Even more so, though, would be the recording with that group plus four trombones that was mentioned in the comment below!!

I'll have to ask our harp player if she has ever heard of Dorothy Ashby. I'm partial to Harpo Marx, myself. :)

Roland Kirk -- BLACKNUSS

What can one say? Some soul, some Blues, some R&B, some gospel, some other stuff and a whole lot of Roland kirk.

The man is a magical genuis. All of the songs except the title track are covers of well known songs.

All are done in a manner that could only be done by Roland. "ain't no sunshine" and "old rugged cross" are my favorites.

This youtube is an example of the 'other stuff'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4CBG6I58g
Done by Princess Patience Burton.

Cissy Houston also sings on "never can say goodbye".

It may not be Jazz as we expect it, but it is Roland Kirk, and that's good enough for me, and should be enough for any Jazz Fan.

Watch the youtube thingy. You'll like it.

Cheers

Rok this is the first time I ever even heard of a "euphonium", and if it was the last time, my feelings wouldn't be hurt.

"Birdlike", certainly reminds me of Bird. Sometime ago, I told you I was looking for new music, this music is new all over again. My search has ended, let's find some more "new music".

Enjoy the music.