jazzology

This here is a podcast on the Jazz Great Wayne Shorter. It is also an introduction so the listeners can get an idea of his work. That is why I am featuring the Double CD Album, The Classic Blue Note Recordings. Let's take a look at his Biography: (Born Aug. 25, 1933, Newark, N.J., U.S.) African-American musician and composer, a major jazz saxophonist, among the most influential hard-bop and modal musicians and a pioneer of jazz-rock fusion music. Shorter studied at New York University (B.M.E., 1956) and served in the U.S. Army (1956–58). He spent brief periods in the Horace Silver quintet (1956) and the Maynard Ferguson big band (1958) before his first major association, with Art Blakey's hard-bop Jazz Messengers (1959–63). He joined Miles Davis's modal jazz quintet as a tenor saxophonist in 1964 and stayed with him during Davis' early fusion music experiments, leaving in 1970 as a soprano saxophonist. Throughout the 1970s and much of the '80s, Shorter and keyboard player Joe Zawinul together led Weather Report, a fusion band that explored an uncommon variety of sound colours. He returned frequently to the tenor saxophone and in later years led his own fusion music groups.......Continue Reading  About the Double CD Album: Recorded between 1960 & 1989. Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.Renowned for his stints with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and, later, Miles Davis, saxophonist Wayne Shorter was also one of the finest jazz composers of the 1960s. This two-CD compilation, consisting entirely of his own compositions, presents a remarkable selection of Shorter's discography (sans the many albums he made with Weather Report), with the first disc focusing on Shorter's solo releases and the second on his work with Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and others.As the title implies, this collection includes the original versions of well-known tunes "Yes or No," "Footprints," "Adam's Apple," and other Blue Note classics. Although most the songs were recorded in the '60s, the set does include Shorter's '89 electronic reworking of "Nefertiti," as performed by the Manhattan Project. (This rendition boasts the incomparable Michel Petrucciani, who contributes a burning piano solo.) The collection also features astounding hard-bop collaborations with the Jazz Messengers, including smoking versions of "Lester Left Town" and "The Chess Players.".......Learn more

This here is my "official" first Podomatic podcast. I will feature three sets of three CD Albums. The First set is on Donald Byrd's CD Album "Off to the Races": Detroit was producing a lot more than cars in the 1950s: the city was a breeding ground for an impressive number of hard bop giants. Two of the most dynamic instrumentalists to trek eastward from Motown to the Big Apple were trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, leader and featured sideman respectively on Off To The Races. Off To The Races, Byrd's first recording for Blue Note as a leader and the first in a series of fruitful collaborations between the trumpeter and Adams, is a sympathetic collaboration of musical soul mates. The background they share—cutting their teeth at Detroit's famed Blue Bird Inn in the early 1950s—allows them to play together in perfect simpatico. The addition of alto saxophone giant Jackie McLean creates a competitive atmosphere, albeit a healthy one, reminiscent of an old time cutting session where boundaries of individual prowess are stretched to new limits. Adams possesses an unstoppable drive. His shoot first, ask questions later approach to the baritone was unmatched at the time. It's not surprising that Adams honed his craft in the concrete laden, industrial jungle of Detroit. His dry tone and hard edged sound is the antithesis to the softer, floating—and more popular—style of Gerry Mulligan. He is at his best on blazing tempos; his dizzying lines on the opening track, "Lover Come Back To Me and the title cut are absolutely breathtaking. ....Read More  My Second set is Cannonball Adderley's CD Album "Verve Jazz Masters 31": Julian "Cannonball" Adderley didn't spend long at Verve Records, but his releases there, highlighted by the outstanding JULIAN CANNONBALL ADDERLEY AND STRINGS and JUMP FOR JOY albums, are among his very best. This compilation covers the highlights of Adderley's tenure with Verve, focusing on lush versions of such standards as "What's New," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to," and "The Way You Look Tonight."The alto saxophonist had a remarkable facility for ballads, and his versions of these classics are among the best. Elsewhere, Adderley pulls off a sassy take on Duke Ellington's "I Got it Bad (and that Ain't Good)" and a staggeringly complex reading of Thelonious Monk's bop workout "Straight, No Chaser." Adderley's originals more than hold their own in such exalted company. True fans will want the albums themselves, but this compilation is a wonderful introduction....Read More My Third and final set is Thelonious Monk's "The Essential Theloneous Monk": Calling an album "The Essential Thelonious Monk" is a bit misleading, especially since all the material comes from one label: Columbia. Nonetheless, this may arguably be the essential Thelonious Monk material on the label. There are 11 selections here, all recorded between 1962-1968, the period of Monk's tenure with the label. Produced for reissues by the estimable Didier C. Deutsch, Monk's essentials include recordings from all of his settings with the label: solo (the album opens with the stunning rendition of "'Round Midnight" from the Monk Alone album), followed by a live quartet outing of "Bemsha Swing" and a "Blue Monk" from the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival featuring Pee Wee Russell on clarinet. Also included are the various rhythm sections Monk employed, beginning with Charlie Rouse. There's "Rhythm-A-Ning" with John Ore and Frankie Dunlop, "Blue Monk" with Butch Warren and Dunlop, and Larry Gales and Ben Riley on "Misterioso," "Epistrophy," "Straight No Chaser," and "Well You Needn't." Monk's big band is also represented here on "Brilliant Corners," whose members included....Read More

Avante Garde? I’m truly not sure. Since I am learning as I listen, I bump into and read about different “Eras” of Jazz. There is much consistently in the early years but when you reach the “Hard Bop Era” which comes right after “Be Bop” one, there are different interpretations as to the naming of this Era itself and the existence of Jazz musicians branching out to different parts of the United States. Mostly to two meccas where “Hard Bop” existed and thrived. California and New York, East and West. You also had the “Cool Jazz” Era which was popularized by Miles Davis and occurred at the same time. Right before the Hard Bop officially ended (1965) there was the emergence of “Free Jazz” and “Avante Garde.” So there were many things going on especially in the United States, that changed the sound of Jazz and different experimental approaches. This was a combination of mostly Civil Rights movements and the simple fact that all the greats were aging and there was a considerable generation gap. Anyhow, I have placed some links below along with information about the three sets I recorded so can understand the confusion....Read More