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Elissa

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Everything posted by Elissa

  1. Thembi, Gigi, Dexter, Miles, Theo, Rahsaan, Ella, Mingus...
  2. A 25 minute long film of Fripp recording sounds for the new Windows Vista, and link there to his site.
  3. ItCoKC
  4. That's an insane tune! I think Annie Ross covered it. First had the KC version on an EG compilation...with Eno's Seven Deadly Sins, of which I was also quite fond.
  5. I love Cat Food.
  6. I like Jay Collins on tenor: kinda Pharoah and Sonny meet Hawk. A la Rahsaan however, he plays a mess of flutes simultaneously. Jay sings these days too, with a Dr. John meets Dylan and Stevie feel. He's played and recorded with Andrew Hill, Ben Riley, Kenny Barron, Leroy Vinnegar, Jacky Terrason... tours with Greg Allman at the moment, but has a terribly in-the-pocket latin band as well called Mambo Macoco, started in 1994ish with Bobby Vidal, the original New Yorican. Used to have Dennis Charles in his band.
  7. Charles Tolliver, yes, would be my vote too. OTOH, as far as younger players go, I don't think any really hold a candle to Roy Hargrove in terms of ideas or feel; he would more than hold his own even in Hill's more intellectual/emotional realms. And I often feel that Jason Moran could use a little extra added swing at times, in spite of his killing rhythm section. Related, sorta: I've always preferred trumpet with tenor to trumpet with alto in a 4- or 5-tet, I suppose for the contrast in register. Anyone feel the same or differently? It bugged me a little that Roy always had altos in his 5-tets instead of tenors, though as far as I know that never changed.
  8. Yes, the piece sort of calls for an American take on percussion with less emphasis on the AfroLatin tip. I wonder how Wollensen and or Honig would feel about playing percussion rather than traps and am thinking I'd best just track down the blokes at NuBlu.
  9. I'd saying losing it, even by his own ill-conceived standards for jazz which seem to be 'young, creative and commercial.' Dirty Dozen, Kirk Joseph, Kermit Ruffins... there is quite a list in fact of talented, young, commercial and grooving bands, all of which could recently have been found in Treme round about 3 am...
  10. I've been trying to think of (and drawing a blank on) contemporary (aged 20-50odd) jazz percussionists. Have you any favorites? Wrote a note to Victor Jones, who uses Abdu M. Boop in his Culturversy project, but for a theater piece, looking for an American take rather than an African one.
  11. Looking for names of the original Orquestra Aragon percussionists I found this piece on Cuban Music by Harvey Pekar. Can that be any other than he of American Splendor? I've loved seeing Patato for sheer soul and that old school Cuba vibe; Hidalgo, for his fireworks; and the resolutely avant garde Jerry Gonzalez, whose been living in Spain of late and playing Flamenco... And though a trap drummer, Negro plays quite a mean conga too.
  12. Here here. What I remembered most vividly about this thread was someone disparaging Ben Riley and thinking that plainly anathema to jazz. Duke's nephew once described Woodyard to me as Duke's street drummer, ie Duke's Philly or Bu.
  13. Pianos in the Park Saturday was packed. Eric was lovely - he played a piano covered in grass - a park piano. Like a dada sculpture. Damn I love him - so creative, with the most incendiary universal kind of all-engulfing passion - bigger than jazz really for though based there what he plays becomes a kind of non-dogmatic, supra-religious Gospel. His was the spiritual set of the evening. Brad played solo, which is how in spite of all those records, I prefer to listen to him. So pretty, so much heart. His was the emotional set... And then Jason Moran with Nasheet and Taurus Mateen - a killing rhythm section that almost allows Jason to play his music as intellectually as he likes. Oddly, I've seen that band maybe 5 times and only ever loved it in the past, but Saturday Jason seemed a bit cold, a bit heady after Eric and Brad.
  14. nice clip up of So What 1959
  15. There's a link to the Telegraph article in the quote. But I agree: music far superior to war.
  16. Caught the Sun Ra Arkestra and MC5 Saturday at Summerstage in Central Park, NYC. This Friday at 7 Brad Meldau, Jason Moran and Eric Lewis will play. Looking forward to it. But I have to say, Mitch is really just trying to make this place last. They are not getting rich over there, just trying to keep the doors open. Last time I checked he didn't have a liquor license so wasn't selling $14 glasses of shite wine either. Had you shuddered paying three, four, five times the $10 he asked for admissions and minimums at the Standard or the Vanguard? Would you have at Bradleys or the Village Gate or any other of the countless now-gone venues?
  17. Elissa

    Jazz Vocalists

    May I recommend Sachal Vasandani: a contender for Voice of his Generation. Timing, range, cliché-free. First caught him one Monday up at the Eric Lewis jam session. These days he has his own gig at the Zinc early on Mondays (I have a class then so haven't been by) and he was at Sweet Rhythm earlier this week. He'll be in New Haven in August & part of Singers Over Manhattan at JLC in October.
  18. Did Kerr's band Jack o'Fire do a Star Spangled Banner & Hillbilly love song or two? Monkeywrench too, b/w the Makers, April March, Mooney Suzuki...
  19. danas: Kenny Barron the pianist? Hadn't a clue. Many great drummers played piano though - wasn't Art Blakey a pianist before he set to the drums? Eric Lewis quite an extrordinary drummer too. I love the fluidity between between rhythm and lyricism in this music, between melody and percussion. I suppose its Jazz's rhythms that make so many other musics dull in repect. Sidney Bechet wrote a beautiful story about his grandparents in his book in which he talks about rhythm and melody a bit and says something to the effect of: rhythm conveys a longing for Africa and the melody soothes slaves' souls in the new world. Wait, I'd better find the quote... But re: drummers, Joe Chambers told me it all leads to Roy Haynes in a sense: from Zutty, Big Sid and Papa Jo to Klook, Max and Roy. I revisited that conversation when Elvin died and posted it on my blog, Contrarian Quarterly. Would be interested in your opinions. The blog may be best otherwise navigated by its categories: Elvin is there under Great Americans.
  20. I love Ben Riley and how anyone could say the man has ever played anything but pure and gorgeous time and feel eludes me. As for Louis Hayes: the man ceaselessly funking grooves. John deJ on the other hand I've never really felt, and Billy Cobham doesn't really do it for me...and oh! that horrific fellow on Conan O'Brien I'd be better off never hearing again.
  21. How could he not?!?!!? To boot Shadow was Jo Jones' favorite... Anyone mention Mel Lewis? He may be my favorite of the (older) white drummers.
  22. Anyone seen this?: An Interrupted Conversation
  23. Ah yes, thanks, Denis Charles, Papa Jazz, RIP.
  24. Jo Jones Trio records are among my favorites of all time and I just don't know if anyone ever swung quite as hard as he did, then or with Basie. Plus to a vast extent, any innovations that are attributed to later drummers Papa Jo had already mapped out - that would include the hi hat stuff and the tonality so often attributed to Max (and Max would tell you that as well) and a lot of Klook's time. But speaking of favorites, which is simply aesthetics, not technix, between Jo and Elvin Jones, that's pretty much it. On the other hand, jazz just boasts countless reams of fabulous drummers now don't it. Tain in particular never ceases to amaze me. Billy Hart is an undisputed master, as is Victor Lewis. Willie Jones III swings pretty damn hard, but has all the feel you could ask for; ditto Gene Jackson and Greg Hutchison. Jason Marsalis is my favorite musician of that clan and regardless of who his brothers may or may not be, a fine musician. Ari Hoenig is fairly incredible - I've heard him play Caravan note for note, solo. The young (and beautiful) Kim Thompson has a lot to say as well. Don Moye never fails to lift me about 40 feet into the air. I loved Dennis Chambers very much, RIP, and can still smell his vanilla cologne and hear him saying "Formidable" in a French accent. And where would we be without Dannie Richmond? How lucky we are that even today, there remain too many to name.
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