John L

I have always really admired Wynton for not backing down from the challenge when some people were proclaiming him as a teenager to be the savior of jazz and the next coming of Louis Armstrong / Duke Ellington. To his credit, Wynton worked very hard to give it his best with increasingly ambitious projects. In the end, I agree with what seems the majority opinion here - his lasting legacy will probably end up being a collection of fine trumpet solos made in a small group context.

The album was taken from a live show at Lincoln Center to celebrate 80 years since the Hot 5s and 7s. The music is well played, and includes a few interesting new touches on the originals. I find it enjoyable to listen to. No, it does not shake any new mountains. But that was not the goal.

This is a surprise to me. I didn't know that he was sick. RIP

I guess that a pure "jazz singer" is, in a sense, potentially freed from the burden of actually delivering a song. He or she can just scat along with jazz phrasing as another instrument in the band in a manner that is quite abstracted from the song itself. Most truly great singers in all genres use their voices not simply as a sort of jazz horn with limited range, but as vehicles to deliver songs and their lyrics to the listener. Some such singers, such as Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett, can function that way effectively in a jazz context. Does that make them actual "jazz singers?" That question just strikes me as a game of semantics. They are "singers," full stop.

Yes, it starts in the middle of Dolphy's solo, which likely came after a first Coltrane solo that is not here.

Mono and Lo Fi, but with clarity of sound.

I just had a chance to hear this. It is fabulous, a very worthwhile addition to the discography. I would not say that it is just "another day at the office." Coltrane, Dolphy, and Elvin are in a somewhat different zone here than they would be later in the year at the Vanguard. Coltrane just burns it up on soprano here, so much so apparently that he made an unusual decision to stay on soprano even all the way through Impressions. On only "Africa" does he switch to tenor. If you, as I did, don't think that you need another Coltrane version of My Favorite Things, think again. Dolphy also plays some great stuff here. The microphone is close to Elvin. So not a beat is missed. GET THIS!

She also has a musical palette that goes beyond what is currently on record. She gave a performance with her (highly musical) family here in DC in December that consisted mostly of Christmas songs. Samara got deeply soulful in an astonishing way that you would not necessarily expect from her current recordings. Her best records are still ahead of her.

My evolution as a listener is somewhat the opposite, although I may have converged in the end to a similar place. I came to jazz as a huge blues lover, and appreciated jazz at first only as a realm of blues music. So I had little use for jazz that was distant from blues sensibilities. Over time, my tastes have broadened to appreciate a lot of jazz that explores directions that are quite divorced from the blues. Nevertheless, 'blues music" in the broad sense remains the music that I feel closest too, have the greatest attachment to.

Smooth jazz is alive and well on quiet storm radio stations, at least that part of smooth jazz that has real soul. I have warmed to it over time (not to the Kenny G-type, of course). My appreciation expanded during the years I spent living in Nigeria. I got to know and enjoy a number of very serious artists who were playing in the realm of what would be filed under "smooth jazz" in the US and most of the world. Bottom line: All "smooth" jazz is not alike.

I agree with you about the art for the Coltrane Vanguard set. It has always bothered me, especially this one:

With all this trouble from M-C-Ds it's gettin' hard sellin' M-U-N-C-H-I-E. But hey! Somehow, some way....

Thank you for mentioning William Bell, my favorite Stax male vocalist along with Johnnie Taylor (Otis Redding not withstanding). His most recent album is indeed outstanding, but he has consistently made excellent-outstanding music throughout his long career. He also produced some great sides in Atlanta for his Peachtree Record Label.

I might be able to go. I will let you know.

RIP 😪 I saw him in concert a number of times. I especially loved his shows with the Chicago tentet.

Yes. You are right. I was confused because it appears that the weaker vocalists had been almost eliminated from Ellington's recordings by the time of the Mosaics. That is in contrast to the early 30s when they were abundant.

While I generally agree with the sentiments raised here, I still have mixed feelings about it. It is true that some 30s Ellington tracks have less than desirable vocals. I suspect that Ellington himself may have had limited control over who was singing on some of those records. It is also true that some of those tracks have sensational arrangements and / or instrumental passages. Most of us now probably reach for the Ellington Mosaic set when we want to hear the 30s band. That set removed almost all of the vocal tracks, which makes for more consistent and maybe enjoyable listening. But that means that we are seldom, if at all, listening to some of the great Ellington of the period. Maybe some of the tracks with removed vocals would be listened to more often? On the other hand....

Really fascinating! Thanks. That is the earliest Tapscott or Blythe that I have heard.

He used to come to town regularly with Kahil El Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. It could sometimes take him a while to get "wound up." But when he did, watch out! His playing could be mesmerizing.

I was going to say - Julius Hemphill. Buster Smith is another candidate.

Thank you!

Wow!

Nice article.

Maybe. Maybe not. Ike was an extremely talented artist and producer who arguably had a strong positive influence on Tina's early musical development. That is despite the fact that he also mistreated Tina. My favorite Tina is still what she recorded with Ike, although I do also love "What's Love Got to Do With It." (By the way, her version of Proud Mary was an Ike production)

It would seem that it was $25 an hour, not per song. Still...