Joe Lovano - General discussion

[Milestones]

By the way, Lovano has written at least two direct tributes to Ornette: "Fort Worth" and "Etterno."

Count me as another who loves the Mostly Coltrane disc with Kuhn. He can sound a lot like Trane on some moody, ballad-type pieces (more often on other records), but ultimately Lovano always plays Lovano.

[xybert]

Yes, the new disc is nice. He is also wonderful on Antonio Sanchez "Three Times Three" as well.

Yeah, i like that one too. Slight sidetrack but i'm looking forward to Meridian Suite.

I really like Lovano on all of the Paul Motian albums that i've heard him on. The only leader dates of his that i have are From the Soul and Sounds of Joy, both of which i like. Haven't heard much of his recent stuff other than the Zorn album that he was on. Wouldn't mind checking out some more of his music, always been interested to check out the Trio Fascination stuff. From memory when i've looked before it was out of print, probably not too hard to find second hand though. Just not high on my priority list (no snark intended). I have actually seen him perform live, with Scofield, Matt Penman and Matt Wilson in 2008. Excellent show!

[Head Man]

Yes, I like all the albums I have by him but I must say that I was very disappointed when I saw him live at The Sage last year. Part of a stellar group (The Spring Quartet) with Leo Genovese, Esperanza Spaulding and Jack DeJohnette, they never seemed to get going. Lots of drum and bass solos and mainly squeaks from Joe. Maybe it was just a bad night.....

[Milestones]

I guess that can happen. I've seen Lovano on stage three times--two good performances and one great one.

[HutchFan]

Just re-reading this thread. I've been digging into Lovano's music lately -- particularly recordings he made with his Us Five band.

I would strongly recommend these two:

  

I like Lovano's sound. It's varied; there are lots of colors and tones. And you can hear many different influences mixed in there -- from old heavies like Hawkins and Webster to free/free-ish players like Archie Shepp and Dewey Redman. So there's tradition in his horn -- but it's been integrated into his own unique voice.  

Us Five is interesting because they use two drummers (both playing a regular drum kit), so the music sounds sorta "clattery" -- in appealing way. Since the drummers have to listen carefully to not play over top of each other, there's a sense of continuous improvisation. The overall effect is cool and unique. 

I haven't heard the other record by Lovano's Us Five band, Cross Culture.  Any thoughts from folks who've heard it?  

I suppose I need to check it out. 

[jazzbo]

Check it out. If you like these two you'll like it, I think.

[HutchFan]

1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

Check it out. If you like these two you'll like it, I think.

O.K.  I will.  

[mandrill]

On 6/16/2015 at 6:37 AM, Scott Dolan said:

The only Lovano I own to this point is his excellent Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard. The first disc with the Ornette-like piano-less quartet is the standout, but both discs are really, really good.

That's my favorite album by Lovano- by far. I like his work with Paul Motian groups and on Steve Kuhn Coltrane tribute, and live album of duets with Hank Jones can be a pleasant late evening music, but most of his own projects leave me cold, for no discernible reason.

[Guy Berger]

@HutchFan, thanks for the recommendation on the UsFive stuff.  I haven't picked up any Lovano-led stuff that post-dates JOYOUS ENCOUNTER (Jones/Mraz/Motian) but maybe time to reopen the wallet.

As I stated during many years ago up-thread, I like the guy's playing a lot though I am not a Lovano nut.  He tends to be an asset to most recordings where he is present, especially ones where the other musicians would otherwise be too "sweet" or "slick"

[erwbol]

This 2005 Newport Jazz Festival recording released in 2016 is a must for anyone who loves the two quartet albums Lovano released in 2004 & 2005 with Hank Jones.

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Live-Newport-Joe-Lovano/dp/B00U1GLIS6

[danasgoodstuff]

On 12/8/2017 at 7:17 AM, erwbol said:

This 2005 Newport Jazz Festival recording released in 2016 is a must for anyone who loves the two quartet albums Lovano released in 2004 & 2005 with Hank Jones.

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Live-Newport-Joe-Lovano/dp/B00U1GLIS6

I was there!

[Morganized]

Picked this one up on the cheap and have really enjoyed it. Looks like the reviews are really mixed here, but I have to say that as someone that has never really gotten into Lovano despite his impressive chops, I find this one quite interesting and enjoyable. Not sure if it is Manny Albam's orchestration that should get the credit here or Lovano's ideas, but anyone that has had difficulty with Lovano might like to give this one a try. IMHO

[Milestones]

I haven't been quite as much into Lovano since Cross Culture, the last of the Us Five records.  There is some nice stuff on the second Sound Prints album, with Dave Douglas.  But with his new home at ECM, I didn't much care for Trio Tapestry (by far the most low-key Lovano I have ever heard).   

There's a new record coming with Enrico Rava, or maybe it's already out.

 

[Milestones]

The record with Rava is pretty decent, very much a collaboration of the two, though curiously the album closes with a piano reading of "Over the Rainbow."  This version of "Fort Worth" falls quite a bit short of the original, but otherwise I like what I'm hearing.

Enrico Rava is quite mellow, but what else could he be given his age?  But I can't compare it to other work; this amounts to my first exposure to Rava.

 

[Guy Berger]

Revisiting Lovano’s Blue Note albums for the first time in a long time.  I have 10 of them.

the live quartet disc from the Village Vanguard w/Tom Harrell, Anthony Cox and Billy Hart is top notch.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I always meant to pick up that Kuhn/Lovano disc but never did get around to it.

I haven't seen Joe perform in a long time. The last two times he was with Dave Douglas & the Soundprints band & I didn't enjoy that band's performance as much as I thought I would. They seemed to meander a bit. Since he's getting up there a bit (he'll be 72 this year), I hope he keeps touring.

These days, I find myself playing those old Motian JMT CDs with Lovano more than his leader dates.

[mhatta]

Joe Lovano is clearly an excellent musician (and very nice guy, I heard), but I personally am not crazy about him. I don't know why. Lack of excitement, perhaps? Even a saxophonist of far inferior skill than him can get me excited.
Being said, the Village Vanguard live was pretty good, the first song on Folkart by Us Five was pretty good (the rest not so much....).  And albums with Motian were not my favorite either. Any other suggestions?

[jazzbo]

What really solidified my love for Lovano was his three Blue Note releases with Hank Jones. Boom. I became a big fan.

 

Edited August 24 by jazzbo

[Rooster_Ties]

55 minutes ago, mhatta said:

Joe Lovano is clearly an excellent musician (and very nice guy, I heard), but I personally am not crazy about him.

I feel the same way, on both counts.

I hesitate to be overly critical — because what plays is great (exciting soloist, clearly full of ideas)…

…but, I just cannot get with his tone. Or, rather — to me — he always sounds like he’s chewing on his mouthpiece as he plays. I know that can’t literally be true, but that’s the analogy I’ve used for 20 years when describing why I don’t like Lovano better than I do. And I have tried…

I’ve owned at least 15 discs by or with him over the last 30 odd years — a few Paul Motian and John Scofield discs, and by others (Osby) — and 6-8 of his leader-dates. But, and I say this sheepishly, when I culled my collection a bunch a dozen years ago, I got rid of most everything I had that he was on.

I don’t say he plays ‘badly’ — but his is a sound I just can’t get with, much as I’ve tried. I think the only things I have by him currently are Universal Language, and the disc he did with Gunther Schuller — and I think(?) I got rid of everything he was a sideman on.

Though I do have a whole bunch of respect for him — he’s just not for me.

[jlhoots]

I like the ones with Dave Douglas.

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I don't have much on record by him but saw him in Berkeley a few years back with the Dave Douglas band.  Very enjoyable set.  They did a number where the time signature changed back and forth between two rhythms and it was pretty good.  I had no problem with the sax tone and his solos were creative, IMO.

[Milestones]

I find I can hardly go wrong with Joe, although sometimes I think he most excels as a sideman--with Jim Hall, Ed Thigpen, Scofield, Motian, and many more. 

I last him live with Sound Prints, and that was excellent--preferable to hearing the records (which are somewhat hit-and-miss).

However, I do find that his ECM records sound too much like...ECM records.  I think his best ECM is the one he did with Steve Kuhn: Mostly Coltrane.

[Stevie Mclean]

This was my first exposure to Joe. I agree with the similarities to Joe Henderson. I really like the version of Fort Worth on this livestream.

[clifford_thornton]

On 8/24/2024 at 9:04 AM, mhatta said:

Joe Lovano is clearly an excellent musician (and very nice guy, I heard), but I personally am not crazy about him. I don't know why. Lack of excitement, perhaps? Even a saxophonist of far inferior skill than him can get me excited.
Being said, the Village Vanguard live was pretty good, the first song on Folkart by Us Five was pretty good (the rest not so much....).  And albums with Motian were not my favorite either. Any other suggestions?

I agree with this, pretty much -- my experiences seeing him in concert far exceed the recordings.

[danasgoodstuff]

On 8/24/2024 at 6:53 AM, jazzbo said:

What really solidified my love for Lovano was his three Blue Note releases with Hank Jones. Boom. I became a big fan.

 

Didn't he do 4 with Hank Jones for BN?  2 studio quartet dates, one of duos, and a live one at Newport?  All quite nice as I recall and I was at the Newport date.  But I sometimes wonder why I have quite so much Jo Lo, but not as much as I wonder how I got so much David Murray.