Jazz in the 70's

[Late]

This is almost too general a topic ... but maybe not? Sometimes it seems that a lot of "jazz" fans bring down the iron gate on their listening right around 1969. Why? Now, besides the fact that a lot of the posters here were likely emulating the general template look of Andy Gibb in this decade (myself not excluded), what's the stigma?

More importantly, I'd like to hear what some of your favorite albums from the 70's are. Labels too. Strata East comes immediately to my mind. And, within that label, Glass Bead Games is a favorite album from the 70's. Such a beautiful record, and it seems almost beside the point that it was recorded in 1973.

The reissue market seems to have not yet fully tapped this curious decade. What gems have the archaeologists not yet dug up?

[catesta]

Dexter Gordon - Tangerine (1972)

One of my favorite Gordon dates, both the music and the sound are excellent.

Another for me is the 1976 Bill Evans date "Quintessence," Evans and Harold Land with Philly Joe Jones, Ray Brown, Kenny Burrell.

Edited August 2, 2003 by catesta

[JSngry]

Can I say it again? Yeah? You sure? OK -

IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!! IAPETUS!!

I have fond memories of the 70s myself, it being the last decade where jazz was naturally itself instead of a pro or con reaction to Marsailisosity. Yeah, that's a broad generalization totally devoid of nuance, but if you want a "soundbite about the 70s", that's mine. PLENTY of great music, "old" AND "new" going on in those days. Air, Braxton's Arists sides, Dexter, Woody Shaw, the "resurgence" of Jay McShann, the "emergenge" of Von Freeman, PLENTY of great stuff in the 70s.

Edited August 2, 2003 by JSngry

[vibes]

I really like Bill Evans' Fantasy work from the 70's. The Woody Shaw Mosaic material is very good. Keith Jarrett's Impulse work is good too, although I've only heard the 75-76 material.

[BFrank]

Sure. There was tons of stuff.

- Lots of Dexter. Besides "Tangerine", there was "Ca'Purange", "The Apartment", "Bouncing With Dex" and "Homecoming".

- The first 2 "Return To Forever" albums. Also, "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" was a pretty good fusion effort, I thought.

- "Inner Mounting Flame" has to be mentioned.

- The emergence of ECM Records.

- Max Roach's quartet with Billy Harper and Cecil Bridgewater.

- Mingus - both "Changes" albums and "Mingus Moves".

- Cedar Walton's "Eastern Rebellion" group(s).

... well, that's for starters anyway.

[Ed S]

I went from 13 to 23 during the 70s. I started really getting interested in jazz around 74. Saw my first live jazz concert in 75 - Billy Cobham's group with John Scofield on guitar. I've been a fan of Scofield's ever since.

For me, jazz in the 70s was primarily fusion and I know that many don't even consider fusion to be jazz. I did then and I do now. I was listening to RTF and Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jean Luc Ponty, Herbie Hancock,etc. Began to check out Miles fusion stuff as well. I also started listening to a lot of ECM material - Oregon, Abercrombie, Corea, Metheny, Burton, Towner etc. Picked up some of that CTI stuff too - Deodato, Hubbard, Farrell.....you know.

I really didn't get in to mainstream jazz until the early 80s. Two things really got me interested - the movie Round Midnight and Wynton Marsalis and all the hyper about bring back classic jazz. At any rate, I don't consider the 70s to be a lost decade at all.

[Jim R]

What gems have the archaeologists not yet dug up?

George Shearing's late 70's trio albums on MPS, with Louis Stewart and N.H.O.P.

Red Garland on Galaxy

Jimmy Raney, on various labels

Blue Mitchell- Last Dance (Jazz America)

Other favorites:

Dexter Gordon- everything!

The Steeplechase label in general (Louis Smith, Horace Parlan, Frank Strozier, Clifford Jordan, etc)

Kenny Burrell- everything (Ellington Is Forever, the Muses, the Concords...)

Sarah Vaughan- Live In Japan

Chet Baker- Once Upon A Summertime; She Was Too Good To Me; Deep In A Dream

Paul Desmond- Pure Desmond

Art Farmer on East Wind

Barry Harris on Xanadu

Hampton Hawes on various labels (some of which belongs on the archaeologists list above)

Lou Levy on various labels

Art Pepper on Galaxy

Frank Rosolino on various labels

[BFrank]

- Let's not forget Joe Henderson, either. "In Japan" and "Relaxin' at Camarillo" aren't all bad.

- Another Sarah Vaughan - "How Long Has This Been Going On"

- Inner City record label. Some of their own stuff and they also licensed Steeplechase.

- The Crusaders had some of their best years in the 70's.

- Gary Bartz "Harlem Bush Music" albums and "I've Known Rivers"

- McCoy Tyner was out of his mind in this decade.

[Jim R]

Ed's post reminded me of a few things. I went from 14 to 24 during the 70's, so we obviously have something in common right there. I too listened to a lot of jazz offshoots/branches in the early 70's, a period when there was an incredible melting pot of musics that incorporated jazz influences (many of which were lumped into the "rock" category in the stores). I actually miss those days in some ways. I was listening to a lot of The Crusaders, RTF, Tower Of Power, War, The Sons Of Champlin (great horn section, which inspired the group Chicago), Cold Blood, Brian Auger's Obvlivion Express, Traffic, and on and on. Even the Allman Brothers were doing it (remember "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed"?). The Marshall Tucker Band was doing 14-minute tunes with extended flute solos, for cryin' out loud. And it was all GOOD.

In the mid-70's, George Benson took off, and I was already into jazz guitar (having been into the guitarists with all of the aforementioned groups, plus some others). It wasn't long before I got some Kenny Burrell with Jimmy Smith, and that did it.

[DrJ]

I posted a more detailed reply in a Joe Henderson thread recently, but the WILDFLOWERS COMPLETE NY LOFT SESSIONS 3 CD box on Knit Classics, from I believe 1976, captures the richness of experimentation of that era - sadly mostly undocumented, particularly by the major labels - in stunning form.

Now for some personal 70's faves that should be reissued hastily:

Joanne Brackeen - ANCIENT DYNASTY (Tappan Zee): Eddie Gomez, Joe Henderson, Steve Gadd - WAY overdue for reissue (Koch, listening?)

Arthur Blythe's Columbia records, especially LENOX AVENUE BREAKDOWN, ILLUSIONS, and IN THE TRADITION (the last hasn't been out on CD)

Woody Shaw - STEPPING STONES

Bill Watrous - MANHATTAN WILDLIFE REFUGE and TIGER OF SAN PEDRO

Hmm...lots of Columbia stuff here, maybe they need to GET A CLUE!

The Akiyoshi/Tabackin big band RCA stuff is prime material also - need a comprehensive reissue (box!) with any unissued stuff!!!

There are many, many more. A very unjustly overlooked decade for jazz, ripe for a revisit.

Edited August 2, 2003 by DrJ

[Free For All]

I also "came of age" during the 70's. I went to my first jazz concert and attended many more while in high school, usually at jazz band festivals. The 70's represented the last full decade of the majority of the touring big bands- I was able to hear Basie, Kenton, Buddy Rich, Woody, Maynard (with a full big band), Clark Terry's big band (with Branford, Conrad Herwig, et al), Thad and Mel (in Grinnell, Iowa!!!-with Pepper, Roland Hanna, Jimmy Knepper, Jerry Dodgion et al), Don Ellis (!) and Louie Bellson, to name a few. It's a shame young players don't get the opportunity to hear big bands of this calibre LIVE anymore. The remaining touring bands are, for the most part, "nostalgia" ghost bands which many people, especially the younger ones, find boring or dated. The tight, swinging touring band playing new as well as old music was a joy to behold, and seeing 16 or more musicians making a living (albeit usually a meager one) playing great music inspired people like me to work hard with the hope of getting an opportunity to play with one of them someday.

I also heard Return To Forever (around the time of Romantic Warrior), Matrix (remember them?), Chase (a great band, what a loss), Weather Report (w/Erskine and Jaco) and others. And I won't even start to list all the individual "guest artists" I heard w/various high school and college bands as well as with their own groups.

It may not have been Blue Note's greatest decade, but don't tell me the 70's were lame- that's the decade I went from "ignorant" to "obsessed"!

[Simon Weil]

I have fond memories of the 70s myself, it being the last decade where jazz was naturally itself instead of a pro or con reaction to Marsailisosity. Yeah, that's a broad generalization totally devoid of nuance, but if you want a "soundbite about the 70s", that's mine.

I see Marsalis as a reaction to the 70s. You can read my long exposition about that in a series of articles on allaboutjazz (God I don't know why I'm doing this):

Bitches Brew

A New Hope

Wynton Marsalis and George Lucas

The last one (obviously) is the Wynton one, but it's led up to.

Simon Weil

[BFrank]

I was discovering jazz in the 70's, too (17-27 for me).

Some of my first albums were Freddie's "Red Clay" (still great), Charles Lloyd's "Wave" (sounding dated these days), Don Ellis "At Fillmore" (where's THIS reissue?) and "Live/Evil" ('nuff said).

Joanne Brackeen's "Keyed In" is a nice TZ album, as well - Eddie Gomez/Jack DeJohnette.

Good call FreeForAll on the big band stuff. I saw a Woody/Maynard double bill as well as Don Ellis' BB. I wish I had a better memory of those shows.

... and another for the Sons of Champlin!

Edited August 2, 2003 by BFrank

[Jazzmoose]

Man, what a bunch of old farts! Of course, I turned 13 late in 1970, so I guess I'm one of 'em...

Unfortunately, I didn't catch the jazz bug until much later in life, so I have no memory of listening to jazz in the seventies other than my cousin's Mahavishnu Orchestra lps, but as far as looking back goes, the two names that stand out for me are Sonny Stitt and Sonny Criss. Seems like they should have been past it by then, but I think they were doing their best stuff in the seventies.

[Late]

I probably should not have been the one to start this thread, as I was 0-10 in the 70's, but what the hell. For some reason, this decade has really taken hold of my listening lately (along with a large side order of Shorty Rogers, which is another thread). So, here's a new question, for those more in the know:

• What would you list as three indispensable "jazz" recordings from the 70's?

I've put the word jazz in quotes because of its relative ambiguity. I'd personally call most fusion "jazz," but I'll leave that up to you all. Instead of "favorite" or "most important" or "best" in this question, I thought that the word indispensable might allow for a freer range of responses — what you think is indispensable, and you would hate not to have in your collection.

I wish I would have had a chance to see some of those big bands you guys are naming. The first two authentic "jazz" shows I attended were in 1984 — Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, and the Wynton Marsalis Quartet.

[Simon Weil]

I probably should not have been the one to start this thread, as I was 0-10 in the 70's, but what the hell. For some reason, this decade has really taken hold of my listening lately (along with a large side order of Shorty Rogers, which is another thread). So, here's a new question, for those more in the know:

• What would you list as three indispensable "jazz" recordings from the 70's?

I suppose as a kind of representative 70s records, I might pick:

I Sing The Body Electric/Weather Report (for fusion).

Conference of the Birds/Dave Holland w. Braxton, Rivers, Altschul (for "accessible" avant-garde)

Gnu High/Kenny Wheeler w. Holland, Jarrett, Dejohnette (for ECM record).

I was 16 to 26 in that decade. Started off listening to Simon and Garfunkel, ended up with Derek Bailey's Company, which, apart from Leo Smith's blues-inflected trumpet, I couldn't make head or tail of.

I was also ambivalent about Bitches Brew (not now).

Simon Weil

[John L]

Unquestionably, a lot of fine and innovative jazz was made in the 1970s. Although officially the age of fusion, acoustic jazz also sailed forward in many diverse directions.

Nevertheless, I recall a feeling in the 70s that something just wasn't right, or should I say that something *might* not be right. In retrospect, given who was playing and what was produced, that may sound a bit strange. But you have to put it in context. Before the 70s came the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, all extraordinary decades that redefined the music for all times and illuminated a clear road for its future development. There were many controversies of a global nature, but they were ultimately resolved in a collective manner as part of the natural evolution of the music. By the 70s, the waters were murky.

Coltrane's death may have been the breaking point. The late 60s were a lot like the 70s, a continual search and adoption of new ideas in 1000s of different directions with an uneasy feeling that maybe this isn't what we should be doing, where the music should be going...

This was the context in which many people bought into the Marsalis counterrevolution in the early 80s. In his early public statements, Wynton made a point of highlighting the 70s as a dark age in jazz history. The idea was "let's get back on the same track that we were on in the 20s-60s." In retrospect, especially after two and a half more decades in the post linear period for the development of jazz, it is now much more apparent that this was never a possibility.

Looking back now at jazz the 70s, we were really spoiled!

Edited August 3, 2003 by John L

[Soul Stream]

I think the real lame jazz era was the 80's. Many of the neo-conservatives eventually did develop into fine players. However, their initial offerings were pretty lame for the most part, especially in retrospect. Too young to be given that much power, and the music proved it.

However, I think the 90's and 00's got things back in order. There's a pretty wide range of "accepted" jazz styles today, and the whole atmosphere seems healthier. The playing from the older vets and of the younger top players seems excellent imho. Lot's of GREAT music happening no matter what style you dig.

The 70's did offer a substantial contribution to the jazz fabric. Mile's 70's bands proved their influence over a whole new hip-hop inspired generation. The 80's contribution was that it did make us go back to the worthy elements of previous decades. However, those 80's players themselves didn't really blossum until later I think.

[Dmitry]

If the 70s was the "lost decade", what does it make the 90s? A jazz cd reissue decade?

[BFrank]

If the 70s was the "lost decade", what does it make the 90s? A jazz cd reissue decade?

Exact-a-mundo!! B)

[DrJ]

While there was the whole neo-bop thing Soul Stream mentions in the 80's, I have to say that to call the decade "the lame one" is to succumb to the same type of stereotyping that long plagued jazz in the 70's. Perhaps the number of interesting performers was a bit lower, but there was still some amazing stuff - Woody Shaw continued to crank out stellar music, Pullen/Adams (the much requested stuff on BN included) reigned, Lovano and Harrell came to prominence, Phil Woods had some of his best touring groups, Bobby Watson was on fire, etc, etc.

It's not that I can't agree to disagree with someone on the merits of particular recordings, but I just hate to see whole decades dismissed casually.

[Soul Stream]

While there was the whole neo-bop thing Soul Stream mentions in the 80's, I have to say that to call the decade "the lame one" is to succumb to the same type of stereotyping that long plagued jazz in the 70's. Perhaps the number of interesting performers was a bit lower, but there was still some amazing stuff - Woody Shaw continued to crank out stellar music, Pullen/Adams (the much requested stuff on BN included) reigned, Lovano and Harrell came to prominence, Phil Woods had some of his best touring groups, Bobby Watson was on fire, etc, etc.

It's not that I can't agree to disagree with someone on the merits of particular recordings, but I just hate to see whole decades dismissed casually.

Well, you're really exactly right Dr. J. Generalizations are ALWAYS wrong aren't they. Given those paramenters, I was making a generalized statement. And I agree with you 100%, there was some AWESOME jazz made it the 80's. Something that is true for every decade. Let's face it, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Smith, Wayne Shorter, and many many others...these guys are still on this earth making music today. ANY decade these legends are around are good ones to say the least. I think in 200 years from now this whole era from the 50's until these men die or quit playing will be considered classic eras.

That's just one point in the case that decades shouldn't be discounted. We STILL are living in the best of times. We just don't know it.

[DrJ]

Very eloquently put!

[Dmitry]

Generalizations are ALWAYS wrong aren't they.

Even the blonde jokes?

I think I'll stick with the generalizations on that one.

Edited August 4, 2003 by Dmitry

[BFrank]

OH, jeeeeeeez, Dmitry!

Why did you have to muck up this thread with that picture??

Edited August 4, 2003 by BFrank