Why is the flute a Cinderella in jazz...

[mikeweil]

Re. Hubert Laws - I like his early albums for Atlantic quite a bit, recorded during his stay with Mongo's band. Nice mixture of straightahead and Latin tunes. Two of them were reissued on one CD by Rhino, The Laws of Jazz & Flute By-Laws:

Edited May 31, 2010 by mikeweil

[mjazzg]

We mustn't forget Nicole Mitchell - very surprised she's not been mentioned (apologies if I've missed it) - excellent trio albums on greenleaf and rogue art with Harrison Bankhead and Hamid Drake. also larger ensemble releases on delmark and firehouse 12. Excellent composer as well.

Also, well worth listening to is Michel Edelin Trio - Kuntu (Avenel, Betsch make for an impressive rhythm section) again on rogue art

Two great flute players releasing excellent recordings on the slightly freer side of things. Nothing weak, fey or insubstantial about their sound, to my ears at least.

Count me in as a flute fan, in the right hands of course......

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, Nicole Mitchell is awesome.

Whatever happened to Adele Sebastian?

[BillF]

Just listening to some great jazz flute - intense, funky - from James Clay on Presenting Red Mitchell. He plays some great flute, too, on Wes Montgomery's Movin' Along.

[catesta]

Fathead Newman showcased his flute skills quite a bit on his later recordings and it all sounds good to me.

I'd take the flute over the soprano sax any day.

[Peter Friedman]

The flute is not among my favorite instruments for jazz. Sam Most is probably my favorite flute player.

He made some very ggod recordings for Xanadu. Lew Tabackin is technically a very good flute player, but his flute

playing lacks the jazz feeling that i hear in his tenor work.

James Moody, Yusef Lateef and Roland Kirk are other flute players I enjoy, BUT - I much prefer to hear them play tenor saxophone.

As is the case with soprano sax, the primary instrument for most flute players is the tenor or alto saxophone . In just about every case, my clear preference is to hear the musician play alto or tenor rather than flute or soprano sax.

[seeline]

Re. Lew Tabackin, were you meaning his performances with Toshiko's big band, or his small-group recordings, or both?

A lot of those flute parts he plays with the band are meant to sound like shakuhachi parts (melodically as well as technically). Am assuming Lew uses a custom headjoint in order to be able to get that sound, but I don't know for sure. His ability to create that sound on a Western flute is pretty amazing!

Edited June 2, 2010 by seeline

[Larry Kart]

Yes, he's a doubler, but James Moody! At his best, he just kicks the living kapok out of the instrument, and in a jazz way. Not that his way is only jazz way on flute, but it is pretty darn gripping and also not just a flute version of Moody on tenor and alto.

Oops -- I see Peter above mentioned Moody, though with less enthusiasm.

[Teasing the Korean]

As is the case with soprano sax, the primary instrument for most flute players is the tenor or alto saxophone . In just about every case, my clear preference is to hear the musician play alto or tenor rather than flute or soprano sax.

PLEEZE, don't EVER compare the sublime flute to the dreaded soprano sax, which is THEE MOST HORRIBLE INSTRUMENT EVER INVENTED!

[JSngry]

There's all just inanimate instruments. None of them makes any kind of sound whatsoever unless/until somebody makes them do so.

[.:.impossible]

Flute was working this morning on this one.

[kenny weir]

None of them makes any kind of sound whatsoever unless/until somebody makes them do so.

I'm not sure I believe that. Or, rather, I'm not sure I want to believe that.

[A Lark Ascending]

I much like the soprano as well.

Maybe I really am a girl!

[seeline]

Or not. I have little love for it myself.

Edited June 2, 2010 by seeline

[mjazzg]

I keep coming across more flute in recent listening...

Neil Metcalfe plays some great flute on new Phillip Gibbs/Paul Dunmall release Mumuksuta