Overlooked pianists

[Bluesnik]

On 19/07/2015 at 6:48 PM, paul secor said:

Lorraine Geller's Dot album is well worth listening to.

I have that one and like it a lot. Plus also Jutta Hipp, who was also mentioned.

[mhatta]

Yet another '70s Mingus Band alumnus is Danny Mixon.  He was playing piano with MIngus in the most of 1976.  Mixon is not really overlooked, had a colorful career and still going strong, but it was unfortunate that his work at Mingus Band is not on any legitimate releases.  Mingus Band including Mixon visited Japan in July 1976 and left several (bootleg) live recordings.  Mixon shines on them.

[kh1958]

2 hours ago, mhatta said:

Yet another '70s Mingus Band alumnus is Danny Mixon.  He was playing piano with MIngus in the most of 1976.  Mixon is not really overlooked, had a colorful career and still going strong, but it was unfortunate that his work at Mingus Band is not on any legitimate releases.  Mingus Band including Mixon visited Japan in July 1976 and left several (bootleg) live recordings.  Mixon shines on them.

Danny Mixon is on a legitimate Mingus release--on Music for Todo Modo, which is one side of the LP, Cumbia and Jazz Fusion.

Edited November 10, 2017 by kh1958

[mhatta]

10 hours ago, kh1958 said:

Danny Mixon is on a legitimate Mingus release--on Music for Todo Modo, which is one side of the LP, Cumbia and Jazz Fusion.

Oh, I assumed it was Bob Neloms.  Thanks for correction!

Edited November 11, 2017 by mhatta

[mhatta]

Speaking of which, Bob Neloms is yet another Mingus alum and forgotten, overlooked great.  Personally I think he was the best of the bunch, could play anything authentically, like Jaki Byard.  Seems he recorded one leader session, a solo piano recording ("Pretty Music" for India Navigation, 1982), but unfortunately I couldn't find it yet.

On this Dannie Richmond album, Neloms shows what he got, including an impression of Erroll Garner...

 

Edited November 11, 2017 by mhatta

[soulpope]

3 hours ago, mhatta said:

Speaking of which, Bob Neloms is yet another Mingus alum and forgotten, overlooked great.  Personally I think he was the best of the bunch, could play anything authentically, like Jaki Byard.  Seems he recorded one leader session, a solo piano recording ("Pretty Music" for India Navigation, 1982), but unfortunately I couldn't find it yet.

On this Dannie Richmond album, Neloms shows what he got, including an impression of Erroll Garner...

 

Agreement on unheralded Bob Neloms - (IMO) his talents are even better served on Dannie Richmond + The Last Mingus Band "Plays Charles Mingus" ( Timeless) from 1981 ....

[mhatta]

Charles Bell is also an obscure but interesting figure.  He sounds like an amalgam of John Lewis and Ahmad Jamal for me.  Introverted and still funky.  He made a few recordings in the early 60's, then left an active playing career to become a music educator. Drummer Poogie Bell is his son.

 

[jazzbo]

Charles Bell's "Another Dimension" on Atlantic was among the first LPs I ever owned. I was 14, living in M'Babane, Swaziland where my father was the nation's first US Peace Corps Director. The volunteers there received a "care package" of LPs from Atlantic Records, all mono releases, and one of them gave me the LPs he didn't want, which included two jazz items, this and Leo Wright's "Blues Shout," as he knew I was beginning to be interested in jazz.

I love and cherish those two albums. I have purchased the other Bell that I could find. 

[mhatta]

John Coates, Jr. is also an unsung hero in Jazz.  He was an early influence on Keith Jarrett, but never really achieved the same fame and fortune Jarrett could enjoy.  Still, he is one of the most unique voices in Jazz piano.

 

[soulpope]

[mhatta]

There are many good Japanese Jazz pianists who are not well known outside Japan.  Tsuyoshi Yamamoto is one of them.  Not so adventurous perhaps, but always swinging hard.

 

[clifford_thornton]

I'd add Takehiro Honda to the above description too.

[jlhoots]

On 11/12/2017 at 2:16 AM, jazzbo said:

Charles Bell's "Another Dimension" on Atlantic was among the first LPs I ever owned. I was 14, living in M'Babane, Swaziland where my father was the nation's first US Peace Corps Director. The volunteers there received a "care package" of LPs from Atlantic Records, all mono releases, and one of them gave me the LPs he didn't want, which included two jazz items, this and Leo Wright's "Blues Shout," as he knew I was beginning to be interested in jazz.

I love and cherish those two albums. I have purchased the other Bell that I could find. 

Just played the Bell.

I'll see if I can find the Wright in my "archives".

[HutchFan]

Speaking of Japanese pianists, I've really enjoyed what I've heard from Masahiko Sato.

[BeBop]

Speaking further of Japanese pianists,  I have enjoyed several duo recordings of Aki Takase:

- Blue Monk (w/David Murray)

- Duet for Eric Dolphy and The Dessert (w/Rudi Mahall)

 

Is the late Connie Crothers overlooked?  

 

 

[clifford_thornton]

Takase and Sato are awesome -- and in the spirit of the thread, I guess I don't find them all that overlooked (same for Masabumi Kikuchi, though he's a bigger name).

I'll also throw out Yosuke Yamashita, Takashi Kako, Hideo Ichikawa, and Shoji Aketagawa. 

[soulpope]

12 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

Takase and Sato are awesome -- and in the spirit of the thread, I guess I don't find them all that overlooked (same for Masabumi Kikuchi, though he's a bigger name).

I'll also throw out Yosuke Yamashita, Takashi Kako, Hideo Ichikawa, and Shoji Aketagawa. 

Takashi Kako + Kent Carter + Oliver Johnson "TOK Paradox" on JAPO is a good one ....

Edited November 15, 2017 by soulpope

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, all four of those TOK records are excellent.

[JSngry]

On 11/14/2017 at 11:27 AM, BeBop said:

Is the late Connie Crothers overlooked? 

Hmmm....does going from "need to check her out one day" to "ok, let's do this more or less all at once" to "ok, that's enough of that" count as overlooked?

If so, then yes.

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, have had the same reaction but glad she was here doing what she did when she did it.

[mhatta]

Shirley Scott is primarily known as an organist, but she was also a pretty good pianist.  Two piano trio albums she made in her later years ("Blues Everywhere" and "Skylark" for Candid label) are little-known gems.

 

[jlhoots]

We're probably overlooking Elmo Hope these days!!

[soulpope]

9 hours ago, jlhoots said:

We're probably overlooking Elmo Hope these days!!

Or his wife Bertha Hope ....

[soulpope]

What about Michael Cochrane ....

[Dan Gould]

I'll certainly give many  to Mr. Cochrane.