Playing Favorites: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s

[Dan Gould]

4 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 

Buddy Tate & the Muse Allstars – Live at Sandy's (Muse, 1980) and Hard Blowin': Live at Sandy's (Muse, 1984)

Arnett Cobb – Arnett Cobb Is Back (Progressive, 1979)

 

What say you?

I say that owning three from a single week is a new high so ... 

[Peter Friedman]

For me it is the Live at Sandy's sessions, the Shirley Horn, and Arnett is Back .

Edited November 1, 2020 by Peter Friedman

[Rabshakeh]

I'm slightly surprised at the choice of Rivers from a decade that saw him in his pomp. It's a good album, but a long way from what I'd consider his best from the decade. Perhaps I need to reconsider.

[felser]

51 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

I'm slightly surprised at the choice of Rivers from a decade that saw him in his pomp. It's a good album, but a long way from what I'd consider his best from the decade. Perhaps I need to reconsider.

He did many good albums during the decade.  'Streams' and 'Sizzle' are favorites of mine.

[Justin V]

2 hours ago, Peter Friedman said:

For me it is the Live at Sandy's sessions, the Shirley Horn, and Arnett is Back .

I wish all of those Sandy's dates would've been reissued on CD.  The bulk of the Cobb albums were on one disc.  What bums me out is that some other tracks made a compilation that largely overlapped with the Cobb release when other tracks could have been reissued.  Mosaic could have done a nice set (Select?) of those albums.

At any rate, what I've heard via the two CDs is delightful stuff.  Besides the all-star saxophonists, the rhythm section of Ray Bryant, George Duvivier and Alan Dawson can't be stopped for a jam session like that.  

[HutchFan]

6 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

I'm slightly surprised at the choice of Rivers from a decade that saw him in his pomp. It's a good album, but a long way from what I'd consider his best from the decade. Perhaps I need to reconsider.

If I hadn't chosen Waves, I think I would've gone with The Quest (Red, 1976), a trio record with Holland & Altschul.

What would you choose, Rabshakeh?

 

5 hours ago, felser said:

He did many good albums during the decade.  'Streams' and 'Sizzle' are favorites of mine.

I dig those as well.

... I like Sizzle better of the two, ever so slightly.

 

[Rabshakeh]

6 hours ago, HutchFan said:

If I hadn't chosen Waves, I think I would've gone with The Quest (Red, 1976), a trio record with Holland & Altschul.

What would you choose, Rabshakeh?

I think probably Waves or the first Duo with Holland, although hard to ignore Crystals too. 

[soulpope]

28 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

I think probably Waves or the first Duo with Holland, although hard to ignore Crystals too. 

Yep ....

[HutchFan]

8 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

I think probably Waves or the first Duo with Holland, although hard to ignore Crystals too. 

I need to re-listen to Crystals.  Rivers' large ensemble stuff usually hasn't hit me as hard as his small combo records.

I've never heard either of the duo records with Holland.  

 

[HutchFan]

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 

Johnny Griffin – The Return of the Griffin (Galaxy, 1979)
Rodney Jones – Articulation (Timeless/Timeless Muse, 1978)
Andrew Cyrille & Maono – Metamusicians' Stomp (Black Saint, 1978)
Ira Sullivan – Peace (Galaxy, 1979) and Multimedia (Galaxy, 1982)
Max Roach & Anthony Braxton – Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978)
Leroy Jenkins – Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America (Tomato, 1979)
Bill Barron – Jazz Caper (Muse, 1982)

 

Some good stuff this week!   

 

[Eric]

51 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 

Johnny Griffin – The Return of the Griffin (Galaxy, 1979)
Rodney Jones – Articulation (Timeless/Timeless Muse, 1978)
Andrew Cyrille & Maono – Metamusicians' Stomp (Black Saint, 1978)
Ira Sullivan – Peace (Galaxy, 1979) and Multimedia (Galaxy, 1982)
Max Roach & Anthony Braxton – Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978)
Leroy Jenkins – Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America (Tomato, 1979)
Bill Barron – Jazz Caper (Muse, 1982)

 

Some good stuff this week!   

 

Excellent call on the Rodney Jones!

Edited November 9, 2020 by Eric

[felser]

Love the Cyrille.  That's a good Griffin, but he made a lot of outstanding albums in the decade, and I would have probably gone for one of the live ones with longer cuts.

[Gheorghe]

I heard Griffin for the first time shortly before he returned to the States, it was in April 1978. 

After his return to the states, many of us bought "The Return of the Griffin", a very fine Album with a typical rendition of "Autumn Leaves". 

[JSngry]

10 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 

Johnny Griffin – The Return of the Griffin (Galaxy, 1979)
Rodney Jones – Articulation (Timeless/Timeless Muse, 1978)
Andrew Cyrille & Maono – Metamusicians' Stomp (Black Saint, 1978)
Ira Sullivan – Peace (Galaxy, 1979) and Multimedia (Galaxy, 1982)
Max Roach & Anthony Braxton – Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978)
Leroy Jenkins – Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America (Tomato, 1979)
Bill Barron – Jazz Caper (Muse, 1982)

 

Some good stuff this week!   

 

Quite!

[Dan Gould]

10 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 

Johnny Griffin – The Return of the Griffin (Galaxy, 1979)
Rodney Jones – Articulation (Timeless/Timeless Muse, 1978)
Andrew Cyrille & Maono – Metamusicians' Stomp (Black Saint, 1978)
Ira Sullivan – Peace (Galaxy, 1979) and Multimedia (Galaxy, 1982)
Max Roach & Anthony Braxton – Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978)
Leroy Jenkins – Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America (Tomato, 1979)
Bill Barron – Jazz Caper (Muse, 1982)

 

Some good stuff this week!   

 

Perhaps but we're back to the typical level for me: I own one, the Griff.

 

[Peter Friedman]

The Johnny Griffin album is my clear favorite from this list.

[JSngry]

Now it's time to get the ball rolling on that Bill Barron Mosaic!

[John Tapscott]

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

The Johnny Griffin album is my clear favorite from this list.

Mine as well. 

[HutchFan]

9 hours ago, JSngry said:

Now it's time to get the ball rolling on that Bill Barron Mosaic!

I'd jump aboard that train!   

 

 

9 hours ago, Peter Friedman said:

The Johnny Griffin album is my clear favorite from this list.

 

8 hours ago, John Tapscott said:

Mine as well. 

I agree with you, gents.  It's an EXCELLENT record!

Aside from his early LPs with Lockjaw, I think Griffin's best records are the ones he made AFTER moving to Europe.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by HutchFan

[HutchFan]

Grist for the mill of discussion ... 

JazzTimes recently conducted a poll asking their readers to determine the top jazz albums of each decade the magazine has been in existence. https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/top-10-jazz-albums-1970s-readers-picks/?amp

FWIW, here's what they came up with for the 1970s:

1. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
No argument from me on this one.  I didn't include it in my survey only because it was partially recorded in the 1960s, which ruled it out of bounds, per my own self-imposed rules.

2. Herbie Hancock - Headhunters
I prefer the Mwandishi band, but I don't think anyone's going to get wrapped around the axle with this choice.

3. Chick Corea - Return to Forever
On my list.  A record close to my heart.

4. Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert
Among the solo piano LPs, I prefer Facing You.  And I like the American Quartet recordings even better. But again it's not hard to understand why readers picked this one.

5. Weather Report - Heavy Weather 
Meh. ... Yeah, it's got their hit, "Birdland." But there are so many other WR records that are more interesting.

6. Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
On my list.  Easily one of Metheny's best records, IMO.

7. Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay
Ony my list.  Tough to argue with this classic. 

8. Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
A good record, I suppose -- but not a favorite of mine.

9. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
I know that many listeners consider this to be an epochal record. But I've never grooved to it.  Rhythm-wise, it just doesn't work for me.  

10. Weather Report - Weather Report
This isn't on my list, but I don't have a problem with this choice.  It's Weather Report at their most abstract, and I prefer their live records, where they seem to more fully realize that abstraction with some rhythmic thrust.  But I can understand why readers would pick this one. It was a big deal back in the day.

 

 

Some observations:

-- My 1970's jazz survey covers 366 records. Eight of them were made for Columbia (or Sony Legacy).  That's just over 2%. 

-- Six of the ten records on the JazzTimes list were made for Columbia (or Epic). ... 60% !!!  

This tells me two things: 

a.) From my point of view, one of the most important stories of jazz in the 1970s is how small- and medium-sized independents labels helped to carry the music forward.  Because "the majors" were only interested in a narrow electric sliver of the jazz pie -- at least until the late-70s, Dexter's return, and jazz's sudden "resurrection" (very much quote/unquote).

b.) The influence of  Columbia -- Big Red -- cannot not be underestimated when it comes to shaping the popular conception of what was happening in jazz in the 1970s.  It's nowhere near a complete picture.  It's a tiny fraction of what was happening.  But the perception is what the perception is.  ... Honestly, I'm surprised that The Inner Mounting Flame isn't on the JazzTimes list.  It's crazy, but that would've upped Columbia's percentage even HIGHER.

 

Thoughts?

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by HutchFan

[felser]

On 11/10/2020 at 9:13 PM, HutchFan said:

I think Griffin's best records are the ones he made AFTER moving to Europe.

 

I agree, the 70's European records are my first-call Griff.

 

As for the Jazz Times list, 10 is a really small number of albums.  Some excellent music on there, but I would think the Return to Forever is the only one that might make my list, and I'm not sure if it would.   Just thinking out loud, pick a Tyner, a Tolliver, a Hannibal Peterson, a Billy Harper, Elvin Jones's Lighthouse, one of the European Archie Shepp's, a Max Roach with Harper, Mahavishnu's "Inner Mounting Flame",one of the Clifford Jordan/Cedar Walton albums or the Eastern Rebellion one with George Coleman, Woody Shaw's "Berliner Jazztage" and I'm at 10 already.  And that's just off the top of my head, no research.  I'm sure there are probably lots more.

Edited November 11, 2020 by felser

[JSngry]

What that tells me is that Jazz Times readers have heard all the same records that everybody's heard and none of the ones that not everybody has.

You can be surprised about that if you want to, I'm not.

On 11/10/2020 at 8:13 PM, HutchFan said:

 

On 11/10/2020 at 8:13 PM, HutchFan said:

Aside from his early LPs with Lockjaw, I think Griffin's best records are the ones he made AFTER moving to Europe.

 

Other than those early LPs with Lockjaw and one early '70s Milestone two - fer,, there were, at least to my immediate memory, no Griffin records readily available here in the US until maybe the Tokyo record that came out on Inner City and then the Galaxy records. Griffin's "comeback"  was maybe a year or so after Dexter's but it was even more profound in terms of record availability.

Most of the Dexter Blue Notes stayed in print. None of the Griffin Riversides did, obviously, but neither did they reap the benefit of the seventies two_fer reissue boom.

I bet a lot of newer listeners were rediscovering Johnny Griffin before ever discovering him! 

[Rabshakeh]

37 minutes ago, JSngry said:

What that tells me is that Jazz Times readers have heard all the same records that everybody's heard and none of the ones that not everybody has.

You can be surprised about that if you want to, I'm not.

The Jazz Times Readers’ Best of the 80s List is even drearier....

[JSngry]

21 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

The Jazz Times Readers’ Best of the 80s List is even drearier....

On the other hand, I looked through the lists for both the eighties and the nineties and did not see even one Winton Marseilles record. Not one! L effing O effing l.

[Peter Friedman]

My taste is far removed from the albums that are on the Jazz Times List.

There was not one of them that I really like.