Jazz in the 90s

[danasgoodstuff]

I forgot to say, if you dig Jackie Mac, you should check out Arthur Blythe who made lots of fine recordings in the '70s, 80s and '90s and Darius Jones who has done so in this century.  Both have a cutting edge to their alto sound that owes something to McLean.

And while I agree that jazz needs blues and swing in there somewhere/somehow, I'm not sure Wynton knows what that means.

 

[felser]

Vols. 1/2/3 all highly recommended

[Don]

Steeplechase in the 70s is gold. I forget that they kept putting out records after that.

[JSngry]

50 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Well I would just disagree a bit and point to the Soul Gestures in Southern Blue (?) volumes. 

Leaning on Elvin & Joe for the lead volume doesn't count! LOL!!!!!

Seriously, those two could get a buried flagpole to swing.

[optatio]

I add two newcomers at the begin of the ninetieens:

I saw them live: Benny Green with Art Blakey and Chris Potter with Dave Holland!

[HutchFan]

I just spent a few hours looking through my collection, and here's a list of recordings from the 1990s that I would recommend without hesitation.

It follows the same rules as my blog: one disc as a leader and one as a co-leader; all music recorded in the 90s.

********************************************************

John Abercrombie - November (ECM)

Muhal Richard Abrams - Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint)

Kei Akagi - Mirror Puzzle (AudioQuest)

Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra - Desert Lady/Fantasy (Columbia)

Ben Allison - Seven Arrows (Koch)

Harold Ashby - On the Sunny Side of the Street (Timeless)

Billy Bang - Big Bang Theory (Justin Time)

Joey Baron - Down Home (Intuition)

Ray Barretto and New World Spirit - Contact! (Blue Note)

Kenny Barron - Lemuria-Seascape (Candid)

Gary Bartz - Episode One: Children of Harlem (Challenge)

Richie Beirach - Trust (Evidence)

Anders Bergcrantz Quartet - C (Dragon)

Tim Berne's Caos Totale - Pace Yourself (JMT/Winter & Winter)

Peter Bernstein Quartet - Signs of Life (Criss Cross)

Michael Blake - Kingdom of Champa (Intuition)

Paul Bley, Gary Peacock - Partners (Owl)

Jane Ira Bloom - The Red Quartets (Arabesque)

Arthur Blythe - Hipmotism (Enja)

Joanne Brackeen - Where Legends Dwell (Ken) - with Eddie Gomez & Jack DeJohnette

Anthony Braxton - Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 (hat Art)

Alan Broadbent Trio - Personal Standards (Concord)

Bob Brookmeyer - New Works Celebration (Challenge)

Kenny Burrell - Sunup to Sundown (Contemporary)

Gary Burton - Like Minds (Concord) - with Corea, Metheny, Haynes & Holland

Jaki Byard - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. Seventeen (Concord)

Betty Carter - Feed the Fire (Verve)

Marc Cary - Listen (Arabesque)

Thomas Chapin Trio - Sky Piece (Knitting Factory)

Billy Childs, Buster Williams, Carl Allen - Skim Coat ‎(Metropolitan)

George Coleman - My Horns of Plenty (Birdology)

Scott Colley - Subliminal... (Criss Cross)

Anthony Cox - Dark Metals (Antilles)

Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff - Road Tested (Milestone)

Andrew Cyrille - X Man (Soul Note)

Lars Danielsson - Far North (Curling Legs)

Harold Danko - New Autumn (SteepleChase)

Steve Davis Trio - Explorations and Impressions ‎(Double-Time) - with Richie Beirach

Santi Debriano Group - Panamaniacs (Free Lance)

Dave Douglas - Magic Triangle (Arabesque)

Kenny Drew Jr. Trio - Winter Flower (Milestone)

Paquito D'Rivera - Tropicana Nights (Chesky)

Ray Drummond - Excursion (Arabesque)

Marty Ehrlich - Side by Side (Enja)

Art Farmer - Silk Road (Arabesque)

Tommy Flanagan - Lady Be Good... For Ella (Verve)

Ricky Ford Quartet - [balaena] (Jazz Friends)

Sonny Fortune - A Better Understanding (Blue Note)

Frank Foster - Leo Rising (Arabesque)

Bill Frisell - Gone, Just Like a Train ‎(Nonesuch)

Gateway - Homecoming (ECM)

Stan Getz, Kenny Barron - People Time (Verve/Gitanes)

Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Steve Swallow - Fly Away Little Bird (Owl)

Larry Goldings Trio - Moonbird (Palmetto)

Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band - Crossroads (Milestone)

Jim Hall and Friends - Live at Town Hall, Volumes 1 & 2 (MusicMasters)

Chico Hamilton Quintet - Reunion (Soul Note)

Sir Roland Hanna - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Thirty-Two (Concord)

Tom Harrell - Labyrinth (RCA Victor)

Billy Harper - Somalia (Evidence)

Stefon Harris - BlackActionFigure (Blue Note)

Billy Hart - Amethyst (Arabesque)

Mark Helias - Loopin' the Cool (Enja)

Joe Henderson - Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Verve)

John Hicks - Hicks Time: Solo Piano (Passin' Thru)

Jay Hoggard - In the Spirit (Muse)

Dave Holland Quartet - Dream of the Elders (ECM)

Bobby Hutcherson - Skyline (Verve)

Sherman Irby - Big Mama's Biscuits (Blue Note)

Ahmad Jamal - The Essence Part 1 (Birdology)

Keith Jarrett - La Scala (ECM)

The Jazz Tribe [Ray Mantilla & Bobby Watson] - The Next Step ‎(Red)

Marc Johnson's Right Brain Patrol - Magic Labyrinth (JMT/Verve)

Stanley Jordan - Stolen Moments (Blue Note)

Rodney Kendrick - Dance World Dance (Verve)

Keystone Trio [Hicks, Mraz, Muhammad] - Newklear Music: The Songs of Sonny Rollins (Milestone)

Frank Kimbrough - Quickening (OmniTone)

Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland (GRP/Verve)

Lee Konitz, Don Friedman & Attila Zoller - Thingin' (hat Art)

Joachim Kühn, Daniel Humair, Jean-François Jenny-Clark - Usual Confusion ‎(Label Bleu)

Steve Kuhn - The Best Things (Reservoir)

Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron - Communiqué (Soul Note)

John Lewis - Evolution (Atlantic)

Dave Liebman Group - Voyage (Evidence)

Abbey Lincoln featuring Stan Getz - You Gotta Pay the Band (Verve)

Charles Lloyd - All My Relations (ECM)

Joe Lovano - Sounds of Joy (Enja)

Johnny Lytle - Possum Grease (Muse)

Harold Mabern Trio - Lookin' on the Bright Side (DIW)

Michael Marcus & The Jaki Byard Trio - Involution (Justin Time)

Charlie Mariano, Jasper Van 't Hof - Innuendo (Lipstick)

Rick Margitza - Hands of Time ‎(Challenge)

Branford Marsalis - Crazy People Music (Columbia)

Pat Martino - Mission Accomplished (32 Jazz) - originally Interchange (Muse) and Nightwings (Muse)

Jackie McLean Quintet featuring René McLean - Rites of Passage (Triloka)

Marian McPartland - Plays the Music of Mary Lou Williams (Concord)

Medeski, Martin & Wood - It's a Jungle in Here (Gramavision)

Paul Motian Trio - Sound of Love (Winter & Winter)

George Mraz - My Foolish Heart ‎(Milestone)

David Murray Octet - Hope Scope (Black Saint)

Mike Nock, Marty Ehrlich - The Waiting Game (Naxos Jazz)

Walter Norris - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Four (Concord)

Chico O'Farrill - Heart of a Legend (Milestone)

Oregon - Always, Never and Forever (Intuition)

Greg Osby - Banned in New York (Blue Note)

Eddie Palmieri - Palmas ‎(Nonesuch) - with Brian Lynch and Donald Harrison

Leon Parker - Awakening (Columbia)

Ralph Peterson - The Reclamation Project (Evidence)

Michel Petrucciani - Au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Dreyfus)

Enrico Pieranunzi, Marc Johnson, Paul Motian - Untold Story (IDA/EGEA)

Odean Pope - Out for a Walk (Moers)

Bobby Previte - Weather Clear, Track Fast ‎(Enja)

Tito Puente - The Golden Latin Jazz All Stars: Live at The Village Gate ‎(TropiJazz)

Don Pullen and the African-Brazilian Connection - Ode to Life (Blue Note)

Quest [Liebman, Beirach, McClure, Hart] - Of One Mind (CMP)

Enrico Rava, Enrico Pieranunzi - Nausicaa (EGEA)

Dewey Redman - In London (Palmetto)

Dianne Reeves - I Remember (Blue Note)

Marcus Roberts Trio - In Honor of Duke (Columbia)

Sonny Rollins - Global Warming (Milestone)

Renee Rosnes - As We Are Now (Blue Note)

Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Blessing (Somethin' Else)

Hilton Ruiz - A Moment's Notice (Novus)

Bobby Sanabria Big Band - Afro-Cuban Dream...Live & In Clave!!! (Arabesque)

John Scofield - Meant to Be (Blue Note)

Archie Shepp - Black Ballads (Timeless)

Sonny Simmons - Ancient Ritual (Qwest)

Martial Solal - Just Friends (Dreyfus)

Bobo Stenson Trio - Reflections (ECM)

Bill Stewart - Telepathy (Blue Note)

John Surman Quartet - Stranger Than Fiction (ECM)

Esbjörn Svensson Trio - From Gagarin's Point of View (ACT)

Henri Texier - "Mad Nomad(s)" (Label Bleu)

Gary Thomas - Exile's Gate (JMT/Winter & Winter)

Henry Threadgill & Make a Move - Where's Your Cup? (Columbia)

Trio Da Paz - Partido Out (Malandro)

Gust William Tsilis Quartet - Possibilities (Ken)

Mark Turner - Mark Turner (Warner Brothers)

Steve Turre - Rhythm Within (Antilles)

Stanley Turrentine - More Than a Mood (MusicMasters)

McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson - Manhattan Moods (Blue Note)

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra - Plays the Music of Jim McNeely: Lickety Split ‎(New World)

Mal Waldron Quintet - Crowd Scene (Soul Note) - with Sonny Fortune & Ricky Ford

Bennie Wallace - The Talk of the Town (Enja)

Jack Walrath and the Masters of Suspense - Out of the Tradition ‎(Muse)

Cedar Walton - Manhattan Afternoon (Criss Cross)

David S. Ware - Go See the World (Columbia)

Bobby Watson & Horizon - Post Motown Bop (Blue Note)

Kenny Werner Trio - Press Enter (Sunnyside)

Randy Weston - The Spirits of Our Ancestors (Antilles/Verve)

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & John Taylor with The Maritime JO - Siren's Song (Justin Time)

Jack Wilkins - Trioart (Arabesque)

The James Williams Magical Trio - Awesome! (DIW)

Tony Williams - The Story of Neptune (Blue Note)

Larry Willis - Steal Away (AudioQuest)

Matt Wilson - As Wave Follows Wave (Palmetto) - with Dewey Redman

Norma Winstone, John Taylor - ...Like Song, Like Weather (Koch/Sunnyside)

Mike Wofford - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Eighteen (Concord)

Phil Woods Quintet - Souvenirs (Evidence)

Sam Yahel ‎– In the Blink of an Eye (Naxos Jazz)

 

I hope this is helpful.  

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by HutchFan

[Rabshakeh]

4 hours ago, HutchFan said:

I hope this is helpful.  

Oh yes

[Д.Д.]

18 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said:

1) Ask the Ages - Sonny Sharrock with P. Sanders, Elvin Jones, Charnet Moffet.  All the beauty, all the ugliness, all the joy, all the hurt, all the stuff of life, as much as you can get it on an album.  Produced by Bill Laswell.  As good as anything from anytime, anywhere, IMHO, YMMV.

Yes, absolutely. 

  

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Д.Д.

[JSngry]

VON FREEMAN!!!

[HutchFan]

5 minutes ago, JSngry said:

VON FREEMAN!!!

Which CD?

 

[JSngry]

All of them. There are no disposable Von Freeman records.

[Dub Modal]

hatOLOGY is another great label. 

[EKE BBB]

One or two Martial Solal discs have already been mentioned. ANY Martial Solal disc from the 90s is highly recommendable.

As for one of his European "peers", check also some Tete Montoliu discs from the 90s. I would start with:

- The Music I Like To Play, Vol. 3: Let's Call This (Soul Note) - solo piano

- Catalonian Rhapsody (Alfa Jazz) - trio with Hein van de Geyn and Idris Muhammad

- Tete Montoliu en El San Juan (Nuevos Medios) - trio plus Stephen Riley (ts), Danny Harper (flg) and Philip Harper (tp) on some tracks

- 1995 (Contrabaix) - duo with Javier Colina (b)

- Palau de la Musica Catalana.21/3/1997 (DiscMedi Blau) - solo piano

Edited December 9, 2020 by EKE BBB

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Interesting article: https://newyorkjazzworkshop.com/where-was-jazz-in-the-1990s-part-1/ but it seems to ignore the fact that In the late 80's to the mid-90s, smooth jazz dominated the jazz landscape, including commercial radio. I remember walking into the Tower Records "Jazz Room" and seeing stacks and stacks of Kenny G, David Sanborn and The Rippingtons CDs. There were two clubs in the Boston area and one catered almost exclusively to the smooth jazz crowd.

To my recollection, the contemporary jazz scene was dominated by Wynton and his like-minded offshoots but even then, guys like him and other "big names" like Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock & Sonny Rollins played in big concert halls and I hardly went to those. Most of the live shows I went to back then were in the smaller clubs to see artists whose main body of work took place in the 50s, 60s & 70s - players like McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones, JJ Johnson, Jackie McLean, Johnny Griffin, Tommy Flanagan, Benny Golson, etc - that list goes on & on. I should've kept a journal. I can't forget to mention Nick Brignola. I never missed a set when Nick played.

I did have some younger favorites playing in the hard bop idiom (like the players in One For All) but a lot of them didn't make the trip to Boston until very late in the 90s. Some of the bigger name artists on the "younger" side that did get to Boston who were in prime form (not to put down their subsequent work) were players like Joe Lovano, Renee Rosnes, Michael Brecker, Greg Osby, Chris Potter, Ralph Peterson - again, this list could go on & on. Some of these shows were incredible.

Listing just a few of my favorite recordings from the 90s is easy...

Nick Brignola - On A Different Level (1990)

Joe Lovano - From The Soul (1992)

Renee Rosnes - As We Are Now (1997)

Michael Brecker - Tales From The Hudson (1996)

Joe Henderson - So Near, So Far (1993) or Double Rainbow (1995)

Eric Alexander - Up, Over & Out (1995)

Harry Allen - Day Dream (1998)

Teddy Edwards - Tango In Harlem (1995)

Danny Gatton/Joey DeFrancesco - Relentless (1994)

Jimmy McGriff/Hank Crawford - Right Turn On Blue (1994)

Gary Smulyan - Homage (1993)

Lew Tabackin - Tenority (1996)

Frank Foster - Leo Rising (1997)

... and probably another 20 titles easy.

Now that you got me to make this list, I see there are quite a few of these that I haven't spun in a while. I'll have to add them to pile.

[CJ Shearn]

23 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

GARY THOMAS

Not everything, but the better/best half of his output is just divine (which includes a bit from the late 80’s).

Til We Have Faces is incredible, some of the most incredible Pat Metheny on record.  Thomas is also quite good on Jack DeJohnette's Blue Notes of the period.

Other great 90's records

Kenny Garrett Songbook

Branford Marsalis Trio Bloomington

Nils Petter Molvaer Khmer

Michael Brecker: Tales From The Hudson, Two Blocks From The Edge, Time Is Of The Essence

Yellowjackets: Greenhouse, Run Fer Yer Life (if you only like/want hard bop, these may not be for you, ditto the Molvaer)

John Scofield: Time On My Hands, Grace Under Pressure, I Can See Your House From Here, Hand Jive

Keith Jarrett at The Blue Note The Complete Recordings

Herbie Hancock: The New Standard

Joey DeFrancesco: Live At The Five Spot

John McLaughlin: After The Rain, Tokyo Live

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by CJ Shearn

[Kevin Bresnahan]

There are several CDs by the Mingus Big Band that were put out on the Dreyfus label in the 90's that are well worth seeking out. I am particular to "Gunslinging Birds".

[JSngry]

These two pretty much ruled my early 1990s expectational paradigm...meaning, yeah, they ruled then, and still rule now!

 

 

 

[Д.Д.]

18 minutes ago, JSngry said:

These two [Henry Threadgill Novus releases] pretty much ruled my early 1990s expectational paradigm...meaning, yeah, they ruled then, and still rule now!

Great stuff indeed. 

[Д.Д.]

5 hours ago, Dub Modal said:

hatOLOGY is another great label. 

More interesting series (or sublabel, whatever) of Hat Hut is hatART: https://www.discogs.com/label/138774-hat-ART . A lot of great 90's jazz there, this one for example:

   

The series was discontinued in 1997 and hatOLOGY and hat[now]ART imprints were started. Quite a few of the hatART releases were later reissued as a part of these new series, but not all. Most of the stuff is available on streaming now.   

Edited December 9, 2020 by Д.Д.

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, Д.Д. said:

Great stuff indeed. 

Just to be clear, the images posted were not Novus. One was Black Saint, the other Axiom. The Novus records, but I prefer these other two by a bit of a smidge.

Then again, I'm going the distance with Threadgill, he's one of those people I'm committed to to that degree. He's more than earned it. Not a LOT of innovative jazz that I can claim to have gotten in from almost the beginning, and I wasn't there for the earliest Threadgill, but I was for X-75, Open Air Suit, and everything since. I am grateful for that, to have been able to get on early and never had to get off, to this day.

To the records in question, Very Very Circus, the band, was a real shock to the system (in a good way) when they first arrived... first Air, then the Sextett, and now, out of nowhere (again), THIS! And then a bit later, something new, then something new again...the guy's a proven master by pretty much any measure, and he even has a blues feeling and swing.

[Dmitry]

20 hours ago, bresna said:

Interesting article: https://newyorkjazzworkshop.com/where-was-jazz-in-the-1990s-part-1/ but it seems to ignore the fact that In the late 80's to the mid-90s, smooth jazz dominated the jazz landscape, including commercial radio. I remember walking into the Tower Records "Jazz Room" and seeing stacks and stacks of Kenny G, David Sanborn and The Rippingtons CDs. There were two clubs in the Boston area and one catered almost exclusively to the smooth jazz crowd.

 

The article is overtly apologetic towards the jazz musicians who ventured into the commercial genre, like hip hop and smooth jazz. The writer is disdainful towards the sex of the critics, calling attention to the fact that the critics were all male (as if it made a difference?). At least the phrase 'old white men' is absent, because some of the critics the author lambasts were black. The article seems to be geared mostly towards African-American players, and not the whole strata. It also omits vocalists. I know, this is not a Wikipedia-caliber article, but it could be one day, couldn't it?!

Just my $.02

Personally, and in retrospect, very unfortunately, I was not into jazz at all, until the end of the decade, but I did see some gigs in NYC, one in particular that I remember, was T.S.Monk's group at New York University ca.1995. They performed at the student center. Tickets were $5 or so. 

 

[Rabshakeh]

Some of those 90s attempts at jazz / hip hop fusion have aged pretty badly I think. Not because they're fusion, per se. I just think they were mostly playing catch up. Now that rap has itself moved on, those albums sound even more wretched and old fashioned.

[Simon8]

1993. 

[Don]

2 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Some of those 90s attempts at jazz / hip hop fusion have aged pretty badly I think. Not because they're fusion, per se. I just think they were mostly playing catch up. Now that rap has itself moved on, those albums sound even more wretched and old fashioned.

Digable Planets and Tribe Called Quest hold up just fine, but it's not jazz.

[Rabshakeh]

6 hours ago, Don said:

Digable Planets and Tribe Called Quest hold up just fine, but it's not jazz.

They still sound great. In fact, I think Disable Planets sound better than they did then. I love those groups' first couple of albums. The Low End Theory had a significant impact on my own jazz listening habits (I was around 14 at the time I discovered that album). Those were innovative hip hop acts. I'm not sure Guru holds up quite as well, but, hey. 

It's more the stuff from the jazz side that got my goat in the 90s and early 00s. It was a good period for young fogey music faking being up to date. 

It was also a good period for other musics too, as discussed above. Depending on the type of jazz or improvised music you like, it might even have been a "great" period. 

But I remember the sad hip hop cross over attempts getting quite a lot of the more "mainstream" jazz press attention. Particularly in the UK. 

I find the contrast pretty stark when compared to the current set of jazz musicians like Makaya McCraven and Shabaka Hutchings, who I think have staked out a much more convincing claim.