Your Favorite Jazz Records of the 1980s?

[Rabshakeh]

2 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

I found this info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DownBeat#Critics'_Poll

Thanks.

[Peter Friedman]

[Dan Gould]

29 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

Mike LeDonne told me this story about his first recording session:

A little piece of trivia is that I wanted Percy France to play tenor on my first date for Criss Cross as a leader. I had a few originals that were a bit different than playing standards that I felt were important to have on my first date so I gave them to Percy in advance. But this wasn’t the way Percy operated and when he never showed up at the rehearsal I knew something was wrong. I insisted he come by my apt a couple of days before the date so we could go over the tunes and when he started playing it was obvious he hadn’t even looked at them. I felt terrible but I had to tell him I couldn’t go into the studio like that. The producer of the date had someone else in mind for my date and I was going to have to go with that before I blew the whole thing. Funny thing was that Percy was totally cool with it and just said OK no problem and packed up his horn and left, no anger and no bad vibes at all. I felt that he knew this wasn’t a good fit for him and was relieved to be free of it. The date was with Tom Harrell, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington and wound up being Gary Smulyan’s first record date of all time.

[David Ayers]

By the way, I think there is a difference between favorite records of the 80s and absolute favorite records which happen to have been made in the 80s. 

[mikeweil]

1 minute ago, David Ayers said:

By the way, I think there is a difference between favorite records of the 80s and absolute favorite records which happen to have been made in the 80s. 

Well said. What I liked back then when it was new I may not like that much any more now. But that would be another thread.

[Peter Friedman]

[David Ayers]

George Russell had a bit of a resurgence in the 80s. Do people remember The African Game and So What, both on Blue Note? He toured the UK on the back of that. I saw him in Glasgow with an orchestra featuring Andy Shepherd. 

[BillF]

5 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Well said. What I liked back then when it was new I may not like that much any more now. But that would be another thread.

So, three categories:

1 What your favorites were back in the 80s.

2 What your favorites are among the discs made in the 80s.

3 Which discs from the 80s are among your all-time favorites.

Perhaps this should have been spelled out when the thread was started.

All my answers are from category 2.

And here's another:

[HutchFan]

My intention was for folks to list their current favorite records that were made between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.  You may have discovered the record last week -- or the day that it was released.  Either is fine.  As long as it meets the date parameters.

Regardless, this is inevitably a retrospective exercise.  The 80s began more than four decades ago.  Time can distort things, but it can also clarify things.  That wiggle-waggle is part of the fun. 

Contextualization.  De-contextualization. Re-contextualization.  And all that.

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by HutchFan

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[mikeweil]

On 6.3.2021 at 11:23 PM, Peter Friedman said:

That one is on my eternal wish list.

[Д.Д.]

OK, I re-listened to what I have from 1981 (my to-get-rid-of pile grew substantially after this exercise), and here is the good stuff:

Willem Breuker Kollektief - In Holland (BVHAAST)

Hal Russell - NRG Ensemble (Nessa)

Eddie Johnson - Indian Summer (Nessa)

Odean Pope - Almost Like Me (Moers Music)

Andrew Cyrille, Richard Teitelbaum - Double Clutch (Silkheart)

Joe McPhee Po Music - Topology (Hat Hut)

Jaki Byard - To Them - To Us (Soul Note)

Lester Bowie - The Great Pretender (ECM)

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society - street priest (Moers Music)

Leo Cuypers - Heavy Days Are Here Again (BVHAAST / Atavistic)

Muhal Richard Abrams - Blues Forever (Black Saint)

Fred Frith - live in Japan (Fred /ReR Megacorp)

Peter Brötzmann Group - Alarm (FMP / Atavistic)

Ali Akbar Khan, L. Subramaniam - Duet (Ravi Shankar Musical Circle). The recording date is not clear, the album was released in 1981. This is not jazz of course, but it contains plenty of excellent improvisation. 

 

Give me a couple weeks more for 1982.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Д.Д.

[David Ayers]

7 minutes ago, Д.Д. said:

OK, I re-listened to what I have from 1981 (my to-get-rid-of pile grew substantially after this exercise), and here is the good stuff:

Willem Breuker Kollektief - In Holland (BVHAAST)

Hal Russell - NRG Ensemble (Nessa)

Eddie Johnson - Indian Summer (Nessa)

Odean Pope - Almost Like Me (Moers Music)

Andrew Cyrille, Richard Teitelbaum - Double Clutch (Silkheart)

Joe McPhee Po Music - Topology (Hat Hut)

Jaki Byard - To Them - To Us (Soul Note)

Lester Bowie - The Great Pretender (ECM)

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society - street priest (Moers Music)

Leo Cuypers - Heavy Days Are Here Again (BVHAAST / Atavistic)

Muhal Richard Abrams - Blues Forever (Black Saint)

Fred Frith - live in Japan (Fred /ReR Megacorp)

Peter Brötzmann Group - Alarm (FMP / Atavistic)

 

Give me a couple weeks more for 1982.

 

 

I like your approach...

[Rabshakeh]

8 minutes ago, Д.Д. said:

OK, I re-listened to what I have from 1981 (my to-get-rid-of pile grew substantially after this exercise), and here is the good stuff:

Willem Breuker Kollektief - In Holland (BVHAAST)

Hal Russell - NRG Ensemble (Nessa)

Eddie Johnson - Indian Summer (Nessa)

Odean Pope - Almost Like Me (Moers Music)

Andrew Cyrille, Richard Teitelbaum - Double Clutch (Silkheart)

Joe McPhee Po Music - Topology (Hat Hut)

Jaki Byard - To Them - To Us (Soul Note)

Lester Bowie - The Great Pretender (ECM)

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society - street priest (Moers Music)

Leo Cuypers - Heavy Days Are Here Again (BVHAAST / Atavistic)

Muhal Richard Abrams - Blues Forever (Black Saint)

Fred Frith - live in Japan (Fred /ReR Megacorp)

Peter Brötzmann Group - Alarm (FMP / Atavistic)

 

Give me a couple weeks more for 1982.

 

 

Some good stuff!

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

5 hours ago, Д.Д. said:

Give me a couple weeks more for 1982.

Good deal.  Keep 'em coming.   

 

[soulpope]

6 hours ago, Д.Д. said:

Eddie Johnson - Indian Summer (Nessa)

Odean Pope - Almost Like Me (Moers Music)

Yesss ....

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[Tom in RI]

I’ve just scanned through all 9 pages, I think I saw two from Adams/Pullen. I’d say their records probably had the biggest influence on my listening then. Personal favorite is Life Line on Timeless. Also, as it was the first leader date I bought by him I’d mention Kenny Barron, Live at Fat Tuesdays which also the first I’d heard John Stubblefield.

[duaneiac]

[HutchFan]

On 3/12/2021 at 4:08 PM, Tom in RI said:

I’ve just scanned through all 9 pages, I think I saw two from Adams/Pullen. I’d say their records probably had the biggest influence on my listening then. Personal favorite is Life Line on Timeless. Also, as it was the first leader date I bought by him I’d mention Kenny Barron, Live at Fat Tuesdays which also the first I’d heard John Stubblefield.

I love, love, love that band.  The sound of George Adams with that rhythm section.  Oh man, it is something!

My desert-island choice would be Earth Beams -- but I think Life Line and Decisions are amazing too. 

IMO, those three Timeless LPs -- plus Don't Lose Control -- feature the quartet at their very best. 

 

48 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

Yes sir.  

The companion record -- Things Ain't What They Used to Be -- is excellent too. 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by HutchFan

[Rabshakeh]

On 11/02/2021 at 9:45 PM, HutchFan said:

If you were to make a list of your "desert-island discs" from the 1980s, what would they be?

The only rules:
- The music must have been recorded between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.  
- Release dates don't matter; archival recordings are fine, as long as they were made in the 1980s.

List however many records you wish. One or ten or fifty.
 

After over a month of what appears to be quite intense listening to jazz from the 1980s (on the basis of the Listening to... thread), I would be interested to know any preliminary conclusions...

Edited March 19, 2021 by Rabshakeh

[HutchFan]

7 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

After over a month of what appears to be quite intense listening to jazz from the 1980s (on the basis of the Listening to... thread), I would be interested to know any preliminary conclusions...

It's difficult to come to many conclusions at this point in the process.  I literally spent years compiling my 70s jazz list.  So I've only spent a tiny bit of time digging around in the world of 1980s jazz, comparatively speaking.  

But, if were to generalize, I'd say that 1970s jazz was dominated by outward, centrifugal forces.  The best metaphor (that others have used) is a river entering its delta, spilling over banks, spreading wider and wider, blurring lines.  I think those same "outward" forces continued into the 1980s -- but there was also a strong countervailing centripetal force.  Of course, this yin-and-yang is always present.  It's just a question of which side is tipping the scales more.  During the 1980s, jazz followed right along with the wider cultural forces at work in the Western world towards conservatism -- a sort of Thermidor, in reaction to the upheaval of the 60s and 70s. 

Speaking more personally -- based on my recent listening, it does feel like there was a tad more homogeneity during the 80s -- at least in terms of what was put on record -- compared to the 70s. 

Another thing: My 1970s survey was comprised of 366 albums.  I expect to include something like 150 in my 1980s survey.  (The final number will be larger, since my collaborator is choosing 150 or so of his own -- so there'll be around 300 at the end of the game.)  But I don't feel like the 80s offers nearly as much "undiscovered country" as the 70s did.  Of course, to a certain extent, this conclusion is a reflection of my own tastes and predilections.  I love traditional jazz of all kinds -- but also I like the blurry, blended stuff with rules that are unclear.  I suppose that's why I've always gravitated toward jazz from the 70s.  That sort of music continued to be made in the 80s.  ... But perhaps just not as much?

Also remember that I'm a pluralist at heart.  So generalizations, while often helpful, are always less meaningful than the particular and the momentary and the individual.

These are my still-evolving thoughts at this point.   

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by HutchFan