Jazz Music Thread

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Solo piano from 1999, his last albums with Evolution II (non-solo) from 2000.

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Many thanks for the recommendation. Just enjoying this. Good!

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I prefer a good rationale.

Fantastic album.

You forgot one:

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Cannon Re-Loaded is simply that: a collection of tunes closely associated with Cannonball Adderley interpreted by an all-star collection of players on the current scene, with bandleader Tom Scott (who co-produced with Gregg Field) on alto saxophone (an instrument he doesn’t play that often anymore), trumpeter Terence Blanchard, pianist George Duke (who was actually a member of the Adderley quintet and who also plays Rhodes and Wurlitzer), drummer Steve Gadd, bassists Marcus Miller and Dave Carpenter, and Larry Goldings on the Hammond B-3. Vocalist Nancy Wilson also guests on a pair of cuts that reprise her performances with Adderley from the Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley set released in 1962. In his liner notes, Scott claims Adderley as a major influence on his own playing, and that what he and his dream band wanted to convey was not only Adderley’s brilliance as a musician, but also his sense of humor, one that welcomed the audience in to the music he made. There is no doubt that this quintet gets the tunes right. They open with “Jive Samba,” move toward a fast-paced “Work Song,” and then of course to “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” before Wilson joins the band for “Save Your Love for Me.” The music has plenty of swing and groove, and it’s tight. And maybe that’s the problem. Adderley’s best records (we could all argue forever about which records those were) had a sense of looseness and a vibe inherent in them that is lost on this group – with the exception of Duke, who uses his own sense of humor, percussive flair on the keys, and angular bits here and there to dress these jams up for the bandstand instead of the studio. The sound is so utterly pristine and shiny it contains none of that laid-back approach that made the Adderley groups so enjoyable. For audiophiles, there is plenty to like: the stereo separation is perfect. There isn’t a sound out of place here, with the occasional exception of Duke’s touches that at least give the thing some air. “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and “Work Song,” feel like they’re being read off the page – and we know that isn’t so. Wilson’s tunes “Save Your Love for Me” and “The Masquerade Is Over” come off beautifully, but they don’t really echo the originals, they feel like standard contemporary jazz radio fare. Thanks to the Rhodes and B-3, “Country Preacher” comes off best because of the interplay between Goldings and Duke. They let so much soul drip from their respective keyboards that Scott can’t make it shine so much., He has to stay closer to the warmth of the tune, and Blanchard, who actually might have been a bandleader in this setting, has got everything he needs in the melody to just let it fall out of his horn. “Inside Straight,” while it has the melody, changes, and timing right, is so slick because of Miller’s slaphappy bass; it contains a kind of mellowed-down funk that belongs on the studio-perfected jazz records released in the '80s. Thankfully, Blanchard lets some real grit come from his horn. The ballads “I Should Care” and “The Stars Fell on Alabama” come off better than just about anything here because of their reliance on more restrained charts (particularly on the former, with Blanchard’s wonderful solo). Scott’s solo is less his than Adderley’s on the latter. He restrains himself from over-blowing for the most part, and allows some real emotion into the tune. Overall though, this date may introduce contemporary jazz fans to the music of Adderley, but it doesn’t begin to capture his spirit, his irreverent, dry and elegant sense of humor, or the sheer power he could wrench form a funky blues tune, or the soul he could dig out of that horn – especially in front of an audience. Perhaps if this band would have cut this in front of a club crowd, they might have been able to get more inside the vibe of Adderley. As it stands, it sounds so controlled and rigid that it’s simply a pleasant recording to listen to rather than a real tribute to one of the giants of jazz who was also one of its greatest communicators. And while we’re at it, one has to wonder why some of Adderley’s great soul classics like Black Messiah, Accent on Africa, Pyramid, Happy People, and Music You All have never been issued on CD?
© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Hope he/she wash their feet!

Not very good then!

Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow

Wrong thread? No, I don’t think so. A bit more on the rocky side of jazz-rock fusion than, say, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but jazz is a broad church and this is a fine example.

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Yeh,
and Art Blakey and Philly Joe Jones and Roy Haynes :wink:

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As Dave said, the list goes on. I found that 50 best drummers list interesting, a lot of for me unheard of’s amongst the more obvious.
But, what no Moses Boyd? :wink:
:+1:

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The reason which makes them great drummers, is not only their technical ability, but most of all, creating a perfect rhythm unit with the piano and contra bass, in the ensembles they played.

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I’m no expert by any means but I find that Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers together make a great rhythm section.

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Best Piano players anyone?
I’m going to stick my neck out and say Bill Evan’s, particularly for his Riverside Trio recordings with bassist Scot LeFaro and Paul Motion

Be Bop era and before- Art Tatum Oscar Peterson
Hard Bop era and later-Thelonious Monk Bill Evans

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I like the opening Power Of Soul and Lorans Dance is definitely the best thing on here, nice understated soul/funk groove with the soloing of the individual players lifting and driving the piece forward, but ultimately fading out in a bit of an anti climax.
The other two tracks just manage to stay on the right side of easy listening lounge music.
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I would add Bud Powell and for post-Bill Evans: Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett.

Dave

I’m a dedicated lover of Jamaican Music. Ernest Ranglin & Monty Alexander are two Jamaican artists who crossover into both Jazz and Jamaican/Reggae forms.
His Below The Bassline features Idris Muhammad & Ira Coleman
Fantastic interpretations of some Jamaican classics.
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Of course Jamaica gave us internationally renowned artists like Joe Harriott, Dizzy Reece and Coleridge Goode.
Jamaican Music, Ska & Reggae is partly rooted in Jazz, most of the foundation musicians Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Lester Stirling, Cedric Brooks etc that invented the Ska sound and formed the Ska-Talites were Jazz players taught Jazz at Alpha Boys School and played in the Islands big bands like Eric Dean’s Orchestra.

Toppa Top 10: Ten Caribbean Jazz Greats - LargeUp

LEGENDS OF JAMAICAN JAZZ SUPPORT ALPHA | ALPHA INSTITUTE

Highly recommended on Trojan Records


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I let you judge. I appreciate it , specially the 3 first tracks. Wonderful musicians are playing together , as George Duke, Terence Blanchard, Larry Goldings, Marcus Miller, …
So I disagree with the review here.
But I appreciate the original Cannonball albums from late 60’s. Just different here. I however prefer the original albums…
Very well recorded too.

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