The word “chops” is a major understatement when describing the talents of guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Their duo Pablo date is as exciting and full of inventive interplay as one would hope. Pass and Pedersen play an ad-lib blues, nine jazz standards including a three-quarters version of “Lover Man,” plus “Oleo,” “Quiet Nights,” “Tricrotism,” and “Yardbird Suite.” Pass in particular sounds stimulated during this session and comes up with some of his hottest playing.
Wycliffe often takes me to spots on the jazz globe that many young modernists seem to bypass.
Solid blues playing. Wonders of the plunger mute. Humour and respect for the past.
That’ll do me.
Good selection on Qobuz.
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Complete Jazz at Philharmonic on Verve 1944-1949 Review
by Scott Yanow
Starting in 1944 and continuing for 13 years, producer Norman Granz put on a series of touring all-star jam sessions that frequently matched together many of the top swing and bop musicians on standards and ballads. Critics of the period called the music exhibitionistic and did not think much of the howling audiences, but in reality, the performances were often quite rewarding and consistently exciting. This miraculous ten-CD set has every existing JATP performance from the 1944-1949 period, including plenty of unissued performances. The highlights are many including a Nat King Cole/Les Paul tradeoff on “Blues,” some screaming Illinois Jacquet solos, Flip Phillips’ masterful use of repetition on “Perdido,” Charlie Parker creating remarkable solos (particularly on “Lady Be Good” and “Embraceable You”), Ella Fitzgerald holding her own with the very best players of the day, etc. In addition to the jams, there are individual features for Slim Gaillard (the humorous “Groove Juice Symphony”), Meade Lux Lewis, Billie Holiday, the Gene Krupa Trio, Coleman Hawkins, Ken Kersey, Slam Stewart, and Lester Young, among others. Among the other all-stars heard from are Roy Eldridge, Buck Clayton, Dizzy Gillespie, Howard McGhee, Bill Harris, J.J. Johnson, Trummy Young, Willie Smith, Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich, among many others. In addition, on the final disc, there are a few numbers from a Leonard Feather-sponsored concert in 1947 that used similar personnel (including a showboating Charlie Shavers). Every true jazz fanatic has to own this set, which has extensive liner notes and is housed in an attractive box. Get it while you can!
Really enjoyed this one after first stumbling on an album called “Star Tracks” by the same group, Yuri Honing Trio… which was also an enjoyable listen.
I remember when I bought this in around 1994. I knew nothing about it, other than having heard of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and, of course, Monk. I suppose I just bought it on a whim. But oh my! I’m so glad I did. I suspect this would still feature in my twenty best jazz albums, even 27 years and more than 1,000 jazz records later.
Not technically JATP but same men playing for themselves and not trying to overheat an audience.
Recorded 1952. Seminal, as us old swingers🤪 say.
On Q
N
Yes, there is a somewhat hyped up quality to the JATP gigs, as well as a sense of general kidding around and fun, but that can bring out some excellent solos and inventiveness and interplay on occasions.
I went in search and found this. I never knew it was on cd and Qobuz.
1944-49.
Before it became all to formulaic. Post war excitement.
Nat Cole as he was. Twangy guitar from Les Paul. Four beats to the bar on the bass drum.
I think this was the best period and it will keep me busy indentifying all the participants.
Aka JazzNerd.
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I love the excitement of these postwar JaTP gigs, the crowd viscerally and volubly appreciating the stage full of brilliant musicians feeding off one another.
A question for you bebop fans: is there any one album, which you would say marks the beginning of hard bop?
Regarding the step from hard bop to post bop, I’d say that was around 1959 with Ornette’s The Shape of Jazz to Come. But the advent of hard bop is less clear to me.
In the past I’ve found this list of major jazz style definitions very helpful:
Early Jazz
The earliest forms of jazz came to be in the late 1800s/very early 1900s. The style was known as “ragtime” or “playing hot” and really took off in New Orleans. Bands consisted of violin (eventually replaced by guitar), cornet, clarinet, trombone, drums, double bass (eventually replaced by a banjo and a tuba) and one or two wind instruments. Syncopated notes and rhythms became highly popular with audiences. Swing
Swing, also called “Big Band” is characterized by a forward propulsion imparted to each note by the players. It first surfaced between 1914-1926, and made a re-emergence around 1930. While this robust, invigorating style is generally performed by a group of at least 10-16 pieces, it is not limited to large ensembles. Swing is popular as dance music, so this fostered an immediate connection from people to the music. Bebop
Bebop was developed in the mid-1940s, and is a more complex version of New Orleans style and swing. The intricate melodies and harmonic structure were the beginning of the earliest pop songs. Scat singing along with soloist improvisation is commonly used to accompany the rhythm of Bebop tunes. Bebop separated itself from swing by considering itself an art form, rather than commercial dance music. Hard Bop
Characterized by dark, soulful pitches, blues-like melodies, gospel-like chord progressions and emphasized drumming, Hard Bop made its emergence in the 1950s and 1960s. Hard Bop is a sophisticated, diverse style. Post-Bop/ Non-Free
This form of jazz is a modern reexamination and restructuring of “Bop” elements. It was most popular between 1958 and 1973, and is a combination that can be difficult to immediately identify. Cool
Cool jazz was prevalent in the late 1940s through approximately 1964. It is perceived as a subdued style; understated as well as emotionally “cool.” The tones and harmonies of cool jazz were softened and smoothed out as compared to Bop and Swing. Free
Sometimes called “Avant Garde,” Free jazz is a style not derived from Bebop. The music is generally without chord progressions or any sort of arrangement. True Free jazz soloists do not play with an ensemble in order to give a truly impulsive and “free” performance. Free jazz emerged mainly between the 1950s and 1980s. Fusion
Fusion is a style of music that fuses jazz with rock, soul and funk. It was most popular from 1968-1984, and had an energy unlike no previous style. While this was an innovative and commercially popular style of jazz, Fusion did not go over as well with many jazz purists because of the cross-over with other styles.
Thanks, Dave. Reading Wikipedia and consulting the Penguin guide, it does seem to agree that Silver/Blakey in the Jazz Messengers were at the nucleus of hard bop. However, it’s suggested that the Birdland recordings, which preceded Moanin’ by four years include some of the tenets of hard bop. Whatever, it’s interesting to note that many of those who went on to develop the style passed through the Messengers.
That’s quite a good summary of the main sub genres of jazz.
I have always been wary of attending to those categories, because if I always try to categorise stuff before, during or after I hear it, that would limit my ability to listen to it.
