Jazz

[bodiddley]

I knew of the series, but don't think I'd heard any of it before.
Or maybe once on the radio.
Maybe someone who has listened to it a lot can chime in.

Now I just need to find where I can download Bob Porter's Portraits in Blue.  I used to enjoy that a lot (more R&B and blues acts than jazz, but I do remember a good show on Slim Gaillard and another on Louis Jordan).

Funny Adderleys anecdote:
Their father bought Julian ("Cannonball") a trumpet.
But he quickly decided he'd rather play sax.
So he taught his younger brother Nat how to play the trumpet so that Dad wouldn't be pissed that he wasted money on an unused trumpet.
Rest = history.

[Gintaras]

Very nice DVD series:

http://www.jazzicons.com/

[bodiddley]

Here's my review of the Mingus Jazz Icon disc (from 2 years back in the Knicks forum here):
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Part of this new the Jazz Icons series.
The Mingus disc has three performances in Europe from April 1964, from in between the New York Town Hall Concert (April 4, 1964) and The Great Concert (Paris, April 19th, 1964).  Johnny Coles is there on trumpet for the two Scandinavian gigs (one in in a small theater, the other seems to be for a television broadcast without an audience), so before he took ill with an ulcer.  But the in-studio Belgian set without Coles is probably the best (though the video quality is somewhat worse for that set, the camerawork is pretty impressive). Anyway, some fantastic stuff, with a number of different versions of So Long Eric and Meditations.

Thus far, I've only found a handful in the Jazz Icons series at just one shop.
The Sarah Vaughan (also three sets) was good, but clocked in at only 65 minutes, and she was clearly uncomfortable in front of the camera without an audience.  Seems she needed an audience, and maybe that's why her recording career was so much less spectacular than her voice would have suggested.
The Mingus totals 120 minutes and is a delight.
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Jazz icons catches European concerts and performances int he 50's and 60's.
Some bands are peaking more than others, but it's all interesting stuff.
My only caveat is that most of them are pretty short, over/under the one hour mark.  The 2-hour Mingus disc being one of the few exceptions.

[Gintaras]

I have the Mingus and Coltrane discs.  A little too expensive to invest in the whole series.  A lot of gaps to fill.  No Ornette Coleman, which I find pretty hard to believe.  I would like the Rahsann Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk.  One of those cases where mixing and matching is better than buying the boxed sets.

[bodiddley]

I think I could waste a bunch of time looking through these lists.
For example, here's the complete Atlantic Records Jazz Discography for 1959.
The site has discography info for artists as well as labels.
Monk

[bodiddley]

I've been digging Monkish tunes recently -- The Kronos Quartet doing Monk and Randy Weston's High-Life.
Plus some Joanna Newsom thrown in for flavor; her song Emily is a masterpiece.

And giving a listen to Barbara Long from the early 60's.
Not familiar with her before.
The trumpet playing is notable/noticeable.

Any other jazz chanteuses from that late 50's/early 60's period where some great jazz got lost in the mix due to the large output and tastes changing?
I like Teri Thornton, especially her take on Blue Skies.
Nice that she got to record once more before she passed.  (Where Are You Running? is a great later song)
There's of course Abbey Lincoln, but she's pretty well known, and her early work is quite interesting.  

Any other Teri Thornton, Barbara Long types who are semi-obscure today?

[Gintaras]

You don't hear much of June Christy these days.

[bodiddley]

You do in my house!
I've gotten into the habit of attaching a song to emails for family and good friends.  And I've really gotten my mother hooked on June Christy and Helen Forrest, especially the latter.

As for JC, I'd rec:
Tampico - June Christy w/ Stan Kenton
It's Been A Long, Long Time - June Christy w/ Stan Kenton
Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise - June Christy w/ Stan Kenton
He Was a Good Man - June Christy
The First Thing You Know, You're In Love - June Christy

Any June Christy recs?

[madupont]

What do you make of the suit against Jill Scott, for moving on to further her career in other areas such as acting rather than continuing as a recording vocalist in a one groove committment?

I just ran into the story in the wee hours of the morning.

By the way, I often look into  the complete Atlantic Records Jazz Discography for 1959, among others, to kick-start my memory of events.  That was a very good  year where for a short while I sold a lot of records at a venue that didn't particularly emphasize  pushing jazz recordings to the degree that they could have. To me,it seemed a natural thing to do, as I had acquired a collection of fore-runners given to me in exchange for work done elsewhere. Not quite sure why the owner was breaking up their collection; maybe conditions were not quite right at home.

[madupont]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbKlvWvpD2g&feature=player_embedded

[Gintaras]

Any June Christy recs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWLUgP5bGqk

although the video is from a few years later with Stan Kenton.

[bodiddley]

Well, Youtube is blocked here and my old proxy tricks don't work since I upgraded my Firefox browser.
I'll look at the playlist for that album and see if I know it.
I was surprised to find that I don't have that much June Christy on my computer.

[knoxharrington]

Any Bela Fleck philes here?  Recently picked up The Hidden Land album cheap and am practically addicted to it, playing it over and over.  Some very whimsical tracks on it, like "Weed Whacker," and then some very trippy ones, like "Chennai."   

[madupont]

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/TheJazzClubatLongwood.html

[barton]

Knox -- The Hidden Land is one of those albums where no one should just buy single tracks from itunes or wherever.  All the tracks fit together seamlessly and comprise a single super-session.  It def deserved its best album grammy.