TENORS!!!: Learn Coltrane's Famous "Giant Steps" Solo in 3,534 Easy Steps!!!!

Jazz Confessional: It'll Feel So Much Better Once You've Said It.

I've never really been into Thelonious Monk. I've got all of zero albums of his on mp3. I don't dislike him, or have some pretentious schtick about him being overrated. I'd just almost always rather be listening to something else. I'm tired of smiling and nodding when people talk about how brilliant he is. I mean, look, I'm sure he is, the same way I'm sure Yo Yo Ma's nice on a cello. I just wouldn't know personally, cause I never really listen to his stuff.

Kind of Blue left you Kind of Confused? Bored by Coltrane? Hot Fives leave you cold? Wanna talk smack 'bout Bird?

Sure, you're wrong, but you might as well let the world know.

The New York Times vs. Francis Albert Sinatra

Last year, Stephen Holden of the New York Times had this to say about Ol' Blue Eyes:

"... Sinatra’s journey from skinny, starry-eyed ‘Frankie,’ strewing hearts and flowers, to the imperious, volatile Chairman of the Board roughly parallels an American loss of innocence.... Following a similar arc, [the U.S. of A.] grew from a nation of hungry dreamers fleeing the Depression and fighting ‘the good war’ into an arrogant empire drunk on power and angry at the failure of the American dream to bring utopia.”

Well that stuff might fly at the Times, but those are fighting words 'round these parts. Fine, during the second half of the last century, America lost its innocence and turned into an arrogant, angry and drunken empire. But what's that got to do with Frank?

In response to our inquiries on the subject, representatives from the New York Times and the Sinatra estate have agreed (after much rather childish negotiation) upon the following three exhibits to submit to the Mudslinging Birds worldwide in order to help us come to a conclusion on the matter.

We put it to you:
Does Sinatra change over the years? Is there a recognizable difference in body language, subject matter and other intangibles - such as, say, number of people sharing the stage? Hell, even IF there is a difference (and that's a big IF) does it at all parallel the country's foreign policy? The Times says 'yes', Sinatra's people say 'no'.

Now it's time for the Truth.

The New York Times vs. Francis Albert Sinatra: Exhibit 1 of 3

1943.

The New York Times vs. Francis Albert Sinatra: Exhibit 2 of 3

Late Sixties. (w/Antonio Carlos Jobim).

The New York Times vs. Francis Albert Sinatra: Exhibit 3 of 3

Closing out the 20th Century.

Mudslinging Birds Debate #1: The Best Trumpeters Are Always Short (and often Kinda Funny Lookin')

Arguing "No" is Buck Clayton. In her autobiography and elsewhere, Billie Holiday referred to Buck Clayton as the most handsome man she ever met. In the video, he's the tall gentleman who looks like Billy Dee Williams' father. A distinguished man, Mr. Clayton would be at ease in the Huxtable living room discussing the virtues of the New Negro.

Arguing "Yes" is Charlie Shavers. His fans call him fire. His critics call him a show-off and grandstander. He's the short dude with the cap. He used to son Colt 45's on the regular while discussing the virtues of Notre Dame with his bookie.

Beyond the key debate, there's alot going on here. Does Buck hold his own? Is Shavers a show-off? Do short trumpeters have a chip on their shoulder? Do tall trumpeters have their hearts in it? You decide.

[As a neutral party, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King has agreed to referee from the drums.]

jazz sex album covers: addendum

Although too controversial to make the cut, this subversive cover from Verve Records further underscores the storied record label's important contribution to the continual evolution of the music we call jazz.

From the website:

"Although Verve would play a substantial role in popularizing the LP format and stereo recording, the quality that really set Verve apart was [Norman] Granz's open-minded musical philosophy. Granz's refusal to recognize artificially imposed stylistic boundaries helped to create an environment in which the musicians could fulfill their artistic potential, and resulted in a series of inspired collaborations between players with widely divergent backgrounds."

Word.

(shout outs to k. woodson on the help out)

Blue Note Records: Jazz Music's Class Act

five awesome jazz sex album covers

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1. cannonball adderly -- love, sex and the zodiac

a breakus nerdus classic. the seventies saw alot of suspect shit from good players. this album is example A.



2. j.j. jones -- saxually romantic

don't you hate it when you go out with a girl, take her to a nice restaurant, set a romantic mood, candles, incense, all that good stuff. you're being your usual suave self. then, at the end of the night, she doesn't want to get saxual.

j.j. jones never has that problem.




3. the women of blue note

blue note always kept it classy. two personal favorites.



4. anything by eliane elias

the brazilian singer/pianist steams up anything she appears on. she can actually sing and play really, really well too. diana krall eat your heart out.



5. peter brotzmann -- nipples

really, what else is there to say?


------------------ BONUS BONUS BONUS -------------------





6a. jimi hendrix -- electric ladyland (original cover)
6b. fela kuti -- shakara

even though we like jazz, its better to be a rock star. this original cover for electric ladyland was killed by the label. jimi was a little too far ahead for 1968. fela let his girlfriends out of the compound long enough to strip and spell out his band name (africa '70). both are killer albums to boot.

two albums

kids -- hank jones (p), joe lovano (ts). blue note 2007.

there’s a great piece by gary giddens on hank jones in last week’s new yorker. lost track of giddens since the weather bird column in the voice ended. but in a two page spread, he confirms the subtlety of perception, depth of knowledge, and command of language that make him the ace of jazz writing. paragraph two.

‘Jones is perhaps the most venerated of contemporary jazz pianists, and not just because he has outlived so much of the competition. Jazz taste oscillates between decorum and expression, usually favoring the latter. In the years when jazz piano was dominated by obdurate, percussive modernists like Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor, Jones was often perceived as a genteel professional, and admired more for the reliability of his technique than for his wit. In today’s more ecumenical musical climate, in which pianists like Bill Charlap and Jason Moran tend to mediate percussive dynamics with lyricism, Jones’s approach seems almost prophetic.’

there’s something really exciting and important about the appearance of the piece. usually at least glance through the new yorker, and can’t remember them running a jazz piece in the culture section, except maybe keith jarrett at carnegie.

it would be a mistake to think that refined nature of hank jones’ playing makes it prim or stuffy. just purchased and spent some time with the recent kids album hank jones did with joe lovano. the album is great. pretty without veering anywhere near sentimental. alternately lyrical and dense, lighthearted and meditative. and very modern beneath the traditionalist veneer. giddens called jones prophetic, and while I don’t feel competent to address his influence on individual players (new york is dominated by piano players right now), jones’ individualism- his sense of style and touch is very now. particularly the combination of historical mastery, harmonic depth, and the inclusion of elements of both harmonic and rhythmic freedom. here evidenced by jones’ percussive left hand clusters, and lovano’s use of harmonics. jones’ sense of rhythm is rooted in the vertical bounce of stride piano (rather than the linear pull of walking bass lines and ride cymbals), but he’s willing to play fast and loose with time. for his part, lovano tends to slur rather than articulate individual notes on his sweeping runs giving the album a sly, slightly unbalanced feel. and both are willing to let fairly straightforward tunes drift towards dense, dark harmonies.

but the album isn’t dark, its masterful with a touch of raucous. aside from the horrendous packaging (illegible scrawl matched to a third rate art fair cover illustration -- really, i’m embarrassed to post it), five stars.

check out the reharmonization of oh what a beautiful morning.


ask the ages -- sonny sharrock (g), elvin jones (d), pharaoh sanders (ts), charnett moffett (b). axiom 1991.

not sure what made me put this disk back in rotation. liked it when I copped it (my copy says j. padro. uh, thanks justin), but a couple of spins and it's been killing me. and also noticed that it was named the best album of the nineties by destination out. sharrock’s tone is big and overdriven with lots of sustain and harmonics. he plays intense, repetitive modal motifs, bopish runs, and noise in equal parts. the tunes tend towards modal vampish things. which is not a bad way to go when you’ve got elvin and charnett moffett holding you down. and the sound is really rounded out and given depth by pharaoh sanders and the guitar overdubs (the album was produced by bill laswell). pharaoh also plays alternately pretty, spiritual and out, and you forget how pretty his tone is until you catch him blending background phrases into the mix. but all of this doesn’t do anything to capture the depth of the album, both in the full recorded tone, and the vibe that these guys have. five stars.

listen to one of the best tracks, as we used to sing.

ornette addendum

was talking to the e last night. he hashed out an episode from one of the ornette biographies where ornette asked a doctor to castrate him. the idea was to free him from distractions so that he could more myopically dedicate himself to music. settled for a circumcision as a symbolic castration.

the only web evidence i could find is here. if anyone can source this, please let me know.