JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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First off, let’s get one thing out of the way. There’s no denying the historical importance of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall. Until now, the only available recordings of Monk’s quartet with Coltrane were three tunes on Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane: Ruby, My Dear; Nutty; […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Cool Blues is one of the better Jimmy Smith outings for three reasons:
#1 It’s not just the Jimmy Smith show
Smith’s bandmates, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, guitarist Eddie McFadden, and tenor man Tina Brooks, are having a good night.
Musicians are like anyone else. Some days, they struggle to make it […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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One of the problems with Monk is the difficulty of finding musicians who were sympathetic to his music. Fortunately, on Monk’s Music, Thelonious is playing with a kindred spirit, Art Blakey, who was keyed into the Monkian universe.
It’s not that Ray Copeland (trumpet), Gigi Gryce (alto sax), and Coleman Hawkins (tenor […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Most of the time, I don’t much like compilations. Usually, if a performer is worth plunking down money to listen to, it’s more enlightening and entertaining to listen to key recordings rather than rely on someone else’s judgement of what is essential and what isn’t.
But occasionally, there are performers I like, […]

CLASSICS THAT I HATE
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Man, I’ve been dreading reviewing this one. The Sermon (on the Blue Note label) is considered one of the major classics of jazz. Jimmy Smith is acknowledged by pretty much everyone, including other organ players, as having invented the organ as a serious jazz instrument and as it’s greatest exponent.
Why then, do […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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For me, it’s was kind of a struggle to figure out which Thelonious Monk CDs to buy when I was building my jazz collection. It’s a given that Monk is one of the architects of modern jazz, an original, and completely indispensable. However, he tends to repeat himself, and in his […]

WORTH A LISTEN
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In a sense, Miles Ahead is only nominally a Miles Davis release. Yes, his lyrical trumpet style is unmistakable, but by necessity, the opportunities for serious improvisation are constrained by the elaborate arrangements by Gil Evans for a 19 piece band.
Let’s get this out of the way. Miles plays fine, with his […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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You might be wondering what I could possibly add to the oceans of ink that have been spilled by writers analyzing and commenting on Kind of Blue, possibly the most universally loved Miles Davis date, if not the most loved jazz date of all time. Am I going to offer a […]

DON’T BOTHER
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Have you ever watched a movie and really grooved on the soundtrack, only to find that later on, when you bought the soundtrack and listened to it in isolation from the images, it wasn’t all that great? That’s a bit what it’s like to listen to Elevator To The Gallows (Ascenseur Pour l’Échafaud).
Mind […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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I’ve got to admit, I feel a little bit sorry for Charles Mingus. (Just a little bit, okay? I mean, I’d be happy to have the talent he had in his little pinky or one tenth his career in music.)
You see, back in 1959, Charles Mingus was absolutely at the vanguard […]