JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Double Edge was to be David Liebman and Richie Beirach’s last great duet performance together, meaning that it has their characteristic combination of uncommon lyricism and intense swing. After this, as a duo, they leaned too far into 20th Century classical music harmony for me, at the expense of communication.
If you’re […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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I avoided Echoes Of A Friend for a long time because it’s a collection of McCoy Tyner piano solos, and because the friend Tyner is referring to in the title is Coltrane. Not that I have anything against Coltrane, but Tyner has referenced him so much elsewhere that devoting an entire […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Outbreak may have drummer Dennis Chambers’ name above the title, but this is really producer/keyboardist/arranger/composer Jim Beard’s date, and that’s just fine. Of course, Beard has designed the album to showcase Chambers’ awesome drum playing, and that’s one of the major pleasures of Outbreak, but only one among many.
Beard has recruited […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Most of Thelonious Monk’s significant work was recorded fairly early in his career, so I was surprised to find out that Solo Monk dates from 1964.
Most of the tunes on this date are covers of pop tunes from the 30s and 40s. How Monk imbues these tunes with his personality gives […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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You might think a release consisting of almost nothing but variations on the blues could get a little monotonous, but in the case of Coltrane Plays The Blues, it’s the opposite.
Coltrane finds a variety of ways to play the blues: major blues, minor blues, differences in tempo, instrumentation, and rhythmic approach. […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Jim McNeely makes most jazz arrangers seem like complete fuddy duddies. He routinely takes other people’s compositions and turns them inside out, invariably finding new things to say. His own compositions are unique. McNeely sounds like no one else.
Take The Fruit, a composition by Bud Powell. McNeely starts off with a […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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The Real McCoy was the start of McCoy Tyner’s modern period, which would eventually reach it’s peak during the Milestone years.
On The Real McCoy, Tyner’s playing wasn’t as blistering as it would later become, but he was already delving into modal playing and composing, and he’s got a killer band to […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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In some ways, the music in The Eleventh House is surprisingly simple, especially harmonically.
Most of The Funky Waltz is one chord, with a melody which is pentatonic. Low-Tee-Tah, despite the ornamental flourishes of Larry Coryell, essentially revolves around a dominant 7th augmented 4th chord. Similarly, Yin is based on a […]

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 ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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If there was ever truth in advertising, this is it. Out There is pretty bizarre, but in a good way.
First off, there’s the instrumentation. Dolphy is basically using a chordless jazz trio, augmented with Ron Carter on cello. Roy Haynes plays the drums with a special delicacy designed to showcase the […]