10 Downloads For The Weekend

I am not a fan of downloading one song but I thought some people would enjoy a quick list of songs that would be great for your weekend activities. Also, this a good way to decide if you really want to buy the whole album. Which in this case I highly recommend you purchase the full album the first chance you get.

Just to make it more fun I put them in a sequence I thought might be enjoyable for you. It's a nice mixture of classics and current artists.

If you try any of these out please let me know what you think.

1) Miles Davis: So What from Kind Of Blue
2) Branford Marsalis: Cain and Abel from The Steep Anthology
3) Stacey Kent: Let Yourself Go from Let Yourself Go
4) Charles Mingus: Better Get It In Your Soul from Mingus Ah Um
5) Dave Brubeck: Blue Rondo Ala Turk from Take Five
6) Pat Metheny: Day Trip from Day Trip
7) John Coltrane: Bass Blues from Traneing In
8) Claire Martin: Riverman from Take My Heart
9) Roy Hargrove: Strasbourg from Earfood
10) Thelonious Monk: Nutty from The Columbia Years

Happy Listening...

Jazz Casual Listening

From time to time I have been asked about CDs that would good just as basic dinner party listens. These would CDs that I don't necessarily think are that great but are worth having around for those friends who can't stand to listen to a 45 minute Miles Davis electric era or John Coltrane latter spiritual album.

Try these recent CDs out the next time your looking for something palatable and to impress party goers.

1) Melody Gardot (My One And Only Thrill/Verve): Melodic and heavily Billie Holiday influenced. Good orchestration and decent songwriting. While I think Madeline Peyroux does this much better My One And Only Thrill is still worth the download.

2) Manu Katche (Neighbourhood/ECM): The debut from this consummate sideman drummer. It features a stellar cast including Jan Garbarek and Tomasz Stanko. It's relaxing and upbeat in the right places and doesn't disappoints from start to finish.

3) Jacob Young (Sideways/ECM): A veteran guitarist whose sounds is starting to come into its own. This release is probably the most distinctive so far and shows the promise of great things to come.

4) Jim Rotondi (Blues For Brother Ray/Positone): A smokin' trumpeter in the vain of Freddie Hubbard. He is also member of the band One For All with the outstanding saxophonist Eric Alexander and pianist David Hazeltine. This release is has a crisper production than many of his previous outings but is a perfect listen for newcomers and party goers alike.

5) Minsarah (Minsarah/Enja): This will be the most difficult to find in physical form but you can get it from iTunes. A quartet led by pianist Florian Weber. The writing is very well performed and mellow like a Sunday morning coffee. The do a wonderful cover of a Bjork tune "New World". Definitely worth the listen.

I hope you and your friend enjoy the choices. Till next time...

Jazz Soundtracks — Part 6

The following is an excerpt from the book Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979 (McFarland, 2008) by Kristopher Spencer, founder of Scorebaby.com.

The jazzy surf movie soundtrack Gone with the Wave (1965) is a West Coast-style session featuring seasoned players such as Shelly Manne (drums), Paul Horn (saxophone and flute) and Howard Roberts (guitar), but this time the leader is none other than Hollywood composer Lalo Schifrin, who sits in on piano.

"A Taste of Bamboo" is one of the more imaginative tracks, with tuned percussion and piano ringing out an "oriental" melody over a quick, slippery groove of guitar trills. "Breaks" is a bit more conventional, but grooves even harder, with Manne's drums crashing like waves behind Roberts' nimble fretwork, Schifrin's chomping piano chords and Horn's liquid sax solo. "Aqua Blues is another up-tempo ride that wouldn't sound out of place on Schifrin's Bullitt soundtrack (1968). Another highlight is "Breaks Bossa Nova," an outstanding showcase for the soloists, this time working it out over a sweet Latin groove."

Dave Douglas: Pushing Jazz Forward

Dave Douglas is among the few jazz musicians today who truly pushes the boundaries of the genre. Working almost two decades now as a leader, the trumpeter has crafted radically different albums with each outing. All of which have been excellent. He in no way sounds like his predecessors (Miles, Hubbard, Brown, etc.) but has uniquely stepped into the realm with ease.

He has weaved together tin pan alley, bebop, fusion and avant garde every step of the way. There are many new musicians on the scene today but few are pushing jazz forward. Dave Douglas is one that has and continues to be consistent and reliable on every record.

The following are good starting points if you are interested and very easy to find at record stores and online:

1) Convergence (Soul Note Records): A fairly straight ahead session featuring his best quintet of Mark Feldman (violin), Drew Gress (bass), Erik Friedlander (cello), and Michael Sarin (drums).

2) Soul On Soul (Bluebird/BMG): A tribute to the legendary pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams featuring an all star ensemble which included Joshua Redman, Uri Caine, Joey Baron and more.

3) Freak In (Bluebird/BMG): This you could loosely call Douglas' "Bitches Brew" or "Jack Johnson". It is that fusion of jazz and electronics that you actually want and expect a forward thinking musician to create. A stellar recording.

So if you see these recordings, try them out - you won't be sorry. If you see Dave Douglas coming to your city. Go and take friends.

Until next time.