Mulgrew Miller: The New And The Old Guard

Mulgrew Miller (piano; b. 1955)
Solo (Space Time Records)

A frequent session member with Woody Shaw, Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Tony Williams and more recent times with saxophonist, Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller is one of the few masters of the piano of the last three decades. With Art Tatum, Pud Powell, McCoy Tyner and the great Oscar Peterson as his guide, Miller has created a body of work that is insurmountable in regards to musicianship and composition.

Mulgrew Miller has over 15 albums to his credit, many of them in and out of print. It is beyond difficult to find Miller's works at your local record (or used record store) but I assure you if you find one pick it up, you wont be disappointed. His most recent Solo (Space Time Records) is live album and a prime example of Mulgrew Miller's mastery. I have seen him over a dozen times and it is always an magically event to watch the "Big Man" come on stage and gently let loose a cavalcade of notes in astonishing fashion. Solo is evening that runs smoothly through a host of standards which Miller delivers with quite beauty and a harmonic sense of realism.

This is definitely an intimate evening and everyone listening knows it. Lovely, absolutely lovely precision work from Miller from the opening "Jordu," and the audience definitely enjoy the ballads "Carousel" and "My Old Flame". There's some heavyweight playing on the closing number, John Coltrane's "Giant Steps"--fantastic stuff and shows exactly why he is considered one of the best pianist of his generation.

I have only been only been able to find Solo as a digital download so if anyone knows where I could get a physical copy I would love to know. Mulgrew Miller is one those completely under appreciated pianist that deserves wider recognition. I believe Solo is one of those records that can prove it to anyone.

The Library: The New/Old Experience

The New York Public Library

With the weekend upon us I thought I would mention a great new experience which really is the old experience from our childhood.

With the rise of the Internet and downloading (legal and illegal) and the demise of the record store, it's become really hard for music lovers to find and enjoy music. Now I'm not a fan of illegally downloading music but I know a lot of people who are. So I wanted to talk about my new discovery from some of those records that people new to jazz might still be a little hesitant to buy or even download. My new experience is really and old experience--The Public Library. Yeah, I know...who wouldn't thought that!?!

So I've been going to the public library that's near my home for about 4 months now. I have to say its been great. Now you would be surprised by what the library actually as far as music is concerned. Now the library won't have the Woody Shaw boxed set but they will have Miles Davis Kind Of Blue and Dave Brubeck Time Out and a number of other big name classic jazz albums. You may also be surprised because you may even find brand new releases if you lucky.

One afternoon I stopped in at the library just to see what music they had and I stumbled upon some nice jazz albums (most of which I already owned) but it got me thinking. This is the perfect opportunity for those of you who are starting a jazz collection or you just want learn some more about jazz without having to purchase or download them. Plus it gives you an opportunity to support your community by joining the library and finding books for yourself as well the family and some music.

I personally found the entire Led Zeppelin catalog at the library and uploaded it to my iPod. Now I already owned two Zeppelin albums and a compilation. I've always wanted to pick up the boxed set that came out a few years ago but just didn't have the money. This turned out to be a great way to satisfy my need and I'm very happy for it.Now believe me, the selection is extremely limited but you can stumble into a lot suprising stuff.
Blossom Dearie, whom I will write about in a few more entries, is one of the best and under-rated female vocalist ever. I found a couple of her CDs that are pretty hard to find and that made my day.

The whole experience of rediscovering the library has been incredibly eye opening. I highly suggest that everyone wherever you are across the world, if you have a library please, please, please try to check it out and ask for where the music department is. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

One For All: Continuing The Tradition

One For All (group; formed 1997)

Incorrigible (JLP)

Eric Alexander (sax)

Jim Rotondi (trumpet)

David Hazeltine (piano)

Joe Farnsworth (drums)

John Weber (bass)

Steve Davis (trombone)

For more than a decade, One For All have been one of the most exciting and swingin' hard bop groups on the jazz scene. The sextet have consistently been compared to the great Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers--a bold comparison but probably pretty accurate. Each member of this band is also a renowned solo artist so when they do record together it is always special.

One For All have been a permanent fixture in the New York jazz scene with frequently individual live performances (mostly at Smoke Jazz Club) in addition to their yearly performances as One For All at the famous Uptown venue. The group have just released their 15 album, Incorrigible (Jazz Legacy Productions) and it continues the groups string of straight-ahead hard bop with the same phenomenal results.

Incorrigible begins with the standard "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" but things really get jumping on the second piece "Petite Angel" penned by pianist David Hazeltine and featuring some lovely solo work from saxophonist, Eric Alexander and trombonist, Steve Davis. Upbeat with a slightly mid tempo groove "Petite Angel" is a signature example of how ease it is to fall in love this amazing sextet.

One of the most important and delightful things I have enjoyed all my years of listening to One For All is the fact that each member of the band writes material for the albums. So the listener tends to get a good overview of the depth this band possesses. There is no difference on Incorrigible. The loving tribute to the great trumpeter, Freddie Hubbard entitled "voice", written by trumpeter Jim Rotondi is sublime, touching and emotionally perfect.

The title track written by Eric Alexander is another standout moment as this is where the group begin to really to smokin' and you feel the power of their musicianship. Steve Davis (trombone) has been one of my favourtie musicians of the last ten years. He is definitely taking up the mantle of Curtis Fuller and J..J. Johnson with great ease. The track "Spirit Waltz" which originally featured on his 2001 album, Systems Blue (Criss Cross) is revisited here with the same vigour as its predecessor. In addition to always pitch perfect modality of Davis, drummer Joe Farnsworth helps drive this piece along with some nice timing accompanied by the rest of the groups precision work. For me "Spirit Waltz" is the second standout moment on Incorrigible.

The album rounds out with Rotondi and Davis numbers, "Back To Back" and "So Soon" respectively, where former is an upbeat latin-tinged soul-filler. The closer, "So Soon" reinforces the group ethos with each member practically highlighted throughout. It has an almost classic Blue Note Records quality to it. The perfect way to end the session.

One For All are that rare breed in jazz circles--a consistent group that has stuck together for years and continues to challenge each other and you can hear the fun they have playing together. This is a band that enjoys being in the studio as well on stage and every single record every record captures this magnificently. One For All continue to carry the straight ahead tradition of hard bop and of the small batch of new records so far this year, Incorrigible is by far in my top five.

Weather Report

Weather Report (group; formed 1970)

Wayne Shorter (sax)

Joe Zawinul (keys)

Jaco Pastorius (bass)

Miroslav Vitous (bass)

Alphonse Mouzon (drums)

Peter Erskine (drums)
Omar Hakim (drums)
Jose Rossy (percussion)
Airto Moreira (percussion)

I'm a big fan of boxed sets, especially when there done right. I don't normally recommend them to friends who don't know much about the artist/genre either. But in the case of Weather Report and the boxed set, Forecast Tomorrow (Columbia/Legacy Recordings), I think shelling out the extra bucks is probably a good idea. Let me also say there is a decent single disc collection entitled The Best Of Weather Report (Columbia/Legacy Recordings) which is fine (to a point) and would serve some people well. But I'm going to stick to the Weather Report boxed set as my choice for today.

Weather Report were the quintessential fusion band. The brain-child of two Miles Davis alums, Wayne Shorter (sax) and Joe Zawinul (keyboard/piano), Weather Report was an ever expanding and revolving group of creative individuals with the two aforementioned as the focal point. The boxed set opens with tunes that both members wrote for Miles during the Bitches Brew recordings and later recorded on their own albums.

Weather Report were one of the few bands during the '70s that consistently produced high quality albums from beginning to end. Their combination of jazz, rock, funk and latin rhythms was a major influence on almost every jazz artists of the 70's and 80's. Bold statement yes but I will stand by it. In the same way Kraftwerk, Can and Yellow Magic Orchestra influenced hundreds of alternative/electronic artists, Weather Report and it's individual members (Jaco Pastorious, Peter Erksine, Miroslav Vitous, Airto Moreia, Alphonse Mouzon) loomed large throughout the jazz community.

The band recorded 16 albums between 1971 - 985 and the most important and influential of those recordings are available on the Weather Report boxed set, Forecast Tomorrow. Forecast Tomorrow includes the classic "Birdland," "125th Street Congress," "Black Market," and "The Orphan"--all of which explore the group unique magnetism and ever expanding ideas in world music. Topping things off for me the boxed set features a Live DVD of the original group which is totally worth any amount of money spent on this set. Weather Report were also one of the few jazz ensembles to consistently have "hits" and solid albums throughout their long run in addition to expanding their musical scope and audiences year after year.

Weather Report would fold shorter after Wayne Shorter's departure in '85 and Joe Zawinul took over for the short remained of the year and then the band members went on to have formidable careers of their own. The music on Forecast Tomorrow is not by any means dated. The perception of fusion is sometimes misleading and with Weather Report you will almost immediately connect with the music upon first listen. Forecast Tomorrow is definitely the set to get if you want the full overview of the group and you should definitely get it your full attention. I have loved this set for years and I can't stop recommending it to as many people as humanly possible. I hope you enjoy it.