Miles Davis (trumpet; b. 1926 - d. 1991) The Columbia Years 1955-1985 (Columbia/Legacy)
So this is a short entry today. I had been thinking as we head into the holiday season and people start thinking about gifts to give others---why not think about what you want. You deserve it. Right? RIGHT!
An album I've been listening to a lot lately is Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955 - 1985. This four disc boxed set usually gets lost in the discussion of Miles' boxed sets and other multitudes of Miles Davis collections. The reason being, because all of the most recent boxed sets have been extremely focused on particular periods or styles of the great legend's music (e.g. Bitches Brew, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Silent Way, etc.).
There has also been a very nicely curated The Essential Miles Davis (Legacy Recordings), a 2 disc set, that covers the most significant moments spanning his entire career with the labels OJC, Prestige, Fontana, Columbia and Warner Bros. While this is a perfect gift for any Miles newcomer or all around jazz newcomer, I think The Columbia Years still deserves a place on someone's shelves this year. If not as a gift, be stingy and get it for yourself.
The Columbia Years represents the best of Miles material and is pretty comprehensive in what was chosen for the set. You get one of the earliest tracks, "Generique" from a little known label Jazz Track (which also served as the soundtrack for French film Elevator To The Scaffold). The iconic "So What" from the best jazz album in history Kind Of Blue to "Flies Of Kilimanjaro," "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down," to "What It Is" from one of the later albums Decoy.
This definitely is a set covering an extensive amount of Miles material during his most prolific period and may be too much for some newcomers, but I think you may also be able to find this boxed set pretty cheaply now due to the aforementioned boxes being available now.
The Columbia Years boxed set is divided into five sections over four discs: 1) Blues based material. 2) Standards. 3) Miles' original material. 4) Mood or atmospherics and lastly 5) Electric Fusion.
The other significance of The Columbia Years was that this was the very first ever boxed set of Miles Davis material. It was released on vinyl, cassette (yes cassette) and CD. At this point in 1988 there were absolutely no boxed sets out for jazz artists so this was a big deal.
I, for some nostalgic reason, always gravitate to this box when I have company over or when I just want a nice long dose of Miles for a Sunday afternoon. So if you are thinking of being a greedy little pig this holiday season let me recommend Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985 as something well worth your schilling. Enjoy...
Chris Dahlgren (double bass, voice; b. 1961) Mystic Maze (Jazzwerkstatt, 2010)
Antonis Anissegos (piano) Eric Schaeffer (drums) Gebhard Ullmann (sax; clarinet) Christian Weidner (sax)
Chris Dahlgren is a New York native now living in Berlin. He has developed a unique style in both playing and composition. This may be a result of his many musical partnerships with the likes of Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, Fred Hersch and La Monte Young to name just a few. While his compositional style is more abstract, Dahlgren's playing is very contemporary in a vein of Dave Holand and Charlie Haden. This I feel allows his fellow band members to express themselves freely within the written material.
Dahlgren has been performing since the eighties (with his debut as leader appearing in the late nineties) but recently he put together a quintet with members that he has played together in various forms, now called Lexicon. Their debut, Mystic Maze (Jazzwerkstatt Records) is a brilliant slice of improvisation, classical theory and poetry.
Mystic Maze is based around the music of the great composer Bela Bartok, or better yet the critics who derided Bartok during his time for the adventurous and original spirit that he was. Dahlgren has constructed a poetic operatic experience that moves freely between melodic Silent Way-esque motifs, explorations on the meaning of music and how we and civilization relate to it.
The title track, "Mystic Maze" begins with almost Beat Generation drum and bass lines matched by Dahlgrens poetic delivery, outlines the direction of this session as journey of meaning of Bartok and his music. This is free form but with meaning and purpose.
Dahlgren utilizes the direct critiques of Bartok as lyrics in a poetic fashion throughout Mystic Maze. "Painless Dentistry No.1 - 3" while have more a jazz improvisational element due contain the underline feeling of angst that was delivered upon Bartok. This is most evident on "Painless Dentristy No.2" which Dahlgren recites a critics thoughts on how more or less Bartok has lost his way and his vision. The delivery of the lyrics and mastery of the musicians within this format is extraordinary. The work of both Ullmann, Weidner (on clarinet and sax) and Anissegos exploratory vision on piano are marvelous throughout each piece.
"The Composer Promenading The Keyboard In His Boots" is another moment in which the material shines not only due to Dahlgren's arrangements but the effortless phrasing from Anissegos, Weidner, Ullmann and Schaefer's perfect timing. "The Composer Promenading..." has a critics discussing the meandering and meaninglessness of Bartok's written material. Under the direction of Dahlgren this diatribe is turned on its head beautifully.
Mystic Maze is work that is reminiscent of an evening at St. Marks Church listening to Allen Ginsberg in the eighties. Or if some of you may remember an album by Heiner Gobbels entitled Man In The Elevator (ECM Records) which beautifully balanced jazz improvisation, operatic themes and poetic parameters. Mystic Maze is heavy but delightful stuff and worth repeated listens so you can gain every drop of knowledge from the world Dahlgren has constructed. ...And then you should go out and purchase some Bartok if you don't have some already.
Jorge Sepelveda (drums) Juan Manuel Toro (bass) Juan David Castano (percussion)
Colombian born, Ricardo Gallo has been making waves on the American scene for a few years now. Since moving to US in the late nineties he has worked with such distinguished luminaries as Ray Anderson and Peter Evans. He has also recorded a stellar series of albums in duo, ensemble and group settings. His most exciting recordings for me have been with his formidable quartet.
Gallo has well rounded and enterprising style that sizzles with each album he produces. While mixing avant garde tendencies and Latin American influences may sound frightening to the uninitiated, you may be very surprised by the results. They are always staggering and will undoubtedly convince you.
With his third quartet release, Resistencias (Ladistrito Fonica), Gallo continues an amazing fusion of his Latin roots with contemporary jazz tradition. His long standing quartet featuring Juan Manuel Toro (bass), Juan David Castano (percussion) and Jorge Sepulveda (drums) deliver their best combination yet of Latin cultural aesthetic and post modern jazz. Beginning with "Bailemesta", a wonderful and vibrant piece that is set in the polyrhythmic Latin tradition but with superb improvised undertones. The percussion and drum work from Castano and Sepelveda on this opener is truly staggering.
Gallo's writing continues to grow and become more complex as evident on "Auroa Parcial". "Auroa Pracial" is a melodic ballad which begins with a deep solo from Manuel Toro and seamlessly moves into avant garde territory with intricate work from Gallo at the piano.
A hint of fun, adventure and might I say funk enters with "Kitchen Kuartet Kumbia" with Gallo playing melodica and Toro plucking away some rough basslines. It's as if Astor Piazzolla and Stanley Clarke were performing in your backyard (well maybe not but that was best I could think of at the moment). The percussion work from Castano and how Galo interacts on both "Kitchen Kuartet Kumbia" and "Iky" is mindblowing. This is definitely a group that has played together for quite some time and knows each other very well.
Resistencias closes with "Viejo Presagio" a beautiful midtempo number that is almost anthematic in nature while softly leading the listener down from an exhilarating ride of Latin experimentalism. Resistencias states thatRicardo Gallo is an emerging artist/composer that should not be overlooked. This is one of the best Ricardo Gallo albums to date. It's a refreshing date and definitely worth your money if you are looking or something original and different to put on the stereo. Check out Downtown Music Gallery when you're finally ready buy this.
Cassandra Wilson (vocals, multi-instrumentalist; b. 1955) Silver Pony (Blue Note; 2010)
Marvin Sewell (guitar) Reginald Veal (bass) Herlin Riley (drums) Jonathan Batiste (piano) Lekan Babalola (percusssion) Ravi Coltrane (sax) Helen Gillet (cello) John Legend (guest vocals) Luke Laird (guitar) Brandon Ross (guitar)
Cassandra Wilson is that rare jazz vocalist who can create a distinct atmosphere, aura and all around level of creativity and originality that stands high above her current contemporaries. Betty Carter, Nina Simone, Carmen McCrae are some of my favourite examples of the real jazz chanteuse who delivered their own material in addition to reimagining standards across various genres. Cassandra Wilson is definitely in this category.
For the last decade, so called "jazz singers" have carved out territory utilizing jazz/pop material with mixed results. Cassandra Wilson has been on scene for well over 30 years and continues to show that she has an unmatched manner in constructing material from various disparate forms.
She gained notoriety during he stint with the funk-jazz, M-Base Collective lead by Steve Coleman in the 80s. She finally branched out on her own in the late 80s with a series of albums mainly focused on jazz standards (on the JMT and Winter To Winter labels) but with her distinct spin. She finally broke out to the masses with her releases on Blue Note Records, most importantly New Moon Daughter (Blue Note; 1995) which won a Grammy.
Her deep vocals float lovingly and give an intense introspective feeling to her material. That delivery along with her unique arrangements is what makes every album delight to experience. That doesn't change on the new album, Silver Pony (Blue Note), an album rich in tradition of her Mississippi blues roots but with folksy jazz sensibilities. The album title (and cover art) comes from a childhood experience of not being afraid of getting on top of a pony to have her picture taken. The fearlessness continues on the direction of Silver Pony.
"Went Down To St. James Infirmary" a somewhat blues standard, Wilson turns it into a funky homage thanks to some great guitar work from Marvin Sewell. The self-penned "Beneath The Silver Moon" is another example of the introspection that Wilson can conjure in the listener. This passion-piece is a lovers delight and meant to stir the desire of the soul. The vocal interplay that Wilson has with guest saxophonist Ravi Coltrane is sublime.
"Saddle Up My Pony" sees Cassandra Wilson reaching deep into the blues vault of the great and under-rated Charles Patton. This journeyman's songs and Wilson takes you on that journey with ease and beauty that only she can do. The musicianship and quality of material throughout Silver Pony is superb and you forget that this is "categorized" as a jazz record. But under the direction of Cassandra Wilson is more world music. Exploring the heart and the soul and music relation to it. Jazz is just the base point for Wilson catapult from.
The "funky drummer" moment as I like to call it, happens midway through Silver Pony, with "Forty Days And Forty Nights" another blues tune (made famous by Muddy Waters) in which percussion, drum and guitar work led the proceedings by Lekan Babalola, Herlin Riley and Sewell respectively. This time with a rich, infectious rhythms that take this blues piece in a brave new direction. "Blackbird", an under appreciated Beatles song (if you're a fair-weathered Beatles fan) from The White Album, is fully transformed under Wilson's direction from folksy acoustic to lovingly lounge jazz burner.
Now, I haven't to admit as I did to a friend recently, I haven't kept up with most of Cassandra Wilson material of the last few years. I have heard tracks here and there but I hadn't sat down with an album until now. And I'm actually glad I did. Silver Pony is all the reason I'd got into Cassanda Wilson in the first place. The adventure. The surprise. The voice. Silver Pony is a great record and actually a nice place to start for anyone who hasn't listened to Cassandra Wilson before.
A lot people have probably seen this video but I think it serves as perfect example of Wilson beauty and originality.
