mrbuzzardstubble Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Tangents - Stateless 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Arve Henriksen - Sakuteiki 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 John Coltrane - Blue World 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Have been listening to mono and stereo, mono is my choice... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 More Tone Poet releases... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Three documentaries about Blue Note Records Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz (written and directed by Julian Benedikt, 1996) It Must Schwing - The Blue Note Story (written and directed by Eric Friedler, 2018) Blue Note Records - Beyond the Notes (written and directed by Sophie Huber, 2018) Over the past few weeks I watched these three documentaries about Blue Note (BN) Records. It is not really surprising that the story of BN has attracted the interest of many film directors because it is simply one of the best stories in music history. The story of the two German Jewish refugees, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, who founded BN and - as complete outsiders - became the voice of the coolest (bebop) cats in town. As everyone knows here, every BN record is a perfect combination of music, recording technique (by Rudy van Gelder), and cover art (by Reid Miles, using the amazing photographs Francis Wolff shot during the recording sessions). For anyone unfamiliar with the great BN story, here is a nice introduction. I nevertheless found it surprising that two documentaries about BN were recently released within weeks of each other. I bought both of them and compared them to the acclaimed 1996 documentary. Here are some of my observations: Interestingly, all three directors mostly have a European background (although Friedler was born in Sydney). Have Americans still not realized what cultural treasure they have in BN? Given the lack of original historical material about Lion and Wolff, the three directors follow different strategies to tell the story about the early BN days. Benedikt uses narration, Friedler animation and Huber short paragraphs on the screen, which the viewer needs to read herself. I absolutely hated the animations in the Friedler movie! They look cheap and are not necessary. I have enough imagination to visualize these early events myself and don't need such explicit help. Benedikt and Friedler focus much more on the two founders and their private lives. We get to know the wifes of Alfred etc. Huber talks much less about the founders. Benedikt and Friedler tell the BN story until Francis Wolff's early death in 1971 a few years after Alfred Lion sold the label (1965). Huber continues the story until today. She introduces and interviews Alfred's successors at BN, Bruce Lundvall and Don Was. Huber singles out more musicians and influential records on BN than Benedikt and Friedler. For example, if I remember correctly, the name Coltrane was not even mentioned in Friedler (although some music was played from Blue Train), while Blue Train gets lots of attention in Huber. She also mentions and interviews more recent BN stars such as Robert Glasper and yes, Norah Jones. The last part of the Huber film talks a lot about connections between jazz and hip hop (from US3 to Kendrick Lamar etc.). There is a naturally a huge overlap in the musicians interviewed for these documentaries. I certainly enjoyed all three documentaries. I hated the animations in Friedler but bought an early Bechet recording of Summertime because of his documentary (this first BN hit single is mentioned in all three movies). If you are already familiar with the story of the founders, the Huber documentary might be the most interesting. Otherwise, I would recommend the Benedikt movie for a start. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Albert Ayler - Spirits Rejoice. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Food - Mercurial Balm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Cecil Taylor - For Olim. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 E.S.T - Strange Place For Snow 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Aldo Romano, Henri Texier & Louis Sclavis - Le Querrec : Carnet de Routes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Hank Mobley - Hank Mobley with Farmer, Silver, Watkins, Blakey 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Bobo Stenson Trio - Contra la Indecision 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Alone together 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Ben Webster - Ben Webster & Associates 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Gary Peacock & Marc Copland - Insight. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emesbee Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 On 01/10/2019 at 1:52 AM, mrbuzzardstubble said: E.S.T - Strange Place For Snow A very good Swedish jazz trio, but alas no more since the sad death of Esbjorn Svensson while scuba diving back in 2008. I have two of their albums, Viaticum and Tuesday Wonderland. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Live 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 A new Art Pepper CD box -brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emesbee Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 The Rosenberg Trio - Caravan I only discovered these guys yesterday. Was in Big Star Records (first time in a long while), and saw they had a lot of 2nd hand CDs for sale priced at $2 (sitting in trays underneath their main displays). Was a real mixed bag of stuff, and I only picked up a couple of titles, including this one. What grabbed my attention was the mention of Stephane Grappelli and Jan Akkerman on the cover, and for $2 I figured I couldn't miss. Played it last night, and I was very impressed. These guys are a Dutch trio consisting of two brothers and a cousin, playing lead and rhythm guitars plus acoustic bass, and are heavily influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt. This is a 1994 recording, with Stephane Grappelli joining them on 5 tracks, and Jan Akkerman on 2 tracks. The other musician, Frits Landesbergen, plays vibraphone on 2 tracks. The standard of playing from all concerned is simply brilliant, their timing is excellent and there is a wonderful sense of rhythm throughout. Recording quality is very good too. It was a joy to listen to this, and I'm sure it will get a lot more plays. I've already started hunting for some of their other recordings. Apparently they have released around 26 albums, although most seem to be a bit hard to get, and have the usual silly prices on amazon. I have already put in an order for their 2008 CD 'Tribute To Stephane Grappelli' recorded with Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis (albeit a 2nd hand copy, ordered from 'World Of Books') Here is a clip from that album. Check out the rhythm and timing in this. Almost sounds like it is gradually speeding up, but I suspect that is just an auditory illusion. Wonderful stuff. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbuzzardstubble Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 1 hour ago, emesbee said: The Rosenberg Trio - Caravan I only discovered these guys yesterday. Was in Big Star Records (first time in a long while), and saw they had a lot of 2nd hand CDs for sale priced at $2 (sitting in trays underneath their main displays). Was a real mixed bag of stuff, and I only picked up a couple of titles, including this one. What grabbed my attention was the mention of Stephane Grappelli and Jan Akkerman on the cover, and for $2 I figured I couldn't miss. Played it last night, and I was very impressed. These guys are a Dutch trio consisting of two brothers and a cousin, playing lead and rhythm guitars plus acoustic bass, and are heavily influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt. This is a 1994 recording, with Stephane Grappelli joining them on 5 tracks, and Jan Akkerman on 2 tracks. The other musician, Frits Landesbergen, plays vibraphone on 2 tracks. The standard of playing from all concerned is simply brilliant, their timing is excellent and there is a wonderful sense of rhythm throughout. Recording quality is very good too. It was a joy to listen to this, and I'm sure it will get a lot more plays. I've already started hunting for some of their other recordings. Apparently they have released around 26 albums, although most seem to be a bit hard to get, and have the usual silly prices on amazon. I have already put in an order for their 2008 CD 'Tribute To Stephane Grappelli' recorded with Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis (albeit a 2nd hand copy, ordered from 'World Of Books') Here is a clip from that album. Check out the rhythm and timing in this. Almost sounds like it is gradually speeding up, but I suspect that is just an auditory illusion. Wonderful stuff. I have this one which I picked up for a fiver at Title in Surry Hills some years ago. On the Enja label, the album features Bireli Lagrene as a special guest and also comes with a DVD which I have yet to watch. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 (edited) Ryo Fukui - Scenery Edited October 5, 2019 by Dilettanteque 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Nik Bartsch's Mobile - Continuum 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts