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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Archives for December 12, 2009

The Newest Picks

In the center column, slightly south, you will find the latest Rifftides recommendations in Doug’s Picks. We suggest two new CDs, an imperishable 50-year-old recording, a DVD of a blistering big band and a book held over from last time because reading hours have been few and far between around here lately and I’m not going to pretend I’ve read something I haven’t.
Enjoy.

CD: Carla Bley

Carla's Carols.jpgCarla Bley, Steve Swallow, The Partyka Brass Quintet, Carla’s Christmas Carols (Watt). Bley arranges nine classic carols with tenderness, wit, harmonic brilliance, wide dynamic range and a wry sense of nostalgia. She adds two of her own pieces, the gorgeous “Jesus Maria” and “Hell’s Bells”, a joyous concoction on “I Got Rhythm” changes. Swallow’s bass work, as always, is perfection. Prepare to be captivated by the brass ensemble and by the solos of trombonist Adrian Mears, trumpeter Axel Schlosser and hornist Christine Chapman.

Here’s Looking At Picture Books, Kid

On the Jazzhouse web site, W. Royal Stokes posts a valuable column recommending recent jazz, blues and pop photography and art books. It is an extensive list, just in time for Christmas. Stokes gives each book a thorough paragraph of review and a link to an online source for purchase. Here is some of what he writes about Hank O’Neal’s Ghosts of Harlem, a recent Doug’s Pick:

That he shot them with an ancient wooden view camera, setting up lights, inserting a plate, and throwing a cloth over his head and the instrument (shades of Matthew Brady!) says much about his determination to capture that “moment of truth” in the best possible light. Which he did in image after image.

I was surprised and pleased to find that Mr. Stokes included Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond despite its being a biography, not a picture book. Now I am even happier that the publisher insisted on lots of photographs.

CD: Chris Potter, Steve Wilson, Et Al

Thumbnail image for Coming Together.jpgChris Potter, Steve Wilson, Terell Stafford, Coming Together (Inarhyme). This was to have been the recording debut in 2005 of the young tenor saxophonist Brendan Romaneck. That year he died at 24 in a traffic accident. In his memory, saxophonists Potter and Wilson, trumpeter Stafford and a fine rhythm section completed the project. Eight of the compositions are Romaneck’s. Three are standard songs. Potter is compelling with a pianoless trio on “My Shining Hour.” Wilson and Stafford shine on Romaneck’s daring “Minion.” Pianist Keith Javors, bassist Delbert Felix and drummer John Davis are strong throughout.

CD: Miles Davis

Kind of Blue.jpgMiles Davis, Kind of Blue (Columbia). Okay, this is the zillionth reissue, and it’s not the first to include alternate takes, false starts or a second CD of performances by the classic Davis sextet. The difference? Columbia got the sound right – no forced reverberation, echo, clipping, compression or other digital-age engineering cuteness. This is how the music should sound. Nice packaging, too, retaining the original cover on a sturdy three-panel fold-out box. If you don’t own Kind of Blue, this is the one. If you do, the improved sonics are worth considering.

DVD: Woody Herman

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Herman '64 DVD.jpgWoody Herman, Live in ’64 (Jazz Icons). This captures Herman on British television long after he stopped naming or numbering his Herds. It was one his most exciting bands, driven by drummer Jake Hanna and bassist Chuck Andrus. Upstate New York terrors Joe Romano and Sal Nistico are fascinating in their contrasting tenor sax styles. Two underrated trumpet soloists, Paul Fontaine and Billy Hunt, stand out, as does trombonist Phil Wilson, a master of high-note eloquence. But it’s the tout ensemble that grabs you. Woody is charming in his set-piece introductions. BBC sound and video quality are good.

Book: Scott La Faro

Jade Visions.jpgHelene La Faro-Fernández, Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott La Faro (North Texas). There will be other books about the most important young bassist of the last half of the twentieth century. Their authors will mine this invaluable first biography. The insight La Faro’s sister gives into his character, musicality and determination could come only from someone so close. But the book is not just memories. La Faro-Fernández conducted dozens of interviews and did meticulous research to create a full portrait of the man who in a tragically short career changed jazz bass playing.

Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, … [MORE]

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