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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Catching Up With You

May 11, 2017 by Doug Ramsey

From time to time, Rifftides asks readers to send information about the music they turn on, and vice versa. It has been more than five years since we canvassed you about what you’re hearing. It’s time. Here is a variation on the introduction to the original 2006 survey:

The Rifftides staff is interested in what our readers around the world are listening to. Please take a moment to send a message with your name, your location and brief information about the most recent music on your smartphone, CD player, tape deck, 8-track, iPod, wire recorder, turntable or cylinder machine. Many of you listen to a wide range of music that the rest of us would like to know about. Don’t worry about genres or eras; who needs pigeonholes? We will keep track of your responses and compile a report when we have a sizeable list.

The last time we did this, it took extensive post-production work to get all of the responses published, but it was worth it. Part of the staff is saying, “Oh, no, not again,” but they’ve been overruled. To send your choice or choices, please use the Comment box at the bottom of the main column.

I’ll get the ball rolling.

Dayna Stephens, Gratitude (Contagious Music)

Tenor and baritone saxophonist Stephens follows up his intriguing 2014 Peace with the same distinguished supporting cast: guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland. This time, with the exception of Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan,” the menu is not standard songs but compositions by Lage, Pat Metheny, Aaron Parks, Olivier Manchon, Rebecca Martin and others. Currents of sonic and harmonic adventure flow through the relaxed atmosphere of a satisfying collection.

Doug Ramsey,
Yakima, Washington, USA.

You’re next.

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Comments

  1. Jonah Orlofsky says

    May 11, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    Brad Mehldau – Chris Thule

    Eddie Palmieri – Sabiduria

  2. Abe Carnow says

    May 11, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    On the CD player: The Film Music of Ralph Rainger Thanks for the Memory the Chuck Berghofer Trio with Jan Lundgren, Joe La Barbera, with guest Sue Raney; wonderful CD. I love movie tunes, and when I hear “Love in Bloom,” I remember my favorite comic, Jack Benny! (Might have heard about this from your blog!). On the record player: Van Morrison Saint Dominic’s Preview, still a great record. Can’t say that rock and roll was ever great, but there are some great records from that period, and I’m still a big Van Morrison fan. Been listening recently to True Flight, Victor Rendon, Latin Jazz, really a fine album. Also, been listening to Stacy Sullivan with Jon Weber, Stranger in a Dream, tribute to the wonderful Marian McPartland, a very interesting tribute. Big fan of Marian McPartland, like Gene Lees and you, one of my music teachers

  3. Buddy Dearent says

    May 11, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    I’ve been listening to Stan Getz since I was 14 and over the years have bought everything he recorded. I can’t pick a favorite but if I had to it would be Focus. Lately I’ve been listening to Warne Marsh meets Gary Foster, a Japanese import from years ago, released on LP only

  4. Fran Morris-Rosman says

    May 11, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    The remastered and totally brilliant ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE GEORGE AND IRA GERSWHIN SONGBOOK, a boxed set from Verve (now Universal Music). I have had my vinyl set since 1978 and this one sounds incredibly fantastic.

  5. Ken Wilson says

    May 11, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    Tomeka Reid—Tomeka Reid Quartet

    Dave Douglas—Brazen Heart Live at the Jazz Standard

    Murray, Allen and Carrington Power Trio, both the record and this great video from Winter JazzFest 2015.

  6. Michael Stephans says

    May 11, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    All over the space/time continuum:

    MIchael Formanek
    & Ensemble Kolossus,
    “The Distance” (ECM)

    Ornette Coleman,
    “Sound Gramnar”
    (Harmolodic)

    Stan Getz/Bob Brookmeyer,
    “Recorded Fall 1961”
    (Verve)

    Bob Brookmeyer,
    “7 x Wilder”
    (Verve)

    Willie Nelson,
    “God’s Problem Child ”
    ( Legacy)

    John Abercrombie,
    ” The 39 Steps”
    (ECM)

    Benny Goodman
    “The 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert”
    (Columbia Legacy)

  7. Art Klempner says

    May 11, 2017 at 8:30 pm

    Tonight the vinyl was Sonny Rossi, Phineas Newborn Jr., Tal Farlow, Frank Rehack, Plas Johnson, Frank Socolow, and Marvin and Johnny. All original pressings with my favorite 3 listening friends…… pop, hiss and click. Too good!

  8. Charlton Price says

    May 11, 2017 at 10:17 pm

    I am catching up on my CDs and cassettes and on You Tube –as ever — with Toots, Thielmanns, Richie Kamuca and of course Al & Zoot and Jimmy Rowles. (Note: all departed). My DVD player (in this desktop PC) is busted. If I had one I would play and re-play my numerous DVDs of the I-hope-immortal Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.

  9. Alan Matheson says

    May 11, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    I’ve been listening to Joe Marsala’s recordings as collected on the long gone “Chronogical Classics” series from France. Chicagoan Marsala shared a liquid and sometimes gritty sound similar to Pee Wee Russell that also reflected Marsala’s love of Jimmie Noone. Marsala’s records as a leader are among the best small band swing and pre-bop recordings of the era (1936-45) with excellent side players including Bobby Hackett, Buddy Rich, Eddie Condon, Dizzy Gillespie and the amazing harpist Adele Girard. I’d read about these records for years but never had then all in one place. Recommended!

  10. Jim Northover says

    May 12, 2017 at 7:07 am

    I’m a regular reader of Rifftides from Toronto , Canada.
    Just purchased from iTunes the Savoy Volume 1 CD. Listen to WKCR (mainly Phil Schaap) and KUCR, on Saturday’ a.m. WCDB Albany and BBC 3 Jeff Smith’s program.

    I’ve put a link to the Toronto Duke Ellington Society of which I am a member for your interest.

  11. Cha Cha says

    May 12, 2017 at 7:58 am

    I am listening to the just-released CD, “Wild and Free,” on Hi Note. It is a live recording of Mark Murphy’s 1980 gig at the Keystone Korner and includes various songs from throughout his career at that point, as well as a few which, to my knowledge, were never recorded for a studio album. This is Murphy at his strongest artistically: by this time his voice had developed some grit but become a more flexible and expressive instrument. Plus his phrasing and sense of the dramatic is in full evidence during his performance of “Body and Soul,” which I feel is even more compelling than the one he recorded for Muse in the 1970s.

  12. don frese says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:38 am

    Perk Up by Shelly Manne, a Concord LP release of a session done for Atlantic, but never released by it. With Conte Candoli, Frank Strozier, Mike Wofford and Monty Budwig. By Shelly’s last great quintet, IMO.

    Hobe Sound, Florida.

  13. Ted Arenson says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:54 am

    David Liebman & Nancy Reed-“Neighbors” (Vectordisc 021)

    The two headliners supported by Phil Markowitz (P), Bill Goodwin (D) and Steve Gilmore (B) cover and do more than justice to a host of great tunes by Jobim, Legrande, Rowles and Mandel, just to mention a few, sung superbly by Ms. Reed. Available on Amazon

  14. larry hollis says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:55 am

    TO ONE SO SWEET STAY THAT WAY: Hank Mobley In Holland (Nederlands Jazz Archief). From the Treasures of Dutch Jazz Series comes this more than welcome edition of a 1968 visit to the Continent from the under-appreciated tenor man. A triad of concerts are heard: Three tunes (Summertime/Sonny’s Tune/Airegin) from the Theatre Bellevue in Amsterdam on March 20th and five numbers at Jazzclub B-14 in Rotterdam on March 29. Sandwiched between them are a pair of titles (I Didn’t Know What Time It Was/Twenty-Four And More) of a rare appearance of Mobley with the Hobby Orkest Big Band. These were taped at the VARA studio in Hilversum on 28th of March. Acceptable sound, neat graphics and astute annotation in a thick cover booklet make this a prized addition to the Uptown label’s 2-fer of Newark 1953 regarding Mobley’s live archive.

  15. Dayna Stephens says

    May 12, 2017 at 11:44 am

    Kurt Rosenwinkel Caipi, endlessly singable melodies with Kurt”s unique way of harmonically dressing them. One of those records that gets better over time as you hear it.

  16. Bob Russell says

    May 12, 2017 at 12:59 pm

    In my 6-play CD unit: Chubby’s Back, Chubby Jackson’s Big Band, 1957, Duke Ellington’s Jazz Violin Session, (Asmussen, Grappelli, Nance), 1963-Ahmal Jamal,The Complete Collection, Part One, 1951-59, discs 3,4-Frank Wess Quartet, (Flanagan, Eddie Jones, Bobby Donaldson), 1960-Lester Young, Washington, DC, 1956, Vol.5. In my car: Paul Desmond. Easy Listening.

    Bob Russell, Kennebunkport, ME, age 85

  17. Patrick W Goodhope says

    May 13, 2017 at 4:48 am

    This week:

    Dave Pell Jazz For Dancing and Listening (Fresh Sounds)
    10 late 1930’s Woody Herman Decca 78’s recently acquired on E-Bay
    Joe Castro Lush Life A Musical Journey (Sunnyside)
    Ernestine Anderson Four Classic Albums (AVID Jazz)
    The Hot Club Of San Francisco John Paul George & Django (Hot Club Records)
    The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions of Ike Quebec (Mosaic)
    2Cellos Score (Sony Masterworks)
    The Beatles/1962-1966 (The Red Album) (EMI Records)
    Stuff Smith Late Woman Blues (Storyville)
    Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim (Nonesuch)
    Copland Appalachian Spring – Hear Ye! Hear Ye! (Naxos)
    Frank Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (Capitol Records)
    Ferit Ordman Dameronia With Strings (Equinox Music And Entertainment)
    Eddie Condon & Bud Freeman Complete Commodore and Decca Sessions (Mosaic)
    Classic 1936-1947 Count Basie & Lester Young Studio Sessions (Mosaic)

    Pat Goodhope
    ‘Avenue C’ Wednesdays 9 – 11PM Eastern
    University of Delaware Public Radio
    91.3FM and online at WVUD.org

  18. Robert Payne says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:59 am

    Listening to jazz from across the shore a lot more these days thanks to downloading and subscribing. Bands and people I love: Phronesis, Michael Wollny, Tim Garland, Gwilym Simcock, Kit Downes, Mammal Hands, Jasper Hoiby, Pablo Held and Nat Birchall That’s just a start. Phronesis especially has become my favorite working group. Check out Alive (Edition, 2010) and see why.

  19. Peter Straub says

    May 13, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    Miles Davis Quintet LIVE in Europe 1967 presents the second great quintet of Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Ted Williams playing music of great intelligence, spontaneity, and sophistication as they make their way from Antwerp to Copenhagen to Paris.

    Peter Straub, Brooklyn, NY, USA

  20. Peter Stanger says

    May 14, 2017 at 3:01 pm

    Greetings Doug. Carol and I are currently listening to cds by Scott Hamilton/ Jeff Hamilton trio, Mimi Fox, Ken Peplowski and The Berlin Phil. playing Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe on our home system and Terry Gibbs Dream Band in the car. There is always music in our lives one way or another. It’s great to read your posts daily and the Desmond bio. Cheers

  21. Jerry Hebble says

    May 15, 2017 at 8:21 am

    Trad.
    NOLA.
    Count.

  22. Rob Dewar, Kingston, Ontario, Canada says

    May 15, 2017 at 11:33 pm

    I’ve been listening this month to:
    1. Bobby Womack, “The Womack Live” on Stateside/Capitol. A great singer guitarist over the years in American Soul music.Innovative singer who was also a great writer and guitarist. The triple threat.

    2. Zoot Sims “Quietly There: Zoot Sims Plays Johnny Mandel” on JVC XRCD / Warner Bros. This CD has been killing me for weeks. It makes me happy, it makes me sad and near tears. Zoot has a way of opening up my emotions. Hard to believe, given the strength of his playing on this wonderful recording , that he died only a year later.

    3. Weather Report. on Legacy/Columbia The first eponymously titled LP and this: “The Legendary Live Tapes, 1978-1981 on Legacy/Columbia. Much better than I remembered. I think they were better earlier rather than later but a great working band.

    4. Brubeck and Desmond.Desmond and Brubeck. Just about everything.

    5. Hampton Hawes w/Charlie Haden. “As Long As There’s Music” I’ve always loved Hawes and I think Haden did as well. It shows on this recording. Someone on this list talked about this one and I’m in their debt! Thanks….

    6. Smokey Smothers. “Sings the Back Porch Blues” A reissue of a classic (OK in nerdy blues scholar circles it’s a classic) session on King Records in Cincy..reissued by Ace Records in the UK. The great Freddie King on second guitar. It’s the stuff you might have heard on Maxwell St. in Chicago back in the day. Wonderful.

    7. Billie Holiday. The Columbia box set. Her phrasing is to die for. I borrowed the box from a friend and I don’t want to give it back. Will have to buy it. They say there’s a lot of inferior material she was forced to record on this set but man o man…she can make it ALL sound like prime material from the pen of Gershwin.

    (Thanks to Doug for this indispensable blog)

  23. DE Montgomery says

    May 17, 2017 at 3:43 am

    Two contemporary trumpeters:

    Jonathan Finlayson — Moving Still (Pi Records)
    Wallace Roney — A Place in Time (High Note Records)

    And two out of print:

    James Newton– If Love (Jazzline)
    Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz — Live at the Montmarte Club Vol. 2 (Storyville)

    • Doug Ramsey says

      May 29, 2017 at 11:54 am

      Evidently, the Marsh/Konitz album is in print. Follow the link.

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, Cleveland and Washington, DC. His writing about jazz has paralleled his life in journalism... [Read More]

Rifftides

A winner of the Blog Of The Year award of the international Jazz Journalists Association. Rifftides is founded on Doug's conviction that musicians and listeners who embrace and understand jazz have interests that run deep, wide and beyond jazz. Music is its principal concern, but the blog reaches past... Read More...

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Doug’s Books

Doug's most recent book is a novel, Poodie James. Previously, he published Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. He is also the author of Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers. He contributed to The Oxford Companion To Jazz and co-edited Journalism Ethics: Why Change? He is at work on another novel in which, as in Poodie James, music is incidental.

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Doug’s Picks

Monday Book Recommendation: Lilian Terry’s Jazz Friends

Lilian Terry, Dizzy Duke Brother Ray And Friends (Illinois) Lilian Terry’s book is full of anecdotes about her friendships with the musicians mentioned in the title—and dozens of others. Enjoying modest renown in Europe for her singing, Ms. Terry has also been involved in radio and television broadcasting and is a cofounder of the European […]

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Monday Recommendation: Oscar Peterson Plays 10 Composers

Oscar Peterson Plays (Verve) In this five-CD reissue, the formidable pianist plays pieces by ten composers who dominated American popular music for decades. Peterson had bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Barney Kessel, succeeded by Herb Ellis. It’s the trio that made Peterson famous with Jazz At The Philharmonic and–by way of the 10 albums reproduced […]

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Monday Recommendation: DIVA At 25

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra 25th Anniversary Project (ArtistShare) It has been a quarter of a century since Buddy Rich’s manager and relief drummer Stanley Kay found himself conducting a band whose drummer was young Sherrie Maricle. Intrigued by her playing, Kay set out to find whether there were other women jazz musicians of comparable talent. […]

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Monday Recommendation, Keith Jarrett Trio: After The Fall

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette, After The Fall (ECM) In 1998 Keith Jarrett was emerging from a siege of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that had sidelined him for two years. As he felt better, he was uncertain how completely his piano skill and endurance had returned. He decided to test himself. He gathered his longtime […]

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Monday Recommendation: Gerard Kubik, Jazz Transatlantic

Gerhard Kubik, Jazz Transatlantic, Vol. I and Vol. II (University Press of Mississippi) The first volume of Kubik’s work is subtitled, “The African Undercurrent in Twentieth–Century Jazz Culture;” the second, “Jazz Derivatives and Developments in Twentieth-Century Africa.” The descriptions indicate the depth and scope of the Austrian ethnomusicologist’s research, which has taken him to Africa […]

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Monday Recommendation: Magris In Miami

Roberto Magris Sextet Live in Miami @ the WDNA Jazz Gallery (J Mood) Widely experienced and recorded in Europe, pianist Magris demonstrates in this club date that he knows how to reach an American audience steeped in Latin and Caribbean music. The front line has trumpeter Brian Lynch at his fieriest, and the imaginative young […]

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More Doug's Picks

Blogroll

All About Jazz
JerryJazzMusician
Carol Sloane: SloaneView
Jazz Beyond Jazz: Howard Mandel
The Gig: Nate Chinen
Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
Don Heckman: The International Review Of Music
Ted Panken: Today is The Question
George Colligan: jazztruth
Brilliant Corners
Jazz Music Blog: Tom Reney
Brubeck Institute
Darcy James Argue
Jazz Profiles: Steve Cerra
Notes On Jazz: Ralph Miriello
Bob Porter: Jazz Etc.
be.jazz
Marc Myers: Jazz Wax
Night Lights
Jason Crane:The Jazz Session
JazzCorner
I Witness
ArtistShare
Jazzportraits
John Robert Brown
Night After Night
Do The Math/The Bad Plus
Prague Jazz
Russian Jazz
Jazz Quotes
Jazz History Online
Lubricity

Personal Jazz Sites
Chris Albertson: Stomp Off
Armin Buettner: Crownpropeller’s Blog
Cyber Jazz Today, John Birchard
Dick Carr’s Big Bands, Ballads & Blues
Donald Clarke’s Music Box
Noal Cohen’s Jazz History
Bill Crow
Easy Does It: Fernando Ortiz de Urbana
Bill Evans Web Pages
Dave Frishberg
Ronan Guilfoyle: Mostly Music
Bill Kirchner
Mike Longo
Jan Lundgren (Friends of)
Willard Jenkins/The Independent Ear
Ken Joslin: Jazz Paintings
Bruno Leicht
Earl MacDonald
Books and CDs: Bill Reed
Marvin Stamm

Tarik Townsend: It’s A Raggy Waltz
Steve Wallace: Jazz, Baseball, Life and Other Ephemera
Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest
Jessica Williams

Other Culture Blogs
Terry Teachout
DevraDoWrite
Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise
On An Overgrown Path

Journalism
PressThink: Jay Rosen
Second Draft, Tim Porter
Poynter Online

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