What jazz have you been listening to today?

Another Cassandra Wilson album ´"Thunderbird", by Blue Note Records 2006.

Cassandra a capello on number 5 song the "Red River Valley", only accompained by Kevin Breit electric guitar.

The musicians:

Cassandra Wilson - vocals, acoustic guitar
Keefus Ciancia - piano
Gil Wharton - pedel steel guitar
Marc Ribot/Brandon Ross/Kevin Breit - guitars, banjo
Lonnie Plaxido or Reginal Veal - double bass
Dougie Browne or Jim Keltner - drums
Cyro Baptista/Jeff Haynes - percussion

*Live At The Open Theatre East* with the Keith Jarrett Trio - Man, what a magnificent video I received today.

The song "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock.

Wow, love the picture. Strange use of fruit.


Margaret

"The Ascention To Light", by Steve Coleman Group. Recorded and released by RCA Victor Records 1999.

The musicians in the group:

Steve Coleman - alto saxophone
Gary Thomas - tenor saxophone
Ralph Alessi/Shane Endsley - trumpets
Vijay Iyer - piano
David Gilmore - guitars
Gregoire Maret - harmonica
Cassandra Wilson and Sophia Wong - vocals, voices
Anthony Tidd - el. bass
Sean Rickman - drums

Steve Coleman and his band Five Elements on the album "The Rising Of The 64 Paths", by Label Bleu Records 2002.

Steve Coleman one of the few saxophonists like Charlie Parker, who decided only to play the alto saxophone. On most of his albums improvising, while the band behind him keep the structure together. On this album having two bassists.

The musicians:

Steve Coleman - alto saxophone
Jonathan Finlayson - sampler
Anthony Tidd - el. bass
Reggie Washington - double bass
Sean Rickman

*My Foolish Heart* by the Standards Trio.

Bireli Lagrene on his album "Gipsy Project & Friends", by Disques Dreyfus 2002.

This is an album with the extremely well playing acoustic guitarists, all friends of Bireli Lagrene including his brother Holzmano Lagrene - all of them gipsies. The 14 songs are Django Reinhard interpretations.

The musicians:

Bireli Lagrene/Holzmano Lagrene/Stochelo Rosenberg/Hono Weinstein/Thomas Dutronc - acoustic guitars
Bireli Lagrene/Hono Weinstein/Thomas Dutronc - solo guitar
Diego Imbert - double bass
Florin Neculesco - violin
Henri Salvador - vocals

This kind of acoustic music always remind me of the old american movie starring Orson Welles - The Third Man. The story about counfeiting antibiotics in post WWII Austria.

Bireli Lagrene on his album "Highlights", by Jazz Point Records 1987.

10 songs recorded from 1980-1986 with guitar friends of Bireli Lagrene.

The musicians:

Bireli Lagrene/Philip Catherine/Larry Coryell/Vic Juris/Gaiti Lagrene/Tschirglo Loeffler - acoustic and electric guitars
Jaco Pastorius - fretless el. bass
Miroslav Vitous/Jan Jankeje - double bass
Jurg Reiter - piano
Vladislav Sendecki - keyboards, synthesizers
Peter Lubke - drums

*Off-ramp* by Pat Metheny.

Bireli Lagrene on the acoustic album "Move", Dreyfus Jazz 2004.

A small quartet with two guitars, a saxophone player and a the double bass.

The musicians:

Bireli Lagrene/Hono Weinstein - acoustic guitars
Herlem Franck - tenor and soprano saxophone
Diego Imbert - double bass

The late american electric jazz band Weather Report, which became world wide famous during the 1970´s on their album "Tale Spinnin´", by Columbia Jazz 1975, remastered for CD in 1994.

In this band from 1975, we find a new for the time electric bassist Alphonso Johnson educated at the same time as Jaco Pastorius and the phenomena Pat Metheny at Berklee School of Music.

On the drums N´Dugu Leon Chandler, whose drumming is almost a copy of the great Tony Williams, using the cymbals and the high-hat more than most drummers did at the time in the evolution of the electric jazz.

The musicians:

Joe Zawinul - piano, keyboards, synthesizers
Wayne Shorter - tenor and soprano saxophone
Alphonzo Johnson - el. bass, fretless electric bass
N´Dugu Leon Chandler - drums
Alyrio Lima - percussion

*First Circle* by Pat Metheny.

Weather Report on the somewhat mysterious album "Mr. Gone", by Columbia Jazz 1978.

Post two of the best selling Weather Report albums "Black Market" 1976 and "Heavy Weather" 1977, the band lost the drummers Michael Walden, Alex Acuna and the drummers drummer Chester Thompson, so they invited three new drummers to the band to hit the kit. Tony Williams, Peter Erskine and Steve Gadd - all american high profiled drummers, extremely skilled and technical sublime. Jaco Pastorius sat in on one song playing the drums as well. For the first time Weather Report recorded with three singers as well.

Peter Erskine won and can be heard on the next albums.

The musicians on "Mr. Gone":

Joe Zawinul - piano, keyboards, Prophet 5 synthesizer, Korg Vocorder
Wayne Shorter - tenor and soprano saxophone
Jon Lucien/Denice Williams/Maurice White - vocals
Jaco Pastorius - fretless electric bass, electric bass, drums
Tony Williams or Peter Erskine or Steve Gadd - drums
Manolo Badrena - congas, percussion, solo voice

Awesome album and in particular the songs "The Pursuit Of The Woman With The Featherless Hat" - "Mr. Gone" and the fast track "Punk Jazz" are incredible.


The re-organized Weather Report on the album "Domino Theory", by Columbia Jazz 1984.

Four new musicians in the band on this album. I realy dig the first song, composed by Joe Zawinul, with Carl Anderson singing "Can It Be Done" - to find a new song never been heard.

The musicians:

Joe Zawinul - piano, keyboards, synthesizers
Wayne Shorter - tenor and soprano saxophone
Carl Anderson - vocals
Victor Bailey - el. bass
Omar Hakim - drums
Jose Rossy - percussion

Renee Olstead

*One Quiet Night* by Pat Metheny on Solo Baritone Guitar.

The late GIANT on the tenor saxophone Michael Brecker on the album "Michael Brecker", by MCA/GRP Records 1987.

There have been so very many tenor saxophonists through the past 108 years that I find it hard sometimes to say, who and who not made a personal impression on me. But Michael Brecker IMHO ranks with Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Jan Garbarek, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Stan Getz etc. etc.

The musicians on the album:

Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone
Pat Metheny - el. guitars, guitar synthesizer
Kenny Kirkland - keyboards
Charlie Haden - double bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums

This is what I call a hard-core jazz band, every other single musician time after time on the polls for best double bass player, best guitarist, best drummer and best keyboardian (Kenny Kirland passed away some 10 years ago), and of course Michael Brecker, who unlike many other tenor saxophonists, decided not to play soprano saxophone, nor alto saxophone or any other saxophone as well. Perhaps that´s why, he was so incredibly good on the tenor saxophone.

*Grand Piano Canyon* by Bob James.

Michael Brecker Band on the album "Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival", recorded in 1987, released by MCA/GRP Records 1988.

The musicians:

Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone
Joe Calderazzo - piano, synthesizers
Mike Stern - el. guitars
Jeff Andrews - fretless el. bass
Adam Nussbaum - drums

Adam Nussbaum has always had a huge star with me, like Mike Stern who is an incredible guitarist.

I have been listening to Cleo Laine, Live at Carnegie Hall as well as her Return to Carnegie Hall. For the next few weeks, we will be privileged to attend many great performances as the Montreal Jazz Festival gets underway.

Stephen