Miles Davis Quintet (MD, trumpet; Wayne Shorter, tenor saxophone; Herbie Hancock, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Tony Williams, drums), “Footprints” (W. Shorter), live, Sweden, 1967
Vodpod videos no longer available.Time for just one note? 3:34. (Shorter’s entire solo is a marvel [1:54-3:54]: it’s as intimate and delicate as a dream.)
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lagniappe
reading table
just the other day
we said goodbye . . .
dewy grave—Kobayashi Issa, 1790s (trans. David G. Lanoue)
What a joy to find, as I did yesterday, new sounds that provide so much pleasure.
Starlicker (Rob Mazurek, cornet; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; John Herndon, drums), “Horseshoes,” live, Iowa (Dubuque), 2011
Vodpod videos no longer available.two takes
Here’s a very different piece by Steve Reich—one I first heard, in a New York performance by Reich’s ensemble, 40 years ago. At the time, the only way he could get his music heard was to play it himself.
Steve Reich, Drumming (1971), excerpts
So Percussion, live, Baltimore (Johns Hopkins University), c. 2009
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
Steve Reich (wearing cap) with members of Ensemble Modern
Live, Germany (Cologne), 2009
More? Here. And here. And here.
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lagniappe
All music theory refers to something that has already happened, but if it is taken as a prescription, or worse a manifesto, heaven help you.
two takes
“Death Letter Blues” (S. House)
Son House, live (TV broadcast), 1967
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
The White Stripes, live, France (Paris), 2007
Vodpod videos no longer available.More White Stripes? Here.
hearing colors, seeing sounds
John Coltrane, “Giant Steps,” excerpt (Giant Steps, Atlantic, 1970)
Animation by Michal Levy (2001)
(Yo, Michael: Thanks for the tip!)
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lagniappe
Synesthesia is a rare neurological condition that leads stimulation in one sensory pathway to trigger an experience in another. Basically, a short-circuiting in the brain that enables such strange phenomena like perceiving letters and numbers as inherently colored (color-graphemic synesthesia) or hearing sounds in response to visual motion. More than 60 types of synesthesia have been identified, with one of the most common being the cross-sensory experience of color and sound — “hearing” color or “seeing” music.
Israeli artist and jazz musician Michal Levy . . . is an actual synesthetic: When she listens to music, she sees shapes and colors as different tones, pitches, frequencies, harmonies, and other elements of the melody unfold.
What’s surprising here isn’t that there are so many wonderful moments. Given the line-up, you’d expect that. What you wouldn’t expect is for these guys to sound so cohesive, as if they’d been playing together for years.
Sun Ra All Stars (SR, keyboards; Don Cherry, pocket trumpet, vocals; Lester Bowie, trumpet; Archie Shepp, tenor saxophone, vocals; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone; Marshall Allen, alto saxophone, percussion; Philly Joe Jones, drums; Clifford Jarvis, drums; Famadou Don Moye, drums, percussion), live, Germany (Berlin), 1983
Vodpod videos no longer available.More Sun Ra? Here. And here. And here.
More Don Cherry? Here. And here. And here.
More Lester Bowie? Here. And here. And here. And here.
More Archie Shepp? Here.
only rock ’n roll
The Dirtbombs, live, New York (Other Music), 2009
Vodpod videos no longer available.Note: If this doesn’t play properly, make sure the “HD” option is turned on (lower righthand corner).
More? Here.
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reading table
to the west
is Buddha’s paradise . . .
withered fields—Kobayashi Issa (trans. David G. Lanoue), 1819
passings
Jerry Lieber, songwriter, April 25, 1933-August 22, 2011
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, “Hound Dog” (J. Lieber & M. Stoller), live (TV broadcast; Buddy Guy, guitar; Fred Below, drums), Europe, 1965 (originally recorded 1952)
Vodpod videos no longer available.(Originally posted 12/10/10.)
*****
Nick Ashford, songwriter, singer, May 4, 1941-August 22, 2011
Ashford & Simpson, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (N. Ashford & V. Simpson), live
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
David “Honeyboy” Edwards, singer, guitar player, June 28, 1915-
August 29, 2011
Live, WBEZ-FM (Chicago), 2008
Vodpod videos no longer available.Happy Birthday, Bird!
Charlie Parker, alto saxophonist, August 29, 1920-March 12, 1955
According to Miles Davis, the history of jazz can be summarized in four words: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker.
Charlier Parker & Dizzy Gillespie, “Hot House,” live (TV broadcast), 1952
(Originally posted 10/17/09.)
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lagniappe
radio
WKCR-FM’s Lester Young/Charlie Parker birthday marathon runs until midnight—today’s all Bird.
*****
musical thoughts
Don’t play the saxophone. Let it play you.
—Charlie Parker
Happy Birthday, Lester!
Lester Young, tenor saxophonist, August 27, 1909-March 15, 1959
Lester Young (ts) with Carl “Tatti” Smith (trumpet), Count Basie (piano), Walter Page (bass), Jo Jones (drums) (10/9/36, Chicago)
“Oh, Lady Be Good”
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
“Shoe Shine Boy”
Vodpod videos no longer available.
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lagniappe
radio: 72 glorious hours
Assuming Irene doesn’t crash the party, the folks at WKCR-FM (broadcasting from Columbia University)* will be playing Lester Young all day today and into tomorrow, when, at some point, they’ll make the transition to Charlie Parker, whose birthday is Monday. As I wrote last year: “Something happens—something delicious—when you surrender your ears and yourself to someone’s music for such a sustained period of time. Little by little, that musician moves in, taking up residence in your brain. Their distinctive voice becomes, for a time, inseparable from everything else you’re hearing and seeing and thinking and feeling.”
*Later note (2:45 p.m. [CST]): When I just checked, their website seemed to be down; you can also get them via iTunes (radio/college).
music clip of the day 