voices I miss
Drums, too, can breathe.
Mal Waldron Quintet (MW, piano; Charles Rouse, saxophone, flute; Woody Shaw, trumpet, flugelhorn; Reggie Workman, bass; Ed Blackwell [1929-1992], drums), live, New York (Village Vanguard), 1985
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), New York, 1980
passings
Horace Silver, pianist, composer, bandleader, September 2, 1928-June 18, 2014
Horace Silver Quintet,* “Song for My Father,” live (TV show), Denmark, 1968
**********
lagniappe
art beat
William Eggleston (1939-)
*****
*HS, piano; Bill Hardman, trumpet; Bennie Maupin, tenor saxophone; John Williams, bass; Billy Cobham, drums.
tonight in Chicago
These guys are playing at the Hideout, a small club on the northwest side.
Ken Vandermark (tenor saxophone) & Paal Nilssen-Love (drums), live, Austria (Vienna), 3/8/14
**********
lagniappe
art beat
William Eggleston (1939-)
Ornette, at 84, still plays some of the most haunting blues I’ve ever heard.
Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone), with Henry Threadgill (alto saxophone), David Murray (tenor saxophone), Savion Glover (tap dance), et al., live, New York (Prospect Park), 6/12/14
*****
With Don Cherry (trumpet), Charlie Haden (bass), Billy Higgins (drums), The Shape Of Jazz To Come, 1959
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), East 100th St., New York, 1966
sounds of Chicago
One-word review: mesmerizing.
Art Ensemble of Chicago, live, France (Chateauvallon), 1970
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Despite all my inner crumblings,
I’m still able to recognize a perfect day:
sea without shadow,
sky without wrinkles,
air hovering over me like a blessing.—Nina Cassian (1924-2014), “Summer X-Rays” (fragment)
never enough
John Coltrane Quartet (JC, tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums), “Impressions” (J. Coltrane), live (TV show), 1963
**********
lagniappe
random thoughts
What did we do to deserve such a beautiful world?
*****
art beat
Francis Wolff, Blue Trane recording session (JC, tenor saxophone; Lee Morgan, trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone), Hackensack, N.J., 1957
*****
A big birthday shout-out to my oldest listening companion, my brother Don, with whom (as I’ve noted before) I’ve shared more musical experiences than I could ever count: the Beatles (Comiskey Park, 1965), the Velvet Underground (Kinetic Playground, 1968), the MC5 (Lincoln Park, 1968) . . .
No matter where you are, new sounds are just around the corner.
Marcos Balter (1974-), Strohbass (2011), Shanna Gutierrez (bass flute) and Ryan Muncy (baritone saxophone), live, Evanston, Ill., 2011
only rock ’n’ roll
The Ex & Brass Unbound,* “Cold Weather Is Back,” live, London, 2010
**********
lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Christopher Wool (1955-)
*****
*Roy Paci (trumpet), Wolkter Wierbos (trombone), Ken Vandermark (tenor saxophone), Mats Gustaffson (baritone saxophone).
sounds of New York
Raya Brass Band, live, New York, 2014
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), New York, 1972
Happy (92nd) Birthday, Mingus!
Charles Mingus, bassist, composer, bandleader
April 22, 1922-January 5, 1979
Charles Mingus Quintet (CM, bass; Eric Dolphy, alto saxophone; Booker Ervin, tenor saxophone; Ted Curson, trumpet; Dannie Richmond, drums) with guest Bud Powell (piano), “I’ll Remember April” (G. de Paul, P. Johnston, D. Raye), live, France (Antibes Jazz Festival), 1960
**********
lagniappe
radio
WKCR (Columbia University): all Mingus, all day.
music clip of the day 