Another one of my favorite records, and the one that really strung me out on Joe Henderson, a man whose catalog has no shortage of diversity, surprises and pleasures to plumb...
Henderson's story is fascinating. As a sideman, he played on noteworthy records by Andrew Hill, Lee Morgan, Alice Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and many, many others. Between 1963 to 1968 alone he appeared on nearly thirty albums for Blue Note...He even played a stint, though never on record, in the landmark Miles quintet in 1967 with Herbie, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.
Despite being a prolific and beloved leader, sideman, composer and arranger, Joe didn't really break out in a big commercial way until the last ten years or so of his life (he died in 2001), when Verve signed him and actually took the effort to package and promote his recordings.
There is very little disappointing work in Henderson's long discography, so hop in. In the meantime...
I have wanted to write about this record for some time but didn't really know what I wanted to say. It is just a record I really love...
The album is on my mind tonight because an old friend asked me to recommend some music and this was high on the list...
At this point (1962), Frank is well into his second (or third?) act, firing on all cylinders at Reprise, and the Count is keeping the big band flame alive...a middle-aged white superstar and a hepper than hep black man making such joyful music together in 1962 just seems so damn cool...which of course is the best word to describe both these guys...I am sorry that I can't seem to articulate what it is that does it most for me about these versions of these songs...All Music does a decent enough job describing it all -
"The long-awaited first collaboration between two icons, Count Basie and Frank Sinatra, did something unique for the reputations of both. For Basie, the Sinatra connection inaugurated a period in the '60s where his band was more popular and better-known than it ever was, even in the big-band era. For Sinatra, Basie meant liberation, producing perhaps the loosest, rhythmically free singing of his career. Propelled by the irresistible drums of Sonny Payne, Sinatra careens up to and around the tunes, reacting jauntily to the beat and encouraging Payne to swing even harder, which was exactly the way to interact with the Basie rhythm machine — using his exquisite timing flawlessly. Also the members of the Basie band play a more prominent role than usual on a Sinatra record, with soloists like Frank Wess — in some of the finest flute work of his life — and tenors Frank Foster and Eric Dixon getting prominent solo opportunities on several of the tracks. The record was criticized by some as a letdown when it came out, probably because Neal Hefti's charts rarely permit the band to roar, concentrating on use of subtlety and space. Yet the record's restraint has worn very well over the long haul — it doesn't beat you into submission — and it concludes with its best shot, a wonderfully playful treatment of "I Won't Dance.""
- but this record just won't and can't be analyzed...I hope you dig it, too. Good night.
King Crimson fans ought already know about this site. If not...The site is all about the music of Robert Fripp in all incarnations: King Crimson, Slow Music Project, ProjeKct One, ProjeKct Two, ProjeKct Three, ProjeKct Four, ProjeKct Six, the League of Crafty Guitarists, League of Gentlemen, Fripp & Eno, The Wonderful World of Crim, Robert Fripp String Quintet and The Vicar...
"The aim of DGM is to connect music, musician and audience in a way that supports the power of music, the integrity of the musician and the needs of the audience. DGM Live offers music for download with photographs, diary archives and audience commentary for browsing."
Music to buy, download, comment on, obsess over, etc. Diary from Fripp, too.
McCoy Tyner, solo piano, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
I do not know the actual date of this show but from what I can gather it was broadcast on Canadian radio, CBC-FM's "Jazz Beat", on August 25, 1984...
This recording features more of McCoy's soft side, some ballads and more mellow up tempo playing. He unleashes the storm in spots but it is overall a chill performance.
McCoy Tyner Quintet, live at Saalbau in Aarau, Switzerland, February 24, 1984.
This performance was part of the Aarau Jazz Festival, which ran February 24 and 25 that year. Sounds like a recording of an FM broadcast.
I don't have much more info about this set but I do know that the line-up, in addition to McCoy on piano, is Gary Bartz tenor sax, John Blake violin, John Lee electric bass, and Wilby Fletcher drums.
You know, I get on kicks with certain styles or artists and have to play all of the stuff I have into the ground in order to find the handful of tracks that mean the most to me...
And so it is with Howlin' Wolf.
"In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits." - All Music Guide.
"Wolf...started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of Sam Phillips, who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music Wolf made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and Phillips simultaneously leased the results to the Bihari Brothers in Los Angeles and Leonard Chess in Chicago. Suddenly, Howlin' Wolf had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as Wolf would proudly relate years later, "I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I'm the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman." It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home...When Wolf entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band. Hubert Sumlin proved himself to be the Wolf's longest-running musical associate...In what can only be described as an "angular attack," Sumlin played almost no chords behind Wolf, sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes..." - All Music Guide
"...by 1960, Wolf was teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The magic combination of Wolf's voice, Sumlin's guitar, and Dixon's tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish." - All Music Guide
"Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was "Killing Floor," featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from Sumlin...By the end of the decade, Wolf's material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, the Electric Flag, the Blues Project, Cream, and Jeff Beck. The result of all these covers brought Wolf the belated acclaim of a young, white audience." - All Music Guide
"His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of London Session albums, recording with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other British superstars." - All Music Guide
Download:Highway 49 - Howlin' Wolf with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman and Charle Watts
"Unlike many other blues musicians, after he left his impoverished childhood to begin a musical career, Howlin' Wolf was always financially successful...this was the result of his musical popularity and his ability to avoid the pitfalls of alcohol, gambling, and the various dangers inherent in what are vaguely described as "loose women", to which so many of his peers fell prey. Though functionally illiterate into his 40s, Burnett eventually returned to school, first to earn a G.E.D., and later to study accounting and other business courses aimed to help his business career...Wolf was so financially successful that he was able to offer band members not only a decent salary, but benefits such as health insurance; this in turn enabled him to hire his pick of the available musicians, and keep his band one of the best around. According to his daughters, he was never financially extravagant, for instance driving a Pontiac station wagon rather than a more expensive and flashy car.
Chester Burnett "Howlin Wolf" died at Hines VA Hospital in Hines, IL, and is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, USA Plot: Section 18, on the east side of the road. His large gravestone, allegedly purchased by Eric Clapton, has an image of a guitar and harmonica etched into it." - Wikipedia
In addition to all of the 60s British Blues acts inspired by Wolf, he music has influenced a diversity of musicians over the last 50 years...
Benn loxo du tacco is one of the great music blogs. The name is..."Wolof for "one hand can't clap"..." and the site delivers, "world music for the masses"...the (current) unique angle is found in the 2008 posting guidelines:
"I’ll only post - music from countries I’ve been to or will soon visit, OR - music directly related to experiences in my life
I don’t want to stray too far here, but if I stick to the above two rules we’ll keep things in line. I’ll also be able to use my own photos and travel anecdotes this way.. which makes the posting way easier.
The second rule is there because if I stumble into a great Tunisian dance party in Paris there’s no reason, as far as I’m concerned, that I can’t write about it."
The posting frequency is low but I highly recommend you point your RSS reader to subscribe...
I am not a big fan of fusion but I have to say, Santana's records with John McLaughlin and Alice Coltrane offend me not in the least...and like those two performers McCoy is so distinctly his own voice that he more than holds up with Santana in the mix. He doesn't hold up, he positively shines...
If all you heard from this set was McCoy's take on Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss you'd be all good, but the track he wrote for and played with his guest, Senor Carlos, sizzles. Santana's guitar work just works...from there they pull off a stellar take on Carlos' own Hannibal after which the finale of Brotherhood is a bit unnecessary.
An essential set to listen to for fans of either musician.
"The year 1974 marked a departure from their primarily bluesy, acoustic style when Hot Tuna morphed into a heavy rock band. The albums America's Choice (1975), Yellow Fever (1975), and Hoppkorv (1976), showcase a power trio with the addition of new drummer Bob Steeler. This trilogy is referred to by the group as their "rampage years."...Hot Tuna live performances during this period were typified by free-flow improvisational jams and very long sets (up to six hours uninterrupted) with extended versions of their studio material. Because of this, they are often considered a forerunner of modern jam bands..."
This is one of those shows with "very long sets"...
Recently put out for free by the band through its digital download site, this show is two sets, 30 songs and clocks in at 4 hours, 55 minutes and 2 seconds...crazy...
Along the way there are over the top versions of many Tuna war horses...Serpent of Dreams, Water Song, 28+ minutes worth of Funky #7, etc...This band is more Black Sabbath than Summer of Love.
This download amounts to a four disc set. The band is Jorma Kaukonen on guitar and vocals, Jack Casady on bass and Bob Steeler on drums.
Great piece in the Arts section the NY Times on the Stax/Volt Revue that toured Europe in 1967:
"Seeing the brash Southerners who forged Memphis soul music at Stax Records must have been a startling experience for audiences on the 1967 Stax/Volt Revue tour of Europe.
Dapper and raw, hard-working and audacious, rooted in gospel while exulting in sensuality, Stax stars like Otis Redding and Sam & Dave were song-and-dance men who knew how to bring audiences to their feet. Their band — Booker T. and the M.G.’s plus the Mar-Keys as the horn section — was racially integrated and musically unstoppable...Stax Records did not choose timid singers. The tour lineup was all belters — Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd and Arthur Conley — who bounced percussive phrases off the band’s unswerving beat. They were R&B troupers from an era when performers didn’t need to lip-sync when they danced. The Stax singers commanded the stage with moves no choreographer taught them, and they didn’t rest until their audience became an ecstatic congregation."
Reading the article inspired me to gather up a bunch of music from the artists mentioned therein. There are some gems buried in the music overload posted below...My personal favorite is the Booker T McLemore Avenue record though it barely qualifies as a soul record...Have fun. Comments welcome.
All I can hope is that you enjoy visiting and reading this site as much as I enjoy working on it. If you like what you find here, please leave a comment. It means a lot to hear from you.
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Another one of my favorite records, and the one that really strung me out on Joe Henderson, a man whose catalog has no shortage of diversity, surprises and pleasures to plumb...
