Insights, observations, cheap gags.
If you even think you like classic jazz, or if you just have some time to listen to one of America’s greatest all-time entertainers, get thee over to Popdose now. There you’ll find a top-notch bootleg of a Louis Armstrong & His All Stars show from 1954.
Before I unleash my awe-inspiring year-end album wrapup, I thought I’d share with you a mixtape featuring ten of my favorite songs from 2009. The only restriction I’m placing on myself here is that I won’t be double-dipping from any artists, although some could have easily taken up half this list. And away we go!
OK, so maybe I need to change the title of this series based on the increasing infrequency of posts in it. But whatever. I just had to resurrect it when I saw the latest entry at one of my favorite .mp3 blogs, My Jazz World. It features a great one-two punch of cheesy wordplay in the title and some freaky cover art. It’s 1973’s Flute of the Loom, by flautist Frank Wess.
Man, I take a short break from updating the site and, just like that, I’m buried under a pile of new music releases. Not to mention, of course, the Beatles remasters. So with no big preamble, let’s get right into it…
Ace Frehley – Anomaly (Brooklyn Born Records)
Peter Criss couldn’t do it, Paul Stanley almost did it, and who the hell knows what Gene Simmons was trying to do. I’m speaking, of course, about original Kiss members putting out a solo album this decade that even approached their best work from previous decades. So how does the Spaceman fare on his first release since George Bush Sr. was president? Pretty decently, by and large. Sure the album art is…well, it sucks. It’s just bad. But who even notices such things anymore?
The music’s the thing, and Ace acquits himself rather nicely over the course of a dozen tracks. “Foxy & Free” kicks things off, and it’s as intense a slab of hard rock as you’re likely to hear this year. Frehley intimated in interviews promoting Anomaly that he purposely was trying for the vibe of his outstanding 1978 solo record. I can hear that in places, but mostly this album is another serving of the tuneful, meat and potatoes hard rock Frehley churned out in the ’80s with Frehley’s Comet. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but what surprised me was how Ace managed to stretch his formula out a bit – witness the Middle Eastern (OK, Led Zep Middle Eastern) flavor of “Genghis Khan”, the starkly confessional and heartfelt lyrics on “A Little Below the Angels”, and the laid back philosophizing and relaxed arrangement of “It’s a Great Life.”
Ace is indeed back, and I told you so.
Muse – The Resistance (Warner Bros.)
Depeche Muse anyone? Now look, I’m all about bands trying out new sounds and taking their music in new directions. The problem with this album is that for the most part Matthew Bellamy and friends don’t sound like they’re sure what direction they want to go, and as a result it has twice the indulgence of Black Holes and Revelations with half the impact. Kicking the album off with “Uprising”, an electronica Gary Glitter anthem for the 21st century, was a bold move and I can dig it even with Bellamy’s cockamamie populist conspiracy lyrics weighing it down.
Patrick Jarenwattananon over at NPR’s A Blog Supreme posits a most interesting challenge – name five albums I’d recommend to someone looking to get into jazz. The twist is that the list needs to made up of recording from the last decade or so, in order to showcase what jazz is about today rather than in its heyday. In other words, no Kind of Blue or Time Out (even 50th anniversary reissues). Hmmmmm….
So here’s my list in no particular order, in case anyone reading this is looking for one collection of high-quality, contemporary jazz.
1. Robert Glasper, In My Element (Blue Note, 2007) – As much as I do like Glasper’s latest offering I think it would be too jarring for someone just getting into jazz. In My Element showcases Glasper’s ability to meld his muscular yet cerebral style of jazz with blues, hip hop, rock, and R&B to create a winning brand of music. This is highlighted to great effect on “Maiden Voyage / Everything in Its Right Place”, a deft hybrid of the ’60s Herbie Hancock classic with the latter day Radiohead gem.
2. The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity? (Columbia, 2005) – I’ve written about this trio before, and every non-jazz music lover I’ve exposed to them has come away impressed. TBP’s output takes a decidedly rock approach to jazz. That’s not to say it’s all bombast and volume, as tracks like “Prehensile Dream” and “Lost of Love” prove. Just as progressive rock groups like Emerson, Lake & Palmer were a gateway to appreciating classical music for me, so I think TBP can be the same for non-jazz fans.
3. Koop, Waltz for Koop (Quango/Palm, 2002) – Stockholm-based duo Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark didn’t invent the rather nebulous Nu Jazz genre, but they’re about the best ones doing it. At least when they get around to it, as they’ve released just three proper studio albums since 1997. That’s mainly because of the rather labor-intensive way they create their sonic treasures, which is by assembling songs from thousands of separate sound clips. If this sounds like a recipe for cold, soulless music it’s not. It’s got the the feel of jazz at its breeziest and bounciest, but is thoroughly modern in every other way.
4. Tord Gustavsen Trio, The Ground (ECM, 2005) – This is pretty much the complete opposite of Koop, just for some variety in the list. This album is beautiful and glacial, with just a hint of swing to it. There are few better albums equipped to help you relax without putting you to sleep. It’s smooth, but not smooth jazz. It’s studied without being academic. In a word, it’s art. Leave it to the Norwegians.
5. Russell Malone, Sweet Georgia Peach (MAXJAZZ, 1998) – This falls just outside the decade mark, but I had to get some guitar jazz love in here. This is easily the most straightforward jazz outing on this short list; something a non-jazz fan might expect to hear. But that’s OK, sometimes just hearing mainstream jazz performed at a high level is all you need.
It is tempting and easy to interpret the meaning behind the track order and title of Robert Glasper’s latest album, Double Booked, as being a presentation of the artist’s two separate sides – jazz and hip hop/R&B. Certainly, given that the first half of the record is billed to the Robert Glasper Trio while the second is credited to the Robert Glasper Experiment, that conclusion seems inescapable.
But to look at it this way would be to miss the statement that Glasper has been making with his music since his 2003 recorded debut, Mood – jazz, R&B, and hip hop are not disparate elements to be combined or mixed by Glasper for mere novelty or effect; they are both integral and inseparable parts of his artistic vision.
It’s that vision, combined with his prodigious talent, that makes Double Booked Glasper’s most ambitious and – at times – rewarding work to date.
The Trio half of the the album starts with “Intro”, a short voice mail to Glasper from jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. Blanchard has Glasper’s trio booked for a club gig, but wants to make sure it’s still on because he’s heard that the Robert Glasper Experiment is booked for the same night. Double booked, get it?
Just to show that I put my money where my mouth is, here’s my little promotional effort for modern jazz. Readers of this site know how much I love the Bad Plus, and here’s a taste why. It’s an edited version of “Physical Cities” from the group’s 2007 Prog album. It’s aggressive and muscular jazz, but still has great melody.
