Doc's Jazz Music Reviews

This is a great group to listen to in the “Smooth Jazz” or “Easy Listening” categories. Many of their songs are definitely “feel good” music. They have been around awhile with a major change taking place when co-founder Nick Webb died. The current front men for the band are Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale. The distinctive pattern on many of their songs is the dueling guitars featuring an acoustic and electric guitar or variations on this theme.

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Without question, this is the finest Acoustic Alchemy outing since their 1987 smooth-jazz classic, Red Dust and Spanish Lace. Back then, the current leader, Greg Carmicheal, co-led the group as a duet with his partner, Nick Webb, who died from cancer in early 1998. With a new, expanded version of Acoustic Alchemy, Carmichael has significantly retooled the sound of the group, with the help of San Francisco keyboardist Terry Disley and Incognito member Richard Bull.

The stamp of Bull's acid-jazz leanings is evident on "The Panama Cat" and "Trailblazer," while "Hats of Magic" and "Hold on to Your Heart" are two of Carmichael's prettiest guitar ballads ever. Loyal fans shouldn't fear Alchemy's change of direction; while the band seems headed more toward London, Carmichael still remembers that his first American records came from MCA's Nashville office. He does enough serious pickin' on "Kidstuff," "Tete à Tete," and the Dobro-enhanced "Big Sky Country" to help bolster the claim that jazz and bluegrass are cousins. --Mark Ruffin

In the wake of the loss of Acoustic Alchemy's co-founder Nick Webb, his prior partner, Greg Carmichael, has created a whole new ensemble vibe by collaborating with formerly supporting members of the duo. The biggest differences on this CD is that Carmichael is more open-minded about spontaneous interaction and lays back a bit on the strings so that rich atmospheres can fill the picture.

On "The Angel of the South," his and Miles Gilderdales" dark guitar lines snap along over Frank Felix"s rolling samba bass groove and hypnotic percussion fills. It"s a shame Guy Barker"s Latin trumpet doesn"t enter the fray sooner. "The Panama Cat" is a simmering retro-soul blues, with a reflective acoustic easing over a jumpy wah-wah line throughout.

The title track"s reggae beat will remind Alchemy fans of the classic "Jamaican Heartbeat," but its moody ambience and occasional hypnotic piano swirls - courtesy of Terry Disley - make it sound like a 3rd Force tune. "Hats of Magic" creeps along coolly with sound effects, a trip-hop groove, and the dreamy interaction of guitar and Snake Davis" sax. For those averse to the exciting changes, "Big Sky Country" is typical, loping Alchemy stuff all the way. Another unique idea is having Steven Jones produce second versions of both that tune and "Trail Blazer" with an all-Nashville cast complete with appropriate steel-guitar, harmonica, dobro, and violin. Webb would be proud of his compadre's ability to move on.

--- Jonathan Widran, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

John Coltrane led many studio sessions and by 1960 had established himself as a composer and the leading tenor saxophone player in jazz music. He formed his own group this year and hired McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on the bass. Roy Haynes took Jones’ place when he was incarcerated for drugs in 1963.

I can listen to Coltrane for hours on end and with Miles Davis he is featured prominently on my favorite Jazz album, “Kind of Blue”. Enjoy this set of clips I found of the Coltrane quartet.


John Coltrane Quartet – Afro Blue



Alabama



Impressions



Impressions (continued)

Sketches of Spain is a difficult listen for many old school jazz fans. The arrangements on Sketches of Spain by Gil Evans border on classical but in my opinion this is the essence of the albums appeal. Here we have Miles Davis, Mr. Cool himself, daring to stretch out into Spanish folk music and for me it is a good listen. Let the music move you.


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Miles Davis's impact on jazz is almost incalculable. From his early days as a sideman for Charlie Parker, through his groundbreaking Birth of the Cool sessions, to his stunning small groups of the '50s and '60s, through to his electric renaissance, the trumpeter, bandleader, and composer has left a deep mark on all who came after. He is one of jazz's true giants. Sketches of Spain, though one of Davis's most commercially successful sessions, is also one of his most controversial. Re-teaming with arranger and composer Gil Evans, who played such a pivotal role in Davis's 1949 Birth of the Cool recordings, Davis recorded a series of large group albums beginning in the late '50s, including Porgy and Bess, Miles Ahead, and Quiet Nights. Sketches of Spain, with its emphasis on flamenco, rich orchestrations, and relaxed tempos, is certainly one of Davis's most mellow recordings (he even works out on fluegelhorn), and proved to have broad appeal. To some critics, however, the project was "elevated elevator music." An expanded version of the album, featuring alternative tracks and unreleased material, was issued in 1997 by Columbia Legacy. --Fred Goodman

Review – T. Gore

"Since my interest in jazz is very limited, I felt it was only fair to write some comments on the album, rather then call this a review because I am sure that I am missing something that makes me have a hard time understanding this album. OK, my Miles Davis collection consist of only "Kind of Blue" which is an amazing piece of work. I also have some albums on which Miles is jamming with other muscians. I felt that I give "Sketches of Spain" a whirl, and even though I can understand the complexity it must have took to put this album together, it just doesnt quite have the vibe that I was looking for. I have listening to it over and over, and even though it is growing on me, I find it to be a difficult listen as it is really laid back. I am more into "Busy" jazz, and this is a very slow album. Its almost has more of a classical music type of vibe, and it feels more in that direction, then it does Miles Davis. In other words, I feel that Miles is more background with most of the works, since he is of course, playing with a symphoney. I would only rate it as just average for now, but I gave it an extra star just for the quality of musicanship on the album. SO my only advice is really for the those new to jazz or a casual jazz fan. I would start with "Kind of Blue" and then work my way around Miles stuff from the 60's. Then as you get into him more, try this out. YOu might like it. I admit its still growing on me, but it seems like a difficult listen. "


Miles Davis - Soles




Miles Davis - Concierto De Aranjuez (Adagio)

When I was a teenager I would visit my relatives for the summer in Egg Harbor, N.J. I remember taking the bus to Atlantic City and those 18 miles seemed to take forever – especially when the Temptations were performing on the Steel Pier along with the rest of the Motown Review.

The highlight of the show was when David Ruffin did a split on “I’m Losing You” and did this trick with the microphone and stand where he seemed to be losing it only to pull it back to himself as he came up out of the split. Wow!

I loved this original group and still followed them strongly when David left and Dennis Edwards from the Contours took his place. But when Eddie left the group so did I, only to revisit them during their early years in my record collection.

I know this is not Jazz but the lines of demarcation are not that tightly drawn. Many of the Funk Brothers, the studio musicians featured on many of the Motown hits, came from a Jazz background.

I have included some clips from Youtube for your enjoyment. For more classic R&B check out our other blog: http://classicrandb.blogspot.com/

Have a great day!
_______


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In Motown hierarchies, the Temptations occupied pretty much the same exalted place at the legendary label as the Lincoln division did at Ford; both had a marquee reputation for class and quality that endured time and trend for decades. The group was also a tribute to the glorious possibilities of an erstwhile assembly line: the early hits here (including the signature song that gives this 36-track, double-disc anthology its name) were penned by fellow legend Smokey Robinson, supervised by label founder Berry Gordy, and backed by one of music's greatest house bands. But even as Robinson's role segued into Norman Whitfield's as the 1960s rolled into the '70s, and as David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks left the group for solo careers--echoing the splintering of their superstar label counterparts the Supremes--the Temptations' juggernaut rolled on through a rich series of hits that were by turns traditional ("Just My Imagination"), timely ("Ball of Confusion"), and hard-edged ("Papa Was a Rolling Stone"). But if the hit Motown sound they so long personified became displaced by waves of funk and middle-of-the-road music on the R&B charts, the Tempts adapted remarkably well, scoring hits like the P-Funk collaboration "Shakey Ground," 1984's "Treat Her Like a Lady," and 1998's million-seller "Stay," the last cut nearly 40 years after the band's first Motown session. This collection chronicles their journey across several disparate epochs of soul music history, and includes a concise historical note for each song, as well as track-by-track commentary from founding Temptations member Otis Williams. --Jerry McCulley


My Girl



Get Ready



The Way You Do The Things You Do

This is a great introduction to Bill Evans who is regarded as one of the most influential Jazz pianist of the 1960’s. I love this recording as well as the one he did with Tony Bennett.

Listen for his improvisation on traditional jazz songs and the way he blends the harmony and plays around with the melody. I think you can safely say that Bill was a genius on the piano. Unfortunately his life was cut short through years of heroin and then later cocaine addiction.

There is a web site dedicated to Bill Evans maintained by some dedicated fans at:

http://www.billevanswebpages.com/

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Bill Evans, with virtuoso bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, reinvented the jazz piano trio, creating stunning contrapuntal dialogues that merged luminous lyricism with layers of complex, elusive harmonies, its moments of limpid beauty suddenly giving way to surging rhythms. The trio's finest recorded moments, these performances were captured just 10 days before LaFaro's death in a car accident. The original releases--Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby--are celebrated masterpieces. This three-CD set is a brilliant reissue--almost a revision--of that material, with superb sound from the newly remastered original tapes and all of the music presented in the sequence of the original five sets, adding a previously unissued take of "Gloria's Step," spoken introductions, and the band's incidental conversation. For those who know this music, it's a chance to hear it in a fresh way; for new listeners, it will come as a revelation at a bargain price. --Stuart Broomer

Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington composed over 2,000 songs and is arguably the greatest composer in American history. It is difficult to find words to describe this legend of music.

Songs such as "Mood Indigo," "Solitude," "In A Sentimental Mood," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and many others have become American standards that are widely performed today.

Here is the incomparable Duke Ellington:

C Jam Blues



Isfahan



Satin Doll