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Saturday

Blue Mood

0 comments Posted by Dr. Jim Collier at 1:26 PM

It is raining and I am listening to some Keith Jarrett on the box and my thoughts drift off into a reflective mood. There is something about water, whether flowing or gushing or dripping that touches my heart in a deep place and I think - yes I think - maybe deeper than I want to think.

Jazz music many times is like flowing water - Keith or Miles or John drift right off into pure creativity, and suddenly - you find yourself drifting right along with them. This is jazz - this is joy and pain - but drift you must.

 

Thursday

The Koln Concert - Keith Jarrett

0 comments Posted by Dr. Jim Collier at 8:04 AM

I am a huge fan of Keith Jarrett - to me he is a musical genius. When I realized that I did not own this album I hurried up to buy it. This is early Jarrett at his finest. I love the improvision on this album and the fact that it is not rushed into 5 or 7 minute clips for commercial reasons. Get your hands on this album and enjoy it. Jim
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Product Details
Audio CD (November 16, 1999)
Original Release Date: January 24, 1975
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Live Label: Ecm Records ASIN: B0000262WI

A musical chameleon, pianist Keith Jarrett was at his finest when he recorded these sustained solo improvisations in a German concert hall in 1975, the first lasting 26 minutes, the second 40. Melodies and rhythmic figures arise fluidly from his fingers as he moves from one idea to another, while his strong left hand is often used for repeated motifs that generate a rolling hypnotic power. This couples with strongly consonant harmonies to impart the flavor of gospel music at times, dance musics and Debussy at others. Above all, it's Jarrett's ability to knit all of his moods and wanderings into an almost seamless tapestry of warm and tuneful ideas that gives this music its enduring appeal. --Stuart Broomer

Generally I resist the urge to hurl superlatives at something; but for this particular disc, only words like "transcendent" and "sublime" will do. Twenty years on, it still floors me. The third track ("IIb") alone is a gem that is worth the price of the disc. I've listened to it a hundred times, and I continue to be astonished by the journey it takes you through: a steady progression over moody, lyrical landscapes, spiralling up to a jagged peak, urged on by Jarrett's mesmerizing left-hand work and annotated at the crest by his own gasped vocalizations, as if he, too, were amazed at the scenery. Its the climax of the whole concert --there's nowhere to go but gently retrace our steps back down to the sweet coda of "IIc". Truly a masterpiece of improvisation.

The recording that, unfortunately, launched a thousand New Age noodlers seeking to capture its mood in simplified imitation; its no wonder that Jarrett has mixed feelings about it. And yes, as a long-time fan, I wouldn't even say its his best work. But it still speaks to me across the years like few other pieces of music I have ever known, in any category. I can't imagine ever tiring of it...and those who have heard it know what I mean.

And finally: if you like Jarrett's solo piano improvisations but haven't heard 'La Scala' yet, PLEASE do yourself a favor and click on over to get it asap. More technically brilliant than 'Koln' (as you would expect given the interval between the two performances), and the encore of "Over the Rainbow" is achingly beautiful. An absolute must-have. - George Counts

I was one of the few who discovered Jarrett's solo work through recordings other than this one (I first heard "Concerts" and "Solo Concerts" many, many years ago and only discovered this one about two years ago), and for that reason it took a little longer for me to really understand and appreciate it...not because it lacks anything, but only because other Jarrett works held a special place in my heart.Now, as my appreciation of all of Jarrett's masterful recordings has increased, I can appreciate this, the Cologne Concert, for what it is: A transcendant piece of music in its own right, unique from all the others. The story of its creation is remarkable: Jarrett was forced to play on an inferior piano with weak high and low ranges...as a result he concentrated on the midrange, accentuating that particular instrument's potential and creating music that sounds unlike anything else he's ever done.

I initially thought it was "lighter" in texture than his other solo work (particularly the two mentioned above), now I realize that it simply speaks a different language.
I think that hard-core Jarrett fans tend to regard this album with just a bit of suspicion, precisely because it has enjoyed such continuing popularity. This, of course, is nonsense: Just because this particular album enjoys mass appeal doesn't take anything away from it, and it is not this album's fault that it has spawned a score of imitations from lesser artists.

The "bottom line" is that this album contains a special quality, a "magic" that transforms it into music for the ages. From the opening expression (listen for the barely-audible sound of a woman's laughter right after the first five notes) "the Cologne Concert" captures something mystical, and beyond explanation. If this is your first exposure to Keith Jarrett, I envy your voyage of discovery. Just don't let it stop here. - Doc Sarvis

A Little Bit Of The Koln Concert

 

Wednesday

Here and Gone - David Sanborn

0 comments Posted by Dr. Jim Collier at 2:30 PM


If you would like a little break from Smooth Jazz then this is the album for you.

About the Artist

The six-time Grammy winner has consistently recorded his own albums: Since his first album "Taking Off," from 1975, through his acclaimed "Closer," from 2005, he has rarely gone over two years between releases. But it's been three years between "Closer" and Sanborn's hew album "Here and Gone." Produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, it is the 23rd solo album in Sanborn's extraordinary career, and brings together exceptional guests in Eric Clapton, Sam Moore and Joss Stone, along with such fellow stellar instrumentalists as guitarists Anthony Wilson and Derek Trucks, trumpet virtuoso Wallace Roney, arranger/keyboardist Gil Goldstein, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd. But "Here and Gone" is noteworthy, too, for its concept. Sanborn was inspired by soul-jazz saxophonists like David "Fathead" Newman, Hank Crawford, Gene Ammons, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Forrest, King Curtis, and Willis "Gator" Jackson. But he was also influenced by the Chicago blues legends who regularly performed in St. Louis, and by the time he graduated high school he had already played with Albert King and Little Milton. Sanborn's first career break, in fact, was joining the Butterfield Blues Band--which historically mixed Chicago blues with a soul band horn section. Following five years with Butterfield, he then established his world-class solo stature in the 1970s in jazz and r&b/pop/rock through heavy touring and ensuing recording dates. But it is fellow blues/r&b alto saxophonist Hank Crawford whom Sanborn turned to in conceiving "Here and Gone." Crawford is directly responsible for three of the album's nine tracks. He wrote "Stoney Lonesome"--"the definitive Hank Crawford tune," notes Sanborn, explaining that "it's in a place between gospel, r&b and jazz that both he and Ray inhabited so well." The ballad "What Will I Tell My Heart?," which Sanborn first heard via Crawford, "illustrates what I learned from Hank: Take your time when playing a ballad! Don't hurry, but let the song develop and tell you how to play it." Then there is Percy Mayfield's masterpiece "Please Send Me Someone to Love," another song that Crawford recorded that is "quintessentially Hank in the economy of the arrangement." The rest of the album continues a close connection with Ray Charles, whose 1960 album "Genius + Soul = Jazz" supplies three more tracks including "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town," another Mayfield gem. Sanborn then culled the Charles original "I Believe It to My Soul" from Charles's 1961 album "The Genius Sings the Blues," and marvels at the job guest vocalist Joss Stone did on it. Sanborn first recorded Marcus Miller's Charles tribute "Brother Ray" on his Miller-produced 1999 album "Inside." He included a new version on "Here and Gone"--with a spectacular guitar assist from Derek Trucks. Crawford and Charles are joined by keyboardist/arranger Gil Evans as Sanborn's three biggest influences, and it's to Evans that he turned to in cutting jazz standard "St. Louis Blues"--the lead track on "Here and Gone." Here Sanborn also credits producer Ramone, who had produced his second album "Sanborn" in 1976, "so we have a real history." Ramone, he adds, "has an innate understanding of what this music is about, and better than anybody understands how to create an atmosphere conducive to maintaining its vitality and spontaneity and preserving its spirit." And saluting Wallace Roney, whose trumpet solo embellishes the end of "St. Louis Blues," he further notes that his albums "are all about casting. "I was very honored to have such an incredible array of guest artists on the album," notes Sanborn, "who really round out the sound of this record."

Product Description

On "Here and Gone," David Sanborn places his saxophone squarely within the context of the jazz-inflected pop music history that he himself has long been a part of. And while it was conceived as a tribute to his heroes, it inevitably traces his own development as the man who has heroically taken the saxophone to the next level. Few musicians are so closely identified with their instrument that they overshadow their peers, but the iconic David Sanborn truly merits his singular position as a saxophonist, unrivaled as a player who straddles the pop and jazz worlds while commanding respect in both. In pop, he is justly famed for his standout solo on David Bowie's 1975 hit "Young Americans"--one of many celebrated recording projects that evolved out of Sanborn's live supporting roles. Indeed, his matchless tone has additionally been sought to bolster performances by the esteemed likes of Eric Clapton, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder--many of whom have likewise gone on to enlist his inimitable sax presence in the studio.

1. St. Louis Blues 5:19
2. Brother Ray 5:39
3. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town 4:46
4. Basin Street Blues 4:54
5. Stoney Lonesome 4:08
6. I Believe To My Soul 4:30
7. What Will I Tell My Heart? 4:47
8. Please Send Me Someone To Love 3:21
9. I've Got News For You


Product Details

Audio CD (August 12, 2008)
Original Release Date: June 4, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Decca U.S.
ASIN: B00186YSQ2


 

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