Steve Coleman Arrhythmias

     Here we go, back to some serious Jazz stuff! It's been a while since I wrote about a jazz album and its good to be back in business. I actually got this album for my dad for his birthday back in September. Thankfully I have a digital copy too. This is a 2014 release by Steve Coleman and the Five Elements, his working band that goes way back. The album cover art gets an instant 10/10 for me because it reminds me of some Opeth album covers. Opeth is this old Swedish progressive metal band. Here's the sit-rep about the album-https://pirecordings.com/album/pi47. I'll talk a bit about each song.
      The first tune is called Sinews and it opens up with an almost funky-fusiony bass line. Then the drums come in with this really cool beat that is definitely not in 4/4 time. It almost feels like a progressive rock thing, with a funky bass line underneath the drums. The horns are playing lines over all this. It sort of reminds me of something Mary Halvorson would do, but infinitely better. At some point there's a break from the short staccato horn lines and Coleman's sax takes the lead. Then there's another break of silence for a few seconds. And then the trumpet takes a solo. The reason I said that it might sound a bit like Halvorson is that the trumpeter has played a lot of gigs with her. But this has more of a musicality to it, its not something that sounds completely random. It sounds improvised but still thought of before in advance. There's a lot of multi-horn lines going on but that funky bass line and sick progressive back beat controls the whole atmosphere. At the end there's one last final break of silence before the bass picks it up again. This first tune sounds like something that is played by college educated Jazz musicians but it has a sense of swing and feel to it.
     The next tune is called Medulla-Vagus. This has guitar in it, which is very nice! The guitarist, Miles Ozkazaki uses an old straight-ahead kind of tone but it still sounds refreshing to my young modern ears. This one is a ballad that's slow and doesn't have drums in it. There's a lot of horn lines going here, there, and everywhere but the guitar seems to hold it all together nicely. But that ballady part was just an introduction! There's a break of silence and the drums come in with this almost like quasi-calypso style drum beat. And the horns follow it with more mathematical sounding horn lines, just like in the first tune. I must say that whenever Coleman is playing he isn't playing over the band as a soloist, he's always playing together with them, almost like they are all leaders rather than Coleman being the master. The horn lines are so mathematically correct. By that I mean that all the horn lines seem to resolve themselves. There's no clear cut melody anywhere, it just constantly flows.
     This next tune is called Chemical Intuition. It opens with some pretty avant-garde horn lines. Almost sounds to me like a 9#11 kind of chord if I could spell it out in musical terms. One thing that stands out is how high pitched the bass sounds on this track. He's playing pretty high up the bass on certain notes here, really hitting those bass treble notes (all about that bass, but all treble). This tune stands out more than the first two because of the strangeness it reminds me of. It reminds me if like a question mark was a sound, this is what it sound like.
     The fourth tune is called Cerebrum Crossover. All these tunes have great names and relate to nature and the body. This tune also has a kind of calypso type of vibe on the drums. It sounds fucking hard to play! Here we have more of the signature horn lines that's been going on, the kind that sounds like constant playing. Which sounds really hard to do because they're playing woodwinds. They gotta breathe sometime! There are melodies in the music but there are so many that I kind of get lost in it all, but in a good way. I hear one melody and then go the next right away without dwelling on it, if that makes sense. The bass has an almost reggae vibe to it, playing only a few notes and vamping it. If I could describe this tune in a more colorful way I would say that it sounds like a brain functioning, even though I have no idea what that sounds like.
    Next up we have Limbic Cry. This one opens up with similar horn lines from the previous tune. But the saxophone does have a more independent line here. The bass on all of this stuff has been electric and it plays a lot of interesting bass lines. Like in this tune the bass plays this really interesting line where he's repeating notes but the rhythm is in some odd time signature. It sounds like a bitch to play and get it right. At this point in the record I've come to realize that a lot of this stuff all sounds similar. At some points when all the horns are playing at the same it reminds me of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. But then I realize the Art Ensemble would never play this cool, calm, and collected. This sounds like a scientist working in his lab patiently and methodically.
     The next one is called Cardiovascular  and it has this tribal drum beat on the toms with some staccato horn lines. Then Coleman's sax takes off, going into what is arguably the most interesting solo on the record so far. He goes so far with it, only to stop after a short while, letting the trumpet take a solo. Then the guitar takes a solo. This is only the second tune the guitar has been featured in and it sounds great with the rest of the band. More saxophonists should play with guitarists, it really changes things up.
     Next up is a tune called Respiratory Flow and it begins with a solo saxophone introduction. Its beautiful and sounds straight-ahead, the first tune on this album that sounds this way. This sounds like something off the new Joshua Redman Bad Plus record that I have. Like something modern and new but still has a sense of traditional Jazz and Swing. This is probably the best song on the album so far because it could appeal to a lot of people more easily than the other stuff previous to this. It has a very somber but refreshing attitude about it.
     Next we have a tune entitled Irregular Heartbeats. This one begins with bass and drums. The bass has a very rhythmic pattern doing a vamp while the drums are basically soloing. Then the horns come in. More interesting horn lines that sound cool and calculated. Then Coleman's sax takes a solo. I guess it would be easy to say it sounds like irregular heartbeats. The time signature is definitely not 4/4 but by now I've come to realize that almost none of this is in 4/4. It's all hard to play time signatures for the average musician. But for these guys improvising in like 17/8 wouldn't be too difficult.
     I could write more about the rest of the tunes but I think you get the gist of what this sounds like. Its truly spectacular. All the songs sound a little similar, like they recorded them all within a short time span but that's ok because it all sounds good. I really like the parts with the guitar in it. The guitarist has a very unique style, which is important in playing this kind of free jazz style. Its like playing progressive rock, everybody puts their own individual style and stamp on the music. What I can say about this album is that even though I said earlier it sounds mechanical and by definition that means robotic, while it does that it also sounds completely natural and unrestrained. Every melody, lick, and line all sounds like something real. By real I mean it sounds unique and like nobody else. It's a great record! I'm glad I got it for my dad's birthday and eventually got to listening to it now. This album was released in 2013 and the crazy thing is that Coleman has only gotten better since. I heard that his 2014 release Synovial Joints is more great stuff, even on best new jazz album lists online and in jazz magazines. He's become quite the famous saxophonist and even got some awards not too long ago. "2014 was a remarkable year for alto saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman. Already acclaimed in jazz circles, he won wider recognition as the recipient of three prestigious awards: a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award." (https://pirecordings.com/album/pi57). This guy is on fire right now. Check out any of his new releases when you can.
    

The State of So Called Jazz

     I've been thinking about this topic for a long time so I figured I'd write a little piece with my two cents on the issue. The state of so called Jazz is not a very good state, in my opinion. I've heard all kinds of theories and ideas from people like Nicolas Payton, with his idea that Jazz should be called Black American Music, listened to great newcomers like Kamasi Washington from right here in my town of LA, and listened to extensive and informative interviews with some of the guys from the AACM; people like Roscoe Mitchell, Jack Dejohnette, and Henry Threadgill. What I can say about Jazz right now is that it feels to me like Jazz is dead/and or declining, becoming either lounge and smooth jazz fusion stuff (which is pretty much what LA jazz is all about). If you aren't playing lounge, smooth, or fusion you just don't have a chance to become a well known musician or band in Jazz. I feel like straight-ahead has become drowned out by lounge musicians, who's idea of jazz is to simplify and 'pretty up' the music. People would rather play for the crowd rather than go all out, reaching out for the hidden chord, or extensive real improvisation. A big name that's come up in the media is Kamasi Washington and when I first heard of him I thought,"This is great, a great Black saxophonist from right here in LA, getting fame for playing Jazz". But when I actually heard his music and what he was doing I realized that it ain't really Jazz and he ain't really improvising too much. For one thing he released an album called The Epic that is three hours long. Doing something like that will get you tons of attention, but for him I feel like it was overkill and that the songs ended up all sounding similar-with fuzzed out wah wah bass, 70s Miles Davis era fusion keyboards, and very light-weight horn arrangements. Basically fusion. LA does a lot of fusion. I've seen a lot of it up close and personal at a club in Studio City, called the Baked Potato.
     I really dig the stuff that those musicians and bands do but I wouldn't call it Jazz, its more like rock music with a little bit of improv. I've been to some great shows at the Baked Potato. None of the guys that play there are overwhelmingly famous and its a great experience to watch a band right in front of your face in a small venue. I would say that hardly any 'real' Jazz groups ever play the Baked Potato, yet its considered one of LA's primer Jazz clubs. Now, you're probably wondering who made you the Jazz police? Well, even though I'm a youngin' I consider myself something of a connoisseur of Jazz and I feel like Jazz has to be defined in a certain way, because in today's world Jazz means something different to everybody.
     Here's what I think Jazz is. Jazz is a style of music developed back in the 1920's and earlier, that has a rhythm called swing, with harmonies based on African, modal, and European sounds. But is not limited to just this classification because Jazz had its greatest and most important evolution last in the late 1960's when musicians like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman created the idea of just playing, sometimes with no rhythm and no set melody, instead just 'going for it'. This lead to a more extensive style that I would dub collective improvisation. The musicians were playing off of each other rather than just a head of a standard, or the changes of a tune. This is what Jazz means to me. A lot of the musicians doing traditional (straight-ahead) Jazz have become older and they've since gone to a more lounge type of playing environments. Whereas the collective improvisers (aka Free Jazz musicians) are playing really anywhere that will have them. I've seen Free Jazz musicians play everywhere from churches to one room buildings in New York to the Library of Congress..
     In an interview with a guy from the Library of Congress Henry Threadgill said it's hard for a musician to make a living and find places to play these days. I would imagine its even more difficult because Threadgill plays such a wild and non-commercial style of Jazz. He basically said that to make a living he ends up playing the same areas over and over again for a while, which for him was in Philly and around New York. You could say that people like Kamasi Washington bring more popularity to Jazz, which is a great thing! But if all the people who are turned onto Jazz think Jazz is like Washington's Jazz they will be sorely mistaken and mislead. But overall it's great to have young people in Jazz who are "spreading the gospel". That's the way I see it. If you're playing music that's related to Jazz, you're helping the cause.
     In the beginning of this rant, I made it seem gloomy and that Jazz hasn't been doing so well. Well sometimes I realize that today's current Jazz artists are just "coasting", which I don't blame them for, because they have to make a living. For example, recently I was checking out some work from guitarist Bill Frisell and he's doing tunes from movies with a young singer, but the singer is so white-bread that everything sounds like something you'd hear in a lounge. Very disappointing. And it was especially lame because they even did "Gold Finger". Not only that but today my dad said he saw the singer Buchelli on TV with some famous Jazz pianist and they were doing tunes from movies as well. It was kind of funny that he told me that. But hey, not all current Jazz is lame and disappointing. Last year around Christmas I saw Brad Meldau's Trio and the Bad Plus. That was a real eye-opening Jazz concert for me. It was probably the most 'authentic' Jazz concert I'd seen since I saw McCoy Tyner play some years before when I lived in Wisconsin. The Bad Plus is probably the best Jazz band you could introduce to your friends that say "I don't like Jazz". They will just eat that shit up. All their works are catchy, memorable, and have great improvisation, especially the latest stuff with Joshua Redman, Dewey Redman's son. They sometimes dabble in playing pop and rock songs, which is cool. In addition, I've seen some great stuff online from saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, John Coltrane's son. I even met one of Coltrane's other sons at my work! It was pretty sick. Anyways, I feel like real Jazz is something that's closer to Free Jazz, which is probably my favorite style of Jazz, other than the straight-ahead stuff of the 1950's and early 1960's. Sometimes I tend to like everything and say "It's all good". But in actuality, when it comes to Jazz, its not. You have to know what to listen for. And you have to realize that even the best of the best have bad nights. I think that with government backing and schools giving instruments out to young kids, Jazz has a bright future. Peter Brotzmann said Jazz will stay strong as long as it "stays away from the bullshit electronics". I've heard other musicians say why would a musician play Jazz if they can make more money playing another style of music? Jazz has a very iffy future. One thing that is problematic is the fact that just to see a Jazz concert in this day and age costs a lot of money, money that a lot of middle and lower income people don't have. Jazz is in some ways becoming like classical music-something of musical elitist snobbery. On the other hand Free Jazz musicians don't play their music for free, they expect to get paid. I think the government should do more to encourage Jazz education in young students and grants for musicians who are keeping the art alive. After all, Jazz is America's greatest art form.
    

John Coltrane First Meditations

     John Coltrane's album First Meditations (for Quartet) is a studio album recorded in 1965 but not released until 1977. It's a Quartet version of a suite John Coltrane would record 2 months later with Rashied Ali (drums) and Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax). This is the last recording made by the classic Quartet of McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums) and Coltrane ( tenor sax). I can't believe this was their last recording! I would've thought they made more but I guess this is last recording in terms of in the studio, not counting the countless live albums you can get of the classic Coltrane Quartet in 1965. The album was released on Impulse!, a great jazz label back in the day that had countless Coltrane recordings to their name.
     First, the album begins with a beautiful tune entitled 'Love'. I've heard a lot of Pharaoh Sanders stuff and it sounds like Sanders, but we all know he got it from Coltrane. But what I mean is that its a beautiful opening over lush piano chords, and the saxophone sometimes engages in over-blowing on the high notes, getting dramatic effect. Basically its a powerful emotional tune with a great saxophone introduction, leading into some great piano arpeggios by McCoy. Then the sax comes back in. I would say that on this Coltrane has a lighter, wispier tone. There's no real tune here but it does sound like a ballad. The music just flows effortlessly, like they just recorded it in one or two takes live in the studio without sheet music. The drums sound like timpani here. Instead of using drumsticks, Elvin Jones used mallets and it sounds great here, adding flair and effect to the atmosphere of the piece. This isn't really a song per se, than it is an attitude, an atmosphere.
     Next, is a tune called 'Compassion', another name with emotional ties. This one starts off with more of bluesy bebop feel, having more of a form than the first tune, but still sounding totally free at the same time. Coltrane makes use of over-blowing on the high notes, making the saxophone squeek and squck like nobody else, although there were other saxophonists doing this technique back then, most notably Sun Ra's sax player John Gilmore. But Gilmore used it more for effect. Coltrane uses the technique in the most musical way possible. The notes sound right even though over-blowing isn't proper saxophone technique. If I was a sax player I would definitely learn to do it. Anyways, in this piece Coltrane really extends himself playing a long solo, while the piano is comping in that standard McCoy Tyner comping way. By that I mean he's playing a steady rhythmic pulse with a strong hand, and soloing with the other hand. Once you hear McCoy Tyner you never forget his style and rhythmic touch. Again, like the first piece, this is more of an atmosphere than a song with structure. This is the beginnings of John Coltrane's free-jazz period and you can tell right away just by listening to this. It's interesting to see how Coltrane sounded before that period and how he developed into playing in such a free manner. You can't teach that at school. I don't even think they can teach you how to play bebop or straight-ahead at colleges. They can try but at best you'll only sound like a Charlie Parker clone. Basically these tunes so far have a darker mellow mood and the musicians play off each other, developing ideas.
     Then, we have the song 'Joy'. This is more upbeat than the others so far and the drumming especially stands out. It's the great drumming of Elvin Jones. There's a lot of syncopation and emphasis on beats 2 and 4 (a staple of jazz), its so complex but sounds great with the whole Quartet. There's a lot of snare and cymbal hits as well. I would say this tune is modal, which I believe the other tunes are as well. Basically they're staying on certain chord changes and improvising on those alone, not changing it up. Coltrane's second sax solo here sounds amazing. He hits a lot of high over-blown notes, and mixes it up with his classic 'sheets of sound', a flurry of notes played in succession that sound very melodic and are phrased in that Coltrane-esque way. He has a certain way of phrasing where he stops and starts again playing groups of notes. It's very bop and straight-ahead, but it's also very free-jazz at the same time if you know what I mean.
      Next, is a tune entitled 'Consequences'. It starts out with some very free drumming before the sax comes in playing these short stabs of music, sounding like complete free-jazz that we would hear more of from Coltrane. The piano playing here is especially free. McCoy sounds like himself but he's playing in a more free way. There's so much going on sonically in this piece even I myself get dumbfounded that this was only 1965 and they were playing like that! They were absolutely killing it here, playing as a unit musically without getting in each others way. The piano solo here is absolutely slaying. After the piano solo, the sax comes back in playing those stabs of sound. I say stabs because that's what hes doing, playing a melody quickly and short. It's really a marvel to hear because with this tune you can really see and hear how he would later play music, in the final year of his life.
     Then, the last tune is 'Serenity'. This one starts off as kind of melancholy and haunting, but also beautiful at the same time. It almost sounds like a classical piece of music, especially because Jimmy Garrison is using a bow on his bass, adding this great orchestral ambiance to the piece. McCoy's piano playing here is very classical sounding too. It's like classical meets jazz, but it sounds like free-jazz. It's super cool. Coltrane's sax playing on this piece is the most far out on the whole album. There's melodic lines and moments but there are also chaotic and intense moments as well. This was probably my favorite piece on the whole album.
     Lastly, because this is a remastered CD and not a vinyl record there is an extra bonus track. The bonus track is another version of 'Joy'. The thing that really stands out about this alternate version is that there is a bass solo in the beginning of the track. Jimmy Garrison sounds bass-y and melodic but his bass has that woodiness sound to it, like it was recorded un-amplified and just maybe amplified by a mike or something. It's a great sound. He does some interesting things in his solo, like hitting harmonics and making the strings sound detuned, adding great effect. I would say Jimmy Garrison is a very characteristic bass player. All of these guys are. They sound like themselves, which is probably the hardest thing to do as a musician, especially as a jazz musician. I have to say that this is one of the best jazz albums I've heard in a while. It's my style of jazz. It's straight-ahead of the 1960's but it sounds modern to my young ears. I could hear people playing like this today in New York or Chicago. I hear Pharaoh Sanders playing like this today, although he's getting up there in age. This is an album that straight-ahead, blues, and bebop guys can like as well as fans of improvised music, avant-garde, and free-jazz. This is basically the beginnings of free-jazz and boy does it sound beautiful. You really can't beat this band. Everything they did together was great. For me, this band rivals Miles Davis's classic Quintet. Check this one out.

Ornette Coleman, The Art of the Improvisers

Ornette Coleman just died last week but I'm still listening to this cat. He's a great inspiration for an aspiring musician like myself. This album features Ornette Coleman on sax, Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden (on 1959 and 1960 tracks) on bass, Billy Higgins (on 1959 tracks) on drums, Ed Blackwell (on 190 and 1961 tracks) on drums, Scott LaFaro (on 'The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro') and Jimmy Garrison (of Coltrane Quartet fame on 'Harlem's Manhatten') on bass.  It should be noted that the group of Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Higgins is one of the most popular periods of Coleman's career, and it was a critical time for Ornette's music and for the jazz world. In addition, that lineup is my favorite Ornette Coleman band and I would say they did the best job playing his music. Although Coleman would go on to work with many other musicians it was these guys that got to really know and understand Coleman's musical freedom of expression.

     The first song is 'Circle With A Hole In The Middle', an abstract name for an abstract tune. It starts with a kind of bop motif played by the sax and trumpet at the same time. It goes by so fast and sounds pretty technical. Then Ornette goes off into some great alto saxophone solo, accompanied by a kind of free-form bass and drum playing, although the bass sometimes plays some walking bass lines in between melodic droning notes. The tone of the saxophone here kind of reminds me of Eric Dolphy, another great alto saxophonist who played with an almost free-jazz vibe. After the sax solo, Don Cherry comes in with a trumpet solo. I wouldn't say that Cherry is technical in a technical sense, but his phrasing and musical vocabulary on the instrument certainly are original and inspired. He sounds like himself and nobody else. After the trumpet solo, they repeat the motif from the beginning, its super fast and boppish. Short and sweet tune.
     The next tune is 'Just For You', which sounds like a sweet ballad. It's a slow mammoth of a number, especially the slow walking bass part. Ornette's saxophone tone here is a bit rounder here. I could see the Art Ensemble of Chicago playing a tune like this. It's still a structured kind of blues and bop inspired tune but it has the makings of free-jazz all over it and this song was recorded from 1959 to 1961, very early for free-jazz. All the songs on this album were recorded from 1959 to 1961. Although it was recorded earlier, this album wasn't released until 1970. All the compositions were written by Ornette Coleman. Anyways, this song doesn't really have a main melody or theme, but many, and they are slow, melodic, and sweet. Another short tune as well.
     Next is the 'Fifth of Beethoven'. It features a head played by both sax and trumpet at the same time at an upbeat tempo but not as fast as the first tune. It sounds like bop to me. This later became a tune that Coleman played at his gigs later in life, even before his death recently. After the head, Coleman takes off on an adventurous alto sax solo. His playing has lots of bebop references, especially Charlie Parker type stuff, but there is something that is inherently bluesy about Coleman's playing that hits you when you hear him playing saxophone solos. He has good phrasing in his solo, stops at certain moments, and then begins again. Then, Cherry comes in with a trumpet solo. Cherry sounds like a bebop player in his solo, but one who can't play as fast or technical as Dizzy Gillespie. In his solo, he sticks to short bop lines, stringing many together. His trumpet tone is pretty clear and concise but still has a throaty ruggedness to it. After the trumpet solo, there is a drum solo that is on point. After that they play the head again. It's a really interesting melody with cool phrasing that you really have to work to get spot on playing with sax and trumpet together.
     The next tune is 'The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro', named for the bass player who plays on this track. There's an opening fast head, and then some crazy bass stuff. Then the sax goes into a solo while Scott LaFaro plays some real fast walking bass lines, you know, the kind of bass lines that everybody hears in jazz all the time. But he plays it so fast and his bass tone sounds so good. It's thin but very clear in the mix. In the alto sax solo there's a point where Coleman hits a really high note and it almost sounds like squeaking. In fact, he squeaks a few times in his solo! It's pretty great although for the most part his solo is comprised of bop and blues runs. This one sounds like more of a free-form piece because the drums interact with the sax lines, hitting the snare here and there for extra emphasis of beats and stuff. After an extended sax solo, the trumpet really goes at it. Cherry starts off playing really fast technical phrases but soon ditches them for more simpler lines at a fast speed instead. Then there's this part in the song where everything gets quiet and there's just sax and trumpet lines, sounding like today's kind of free-jazz. They're playing together and playing off each other, and it's really a moment to remember on this record. It goes on for quite a while before the head comes back in, signaling the end of the tune.
     Then, we have 'Moon Inhabitants'. A great science fiction name for a tune. It has another bebop type head that is pretty fast but is so syncopated and rhythmic, it kind of reminds me of Thelonious Monk, just the extreme rhythmic aspect of it. Then Ornette plays a short and sweet solo with lots of bop lines, but also incorporating some nice melodious lines as well. Then Cherry comes in on trumpet(on all these tracks he's playing either pocket trumpet or coronet). During Cherry's trumpet solo Ornette is play sax lines. Pretty free aspect. Then there's this break in the song where the bass plays these weird kind of out of tune notes, trading licks with the drummer. Then the head repeats, ending the tune.
     Next, is 'The Legend of Bebop'. It has a nice mellow head played in unison with the sax and trumpet. It sounds like something Charlie Parker would write and play. The sax solo here is bluesy and the tempo is at a slow pace, maybe something like 80-90 beats per minute, something like that. After a while Coleman starts playing some fast lines, ripping on the sax with a great tone. His tone sounds very warm and classic on the alto saxophone. Afterwards, the trumpet lays down a solo under the slow rhythm section. After the trumpet solo, they repeat the head, ending the tune.
     Then, the next tune is 'Harlem's Manhatten'. Like pretty much all the other tunes, it features an opening head that is bop influenced, and then the saxophone goes off in a solo. At this point in Coleman's career I think he still wrote out charts with chord changes above the music. You can tell because of the way he and the other musicians improvise on the music. What's astounding about the sax playing isn't really the lines or the technique, but the phrasing and use of silence. He stops at such precise moments, and then starts playing again, giving you a chance to absorb the music you just heard. At some point there's a switch from alto to tenor saxophone and you can tell it right away because the whole tone of the saxophone changes. Then Cherry comes in with a cool kind of instrument known as the pocket trumpet. It's basically just a really small trumpet that has a charismatic kind of tone. The tone is really noticeable and you can tell the difference from a regular trumpet quite easily. His solo is melodic at heart but he does have some 'hot licks' thrown in there as well. Then Coleman comes back with his tenor saxophone. His tenor sounds pretty similar to his alto sound, except a bit lower in tone.
     Then, we have 'Music Always'. These last two tunes might not be on the original vinyl versions of this album but I have the remastered CD version so I think these last two tunes are add on tunes that didn't originally appear on the album. Anyways, this tune is very mellow, the sax solo and the rhythm section. I could imagine this song being played in a cafe or at a cool coffee place. Not Starbucks, but some hole in the wall coffee place that plays jazz. It would just fit the environment well there. The rhythm section here is pretty conservative; with the bass mainly playing walking bass lines and the drums just play cymbal and snare hits. But this gives plenty of room for the improvisation of the sax and trumpet. 
      Finally, the last tune on my CD version of this album is called 'Brings Goodness'. It opens with a bop head that is played at a moderate tempo. Again, the rhythm section is conservative, leaving the improvisers free to play.
    Lastly, I would say that although this album has some major bebop influences and isn't totally wild and free-jazz, it is very musical and soulful. Most of the solos here aren't about fast technical playing but are about really feeling the spirit of the moment, and that's what jazz is really all about, not just licks and grooves. I've listened to this album twice and I just bought it from the record store just the other day. I think my favorite song on the album was 'Just For You'. I really dug the groove on that track, it just seems to have a somber vibe that is very relaxing yet musically appealing at the same time. It sounds as fresh today as it probably sounded in 1970 when it first came out. This is the kind of jazz that has gotten lost amongst the smooth-jazz and fusion type jazz that is so prevalent today. One can only hope that it will never be forgotten.

Ornette Coleman, Composer and Saxophonist Who Rewrote the Language of Jazz dies at 85

 First of all, today was an interesting day. Earlier in the day I met the actor Anthony Anderson from the new comedy Black-ish. I shook his hand and said it I liked Black-ish, and that it was a pleasure to meet him. In addition, the actor Sir Christoper Lee died. It should be noted that Christoper Lee dabbled in being a vocalist in a metal band, even having made a metal Christmas album. But my main reason for writing this is the fact that the great jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman died today at the age of 85. Read this story by the New York Times, they talk about Coleman's life better than I can. New York Times Piece. I like how they mention the fact that Coleman initially didn't know his saxophone was in a different key than the piano's standard pitch of C. And that kind of made his distrust general Western harmony. "He often used the word “unison” — though not always in its more common musical-theory sense — to describe a group of people playing together harmoniously, even if in different keys." (article) I thought that the fact that he used unison in a different way rather than talking about the octave was pretty interesting. In addition, Coleman had used the word harmolodics to describe contraction of harmony, movement, and melody.
     Coleman's music had a big impact on me when I first heard it. I think the first record I heard was The Shape of Jazz to Come. Then, what I really liked and thought was great, I heard the album Free-Jazz, which can pretty much be labeled as the first free-jazz album ever and this was still early 60's! Coleman was a great innovator just like John Coltrane, although you can't say that Coleman influenced Trane or that Trane influenced Coleman. They were on two different wavelengths. Two greats changing the history and sound of jazz, at the same time. I enjoyed Coleman's work with Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Charlie Haden very much. My favorite Coleman record I would have to say is the double live album, the Hamburg Concert in 1987 with the line-up I just mentioned. If you want a Coleman record that will blow you away, go buy that off Amazon right now. Another great period was when Coleman played with saxophonist Dewey Redman, and they made a great album that I have called New York is Now! I believe this is a very important record because it contains Coltrane's Quartet rhythm section on it which is unbelievable! The album features Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. This is another great record I highly recommend if you want to hear Coleman's best work. Lastly, I'd have to recommend his album Song X with Pat Metheny, which I wrote about not too long ago actually. That's what makes Coleman's passing so unfortunate. I was just listening to the guy! In addition, my older friend that I'm playing in a duo with told me he always respected and admired Ornette Coleman, although he felt he was just starting to understand his music. He also mentioned the fact that he liked the fact that Ornette Coleman was free of drugs, but we know that that wasn't the case. The article mentions he was a heroin junkie for a while, which I did not even know about, but I am not surprised. Lastly, even though Coleman is credited for creating free-jazz, his music and playing is still linked to the past, to Charlie Parker especially. His early recordings sound like the bebop of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. But he sure found his own voice and music quick. One could say that the music of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane was the last important change in jazz. Their influence on the culture of jazz and the music will always live on. I'd like to end this piece with a quote by Coleman at his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech.
      “One of the things I am experiencing is very important,” and that is: You don’t have to die to kill, and you don’t have to kill to die. And above all, nothing exists that is not in the form of life, because life is eternal with or without people, so we are grateful for life to be here at this very moment."
     How's that for jazz saxophone philosopher? He will be missed but his music will live on through other great jazz musicians.     

John Coltrane Infinity

    

     I bought this album at the local record shop for $7.99 thinking it would be some great late period John Coltrane album. Little did I know, because I didn't check, the music was supervised and inspired by Alice Coltrane. This isn't bad but this is kind of not really a full Coltrane album. First of all this is a remix album, featuring overdubs with strings of Coltrane's pieces recorded in 1965 and 1966. This album was released on Impulse! Records in 1972. Her controversial "re-imagining" of her husband's late works was criticized by both fans and critics, as she took his original performances and superimposed them over lush orchestral backgrounds and re-dubbed rhythm section parts, as well as recording new solos on piano, organ, harp and timpani.(Wiki)
     The most Coltrane-like thing other than the saxophone playing is a short piece Coltrane wrote: To perceive again and this time it must be said, for all who read to know that no matter what, it is all with God. He is gracious and merciful. His way is in Love, through which we all are. Wherever and whoever you are, always strive to follow and walk in the right Path and ask for aid and assistance.....herein lies the ultimate and eternal happiness in which is ours through His grace. I could say that I disliked this album but really the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that there are goddamn strings and harps all over the place. A string section is not jazz! I don't like it. Even Charlie Parker with strings to me is really lame jazz. Also, the fact that Alice Coltrane, (John's wife who performed with him on piano during his last years) overdubbed strings and added piano solos and harps doesn't bother me. Frank Zappa would later do this, often mixing live concert performance with studio performances. In addition, Miles Davis would make a career out of just looping music and overdubbing solos and stuff, during his fusion period, which was just coming up because this album was released in 1966.
     The names of the tunes are really John Coltrane. The tunes are as listed: 'Peace on Earth', 'Living Space', 'Joy', and 'Leo'. These were all Coltrane cuts that he performed late in his career and are featured on other albums as just plain Coltrane tunes. It should also be known that this period so close to Coltrane's death was his free-jazz period, where he reached beyond the harmonic restraints of blues, bebop, and the straight-ahead music of his time. It should also be known that tracks 2 and 3 were recorded by the original Coltrane Quartet (Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison), while tracks 1 and 4 were recorded by Coltrane's later ensemble (Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Rashied Ali, Pharoah Sanders). I would say that the classic Quartet plays the music in a more straightforward bebop straight-ahead direction, but Coltrane was still pushing the envelop with his iconic and distinctive 'sheets of sound'. In addition, the classic Quartet is more of an equal unit where everyone gets a say, especially in terms of solos. You can always tell on which song is the classic Quartet and which is the later period with Alice Coltrane simply because of the piano playing. Alice Coltrane plays with a lighter touch and plays with more simpler harmonic vocabulary than McCoy Tyner. Also, her right hand doesn't hit the keys as hard! The best thing about this album are the classic Quartet cuts in my opinion.
     What else can I say of the music? Well, because there's a string section there seems to always have and opening and closing theme, played by the string section. And then there's Coltrane's saxophone playing, which is just phenomenal. The last track, 'Leo' has Pharaoh Sanders on tenor sax and flute. This one was a Coltrane favorite that he played on a lot of other albums. It's as wild and crazy as free-jazz gets without yelling and screaming into the microphone. This tune is a great one because it sounds fresh and exciting, almost as if it could have come out today. Even Alice Coltrane's piano playing comes across great here, managing to bridge the gap between harmonic and free playing.
     Lastly, I can't help but say I was a bit disappointed in the album because I thought it was a late period Coltrane album. But I gotta say that the actual music ain't bad. I hate the strings and the harps and stuff, but Alice Coltrane did what she thought was a great homage to her late husband. Some would say this is a disgrace and that it sucks, but I think it's actually quite good. Not quite Coltrane. But not bad.

Ornette Coleman & Pat Metheny, Song X

    

     Song X is a collaborative album made by Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny. The album was made in 3 days in 1985, but released by Geffen Records in 1986. The album also features Jack Dejohnette on drums, Denardo Coleman on percussion, and Charlie Haden on bass. All of these guys are jazz legends except Denardo, who is Coleman's son. I've actually got my step dad this album for Christmas once. Also, I've listened to a few tracks on YouTube but I've never actually heard the whole album until now. I got this album from my local record store, CD Trader, for only $7.99! Great price. Not only that, but there was another bands sticker on the CD (Faith No More) and I asked them to take it off with that sticky adhesive, and they gave me another CD part and just put the booklet in the new one. Talk about customer service! When the album came out, it got strong and favorable reviews. Downbeat gave this album five stars!
     It opens with 'Song X', the same name of the album. It has a kind of head and then things get interesting. The guitar sound is very electronic(processed), most definitely the guitar synthesizer Metheny favored heavily back in the 1980s. Jack's drumming is very characteristic of him. Once you've heard him, you can hear that its him on drums without question. Ornette's saxophone playing is super fast and kind of lacks harmony and rhythm, but somehow the music stays together because Metheny's guitar has a lot of melodic content keeping things in place. I know all about Metheny's work and I have a bunch of his albums. This doesn't sound like he's playing 'free-jazz'. It sounds like he's playing like himself, just with Ornette Coleman. You can still hear his characteristic phrasing, and melodic motifs he likes to make. The tune ends with the same head from the beginning.
     The next tune, 'Mob Job' starts off a lot more mellow, with a grooving bass-line, more akin to straight-ahead than the avant-garde. There's even a melody and nice flowing drum parts! The guitar synthesizer is more apparent in this, because I think Metheny used a saxophone synthesizer sound, and it sounds sick. There's some great violin playing here by Ornette Coleman too. His violin playing sounds exactly the same as his saxophone playing, except with the tone of a violin. That's the mark of a great musician, sounding the same no matter what they're playing. This tune reminds me of a mellow kind of thing the Art Ensemble of Chicago would do. A more bop influenced thing.
     The third tune, 'Endangered Species', is the longest cut, lasting some 13 minutes. It starts off as the most free tune as well. By most free, I mean to say that they're really pushing the limits of the term free-jazz, perhaps going beyond that and into the terms of the avant-garde. Jack's drumming here is more intense and focused because everyone is really playing their hearts out, sounding like a pack of wild animals rather than a jazz band. I don't really know what else I can say about this tune except that it is really pushing the limits of free-jazz. On one hand, I find it to be great. But on the other, other people might not be into this because it is so crazy sounding and 'out there'. It reminds me of the Art Ensemble of Chicago except with a guitar synthesizer going crazy with effects. You can tell they had a blast playing this one. At the end there's like these outer space kind of sounds made with the synthesizer guitar.
     The next tune is titled 'Videogames', and boy does it sound like a videogame. The guitar synthesizer takes over this piece, giving the sound an 8bit kind of tones. The guitar synthesizer is running rampant on this piece until there's a big break, and they go into a more straight-ahead feel with a saxophone solo by the one and only Ornette Coleman. There are moments after that solo where everyone comes in and things get crazy, but then it goes back to that sax solo with the straight-ahead feel.
     The next tune is 'Kathlein Gray', which sounds more like a ballad, the first on the album so far. There's a kind of romantic melody played by the sax and guitar. This tune, like others, has some straight-ahead elements, especially the bass line and the drumming. The bassline is very melodic and kind of holds everything together, like Paul McCartney in the Beatles. On this song Metheny uses a clean guitar tone(although still processed sounding with a lot of chorus) but you can hear more of the distinctive Pat Metheny guitar playing here. It's very Pat-like, probably because this song and the last three other songs were composed by both Pat and Ornette together. Whereas the other tunes were just Coleman numbers. This is probably why the tune has a more traditional jazz approach and sound.
     Next is a tune called 'Trigonometry', which again has a more traditional approach. It has a head and then the sax goes off, while Charlie Haden lays down a walking bass line(the first in the album so far), and Jack plays some nice traditional jazz drumming, laying down phat rhythmic pulse on the cymbals and snare. After the sax solo there's a guitar solo with a synthesizer tone, but sounding like its mimicking a saxophone. The guitar lines played by Metheny here are all trademark Metheny licks, sounding very hip and melodic despite this being 1985.
     Next up, 'Song X duo'. This song is just a duo of just Ornette and Pat playing. Because its just saxophone and guitar its easy to get lost in it all. However, today in free-jazz duos and trios are the best format to get the music out, and sometimes they don't have drums, sometimes its a horn and guitar, or a horn and two basses.
     Finally, the last tune is 'Long Time No See', which has a kind of drum machine opening but it departs as a head is played and real drums are playing some straight-ahead style while the sax and guitar goes off on a wild adventure together exploring harmonic content. I thought the opening of this tune was really strange, like why did they do that? Anyways, the song ends with a kind of boppish head from the beginning of the tune and that's the end of the album. 
     This album is cool because it features great musicians that were already well established in jazz, and here they came together to make like a super group super free-jazz album. It should be known that this is Pat Metheny's first and last recording in a free-jazz context. He's just too melodic to play freely. And I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that he can't play like Ornette Coleman does. He's too studied. His melodic lines are fantastic and his phrasing is out of this world and he has chops but he just doesn't really fit in a free-jazz context. However, that does not mean that his playing on this album wasn't stellar. Metheny being on this recording date gave the group more structure, especially harmonically, than it wouldn't have had otherwise. Ornette Coleman is still going strong playing music to this day. Charlie Haden is no longer with us but he was a long time Coleman collaborator and a great bassist that will never be forgotten. Jack Dejohnette is playing music, he recently released an album called Made in Chicago. Pat Metheny is making more structured music but after this album he won a lot of Grammy's and stuff, he's actually extremely popular for a jazz musician. His music, I would say is lightweight. By that I mean its not really cutting edge music anymore. He's comfortable playing the same thing over and over. Which isn't bad. It's a great way to sell records if your fan base wants that. Anyways, this is a great album, and although it is late Ornette Coleman I would say it is required Ornette Coleman listening.

Albert Ayler, Spiritual Unity

 

      This is one of those albums that is required listening for free-jazz. This album features Albert Ayler on saxophone, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murray on percussion. Ayler himself said of the record, "We weren't playing, we were listening to each other". It was recorded for the ESP-Disk label and was a key free jazz recording which brought Ayler to international attention as it was so "shockingly different". It features two versions of Ayler's most famous composition, "Ghosts". (Wikipedia) I listened to this album on YouTube so I listened to it for free. I know free-jazz for free isn't really cool and that the musicians must get paid but at the same time I'm just a poor employee and I can't pay for every great jazz album that I listen to. I would end up in the poor house. Anyways, because its on YouTube, I read the comments and there were a few of them I really liked. The most brutal music in the world is Blackened Death Metal and Albert Ayler. (SuperMaligan). The other one I really liked was this music can change your life. (once you are open to it). (suricatafari) And lastly; The last major fundamental shift in the history of jazz.. everything after has been consolidation and assimilation of this detonation. (joe albanese)
     Here's some info on the recording itself; The single recording session that resulted in Spiritual Unity was ESP's first. It was on July 10, 1964, in the Variety Arts Recording Studio, off Times Square in New York. The session began some time after one in the afternoon. "At one point," according to the record label, "the engineer fled the control room for a few minutes, but returned in time to change the tape for the next selection". Although label owner Bernard Stollman remembered asking for a stereo recording, the session, well mixed and miked, was in mono. The musicians were paid and signed recording agreements after the session, in a nearby cafe. (Wikipedia) The album is very short and only runs about 29 minutes.
     The first tune is a tune featured twice on the album called 'Ghosts'. It has some resemblance of a melody and kind of a head that plays in the beginning and end of the tune, but the rest of it is pretty much free form. I would say its a kind of beautiful free form playing but its really not. Nor is it the aggressive free-jazz kind of sounds associated with Peter Brotzmann, who would record a great album called Machine Gun in 1975.. The music from the first track kind of just reminds me of what free-jazz sounds like today for the most part. Everyone plays their part and the musicality involved is top notch. The bass gets a solo, the sax plays a lot of stuff, and the tune ends.
     The next tune is 'The Wizard', a song with a another interesting title. Black Sabbath had a great tune called the Wizard as well but that wasn't until 1969. I doubt Sabbath heard of Albert Ayler, but apparently John Lennon was a big fan. Anyways, this tune is like continuation of where they were with the last piece. Ayler's saxophone is squealing and moaning, and the bass is really playing the melodic material. It's hard to really talk about the piece, as its so free form. But this is what I can say about it for sure. Although its busy and you're listening to saxophone, drums, and bass playing all together and its very muddy and sounds out of tune, its like within the choas of the music and the form, there is an inward beauty and melody inside of it. I'm not sure if others would be able to find it by listening to it, but I can. 
     The next tune is 'Spirits', a more mellow number, a kind of like free-jazz ballad if you could say that. The saxophone sounds very sad and emotive, by playing trills and short melodic lines over impassioned bass and drum groove. After a kind of head and opening, they begin to go into a haunting saxophone solo. This is where I can see the comment talking about how brutal Albert Ayler's music can be. Because it does sound like some powerful stuff. Then the bass comes into play more kind of walking melodic bass lines. The drumming is very minimum I would say. Sunny Murray stays to just adding rhythmic poetry to the piece by just sticking to cymbals for the most part. This song just hits you hard, especially at 1: 46 in the morning.
     The last tune is just another version of 'Ghosts'. This version is 10 minutes long, instead of the 5 minute version we heard earlier. It features the same opening motif, a great kind of free-jazz head before the saxophone goes on extended solo time. While the sax is going off to solo land, the bass is playing melodic lines in the higher register, and the drums are holding it down with cymbals and some very quiet snare hits. But I can't say that there's really a rhythmic pulse or anything. It's hard to say there's no rhythm but that's how I feel about it. Its more like textures and less like harmony, rhythm, and counterpoint, none of that really. And that's what makes it great! This is probably the best track on the album because the saxophone isn't holding back at all. Plus you can hear the virtuosity in the saxophone playing in this track more so than in the others. He's playing a lot of arpeggios and scales but using them in less common ways, instead of just running them up and down like blues or bop guys from that time. The tune ends with the same motif from earlier and that's the end of the album. Very short listening experience for a jazz album.
     Lastly, this album is what free-jazz is really all about; listening, rather than playing. One thing I noticed the musicians on this album did was that they never overplayed, at all ever. Musicians could really learn a lot from that today, especially the Berklee Graduate type jazz musicians these days, the young cats. This is the second Ayler album I've listened to, the first being Ghosts, an even more out there and wacked out album with haunting saxophone textures. That one, even my step mother had to yell and tell me to 'TURN IT OFF!", haha. Anyways, this isn't your mother and father's jazz, this is the jazz that was really pushing the envelop in 1964. Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane were doing similar things to this except a few years earlier, making them great game changers in jazz. However, John Coltrane loved Albert Ayler so much that he called him the Holy Ghost. I heard something like that in the old jazz stories. Also this is what Ayler said of John Coltrane: "John [Coltrane] was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace and he left in peace; but during his time here, he kept trying to reach new levels of awareness, of peace, of spirituality. That's why I regard the music he played as spiritual music -- John's way of getting closer and closer to the Creator." Also Archie Shepp spoke highly of how Albert Ayler influenced him in this video here. Something must be said of the mental psyche of Ayler, who died of a presumed suicide. Ayler disappeared on November 5, 1970, and he was found dead in New York City's East River on November 25, a presumed suicide. (Wikipedia) His music has that sort of tortured sound that can be horrific, but there is also a part of it that is beautiful. His saxophone playing isn't like anyone elses' because of this. This is the type of jazz that I feel like will be played in the future when we've gone to the other planets in our solar system. They won't be playing bebop or swing, or dixieland, it will be something more like this, textures of sound, of listening to the other musicians in the group instead of overplaying. This is the last great evolution of jazz and it has stayed at this point since this time. Astounding that we haven't moved beyond it, but realistically can we go beyond something so raw and primitive than this? I'm very optimistic about the jazz music of the future and I think it can go beyond this, but at what cost? Will it be at the cost of disregarding traditional jazz instruments? Maybe? Maybe we'll just start improvising with laptops, making sounds with electronics. We don't know what the future holds, but I know that this is great and so is other stuff like it. Required listening for a free-jazz 101 course.
 

David S. Ware Quartet, Wisdom of Uncertainty

Before I write my own impressions of this album, I'll write out the liner notes as written by Matt Galloway in May of 1997. This is the Quartet's most thrilling session to date as well as its most focused. The ensemble continues to use Shipp's melodic deconstructions as a pivot point for elastic launches, anchoring its improvisations with simple, catchy themes. Wisdom of Uncertainty builds on the heated intensity of the Japan Godspelized sessions, finding the Quartet pulling back from the precipice ever so slightly and harnessing that redoubtable energy without losing a shred of passion.
     The striking opening track, 'Acclimation,' begins with Ware eestablishing the theme in a blistering tone before launching into a fenetic run through the range of his horn. Shipp immediately begins to flay the melody, peeling it away layer by layer, only to offer it back in jagged shards. Parker takes the riff even farther, shearing part the theme in an expansive, constantly evolving arco bass solo. Recent precussion addition Ibarra brings graceful texture to this heady mix. A former student of rythmic pioneer Milford Graves, Ibarra works her kit from all angles, creating a paplabnle sense of space within the composition with an array of bells, tiny cymbals and non-linear rhthmic digressions.
     Book ended by complex, stumbling refrains and condensed solos, the feverish 'Antidromic' and 'Alignment' are perhaps the compositions most determined by form. Says Ware,"I've always been very aware of form. People sometimes say that this type of music is just random notes, that anything goes. That's just not the case at all. There's so much information being passed through this music-musical, philosophical, and metaphysical- and the motifs and melodies have their own direction about them. We've been playing together for so many years that our internal musical apparatus is able to just hone right in on these natural plateaus."
      The sprawling 'Utopic' is Wisdom of Uncertainty's unquestionable centerpiece. Beginning serenely with the trio of Shipp, Parker and Ibarra. Shipp chips out the subtle, moving refrain while Parker bows out a stunning counterpoint over Ibarra's delicate shell of bells and chimes. Beyond their lengthy tenure in the Ware Quartet, Shipp and Parker remain rhythmic partners in Shipp's own trio and quartet, their own duo and in 1996, added their indelible stamp to Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman's Cama de Terra disc (check their jaw-dropping duet on the title track for details). Over the years, the two have achieved an unspoken, highly developed language that here allows them to shadow each other almost unconsciously. Ware's lyrical entry begins on a grand note and soon gives way to an expansive, at times combustible solo that unlocks a range of emotions. An immense, wildly spiritual track, it's classic jazz in every sense of the term, and the David S. Ware Quartet has rarely sounded this beautiful or majestic.
     'Utopic' speaks of people who are willing to explore the outer reaches of human experience and not be so willing to readily accept what the past has been and what society dictates that the human experience should be," Ware offers. "It's a dedication to those souls who are willing to take a risk and discover something fresh and something splendid-people who are willing to search themselves."
      'Continuum' brings the album to a close and full circle., with the saxophonist stating the melody and then quickly giving it up to Shipp, Parker, and Ibarra to reconfigure, only to reclaim it with a forceful solo of his own. Like Wisdom of Uncertainty itself, it's the real deal-turbulent without being overwhelming, directed yet hardly restrained, and another high point in the constantly evolving scope of the David S. Ware Quartet. Grab hold while you can. -Matt Galloway, Toronto, May 1997 
    First, I got this album on a whim. I randomly got it because it was the first album by David S. Ware that I saw on amazon. I skimmed the tracks and read the reviews and they were all good so I decided to buy it. The David S. Ware Quartet is  David S. Ware on saxophone, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Susie Ibarra on drums. This is my first real modern free-jazz studio recording. All the other free-jazz recordings I have are live performances. I can get a real sense of what they're reaching and trying to do here. For the most part, the tunes have a line, maybe two or three, then they kind of go off into what most people would say is 'random notes and playing', but we free-jazz fans wouldn't put it that way. The first two tracks are like that, they have an opening motif and then they kind of just go off into the outer limits of free-jazz saxophone, like a modern version of the late John Coltrane. But the third song in the middle of the album, 'Utopic' begins with a profound piano statement, then a bass thing, then the drums. Then Ware comes in with his saxophone, blaring and bracing us for the rest of the tune. There's lots of chimes and bells and stuff on the percussion side of things. It's a bold statement that enters into the spiritual realm, if one would ever go there with describing music. That first half of the album is spectacular.
      The next half of the album opens with a tune called 'Alignment'. This starts with a rhythmic motif and then they stretch out on the theme, playing variations of it as the saxophone goes into the outer limits. The next tune, 'Sunbows Rainsets Blue' is a more somber and mellow tune that starts with a melody on the piano and has beautiful piano arpeggios. Then the saxophone comes in does its thang, so to speak. The melody is both beautiful and haunting at the same time in this piece, evoking many different emotions from the players. The drumming is especially interesting on this piece, all the cymbal flourishes are noticeable and add much to the piece. The last tune is called 'Continuum' and brings the album full circle. It was a chromatic kind of melody going up a scale, playing variations on that in the opening motif, before the saxophone comes in for extended improvisation. Later, the piano has its turn playing a solo. At the end of the tune, the drummer takes a solo. It's a tasteful, volley of snare and cymbal hits that sound great. Then they end it by repeating the chromatic theme of the piece.
     I gotta say that buying this album was definitely worth it, buying it on a whim was risky but I love the album. I like how the drummer is a woman, she play's so amazingly! The drums on this album is almost like a painter, not so much just a time keeper, but someone who is adding colour to the the songs. I could have bought something more recent but realistically its interesting hearing how David S. Ware sounded when he was in the beginning phase of this Quartet. This is one of the better free-jazz experiences I've had, the others being Jack Dejohnette's Made in Chicago, Ornette Coleman's Hamburg concert in 1987, and the new lineup of the Art Ensemble of Chicago sometime in the 200s. Out of all of those, I would say this album is more rewarding, although Ornette Coleman live in 1987 was amazing too because the lineup consisted of Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Charlie Haden. A lot of what this Quartet did back in the 90s, (this album was made in 1997) reminds me of what The Bad Plus does today. Sure, The Bad Plus isn't as free-jazz as this Quartet was but I feel like the material and the spirit of the music is similar.
      Also, Matthew Shipp's piano playing is similar to Ethan Iverson's (pianist for the Bad Plus). This album makes me definitely want to check out more. I've heard a lot of Ware's more recent stuff but I'll have to go back and listen to his earlier work. It's too bad that Ware died in 2012 of a blood infection. He was a great musician on the free-jazz scene, working as far back as the 1960's, with Cecil Taylor. Go buy this album. It was pretty cheap. This is basically my gateway into the free-jazz studio album world. I've heard Ornette Coleman's free-jazz album and John Coltrane's free-jazz stuff, but this is the first real modern free-jazz album I've got my hands on and I'm sure glad I got it. Great stuff man! This music inspires me to practice more on the guitar.
    

What I've been up to lately

    

     Aw, man. What have I been up to lately? Lots of things. For one thing there's work. Other than that there's all the good stuff. For one thing I've been scouring and discovering new jazz music. Recently this has been in form of free-jazz. Right now I'm really into this sax player David S. Ware, who died in 2012. Read all about David S. Ware here. His work is very solid and reminds me of John Coltrane's free-jazz period. Also, his claim to fame is that he used to work with experimental jazz pianist Cecil Taylor. In addition, Ware used to work with the same consistent line-up for something like twenty years, pretty extraordinary.
     Also, I've been working on my own jazz playing on the guitar quite a bit. But I am losing faith in playing music in general. The fact that I'm not in a real band means I have no incentive to really dig in and practice for hours on end. There is this old clarinet player that I'm currently working with but I find the project to be kind of difficult because all we have is clarinet and guitar. You can't really do too much with that format. It would be better if I played bass, because at least there would be something with more of a constant rhythmic pulse, rather than just guitar chords. I'm actually thinking of buying a cheap Fender bass and using that to play with him instead of guitar. I'm not really sure about our project because the kind of jazz that this guy likes is way old. I'm more of a jazz modernist, I like everything from the Charlie Parker 50s bebop era to today with free-jazz. I don't mind dixieland and the jazz of the 1920s but that's really not my thing. This guy comes from the dixieland school of jazz, and is even in a dixieland jazz band. So were really coming from different backgrounds. Anyways, we'll see how things go with it. I'll keep practicing guitar everyday but I am generally becoming disillusioned with playing music lately because I feel like I'm going nowhere with it. It really sucks! I'm thinking about attending a community college just for the fact that I can play in the school jazz band there and actually find a use for my playing, maybe find other musicians, and start a group. That's the goal because so far just relying on trying to find people online hasn't worked for me.
     In other news, there's gaming. I've been playing a ton of Heroes of the Storm. That's been my main game for months now. I even stream it on twitch.tv when I have time during the day. The cool thing about it is that the actual game is being released in June, just five more days! Its been in beta for about six long months, and its been the best beta that I've ever been apart of. Also, I've started playing Call of Duty Advanced Warfare on the pc again just because I like to do the ten minute team deathmatch rounds. In other gaming news, I'm really looking forward to this Blizzard Game Overwatch, a first person shooter game that's suppose to come out in the future, maybe next year. The picture above is from Overwatch. And then, there's the new Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, the last of the Starcraft real time strategy series. That one's suppose to come out next year as well I believe. A lot of stuff from Blizzard when it comes to pc gaming. In addition, I've been playing a lot of Xenoblade Chronicles on the 3DS. And also I've kind of become a leader in organizing times for when me and two of my other buddies from work play Super Smash Brothers for the 3DS online together.
     Lastly, I've been watching this anime called Steingate. Right now I'm about halfway through it. It's about a mad scientist who is discovering time travel. It's unlike any anime I've ever seen. Also, I've been keeping up on the new Chicago PD episodes, I'm really into that show. But the main thing I would have to say that is going on, is the music. It's always the music, isn't it?

Art Ensemble of Chicago Baptizum

The Art Ensemble of Chicago's album Bap-tizum is a great live recording. Much of the Art Ensemble's best work is done in live concert settings rather than behind the recording console in a studio. This album has everything an Art Ensemble fan could dream of. The beginning of the concert features chaotic shouting and screaming from Malachi Favors (bass). This line-up features all the original members of the Art Ensemble including Joseph Jarman (sax, reeds, percussion), Lester Bowie (trumpet, percussion), Roscoe Mitchell (sax, reeds, percussion), Don Moye (drums, percussion), and Malachi Favors (bass). The album was recorded live at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in 1972.

       What is so great about this album is that it has everything that the Art Ensemble would be known for to this very day in 2014. The music has the Black jazz sensibility, humor, blues, post-bop,, and a hip style of free-jazz that was just beginning to be noticed back in 1972. This isn't your suit and tie jazz band and you can tell just by hearing it. The album got great reviews and I would say it is a must have for free-jazz fans and Art Ensemble of Chicago fans.
     For me the highlight of the album was a tune called Ohnedaruth, which is the longest piece on the album, consisting of 15 minutes and written by the whole band. It features shouting, lots of percussion, wild thunderous drumming, and tons of free playing by the horns, especially the trumpet.  And who could forget their closing song that the group still uses to this day to end concerts, Odwalla. Its a great ending piece that is very catchy and boppish with the melodic lines. If you want to get into free-jazz this might be a little extreme to start with but if you like this, then you will learn to love free-jazz that is very, as my friends have said the group, "out there", kind of like the name of the Eric Dolphy album.

Jack Dejohnette album Made in Chicago Review

    

     This is the latest Jack Dejohnette album in which he comes home to his Chicago roots and plays with some of the guys from the AACM whom he played with in his youth. This includes Henry Threadgill on alto saxophones and bass flute, Roscoe Mitchell on sopranino saxophones, soprano saxophones, alto saxophones, baroque flute, and bass recorder. In addition, there is Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, Larry Grey on bass and violoncello, and of course Jack Dejohnette on drums. What makes this 2013 performance at the Chicago Jazz Festival so great is not the compositions, but the individual and collaborative improvisation of these musicians as a whole.
      In fact, I can't tell that these compositions are even written down at all. It all sounds like improvisation and great improv at that! I've always thought that live jazz is always better than studio albums and this is one case where live performance really shines. The level of nuance and skill is just off the roof. A piece that really stands out is the second song, Jack 5, by Muhal Richard Abrams, where Jack Dejohnette opens up with drum flourishes on the cymbals and toms. What gives Jack such a unique touch on the drums is that he was a pianist when he first began playing music. I really like Jack 5 because when the melody comes in, its an odd sort of droning melody not unlike something Ornette Coleman would do. It's slow and methodical. The bass line is especially interesting. Check out this song online if possible, it is a great piece.  
     Some of the other songs have the same qualities as Jack 5 in that the beginning is a bit slow and the melody goes up and down in chromatic dramatic fashion. But when they start improvising things really go the dogs, or in this case, the cats. With the piano its hard to say what this group sounds like. I would immediatley say they sound like the Art Ensemble of Chicago but I would say this is more melodic and structured than AEOC. That's whats so great about it. This is great music for people that are just getting into free-jazz but it still contains enough free elements that free-jazz fans would love it. It's the best of both worlds. The piano really gives the group a harmonic framework in which to do the improvising. There are moments where the piano is doing its thing and it sounds like a post-bop sort of band.
     The other highlight of the performance for me was the last untitled tune. It sounds like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, all free and what not. I particularly love Roscoe Mitchell's squeaky saxophone playing on this. It's what makes free-jazz great, this piece. 
     I would say this is an important record because most of these guys are in their 70s, almost 80s now and they won't be with us forever. So it's cool to see them come back to their roots from when they used to play with each other in Chicago and now here they are at old age still playing and performing together, maybe for the last time. In addition, this is an important jazz recording because many Chicago jazz greats played at this festival as well. This is one of the best new jazz recording I've ever heard.
 As Jack says at the end, "May the Great Spirit bless you!" It certainly has blessed Jack.

John Coltrane: Offering, live at Temple University Thoughts

     This is one of those albums that is just a pleasure to hear. Every song takes the listener through great variations of themes. This is also the only time John Coltrane was heard singing during a concert as well. When he started singing during the song Leo I wasn't sure if I was listening to the right album on my Itunes, for a second I thought something was wrong. I was taken aback totally. The songs themselves are nothing like the original album versions and although you can hear some bebop licks here and there this is what is called free-jazz, a break away of the norms of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. This is more akin to what Ornette Coleman was doing during this same time, although one could say Coltrane and Coleman were doing free-jazz in their own distinctive ways. To know that the guy blowing the saxophone here is the same guy who made Giant Steps in 1959 is mind blowing! 8 months after this concert Coltrane would be dead and jazz would go onto more free-jazz forms and then into the jazz-fusion of Miles Davis. I would say the greatest thing about this album is the atmosphere that is created by the musicians here. The solos themselves don't speak to me as standing out. Actually what I find that stands out are the rhythms themselves. The drums, in particular really stand out. But when Coltrane blows the horn its with an intensity that goes beyond just hearing it. It really hits home. This was one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life.