Kevin's Watch

I do not claim that these are groundbreaking, earth shattering, or particularly influential. But these are the ones I keep coming back to again and again:

1. Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong
Best of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Two great legends performing together at their best. What could ever be better? I've been in love with Ella's voice for years, and its fun hearing Louis use his voice like he would his trumpet!

2. Maceo Parker
Life on Planet Groove
Just flat out fun and funky.

3. Steve Turre
T-N-T
first rate jazz featuring the mellow sound of the trombone rather than the searing trumprt

4. Chris Botti
When I Fall in Love
lush, romantic, and beautiful -- perfect for serious cuddling in front of a fire place and other such activities

5. Dave Brubeck
Jazz Impressions of Eurasia
Dave Brubeck toured the world in the aftermath of WW2 as an American good will ambassador...this album, featuring a variety of rythyms and sounds from mnay different cultures, all mixed lovingly with jazz is the lasting result

6. John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
a jazz symphony, revolving around loving God, in four movements -- the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra also has a first rate recording of this piece

7. Dave Brubeck
Jazz Impression of Japan
beautiful music mixing the sounds of American jazz with traditional Japanese music

8. Sarah Vaughan
The Essential Sarah Vaughan
one of most beautiful and moving voices in jazz at her best

9. the Rippingtons
Topaz
jazz with a Southwestern feel, reminds me of good times with good people at Elohimfest

10. Lena Horne
Greatest Hits
another of the Great Ladies, her best songs and her lovely voice

Who can argue with Ella and Louis?

some off the top of my head:
Touch- John Klemmer (very mellow tenor sax)
Extrapolation- John McGlaughlin (guitar)
Festival- Lee Ritenour (guitar)
Enigmatic Ocean- Jean Luc Ponty (violin, or he might say fiddle)
Stetches of Spain- Miles Davis (trumpet)
My Favorite Things- John Coltrane (sax)
Wizard's Island- The Jeff Lorber Fusion
Stanley Clarke- Stanley Clarke (bass)
Don't Mess with Mr. T- Stanley Turrentine (sax)
Winelight- Grover Washington Jr. (guitar)

and anything by:
Return to Forever
Gato Barbieri (sax)
The Brecker Bros.
Thelonius Monk (piano)
The Dixie Dregs
and the "Velvet Fog": Mel Torme

Blue Trane by John Coltrane
Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis
Sunday at the Village Vanguard by The Bill Evans Trio

You both mentioned Sketches of Spain, and that is indeed another of my favorites, along with Coltrane's Giant Steps, The Essential Sonny Rollins, and The Best of Dianne Reeves (a contemporary diva -- her song about her grandmother is just lovely).

Miles Davis - Miles In the Sky
Charlie Parker - A Night In Tunisia
Thelonious Monk - Jazz Portaits

All great listings. On a more modern note, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, wave some really good albums too. One of my favourite was their last one "The Sound of Surprise".

Well on that note I'd have to include Morroccan Roll by Brand X (featuring Phil Collins on drums), Mysterious Traveler by Weather Report (Wynston Marsalias and other fantastic musicians), some Sealevel and Mickey Hart's African drumming experiments.

I like Weather Report's Heavy Weather a lot, as well as Jaco Pastorius' self titled cd and his Word of Mouth cd too. Oh, and I'm getting into Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

I like Heavy Weather alot too but Nubian Sundance on MT is frikkin' awesome! George Benson is a fun guitarist too...Pastorious: genius




(edit above: jeez danlo! Winelight: Grover Washington Jr. )

Of the paltry handful of jazz CDs that I have, these are the ones I'm most fond of:

Junko Onishi: Piano Quintet Suite
Claire Martin: Old Boyfriends
Diana Krall: All For You
Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out

Damelon has great taste in jazz! Bill Evans Trio is awesome. Kind of Blue is, or course, maybe the most respected jazz album of all.

I just got a Stan Getz compilation, because it has a song I heard the day before. By him and Bill Evans, But Beautiful. REALLY hot seduction number!

Thelonious Monk, Monk Alone.

Shelley Manne and His Men, Live at the Blackhawk.

A Gene Harris album whose name escapes me at the moment.

There's a Nat King Cole Trio collection on the budget Laserlight label that's extremely good. Next time I see the damned thing I'll get it.

I should've included Stan Getz as well!!!--I saw him at The Bijou in 1978 and was raised by my parents playing Big Beat Bossa Nova Means the Samba Swings over and over again. I've seen Weather Report in 88, Gerry Mulligan in 76 and Ritchie Cole in 77. I also used to have some Sun Ra and Pharoe Saunders albums.

Anyone into Bela Fleck and the Flecktones? Victor Wootan is the best bassist on the planet. I've seen them live about 5 times and can't quit playing their concert DVD.

Also, Mahvishnu Orchestra is a nice little jazz fusion group (led by John McGlaughlin on guitar). Gong is pretty cool fusion, too.

My favorite jazz/fusion guitarist is Allen Holdsworth. This guy puts notes together unlike anything I've ever heard. Ozrich Tenticles isn't really jazz, but they're pretty cool nonetheless!

Michael Hedges, while not a jazz musician, plays a mean acoustic like no one else. His style is very unique: lots of tapping and slapping, creating cords that just kind of hang there while he's playing something else further down the neck (this requires playing harmonics--a technique of muting the string at precise vibration nodes and then plucking it and letting go. The note continues to play after you've taken your fingers off the strings. Do this on multiple strings and you've got "floating" cords). He sounds like three people playing on the same guitar at once. Too bad he's dead, because his concert was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen (yes "seen;" I never imagined how vigorously he attacked his instsrument).

I agree with you tastes Malik! I saw these guys 6 times live :

The Mahavishnu Orchestra: The amazing John McGlaughlin on double neck guitar, Jan Hammer (yes the Miami Vice theme guy) on keyboards, Jerry Goodman on electric fiddle, Rich Laird on bass and Billy Cobham on drums. IMHO Billy Cobham is, along with Neal Peart, the best drummer in the world! This is very intense totally instrumental Jazz/Rock fusion with some small hints of classical. You must listen to Birds of Fire & The Inner Mounting Flame.+

Duchess and I have a discussion of Michael Hedges going on here at Ahira's Hangar

Yeah, I've got Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire, and one other one (I forgot the title), plus a CD of McGaughlin's greatest "hits," and another CD of acoustic live stuff with him, Al Demiola (sp?), and one other guy I forgot.

Yes, Billy Cobham is amazing. I've heard a Specta (?) cd on which he is phenomenal.

Between Nothingness and Eternity is the MO's fantastic live album--they did another album with the London Symphony Orchestra called Apocalypse which may be overproduced, some good parts, but you really need to be in the mood. McGlauglin did two albums with Al Demiloa and Paco de Lucia: Friday Night in San Francisco and Passion, Grace and Fire-both are great but I personally prefer Passion (Demiloa ), Grace (de Lucia) and Fire (McGlaughlin) John's songs on that CD are mindbending and blistering. There's one Demiola song, Chiquito, that's almost too beautiful to behold. Damm I can't believe I sold that CD in Silver City when I was po'

Two other CDs with JM you should check out are Extrapolation: an early jazz album with a heavy Miles Davis influence and Love, Devotion and Surrender, with Carlos Santana when they were both in their Sri Chimnoy religious phase with Mahavishnu being JM's "appointed name" and Devadip being Carlos'.

Speaking of Demiola, he, Lenny White, Chick Corea and the unbelievable bassist, Stanley Clarke are so smooth, yet heavy with Return to Forever!!!!

I think Apocalypse is the other one I have. I don't listen to it much; I remember it having lots of orchestral stuff--too much.

Chick corea is great. I've got a live CD of him with a small acoustic band. Great stuff.