Kathleen Loves Music

Hank Jones > Bloomdido

I’ve posted about Hank Jones a couple of times before and it isn’t just because I’ve produced some records, on him, but because when I think of the list of pianists I listen to he is consistently the first three or four on the list.

When I first started producing records they were labors of love, passion projects with avant-gardists I admired and wanted to share with the world. Then I got a couple of paying gigs with organists and beboppers. For about 10 minutes into the first session with Willis Jackson I put up with it (the music was so old school) until I found myself happier than I’d ever been in a recording studio. By the time Hank came out of 25 years at the CBS in-house orchestra I was ready for the best session of my life. After than it was downhill, and I left recording for more happiness in TV.

Hank Jones [Read more…]

Joe Lee Wilson > It’s You or No One

After having the time of my life playing Farfisa organ in blue eyed rock/soul bands during high school, I decided George Martin and Jerry Wexler were my new role models. I’d become a “record producer”. Having no actual idea what that meant, my buddy Tom Pomposello and I borrowed a few dollars and started Oblivion Records. We’d record blues records to slake his passion and jazz records for my recently invented one.

Four LPs later a few of my college radio pals kept ragging me that I’d missed the session of a lifetime when I was out the hot July night Joe Lee Wilson played live at WKCR-FM on Sharif Abdus-Salaam’s program.

I hadn’t particularly liked most jazz singing before (or since) but this tape blew me away and we immediately made plans to release it (difficult when you’re completely broke and most of the other records you’ve released didn’t [Read more…]

So let’s get back to Jason’s jazz primer.

I know next to nothing about Duke Ellington other than the dozens of records I have of his that I love. This one is my favorite. (And as I route around for internet info, many agree.) Recorded in 1957, this is a low-key, stunning track with his full group, and a rare Duke piano solo. I’ve never had any interest in the ‘big bands’ of jazz, but Ellington actually used his as an orchestra, and when the stars are aligned there’s nothing more beautiful.

I can’t give any tips to steer you towards the ‘best’, but iTunes is a great place to audition. Pick a sound that suits you and buy. In the meanwhile, Ellington Indigos is a great place to start.

From the Kathleen this blog was named for:

“… in response to something you posted on the music site (to quote):
‘And what about his crazy, unique name? Google it and you’ll see there are no others. Just like his music…’

“So (of course), I took up the challenge and found some other soul named Ornette and felt the need to let you know about it. I love a challenge. A friend and I have a joke that (for all of us) our most irritating qualities are also our most endearing ones. So…. consider my need to find another Ornette somewhere in the world the result of one my irritating (and therefore endearing) qualities.”

[Read more…]

John Coltrane had become a star in the Miles Davis’ bands in the 50s. Listeners, even Miles, sometimes “complained that Coltrane played too much for too long. But it was the long, feverish solos that became the pillars of Coltrane’s legacy.” As a young guy on college radio I embraced this stuff without truly loving it all that much.

Ballads changed all that for me and thousands of other listeners. Signed to a new label, Impulse Records, his producers successfully showcased Coltrane as the revolutionary firebrand while holding on to the straight jazzers who came along from Miles. I know it worked like crazy for me.

Romantic, even ecstatic, this 1962 album introduced me to classic jazz in the most perfect way. Coltrane shows his complete mastery of the form, in the guise of a beautiful song, played very straight without a ton of obvious improvisation. Every track is worthwhile, but the one here composed by Jimmy [Read more…]

The Tony Williams Lifetime > Emergency

In 1969, when this album came out, my music bible was Rolling Stone; I tried to get my hands on every album they reviewed. Once Lester Bangs (before he went completely punk and heavy metal) declared Emergency as the future of rock’n’roll. What did I know from Tony Williams? When he said “rock’n’roll” I thought that’s what he meant. If Lester said it, I bought it.

Geez, what a mistake this was, I thought at the time. My roomate Rodney and I would play the first minute of the record about once a week, and scratch it off the turntable in revulsion. This record was rock and it wasn’t jazz. Future? Sure hope I don’t live to hear it.

About six months later Jack Bruce, the bassist from Cream, announced he had joined The Tony Williams Lifetime and they were playing New York with Traffic. Now, he must know [Read more…]

Based on my last couple of posts, I couldn’t figure out whether to go backwards or forwards in time, so I’ll continue through my personal musical journey that got me jazz engaged.

As an unrepentant pop rocker coming out of high school, I had no interest at all in jazz until Tony Williams left Miles Davis and started what was essentially a hard rock band with jazz players (more on that next time). For me it was a short leap to Ornette Coleman, who, while being a total, pure jazzer, was crazy enough but bluesy enough for any rocker. Or so it sounded to me. And just the title of this album made me think (correctly, as it turned out) that he was more interested in the future than the past, which as a card-carrying teenager, I had no interest in.

And what about his crazy, unique name? Google it and you’ll see there are no others. [Read more…]

Jason Plapp (co-creator of Bradwurst, “the only character who’s ass you can see from all directions”) asked me about some jazz he could check out. I assume because I started my career as a jazz record producer. So Jason’s giving me inspiration to search out and post some of my favorite jazz tracks. There won’t be any other rhyme or reason other than that I like them, but maybe they’ll be useful pointers. And I’ll link to Wikipedia biographies to help guide whatever sketches I put up.

Hank Jones is one of the great journeymen of his (and our) time. He comes from Detroit, made his name as a bebopper in the 40s, and settled in as one of the most versatile stylists of any era, equally comfortable in music popular before and after his coming of age. His brothers Elvin (from John Coltrane’s great quartet) and Thad (Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band) also [Read more…]

This record is perfect. Really. And it’s the most perfect Miles record of his first perfect band.

Usually jazz records are just too hard in too many ways. This one, everyone I know who loves the record can sing every solo as if it were the melody. It might be the only track like that I know.

Oh, the perfect band? Miles Davis, trumpet; Cannonball Adderley, alto saxophone; Paul Chambers, bass; John Coltrane, tenor saxophone; Red Garland,piano; Philly Joe Jones, drums. You can get the album as a single, or as part of the box set with all Miles’ recordings with Coltrane. And, not to put too fine a point on the perfect thing, but the recording itself is a fantastic example of early (1958) stereo sound, done at the legendary Columbia Records 30th Street (former church) Studio.