Jazz on Reddit :: Best Albums Since 1970

Over the years, I have dipped my toe into the Website Reddit, but recently I found some great jazz resources there and recommend that other fans of jazz take a look at the site.

Reddit is much like an online bulletin board, and often people ask questions that others on Reddit attempt to answer. One example is the following question from a year ago:

Imagine I love jazz and I went into a coma in 1970. I came out this morning. What are the most important albums of the last forty years that I need to listen to right away?

The answers to this question, provided by Reddit users, include albums by several of the artists featured on this blog, like the following:

• Berlin '88 by Cecil Taylor. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Changes One by Charles Mingus. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Disco 3000 by Sun Ra. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Headhunters by Herbie Hancock. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• The Inner Mounting Flame by John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• On The Corner by Miles Davis. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Performance (Quartet) 1979 by Anthony Braxton. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Red Clay by Freddie Hubbard. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Science Fiction by Ornette Coleman. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• Sweetnighter by Weather Report. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Several of the lists include perceptive comments about the albums being recommended, such as this annotation to John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame:  

It's kind of cliched now, but this is the best shred-jazz record ever. McLaughlin is at his best on this, Tony Williams' "Emergency" (which doesn't count because it was released in the late 60s), and on Miles' stuff from this period. Essential listening.

Speaking of The Inner Mounting Flame, here's one of the cuts from that album, "Awakening":

Reddit has some great resources for jazz fans.  Just go to the site and search for "jazz."  Good things will happen.

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 14 November 2014

Louis Armstrong: At The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Ricky Riccardi discusses the Louis Armstrong recording of "Tiger Rag" from the November 7, 1934, Paris session.

Louis Armstrong: At All About Jazz, C. Andrew Hovan reviews the new Mosaic release, Louis Armstrong & The All Stars: Complete Newport 1956 & 1958. (Purchase the album from Mosaic Records.)

Count Basie: At Take the "A" Train, Ehsan Khoshbakht shares a video of an interview with Count Basie during his first tour of Sweden in 1962.

John Coltrane: Richard Brody writes about the John Coltrane album, Offering: Live at Temple University, at The New Yorker.

Duke Ellington: Ehsan Khoshbakht shares a video from Duke Ellington's first trip to Finland in February 1963 at Take the "A" Train.

Herbie Hancock: At The International Review of Music, Bonnie Perkinson writes about a November 2014 conversation between Herbie Hancock and music critic Don Heckman.

Charlie Parker: According to Jeff Tamarkin at JazzTimes, Mosaic Records has released a nine-disc box set, The Complete Dial Modern Jazz Sessions, which includes all of Charlie Parker’s sessions for Dial from 1946-47. (Purchase the album from Mosaic Records.)

Sun Ra: At Music and More, Tim Niland reviews the Sun Ra album, My Brother the Wind, Volume 1. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Horace Silver: Marc Myers shares several videos of Horace Silver at JazzWax.

Weather Report: John Fordham reviews the Weather Report album, Forecast: Tomorrow, at The Guardian. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Robert
Facebook page

Happy Birthday, Joe Zawinul

Jazz keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul was born on July 7, 1932, in Vienna, Austria. As critic Richard S. Ginell notes, Zawinul's "curiosity and openness to all kinds of sounds made him one of the driving forces behind the electronic jazz-rock revolution of the late '60s and '70s — and later, he would be almost alone in exploring fusions between jazz-rock and ethnic music from all over the globe."

Zawinul first played with Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis before co-founding the groups Weather Report and the world fusion group Zawinul Syndicate. He was also a pioneer in the use of the electric piano and synthesizers in jazz and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" 28 times by the readers of Down Beat magazine.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Weather Report album, 8:30 (Columbia), which is available from Amazon.com.

Weather Report plays "In a Silent Way," one of the more lyrical pieces from the 8:30 album, here:

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Recent Links :: 29 May 2014

John Coltrane: At JazzWax, Marc Myers discusses John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis: On May 26, his birthday, Miles Davis was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Miles Davis: Ken Laster's podcast, In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond, plays the music of Miles Davis in honor of the jazz icon's birthday.

Miles Davis: At Music and More, Tim Niland reviews the Miles Davis album, Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Weather Report: At NPR's A Blog Supreme, David Brent Johnson explores jazz elegies, i.e., instrumental tributes to deceased jazz musicians. Included are:

• Miles Davis's tribute to Duke Ellington, "He Loved Him Madly." (The song is available on the album, Get Up With It, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)
• Dizzy Gillespie's tribute to Clifford Brown, "I Remember Clifford." (The song is available on the album, Birk's Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)
• Charles Mingus's tribute to Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat." (The song is available on the album, Mingus Ah Um, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)
• Weather Report's tribute to Cannonball Adderley, "Cannon Ball." (The song is available on the album, Black Market, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Duke Ellington: According to Jeff Tamarking at JazzTimes, Legacy Recordings will release Duke Ellington: The Original Recordings That Inspired the Broadway Hit “After Midnight”, a collection of original recordings from 1927 through 1940, in May on iTunes and other digital retailers and in June on CD. (Pre-order the album from Amazon.com.)

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 18 May 2014

Cannonball Adderley: At MacSparky, David Sparks discusses the Cannonball Adderley tune, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." (The song is available on the album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis: At JazzTimes, Colin Fleming reviews the Miles Davis album, Miles at the Fillmore--Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Miles Davis: According to Cincinnati.com, Don Cheadle will film the Miles Davis biography in Cincinnati.

Miles Davis: Miles Davis Online says that the upcoming Miles Davis movie will be called "Miles Ahead."

Miles Davis: According to Jaff Tamarkin at JazzTimes, a New York City block party will celebrate the unveiling of Miles Davis Way on May 26.

Duke Ellington: Open Culture shares an audio of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra playing a piece, "Such Sweet Thunder," which found its impetus in Shakespeare’s play, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report: At JazzTimes, Jeff Tamarkin shares an excerpt from Peter Erskine's memoir, No Beethoven, where the Weather Report drummer discusses Jaco Pastorius. (Purchase the book from Amazon.com.)

Sonny Rollins: At All About Jazz, Victor L. Schermer reviews the Sonny Rollins album, Road Shows, Vol. 3. Tim Niland also reviews the album at Music and More. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Sonny Rollins: Marc Myers interviews Sonny Rollins at The Wall Street Journal, and Rollins discusses the influence that Coleman Hawkins's "Body and Soul" had on him.

Woody Herman: On his birthday, May 16, Woody Herman was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 4 September 2013

• Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Art Tatum: The New York Times shares some beautiful photos by Nate Singerman from the 1950s of jazz greats, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, and Art Tatum.
• John McLaughlin, Charles Mingus, Weather Report: According to JazzTimes, Legacy Recordings will release five new jazz titles in its “Essential” series, all being made available exclusively as digital downloads. The featured artists in the initial digital run include Charles Mingus, Weather Report, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin.
• Wayne Shorter: At The International Review of Music, Don Heckman reviews Wayne Shorter's 80th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl.
• Wayne Shorter: In the Groove ... Jazz and Beyond featured the music of Wayne Shorter, in honor of his 8oth birthday.

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 5 January 2013

• Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Weather Report: Among the top 20 reissues in the 7th Annual Jazz Critics Poll at Hullworks were:
  • Louis Armstrong, Satchmo at Symphony Hall 65th Anniversary: The Complete Performances. (Available from Amazon.com.)
  • Duke Ellington, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958. (Available from Amazon.com.)
  • Coleman Hawkins, Classic Sessions 1922-1947. (Available from Mosaic Records.)
  • Charles Mingus, The Jazz Workshop Concerts: 1964-65. (Available from Mosaic Records.)
  • Charles Mingus, The Complete Columbia & RCA Albums Collection. (Available at Amazon.com.)
  • Thelonious Monk, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection. (Available at Amazon.com.)
  • The Quintet, Jazz at Massey Hall. (Available from Amazon.com.)
  • Weather Report, The Complete Columbia Albums, 1971-1975. (Available at Amazon.com.)
• Dave Brubeck: Jack Bowers remembers the late Dave Brubeck at All About Jazz.
• Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett: Among the top 20 new albums in the 7th Annual Jazz Critics Poll at Hullworks were:
  • Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Hot House. (Available from Amazon.com.)
  • Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen, Sleeper. (Available from Amazon.com.)
• Bill Evans: New Jazz United shared a clip of Bill Evans playing "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life," from the 1974 album, Blue in Green. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)
• John McLaughlin: On his birthday (January 4), John McLaughlin was honored as the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 30 November 2012

• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi discusses two Louis Armstrong pieces, "S.O.L. Blues" and "Gully Low Blues," at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong. (Both songs are on the CD, Hot Fives & Sevens, available from Amazon.com.)
• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi discusses Louis Armstrong's "That's When I'll Come Back to You" at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong. ("That's When I'll Come Back to You" is on the CD, Hot Fives & Sevens, available from Amazon.com.)
• Chuck Mangione: On November 29, his birthday, Chuck Mangione was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.
• Miles Davis: According to Miles Davis Online, Don Cheadle is "practicing the trumpet, and that’s a good sign for Miles Davis Biopic watchers."
• Miles Davis: Miles Davis Online shares a photo of a CBS memo in which Miles says that he wants his album to be titled "Bitches Brew." (Purchase Bitches Brew from Amazon.com.)
• Weather Report: Michael J. West reviews the Weather Report album, The Columbia Albums 1971-1975, at JazzTimes. (Purchase The Columbia Albums 1971-1975 from Amazon.com.)
• Charlie Parker: Devon "Doc" Wendell discusses Charlie Parker's November 29, 1945, recording session of "Koko" at The International Review of Music.
• Wayne Shorter: Wayne Shorter announced his 2013 tour dates at JazzTimes.

Robert
Facebook page

Recent Links :: 8 September 2012

• Louis Armstrong: At The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Ricky Riccardi discusses the Hot Seven tune, "Melancholy Blues." ("Melancholy Blues" is on the CD, Hot Fives & Sevens, available from Amazon.com.)
• Ornette Coleman: Reviews of Shirley Clarke's film, “Ornette: Made in America,” appeared in the New York Times and The New Yorker's blog on cinema, The Front Row.
• Chick Corea, Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Weather Report: At Jazz (Jazzers Jazzing), Carl Hager is reporting the top vote getters in his poll for the best jazz/rock fusion recordings of all time and is re-opening the poll. So far, Romantic Warrior by Return to Forever is the top vote getter, followed by The Inner Mounting Flame by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, and Heavy Weather by Weather Report.

• Oliver Nelson: Marc Myers has a great piece at JazzWax on the 1961 session in which Oliver Nelson and Red Garland recorded together for the first and only time. (The tracks were never released on a single album, but two of the tracks can be found on Red Garland's Soul Burnin', available from Amazon.com.)
• Sonny Rollins: On September 7, his birthday, Sonny Rollins was named the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Happy Birthday, Joe Zawinul

Jazz keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul was born on July 7, 1932, in Vienna, Austria. As critic Richard S. Ginell notes, Zawinul's "curiosity and openness to all kinds of sounds made him one of the driving forces behind the electronic jazz-rock revolution of the late '60s and '70s — and later, he would be almost alone in exploring fusions between jazz-rock and ethnic music from all over the globe."

Zawinul first played with Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis before co-founding the groups Weather Report and the world fusion group Zawinul Syndicate. He was also a pioneer in the use of the electric piano and synthesizers in jazz and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" 28 times by the readers of Down Beat magazine.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the Weather Report album, 8:30 (Columbia), which is available from Amazon.com.

Weather Report plays "In a Silent Way," one of the more lyrical pieces from the 8:30 album, here:

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Recent Links :: 16 June 2012

• Count Basie: At JazzWax, Marc Myers shares a link to an episode of Fred Astaire's 1960 show, "Astaire Time," on which Count Basie and his orchestra appeared.
• Miles Davis: The US Postal Service released the Miles Davis stamp on June 12, according to Miles Davis Online.
• Bill Evans: Part II of the Marc Myers interview with Marty Morell, who played drums in the Bill Evans Trio, is at JazzWax. Part III is at JazzWax.
• Erroll Garner: On June 15, his birthday, Erroll Garner was the Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.
• Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Weather Report: According to All About Jazz, Legacy Recordings will release three new Complete Album Collections from the Columbia and RCA archives:
  • Charles Mingus: The Complete Columbia & RCA Albums Collection: 7 titles, 10 CDs
  • The Thelonious Monk Quartet: The Complete Studio Albums Collection: 6 titles, 6 CDs
  • Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1971-1975: 6 titles, 7 CDs .
• Wes Montgomery: The album, Echoes of Indiana Avenue, by Wes Montgomery, was #39 on the Top 50+ Jazz Albums for the Week of 11 June 2012 at Elements of Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Echoes of Indiana Avenue, from Amazon.com.)

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Happy Birthday, John McLaughlin

British jazz guitarist John McLaughlin was born on January 4, 1942, in Doncaster, England. He turns 70 today.

McLaughlin is a highly regarded guitarist — no less than Jeff Beck called him "the best guitarist alive." McLaughlin worked with Miles Davis on his landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew before forming his own Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 1970s.  In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons notes that "The Mahavishnu Orchestra, led by the British guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin, proved that challenging improvisation and precise interplay among group members was entirely compatible with the high-energy, high-decibel sound of hard rock."

Lyons recommends McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra's album, The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia), which he describes as an album of "compelling urgency and enthusiasm." The CD is available from Barnes & Noble.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra plays "One Word" here:

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Recent Links :: December 5

• Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Weather Report: Kevin Kniestedt announces the Jazz 100, a crowdsourced list of the best jazz songs of all time, at NPR Music. The top 10 includes:
• Dave Brubeck, "Take Five" — Available on the CD, Time Out. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Miles Davis, "So What" — Available on the CD, Kind of Blue. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Duke Ellington, "Take The A Train" — Available on the CD, The Popular Duke Ellington. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Thelonious Monk, "Round Midnight" — Available on the CD, Thelonious Himself. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• John Coltrane, "My Favorite Things" — Available on the CD, My Favorite Things. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• John Coltrane, "A Love Supreme (Acknowledgment)" — Available on the CD, A Love Supreme. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Miles Davis, "All Blues" — Available on the CD, Kind of Blue. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Weather Report, "Birdland" — Available on the CD, 8:30. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto, "The Girl From Ipanema" — Available on the CD, Getz/Gilberto. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Benny Goodman, "Sing, Sing, Sing" — Available on the CD, Live at Carnegie Hall: 1938 Complete. (Purchase from Barnes & Noble.)
• Miles Davis: Kevin Davis reviews the Miles Davis album, Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Volume 1, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Volume 1, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Horace Silver: Greg Simmons reviews the reissued Horace Silver album, Song for My Father, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Song for My Father, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Recent Links :: October 20, 2011

• Ornette Coleman: Tim Niland reviews the Ornette Coleman album, Something Else!!!, at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, Something Else!!!, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Miles Davis: Davis Online announces the release of Miles Davis — The Warner Years 1986-1991, a 5-CD boxset celebrating Davis's last recordings. (Pre-order the CD, Miles Davis — The Warner Years 1986-1991, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Miles Davis: Stephan Moore reviews the Miles Davis album, Tutu, at JazzWrap. (Purchase the CD, Tutu, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bill Evans: Marc Myers discusses Bill Evans's two recordings of "Autumn in New York" — on the Bill Evans album The Solo Sessions, vol. 2 and on the George Russell album New York, New York — at JazzWax. (Purchase the CD, The Solo Sessions, vol. 2, at Barnes & Noble. Purchase the CD, New York, New York, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Jaco Pastorius: John Kelman reviews the new album, Jaco Pastorius: The 60th Anniversary Collection, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Jaco Pastorius: The 60th Anniversary Collection, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Weather Report: Jeff Tamarkin announces the release of a live 1983 Weather Report concert, Live in Cologne 1983, at JazzTimes. (Purchase the CD, Live in Cologne 1983, at Barnes & Noble. Purchase the DVD, Live in Cologne 1983, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Happy Birthday, Wayne Shorter

August 25 is the birthday of jazz saxophonist and composer, Wayne Shorter (1933- ). Shorter is regarded by many as the greatest living composer in jazz and has won 9 Grammy Awards. He worked with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s, Miles Davis's second quintet in the 1960s, and Weather Report in the 1970s.

He plays "Children of the Night" with Blakey's Jazz Messengers here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the following recordings that include Shorter:

• Miles Davis: Miles Smiles (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
• Weather Report: 8:30 (Buy at Barnes & Noble)

Robert

Recent Links :: August 14

• Dave Brubeck: Brandon Belanger talks about the Brubeck album, Time Out, on his blog, Now on the Internet. (Purchase the CD, Time Out, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Orentte Coleman: C. Michael Bailey reviews Ornette Coleman's album, Change Of The Century, at All About Jazz. (Purchase the CD, Change Of The Century, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Modern Jazz Quartet: Eugene Holley, Jr., has a lengthy, comprehensive review of the Modern Jazz Quartet album, The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64, at All About Jazz.
  
• Sonny Rollins: Tim Niland reviews the Sonny Rollins double album, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You at Music and More. (Purchase the CD, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You, at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Sonny Rollins: Greg Simmons also reviews the Sonny Rollins double album, On Impulse/There Will Never Be Another You at All About Jazz.
  
• Weather Report: John Fordham reviews the Weather Report album, Live in Offenbach, in The Guardian. (Purchase the CD, Live in Offenbach, at Barnes & Noble.)
  

Robert