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December 13, 2004
2.3
Sorry about that folks. When one is running 3 blogs and contributing to two others, from time to time the backlog will add up. Nevertheless, I have returned...reasonably well rested and moderately sane for this edition.
Probably not one of his most well liked albums, this record's opening four note runs opened up a new type of music for me many moons ago: avant-jazz. Unapologetically intense, furiously atonal and wonderfully chaotic, this album was the primer I so desperately needed to see beyond the traditional jazz WEMU (the local radio station I sought for jazz) and Ed Love were playing at the time. I wouldn't call it an epiphany, but this definitely was a moment of musical illumination and quite possibly the last time there was a major flood of musical exploration for me.
Posted by robthe at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2004
2.2
A good friend of mine by the name of Nick Calingaert turned me on to this record around 1999 or so, and it slowly has made its way into being one of my favorite jazz albums of all time.
Pharoah Sanders- Astral Traveling
It should be important to note with this track that Sanders doesn't come in until the end, and that Cecil McBee (one of jazz music's great unhearalded bass treasures) takes the lead for a solo on this composition. It's simply breathtaking.
Posted by robthe at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2004
SEASON TWO, WEEK ONE
This week is brought to you by the letters J, A, and Z.
That's right folks. These next few weeks we're gonna visit some songs I've been revisiting lately in the jazz world. And when I say jazz, I don't mean the Bill Cosby sweater wearing type either.
Let's start off with one that's either going to make you laugh, cringe or sing along for the rest of the day:
In celebration of the freshly minted box set with an assload of new material that's never been released, I decided to pull this little gem (or heap of coal, depending who you ask) from one of Ayler's most controversial albums, 1968's New Grass on Impulse. Ayler was received with a shitload of hostility when this release came out, sprinkled with measure the cries of being a sellout. But while the backup singers, horn section and funky drum/bass combo smack of mainstream, Ayler's still all over the place on this track. For better or worse, this tune definitely makes people have an opinion one way or another. And for that, I include it here.
This is not indicative of Ayler's body of work, so if you don't dig on this don't let it deter you from digging further.
Oh yeah, and this blog will now be updated regularly on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also: seeking guest contributors to the subject at hand. Suggestions always welcome. Email me.
Posted by robthe at 06:20 AM | Comments (0)