Downbeat Blindfold Test (Uncut), Ted Panken, Interviewer

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Today is the Question: Ted Panken on Music, Politics, and the Arts http://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/brad-mehldaus-blindfold-test-from-2000-uncut-he-turned-41-yesterday Brad Mehldau's 2000 Downbeat Blindfold Test (uncut), Ted Panken, Interviewer (The first ten selections featured Art Tatum, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Geoff Keezer, Bill Charlap, Earl Hines, Ahmad Jamal, John Hicks, and Kenny Kirkland) 11. Denny Zeitlin, “Cousin Mary,” AS LONG AS THERE’S MUSIC (32 Jazz, 1997/2000) [Buster Williams, bass; Al Foster, drums] (5 stars) That got me off the most out of anything you’ve played thus far. It felt great. I don’t know the piano player, but I might know the bass and drums. Maybe it’s not them, but it sounds a little like Ben Riley and Buster Williams, that kind of feel. Oh, it is Buster. The drummer has that great tipping feel; it feels so good. I love the piano player. I never hear any vocabulary. First of all, the arrangement of “Cousin Mary” is really great. You would think, “What can you do with that tune?”—but he finds another harmonic thing that really is also referring to the original, with the strange, different chords for the blues. You get the feeling that he’s blowing on that, but at a certain point he’s just getting away from what roots should be, and he’s sort of making up different forms of the blues — one thing, one thing, one thing, and then… Again, these 12-bar things. Which I love. [Does he remind you of anybody?] You can hear a lot of the history of piano playing in there. I’m probably going to be really embarrassed that I should have known him. 5 stars. [AFTER] Denny Zeitlin! Wow. I’ve never heard him. Charlie Haden always tells me to check this guy out. Really inspiring. A great trio performance. For me the piano is a little high in the mix, but it still doesn’t detract. It’s still really great. .

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GIVING a JAZZ RECORD AS a GIFT by Eric Myers National Times, December 7, 1980 ______

GIVING A JAZZ RECORD AS A GIFT by Eric Myers National Times, December 7, 1980 ______________________________________________________________ The National Times opera critic JOHN CARMODY, Sydney Morning Herald jazz critic ERIC MYERS and rock writer SHANE NICHOLS prepared this guide to records most likely to be gratefully received. They cover a range of tastes and should be available. ______________________________________________________________ f you are buying a jazz record as a gift, you should determine the style preferred. There are so many different, although related, idioms I congregating under the banner of "jazz" that it is rarely possible, these days, to buy a "jazz" album that suits all tastes. Duke Ellington At Fargo 1940 Live (Book Of The Month Records 305622). If the recipient likes big band jazz, you could do no better than the three-record set Duke Ellington At Fargo 1940 Live (Book Of The Month Records 305622). This was a performance at the Crystal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota, on 1 November 7, 1940. Many critics believe, with some justice, that this particular line-up of musicians was the greatest that Ellington ever assembled. This was a special performance - the first night Ray Nance played in the trumpet section, having just replaced Cootie Williams, who had left to join Benny Goodman. Rex Stewart is also in the section. The saxophones include Barney Bigard (clarinet), Johnny Hodges (alto) and Ben Webster (tenor) among others; Tricky Sam Nanton and Lawrence Brown are among the trombones; and the great Jimmy Blanton is on bass. It is a distinguished line-up, and the band roars through the Ellington repertoire with all the qualities that made it the greatest big band in jazz.
Charles Mcpherson Leader Entry by Michael Fitzgerald

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Morgenstern, Dan. [Record Review: Thelonious Monk: Underground] Down Beat 35:16 (August 8, 1968)

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Recorded Jazz in the 20th Century: A (Haphazard and Woefully Incomplete) Consumer Guide by Tom Hull Copyright © 2016 Tom Hull - 2 Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................................1 Individuals..................................................................................................................................................2 Groups....................................................................................................................................................121 Introduction - 1 Introduction write something here Work and Release Notes write some more here Acknowledgments Some of this is already written above: Robert Christgau, Chuck Eddy, Rob Harvilla, Michael Tatum. Add a blanket thanks to all of the many publicists and musicians who sent me CDs. End with Laura Tillem, of course. Individuals - 2 Individuals Ahmed Abdul-Malik Ahmed Abdul-Malik: Jazz Sahara (1958, OJC) Originally Sam Gill, an American but with roots in Sudan, he played bass with Monk but mostly plays oud on this date. Middle-eastern rhythm and tone, topped with the irrepressible Johnny Griffin on tenor sax. An interesting piece of hybrid music. [+] John Abercrombie John Abercrombie: Animato (1989, ECM -90) Mild mannered guitar record, with Vince Mendoza writing most of the pieces and playing synthesizer, while Jon Christensen adds some percussion. [+] John Abercrombie/Jarek Smietana: Speak Easy (1999, PAO) Smietana
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