Friday, June 15, 2007
(9:10 PM) | Brad:
Friday Night Jazz: Not Dead Yet Edition
Per the request of Dame Bitch, we're focusing on but a few examples of living and breathing jazz ... jazz that you can hear at a club if you have a good one nearby ... jazz that is not smooth ... jazz that hearkens back as much as it looks ahead.We'll lead off with two wizards on the piano, and proceed out from there.
First up, The Brad Mehldau Trio, from their Art of the Trio, Vol. 4, "Sehnsucht" (note: if anybody has a copy of his Live From Tokyo and would like to share, let me know).
Followed by the most consistently great pianist playing clubs today, Jessica Williams, from her 1993 Arrival CD, "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams". (I saw her at Yoshi's in Oakland last week, and it was worth the screwed up credit brought by going over my limit.)
After that, two whiz kids of contemporary jazz playing, James Carter (on the sax) and Cyrus Chestnut (on the piano), playing "The Stevedores's Serenade". (If you dig Carter especially, I just got a great collection of his, and am unafraid to release it to the world.)
And last, Ornette Coleman. He's been playing his sax like a devil unleashed since the late-50s and is still cranking out innovotive CDs (dig the double bass work) like Sound Grammar and songs like "Turnaround".
