Anthony Braxton - "9 Compositions (Iridium)"

Anthony Braxton's 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 is a nine-CD set documenting what Time Out New York called "last Spring's epochal run" at New York's Iridium Jazz Club with his 12+1tet. Described by Braxton as "THE point of definition in my work thus far," these concerts featured the world premieres of Compositions 350 through 358, the final works in his Ghost Trance Music series, recorded over the course of this rare four-night stand on an American stage.

Musicians: Mary Halvorson - electric guitar; Nicole Mitchell - flute, alto and bass flutes, piccolo, voice; Sara Schoenbeck - bassoon, suona; Reut Regev - trombone, flugelbone; Carl Testa - acoustic bass, bass clarinet; Anthony Braxton - alto, soprano, and sopranino saxophones, clarinet, Eb contralto clarinet; James Fei - alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet; Andrew Raffo Dewar - soprano and c-melody saxophones, clarinet; Jay Rozen - tuba, euphonium; Stephen H. Lehman - alto and sopranino saxophones; Jessica Pavone - viola, violin; Aaron Siegel - percussion, vibraphone; Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, flugelhorn, trumpbone, piccolo and bass trumpets, shell.

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Miles Davis - The Complete On The Corner Sessions

Miles Davis' The Complete On The Corner Sessions, the eighth and final deluxe box set in the Grammy Award-winning Miles Davis Series, includes more than 6 hours of music - twelve previously unissued tracks plus five tracks previously unissued in full - covering sixteen sessions from On the Cornerm, Big Fun, and Get Up With it. Joined by such jazz legends as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, and countless others, this 6-CD deluxe edition also contains a 120-page full-color booklet with liner notes and essays by Grammy-winning producer Bob Belden, journalist Tom Terrell, and acclaimed arranger and composer Paul Buckmaster. With such a comprehensive collection of Miles Davis' songs, plus dozens of rare photographs and new illustrations, this very special deluxe box set is a must have for any fan of Davis' genius or jazz music in general.

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Thelonious Monk - The Complete Blue Note Recordings

"From the 1947 sessions that lead off this set through to the 1958 live recordings at the Five Spot with John Coltrane, this box set chronicles the development of one of the most unique and creative American musicians. The first CD dates entirely from 1947, and on it we hear a Monk conversant in the bebop idiom, his distinct style emerging. By 1951 on the second CD we have a gorgeous version of "Ask Me Now," with all the delightful rhythmic hesitation that became one of his trademarks. "Reflections" on the third CD has Sonny Rollins caressing the melody in an almost languid tempo, followed by a classic version of "Misterioso," with J.J. Johnson and Horace Silver sharing the piano role. The Monk-Coltrane live cuts on the fourth CD are incandescent. All in all, a set that is both enlightening (with a number of alternate takes) in its scope and delightful in its sheer musicianship and creative spark." --Michael Monhart

Personnel: Thelonious Monk (piano); Kenny "Pancho" Hagood (vocals); Danny Quebec West, Sahib Shihab, Lou Donaldson (alto saxophone); Sonny Rollins, Lucky Thompson, John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Idrees Sulieman, George Taitt, Kenny Dorham (trumpet); J.J. Johnson (trombone); Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Horace Silver (piano); John Simmons, Gene Ramey, Al McKibbon, Paul Chambers, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Bob Paige, Nelson Boyd (bass); Art Blakey, Max Roach, Shadow Wilson, Roy Haynes (drums).

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on April 14, 1957; live at the Five Spot, New York, New York on September 11, 1958; Apex Studios, New York, New York on July 2, 1948; WOR Studios, New York, New York between October 15, 1947 and May 30, 1952.

Added to Monk’s original Blue Note sessions (1947-52) are the two tracks he cut with Sonny Rollins in ’56 and the recently discovered live ’58 Five Spot recording with John Coltrane. The Five Spot session has been speed corrected, and the early dates have been de-clicked. Sidemen include Art Blakey, Milt Jackson, Lou Donaldson, Lucky Thompson and Sahib Shihab.

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John Coltrane - At Temple University 1966

Digitally remastered live archive release from the Jazz great containing one of Coltrane's last preserved live performances ever. Taped in Philadelphia with excellent sound quality, this set presents Coltrane playing probably the freest version of 'Naima', along with readings of two more of his compositions: 'Crescent' and a powerful version of 'Leo'. Coltrane died shortly after this performance at the age of 40 on July 17, 1967.

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After this set, taped on November 11, 1966, ‘Trane would record a number of sessions for Impulse (which would mostly be issued posthumously), and would be recorded privately at the Village Theatre in New York on December 26 (this performance is mentioned in discographies as circulating among collectors, but it has never been released; the audio quality is unknown), and finally at New York’s Olatunji Center, on April 23, 1967. The latter would prove to be his final live performance, which ‘Trane gave despite feeling extreme pain.

tracklist:
01. Naima (John Coltrane) 16:47
02. Crescent (John Coltrane) 26:15
03. Leo (John Coltrane) 20:43

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Dewey Redman Quartet - Look for the Black Star

Although always a bit under-recognized and overshadowed by his contemporaries, tenor-saxophonist Dewey Redman has long been one of the giants of the avant-garde and bop. This early recording finds Redman discovering his own individual voice on five of his frequently emotional originals. Assisted by pianist Jym Young, bassist Donald Raphael Gareet and drummer Eddie Moore, this San Francisco date is quite adventurous and holds one's interest throughout. ~Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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01 - Look For The Black Star [15:41]
02 - For Eldon [06:29]
03 - Spur Of The Moment [01:54]
04 - Seven And One [13:22]
05 - Of Love [07:58]

Vinyl Rip.

* Dewey Redman - tenor sax, voice
* Donald Garrett - bass, bass clarinet, voice
* Jym Young - piano, kalimba
* Eddie Moore - drums


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Billy Bang Quintet featuring Frank Lowe Above & Beyond: An Evening in Grand Rapids

Few musicians in any category combine violinist Billy Bang's intrinsic understanding of his instrument's tradition with the adventurousness associated with the New York City loft scene of the 1970s and wrap it up in an inside-out style honed and refined over the course of a thirty-plus year career.

For the last few years Bang has been enjoying a creative peak, particularly as a member of the William Parker Violin Trio, which released Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear, 2003), and as the leader of his own projects that draw on his experiences as a Vietnam veteran. Longtime friend and collaborator, tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe, was in the band that made Vietnam: The Aftermath (Justin Time, 2001, but didn't live to see the recording of the follow-up, Vietnam: Reflections (Justin Time, 2005).

Above & Beyond captures Bang's rhythm section (Andrew Bemkey on piano, Todd Nicholson on bass and Tatsuya Nakatani on drums) with Lowe live at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Mich. in April of 2003. By September of that year Lowe would be dead from lung cancer, but at this show the pair's playing on the hour's four long selections is telepathic. Lowe's wind may have been diminished, but his style had evolved away from the fire-breathing of his youth to prettier, pithier mutterings that perfectly complement Bang's staccato solos and rhythmically expansive melodies. Lowe doesn't entirely abandon his free jazz roots and his brief atonal runs help build the intensity that Bang's compositions are designed to release.

Nor does this music lend itself easily to shuffle play: this concert is best experienced as a whole, letting each musician work his way into his improvisation, then marveling at the way his band mates bring the tunes back into focus. In Grand Rapids, the Billy Bang Quintet was at the height of their powers. Frank Lowe is sorely missed. ~Jeff Stockton, allaboutjazz.com

01 - Silent Observation 18:08
02 - Nothing But Love 10:04
03 - Dark Silhouette 23:24
04 - At Play in the Fields of theLord 13:20


* Billy Bang - violin
* Frank Lowe - tenor sax
* Andrew Bemkey - piano
* Todd Nicholson - bass
* Tatsuya Nakatani - drums

Recorded live on 28 April 2003 at The Urban Institute For Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI.
Dedicated to Frank Lowe (1943 - 2003).

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Medeski, Martin and Wood : The Stone: Issue Four (2010)

Tracklist:
1. Tutrasa’i
2. Riffin Ed/Luz Marina
3. Buster Rides Again/Doppler
4. Amber Gris
5. We’re All Connected

Recorded live at the stone. Nyc.


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Susie Ibarra - Radiance

Drummer Susie Ibarra has in her short time as a leader, assembled a trio that shines so brightly it seems incomprehensible that their "radiance" could be captured in a studio recording. Nonetheless, Radiance is the evidence of this band's wondrous versatility, taste and collective musicianship. Ibarra plays drums and assorted percussion. Veteran pianist Cooper-Moore (in his most understated performance on record) also plays harp and diddley-bo and violinist Charles Burnham from James Blood Ulmer's Odyssey band, join her. Over nine tracks, including the heartbreakingly beautiful title suite, Ibarra and company virtually reinvent modern jazz, carrying its rampant improvisational excesses over the edge into contoured statements of lithe chromatic lyricism and tact, and, creating a compositional framework for the expression of true collective and individual creativity. Radiance's three parts are a jazz folk suite. Ibarra's percussive subtleties are layered over by gorgeous violin work from Burnham playing parsed phrases and elliptical Eastern melodies as Moore offers the harp as a bridge between the two carrying forth melody and rhythm entwined. On the last movement he uses the diddley-bo as a contrapuntal device to Burnham's pastoral yet elegant lines. Further, there exists a wildly inventive cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Up From the Skies," with a gorgeous percussion and drum solo that is so sparse in its beginnings one would never guess that a tune follows it. When the melody finally does enter it's through the back door, with Burnham playing through a wah-wah pedal to bring it out a struggling note at a time. Still it moves and gives way to a phenomenal jam in the center, full of funk and groove. "Jagged Threads" is a Latin-tinged jazz variation on the tango. Cooper-Moore's depth of field here comes in handy, because it's his pacing and multifaceted solo that keeps the tune both focused yet expands its reach with multiples of arpeggiated scales filling up the intervals in the middle when the melody gives way harmonically, yet allowing Burnham to bring it back without a stitch. There are alternate takes of "Dreams" and "Laughter" from Radiance that fill the set, and given their striking melodic invention and extrapolated sense of Eastern harmonic sensibilities and their truly beautiful architecture, they stand alone as well as they do within the suite. This is the band to watch, folks. -- Thom Jurek

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