Sunday Jazz 3/27: Catchin’ The Trane // Noah Howard’s Black Ark

Mar 28, 2016 | jazz

(The Greatest Front Line in the History of Jazz: Miles, Cannonball & Trane – Probably 1959)

The Sunday Jazz Show was hittin’ yesterday; smokin’, heavy stacks jack. You can’t catch us. Most of the show was all vinyl, with some minor exceptions – like the new Larry Young release – Live in Paris 1964-65. We played some Blue Note hidden gems and some rare wax from Prestige Records.

Towards the end we did an ALL COLTRANE SET. Sort of. An excuse to play some fantastic tunes; Trane hitting his stride or straight up in his prime.

We started the set with a tune that was not only groundbreaking for the times; but was an omen of things to come. From 1958, The Miles Davis Sextet’s “Sid’s Ahead,” from the seminal “Milestones” LP on Columbia.

Trane released his first album as a leader in 1957, “Coltrane” for the Prestige label. Between his work with Thelonious Monk and and his work in Miles Davis’ Quintet – he was making a major name for himself on the scene.

Surely a maneuver to capitalize on a budding star, Prestige started releasing previously recorded sessions under Trane’s name as a leader. The next cut we played came from a ’57 recording session, released as “Cattin’ With Coltrane and Quinichette” (Prestige, 1959). Dueling tenors of Paul Quinichette (from Duke Ellington’s band” along with pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Julian Euell and drummer Ed Thigpen. We spun the cut “Sunday,” perfect for the Sunday Jazz Show.

From there, we played a rarity. An alternate take on Coltrane’s great ballad, written for his then-wife, “Naima.” Recorded for the Atlantic label and released on the album “Giant Steps” (Atlantic Records, 1959), the song has often been called the greatest ballad in the history of jazz. It’s been recorded and covered literally thousands of times since it was first released, and we were excited to pull the album “Alternate Takes” from our KTRU archives and spin such a special cut, to slow it down a bit. The version reveals just how thought-out the melody was when he finally went into the studio. The only real changes come when it’s time for him to cut loose – just a touch here – and follow his own muse. A beautiful track. It can be heard on the Atlantic Box Set: “The Heavyweight Champion.”

Lastly we went to a real blowin’ session. From another 1957 recording session for Prestige Records, Wheelin’ & Dealin’ is an album credited to The Prestige All Stars, a group including John Coltrane, Frank Wess and other jazz musicians who were under contract with the Prestige label. It was originally released in 1958 as PRLP 7131. We spun the second cut, “Wheelin'” – an 11-minute burner that left the turntables scorched.

You can listen to a playlist of yesterday’s whole first set – including the tracks discussed in this post, by clicking HERE!

(Miles Davis, Front, as Trane watches. – Probably 1958 or ’59).

On the second set, DJ Achim played a rare epic, Noah Howard’s “Mount Fuji” from the album The Black Ark (Freedom Records, 1969). The Allmusic review by Brandon Burke awarded the album 4 stars stating “While The Black Ark…presents Howard in a new setting with a number of interesting avant-garde players…Easily recommended for fans of the 1969 BYG/ESP free jazz scene”.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz nominated the album as part of its “Core Collection” of recommended jazz recordings.

All About Jazz stated “By 1969, Howard was terrifyingly good: as a player, composer and bandleader. The four originals which make up The Black Ark—a mutant blues, a free jive samba, a cod-Japanese “ying-tong” melody and a wonderfully lyrical ballad—are catchy and hummable, at a time when most free jazz rejected tunes and structures”.

You can listen to the cut Achim played by clicking HERE

You can catch the KTRU Sunday Jazz Show every Sunday at 2pm CT on 96.1 FM Houston and online right here at ktru.org

We’re also on IG at https://www.instagram.com/mingus.sushi/

On The Sunday Jazz Show – 3/20: DJ Roy Swings The Heavy

Mar 21, 2016 | jazz

(Archie Shepp, Bergamo (Italy) 1974)

You can listen to full playlists of yesterday’s KTRU Sunday Jazz Show

HERE (Sam B. 2-5pm)

And HERE (Roy M. 5-7pm)

(DJ Roy M. with his dear friends Jackie McLean & Archie Shepp)

(Jackie McLean & John Coltrane)

Sunday Jazz 3/13: The Legend of Fats Navarro // Guillermo Klein at Da Camera 3/19

Mar 14, 2016 | jazz

(Fats Navarro)

Another one. Another one. Sunday Jazz was on and poppin’ yesterday. Where else can you hear Benny Goodman Live at Carnegie Hall, followed by Eric Dolphy & Booker Little Live at The Five Spot? We spun rare original wax – like Shirley Scott with Stanley Turrentine’s “Gravy Waltz” from the album “Soul Shoutin'” (Prestige Records, 1964) –  gold label with the Van Gelder stamp in the deadwax – full, lush sound; a thing of beauty.

(Sam’s OG copy of Shirley Scott’s “Soul Shoutin” with the coveted “VAN GELDER” stamp in the deadwax)

We said happy birthday to Fort Worth native Ornette Coleman, we spun some top-shelf fusion from Bennie Maupin’s ’77 classic, “Slow Traffic To The Right.” We heard from Wynton Kelly and from harpist Dorothy Ashby. But one cat who got some shine is a name that many forget when rattling off the great trumpet players of all time, Fats Navarro.

Theodore “Fats” Navarro (who was also nicknamed “Fat Girl” by his friends) was born in 1923 and was dead by 1950. In that short time he left behind a musical legacy that put him in the ranks of the greatest bebop trumpeters, alongside Howard McGhee, Clifford Brown and Miles Davis.

“Navarro was born in Key West, Florida, of Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage. He began playing piano at age six, but did not become serious about music until he began playing trumpet at the age of thirteen. He was a childhood friend of drummer Al Dreares. By the time he graduated from Douglass high school he wanted to be away from Key West and joined a dance band headed for the midwest.

Tiring of the road life after touring with many bands and gaining valuable experience, including influencing a young J. J. Johnson when they were together in Snookum Russell’s territory band, Navarro settled in New York City in 1946, where his career took off. He met and played with, among others, Charlie Parker, one of the greatest musical innovators of modern jazz improvisation. But Navarro was in a position to demand a high salary and did not join one of Parker’s regular groups. He also developed a heroin addiction, tuberculosis, and a weight problem (he was nicknamed “Fat Girl”). These afflictions led to a slow decline in his health and death at the age of twenty-six. Navarro was hospitalized on July 1 and died in the evening of July 6, 1950. His last performance was with Charlie Parker on July 1 at Birdland.

Navarro played in the Andy Kirk, Billy Eckstine, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton big bands, and participated in small group recording sessions with Kenny Clarke, Tadd Dameron, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Howard McGhee, [Charles Mingus] and Bud Powell.”

We spun a cut from Navarro’s time with The Tadd Dameron Sextet. Recorded in 1947 – the band featured Dameron as the leader on piano, Charlie Rouse on tenor, Ernie Henry on alto, Navarro on trumpet, Nelson Boyd on bass, Shadow Wilson on drums. “Our Delight,” one of Dameron’s many classics, comes from a posthumous collection called “The Fabulous Fats Navarro” Vol. 1 (Blue Note Records, 1957).

(Fats Navarro)

Listen to the track HERE.

You can listen to a playlist of the whole first set HERE.

(Guillermo Klein)

On the second set, DJ Achim quenched the avant-garde thirsts of our audience with cuts by Ivo Perelman & The Sirius Quartet, Michael Formanek & Ensemble Kolossus and John Coltrane. He also played a couple cuts by Guillermo Klein, who’s coming to Houston.

The Da Camera group is presenting Guillermo Klein y Los Guachos – a fantastic 11-piece band that bridges jazz, the music of Argentina and other genres, live at the Cullen Theater on Saturday, March 19th at 8pm.

You can check out Klein HERE.

For tickets go to http://www.dacamera.com/

KTRU SUNDAY JAZZ IS ON INSTAGRAM AT https://www.instagram.com/mingus.sushi/

On The Sunday Jazz Show – Mar. 6th: Steve Kuhn Twices // Michael Formanek’s Big Ones

Mar 7, 2016 | jazz

(L-R: Steve Swallow, Pete La Roca, Steve Kuhn)

The Sunday Jazz Show laid some epic tracks for all our dear friends. We had callers who needed some Dizzy, and we obliged. We had played a cut from Joe Albany’s last session, and Paul Bley’s first (as a leader anyways). We played Archie Shepp’s ode to losers and Nat Adderley’s ode to workers. We played some Clark Terry because we just recently watched the documentary on Netflix – which was really a beautiful portrait of the legend in his twilight. We also got to spin, almost inadvertently, a player who is a favorite of the Jazz Team: pianist Steve Kuhn.

” [Kuhn] began studying piano at the age of five and studied under Boston piano teacher Margaret Chaloff, mother of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, who taught him the “Russian style” of piano playing. At an early age he began improvising classical music. As a teenager he appeared in jazz clubs in the Boston area, gigging with the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Vic Dickerson, Chet Baker, and Serge Chaloff. After graduating from Harvard, he attended the Lenox School of Music where he was associated with other future jazz greats such as Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Gary McFarland. The Lenox School boasted a supportive faculty that included George Russell, Gunther Schuller, the Modern Jazz Quartet members, and Bill Evans. This allowed Kuhn to play, study, and create with some of the most forward-thinking innovators of jazz improvisation and composition; it culminated with his joining trumpeter Kenny Dorham’s group for an extended time and (briefly) John Coltrane’s quartet at New York’s Jazz Gallery club..”

The first cut we played come’s from drummer Pete La Roca’s debut session as a leader – “Basra” (Blue Note, 1965). The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated “It is strange to realize that drummer Pete La Roca only led two albums during the prime years of his career, for this CD reissue of his initial date is a classic.” Indeed it is – as it’s also basically another Joe Henderson Blue Note album from the early ’60s. If you are familiar with Henderson’s work, you know that basically everything he did in that decade was stunning, near flawless and absolutely essential to a strong jazz collection. The album is a simple quartet, “led” by the drummer, La Roca, joined by Henderson on his tenor sax, Kuhn on piano and the great Steve Swallow on bass. Just by reading the names you can assume the album will be strong, but what’s left is an absolute classic in the Blue Note catalog (and there are countless) and one that fetches wild prices for an original vinyl copy – naturally. But this record, short at six cuts, is all killer and no filler. We played the song “Lazy Afternoon.”

(Kuhn’s 1971 self-titled album for Buddah Records goes for over $100 online)

Later in the show we played “The Baby,” the opener to the B-Side of Kuhn’s self-titled 1971 LP for Buddah Records (which also fetches high prices for an original). The album is yet another classic and sounds like almost nothing we’ve ever heard. Kuhn sings on a couple of tracks (and it’s actually really great, his low, smokey and shaky voice never trying too hard). It’s certainly of it’s times, featuring Kuhn on electric keys and Fender Rhodes, joined by Ron Carter on bass, Billy Cobham and Airto on percussion, and a string quartet arranged by none other than Gary McFarland. A wonderful record we can easily and highly recommend. Dark, funky, searching. It’s sought-after by collectors for a reason.

You can listen to a playlist of the entire first set on YouTube! CLICK HERE for a heavy does of jazz goodness. 

(Gary McFarland & Steve Kuhn)

On the second set (5-7pm), DJ Achim brought in brand new music; not your grandfather’s big band. The new album from Michael Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus: “The Distance” (ECM, 2016). AllAboutJazz.com’s Mark Sullivan awarded the album 4 1/2 stars and said: “The Distance is a remarkable achievement, which Formanek’s smaller ensembles have only hinted at.” Downbeat gave the album 5 stars and it’s currently receiving quite a bit of buzz internationally, as just about every ECM release can do. Achim played the cut “Exoskeleton parts 1-3.” You can listen to preview of the album here, thanks to the good people at ECM Records.

Sunday is Jazz Day on KTRU.

Be sure to check us out each week from 2pm to 7pm on 96.1 FM Houston and online at KTRU.org.

We’re on Instagram @ mingus.sushi – send us a note if you want to hear something!

On The Sunday Jazz Show – Feb. 28th: HBD LTD! // Mingus at Cornell ’64

Feb 29, 2016 | jazz

(Dexter Gordon in France, circa 1960)

On the Jazz Show Sunday we celebrated, albeit a touch belatedly, what would have been the 93rd birthday of tenor sax legend Dexter Gordon (2/27/23-4/25/90). Long Tall Dexter, or “LTD” as he was known, was one of the most influential players of all-time, making an impact in multiple eras of jazz. From the swinging 40s on the West Coast, to his time spent in Europe in the 60s, to his lauded American return in the late 70s, Gordon’s discography is the stuff of legend.

“His first important gig was with Lionel Hampton (1940-1943) although, due to Illinois Jacquet also being in the sax section, Gordon did not get any solos. In 1943, he did get to stretch out on a recording session with Nat King Cole. Short stints with Lee Young, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong‘s big band preceded his move to New York in December 1944 and becoming part of Billy Eckstine’s Orchestra, trading off with Gene Ammons on Eckstine‘s recording of “Blowin’ the Blues Away.” Gordon recorded with Dizzy Gillespie (“Blue ‘N’ Boogie”) and as a leader for Savoy before returning to Los Angeles in the summer of 1946. He was a major part of the Central Avenue scene, trading off with Wardell Gray and Teddy Edwards in many legendary tenor battles; studio recordings of “The Chase” and “The Duel” helped to document the atmosphere of the period.

After 1952, drug problems resulted in some jail time and periods of inactivity during the ’50s (althoughGordon did record two albums in 1955). By 1960, he was recovered and soon he was recording a consistently rewarding series of dates for Blue Note. Just when he was regaining his former popularity, in 1962 Gordon moved to Europe where he would stay until 1976. While on the continent, he was in peak form and Gordon‘s many SteepleChase recordings rank with the finest work of his career. Gordondid return to the U.S. on an occasional basis, recording in 1965, 1969-1970, and 1972, but he was to an extent forgotten in his native land. It was therefore a major surprise that his return in 1976 was treated as a major media event. A great deal of interest was suddenly shown in the living legend with long lines of people waiting at clubs in order to see him. Gordon was signed to Columbia and remained a popular figure until his gradually worsening health made him semi-active by the early ’80s. His third comeback occurred when he was picked to star in the motion picture ‘Round Midnight.Gordon‘s acting was quite realistic and touching. He was nominated for an Academy Award, four years before his death after a very full life.” (AMG). 

On the show we played three cuts, starting with a 1955 session with longtime friend and musical collaborator, pianist Kenny Drew, the title track from his Bethlehem Records LP, Daddy Plays The Horn. From there we played a couple of classics (how can you pick one?) from his Blue Note Records catalog. Starting with the opener from his seminal 1962 Go! LP – we played the opener, “Cheese Cake.” And from there, another collab with the great Sonny Clark, the closer from another sublime ’62 session: A Swingin’ Affair, “McSplivens.”

HBD LTD. 

On the second set, DJ Achim opened things up with brand new music from bassist Michael Benita and his new record River SIlver (ECM, 2016).

By mid-set, he played a cut from one of the most exciting archival releases of the last twenty years, The Charles Mingus Sextet’s Cornell 1964. “In 2007, courtesy of Charles Mingus‘ widow Sue, with the help of Michael Cuscuna and Blue Note, gives us another heretofore unknown bit of jazz history with the Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy‘s Cornell University Concert from March 18, 1964. The reason this gig is significant is because apparently, not only didn’t anybody know it was recorded, according to Gary Giddins, who wrote the (typically) excellent liners here, no one but the people who put on the show and the students who attended even knew it had taken place! The other reason for its historic importance is that it took place 17 days before the famed Town Hall concert and predated other European shows by the band by at least a month. This is significant because trumpeter Johnny Coles took ill shortly after, and Dolphy passed away a few months later. Until now, the Town Hall gig was the standard for this band, but it is safe to say with this current revelation that it will be replaced in the annals of the canon. This band — Mingus, Dolphy,Coles, Jaki Byard, Dannie Richmond, and Clifford Jordan — played perhaps definitive renditions of some Mingus tunes worked out previously at the Five Spot where he assembled the group, and were presumed to have first been performed, and recorded, at Town Hall. Much of the material was also performed on the European tour that followed and climaxed with an appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.” (AMG).

Achim played Mingus’ notorious and scathing half-hour epic, Fables of Faubus featuring stunning work by the whole band and notably Dolphy, who tended to steal any stage he was given.  KTRU Sunday Jazz is on every Sunday, from 2-7pm on 96.1 FM Houston and online here at ktru.org.

(Charles Mingus & Eric Dolphy)

On The Sunday Jazz Show – Feb. 21st: Herbie Nichols // Archie Shepp & Trane

Feb 22, 2016 | jazz

This past Sunday was heavy stacks for days. On the 2-5pm shift we went all over; from the Bourbon Street bang of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, to London’s Post-Bop at University College ’66, to Brownie Live in Paris and much more. One of the pieces we were most excited to spin was a simple trio cut; a side from the great Herbie Nichols’ last album, “Love Gloom Cash Love” (Bethlehem, 1957).

“One of jazz’s most tragically overlooked geniuses, Herbie Nichols was a highly original piano stylist and a composer of tremendous imagination and eclecticism. He wasn’t known widely enough to exert much influence in either department, but his music eventually attracted a rabid cult following, though not quite the wide exposure it deserved.

Nichols was born January 3, 1919, in New York and began playing piano at age nine, later studying at C.C.N.Y. After serving in World War II, Nichols played with a number of different groups and was in on the ground floor of the bebop scene. However, to pay the bills he later focused on Dixieland ensembles; his own music — a blend of Dixieland, swing, West Indian folk, Monk-like angularity, European classical harmonies via Satie and Bartók, and unorthodox structures — was simply too unclassifiable and complex to make much sense to jazz audiences of the time…He signed with Blue Note and recorded three brilliant piano trio albums from 1955-1956, adding (the) one for Bethlehem in late 1957. Nichols languished in obscurity after those sessions, though; sadly, just when he was beginning to find a following among several of the new thing’s adventurous, up-and-coming stars, he was stricken with leukemia and died on April 12, 1963.” (AMG). The cut we played was called “Every Cloud.”

It’s not hyperbole to say that Nichols’ name belongs in the conversation with others like Bud Powell, Monk, McCoy Tyner; if for nothing else his unwavering originality in playing and writing. Absolutely a favorite of the Sunday Jazz Show. It’s pricey, but Nichols’ Complete Blue Note Recordings are worth the plunge, either digitally or a hard copy. Keep an eye out for it. KTRU Jazz Stamp of Recommendation.

You can listen to a playlist of the WHOLE FIRST SET on YouTube.

On the second set, DJ Achim highlighted one of the most influential live records ever recorded; from 1965, the joint effort LP of John Coltrane & Archie Shepp’s “New Thing at Newport.” Achim played Archie Shepp’s “Gingerbread, Gingerbread Boy” first, and later played Coltrane’s fiery reading of “My Favorite Things” to close out the show for the evening. You can listen to both cuts and the rest of the album here.

On The Sunday Jazz Show: Feb. 14th (2nd Set): DJ ROY IS IN THE HOUSE!

Feb 15, 2016 | jazz

We are very excited to welcome the newest member of the KTRU JAZZ CREW – DJ ROY M. As expected, Roy came with a seriously heavyweight crate full of jazz goodness, and got off to an auspicious start with a little Tenor Soul for Valentine’s Day: Dexter Gordon’s “Manha De Carnival,” (Blue Note, 1965).

From there he shook things up, with deep cuts from Larry Young, Sonny Simmons, Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra and much more.

Check out the whole set list HERE.

We warned you he’s got heavy stacks.

Be on the lookout and stay tuned to KTRU on Sundays to hear more from Roy.

Welcome to the Squad & Congrats on your first official set, Roy!

On The Sunday Jazz Show: Feb. 14th (First Set) – Ballads For Valentine’s Day

Feb 15, 2016 | jazz

Sunday was Valentine’s Day, and accordingly, the first set was ballad-heavy; not just songs for lovers, but blues for the broken-hearted too. After a shaky start thanks to a rogue turntable, we got off on the left foot with one of the great ballads of all time, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane’s “In a Sentimental Mood,” from their 1963 eponymous debut for Impulse! Records.

From there we took it to the bridge…

The Williamsburg Bridge, that is – with Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall doing their classic and gorgeous rendition of the Holiday-Herzog classic, “God Bless The Child,” from his 1962 return album, “The Bridge.”

One of the great pairings of all-time; we played Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass’ “The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else),” because what’s a set of ballads without the voice of Ella?

Other Valentines passed out yesterday included:

The Kenny Drew Trio – “Ruby, My Dear” (1956)

Miles Davis Sextet – “Someday My Prince Will Come” (1961)

Dorothy Ashby – “Come Live With Me” (1968)

Cannonball Adderley Quintet – “Stars Fell On Alabama” (1959)

Dallas Tenorman James Clay with The Lawrence Marable Quartet – “Lover Man” (1956)

And much more – check out the full playlist here.

AND LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THING HERE!

We ended the first set on a traditional, if trippy, high note, because on Valentine’s Day, you’ve got to play “My Funny Valentine.” And we had a great time doing it. Happy Valentine’s Day from the KTRU JAZZ CREW!