Earlier I posted the inner liner from Bobby Hutcherson’s 1978 LP “Highway One” (Columbia), which includes five lead sheets from the material on the record. An inadvertent nudge by @natechinen led me to pull a lot more examples of the genre.
2. Most of these are from a handful of labels that did this a lot — Enja, Artists House, Horizon (A&M), but other labels sometimes got in on the action. I’m not posting the transcribed solos that were sometimes included, because, well, this has already taken up WAY too much time.
3. Let’s start with a reposting of the Bobby Hutcherson and George Cables songs included with “Highway One.” Columbia, 1978.
4. Horace Parlan’s “Lament for Booker” from Booker Ervin’s album of the same name, issued in 1977. Enja.
5. Dave Liebman’s “Picadilly Lilly” and Richie Beirach’s “Pendulum,” from Lieb’s “Pendulum.” Artists House, 1978.
6. Sonny Fortune’s “For Duke and Cannon, “ from Fortune’s “Awakening.” Horizon, 1975.
8. Jim Hall’s “Walk Soft” and “Lament for a Fallen Matador,” from Hall’s “Commitment.” Horizon, 1976.
9. Tommy Flanagan’s “Eclypso,” from Flanagan’s LP of the same name. Enja/Inner City, 1977.
10. Roland Hanna’s “A Child is Born” and Thad Jones’ “Sho’ Nuff Did,” from Mel Lewis and Friends.” Horizon. 1976.
11. Footnote 1. See the chapter on Roland Hanna in my book “Jazz from Detroit” for discussion about the authorship of “A Child Is Born” which Hanna actually wrote, not Thad Jones.
Footnote 2. You’ll see that a Michael Brecker transcription snuck in there. Consider it a bonus.
12. Dave Liebman and Badal Roy’s “Sweet Hand Roy,” from Lieb’s “Sweet Hands.” Horizon, 1975.
13. Charlie Haden’s “O.C.” and “Ellen David,” from Haden’s “Closeness.” Horizon, 1976.
14. Charlie Haden’s “The Golden Number,” “Shepp’s Way,” and “Out of Focus,” from Haden’s “ The Golden Number.” Horizon, 1976
15. Benny Wallace’s “Back Door Beauty,” from Wallace’s “The Free Will.” Enja, 1980.
16. Excerpt from the full score of Thad Jones’ “Forever Lasting,” from Jones/Mel Lewis’ “New Life.” Horizon, 1975-76.
17. “Julian,” by Pepper Adams, from Pepper’s LP of the same name. Enja/Inner City, 1975.
18. Andrew Hill’s “From California with Love” and Reverend Du Bop,” from Hill’s “From California with Love.” Artists House, 1978.
19. “Shadow Waltz” by Hal Galper, from “Now Hear This.” Enja, 1977.
20. “Layla-Joy” by Billy Hart and “Corner Culture” by Dewey Redman, from Hart’s “Enchance.” Horizon, 1977.
21. “What Does it Matter?” by George Mraz, from “Surge” by the New York Jazz Quartet. Enja/Inner City, 1977.
22. Excerpts from Wayne Shorter’s “The Three Marias” and “On the Eve of Departure,” from Wayne’s “Atlantis.” Columbia, 1985.
23. Art Pepper’s “Diane” and “Blues for Blanche” from Peoper’s “So in Love.” Artists House, 1979.
24. Finally, to close, a series of Tweets covering all 10 of Steve Swallow’s compositions from “Real Book. XTRAWATT/BMG, 1993. — extra nod of appreciation for making this happen in a CD booklet and for using the typography of the real Real Book.
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🧵 Happy Birthday, Herbie! Maestro @herbiehancock turns 84 today. Saw him in Detroit 2 weeks ago and he was as brilliantly spontaneous as ever. As great a soloist & composer as Herbie is, never forget that he's also one of the best accompanists in jazz history. Some favorites:
2. "Stella by Starlight" w/Miles, 1964. What an intro! 4 rubato bars of perfection. Telepathy w/Miles is off the charts; Herbie playing in the cracks. Harmony, touch, melodies & rhythms link Miles phrases in ballad or swing time. Same thing behind George.
3. "Feelin’ the Spirit" w/Grant Green, Warren, Higgins. 1962. One of the heaviest piano vamps I know. Talk about the blues! Talk about defining a pocket! Check out how Herbie expands the figure during the guitar solo without abandoning the groove. Magic.
Freddie Hubbard would have turned 86 today. Here's a countdown of 20 favorite solos I've toyed with for a few years. Don't have time to tweak for 2024, so it's a repeat from last year. Hope folks don't mind.
20. “Straight Life” (Paris, 1973). Hello! Freddie’s best working band: Cook/Cables/ Brinkley/Carvin. Freddie plays a short solo, a warm-up, but it’s potent--stronger than most cats at full force. Some trademark lip slurs in the blowing over the coda.
19. “The Intrepid Fox” (“Red Clay”) 1970. Joe/Herbie/@RonCarterBass /Lenny. One of Freddie’s strongest originals. Pentatonic melody, sus chords, challenging, 22-bar solo form of revolving modal changes. Freddie's exciting solo catalogs signature licks.
🧵Greatly saddened by the death of Tony Bennett at 96. While he wasn't a jazz singer, he spent his life exploring the sometimes porous borders of jazz & pop in the context of the Great American Songbook. He told me in 1991: “I’m not a jazz singer; I’m a singer who likes jazz.”
In his honor, here's a Playlist of some of his best jazz-oriented performances. "Cloud 7” (1954) marked a departure from his early pop hits. Still, his uneven diction & overripe vibrato here mark him as a work-in-progress. With guitarist Chuck Wayne. /2
"The Beat of My Heart" (1957). A gaggle of percussionists—Chico Hamilton/Jo Jones/Billy Exiner/Art Blakey/Candido etc—contribute to this corker of an LP, arranged by Ralph Sharon. Horns include Nat Adderley/Winding/Cohn/Mann. "Just One of Those Things." /3
🧵In honor of what would have been his 97th birthday today, here's a Miles Davis Top 10 comprised of my favorite recordings. Rules: No compilations or posthumous box sets. Only releases that appeared during his life or live performances issued after his death (bootlegs allowed).
I've allowed myself two individual bonus tracks at the end (house rules). And since it will likely come up in responses, if you want the Plugged Nickel recordings — I didn’t — you can’t take the whole box; it has to be either the Japanese LP (1976) or the American twofer (1982).
These are not necessarily my picks for the “greatest” or “most influential” records, though everything here is in fact great and influential. These are my desert island Miles records, presented in reverse order.
🧵Thrilled that @nytimesarts has devoted a "5 Minutes That Will Make You Love" feature to Mary Lou Williams, but disappointed, and a little alarmed, that not one panelist chose one of her widely if quietly influential big band arrangements, arguably her most important work.
2. So, by all means, celebrate all of her middle and late-period work as a pianist, small and small-group music, but please don't overlook her large ensemble writing during the swing era and early modern period. It's definitive. Here are some choice examples.
3. "Mary's Idea" (1938). Andy Kirk & His 12 Clouds of Joy. Swinging melody, call/response, interesting motivic development. Great pacing; new ideas keep flowing. Great contrast in texture and color, Dig the muted brass behind the clarinet solo.
🧵Today marks the centenary of one of my greatest heroes: Thad Jones, composer, arranger, trumpeter, bandleader. As I wrote in Jazz from Detroit: "When you take the scores apart, you see the craftwork, but there's a soulful resonance beyond technique. Jones tells stories.
2. "He gets under your skin where your emotions live. He excites the imagination, elevates the spirit."
The opening ensemble choruses, the trading between sections. Whew!