Tír Na HiFi

dhyantyke wrote:

Seán wrote:

dhyantyke wrote:

It's a wonderful album, isn't it?

Hi Sean, its taken me a while to think how to respond to that:
While I like this, I have listened to this only 3 times and am getting it more each time. 'In a Silent Way' is more accessible to me somehow. I guess its that as a relative newcomer to jazz, I am working my way backwards chronologically for the most part: i.e. started with Jarrett, Garbarek, Stanko, etc. Interestingly, in parrallel, I am moving from solo performances, to trio, to quartet and the nonet in this recording is as big a band as I've listened to..........the bigger the band the more my association is with the kind of music I was 'getting away from' when listening to Hendrix/ Pink Floyd etc...........I'll get over it most likely but it is taking tome to 'get my ear in'
The later Davis stuff is more immediately accesseble to me , coming from the Weather Report/Metheny/ fusion end of things.
Its certainly an interesting and rewarding journey of discovery

Hi, In a Silent Way is an ideal choice if you are used to listening to rock and as you like Weather Report and Metheny it's not really a big leap for you. The Birth of the Cool probably requires more effort but it does reward repeated listening when one gets familiar with the music.

In January and April 1949 and in March 1950 Capitol Records recorded the repertoire of the then "Miles Davis Band". Eight of the recordings were released on old 78's and in 1950 they were reissued on LP. In 1957 three more tracks were added to the mix and the LP was released under the title of "The Birth of the Cool". From the moment of their first release on 78s these recordings received wide critical acclaim - and rightly so.

Miles Davis, Lee Konitz (alto sax), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax) and Phil Barber (tuba) were present on all these recordings. Miles was 21 whilst Konitz and Mulligan were only 20. The ensemble on these recordings is unusual in that the musicians on these dates played a trumpet, trombone, tuba, alto and baritone sax, french horn, piano, bass and drums. The line up even included Gunther Schuller playing french horn. The arrangements were written by Gil Evans and Mulligan. Throughout most of the - tight - arrangements Miles leads the ensemble with Konitz playing under him and on several of the tracks he solos also. In the main the solos are by Miles, Konitz and Mulligan, three of the most instantly recognisable voices in jazz.

This is gorgeous music. I have loved this LP ever since I bought it in 1978.

Listening tonight to two mid-Sixties masterpieces from Blue Note.

First up was the great vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's Dialogue. One of the finest career debuts in modern jazz, it's a wonderful showcase for just how well vibes could be integrated into some of the most progressive sounding jazz of the time, as well as a testament to the sheer quality of the players that Blue Note had on its roster in the Sixties. Hutcherson's take on rhythm and harmony was entirely different to vibraphonists from earlier generations like Lionel Hampton or Milt Jackson, but he proved just as crucial in the development of his instrument within jazz in the 20th century as these earlier masters. Prior to this recording he had appeared on the great Eric Dolphy's finest work, Out to Lunch, and Dialogue stands as an extension and development of his uniquely contrapuntal approach to his chosen instrument. Perhaps the lynchpin of the recording is bassist Richard Davis's contribution which underpins every track, especially when pianist Andrew Hill sits out. The spareness of Davis's playing belies some very complex ideas and thoughts being executed in the moment and he remains alert to everything that the other musicians present to him. It's a real pleasure to listen to how Davis constantly shifts and responds to the playing around him. The album as a whole really demands and repays the closest attention to appreciate the uniquely discursive and conversational approach to music-making on offer.



And then I listened to Andrew Hill's classic Point Of Departure. Fabulous band on this one, including Kenny Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis and Tony Williams. The drummer in particular really makes his presence felt from the opening moments, energising the mood of all concerned. And to hear him behind one of Dolphy's solos is one of life's great pleasures. The contrast between the players is very interesting. Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson were more straightahead hardbop players than Dolphy and Williams but they fit beautifully, such is their innate sense of musicality. Williams was such a flexible and adaptive musician, he could play behind anybody and simultaneously integrate with the players and challenge them when he saw fit. Hill's voicing of chords is discreetly subtle (especially behind Dolphy's solos) and his solos can be harmonically dislocating in a way that reminds me of Monk. Indeed, each time you revisit this album you hear something new and surprising in his playing, especially when somebody else is soloing, that goes beyond mere traditional chord-based accompaniment.

I've been listening recently to Eric Dolphy's Far Cry.  This represents an extraordinary statement from a 32 year old musician, but is really a summation of his achievements to date.  1960 had proved to be a very fruitful year for Dolphy, most notably working with Charles Mingus on two separate occasions, as well as a very rewarding collaboration with Mal Waldron (The Quest), and, of course, sitting in on Ornette Coleman's epochal Free Jazz session, which, I believe, was recorded just prior to the Far Cry session.  His first two albums saw him progressing from a very thorough workout of his bebop influences (on his first album) to the quietly experimental (and Ornette-influenced) piano-less second album which utilised one double-bass player and one cellist.  

Far Cry, recorded in December 1961, encapsulated beautifully his achievements to date, and, in terms of his solo output, would only be bettered by the still-startling Out To Lunch.   In a similar way to Mingus, what I find striking about Dolphy's approach to his work is an attempt to find a genuine rapprochement between the old and the new in jazz.  (It must have been an extraordinary experience for Dolphy to have the great Bud Powell sit in with the Mingus band at the Antibes festival in 1960.). Charlie Parker remained for Dolphy a primary influence and it was his overriding achievement to take Bird's canonic accomplishments (most significantly, his vertical approach to improvisation as opposed to the more orthodox linear approach) and build upon them significantly during his sadly brief life.  

A highlight of Far Cry is the extended tribute to Parker, which occupied the original first side of the album.  When I hear the two works that comprise this suite, I hear a musician who has absorbed fully Bird's unique approach to phrasing with all of its attendant breaks and accents which initially startle you with their unexpectedness but, over time, appear to be a completely natural development of the melodic line.  At the time of this recording, Dolphy was considered by many mainstream jazz musicians and writers to be an iconoclast with no real empathy with his musical forebears.  Close and repeated listening over time proves otherwise.  

It is significant to my mind that, unlike Ornette Coleman, he chooses to reinstate the piano into his group sound after omitting it on his second album.  This indicates to me an adherence to tradition and, paradoxically, also enables Dolphy to engage in his trademark intervallic leaps, breaks and discordant accents without entirely alienating the listener.  Key to this approach was pianist Jaki Byard, a player well steeped in bebop and gospel music, yet also alive to the possibilities of the New Thing in jazz.  Also essential was the contribution of trumpeter Booker Little to the ensemble sound.  Similar to Clifford Brown in his tone and phrasing, his participation indicated an eagerness on Dolphy's part to further develop the harmonic textures within a responsive group dynamic. The sheer contrast between Dolphy's and Little's playing is a constant joy to behold, and the amount of solo space that Dolphy hands over to Little is a testament to the sheer humility of the man and the respect that he felt for the young trumpeter.  This relationship between Dolphy and Little would be developed further on Mal Waldron's underrated The Quest and during the residency at the Five Spot in June, documented extensively on the wonderful Live at the Five Spot records.  (Little's premature death at 23 in October 1961 affected Dolphy deeply on a personal level.  Who knows what further glories we might have witnessed from the Dolphy-Little partnership or, indeed, Little as frontman?) 

A final note on a personal highlight of Far Cry, the exquisite solo meditation on the standard, Tenderly.  As important, to my mind, as Coleman Hawkins'  1939 recording of Body and Soul, this stands as a perfect distillation of Dolphy's absolute mastery of his instrument and his unrivalled ability to channel his technical genius into a vehicle for engaging with his chosen material on a deeply spiritual level.  He would develop this even further in concert when he would muse at length on God Bless The Child on his bass clarinet in an openly personal paean to Bille Holiday, but Tenderly by itself offers as much scope for study as the greatest of Bird's solos (Koko on the legendary November 1945 session for Savoy and the utterly traumatised reading of Lover Man from the following year for the Dial label).  Break it down to its individual phrases and its constituent notes and linger and marvel at length on the instinctive genius  of Dolphy.  The invention on display is prodigious and yet, like all of the great masters, this serves simply as a vehicle for communicating something of great emotional significance.  I have lived with this music for almost 25 years and I remain startled by the intimacy of the performance and the nakedly expressive approach to music-making.  It remains for me a personal touchstone in the way it sublimates perfectly the interior emotions of the artist at the point of creation into a perfectly realised work of art.

Got my Christmas present wish.
Terrific set, fine production - very realistic in places, presentation is superb - lovely photos and good booklet and great music overall.
Highly recommended for your library.

Got my Christmas present wish.
Terrific set, fine production - very realistic in places, presentation is superb - lovely photos and good booklet and great music overall.
Highly recommended for your library.

markof wrote:

Got my Christmas present wish.
Terrific set, fine production - very realistic in places, presentation is superb - lovely photos and good booklet and great music overall.
Highly recommended for your library.

I might just check that one out!

fergus wrote:

markof wrote:

Got my Christmas present wish.
Terrific set, fine production - very realistic in places, presentation is superb - lovely photos and good booklet and great music overall.
Highly recommended for your library.

I might just check that one out!

I'll be right behind you!

fergus wrote:

It is a marvellous work. That cd contains the entire Suite, some alternate takes and a selection of other tunes also. The original LP -- released in mono -- just had the first twelve tracks including the alternate take of Lady Mac as part of the Suite rather than the performance presented on the CD release, I wonder why they changed it? I expect that Duke would not have approved of the change.

Ellington and Strayhorn read and studied Shakespeare's works for six months before they attempted to write the music. They couldn't include all of his plays and had to omit Richard III, King Lear, Coriolanus and All's Well That Ends Well.

It is a fascinating project and I think it worked really well. The couplings on Up And Down, Up And Down are gorgeous, the Sonnets are written in sonnet format, that is, iambic pentameter.

John Dankworth adored Ellington's music here is an interesting performance of Duke's sonnets by Cleo Laine, from the fourth minute Cleo Laine introduces Duke's music and from 7:01 Dankworth's orchestra starts with Sonnet for Hank Cinq (Henry the Fifth), when it's finished Cleo Laine sings it a second time, have a listen:

Paul, I really enjoyed reading your last post and I share your affection for Dolphy's music-making, he was special.