Walking and Talking

Last night Lawrence Leathers raved to me about his mentor, Randy Gelispie. I hadn't heard of Gelispie before so Lawrence recommended a live 1968 track with Pat Martino and Gene Ludwig, "Who Can I Turn To." My mind is blown; Gelispie sounds incredible. Swinging hard, very clean, but playing a lot of unusual stuff, too. The whole trio is burning. I wonder if the uploader has more of the gig. If so, it really needs to be a proper CD. 

I'm not an organ trio expert, but lately I've been thinking I need to get more in there. Especially for the drummers. Freed from having to "keep it quiet" for pianists etc., the drummers get to put out some serious vibe. Blues drumming unlimited. 

Recently I was investigating Ben Dixon with Jack McDuff, Baby Face Willette, and John Patton. Dixon doesn't always play what you expect. He's really raw, almost sloppy. Not "studio-style" at all.

Naturally I'm a life-long fan of Donald Bailey, who tracked some profoundly idiosyncratic shuffles with Jimmy Smith.

Billy Hart played with Jimmy Smith, too. There were never any studio records, but now some precious videos are available. The drumming on "Wagon Wheels" is amazingly free, with Jabali doing a lot of stuff that foreshadows the way he plays today. Of course his beat is pure magic.

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From the sublime to the ridiculous: Thanks to WH for sending along Kwon Soon Keun's version of "My Way." 

Keun's cymbals are pretty bad, but not as bad as the ones Kenny Aronoff uses at a clinic while showing off his command of the jazz language. "Let's drink some Guinness." Um, this might be the least self-aware thing I've ever seen. 

OK, sorry to post three snarky links in a row, but the Art Garfunkel thing going around is worth listening to. (Or not.)

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Finally, two jazz TV programs from the 70's. Just to see some of these people in action back in the day is fascinating, no matter what the context.

Bill Lee's New York Bass Violin Choir, One Mile East. For bass buffs the real heat comes in part three. Bill Lee is Spike's dad. I really dig his bass playing on a couple of Clifford Jordan records, and in the Billy Hart group we have played Lee's classic tune "John Coltrane."

The famous names piled up on top of each other on  The Original Rompin' Stompin' Hot And Heavy, Cool And Groovy All Star Jazz Show probably wished there had been a different producer.

09/19/2012

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