Recorded in 1984, the unlikely pairing of young Japanese jazz pianist Makoto Terashita and veteran American saxophonist Harold Land was kept obscured for far too long. With its opus “Dragon Dance” originally showcased on the BBE label’s essential J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan four-part compilation series, Topology unearths the sensational full session. Like his run seventies Blue Note sessions with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, the unsung tenorist Land is a marvel as a collaborative partner, elevating this set of mostly original compositions by the younger, up-and-coming Makoto Terashita.
Category: Jazz
Bill Frisell :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
For Bill Frisell, music at its best feels dreamlike. It bends and manipulates time, contracting and expanding. On his latest, In My Dreams the guitarist is joined by longtime collaborators for a spectral set of tunes, including a sterling cover of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan.” He joins us to discuss the record, dreams, and Gary Larson’s The Far Side.
Ron Carter :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
In more than a half-century of activity, the legendary bassist has played with nearly everyone in jazz, from cult heroes to celebrated titans to forgotten mavericks. but longevity and dedication as a sideman, along with his stint in Miles Davis’ fabled Second Great Quintet, tend to obscure his many other major accomplishments. For his Aquarium Drunkard Interview, Carter talked about the inspiration behind his latest project and his hardscrabble and illustrious past, and went into his philosophical outlook and practical methods. Breaking down music as an art, a profession and a discipline, Carter shows that a life spent keeping time has not prevented him from existing in the present moment.
Joe Zawinul :: Zawinul
Recorded between his brief tenure as Miles’ early electric co-conspirator and the formation of Weather Report, Joe Zawinul’s 1971 self-titled LP arrived as a quiet statement in the first wave of fusion excess. If Weather Report would later showcase Zawinul as a dominant bandleader and sonic architect, Zawinul offers something more revealing: quiet evidence of a singular vision reaching full bloom. A document of what might have been had the electric revolution taken a more measured, orchestrated path, and a testament to the composer who, even in the shadows, was already shaping its future.
Stephen McCraven :: Wooley The Newt
Originally released on Marion Brown’s Sweet Earth imprint in 1979, Wooley The Newt is a true lost spiritual jazz relic from percussionist and composer Stephen McCraven. Resurrected in a limited capacity by British reissue label Moved-By-Sound at the tail end of last year, the record was sampled by Stephen’s son Makaya on his 2020’s reimaging of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here. Recorded in Paris and more than long overdue, it’s a fascinating relic of seventies avant-jazz and a lost bandleader debut of the utmost artistic craft.
Tommy Hendrix :: Out Of The Mist (1958)
Out Of The Mist (1958) is the lone trace of Tommy Hendrix, a cool-jazz crooner whose biography begins and ends with a solitary release. It’s an obscure album lost to time by an artist who seemingly never existed. Tommy Hendrix is a midcentury ghost, and Out Of The Mist is the sound of his specter briefly passing through our dimension, like a puff of cigarette smoke lingering in a cocktail lounge that nobody has ever set foot in.
Muriel Grossmann :: Plays the Music of McCoy Tyner and the Grateful Dead
On a four-track double album, Austrian saxophonist Muriel Grossmann pays tribute to the music of two American visionaries: McCoy Tyner and Bob Weir. Though the music of the jazz pianist and Grateful Dead guitarist would not seem to have much in common, Grossmann’s festive, idiosyncratic renditions suggest some intriguing links. With an ear for robust melody and an open-ended approach, Grossmann has created a moving tribute that suggests the only true way to carry on is to transform.
Donald Byrd :: Ethiopian Knights
After a decade under Van Gelder’s roof, Donald Byrd decamps for sun-kissed LA to record Ethiopian Knights, an album that rests comfortably in the improvisational sweet spot where Mwandishi and Peter Green’s End of the Game converge; acknowledging the gravitational pull of early 70s jazz funk but reveling in the turf that lies at its edge.
Gary Peacock/Ralph Towner :: Oracle
The recently reissued Oracle, a collaboration between bassist Gary Peacock and recently deceased guitarist Ralph Towner gives us a look at two legends in deep midcareer. Originally released in 1995, it shows two restless musicians, each with their own highly developed, distinct musical language, looking to mix things up. Though more
Peacock-forward, its seamless mix of carefully spontaneous playing and freewheeling composition serves as a fitting farewell to Towner, and reminds us that the great ones never stop evolving, long after their so-called “classic” eras have ended.
Herbie Hancock Septet: Live at the Boardinghouse January 16, 1973
Recently, a previously unheard Sextant tour FM broadcast from SF’s legendary Boarding House emerged. It’s well worth your time. This group is especially good when they stretch way way way out. And they certainly do that here: most of the performance is made up of a 40+ minute spiral through “Hidden Shadows.” Everyone gets a chance to shine, of course, but let’s give it up for the rhythm section of Buster Williams and Billy Hart, who hold things down and lift things up simultaneously, letting the prog-funk-jazz mutant grooves spin and swirl all around the room. Unreal!
David Bowie’s Blackstar Jazz
Released 10 years ago today, David Bowie’s Blackstar marked the artist’s most intensive and rewarding collaboration with jazz musicians in the span of his six decade career. To commemorate the album’s anniversary we dive into how his work with Maria Schneider, Donny McCaslin and other players shaped his final record.
Gene Ammons :: Nice an’ Cool (1961)
True to Moodsville’s curation, Nice ‘an Cool is nothing if not a “mood album,” the overall unity of the quartet eclipsing any one section of the arrangement. The band keeps dynamics to a gentle hush; Ammons plays his melody lines straight, keeping embellishments to a bare minimum. Still, the ear can’t help but single out Ammons’ tenor sax. His tone is unmistakable: deep, rich, and warm. He doesn’t so much play notes as he breathes his soul into them, tinting each legato phrase with a lifetime’s worth of dreams and regrets.
Eberhard Weber on ECM: Primary Colours
ECM may exist without Eberhard Weber, but it wouldn’t be ECM as we know it. From his 1973 debut through decades of collaboration, Weber’s ECM catalog is difficult to absorb, with offshoots that aren’t for every taste. Still, it’s a body of work that rewards exploration. Here’s one path among many.
Miles in ‘65: The Journey to the Plugged Nickel
1965 could’ve easily been the end of the road for Miles Davis. Having spent much of the year laid up in a NY hospital, he returned to the stage with a quintet whose virtuosity had grown formulaic. En route to a two-week run at Chicago’s Plugged Nickel, drummer Tony Williams hatched a plan for a renewed language. “What if we made anti-music?” The results, documented on the newly reissued Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel, changed the landscape of modern jazz.
Steve Tibbetts :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Close, guitarist Steve Tibbetts latest album, might be his most rewardingly mysterious yet. In conversation, Tibbetts balances consideration with openness, talking about his Buddhist practice, having lunch with Joe Boyd and Leo Kottke, working as a nurse and a record store clerk, the Grateful Dead, the wonders of fellow ECM artists and much more.