Volume two of Abstract Truths, An Evolving Jazz Compendium . If unfamiliar with the series, please first read here about the its genesis and intention. As promised, this installment is courtesy of dj/record collector Carlos Nino . Per his selections, Niî±o notes […]
Category: Jazz
The John Coltrane Quartet :: Naima – Paris, 1962
John Coltrane would’ve turned 90 today, and even though he passed on all the way back in 1967, the music he made still reverberates with a power and clarity that refuses to […]
Abstract Truths: An Evolving Jazz Compendium – Volume One
Several months back I happened upon a survey stating that, according to Neilson, jazz now held the dubious honor of being the least listened to genre in the US. The piece […]
John Coltrane :: Newport Folk Festival, 1966
I like to ‘check in’ with this clip every now and again. You know, like right now. Footage recorded July, 2 1966, a year prior to Coltrane’s passing the following […]
Charles Mingus :: Live, 1964 / Belgium, Norway & Sweden
Meditate on this: Charles Mingus and company, European tour 1964, captured in Belgium, Norway & Sweden. Free up a couple of hours and wade into these waters. I assure you […]
Nina Simone :: Be My Husband (Live, 1987)
This is everything. Recorded live in Los Angeles, 35 years ago, at the now defunct Vine St. Bar & Grill. Culled from the Verve record Let It Be Me , “Be My Husband” kicks off the […]
Miles Davis :: Vienna 1973
When listening to the electric work of Miles Davis and his bands in the 1970s, the thought that often goes through my mind is: “How the fuck are they making […]
Charles Mingus :: I’ll Remember April – Antibes Jazz Festival
When giants walked the earth! Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Ted Curson, Dannie Richmond, and Bud Powell all on one stage together, spitting fire, speaking in tongues. Charles Mingus died […]
Charles Mingus :: Mingus Plays Piano
Miles Davis w/ John Coltrane: “Walkin'” / Cafe Bohemia, 1958
Gems From The Jazz Vault :: Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery & Duke Ellington
Some recent, recommended archival releases of (mostly) unreleased material from some jazz giants. It’d take a whole lot more than four discs to sum up what Miles Davis was up […]
The Gospel According To Nina Simone
She begins in mid-flow. Sitting down at the piano, effectively taking the reins from her band, the first thing she says into the microphone is ‘So…‘ One simple word, an […]
The Cosmically Spiritual Gospel of Shirley Ann Lee And Alice Coltrane
For those who followed Numero Group’s 2009 compilation Local Customs: Downriver Revival , it should come as no surprise that the reissue label’s 2012 Shirley Ann Lee release is brilliant, breathtaking and essential listening. […]
Sevens: Alice Coltrane – Transfiguration (Live, 1976)
( Sevens , a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, pays tribute to the art of the individual song.) It’s been noted that 1976’s “Transfiguration” is a culmination, and a sort of […]
Jeremy Taylor :: A Reggae Interpretation Of Kind Of Blue
In 2009 Secret Stash Records dusted off this collection via a vinyl-only release. From the label: “In the spring of 1981 a group of reggae studio musicians from Jamaica gathered in New York […]