Jazz

botherly said:
Hey guys, quick question: anyone have any contemporary jazz label recommendations? Any big names I should already know? I did a quick Google but it's hard to sift through what's really worthwhile etc, so looking for some suggestions.
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it's an incredibly vibrant time for jazz across a ton of styles. The London jazz scene (Comet is Coming; goGo Penguin, tons in this thread by people that know it well and a lot better than me) is blending spiritual, electronica, caribbean, fusion and more.

Evolutions are happening in the US with labels like GiantStepArts (the Johnathan Blake Trion) and then the modern Blue Note team of artists (Ambrose Akinmusire, Marcus Strickland, Lionel Loueke, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott; Robert Glasper, etc.) are all people that you can see live.

For vocal: Cecile McLorin Salvant

There is also an unreal number of women that are emerging as leaders, etc.
 
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I had an awesome jazz filled weekend. Spun a fantastic OG copy of the 'Ornette Coleman Double Quartet - Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation', saw the mind-blowingly good 'Sons of Kemet' (and guests) at Somerset House in London, sold a record for silly money and instantly used that to buy a stack of jazz records I never thought I would be able to own (waiting anxiously for these to arrive and I will share with you all).

Worth mentioning as well that an amazing musician called 'DJ Noss' (or Noss DJ as it sometimes appears) opened for Sons of Kemet. He has worked with Shabaka a few times on Worldwide FM and mixes jazz, Caribbean sounds, soul, electronic.....everything. He opened with a beat which he played a conch over (the seashell object) and later played the bele drum he was sitting on. It was really stunning stuff. I listened to his short album on spotify this morning and as good as it was, its really worth looking for some live clips on youtube as it was much more eclectic.
 
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Various Artists - Sunny Side Up. Vinyl LP, CD. Bleep.

Buy Sunny Side Up by Various Artists on Bleep. Available on Vinyl LP, CD. Download MP3, WAV, FLAC.
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pretty cool sounding comp from Gilles Peterson:

With Sunny Side Up, Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label attempts to do for Melbourne what We Out Here did for London. Both cities have equally exciting things happening in their jazz scenes at the moment - new groups are forming all the time, the level of individual ability is extremely high, and genre barriers are broken down with carefree abandon. Just as We Out Here put a pin in what was happening around venues like Dalston’s Total Refreshment Centre, Sunny Side Up does something similar with the sound of Melbourne’s north side.

The tracks here were recorded at The Grove, a house and studio in Melbourne that has Nick Herrera, Hiatus Koyote and Silentjay in its orbit. A huge array of musicians appear across Sunny Side Up, and the wide pool of talent makes for some dynamic musical fusion. Synthetic ambience, new age, and spiritual jazz are all touched on during the course of opener ‘Banksia’ alone. The record kicks on from there, taking in squelchy funk-rock (‘Pick Up/Galaxy’), psychedelic neo-soul (‘There Is No Time’), fusion-funk freakouts (‘Nice To See You’) and plenty more. You can feel the energy of the various players bouncing off each other here, and there is also a strong sense of camaraderie to Sunny Side Up.

Sunny Side Up might be to 2019 what We Out Here was to 2018 - a compilation from Brownswood that becomes the release which defines a scene.
 
Those of ya’ll in Savannah: Graveface bought a collection of 2,000+ jazz rekkids. They are going to put some of the pricier items out this weekend I believe, according to their social media’s.
 
Crabbers said:
Enjoy jazz heads

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Snagged the Bill Evans Milestone Village Vanguard Sessions for a good price. I’m a happy boy, overbidded on Ike Quebec’s heavy soul so hopefully somebody out bids me on that one 😂, got my eye on Ella Swings Lightly, that’s one of my girlfriends favorite records it’s been helping her decompress after work recently so I’m a try and get that for her :). Overall, thanks for sharing.
 
Team, need a bit of advice on jazz books if anyone has any on the subject.

I have just finished reading Beneath The Underdog by Charles Mingus and it didn't really scratch my jazz itch. It was a good book and a great look into Mingus' mind, but up until the last few chapters (where hes writing the narrative between him and his doctor/psychologist) I felt like there was very little to it other than sex, pimping, and women.

I have read Miles Davis' book and found it way more informative and 'fun' as it really painted the picture of the classic jazz era and the battles he faced as a musician. I have also recently read As Serious As Your Life by Val Wilmer which I THOROUGHLY recommend reading for a fantastic overview of the 1957-1977 jazz period (and some detailed explorations into specific musicians as well). And finally I have read pretty much every Blue Note book I have been able to get my hands on.

If anyone has any recommendations that would be fantastic. I would really like to read a biography on John Coltrane or Lee Morgan, has anyone read anything like this?

Cheers
 
Selaws said:
Team, need a bit of advice on jazz books if anyone has any on the subject.

I have just finished reading Beneath The Underdog by Charles Mingus and it didn't really scratch my jazz itch. It was a good book and a great look into Mingus' mind, but up until the last few chapters (where hes writing the narrative between him and his doctor/psychologist) I felt like there was very little to it other than sex, pimping, and women.

I have read Miles Davis' book and found it way more informative and 'fun' as it really painted the picture of the classic jazz era and the battles he faced as a musician. I have also recently read As Serious As Your Life by Val Wilmer which I THOROUGHLY recommend reading for a fantastic overview of the 1957-1977 jazz period (and some detailed explorations into specific musicians as well). And finally I have read pretty much every Blue Note book I have been able to get my hands on.

If anyone has any recommendations that would be fantastic. I would really like to read a biography on John Coltrane or Lee Morgan, has anyone read anything like this?

Cheers
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I love Whitney Balliett's writing, his collected works is just fantastic. I find it transports me to a different time and puts me in the moment of discovery, excitement and energy that he was experiencing. It's laugh out loud funny at times, beautifully descriptive, metaphoric and informative. It lead me off in many different directions in my musical explorations too.

I've been dipping in and out of "Coltrane on Coltrane" which is basically a collection of interviews, letters etc. I do enjoy reading Coltrane's own words and getting a glimpse in to his mind, it is far from a flowing story though, I'd be interested to see others recommendations in this too.

I was recently quite struck by Leroi Jones' liner notes in a Coltrane Quartet album - Live at Birdland I think - and ordered his book Black Music. I've only just started but I love his writing style.
 
The Story of Love Supreme by Ashley Kahn is really good, Herbie Hancock's auotobio is pretty good, there is a Coltrane book by Lewis Porter that's pretty good as well, but it's a bit dry and has a lot of music theory discussions .There's a good making of Bitches Brew called Listen To This by Victor Svorinich .
Selaws said:
Team, need a bit of advice on jazz books if anyone has any on the subject.

I have just finished reading Beneath The Underdog by Charles Mingus and it didn't really scratch my jazz itch. It was a good book and a great look into Mingus' mind, but up until the last few chapters (where hes writing the narrative between him and his doctor/psychologist) I felt like there was very little to it other than sex, pimping, and women.

I have read Miles Davis' book and found it way more informative and 'fun' as it really painted the picture of the classic jazz era and the battles he faced as a musician. I have also recently read As Serious As Your Life by Val Wilmer which I THOROUGHLY recommend reading for a fantastic overview of the 1957-1977 jazz period (and some detailed explorations into specific musicians as well). And finally I have read pretty much every Blue Note book I have been able to get my hands on.

If anyone has any recommendations that would be fantastic. I would really like to read a biography on John Coltrane or Lee Morgan, has anyone read anything like this?

Cheers
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pijo said:
I love Whitney Balliett's writing, his collected works is just fantastic. I find it transports me to a different time and puts me in the moment of discovery, excitement and energy that he was experiencing. It's laugh out loud funny at times, beautifully descriptive, metaphoric and informative. It lead me off in many different directions in my musical explorations too.

I've been dipping in and out of "Coltrane on Coltrane" which is basically a collection of interviews, letters etc. I do enjoy reading Coltrane's own words and getting a glimpse in to his mind, it is far from a flowing story though, I'd be interested to see others recommendations in this too.

I was recently quite struck by Leroi Jones' liner notes in a Coltrane Quartet album - Live at Birdland I think - and ordered his book Black Music. I've only just started but I love his writing style.
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kafunis said:
Listen To This by Victor Svorinich
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Brilliant lists, thanks guys! I will certainly hunt some of these down. I didn't realise Herbie Hancock had an autobiography, I will be seeing him live later in the year so will aim to get this and read before seeing him!
 
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