Jazz for aficionados

Alex, I promised you some comments re "Best Coast Jazz".  As I said before, I don't think I have ever heard anything by Clifford Brown that I didn't like.  I have and love his recordings with Max Roach and "C B With Strings" has always been one of my very favorite ballads records.  It is remarkable that eventhough he tragically died at the age pf 25(!) he was able to achieve such a high level of musicianship and be so influential.  "Best Coast Jazz" is a terrific record, clearly in a bebop bag and has the stamp of Charlie Parker's vocabulary all over it; particularly (no surprise) in the case of the two alto players, but with a somewhat lighter rhythmic touch and softer instrumental tones typical of West Coast players.  I think the tenor player Walter Benton sounds less committed to the bebop idiom and his connection to the older "swing" style can be heard in his tone, inflections and less complete command of the more complex bebop harmonies.  Clifford is brilliant as always.  Few players can "tell a story" the way that Clifford could:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLi8BquRmKA_n4umKPYQFIWlVzineIM9b2&v=uAl6Sro_OtI

Your clip was a bit of a "blast from the past" for me since one of the alto players, Herb Geller, was the featured alto player on the very first jazz record I bought at the age 13, Maynard Ferguson's "McArthur Park"; great alto player.  The other alto player, Joe Maini, definitely belongs on your list of "forgotten ones".  Fantastic West Coast player who was greatly admired during his years in the LA scene, but sadly led a tragic life.  Interesting, if sad, story:

http://www.jazzwax.com/2010/06/the-truth-about-joe-mainis-death.html

Thanks for the Clifford Clip.

Rok, will comment on those great Silver clips shortly.  Thanks for keeping the Silver flame alive.

Larry Young- new disk of Paris recordings.

Rok, loved the clips from "The Jodi Grind"; especially "Grease Piece". I was not familiar with this record and the more that Silver is discussed, the more respect that I have for him. What a great composer! Tunes that are interesting, catchy and always bear his stamp all over them; "Grease Piece" is no exception. I find Silver’s playing interesting on this cut in that it reminds me a little bit of McCoy Tyner (!); had never heard that in Silver’s playing before and perhaps he was influenced by the presence of Woody Shaw on the date with his harmonic approach which, up to that point in time, was more modern than many of the players that Silver had had in his band previously. Shaw played more angularly and harmonically "outside". And Walter Benton! Talk about raw and soulful; reminds me a little of Bennie Maupin. Whatever happened to him? Will have to look for recordings of his stuff.

"Pursuit Of The 27th Man" is kind of a legendary record for young saxophone players. It was a record that gave the Breckers (especially Michael) some real jazz cred; being that he, unlike many of the older players who transitioned to "fusion", "jazz-rock" or "whatever", began his career in those genres while also playing straight-ahead jazz. It took some time for the purists to take him seriously as a jazz player and the incredible musician that he was. You’re right about the rhythmic interplay between piano and vibes; beautiful stuff!

Thanks for the clips.

In a recent post, Alex made what I think is an extremely important comment and one that I have made in one way or another several times:

****Also I feel that music is more than craft, but have enough sense to recognise that part as very important too.****

The comment was made re George Benson and Grant Green and there is much more in that comment than meets the eye. Along with the appreciation of craft are two cosiderations that I think are very important: when and how to recognize that impressive "craft" is trying to make up for lack of substance (feeling) and the player is not saying anything; and (2) the possible danger in prematurely judging impressive craft as meaning that there is no substance. Tricky stuff which goes to the heart of much of what gets discussed here , sometimes in a contentious way, and which also goes to who we each are as individual listeners with our own likes and dislikes. Of course, our own likes and dislikes have much to do with our willingness to be both open minded and humble in how we judge the music and may not say much about the true quality of any music.

I posted this once before. Amazing craft, and also a great deal deal of substance and feeling; IF we understand the language (post-Coltrane) he’s speaking in (imo). As Rok said, this guy was the real deal:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns02jzH8Ccw