a Couple of Good Jazz Picks


I thought I’d share two good CD finds I picked up yesterday.

First is Keith Jarrett’s Treasure Island, on Impulse from 1974 which features the late-great Dewey Redman on tenor. The music great with Jarrett playing a lot of blocky chords that set off really well against Redman’s somewhat more frenetic style. They playing style is very different than his more recent, and somewhat more melodic ECM recordings but this is a great album AND it’s really well recorded. The mics are stepped back from the players a bit and it sounds very natural.

Second is Charlie Rouse’s Soul Mates with Sahib Shihab on the Uptown Label. In truth, I was not expecting much out of this recording sonically for several reasons: first, it’s an RVG recording which can sound good but not always great; and second, it’s an all digital recording from 1988, a period of time that always conjures up thoughts of very bright, harsh sounding digital recordings. Not here. This is a really well recorded album. It’s very natural sounding, well staged and devoid of most, if not all glare. Musically it’s a pretty straight ahead bop date, but the playing is top flight. Oddly, after being recorded the record was apparently shelved for about five years and only released in 1993 after Rouse, Shihab and piano player Walter Davis Jr. had passed away.

Just thought I’d share. Enjoy.
grimace