Dave Holland - Points Of View (1998)
What are you listening to? September 2020
- Thread starter Unsomnambulist
- Start date
- Status
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Black String - Karma (2019)
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
This again, as it just arrived in the mail.Black String - Karma (2019)
Joshua Redman - Back East (2007)
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
^ Now you've done it, @JazzyRandy . I have zero albums with Joshua Redman as a leader. I may or may not have albums with Redman as a collaborator or sideman, but I have too many albums to know without doing some semi-deep research.
Could you give me a listing of your top five Joshua Redman albums, if/when you have the chance?
P. S. Or, even top three?
P. P. S. Quiet, ever'body. He's cogitating.
Could you give me a listing of your top five Joshua Redman albums, if/when you have the chance?
P. S. Or, even top three?
P. P. S. Quiet, ever'body. He's cogitating.
Last edited:
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Wailin Storms - Rattle (2020)
From Durham, NC.
From Durham, NC.
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Mother Island - Motel Rooms (2020)
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Beck - Mellow Gold (1994)
"Forces of evil in a bozo nightmare."
"Forces of evil in a bozo nightmare."
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
Will Quinlan & The Diviners ~ Navasota (2008)
This may be only the third or fourth time I've listened to this CD.
I find it notable for a couple of things. It's competent alt-country, Americana, and poppy. That's one.
The other is that I seem to remember hearing a tiny bit about it on the old site, or the one before that. Interestingly, it only has 10 RYM ratings, and five of those are from former members of lala or the MG 1.0, with the ratings initiated by lownotes.
Edited to change American to Americana.
This may be only the third or fourth time I've listened to this CD.
I find it notable for a couple of things. It's competent alt-country, Americana, and poppy. That's one.
The other is that I seem to remember hearing a tiny bit about it on the old site, or the one before that. Interestingly, it only has 10 RYM ratings, and five of those are from former members of lala or the MG 1.0, with the ratings initiated by lownotes.
Edited to change American to Americana.
Last edited:
Geof Bradfield - African Flowers (2010)
This is tough because I love them all. And I'm not sure if my favorite one is necessarily the one for a JR (Joshua Redman, not JazzyRandy) newbie to begin. And I know I'm not going to be happy just listing album titles 1-5, so this could get messy.^ Now you've done it, @JazzyRandy . I have zero albums with Joshua Redman as a leader. I may or may not have albums with Redman as a collaborator or sideman, but I have too many albums to know without doing some semi-deep research.
Could you give me a listing of your top five Joshua Redman albums, if/when you have the chance?
P. S. Or, even top three?
P. P. S. Quiet, ever'body. He's cogitating.
Legend: These are ordered more according to year of release than which I like best. If it were the latter, the order would probably be 1, 4, 2, 5, 3.5, 3.
#1) MoodSwing - My absolute favorite of his and one of my desert island albums. Each of the musicians ended up becoming fantastic bandleaders, each recognized as one of the very best at their respective instruments, and after this one album they broke up and ascended separately. One of the things that makes JR so great to me is his flawless tone. Another is his compositions, melodic and empathetic. One of the things old-timers complain about new albums is length, as playing time has extended. Yes it's easier to take Lee Morgan's Sidewinder at 6 tracks in 40 minutes, compared to the 70-minutes plus that some CD-era Jazz albums go for. But the 11 tracks and 69 minutes on MoodSwing are all so good and play so effortlessly that listening to it is all good and no filler.
#2) Beyond - Released 6 years after MoodSwing and with 3 different musicians, this is really the next step in the evolution of JR. Mostly it sounds like his compositional skills have matured into a pleasing complexity. He always had the passion and excellent musicianship, but it seems here he unlocked another door. I saw him play live at about this time and it blew me away. The dude cooks, but never strays off note - and he had the audacity to invite Mark Turner to play on a song. At the time, there was debate as to who was the best of the young tenor sax lions, JR, Mark Turner or James Carter. We heard Carter and JR duel on the the instant-classic Kansas City soundtrack, but I think this is the first time we got to hear Turner and JR together.
#3) Freedom In The Groove and Elastic - (Though one features guitar and the other an organ, if time is limited, choose one and move on.) One of the things I love about JR was every two albums or so, he kept trying new things. Unlike another great technician of his time, Wynton Marsalis, JR didn't feel so beholden to one type of music that he got stuck in a rut. Granted, Marsalis is stuck in a golden rut and that's not all bad, but the way JR evolved his career was a better match for my tastes. After starting his recording career with three traditionally set-up Jazz albums, JR added guitar to his fourth, Freedom In The Groove, and some funky rhythms. Both open up his sound. With Elastic, JR went with an organ trio. It opens with a burning "Molten Soul" and is followed by one of the wittily titled "Jazz Crimes" which is but one of many great song titles from JR. Listening to this, I often forget I'm listening to a trio because it sounds like another musician or two is pitching in.
#3.5) Momentum - (Some Jazz listeners hate this.) Just as JR had expanded into knottier compositions with Beyond and Passage Of Time, he switched tracks to a looser, more rhythm-driven, more collaborative sound with #3 and this album. This album actually culminates the sound JR had been toying with a for a decade, beginning with FitG. This is a mix between 70s era Funk-Jazz and Fusion-Jazz, with a 2000's type of fusion that includes all the musical influences in JRs life. Sam Yahel's organ is heavy in the mix. Not to be overlooked is JR used his Jazz superstar powers to recruit a host of guests, both within and outside the Jazz world: Nicholas Payton, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Meshell Ndegeocello, ?uestlove, Flea, and a lot more. "Put It In Your Pocket" is as in-the-pocket as you could ever be, and when JR and Nicholas Payton start blowing holes in that pocket I reach a new nirvana. WARNING: Not for everyone
#ASIDE) After Momentum, JR continued to dabble in different sounds. Over the next decade, he released several trio albums, a duo album, some stuff with strings, a collab with The Bad Plus, and a pianoless quartet tribute to his father's bands of the 70s. All different sounds with the same great JR playing. All worthwhile. During this time, what most stood out to me was ...
#4) James Farm - 17 years after JR struck quarted gold with MoodSwing, he hit it again with a new set of rising stars. I remember seeing Harland live a couple of times with the SFJazz Collective. The man is a beast on the kit, eating up every song and dropping the perfect strikes. Aaron Parks is a fantastic pianist and an exciting composer. And Matt Penman is one of my favorite bassists today. JR allowed this to be labeled a collaboration of equals, but he's definitely the top equal and this really is a JR album. All these compositions are bursting with goodness and electricity and rhythm and a sort of contemporary flair that uplifts the soul. Not that this sounds like EWF at all, but this is the Jazz Of The 2010's version of EWF's feel good sound wrapped in excellent music and sounding absolutely perfect. IMO, this is what the best of contemporary Jazz sounds like. As with MoodSwing, all these other guys are leaders in their own right and just great musicians.
#5) Come What May - I'm not sure about this one, but it was stuck on play with me for a long time last year. It's not the quality of the album that causes me uncertainty, because it's fantastic. I simply wonder if perhaps I should list RoundAgain (2020's MoodSwing reunion album,) or Still Dreaming (another "different sounding" excursion for JR,) or Live 2007 (an SFJazz Collective tribute album to Monk that JR co-leads with Miguel Zenon.) In the end, this one just seems right. JR's best work seems to be in a standard quartet, perfectly supported by a talented creative rhythm section and able to shine the light of his sax through the dark caverns.
PopMatters said:
I reserve the right to reorder and even add/drop albums from this list on the next go round.
Last edited:
SFJazz Collective - Live 2007: Original Compositions and Works by Thelonious Monk
James Farm - James Farm (2011)
the former includes 3/4 of the latter
James Farm - James Farm (2011)
the former includes 3/4 of the latter
Last edited:
Greg Osby - Inner Circle (2002)
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Damaged Bug - Bug On Yonkers (2020)
Ojai Sam
Staff member
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Americana (2012)
Neil and the Horse take on 11 mostly familiar, mostly folky songs like "My Darling Clementine" and "This Land Is Your Land", plus odd choices like "Get a Job" and "God Save The Queen." If you were dying to know what "Tom Dula" (aka Dooley) sounded like with heavy, fuzzy, crunchy guitars, this is the album for you. Otherwise, you can give it a pass.
on the Sam-O-Meter.
Neil and the Horse take on 11 mostly familiar, mostly folky songs like "My Darling Clementine" and "This Land Is Your Land", plus odd choices like "Get a Job" and "God Save The Queen." If you were dying to know what "Tom Dula" (aka Dooley) sounded like with heavy, fuzzy, crunchy guitars, this is the album for you. Otherwise, you can give it a pass.
on the Sam-O-Meter.
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
A classic inductee into the What Was He Thinking? thread.Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Americana (2012)
Neil and the Horse take on 11 mostly familiar, mostly folky songs like "My Darling Clementine" and "This Land Is Your Land", plus odd choices like "Get a Job" and "God Save The Queen." If you were dying to know what "Tom Dula" (aka Dooley) sounded like with heavy, fuzzy, crunchy guitars, this is the album for you. Otherwise, you can give it a pass.
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Ultimate Spinach - Behold & See (1968)
- Status
