You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - 7 Great Live Recordings - #48

Episode Date: October 31, 2018

On today's You'll Hear It menu, you"ll enjoy the supple sounds of Peter & Adam recalling their top 7 greatest live jazz recordings. Bottoms up! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

And we're live in three, two, one. I'm Adam Maness. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear Podcast. Daily Jazz Advice coming at you. No, we're not technically live. We are speaking lives to each other, and this is recorded. So that may go with the topic of today, which is seven great live recordings.

Yes. I can't believe we haven't done this episode before. I know. Well, we don't really check, so we could very well be repeating. But I don't think we have. I don't think we have, no. But this is, I mean, so many classic records are live recording. Some of these records have definitely made our other seven lists.

Yeah. Yeah, it's very interesting. Well, I mean, you know, there's a certain type of jazz connoisseur. I don't know if we individually are together actually like this, but this kind of hardcore, maybe even into the jazz police category where, like, they think that the only true jazz recordings are live recordings. Like that jazz has to be consumed in a live situation, that studio recordings are somehow, you know, water, down versions. I mean, honestly, I kind of get that because jazz is so immediate and some of the best, I mean, honestly, the best music I've seen has been live. Yeah, I mean, there's nothing like it.

But, I mean, studio recordings, I think when you have groups and musicians that have that kind of mentality of the spirit of the music is the same as if they were playing live in the studio, that can certainly be represented well. But today, these are all true live recordings with audiences that have been documented and loved over the years. And let's kick it off. I guess I'm going to kick it off, aren't I? Kick it off. What do you guys?

Okay. So number one, I've got Miles Davis Quintet live at the Black Hawk Friday and Saturday night. Originally different separate LPs, but I've seen them packaged together a lot, so we'll kind of consider them together. I love Saturday. Friday was great too. But, you know, you've got, you know, Jimmy Cobb, Winton Kelly. This is 1961, I believe. Man, such a good thing.

Hank Mobley. Paul Chambers, of course, the great Paul Chambers, and the Black Hawk, which I don't know a lot about the club, I believe it was in San Francisco, I know Bay Area, but the sound is just so great on this record. The band is just firing. I mean, this is definitely

those, I mean, it's great how they call it Friday and Saturday night. You really get that feeling that it's a club thing. Now, one thing I do know, I don't know how common this knowledge is. Well, you can hear it on the recordings. I remember figuring this out when I was a kid. You know, there's some editing on there, surprisingly. And they're pretty rough edits,

because it's live, you don't have any separation. Like during the tunes? During the tunes? I didn't notice that. Yeah. Now, I think on, I've heard on later versions that they added back in. I know I've heard maybe there were alternate takes, added in the edited parts, which I'm never a big fan of that because, well, it's like you get used to it the original way. Yeah, yeah.

So I love hearing those original versions. But there's like a couple choruses taken. And they were good choruses. I think it's like a Winton Kelly solo that starts, but they took out a chorus at the beginning to make it a little more clean or something. Yeah. Man. You know, that's a hard one because when I think of Miles Live recordings, I immediately go to plug Nickel. Oh, yeah.

You know, which is his later band. Yeah, but what? Just a couple years later? Just a couple years. They're both great. Black Hawk is insanely good. Yeah. All right.

So for my first pick, I'm going to pick Jaco Pastorius's birthday concert. This is one of the most fun live albums you'll ever hear. It starts with the, I am saying, like, I'd like to thank my mother who's here tonight. You know? They go into the chicken. and it's just so funky and so clean that you're like, is this really live? Also, shout out on this record to one of my favorite jaco tunes.

Wait, is this a jaco tune? Even three views of a secret. You know this tune? Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, that's jocos. Beautiful tune. Beautiful ballad.

Love that. The whole thing, though, is just killing. So check out. Good stuff. Somebody's calling with, I think, their own request on this. All right. with number three here is that cool with number three okay we're gonna go amad jamal live at the pershing i was just looking up because i was just like is it at the persian i was trying to remember the name of course

it's but not for me is the name of the original album that's right but it's like amajimal at the pershing but not for me colon but not for me the great amajemal and his trio this is um 1958 and this is so great back then it was like recorded in 1958 and released in 1950s two weeks later and um so i don't know a lot about this club either but It's like such an intimate sound. It's like you feel like you know it. And I was thinking, I was like, what part of town is it in? I don't know, but it was at the Persian Hotel.

It's in Chicago, right? It's in Chicago. And they recorded a bunch of stuff. It couldn't all fit on the original record. This is another one where they've released different things. But a lot of his sort of legendary, you know, Surrey with the fringe on top, but not for me, like those great trio original arrangements that were so influential to other pianists and trios, but also to Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins and a lot from an arranging standpoint.

and where it was fleshed out to larger groups and stuff. But I think that, you know, in a lot of ways, Ahmad, great studio recordings too, but I think he really showed well on these live recordings. Like, I mean, just like Oscar Peterson, too. Great in the studio, but wow. To be able to feel like, especially if you didn't get, like I saw Oscar Peterson live,

but I never saw Amad. Oh, no, what am I talking about? Of course I saw Amadio all that. I saw him recently. But, I mean, this trio, I never saw. So I felt like I did, though, through these recordings. I mean, I think this record is one of the greatest jazz records of all time. And sometimes when I'm playing a club

and there's, you know, the club noise, which happens, a little whispering, maybe some quiet talking, some plates hanging together. I remember, like, oh, those are noises that are on live at the Pershing. So, like, don't get too big for your britches. That's right. Or you can think about it's, I'm as good as a module valve. See?

People are, there's a cash register. That's on myself. All right. So this next one, this was recorded a long time ago. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is Monk and Cold Train live at Carnegie Hall, but it wasn't released until, I think, 2006. Hold on.

Yeah, yeah, a little sleuthing here. No, I think that's around the time. And I remember when I, this was a month. another one like we were talking about the other day with the new Coltrane stuff from 63 that's coming out soon with Johnny Hartman and well they're saying that there's some unreleased stuff which is great but this one was I was a little bit skeptical of because I was like how could there be something that I was like I knew the music was going to be great

or at least at a high level but I wasn't sure about the sound and stuff and this is a great sounding record great concert and I don't know how this kind of sat there on released but it but it did sorry I'm stealing your thought no no no I mean That's the thing. So it got recorded November 29th, 1957, and was released September 27, 2005. It just was found, I think, in some archive in the Library of Congress. They're so slow about their card cataloging system. They didn't get to it until 2005.

Well, you know what's so special about this is that for years and years, and I don't know if you remember hearing about that record, not the record, but about Coltrane stint with Monk at the Five Spot. Yeah. And so Monk did a record live at the Five Spot, but it was not with Coltrane, it was with Johnny Griffin. Johnny Griffin. And so, you know, people were clamoring to hear anything from more with Coltrane and Monk.

Yeah. There's just not that much. It wasn't, I'm trying to think of other live. There's some great studios. Those two records from studio that were, but that, you know, Monk and Coltrane that are just incredible. But I, yeah, I mean, I'm sorry. Keep going. I'm getting excited.

But this, you know, this recording, if this was released in 1957, it would have been a all-time. classic, I think. The level of playing is so high from everybody, including the rhythm section, man. Amada Abdul Malik on bass and Shao Wilson. Killing on the drums. This to me is my favorite version of evidence, my favorite version of epistrophe.

There's so many good versions of those songs, but there's something about it, man. And, you know, I mean, a lot has been written about this, and it's pretty much known, but I don't know if the young folks are up on this. Coltrane's development during that time he played with Monk was, stratospheric and I don't know if that's a word or if I'm using it the right but you know what I'm saying

I know exactly that was like some rapid development and there you know a lot of times monk isn't necessarily recognized or giving credit for what I believe the impact his music and playing with him in that quartet situation did on Coltrane's musical vision you know I know Coltrane talked about it for sure but um such a big part of the lineage it had to have a huge impact yep he's such a huge force that yeah all right so next we have uh Bill Evans waltz for Debbie yes this this if you do not know, this is actually a live album recorded at the Village Vanguard. Right.

There's so much that's deep with this album. So the bass player on it is Scott LaFaro who died in a car accident just 10 days after this was recorded. I didn't know that. I know it was young, but... This is really a heavy, heavy moment in the history of really jazz. I mean, this is a big deal record.

Yeah. And all the stories and things aside, the lore of the Vanguard, all that aside, it's just a really great sounding record. That trio was on. obviously at its pinnacle, you know, it starts with an unbelievably heart-wrenching version of My Foolish Heart, which I've ripped off so many voicings off that. You're not the only pianist?

And just like hit after, hit after hit, waltz for Debbie, detour head, my romance, some other time, milestones. That's the original tracklist thing. Yeah. It's all killing. It's all energetic. It's all incredibly interactive and great report. Open Studio, Jazz Lessons from Jazz Legends.

No, I've been meaning to ask you about that. even possible to learn jazz from an online jazz course? I believe it is, and I think now we have a little bit of validation in the form of the New York Times. I don't know if you've heard of that publication. Rings a Bell, yeah. We're very excited on September 15th to have an opinion article written by one of our students, Elias Muhana, pretty much delineating his experience of learning and expanding his jazz knowledge online through our platform. It was so cool to read, to read about Elias' experiences.

You know, he came and he sat in on our recording session and we talked to him and you just never know how people are using the platform. But he gives such a great description of how he uses Open Studio and how he's progressed using your lessons. And it's really amazing. I encourage everybody to check out that article. Yeah, and, you know, reading it for me really validated a lot of what we were doing here, but also got me thinking of ways that we can further expand our offerings. and for me in terms of bringing on new artists and the ones that we already have,

really doubling down on what I think we do great, which is inspire and give folks that are coming to learn things for them to teach themselves, to work on themselves in the practice room as the weeks go by. That's great. Open Studio, Jazz Lessons from Jazz Legends. Yeah, well, and I mean, that trio with, you know, Paul Motion, Scholar, Bill Evans,

you know, certainly one of the most legendary piano trios in terms of a unit. We really think, I mean, individually amazing players and of course Bill Evans, but we think about that, the interplay that they had, you know, along the lines, you were talking about a Mad Jamal Trio

and not at all about ranking them, but just where you kind of know that you're at this special combination of musicians, and this was a real peak and pinnacle for them, and I think that they loved, they did several other live recordings that are out there that are great, too, at the Vanguard.

Obviously, they love playing there, and it's such a great setting for an intimate piano trio, and it just records so well there. Nice. Yep. So what are we at? That was four, right? I mean, it feels like we did like 30.

No, that's five, man. That's five, but still, those are some heavy recordings. I will try to get through these. Let's get a little more modern. Okay. So a little more modern. This is an album by our friend, Jeffrey Keiser. Yes.

This is called Wildcrafted Live at the Dakota. Yeah. Great club. This is great club. One of the better jazz clubs in the Midwest, if not the country. Yeah, big shout out to Minneapolis. Definitely. Keep on freezing.

This was a Max Jazz record. I think both of us were recording for Max Jazz when this record came. That's right. Yeah. I believe I was given this from the founder. I was too. Richard McDonald, he handed me this CD and I was very excited. This might be in a suitcase of mine still.

That's right. But it's an amazing, amazing CD. So, you know, I always have really loved Keeser's playing, but it hasn't been until really recently we've gotten to know him here through Open Studio and his courses that he's done, that I've really checked out all his trio records. And I'm telling you, man, this first. first track, stomping at the Savoy,

just go check it out. Yeah. So good. Like it's so, he's playing so much great music. Your friend, Tarion Gully, is on drums. Yep.

And, St. Louis finest. T. Gully. Tank. What's on T? And he's just killing on this track. So check it out.

Who's on bass on that? Who is that? Matt Cloisi. Yeah, I don't know him. I don't either. Yeah. No,

it's great stuff. And that's a great club. Lowell Pickett, I believe, is the proprietor. Shout out to Lowell. Yeah. Yeah, man, it's just one of those places that's been around for a while now.

I remember playing their kind of early 90s with Roy Hargrove, and it was relatively new then. And now it's like, you know, it's stood the test of time. But yeah, I think Keiser is such a great pianist to hear in a live situation. So you're getting from a live record. He's got some fantastic studio recordings as well, of course. But he's such the real deal that when you hear him live, it's almost like he goes into that next level and just cuts loose.

Yeah. Yeah, major player. Definitely one of my favorite. modern live recordings. All right. So rounding it out at number seven. Okay. So this, we were talking about going back and forth on this.

And I think I'm going to go with our original instinct, which is Duke Allington, live in Newport, 1956. Now this is, I can't really say I'm going out of a limb on this one in terms of picking live recordings. So it's a little bit fitting that it'd be either number one or number seven. But this is another one of those records that, I mean, so much hype about this recording, but so well deserved. Lour.

Yeah, lore. And I mean, this was, to think this was recording. at a time when like the jazz festival was not even really a thing because this was 56. I believe Newport started in like 55. So it wasn't even like an established thing. And Monterey Jazz Festival was right around that same time. So I mean, really this is the beginning of what people didn't even really know what a jazz festival was. It wasn't a thing.

It was just setting up a stage outside. So you want to tell the story about the legend of this particular recording and this and this, that one cut, right? This is in Ken Burns' jazz documentary, right? Everybody starts to leave. Right. Go ahead, go ahead. Because you've got a good flow. You're talking about the Paul Gonzalves solo.

I'll take it. Because I can't actually, yeah, they leave, but then they come back when they heard his solo. Was it like 50 choruses or something? I mean, I might be exaggerated a little bit. But it's long. 27 chorus solo by Gonzales, yeah. So apparently the crowd had started to kind of exit. And Gonzalves just starts building and building and building and just really goes at it.

I think it was just a blues, right? Yeah. And, I mean, 27 choruses later, you know, the crowd. it's on their feet, everybody's back. Crescendo in blue. Yep. Crescendo and blue. And the modern jazz festival is formed.

That's right. What a way to kick it off. I try to do that now at every festival I play. 27 choruses of saxophone solo. Adam Maness, right. Well, this was cool. I'm glad we still have some. You know what?

I think if we go a little deeper, we're going to find some other seven lists. If you guys, of course, have any requests, let us know of ones that we have done or not have done. Either way. Yeah. It's all good. We'll do them again.

Yeah. And until tomorrow, you'll hear it.