You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Peter and Adam's MOST Inspirational Tracks

Episode Date: June 24, 2022

Peter and Adam share tracks that have inspired them the most over the years!Check out the tracks right here!You can find the video here!Have a question for us? Leave us a SpeakPipeCheckout courses from Adam, Peter and more at Open StudioLet us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Twitter | Instagram

Hey, Peter. Hey, you're back. Yeah, I'm kind of back. I was in a cabin in the woods of northern Minnesota by myself, with my family. No one else for like two weeks. Adam, let me remind you how this works. This is just the intro, okay?

I know, yeah. I'm Peter Martin. I'm Adam Manus. And this is the you'll hear it. Oh, Adam, hey, this is the You'll hear it podcast, just to remind you. I know you've been gone, which is. Yes, explain. That's right.

Speaking of explaining things, let me explain to you how this show works, buddy we don't just start out and really we don't just start out and get right into it we we you know we do a pithy yet witty intro or i was trying to set the scene man i was trying to set the scene well no that's cool how you doing i'm i'm okay man i've caught the i've caught the big the big covid i've got that i was in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and somehow my wife and i got covid you got rona you got the rona like i was like thinking about it i was like well we stopped for breakfast at a restaurant on the way up. Other than that, we weren't around folks.

Like, we were literally in the boundary waters. There's nobody up there. Right. It was in a cabin. And, you know, this is our first time getting it, too. We've made it the whole way. Right. Somehow finally brought it back.

So we are recording over Zoom. So everybody knows that's... Otherwise, I would be dropping out. A heck of timing. It might be off a little bit. Maybe this will improve our timing. Well, we've done this before. We've done this a lot, actually.

Yeah. We've done it. I'm very proud of the many ways we've done it. We've done transatlantic. We've done trans-Pacific. We've done it right across from each other way too close. We've done it right across from each other with a huge piece of plexiglass between us. Apparently, all for naught.

But no, I think it was good. But I'm glad actually, just so everybody knows, you are, in fact, doing very well or fairly well, as you described it. So no one needs to. Yeah, I mean, no. Honestly, we thought it was a mild cold. Like, I took a test this morning, just out of just a precarly. caution because it's you know it's just was a stuff he knows and a little bit of a sore throat but yeah yeah well and we can talk we're all good yeah and i mean just a quick aside um we could think about i'm always thinking about like how does this relate to how we can play a solo so like you said you've made it this long without catching it's kind of like you play a soul

all the time well that's what our listeners are here for they're not here for medical advice and by law we're not allowed to dispose of any so there's that but no but if you think about like you're soloing you ever had that situation where you solo and it's going so well you're in that flow state you know people are digging it and whatever and it feels like you're always going to be there and then something happens and for me this is usually like stemming from a sense of haughtiness on my part or or over accomplishment where I start feeling like imposter syndrome something that just throws me off of my game and then it kind of falls apart so that that's what this kind of reminds me of it's like you're you're going for a long I'm, you know, kind of in the zone avoiding something bad.

And then what do you do when something bad does happen? I think within soloing, that's always a possibility, of course. So it's kind of like, you know, what do we do? First of all, most people don't notice in this solo. That's one thing. Just like, you know, you didn't notice that you were sick even. Yeah. Yeah, it's true.

It is totally unexpected. And, you know, but, you know, just plugging away here. Plugging away. So, but I'm excited to get back to the podcast, man. I know. I'm just talking to you and miss listening to music. Yes. I've been really zoned out in a very peaceful, meditative state for the last 10 days,

and I'm ready to get back into the fray. Yes. Feeling refreshed, feeling ready to go. So today we have, this is your idea. This is a little playlist we've got going on. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, we're always talking ourselves, and certainly we've shared on the pod before different music we recommend for often tactical reasons.

But, you know, I think you and I really share along with many, if not most of our listeners, just this very, you know, authentic and innate love of certain tracks, certain albums, certain sounds, not even about bebop or jazz or whatever, just music in a way that is so inspirational and can continue. I'm always amazed by how much a single track or one live performance or a whole album or a piece of music can inspire me over and over again. And I'm not talking about the kind of inspiration to go practice or to learn something specific. Yeah, sometimes. But I'm just like talking about the humanity side of it. Just to make me feel like everything is going to be not only okay, but as I'm listening to this, the world, everything is in order.

You know what I mean? It's kind of like when you're in a place and maybe you're like that when you're up in the cabin with your family and stuff, up in that virus-filled cabin apparently. But, you know, it's like you're sitting there looking at a view or looking into, you know, your daughter's eyes or whatever and you're just like everything is is right in the world and i think the power of music that's what it's really about that's what we're all you know striving for to have the hope that we could give just a little bit of that to somebody or somebody's we're doing our job if we do that you know what i mean even if we screw up the d7 sharp 9 flat 13 um yeah and so i think that these are all tracks that um and what are we going to do three each i think we said we thought we

It sounds good. Yeah. And these are things that are, there's no agenda behind it. And it's not like, well, how come you didn't do this? No, no, no. This was just really off the top of our heads. And I think for today, things that came to us. And this is three for me out of hundreds, if not thousands, I could have done.

But the idea is that they, every time I hear them, I get inspired. It puts a smile on my face and warmth in my heart. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, let's get right to it. So our first track is one of your calls, Peter. Tell us a little bit about this, Kenney. Garrett track from the iconic album. I think we could say iconic at this point. Well, it's iconic on this podcast for sure, because I think it's one of the ones I've lifted

up the most songbook by Kenny Garrett. But this is a composition of Kenny Kirkland. And I've been deep, as you know, Adam, in Kenny Kirkland land this week because I'm prepping to record a Kenny Kirkland video this week. And so I've been deep in Kenny Kirkland my whole life, though. And I think that this track, and really every time I hear Kenny Kirkland, the inspiration is it goes beyond just the incredible music. And this is his composition. I think it's just a beautiful composition. I think it represents him as a person and as a musician,

just with his touch at the instrument from the very first note in a way that's just very inspired. But also because I had the chance to meet Kenny Kirkland when I was 14 years old right here, but blocks from where I sit now. And he was so kind and just loving and generous with me that just that in its would have been inspiring. But I always associate Kenny Kirkland, the human with the

musician because of that. It was just an honor that I was able to meet him and get to hang out with them a little bit. So anyway, this is before it's time to say goodbye. Beautiful track. Sorry, was that me? A very simple melody, very mournful. And, you know, one might say

what's so inspiring about something with a title like that and it's in a minor key. But as you get into the track, and we're unfortunately not going to have time to listen to any of these complete tracks, which is not doing them justice, of course. But this has a very inspired bend to it.

And I mean, you know, what Jeff Watts, those little... I mean, there's a lot of humanity in the way that they're playing this. You know, just the little bit of looseness back and forth. Like, you could play something like this straight and it would just be like, okay. But to be able to infuse this with the feeling that they do and those symbol abstractions and stuff, It's just I get, I get goosebumps every time I hear this, Adam.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's also cold in the studio. So there's that too. It's such a gorgeous track and I'm so glad you picked it to kick things off. Yeah. We're going to take it up a little bit here with my first pick.

So when I saw the title, tracks that inspire us are Peter and Adams' most inspired tracks. I immediately thought of like 18 different Oscar Peterson tracks that they pick me up in the morning, man. Yeah. Like it's so swinging and so fun that I love pretty much all of it. But this one especially, this is from Stan Gats and Oscar Peterson

record. You know that record? Yes. And it's an old tune by Love it. Love it. This is a tune by Vincent Yowman's called I Want to Be Happy

from a... Wait, said that again? How did you say that? I want to be happy. That was awkward A.F. the way you said it. Sorry. Thank you.

Stan Gats on tennis saxophone, Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Herbie Ellis on guitar, and this is a toe-tapper. Stan Gats coming straight out of Lester Youngtown there. He fits in so perfectly with that trio. Herbie Ellis is just so moving.

You're not missing the drums very much at all in that scenario. And that, yeah, it is something I'm interested. But I love the sound of this record. It's very dry. And you don't,

you know, you get that big beautiful reverb on the stand gets with Jiao Giberto and all his Basinova stuff, but this is so much of a different vibe. And especially with Oscars Trio of this era, it doesn't get much better to me. Fantastic stuff. And you know what? I'm glad you mentioned that about the sound of this record. The same thing for the Kenny Kirkland tree.

Well, it's Kenny Garrett, who came in. We just heard the trio at the beginning. But the sound on that record, I mean, that's such an important part of inspired tracks to me. Sumi, I'm shallow in that way, I guess. but I love a great sounding recorded. Like that's the missing, not the missing, that's the part that has to be there.

If that's missing, I find it hard to, I mean, of course, if the sound isn't great on a recording, if it's not mixed well and mastered, and the performance is just incredible, you can still get a glimpse of that, but it's not the same

as when you have everything lined up together. Yeah. Our next selection here, man, this is someone that doesn't get enough love on our podcast, Peter. And, you know, we're all about the love. We're all about doling it out. This is one of my favorite artists of all time.

And I know you're heavily influenced, especially by this record and this track. Yes. But it's a go-to for me. Whenever I'm looking for, like, whenever I feel too cute, you know, whenever I feel like everything's a little too tight. Yes. And there needs to be a little more earth in my serial. Yeah.

I'll play this album. It's still hard to fathom that Ornett Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come was really in 1959. I know. Like it, it was a good year. It was a good year for Jeff. It was a great year. But doesn't it feel like it should be 1964 or five or somewhere in there? Like it feels years ahead of its time in the canon of things. I mean, so pressing it to be able to name. I mean, it's cocky and prescient. Oh my God. And spot on to be able to name your record that. I know. So this is Ornette

Coleman on the alto saxophone, Don Cherry, and the Cornette. Charlie Hayden on the bass. and Billy Higgins on the drums. This is Lonely Woman from the Shape of Jazz to Come. If you haven't spent a good amount of time with this, there's a pretty good, cheaper vinyl pressing that you can get available new if you have a turntable, and it just sounds great. It's a great way to start your morning.

Kick off your day with a little, little this sound. So here's Lonely Woman from the Shape of Jazz to Come. Ornicolm. Same year as I'm a blue of course, and it's, you know, John Colfraid and still a very technical thing. over on his front and both of those

great artists Miles Davis and Coltrane are going to switch to more of this sound but in a few years you know what almost made this list for me Peter

was McCoy Tyner's 1968 time for Tyner but I realized it's so heavily influenced by lonely woman like that sound is very very similar with that the bass figure

with the double stops and the base the open street you know what I mean that African village that opening track it just can't be understand how influential this record is and has been yeah and you know i was just thinking about this um like just from the beginning just like the soul of of the music and the country and just all you know

just everything you can hear it and and this is west coast they record this in l a like they were west coasters and they were um you didn't slick about it at all no no no and but it was almost like they were they started to drive the the um you you you you're you're you know, the narrative of the music and like what you're talking about, some of the East Coast folks, you know, picking up on the sound later. Like it's an interesting thing. It's almost like you hear like the trumpet and the sax, like Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, and I'm listening on headphones now paned so heavy left and right.

And like when they come in with that line, like it's almost like you're hearing this thing from California sweeping across. I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much in, but I'm getting very cinematic. I'm feeling very cinematic at him. This is a very, it can be a very, very inspirational record. And it's been, it's been like, I'm, I'm so glad I chose it. It's, no, it was great.

It was really incal. Because now that I think about it, it has been such an inspiration for so many other artists. Yeah, truly inspired. Well, on that note, let's, let's, let's, let's take a little, a little word from our sponsor. What do you think? Look, I got a little choked up there. How about a word from our sponsor? Yeah.

And we're back. What's up next, Peter? What are we got? Okay. So next up, we're going to. jump over to the YouTube's and only because... What is it? YouTube's or YouTubes?

YouTube base. In Spain it's YouTube base. But this is Bobby McFerrin and Chick-Korea doing Spain live. And there's a number of really great recordings of this. There's some earlier ones. I heard them do this live several times over the years as well. And just Chikaria, just hearing his name and thinking about the impact that you he's had on this music.

That just thinking about his smile inspires me. Thinking about all the great recordings, just the times hearing him live, the kind words that he said. I mean, he's just like inspiration embodied. And Bobby McFerrin very much the same way as his own performer. But when they came together, like to me, it was so inspired because it was like somehow the sum of the parts was greater than the whole, which is very rare when you get two giants like kind of all starts, especially in a duo situation.

It's so cool. You know, it has to be right. But I mean, I think this was a very thing. It's talked about, but it's, I don't know that it's talked about enough these recording. I mean, these performances, because there's so many and they stayed at such a high level. It's almost kind of like, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, it's easy to take for granted. And by the way, our listeners should know that we'll have here in the show notes in the description, a link to a Spotify playlist and a link to this YouTube video of Chick and Bobby.

So you can check that out in your description or your show notes on your app. Absolutely. And this is going to be a little bit of a warm up kind of getting into this because it's from a live. We'll have a link to this live recording. A live video with Bobby McBerrin where there's a bit of a warm up getting into it. And chikaria. I mean, just perfect vocal and piano technique at the same time. You're killing me, guys. You're killing me. This is live at Vien, France, 2012. That's my technique, you know. A lot of freedom on this. Adam just I recommend for everyone check out this video we're going to link to it

the close-up on chikaria's hands and on bobby I mean it's it's really stunning I get so inspired when I hear this and see it you know this is a real you can just listen to her you can watch it too and also kind of amazing about both of these artists and it's so cool that they did this stuff together because they're really cut from the same cloth in that they're so technically brilliant both of them they're so at the highest level of their instrument and you don't see it like you just don't hear it in there they use it for expressive purposes almost exclusively and it's that's the beautiful thing like like i almost said in the beginning when body macfarin is holding these big beautiful you know falsetto notes almost mixed voice notes

i was like how hard it is to do like how much breath control and support it takes to do that but it's not even the like he doesn't use it like that it's not meant to be impressive it's not meant to be excessive it's only there to support this beautiful musical idea it's it's truly inspirational man fits the theme of the show just perfect well that's why we call it the most inspired track yeah and then i mean they're both just the epitome of making something as you say that's very difficult look so easy effortless effortless mastery and and then it's so funny because i just saw chikerea kind of like they're not facing each other, of course. The way they're set up, if you've ever seen how they set up.

But like, Chikria kind of looked over at him slowly at one point and kind of smiled. But it was like, it could have been for anything they just played. It's hilarious. Yeah, totally. But it's just so like there's never any. And you can see some of these different other live versions and hear them going back to even like the, I believe they first did in the early 90s for sure. I mean, at least 20 years they had done this. And they would do Spain a lot on these shows.

And they are so different. Like this is not an arrangement. This is like they are really free free. And so this is like two kind of, I'm not older dudes, but older when you compare it to how they were doing first working together, you know. And just like the ascendancy of their, you know, ability to fit into this duo situation in such a cool way. It's, it's really stunning and inspiring. Hence the name. Super inspired.

Yeah. All right. What's up next, Peter? You have another one. I have another one. We were going to go back and forth, but we kind of, that's okay. You know, it's all good. Um, okay. So this one is, um, the meters. Ever heard of them? I love them. Yeah, I have. Yeah. That is something. So this one, we don't have to, this will be good. Because we're, we're starting to get, get, get into some serious time here, folks. Thank you for sticking with us. Um, this one is just about like, I get so inspired to hear a groove that is so well laid out, sounds so funky. F-O-N-K-Y and just makes you want to dance. Just puts a smile on your face. It's just, it's kind of one of those, everything's going to be all right.

type of groove. Let's hit it. This is Jessica's My Baby from the album Rejuvenation by the Meeters. You know what year this was? I'm guessing. Early 50s. Late 90s. I know I was alive and I was in a diaper.

So there you go. Just kiss my baby. That's our Neville on the organ. I mean, this is just like. Yeah. So I mean, it's just like I think this is kind of the epitome. I mean, there's no need to break it down on a technical level, but I'll just say, like,

syncopated funk. How can it be so precise and just swampy and sloppy at all at the same time, man? I don't even, I don't understand. It's their gift to the world, the meter. It's really New Orleans gift to the world. Isn't it? It's a functioning city with a bunch of cool stuff going on,

buses running. Yeah. And you're like, you get down there and you're like, this is, everybody's so loose. How is it working? It works. It works really well, as a matter of fact, and it's a brilliant thing. So that's very cool. That's, you know what?

I think you hit on it there. Like that's the inspire, that's what inspires me so much about this, is that it can be so dysfunctional and highly functional at this same time. It gives you hope in humanity. You know what I mean? Absolutely.

It's like they're these precision chemical engineers at the same time. They're just like throwing all the chemicals together and say, let's smoke it all up at the same time. You know, it's just, it's a beautiful little snapshot of humanity. there. Thank you,

the meters. We're going to, the meters. We're going to go out here on a kind of similar vibe. Music from another dysfunctional place. Another, another place that has a lot of loose parts to it, but also can function at a very high level,

especially musically and especially here with this arrangement. That's what's really inspiring to me. The performance is incredible. Yeah. But to me, the way this composition and arrangement unfolds over. three minutes and 34 seconds. This is Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elise Regina with Aguas de Marco,

and I'm sure most of our listeners have heard this. But if you haven't, get ready to have your mind blown. Peter, we're going to go out on this. I think we can go out on the whole thing here. Okay. And just listen to how the composition unfolds. It sounds like it's the same thing over and over again. But each time, there's a little subtle change in either the baseline or the harmony of the extensions, especially in the orchestration, things are happening. The melody, it's essentially just a list song like you know if I were a bell or any number

Things I love about you Yeah exactly It's just a big list song But it is just the genius Of Tom Jo Beam and how he laid these out And to me this is one of my favorite examples Of his writing and arranging All right, Waters of March

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Are the waters The Marceau And the A promise of life In your life In your Corra It's a

It's a spin In a man It's a A man, It's a The water's The water, Fechando the

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A piece It's a A poe A point A ponte It's a A man A real

A fervor Cern Are the So the Havas of March Feasan The Warras

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Bada Bajibhisa Zazazza Annamia Anan B'an Bede Bada Bada Bada Bada