George Russell, the man who freed jazz, died last month at the age of 86. If his obituaries are anything to go by, Russell will be remembered more keenly for his contributions to jazz music theory than his own compositions, which will be a shame. Russell, a pianist, composer, and arranger, came up with the theoretical basis for modal jazz, but he made some fantastic music, too.
LONO ASAPK IN AM E Cecil Taylor Solo Venus : 1974 CT, piano. It's too late for a recording session, but fuck it. Wake the engineer. Tell the studio to make the necessary arrangements. He reminds Koinuma he's not bringing the full band so it shouldn't be such a big deal. They only need to prepare for a single piano and how long can that [...]
A slow and easy squeeze back into the mp3 game - I had a request for these three tracks from an old post so have re-upped them. The original post is here... 'Womb waters scent of the burning armadillo shell' has to be one of my all-time favourite titles... Cecil Taylor (Rashied Bakr, drums, voice · Karen Borca, bassoon, voice · Günther Hämpel, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, vibraphone, voice · Jimmy Lyons, alto saxophone, voice · Andre Martinez, drums, percussion, voice · William Parker, bass, voice · Enrico Rava, trumpet, voice [...]
B1 Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley Ailanthus/Altissima Triple Point Records : 2009 CT, piano; TO, drums. Cecil Taylor turned 80 yesterday . Octogenarians in the house, say yeah . To honor the occasion, we're pleased and privileged to present an exclusive track from Taylor's upcoming album Ailanthus/Alitssima . This 2-LP set was recorded during Taylor's Village Vanguard duo stint with Tony Oxley in July 2008. It was a spectuacular two-week run, and the artists have culled [...]
Bookends – Booker Little, with Booker Ervin beside him in the frontline on a 1960 session, originally issued under the leadership of Teddy Charles. Recorded at the Museum of Modern Art, some fiery blowing here. The track: 'Scoochie.' Ushered in by a sharp burst of drums from Eddie Shaughnessy, who drives the band on throughout. Booker Little takes the first solo, twisting a sure-footed elegance into his lines. Ervin leaps in directly just as he finishes, full-throated tenor spurred on by the drummer's interjections. Mal Waldron follows, utilising his trademark phrase-worrying to good [...]
SPRING OF TWO BLUE-J'S Cecil Taylor Spring of Two Blue-J's Unit Core : 1974 CT, piano. I. A hand and a piano Are one A hand and a piano and a Blue-J Are one. II. Recorded at a Town Hall concert, this album features Cecil Taylor solo on side one and with Jimmy Lyons, Sirone, and Andrew Cyrille on the second side. Both tracks share the same title. We're highlighting the entire 16-minute solo performance for its sustained [...]
Finally, after all the excitement and exhaustion – back to the music. So we beat on, boats against the current... whatever... The Clusone Trio give the Herbie Nichols tune, '117th Street,' an outing. Always an element of drollery lurking when Bennink is involved – those crazy Dutch, eh? This swings in lightly over crisp old-school drumming as Moore states the theme and take the first solo – a limpid performance that builds through some more complex swirls into earthier smears. Reisjeger picks his cello through his turn before Moore returns for a brief passage then [...]
Cecil Taylor played at The Concert Hall on June 20th, 2008 as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. Seeing Cecil Taylor solo is always an intense experience. He is one of the founders of "free jazz" and his performances are challenging and complex but also beautiful and mesmerizing. Cecil Taylor plays the piano differently than anyone else in the world of jazz. At first, he always seems to be pounding the keys randomly, attacking them with an amazing amount of energy and ferocity (sometimes with his elbows). But as his performance continues, usually for over an hour without [...]
Bennie Golson arranged and conducted – but did not play on - his 1962 album 'Just Jazz. A selection of classic jazz themes, from which I have selected the old Basie number 'Moten Swing.' A stately, crisp theme statement, counter-pointed by some sharp comping from Bill Evans. Shorter takes the first solo, very quickly spinning off on long double-timed runs - that flavour of Coltrane still there, although his tone is more distant, foggy. Evans comes in next, locked hands style – almost like Red Garland – maybe it was the rhythm section – Paul [...]
To be or not to bop (with apologies to Babs Gonzales ...) Bird and Diz at Carnegie Hall, 1947... Bop in the joy spring of its years... This is 'Confirmation' – of their greatness (I know - but - couldn't resist). Opening on drums, then the familiar theme in unison at a sprightly tempo. Bird up first, sounding relaxed, sudden flurries of notes breaking the line. Tone drenched in the blues, such a human sound. The double-tempo he frequently launches into and stays in for long stretches is stunning. [...]
An old 'New Thing': more ex-patriated fire music from Europe* Many of these mp3s were originally posted at the now secretive church number 9 blog. The blog took its name from this LP from the Frank Wright quartet ( Frank Wright : tenor sax, Noah Howard: alto sax, Mohamed Ali; drums & Bobby Few; piano). The LP is 2 sides/2 improvisations. Jazz signifiers (refrains and solos) elevate and tumble. As Val Wilmer's sleeve notes observe, Coltrane looms large over Wright; something you can also hear in his release as a duo with [...]
We're incredibly pleased to offer this guest post by pianist and composer Vijay Iyer . He's compiled an annotated mixtape of personally significant solo piano recordings. It showcases the stunning beauty, range, and continuity of piano jazz. For those who aren't familiar with Vijay's own remarkable music, a couple of samples are included in the mix (at our suggestion). For those already in the know, it's a chance to hear his music in a new context. THIS MIX WILL ONLY UP FOR A WEEK. You can download the entire mix and/or the individual [...]
LONO ASAPK IN AME Cecil Taylor Solo Venus : 1974 CT, piano. It's too late for a recording session, but fuck it. Wake the engineer. Tell the studio to make the necessary arrangements. He reminds Koinuma he's not bringing the full band so it shouldn't be such a big deal. They only need to prepare for a single piano and how long can that take? After all [...]
Maybe a long jazz interlude will help. Maybe. * Warning: This is a large file. If your computer hamsters are tired or extra surly, this will not please them. Download "Cell Walk For Celeste" (mp3) from "Cell Walk For Celeste"by...
STEPPING ON STARS INTRODUCTION TO Z Cecil Taylor Garden Hat Hut : 1983 CT, piano. There is a power and weight to Cecil's playing, a heavy energy that pervades the room while he plays. No one, not even the most negative of his critics, ever leaves a Cecil Taylor performance unimpressed by the things he can do on the piano; critic Zita Carno, for one, thought that Taylor does so [...]
We're not much for top ten lists here. And with our focus on excavating overlooked gems of the past, not many folks will be turning to Dest:OUT for a capsule take on the year's current crop of releases. But we thought it might be interesting to review what readers opted to download most often from this site, a sort of democratic, listener-generated top ten. Keeping in mind that we've only been online since the early summer and that readership has grown over that time, we devised a complicated [...]
...More from 'Student Studies' 1966... Moving backwards from yesterday... the first track, 'Student Studies Part 1.' Opens on a quacking repeated single note from Lyons over arco bass. Piano answers with a dark rolling figure and bass and drums follow. Several brief, discrete sections, starting and stopping. An odd, abrupt momentum. Then - a long duet with Taylor and Cyrille as equal partners sonically. In contrast to 'Amplitude,' Taylor plays more upfront piano here. Dense, exhausting, exciting... rewarding. If you can follow the vision, you will receive much back... Cyrille goes with him [...]
'In 1966 Cecil was hard pressed for an audience, particularly in America. There were few performances that year, and only three official recordings made—though two of those records have become among the most famous in his wide discography.' (From James Beaudreau's review ). The third? 'Student Studies,' a live recording in France with Jimmy Lyons, Alan Silva and Andrew Cyrille, from which I have selected 'Amplitude.' An introductory repeated and slightly amended piano ripple, cymbal cutting like a knife, woodblock (?), gongs, more sharply reverberating cymbals and pattering small percussion. Then [...]
LIVING – DEDICATED TO JULIAN BECK MIRROR AND WATER GAZING FOR THE RABBIT Cecil Taylor For Olim Soul Note : 1986 CT, piano. For many people, Cecil Taylor’s solo recordings are the best introduction to the man. There’s so much going on with his piano playing that many find the other instruments superfluous. Our good friend Cherise figures that Cecil at the piano is already the equivalent of anybody else’s quartet, [...]
TAHT Cecil Taylor Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) Soul Note : 1985 CT, piano; Jimmy Lyons, alto sax; Frank Wright, tenor sax; John Tchicai, tenor sax; Tomasz Stanko, trumpet; Enrico Rava, trumpet; Karen Borca, bassoon; Gunter Hampel, bass clarinet, bari sax; William Parker, bass; Rashied Bakr, drums; Andre Martinez, drums. Welcome to the outer curve, the dividing line. Otherwise known as Cecil Taylor, avant garde musical expressionist par excellence. It’s not terribly surprising that most people jump [...]
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