Great Live Albums: Like Dylan Going Electric

Benny Goodman The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia Records)
Benny Goodman (clarinet, b. 1909 - d. 1986)

While some may associate Benny Goodman with the swing/WWII era, he was also a serious performer and band leader with a much wider vision for jazz (large ensembles as well as in small quartets). Goodman was also groundbreaking for employing and work with many African American artists at a time when it was highly dangerous to White performers careers. Goodman gave those critics a big "F.U."

The classic and historic Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia Records) concert is one of those moments like when Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in '65. The Carnegie Hall concert was important because it was the moment when Swing finally arrived to the masses. They (the audience) finally accepted the pulsating beat of Gene Krupa, the driving sensation of Buck Clayton's trumpet, Johnny Hodges on saxophone, the smooth rhythmic melodies of Teddy Wilson on piano and Lionel Hampton on vibes (as well as the rest of the orchestra).

This performance is absolutely smokin'. Forget everything you've ever thought about when it comes to swing and listen to this album as killer live jazz show. The Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert has always been criticized because the sound quality isn't great but this was an era before tape masters and the fact that this historic moment was recorded in its entirety is amazing.

You will feel completely different after listening to it on the first spin; A great live recording and probably one the most important in all of recorded music. Bob Dylan stunned the crowd at Newport and change everything for folk. Benny Goodman stunned the audience at Carnegie Hall and changed everything for Swing and Jazz. For more proof of the power of Benny Goodman's Orchestra take a look at the video for "Sing, Sing, Sing"--Gene Krupa (drums) is a madman!

Great Live Albums: John Coltrane

John Coltrane Live At Birdland (Impulse)
Jimmy Garrison (bass)
Elvin Jones (drums)
McCoy Tyner (piano)
John Coltrane (sax)

Live At Birdland (Impulse) probably isn't the first choice for most jazz critics. And I'm not a critic. So my choice is a wonderful and moving performance from one of the most famous venues in the world, Birdland. This date was recorded during the rise of the civil rights movement in the early '60s and the emotion can be felt when listening this to record. The experience of being there was probably even greater.

The two opening tracks "Afro-Blue" and "I Want To Talk About You" are heavy, intense and spiritual as I listen to them again this evening. At this point in his career (1963) Coltrane was already in a peak performance and would soon go on the explore the more spiritual side as heard in his following recordings such as the benchmark A Love Supreme (Impulse) and it's follow up Crescent (Impulse). His quartet at this time was one of consistentency and invention. To me it symbolized what the African American experience was during the sixties and how far reaching it could go in the future.

The album also includes two studio recordings including one of my personal favourites "Alabama" which has become a standard in the jazz repertoire. Not necessarily your average live date but more of a introspective journey--Live At Birdland is definitely one of the great live albums in my book. And a nice slice of history.

Miles Davis And The Greatest Live Album Ever

Miles Davis Live In Stockholm 1960 (Dragon Records)
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Wynton Kelly (piano)
Jimmy Cobb (drums)
Paul Chambers (bass)
John Coltrane (sax; March 22, 1960)
Sonny Stitt (sax; October 13, 1960)

Live In Stockholm 1960 is an "unofficial/official" live album that has been released under various titles (Miles Davis in Stockholm Complete, ...with John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt in Stockholm Complete are usually the other widely seen titles). It can be found as a 4 disc or two separate 2 disc sets. The reason for this was that one concert recorded in March of 1960 included John Coltrane and a second concert in October 1960 featuring Sonny Stitt (both on saxophone). This tour took place just a few months after Miles recorded Kind Of Blue and during the time he would record Sketches of Spain.

Live In Stockholm 1960 is one of my favourite CDs of all time. Originally recorded for Swedish Radio it is of very high quality. The concert with Coltrane is fascinating on two levels. One, you can feel the pounding tension (in the best possible way) of two giants ripping through chords at breakneck speed. It's bop at its finest. Second, if you are lucky with the version you purchase there is an interview with John Coltrane between sets. Coltrane talks of what it is like to be in Miles's band, his admiration for fellow saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his own future plans. The Sonny Stitt date is a real pleasure; not just in comparing how these two saxophone players shape Miles' material but also how Stitt interacts with fellow band members, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and Wynton Kelly. Stitt was not as adventurous as Coltrane but he was just fierce on the sax, so the date becomes a wonderful companion piece as well as a historical document.

This may be a very difficult set to find and it can be pricey if you do manage to discover it, but I guarantee you Live In Stockholm 1960 is worth whatever you pay for it. I have enjoyed listening to this album (first on vinyl and then CD) for almost 20 years and it never stops sounding anything short of spectacular.

The Intersection: Jaga Jazzist

The Intersection is a new feature on jazzmusic24 that looks at artists that blend jazz with electronica (a tradition pioneered by none other than Miles Davis on such classic recordings as On The Corner).

This week's focus is Jaga Jazzist.

Norwegian nu jazz fusionists, Jaga Jazzist, scored an underground hit in Scandenavia with their full-length debut, A Livingroom Hush (2001). This 10-piece band is as unique sounding as anything in jazz or electronica today. By combining trumpets, bass clarinets, trombone, guitar, bass, tuba, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone and drum 'n' bass-style programming, Jaga Jazzist (or simply Jaga) create a dense, complicated, melodic balance of man and machine. Stand-out tracks include the single "Animal Chin," the spacious "Cinematic," the hypnotic "Airborne," the uplifting "Lithuania," and the infectious "Made for Radio."

Jaga's follow up, The Stix (2003), continues along the same lines, but ratchets up the electronic element, which adds interest to most tracks ("Kitty Wu," "Toxic Dart," "Day") while overwhelming others ("The Stix," "Doppleganger").

The e.p. release that followed, entitled Magazine (2004), is actually a reissue of the band's early work, and it's more like A Livingroom Hush than The Stix. The quality of the material is excellent and the musicianship exemplary. Stand-out tracks include the invigorating "Jaga ist Zu Hause" and the gorgeous "Plym".

When Jaga returned with new material on What We Must (2005) they sounded a bit more prog than before with greater emphasis on keyboards and guitars. Emotionally resonant melodies meet virtuouso ensemble performances on tracks such as "All I Know is Tonight," "Stardust Hotel" and "Oslo Skyline." While the material and performances are impressive, some of the charm of the earlier work is lost. Still, all of these releases are highly recommended.

Jaga Jazzist is the answer for anyone who thinks the mix of electronica and jazz is limited to the downtempo grooves that feature a jazzy breakbeat (like Mr. Scruff's catchy "Get a Move On" or St. Germain's "Rose Rouge," which was used in a luxury car commercial). Jaga Jazzist is way beyond jazz posing -- they've got serious chops, melodic gifts and an eagerness to push the electronic jazz genre to new heights. They actually create music worthy of the label, but in their case, the label hardly does them justice.

Next week: Mocean Worker

Woody Shaw: A Trumpet Legacy

Woody Shaw (trumpet; b. 1944 - d. 1989)

Woody Shaw for me was a logical successor to Miles Davis. At one point Miles Davis and Woody Shaw were both signed to Columbia Records. Shaw's career never really scaled the same heights as Miles Davis, Lee Morgan or even Donald Byrd (fellow trumpet contemporaries). Woody Shaw had the same distractions as many other musicians during the 60's and early '70s. He also suffered from a retinal disease that restricted his eye sight.

Shaw's clear cut focus on post bop may have cost him a wider audience even after incorporating swathes of innovative fusion for a string of albums during the mid-seventies. But it's that same precision and dedication that kept each of his records sounding rich, vibrant and still surpass a large majority of the records of the 70's and 80's. Woody Shaw would go on to influence another set of up and coming musicians such as Tony Reedus (drums), Mulgrew Miller (piano) and Steve Turre (trombone) whom would play in his band shortly before his death. Woody Shaw would die in the hospital after a tragic NYC Subway accident.

Most of Woody Shaw's catalouge is now unavailable (there are a few you can download) but there is an excellent series of CD's entitled Woody Shaw Live Vol. I - IV (High Note Records) that can serve as a wonderful primer if you interested in hearing a truly underrated musician like Woody Shaw. If you see any of his albums at a record store or online I would highly recommend buying them.

Woody Shaw built a huge body of work in just a short amount of time ('65 - '87) and his legacy will continue through these CD's and the artists he has influenced including Wynton Marsalis, Anthony Braxton and one of my favorites Dave Douglas. I hope that more people will come to appreciate and regard Woody Shaw with the legendary status as time passes. Check out the commentary from Anthony Braxton on Woody Shaw below.

IS THERE A CURE FOR CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS)?

Is there a cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)? If we go by the current medical paradigm then we are more likely to wind up with another symptom suppressant, i.e. a drug that allows the sufferers to “live with it”. Conventional or allopathic medicine is not really much dedicated to “cures” as such, since they reduce the customer base.

Our point here is not aimed specifically at CFS, but is aimed at using this as an example of how more and more chronic and acute conditions are having their root cause associated with one or more pathogens, e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc. Even with conditions like some mental illnesses, arthritis and autism, etc., it is being discovered that micro organisms of a pathogenic nature and even some newly discovered stealth viruses are either causing or aggravating the disease. There are alternative and experimental, politically suppressed therapies, that are extremely successful in killing these germs. Keep reading:

“Earlier this month, a study published in the journal Science answered a question that medical scientists had been asking since 2006, when they learned of a novel virus found in prostate tumors called xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV: Was it a human infection?

“The new study provided overwhelming evidence that XMRV is a human gammaretrovirus — the third human retrovirus (after H.I.V. and human lymphotropic viruses, which cause leukemia and lymphoma). Infection is permanent and, yes, it can spread from person to person (though it is not yet known how the virus is transmitted).

“That would have been news enough, but there was more. XMRV had been discovered in people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, a malady whose very existence has been a subject of debate for 25 years. For sufferers of this disease, the news has offered enormous hope. Being seriously ill for years, even decades, is nightmarish enough, but patients are also the targets of ridicule and hostility that stem from the perception that it is all in their heads. In the study, 67 percent of the 101 patients with the disease were found to have XMRV in their cells.

“Many people don’t realize how severe this illness can be. It is marked by memory and cognition problems, and physical collapse after any mental or physical exertion. The various co-infections that occur only make matters worse. Many patients are bedridden. And recovery is rare. A significant number of patients have been ill for more than two decades.”

See Article and Dr. Mercola’s comments: DR. MERCOLA’S COMMENTS

Many conditions are no doubt caused or made worse by diet and the multitude of chemicals that we ingest routinely, but knowing that germs are part of the cause makes a solution more probable.

Two alternative therapies that have demonstrated amazing success in defeating pathogens of all types are ozone therapy and rife therapy (see below for links), both of which are not recognized by the US FDA and AMA. Both of these therapies have been shown to kill all types of pathogens without any harm to normal tissue! Of course, this research has been suppressed in the US by the vested interests that profit by our continued ill health and dependency on drugs, surgery and other invasive and destructive forms of treatment. In panning these two very effective modes of treatment as used in Germany, Russia, and Mexico etc. by physicians for more than 50 years in some cases, they have denied effective treatment to US citizens who are not able or avail themselves of these alternative therapies.

Most people are not wealthy or healthy enough to travel to these exotic places to get the enormously expensive treatments from these foreign clinics. However, many independent and industrious people can find these treatments right in the USA either through an alternative practitioner or by procuring and using the equipment themselves. We have known many such people who have gotten very good results treating themselves at a fraction of the cost of going to one of these clinics either here or abroad.

Still, this necessitates a great amount of determination and emotional independence in order to neutralize the scare tactics that are employed by modern medicine, e.g. witness the H1N1 flu scare campaign that is unfolding currently. The truth has been high-jacked and propagandized by a government spurred on by big pharmaceutical interests---greed---to produce one of the most insidious and dangerous assaults on our health through mass marketed and unnecessary vaccination. The proof of this is overwhelming and is right there in the govermentment reports, (CDC and others) to read. Yet, we are a country of increasingly sheepish mentality, and we are accepting the corrupted message of the spin doctors instead of looking at the facts for ourselves.

PLEASE WATCH THIS AND READ THIS---IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!

The Truth Behind the Vaccine Coverup, Part 1 (of 5)

TO SUM UP:

There may be a cure for CFS, just as there may be cures for many so-called “incurable” diseases. We are not doctors and so cannot give medical advice. We recommend you consult a good alternative M.D. to assist you. However, as long as we are a free people, and this may not be for long if we do not wake up and realize that “freedom is not free”, we have the right to experiment and choose the therapy that we believe will help us the most. When this “right” goes, as it seems to be doing, we are indeed in trouble. We recommend you research this further and we have supplied what we believe are the two very best sources for information and self help, practical means to achieve your goal of health and wellness.

Rife Energy Medicine

Ozone Therapy

Why We Love Jazz

David S. Ware (saxophone; b. 1949)

I have written about David S. Ware before. He is one the few musicians I believe is pushing jazz forward. Today I wanted to share with everyone some terrific news to my heart. As some of you may know David has been severely ill with kidney failure for the last few years. This limited his touring but not so much his recording. Currently David S. Ware is back on the scene and looks to vibrant as ever. But here's something I really wanted to pass along with everyone from NBC Nightly News Online. A rare national interview with this jazz iconoclast. I hope it touches you as much as he has me. This is why we love jazz.