tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1026374718567409832024-08-31T09:19:01.953-04:00Sharing a passion for modern jazz past, present, and future.darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-6707207010871196492017-12-21T18:28:00.001-05:002017-12-21T18:28:10.610-05:00

Creative World was the record label Stan Created after he left Capitol Records at the end of the 60's. Albums like Birthday in Britain, 7.5 on the Richter Scale, Plays Chicago, and Journey into Capricorn were all released in the 1970's. I particularly like these albums, they have a contemporary feel to them. I think the younger guys with Kenton during this period opened him up to a less

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Was Buddy Rich the greatest drummer ever? Well, he certainly was one of the best. Buddy was not without his critics.  Some complaints were: Buddy's playing wasn't varied enough, and not delicate enough, perhaps more style than substance? Buddy was anything but delicate, Buddy's playing was relentless, and the bands he lead were powerful fine tuned machines. The band Buddy lead in the

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-7022037525326706122017-12-21T18:10:00.001-05:002017-12-21T18:10:34.665-05:00

Bluing was one of the first CD's I purchased of Miles, It was a logical entry point for me within the Miles Davis discography.  At the time I was into classic blues artists, such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. I was looking to broadened my musical horizons, I wanted to look to the past for inspiration.  I knew Bluing would be right up my alley: I remember listening to it

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Quiet Nights was an album Miles was not pleased with upon its release. In fact, he was furious that Columbia Records and producer Teo Macero patched enough music together to release a brief album of what Miles considered an inferior rough draft of stuff from the cutting room floor. Miles was also looking for Someone to replace Hank Mobley as the tenor man in the group, Mobley

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Was Coltrane the greatest saxophonist of them all? In only 10 years time, John Coltrane went from being an undependable band mate, and good saxophonist; to being a mythical figure in jazz, and undoubtedly the best there ever was. Volumes have been written about who the greatest saxophonist of all time was, many insist Coleman Hawkins was the greatest, perhaps Lester Young or Charlie Parker?

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-90734873164588727222017-12-06T09:00:00.002-05:002017-12-10T13:29:18.712-05:00

 Once I was sucked into the electric music of Miles Davis after hearing Bitches Brew for the first time, I developed a thirst for other similar music. I will reveal those albums below. The Electric Period of Miles Davis 1968 to 1975 is my favorite of the Davis time periods. That's not to slight the other periods, the Gil Evans collaboration from 1958 Porgy & Bess happens to be

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-766460798078224562017-11-11T14:20:00.002-05:002017-11-11T14:25:54.731-05:00

This rendition of "Strange Fruit" is performed by the great African American jazz singer Billie Holiday. It has been about 15 years since I first heard the song, and it was a life changing moment for me. The song was originally an anti-lynching poem written by Jewish writer Abel Meeropol, the original title was Bitter Fruit. Meeropol wrote the poem after seeing this horrific photo of a 1930

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-40803530083158722252017-10-26T19:06:00.000-04:002017-10-26T19:06:04.853-04:00

I am always looking for the latest take on the music of Miles Davis. In particular I dig the music paying homage to the Davis electric period. That 1968 to 1975 music from Miles lends its self to interpretation very well. Bands who think outside the box work best, as long as they don't venture off to far from the vibe. Lettuce, a band that hails from Boston Massachusetts, was formed in 1992

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-47213072435274132042017-10-11T13:53:00.000-04:002017-10-11T13:53:19.657-04:00

You might be pleasantly surprised to find out that because of Miles Davis' popularity,  a ready supply of vintage vinyl is still out there for you to enjoy. You won't have to use your rent money either to add good stuff to your own collection. Even the rarest of rare 50's Prestige copies aren't completely out of hand price wise.  You can still as of the date of this post get most

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-86361393480830310012017-04-17T21:04:00.000-04:002017-09-27T10:18:11.784-04:00

Takes many listens for Bitches Brew to make sense By 1970 Miles Davis was a house hold name, and had been such for more than 10 years, Davis had all ready changed jazz at least 4 times before, but nothing could prepare the jazz establishment for this. A dark brooding double album of in your face "I don't care what you critics think" music. A brand of music that shook off the jazz tradition,

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-27834377113159289712017-03-22T20:44:00.001-04:002017-03-22T20:44:53.808-04:00

Perhaps Hancock's most groundbreaking music? Herbie Hancock is a legend, no real scoop in that statement, huh? The Pianist has been a part of all the ground breaking developments in Jazz for better than 50 years. First on his own for Blue Note, then as part of the second great quintet of Miles Davis.  While a part of that legendary group, he released some of the all time classics of

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-1898811779502997472016-12-27T21:51:00.000-05:002016-12-27T21:51:04.324-05:00

Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time is an album that was finally released in 2001. This particular concert was also the final concert that Wayne Shorter performed with Miles Davis. Soon after, Wayne would join Joe Zawinul to form Weather Report. This concert is very raw and on edge, Chick Corea has a sound on electric piano that is unlike anything I can ever

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-760823205499579412016-12-19T16:08:00.005-05:002017-10-11T14:06:14.035-04:00

Modern jazz is a music that can have so many diverse meanings. Amazingly the music almost mirrors the musical personality of Miles Davis himself. It is incredible when you think about it, if you only listened to the music of Miles Davis alone, you would be exposed to nearly every form of the music since World War II.  Bop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, large band orchestrated jazz,

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-52027659853067075282016-12-18T14:47:00.003-05:002016-12-18T14:47:59.239-05:00

 Big Fun indeed: Miles was so ahead of the curve, these outtakes were from sessions released from 1969 and 1972, and not released until 1974. Big Fun was barely noticed at the time, 26 years later the digital remaster was released on CD. Finally I think enough time has passed to give this music the needed space to catch up with the rest of the world's recorded music. So many things

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Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea playing piano in the same band?  Then you throw in Dave Holland on bass, and Jack De Johnette on drums, pretty hot band huh? For me, this music documented on vinyl "pictured" as well as the DVD video performance available now as:   "Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue"  It's one of the best live documents out there of electric Miles. The

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Released in July of 1960, Sketches of Spain was a wildly successful album, that garnered Evans and Davis Grammy Awards for their efforts. My thoughts about the album are a bit mixed, Sketches is easily the least jazzy of the collaborations; also I feel that Miles' own playing is not quite "just a bit" up to the standard of the previously recorded Evans collaboration Porgy & Bess. Miles

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Don Ellis could have been a household name Don Ellis (1934-1978) is easily one of the most underrated musicians in jazz history. A gifted trumpeter and big band leader, as well as an in demand film score composer. Don scored the music for the William Friedkin masterpiece The French Connection. I discovered Don through a series of albums I happened on in a bargain bin at a local used book

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-31194139202041607892016-04-28T15:46:00.001-04:002017-12-17T20:50:18.096-05:00

Many critics loved Stan Kenton's Music, and like many geniuses work, some hated it. Being the odd ball I am with my listening tastes, typically leaning toward the progressive side of the spectrum, it's no surprise that of all the big bands that were born around WWII, Kenton's music would resonate the most with me. Stan Kenton's more progressive music is not an easy listen most of the time.

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-53652407383881622522016-04-25T16:55:00.002-04:002016-04-25T16:55:35.652-04:00

You're Under Arrest is considered one of the worst album covers in jazz history. Miles' playing dress up as a gangster is certainly not befitting the Legacy of jazz's dark prince right? ...but looking at the cover, is it really that bad? I don't know, somehow Miles still manages to look cool. Because of the cover being so maligned, I think that  bad reputation has followed the music. For

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-34057971398628255462016-04-25T16:02:00.000-04:002016-05-14T19:05:18.014-04:00

Everyone knows inside and outside of jazz the name Duke Ellington, and perhaps Stan Kenton? Within progressive jazz circles, arrangers Gil Evans was well known. In the 70's Don Ellis threatened to be a household name, but died at the age of 44 in 1978. Band Leader Stan Kenton wasn't everyone's cup of tea, his brand of jazz didn't swing heavily a good portion of the time, and as far as popular

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-24691015729721687182016-04-24T17:37:00.001-04:002016-04-25T17:54:42.525-04:00

Nearly 25 years ago I began my adventure as a multi-genre music aficionado. It all started when a friend of mine introduced me at the age of 18 to classic Chicago style blues. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and a more obscure but equally enthralling blues musician Johnny Shines. I never shut out any style of music. I honestly don't even care about the genre that much, it's necessary for place

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-18133585287213653852016-04-17T13:27:00.001-04:002016-04-20T14:36:54.153-04:00

  The music of Miles Davis since 1969 has been reassessed: The fact that a person might ask which period of Miles Davis' eras were more groundbreaking, speaks volumes by its self to me. Also the fact that both styles seem equally popular as the years go by, surely says that Miles Davis was one of, if not the greatest jazz musician of all time. To my way of thinking Miles' electric

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-16951316760271976692016-04-17T11:12:00.004-04:002016-04-24T17:13:31.280-04:00

This On the Corner box is a great listen, if you have an open mind to musical forms other than traditional acoustic jazz. This 6 CD set comprises the entire Miles Davis On the Corner and Get Up With It Albums. The set also brings one track "Ife" from Big Fun. When you combine "Calypso Frelimo", and "He Loved Him Madly" from Get Up With It, and "Ife", you're talking 90 minutes of music

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-79294425663376744752016-04-17T07:34:00.000-04:002017-10-11T14:15:50.448-04:00

Here is a tasty big band recording from Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music is an obscure recording in a sense, you don't hear it mentioned in many of the Mingus best of lists. Truth is, that list is so long, 5 or 10 records usually only scrape the surface anyway. Most people are familiar with, what many believe to be Mingus's Magnum Opus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.  A

darkprinceofjazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239884518567084689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102637471856740983.post-18823607961337484172016-04-16T07:18:00.001-04:002016-04-16T18:26:58.135-04:00

A visceral reading experience:   Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper  is easily in the top 2 or 3 jazz books I have ever read.  It reads as much more than a jazz book, it's a whirlwind of hard living, trials, and tribulations about the jazz saxophonist (1925-1982). The author of the book Laurie Pepper, the third wife and widow of Art has managed to create a book so compelling

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