TORD GUSTAVSEN

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen and his exploratory trio present new music from his forthcoming ECM release. Combining improvisation and lush, at times eerie harmonies with electronic programming and plenty of soundscaping, Gustavsen and fellow artists Steiner Raknes and Jarle Vespestad invite listeners into a sonic world that draws inspiration from a range of styles, including church and folk music. Expect an invigorating evening of original music and energizing dialogue emanating from the bandstand.  

Tord Gustavsen, piano and electronics
Steinar Raknes, double bass and electronics
Jarle Vespestad, drums

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Minor Hall was born in Sellers, Louisiana on March 2, 1897 and was the younger brother of Tubby Hall. He studied at New Orleans University until 1914, then began playing with Kid Ory in the middle of the decade. He played in various New Orleans ensembles, including the Superior Band, then moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1918. He briefly took his brother’s spot in Lawrence Duhe’s band before serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. By the time he returned, King Oliver was leading Duhe’s band, which Hall rejoined in 1921.

In 1926 he played with Jimmie Noone, then moved to California for an extended run with Mutt Carey’s Jeffersonians from 1927 to 1932. He played in the Winslow Allen Band during the Thirties, but took a hiatus from music for part of the decade. He served briefly in the Army again in 1942.

In 1945 he rejoined Ory in his Creole Jazz Band, becoming one of his most long standing members. He remained with Ory’s ensemble until 1956, when he retired on account of poor health, having never led his own recording date, though he recorded extensively with Ory and with Louis Armstrong in the 1940s.

Drummer Minor Hall, better known as Ram Hall, died in Sawtelle, California at the age of 61 on October 16, 1959.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

William Douglass was born on February 28, 1923 in Sherman, Texas. His extended family relocated to Los Angeles, California when he was six months old in an effort to escape Jim Crow laws. As a member of a musical family he took an early interest in music and when he heard drummer Gene Krupa performing Sing, Sing, Sing on the radio his path was set. He met and befriended Dexter Gordon while attending McKinley Junior High School in Los Angeles, at which point he first began playing drums.

At Jefferson High School, both he and Gordon began taking band under teacher Lloyd Reese, and took private keyboard instructions. Never taking private drum lessons, Bill eventually made the acquaintance of drummer Cozy Cole, who allowed him to watch him practice. What he learned by watching him and other drummers helped him evolve a style of his own.

While  still in schoo he, Dexter and Lammar Wright, Jr. he began playing in Central Avenue night clubs. Eventually he began drumming for pianist Gerald Wiggins, along with double bass and tuba player Red Callender, until he and Callender left to form a trio with blind pianist Art Tatum.

In 1941 upon graduating from high school he enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the Black 10th Cavalry Regiment at Camp Lockett. This led to his start to seeing the world being stationed in Casablanca, Oran, Algiers, Naples and Rome. During these travels, Bill became drum major of his 28-piece ensemble, a position he attributed to his great height.

Leaving the service he went on to a  stint with Benny Goodman, where he was at the time the only black member of the band. Bill eventually became part of the union struggle for integration and equality. Even as a working musician, Douglass expanded into teaching drums at Drum City. Among his students, were Ray Brown, Jr., Karen Carpenter, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Drummer and educator Bill Douglass, who was an active proponent of desegregation in the American Federation of Musicians, died on December 19, 1994.

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Requisites

Free For All ~ Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers | By Eddie Carter

A few years ago, in a discussion of Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall, I stated that every record collector has a few titles in their library that mean the world to them. Free For All (Blue Note BLP 4170/BST 84170) by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers is one of those for me. I’ve listened to it countless times over the years whenever I was down or feeling sad, and it always makes me happy. Art Blakey was not only one of the most energetic drummers in jazz but also the leader of one of the best ensembles for over three decades. His group on this date had been together for three years: Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Cedar Walton on piano, and Reginald Workman on bass. Free For All initially hit the stores in 1965, and my copy is the 1984 Pathé Marconi French Stereo reissue, sharing the original catalog number.

The title tune, Free For All by Wayne Shorter, starts briskly with the rhythm section’s introduction to the sextet’s aggressive theme. Wayne is up first and swings fiercely in a heated interpretation; then Curtis follows with a vigorously energetic solo. Lee takes over to give a high-octane reading, and Art adds an explosively swinging finale preceding the group’s rousing climax. Wayne Shorter’s Hammer Head slows the beat down to mid-tempo for the ensemble’s leisurely-paced melody. Shorter starts things off with a relaxing interpretation, and then Hubbard treats the listener to an exquisitely beautiful solo. Fuller follows with an excellent reading next, and Walton has the final say before the sextet returns to take the song out.

The Core by Freddie Hubbard is his tribute to the organization CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). It opens with the trio’s introduction ahead of the ensemble’s spirited melody. Wayne launches the first solo like a rocket soaring skyward. Freddie turns up the heat next; then Curtis seamlessly weaves his way through the third interpretation like a flow of electricity. Cedar offers the final adrenaline rush into the sextet’s theme reprise and the trio’s fadeout. Clare Fisher’s Pensativa is a beautiful ballad that Freddie arranged for this date. The group begins in a relaxed groove, setting the stage for Hubbard’s gorgeous opening solo. Shorter expresses so many feelings in the second statement; then Walton’s reading is a delight to hear until the theme returns and the rhythm section dissolves slowly into nothingness.

Alfred Lion produced Free For All, and Rudy Van Gelder was the recording engineer. The front cover displays a Mono catalog number, but this album is a Stereo release. The sound quality on this Pathé Marconi reissue has an amazing soundstage that brings the sextet to your listening room with stunning fidelity. Art Blakey worked with some of the best musicians during his lifetime, and The Jazz Messengers were the springboard for dozens of careers. He was one of the great teachers, and the music his groups made still brings pleasure to jazz fans worldwide. If you’re in the mood for an album that still sounds as fresh as the day it was released, I invite you to check out Free For All by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers the next time you’re out record shopping. It’s a great starting point to explore their comprehensive discography and an album filled with energy and fire that’s as good as it gets for those who enjoy hard bop!

~ Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall (Columbia CL 1612/CS 8612) – Source: Discogs.com © 2024 by Edward Thomas Carter

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WILLIE JONES TRIO FEATURING HOUSTON PERSON

Willie Jones III:

With an unparalleled style of rhythmic expression, drummer Willie Jones III is one of the world’s leading jazz drummers. In addition to honoring his monumental influences – the late greats Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey and Billy Higgins – Jones’ bold articulation and constantly innovative sense of swing are results of his life-long musical experience.

Born in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 1968, Jones’ earliest exposure to music was through his father, Willie Jones II, an accomplished and notable jazz pianist, who offered guidance and inspiration to his gifted son. Dedicated to the further development of his skills, the younger Jones spent the next few years working diligently with acclaimed drummers and music instructors and began performing with distinguished musicians by the time he was in his teens. He completed his academic training after receiving a full scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts where he studied under the tutelage of the legendary Albert “Tootie” Heath. Before he was a semifinalist in the 1992 Thelonious Monk Jazz Drum Competition, Jones co-founded jazz band Black Note. Influenced by the rich soulful energy of the West Coast bop movement, Black Note’s hard-swing sound propelled them to first place in the prestigious John Coltrane Young Artist Competition in 1991.

Near the end of 1994, while Jones was reaching for a higher level of drumming dexterity, he gained the privilege of playing sideman to the renowned vibist Milt Jackson, where Jones learned the importance of pacing and sensitivity. Meanwhile, his musical career continued to unfold.

From 1998-2005, Jones was a member of Roy Hargrove’s Quintet and is featured on Roy Hargrove’s CD releases on Verve: Moment To Moment, Hard Groove, Nothing Serious and RH Factor’s Distractions. Jones can be heard on a host of recordings including Kurt Elling’s GRAMMY® nominated Night Moves (Concord) and Eric Reed’s Here (Max Jazz). Jones has worked with Sonny Rollins, Ernestine Anderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton, Frank Wess, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Houston Person, Billy Childs, Eric Reed, Ryan Kisor, Eric Alexander, Bill Charlap, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and Hank Jones.

Houston Person:

Houston Person, born in Newberry, South Carolina in 1934, is the natural heir to the Boss Tenor crown worn so long and so well by Gene Ammons. In the more than twenty-five years that he has been a working bandleader, Person has taken his music to most points on the globe. A travelling Jazzman in an era that has found that particular species a veritable rara avis, Person does it all himself. He books his own tours, hunts up the new clubs, has the phone number of every major concert promoter on each continent and produces his own albums: truly the vertically integrated Jazzman.

If, given all this, he played mediocre tenor it would be easy to forgive him. But he doesn’t – he plays damn good tenor and it keeps getting better. One of the last proponents of the big sound, his tone has gotten bigger even as his delivery has mellowed and rounded out. And, of course, with Person you are likely to hear almost anything in terms of repertoire. He has recorded disco and gospel, pop and r&b in addition to his natural Jazz but beyond that he has an enormous and ever changing book. Nothing pedestrian or everyday for Person!

He grew up in Florence, S.C., studied at the state college there, was later named to the school’s Hall of Fame in 1999, and continued his studies at Hartt College of Music in Hartford, CT. Earlier, in the U.S. Air Force, he played with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton, and Leo Wright. Contrary to popular belief, he was never married to the late singer Etta Jones, but did spend many years as her musical partner, recording, performing and touring.

Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul Jazz. Person is also known for his distinctive sassy sound and his expressive style of playing. He received the Eubie Blake Jazz Award in 1982.

He has more than 75 albums under his own name on Prestige, Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, Muse, and is currently with High Note Records. He has recorded with Charles Brown, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Etta Jones, Lou Rawls, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, and more.

Houston has deffine ideas about Jazz: “Well, it’s uplifting and important. And a release and a relief. That’s what it is, Jazz, so called Jazz, to me. It’s important that it’s relaxing. Something that when the end of the day comes, after a hard and frustrating day out in the world, that relieves you. Relaxes you and makes you feel good.” Person adds that all he wants is to give people “good solid melodies with some improvisation and plenty of blues feel.” He smiles, “You always want that dance feeling there, that happy, happy feeling.”

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