ccxi. BEATLES, THE: Cry Baby Cry

ccxi. BEATLES, THE

Cry Baby Cry (1968)
John Lennon, vocal, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Paul McCartney, vocal, bass, keyboards
George Harrison, guitar, backing vocal
Ringo Starr, drums, tambourine, percussion
George Martin, harmonium

Four versions

1. Esher demo
(2:28)

2. Unnumbered rehearsal
(3:03)

3. Anthology 3 version
(2:47)

4. 2009 remix
(3:03)

from The Beatles: 50th Anniversary Edition.

Sing a Song of Sixpence

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.

Can you take me back where I came from?
Can you take me back??

At 2:34, this little clip of Paul singing comes from an improvisation done on September 16, 1968 during Take 19 if I Will.

It seems fitting, because The Beatles was such a jumble of individual contributions -- John probably never noticed.

**

Many years later, John called this lovely tune "rubbish."

ccx. KENEALLY, Mike: Friends and Family

ccx. KENEALLY, Mike (1961-       )

Friends and Family (2000)
MK, boys choir, piano
Jesse Keneally, girls choir
(3:56)

from: Dancing.

Something I haven't said to my friends and family
Something I should get out of my head
To my dearest friends and family
On the tip of my tongue, been there since I was young
And I'd breathe so much easier if I'd say it now

ccix. MANNERS, Mimi: Brasiletta

ccix. MANNERS, Mimi

Brasilietta (2000)
MM, vocals
Bobby Lewis, trumpet
Rob Parton, trumpet
Tom Garling, trombone
Mike Halpin, trombone
Steve Rodby, bass
Tom Radtke, drums
Paulinho DaCosta, percussion
(4:59)

from: Speechless.

I happened upon this a few decades ago, because a friend of mine plays on it (not this track) ...

"Speechless" because all the vocals are wordless. From her husband, who composed all the music:

"The idea of creating a CD of wordless vocals together with my wife, Mimi, was a very exciting prospect on many levels.

First, the evocative and magical qualities of Mimi's voice without the use of lyrics frees the music from the constraints of word meanings and lets the listeners choose their own emotional journeys. No matter what language the listener speaks, there is no barrier to full enjoyment of the music.

Second, combining Mimi's voice with different instrumental groups and musical styles allows her to stretch her vocal talents to the max, and gives the musicians a much larger give-and-take opportunity with the voice than on most albums in which the vocalist sings in front of the band.

Third, we've been given the unique gift of being able to express our love for each other and our togetherness musically. The experience of making the album together over the last year and a half has been one of incomparable joy. -- Rich Manners

**

She's also an incredible artist:

ccviii. VARIOUS ARTISTS: Get Happy

ccviii. VARIOUS ARTISTS

Get Happy (1930)

Eight versions

1. Benny Goodman (1936)
2. Art Tatum (1939)
3. Judy Garland (1950)
4. Frank Sinatra (1954)
5. Bud Powell (1959)
6. Dick Hyman (1990)
7. Jay Leonhart (2001)
8. Brad Mehldau (2004)

Harold Arlen's very first song (lyrics: Ted Koehler); in the style of a tent revival meeting ...

ccvii. BEATLES, THE: I Don't Want To Spoil The Party

ccvii. BEATLES, THE

I Don't Want To Spoil The Party (1964)
John Lennon, vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney, bass, backing vocal
George Harrison, guitar
Ringo Starr, drums, tambourine
(2:34)

from: Beatles For Sale.

Primarily a John composition -- supposedly originally written for Ringo to sing -- Paul says he contributed about 20%. Bet it was those B sections where the chords change. Especially nice is when they switch to whole notes (I / still / love / her) ...

Who's singing harmony? Scholars disagree. I think it's John, overdubbed.

The guys always liked country & western music from their earliest days, and George's solo is in the style of Chet Atkins.

Rosanne Cash version.

ccvi. DAVIS, Miles: Ife

ccvi. DAVIS, Miles (1926-1991)

Ife (1972)
MD, trumpet
Sonny Fortune, soprano saxophone, flute
Bennie Maupin, clarinet, flute
Carlos Garnett, soprano saxophone
Lonnie Liston Smith, electric piano
Harold I. Williams Jr., electric piano
Michael Henderson, bass
Al Foster, drums
Billy Hart, drums
Badal Roy, tabla
James Mtume, percussion
(21:33)

from Big Fun.

Ife -- Mtume's daughter ...

A funky bass line that lasts 15 minutes. It's what goes on over it that makes this a cool experiment in free improvisation -- creating a sonic landscape unique to Miles' music from this period.

The last seven minutes change up the vibe, although there's still a repeating bass line at a slower tempo.

"Okay, that's enough ... let's hear some that, Teo."

ccv. DAVIS, Miles: Spanish Key

ccv. DAVIS, Miles (1926-1991)

Spanish Key (1970)
MD, trumpet
Gary Bartz, alto saxophone
Chick Corea, electric piano
Keith Jarrett, organ
Davd Holland, bass
Jack DeJohnette, drums
Airto Moreira, percussion
(9:59)

from: Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection.

August 29, 1970 -- Isle of Wight

Playing the Bitches Brew material live; very cool.

When Miles is done, he picks up his stuff and walks off the stage, defining cool.

cciv. BEATLES, THE: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

cciv. BEATLES, THE

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Paul McCartney, vocal, bass, guitars
John Lennon, backing vocal
George Harrison, guitar, backing vocal
Ringo Starr, drums, backing vocal
James W. Buck, French Horn
John Burden, French Horn
Tony Randall, French Horn
Neil Sanders, French Horn
Mal Evans, backing vocals
Neil Aspinall, backing vocals

Three versions

Take 1 / Instrumental
(2:35)

Take 9 / Speech
(2:39)

2009 Remix
(2:03)

from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Edition.

On February 1, 1967, the Beatles recorded the rhythm track in nine takes. Paul played rhythm guitar and John played bass -- which Paul later erased and recorded again, using a recently invented gadget called a Direct Injection box, which connected Paul's bass directly to the console without going through an amplifier.

The French Horns were added on March 3rd, with Martin doing his usual transcription of what Paul sang for him.

The orchestra tuning up came from the "A Day in the Life" session, and the murmurs, laughter and applause came from one of Martin's Beyond the Fringe recordings.

The yelling which transitions into "With a Little Help from My Friends" came from a Hollywood Bowl concert.

cciii. YOUNG, Lester: Easy Does It

cciii. YOUNG, Lester (1909-1959)

Easy Does It (1947)
LY, tenor saxophone
Shorty McConnell, trumpet
Argonne Thornton (Sadik Hakim), piano
Fred Lacey, guitar
Ted Briscoe, bass
Roy Haynes, drums
(2:33)

from The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Lester Young.

"'Prez got that soft tone, so different from Coleman Hawkins' because that's the way he wanted everything in life,' a former Lester Young sideman told me years ago. 'I got him a pair of shoes once, and one day I came in and found them in the wastebasket. Then I realized they were hard-soled shoes, and he would always wear moccasins or slippers. It had to be soft and gentle or Prez wanted no part of it.'" -- Leonard Feather

Just an "easy" blues with a thump-thump on one and two in the second chorus -- then Lester goes to town.

Listen to the statement at 1:28! What a phrase, composed from the air around him!

ccii. ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO: Ja

ccii. ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO

Ja (1979)
Lester Bowie, trumpet, celeste, bass drum
Malachi Favors Maghostut, bass, percussion, melodica
Joseph Jarman: saxophones, clarinets, percussion, vocal
Roscoe Mitchell, saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion
Don Moye, drums, percussion, vocal
(8:39)

from: Nice Guys.

This first track on their first ECM album is quite representative of what the AECO does -- at 2:29 a vocalist comes in with a Jamaican melody and appropriate accompaniment.

This is music for ears open to receive its divinity.

This CD is the first one of 21 in this enormously satisfying box set:

The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles

cci. ZAWINUL, Joe: His Last Journey

cci. ZAWINUL, Joe (1932-2007)

His Last Journey (1971)
JZ, electric piano
Herbie Hancock, electric piano
Jimmy Owens, trumpet
Earl Turbinton, soprano saxophone
Miroslav Vitous, bass
Walter Booker, bass
Joe Chambers, percussion
Billy Hart, percussion
David Lee, percussion
Jack DeJohnette, melodica
(4:35)

from: Zawinul.

A tone poem reminiscent of his grandfather's funeral on a cold winter day in an Austrian mountain village.

Miles provided the liner notes:

"Zawinul is extending the thoughts that we've both had for years. And probably the thoughts that most so-called now musicians have not yet been able to express.

-- MILES DAVIS

P.S. Dig the two drummers and Herbie with the echoplex -- and the clear funky black soprano sound -- and the setting that Woody has to play in [not on this track]. All these musicians are set up. Joe sets up the musicians so that they have to play like they do, in order to fit the music like they do. In order to fit this music, you have to be 'Cliché-Free.' In order to write this type of music, you have to be free inside of yourself and be Josef Zawinul with two beige kids, a black wife, two pianos, from Vienna, a Cancer and 'Cliché-Free.'"

cc. MITCHELL, Joni: Cherokee Louise

cc. MITCHELL, Joni (1943-       )

Cheokee Louise (1991)
JM, vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion
Wayne Shorter, soprano saxophone
Larry Klein, bass, percussion
Vinnie Colaiuta, snare drum
Karen Peris, backing vocals
(4:31)

from Night Ride Home.

Not her best-selling album; two tracks are included on the Misses compilation!

Joni was never one to shy away from a controversial subject, and this beautiful but disturbing song is obviously based on someone she knew from childhood:

**

Cherokee Louise is hiding in a tunnel
In the Broadway bridge
We're crawling on our knees
We got flashlights and batteries
We got cold cuts from the fridge

Last year about this time
We used to climb up in the branches
Just to sway there in some breeze
Now the cops on the street
They want Cherokee Louise

People like to talk
Tongues are waggin' over fences
Waggin' over phones
All their doors are locked
God she can't even come to our house
I know where she'll go

In the place where you can stand
And press your hands like it was bubblebath
In dust piled high as me
Down under the street
My friend
Poor Cherokee Louise

Ever since we turned 13
It's like a minefield
Walking to the door
Going out you get the 3rd degree
And comin' in you get the 3rd world war

Tuesday after school
We put our pennies on the rails
And when the train went by
We were jumpin' round like fools
Goin' "Look no heads or tails"
Goin' "Look my lucky prize"

She runs home to her foster dad
He opens up a zipper
And he yanks her to her knees
Oh please be here -- please
My friend
Poor Cherokee Louise

Cherokee Louise is hiding in this tunnel
In the Broadway bridge
We're crawling on our knees
I've got Archie and Silver Screen
I know where she is

The place where you can stand
And press your hands like it was bubblebath
In dust piled high as me
Down under the street
My friend
Poor Cherokee Louise

Oh Cherokee Louise
Cherokee Louise
Cherokee Louise
Cherokee Louise

cxcix. WONDER, Stevie: Moon Blue

cxcix. WONDER, Stevie (1950-       )

Moon Blue (2005)
SW, everything
Keith John, background vocals
Melody McCully, background vocals
(6:44)

from A Time To Love. | A / [clock] / 2 / [heart] |

After ten years between studio albums, Stevie released a gem, filled with beautiful new original songs perfect for the new century.

This one's got a slightly melancholy feel, but with uplifting lyrics of love. The tune's in B Major -- a bright key -- and is imbued with the usual soulful sound of the one and only STEVIE WONDER!

Moon Blue
Rivers of love you shine
Bathe me in light sublime
Flood me with all your glowing heart you can give

Moon blue
Memories bind like chains
When will you come again
I wait in darkness for your bright to beam

Cause I'm not afraid of the consequence
Of being in love with you
And I'd rather be alone some nights
Awaiting your full hue
For though the sun makes bright the day
My world is dark when there's no you
You light my skies and mark dark night bright day
The yearning of your call
Travels the world and then makes home my soul

Moon blue
Lift me to starry heights
I long to live within your light
Solace of mind
My heart is yours for always

Cause I'm ot afraid of the consequence
Of being in love with you
And I'd rather be alone some nights
Awaiting your full hue
For though the sun makes bright the day
My world is dark when there's no you
You light my skies and mark dark night bright day
Moon blue

cxcviii. MODERN JAZZ QUARTET: La Ronde Suite

cxcviii. MODERN JAZZ QUARTET

La Ronde Suite (1956)
Milt Jackson, vibraphone
John Lewis, piano
Percy Heath, bass
Kenny Clarke, drums
(9:36)

from Django.

The MJQ -- a unique phenomenon in the history of jazz -- grew out of Dizzy Gillespie's band in the mid-40's and became an ensemble in the early 50's.

One Bass Hit -- a vehicle for the young bass player of Dizzy's band, Ray Brown -- is shown here in a video from 1946 ... in this suite, it is reprised by Heath.

Two Bass Hit -- a Lewis composition -- emerged as a vehicle for Miles, as heard here on Milestones (1958).

cxcvii. BARROW, Arthur: Hydrogen Jukebox

cxcvii. BARROW, Arthur (1952-       )

Hydrogen Jukebox (1999)
AB, all instruments
Larry Klimas, tenor saxophone
(6:33)

from: AB3.

[see Post clxv for details on Art ...]

Another awesome track from AB3.

After a time-escaping intro (3+5), his bass powers in with a heavy 4/4 groove, followed by this very weird melody:

A B section composed of whole-note synth tones and half-note bass, flows all over the harmonic spectrum, and then back to something even more exotic.

Great tune.

cxcvi. METHENY, Pat: (It's Just) Talk

cxcvi. METHENY, Pat (1954-      )

(It's Just) Talk (1987)
PM, guitars
Lyle Mays, keyboards
Steve Rodby, bass
Paul Wertico, drums
Armando Marçal, percussion, backing vocals
Mark Ledford, vocals
David Blamires, vocals
(6:16)

from Still Life (Talking).

After 11 albums with ECM, Pat started to chafe against Manfred Eicher's "two-days of recording, one day of mixing and out it went" ...

Geffen offered a chance to work out the material more thoroughly -- to carefully record the minutest details of his compositions.

This one's written by Pat alone, but pretty soon almost all would be credited to Metheny/Mays ...

**

This is a brilliant Brazillian-feel chart:

cxcv. ZAPPA, Frank: Promiscuous

cxcv. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

Promiscuous (1988)
FZ, lead guitar, vocal
Ike Willis, guitar, vocal
Mike Keneally, guitar, synth, vocal
Bobby Martin, keyboards, vocal
Ed Mann, percussion
Walt Fowler, trumpet
Bruce Fowler, trombone
Paul Carman, alto saxophone
Albert Wing, tenor saxophone
Kurt McGettrick, baritone saxophone
Scott Thunes, bass
Chad Wackerman, drums
(2:02)

from Understanding America.

A compilation album -- the track first appeared on Broadway the Hard Way. It is from a live concert at the Royal Oak Music Theatre -- February 26, 1988 -- FZ never performed it again.

**

Here we go!

The Surgeon General, Doctor Koop
S'posed to give you all the poop
But when he's with P.M.R.C.
The poop he's scoopin'
Amazes me

C-Span showed him, all dressed up
In his phoney Doctor God get-up
He looked in the camera and fixed his specs
'N gave a fascinating lecture
'Bout anal sex

ANAL SEX
ANAL SEX
ANAL SEX
ANAL SEX

He says it is not good for us
We just can't be promiscuous
He's just a doctor -- he should know
It's the work of the Devil, so
Girls, don't blow!
DON'T BLOW
DON'T BLOW

Don't blow Jimmy, don't blow Bobby
Get yourself another hobby
(If Jesus practiced medicine
I'm sure he'd do it
Just like him)

Is Doctor Koop a man to trust?
It seems at least that Reagan must
(And Ron's a trusting sort of guy --
He trusts Ed Meese
I wonder why?)
I WONDER WHY
WONDER WHY

The A.M.A. has just got caught
For doin' stuff they shouldn't ought
All they do is lie and lie
Where's Doctor Koop?
He's standin' by

Surgeon General? What's the deal?
Is your epidemic real?
Are we leaving something out?
Something we can't talk about?
A little green monkey over there
Kills a million people?
That's not fair!
Did it really go that way?
Did you ask the C.I.A.?
Would they take you serious,
Or have THEY been
Promiscuous
Have THEY been Promiscuous
Have THEY been Promiscuous
Have THEY been Promiscuous

cxciv. KENEALLY, Mike: Hi

cxciv. KENEALLY, Mike (1961-       )

Hi (2001)
MK, acoustic guitar
(2:53)

from Wooden Smoke.

This is my sixth MK post (xl, lxxvi, cxxxv, cliv, clxix) ... I could devote a whole blog to his music -- he is one of most interesting and original musical figures of our time -- constantly on the hunt for something new, something magical, something transcendent.

This double-album from the turn of the century features Mike going acoustic. Let's hear it from him:

"So this is the album where I asked myself politely to calm down, and I wrote a set of music on my living room floor with sock feet and pajamas on ... things were slowly stabilizing after a lengthy personal period of chaos and like many hippies before me, I turned to the acoustic guitar as a means of soul balmership.

I set a general rule/intentional limitation for this of material: with a couple of exceptions, the songs on this record would contain only two or three sections each. Instead of careening down endless musical avenues and building a really oddly-shaped song-structure in the process, as I'm wont to do, I wanted to keep these pieces really concise. It was kind of Zen-inspired I suppose, and also I was meditating, and working on getting more out of simpler things."

**

This track is actually from the second disc, entitled Wooden Smoke Asleep, under a sub-heading Bob Sleep.

Just Mike and his sonorous Taylor guitar, with some multi-tracked vocals coming in for the last three seconds!

cxciii. GANGER, Ted: Performance

 cxciii. GANGER, Ted

Performance (2021)
TG, piano, vocals
(3:32)

from Inside and Out.

This is one of those songs where it suddenly hits you -- "is he talkin' 'bout ME?"

Yes, Ted's talkin' 'bout us ALL! Here we are on social media blaring our likes and dislikes and performing for each other in real time, all the time!

Fortunately, Ted is a real, exciting performer and not some wannabe. As for me, I leave it to you.

But I wish my late father was around so I could explain to him what an influencer is and the kind of bucks they rake in! He'd be so confused while I explained what social media is, and then he'd probably burst out laughing ...

cxcii. METHENY, Pat: Albim

cxcii. METHENY, Pat (1954-       )

Albim (2013)
PM, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion, electronics, flugelhorn
Antonio Sanchez, drums
(9:04)

from: Pat Metheny/Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20.

The saxophonist/composer John Zorn is one of the most prolific writers -- all different styles of music -- of our times.

For his first Masada book, he composed 205 different songs.

For the second series ("Book of Angels"), he wrote 316 more.

Pat wanted in on the project and Zorn gave him some suggestions as to which tunes were still unrecorded, and Metheny picked the ones that "jumped out and spoke" to him ... Ergo, Volume 20!

**

"From first note to last, the music here is filled with love -- the love of life, love of the world, the love of music, and the love of the eternal energy of creativity itself." -- Zorn

Powerful music.

cxci. ELLINGTON, Duke: Rockin' In Rhythm

cxci. ELLINGTON, Duke (1899-1974)

Rockin' In Rhythm (1930)
DE, piano
Fred Guy, banjo
Sonny Greer, drums
Wellman Braud, bass
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Barney Bigard, clarinet
Harry Carney, baritone saxophone, clarinet, alto saxophone
Arthur Whetsol, trumpet
Freddy Jenkins, trumpet
Cootie Williams, trumpet
Joe Nanton, trombone
Juan Tizol, valve trombone
(3:14)

from Rockin' In Rhythm.

Solos: Williams, Bigard and Nanton.

cxc. ZAPPA, Frank: The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing (Live At The Pier, 1984)

cxc. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing (Live At The Pier, 1984)
FZ, guitar, vocals
Ray White, guitar, vocals
Ike Willis, guitar, vocals
Bobby Martin, keyboards, sax, vocals
Allan Zavod, keyboards
Scott Thunes, bass
Chad Wackerman, drums
(3:06)

from: Zappa: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Deluxe.

While you WORK THE WALL
WORK THE FLOOR
WORK THE PIPE
IN SERIOUS PAIN ...

Some take the bible
For what it's worth
When it says that the meek
Shall inherit the Earth
Well, I heard that some sheik
Has bought New Jersey last week
'N you suckers ain't gettin' nothin'

Is Hare Rama really wrong
If you wander around
With a napkin on
With a bell on a stick
An' your hair is all gone ...
(The geek shall inherit nothin')

You say yer life's a bum deal
'N yer kinda up against the wall ...
Well, people, you ain't even got no kinda
Deal at all
'Cause what they do
In Washington
They just takes care of NUMBER ONE
An' NUMBER ONE ain't YOU
You ain't even NUMBER TWO

(Push the button
Pull that chain
Out comes a little brown gravy train)

Those Jesus Freaks
Well, they're friendly but
The shit they believe
Has got their minds all shut
An' they don't even care
When the church takes a cut
Ain't it bleak when you got so much nothin'
(So whaddya do? Hey!)
Eat that pork
Eat that ham
Laugh till ya choke
On Billy Graham
Moses, Aaron 'n Abraham ...
They're all a waste of time
'N it's your ass that's on the line
(Think about it!)
(IT'S YOUR ASS THAT'S ON THE LINE)
(Oh, yeah!)

Do what you wanna
Do what you will
Just don't mess up
Your neighbor's thrill
'N when you pay the bill
Kindly leave a little tip
And help the next poor sucker
On his one way trip ...

SOME TAKE THE BIBLE ...
(Aw gimme a half a dozen for the hotel room!)

clxxxix. LEONHART, Michael: Simon Says

clxxxix. LEONHART, Michael (1974-       )

Simon Says (1995)
ML, trumpet
Ari Ambrose, tenor saxophone
Joe Martin, bass
John Wilson, drums
(7:13)

from Aardvark Poses.

"Jazz to me can be creative or recreative, and there's an art to both ... I hear a lot of jazz now that's recreative. It still sounds great and I admire the chops involved and everything. But I'm interested in creating music ... improvised music. And with my own group, that's what I'm going to shoot for."

And at 21-years-old, the dude hit the target.

Son of famed bassist/composer Jay Leonhart, brother of the gorgeous Carolyn (backup singer for Steely Dan), Michael is a multiple-threat musician; he co-produced Donald Fagen's last album, Sunken Condos and plays just about every instrument (including drums) on it.

**

This -- Leonhart's debut album -- shows a kid with musical maturity beyond his years.

"When we play together it's like one voice ... I try not to tell the guys too much about the compositions. I want to keep things fairly open for them to interpret."

Wilson and Martin (see Post vii) burn on the bottom and Michael and Ari keep the pot boiling on top.

Simon Says dig it.

clxxxviii. ZAPPA, Frank: A Pound For a Brown On The Bus (1969/1978)

clxxxviii. ZAPPA, Frank (1940-1993)

A Pound For a Brown On The Bus (1969)
Bunk Gardner, clarinet, soprano saxophone, bassoon
Ian Underwood, clarinet, alto saxophone, organ
Roy Estrada, bass
Jimmy Carl Black, drums
(1:29)

Pound For a Brown -- Solos 1978
FZ, guitar
Denny Walley, slide guitar
Tommy Mars, keyboards, vocals, 2nd solo
Peter Wolf, mini-moog solo
Ed Mann, percussion
Patrick O'Hearn, bass
Arthur Barrow, bass
Vinnie Colaiuta, drums
(6:29)

from Uncle Meat.

from You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4.

The original Pound is a clever little tune in 7/8. Zappa sped up the woodwinds to achieve the Munchkin effect.

The solos, from the first Palladium show on October 28, 1978 (not October 31, 1979, as Zappa mistakenly labeled the track in the accompanying booklet), show how the band went off from a written composition to solos. [The actual Pound composition is not heard.]

clxxxvii. MUSIC MAN, THE (soundtrack): Iowa Stubborn

clxxxvii. MUSIC MAN, THE (soundtrack)

Iowa Stubborn (1957)
(1:59)

from The Music Man.

Meredith Willson (1902-1984) -- perhaps Iowa's most famous resident -- was a very fine flautist (played under both Sousa and Toscanini!) ...

He worked in radio, composed two symphonies and scored Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), among other things, before writing this most famous of Broadway scores ...

**

Iowa Stubborn shows Willson's great skill with part-writing as well as his very clever way with lyrics:

clxxxvi. COREA, Chick: Lenore

clxxxvi. COREA, Chick (1941-2021)

Lenore (1976)
CC,  keyboards
Danny Cahn, trumpet
John Gatchell, trumpet
Bob Millikan, trumpet
Wayne Andre, trombone
Bill Watrous, trombone
Joe Farrell, saxophone, flute
Ani Kavafian, violin
Ida Kavafian, violin
Louise Shulman, viola
Fred Sherry, cello
Eddie Gómez, bass
Anthony Jackson, bass
Steve Gadd, drums
Gayle Moran, vocals
(3:28)

from The Leprechaun.

Chick alternates between the crystaline sound of the acoustic piano with the sharp-edged synth that rises to the top of the ensemble ...

... the harmonic territory is vast and ever-expanding. And Gadd keeps the whole thing glued together with his grounding feels ...

Moran (Chick's wife) comes in at the end like an angel from heaven, floating above the blessed little people busy making great music!

clxxxv. BENEDIKT JAHNEL TRIO: Mirrors

clxxxv. BENEDIKT JAHNEL TRIO

Mirrors (2017)
BJ, piano
Antonio Miguel, bass
Owen Howard, drums
(9:31)

from The Invariant.

Invariant -- meaning the trio has been playing together for over a decade.

Jahnel (b. 1980) is one of those human beings who shames the rest of us mere mortals ...

Besides being a fantastic, unimaginably talented pianist and composer, get this:

He got a PhD in mathematical physics in 2014 at Ruhr University Bochum. Since 2015 he has been a researcher at the Weierstrass Institute Berlin. His main research interests are Gibbs measures and phase transitions, for example in connection with Bose-Einstein condensation, interacting particle systems with applications in the analysis of virus spreading in random graphs, as well as mobile and ad hoc networks. His book "Probabilistic Methods in Telecommunications" which he wrote together with Wolfgang König, was published in 2020.

Perhaps he performs brain surgery on his days off.

**

Jahnel starts off with a bunch of gorgeous block chords of varying intensity, is invisibly joined by a telepathic Miguel, and finally Howard -- who kicks off a rhythm in SEVEN.

Things move along with jerky smoothness ... ECM music at the highest level. Musical communication on a fundamental, germinal plateau.

Rarely will you hear the SEVEN meter played with such ease and grace. These dudes breathe in unison.

Miguel solos ... the transcendent head returns and out.

clxxxiv. VIRELLES, David: Epílogo

clxxxiv. VIRELLES, David (1983-       )

Epílogo (2017)
DV, piano, marimbula, background vocals
Román Diaz, lead vocals, percussion
Allison Loggins-Hull, piccolo, flute
Rane Moore, clarinet, bass clarinet
Adam Cruz, percussion
Alex Lipowski, percussion
Matthew Gold, percussion
Mauricio Herrera, percussion
Thomas Morgan, bass
Yunior Lopez, viola
Christine Chen, cello
Samuel DeCaprio, cello
Melvis Santa, background vocals
(1:55)

from Gnosis.

Three tracks on this release are even shorter -- but this is how the Cuban-born Virelles makes his music. He grew up in a musical family (father: singer-songwriter; mother: flautist with the Santiago de Cuba Symphony) and studied with Henry Threadgill.

"several familes function within one unit: this dynamic symbolizes multicultural interaction."

Whatever Diaz is saying is definitely integral with the rest of the sound.

clxxxiii. SHINYA FUKUMORI TRIO: No Goodbye

clxxxiii. SHINYA FUKUMORI TRIO

No Goodbye (2018)
SF, drums
Matthieu Bordenave, tenor saxophone
Walter Lang, piano
(4:58)

from For 2 Akis.

Aki Kaurismäki? A great filmmaker. Wonder who #2 is.

**

Fukumori (b. 1984) studied at Berklee before returning to Europe to record this debut album.

The bassless trio has a magnificent resonance. This tune -- by pianist Lang -- is at first just Lang, then Bordernave's breathy sax, and finally Fukumori joins in.

The changes sound like an old standard, but there's nothing old or trite in this trio's imagination.

About a minute before the tune ends, everyone drops out but Lang. 

Beautiful music. And more intriguing cover art.

clxxxii. ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO: Funky AECO

clxxxii. ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO

Funky AECO (1984)
Lester Bowie, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Malachi Favors Maghostut, bass, percussion
Joseph Jarman, saxophones, clarinets, percussion, synthesizer
Roscoe Mitchell, saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion
Don Moye, drums, percussion
(7:39)

from The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles.

"Marking both the end of their relationship with ECM and the beginning of a more streamlined stretch of music making. The band would cut back on their once predominant, free-form explorations to make room for more bebop and crossover material." [Stephen Cook/AllMusic]

"Nothing so much as the atrophy of a once-radical band." [The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD]

**

Yeah, well screw you, too!

God forbid, a band should change its direction.

**

This 21-CD set contains all of the Ensemble's work with ECM plus the individual musician's later recordings with various groups of ever-changing talent. A stunning, gorgeous release.

**

Bowie improvises over a steady, repeating beat. Eventually a written riff pops up, and -- hell yes! -- it's funky!

clxxxi. GRENADIER, Larry: Oceanic

clxxxi. GRENADIER, Larry (1966-       )

Oceanic (2019)
LG, bass
(2:26)

from The Gleaners.

In demand since he was 16, the list of his colleagues would fill a large database. For example, early on he worked with Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson and Eddie Henderson. That's just the H's ...

He graduated Stanford with a degree in English Lit. There's some heavy intelligence going on with him ...

Played with Brad Mehldau for over 10 years, and toured with Pat Metheny's trio (Bill Stewart, drums) -- which he described as "a significant learning experience."

**

This tune is a master class in acoustic bass playing.

BTW, one might take notice of the ECM cover art -- it is, without exception, always interesting, sometimes astonishing, as in this case, with that beautiful large tree.