Kamakiriad: Donald Fagen Donald Fagen's second solo album is a song cycle of sorts, following the adventures of an imaginary protagonist as he travels the world in his car, a brand-new Kamakiri. It is an odd concept, and one that is not obvious to the listener, but reflection upon Fagen's liner notes while listening to the album does tend to evoke a vision of a non-apocalyptic near future, where swingers sip cocktails and fresh vegetable juices as they groove to synthesized jazz-rock. Evocative or not, this is not Fagen's best effort. The songs on Kamakiriad are mainly static one-chord vamps, with little of the interesting off-beat hits or chord changes that characterized most of Steely Dan's corpus (although, it must be said, Two Against Nature isn't too far conceptually from what Fagen is doing here). There is a slightly antiseptic feeling to Kamakiriad. Although the drum tracks are not synthesized, they sure sound that way, and even the horns sound electronic at times, a far cry from the lush arrangements of Aja. Another shortcoming of this record is the fact that the verse melodies don't sound very developed. The choruses are as catchy and cryptic as you would expect from Donald Fagen, but the verses are less than memorable. Walter Becker, who produced the record, as well as contributing bass and guitar, also co-wrote "Snowbound." Perhaps not surprisingly, it does the best job at evoking classic Steely Dan. Kamakiriad is pleasant as background music, but in the end it doesn't provide enough interesting moments to rank as a must-have. The static grooves, coupled with the long song lengths, and general lack of dynamic movement makes this record one of the least essential of Fagen's recorded output. However, Steely Dan completists will certainly find enough here to keep them happy. by Daniel Gioffre Allmusic.com http://www.allmusic.com/album/kamakiriad-r170225/review
Ben Sidran "Talking Jazz" His section starts with Charlie Parker and how Bird affected Frank Morgan. He discusses several other items as well. Jon Hendricks and "Old Folks." Miles Davis.
Happy 75th to the lovely and talented Nancy Wilson. http://www.soultracks.com/birthday_nancy_wilson Nancy Wilson - The Very Thought of You
Listening Guide to Salt Peanuts by Dizzy Gillespie and His All Stars Was bebop a music of revolution or evolution? Those who take the former view argue that this genre's radical departures from the stylistic norms of swing music — faster tempos, difficult, angular melodic lines, more active and prominent rhythm sections, and emphasis on solo improvisation — highlight its "revolutionary" nature. In contrast, those who argue for the latter view assert that this music had evolved out of the after-hours experimentation of impromtu combos and jam sessions that had been in existence for several years. Social, cultural, and economic realities also influenced the creation of this new style. Regardless of which side of this debate one falls on, there is no disputing the fact that the two most important progenitors of the style that was to become known as "bebop" were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Though they came from vastly different musical backgrounds, they met while both were members of the Earl Hines Orchestra and were inseparable on the after-hours club scene. Each possessed amazing ability on his respective instrument, allowing them to develop this new style of jazz by the middle of the 1940s. "Salt Peanuts" is a Gillespie composition that uses AABA form and is further based on a familiar chord progression, namely the progression to Gershwin's famous "I Got Rhythm." So frequently has this famous song been used as the basis for new melodies that jazz musicians now refer to "rhythm changes" to indicate a tune built on this progression of chords. But this tune also reveals Gillespie's sense of humor, and this recording demonstrates his and Parker's prodigious technique on their instruments as well as a number of other characteristics of the bebop style that, in May of 1945, was still evolving. Dizzy Gillespie and His All-Stars: Gillespie (trumpet, vocal); Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Al Haig (piano); Curley Russell (bass); Sid Catlett (drums) Recorded in New York, May 11, 1945 The text of this Listening Guide comes from Ted Buehrer's "How to Listen to and Appreciate Jazz."
Franco Ambrosetti - Minority (Gigi Gryce) Born December 10, 1941 in Lugano, Switzerland. Basic musical studies in Lugano (classical piano for more than 8 years). Started his musical career in 1961 when at the age of 20 he made his first public appearance. Made his American debut in 1967 as a member of his father's group (Flavio Ambrosetti, a leading alto saxophone player of the 50's and 60's), performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Franco has since participated in most major festivals throughout the world (such as Montreux, Berlin, Warsaw, S.Remo, Chicago, Pori, London, etc.). In 1966, he won a first prize at the International Jazz Competition held in Vienna. In 1980 and 1982 he received the Special Award from the Montreux Festival for his albums Close Encounter and Heart Bop, and in 1985 RAI (Italian State Broadcasting Company) voted him "Best European Jazz Musician". From 1963 to 1970 Franco played with his father's quintet (including pianist George Gruntz and drummer Daniel Humair). The group continues its activity today mainly as a quartet with Franco as the band leader. In his longtime cooperation with George Gruntz, Franco has learned to compose in a creative way. Some successful compositions of his are "Pistrophallopus", "Epitaph For A Friend", "Gin And Pentatonic", and "Transfiguration". Recently Franco composed the music score for the movie "Die Reise", directed by Markus Imhof (a German/Swiss production). In 1972, together with his father Flavio, George Gruntz and Daniel Humair, Franco formed an all-star big band, called THE BAND, later known as the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band with which he performs regularly. Today Franco Ambrosetti is active as a free-lance soloist mainly in Europe and sometimes in the U.S. He has worked or recorded with various groups/artists such as Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine, Dexter Gordon's quartet, the Cannonball Adderley Sextet, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, John Scofield - when he is not pursuing his "day gig" as a top industrialist managing his own company in Lugano. Says Franco: "After a couple of days of intense industrial management I look for a jazz gig. But then again I miss very soon the tension which the business offers. When I play music my head is clear of commercial worries - it is great to be able to choose sidemen and venues to work. I have never done one day of boring studio work. Basically, I try to keep the creativity in both my different worlds on a constantly high level". http://www.enjarecords.com/bio.php?artist=Franco+Ambrosetti
I love jazz, especially swing music. Here is Ella Mae Morris with Mister Five by Five...if I can't paste this youtube link.
