Bozo Mark's Hot Pix In The CD Player

Okay... At the beginning of 2001, I found I was not running across five new CDs every three or four months that I like enough to stick onto this page. So...what I did was turn this page into more of a revolving door than a new-list-every-couple-of-months posting. Here's my five current picks, followed by some recent residents on the top five; when I come across something new I'm crazy about, I'll add it to the top of the list and drop the last one off below the past lists links. Until bunches of new stuff start lighting my fire again (and I'm not holding my breath), I don't know what else to do...

1. Tom Harrell	Paradise & The Art Of Rhythm	BMG

More trumpet music...why not? Harrell is famous for both his successful battle against schizophrenia (although when seen live you've got to wonder - he seems to shrink continually into himself, threatening at times to completely implode on stage, until it's time to improvise, and then he blossoms like a sunflower at dawn - a very, very odd man) and his years playing in Phil Wood's classic quintet. But recently he has shown extraodinary growth as a leader, composer, and arranger. These albums are, quite simply, two of the most musically satisfying CDs I own. (I don't like everything he's done - the big band album that was released between these two left me cold.)

Paradise is a jazz/classical fusion, and The Art Of Rhythm explores latin jazz. On the former, a jazz sextet (Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn joined by tenor sax, guitar, piano, bass, drums) is combined with a string sextet (harp, two violins, viola, two cellos) and the resulting music is nothing less than beautiful. Harrell seems to think continually outside the jazz box in regards to his composing - this music evokes Debussy and Ravel as much as Miles and Duke. In fact, one piece - the 6:49 "Morning Prayer, Part 1" - is the string group alone, and it's an outstanding example of 21st century contemporary music composition. The Art Of Rhythm is also notable for its instrumentation, which includes clarinet, acoustic guitar, strings, marimba, steel drums, and various odd percussion. And although this is a latin jazz album, the arrangements and particularly Harrell's approach to the rhythm section are anything but traditional - sometimes there is no drummer, and Harrell likes to use untypical instruments (clarinet, violin, marching snare) on these bossas, sambas, and cumbas. As on Paradise, all the compositions are never less than captivating - quirky chord changes, memorable melodies, intriguing rhythmic beds. And it goes without saying that both albums feature wonderful improvisations. These two CDs are unlike anything else you've heard, and for that reason alone belong in every music lover's collection. Highly, highly recommended.

2. Blue Mitchell	Complete Blue Note Sessions (1963-67)	Mosaic

I always describe the music I write for BOZO allegro as "rock/latin/jazz", and that pretty well reflects what I want to hear when I go looking for "vibrant, improvisation-based instrumental music" (another self-description of the BOZO thang). And so my exploration of the Mosaic catalog has been an interesting journey of hit and miss. As I mention below, Woody Shaw was a hit, with lots of latin percolating through the tracks. And I had high hopes when I ordered this set and the Stanley Turrentine box. I knew Blue Mitchell from his work with Horace Silver and John Mayall (the significant distance between those two seemed promising to me), and Stanley Turrentine's involvement in various fusion and pop projects over the years likewise eas encouraging. Well, I was disappointed in the Turrentine set, as it was all very mainstream swing - not a bad thing, of course, but not what I was looking for.

But the Blue Mitchell collection was everything I hoped it would be. Lots of soul jazz based on the blues, of course, and a fair amount of latin - especially some cool calypso numbers. But also tasty ballads and waltzes and even a standard or two, so there's a very nice mix of styles and moods instead of swing swing swing... The instrumentation runs from quintets to nonets, so there are lots of interesting arrangements. Mitchell is a fine hard bop trumpeter who knows how to sing through his horn. Other players include such stalwarts as Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, and Al Foster. Especially notable is the presence of the young Chick Corea, doing some of his first recording and composing herein. This is one to be checked out.

3. Labor Party	Do You Know What Time It Is?	NABI

Lots of people involved in the BOZO organization have done recording projects, but this album, featuring one of our keyboardists, Sarah Burk, is the first one I've been so completely taken with to include on the pix page. This is delightful music, sort of Graceland meets David Byrne meets Poi Dog Pondering (am I the only one who remembers the best band ever from Hawaii?). The mastermind here is Sarah's husband David Burk, who wrote most of the tunes and plays a plethora of instruments. There's some Africa, some Third World, some pop and rock. I can't let this one out of the CD player. Highly recommended. (For the time being, use the snail mail directions on the "To Order" page to get a copy - $15 plus $3 shipping and handling.)

4. Woody Shaw	Complete CBS Studio Recordings	Mosaic

I've been very interested in the Mosaic reissue series. I got the Thad Jones set (see below), which I liked very much, and the Gerald Wilson box (do not see below), which I didn't care for at all. However, on the strength of how much I enjoy this Woody Shaw stuff, I recently also ordered the Blue Mitchell and Stanley Turrentine sets. (I'll let you know later about those.) I wasn't familiar with Shaw's work at all, as the only trumpeter I paid lots of attention to in the last four decades of the millenium was Miles Davis, so this was quite a pleasant surprise. Woody Shaw was a fine player, writer, and bandleader. The music he recorded for CBS was much more latin-tinged than I would have imagined, and, with the exception of one really terrible tune in which he tries to cop Chick Corea's early Return To Forever bag - complete with whiny female singer and truly insipid Me Decade lyrics - the charts and the playing are all top-notch. Of particular note is the presence of Steve Turre on trombone (sorry, no shells!), and he burns as much as one might expect. I'm certainly enjoying the discovery of trumpeters from the 70's/80's/90's outside the world of Mister Miles, and I'd recommend this to anybody looking for great, uncompromising music.

5. BeatleJazz	A Bite Of The Apple & Another Bite Of The Apple	Zebra Acoustic

I don't like piano trios - I find them boring. So it's an indication of how much I love The Beatles and their tribute albums that I was willing to buy both of these CDs sounds unheard...and, I like them very much. In spite of the limits of the instrumentation, Dave Kikoski (piano), Charles Fambrough (bass), and Brian Melvin (drums) approach the 20 songs on these two discs with enough imagination, musicality, and humor to make for great listening whether you want Beatles' songs or jazz or, like me, both. The three primary mop-top composers are well represented (sorry, Ringo!), and the trio takes my favorite approach to the material - reimagining the stuff from their unique vantage point. So there's a little reggae here, and little free jazz there, and good swinging everywhere. Maybe it's because of my dislike of piano trios, but this is one of my current favorites in my Beatles tributes collection. Recommended. Also see the Fab Four Tribute Album page)

1. Dave Holland Quintet	Jumpin' In, The Razor's Edge, Prime Directive, & Not For Nothin'	ECM

Dave Holland is coming to town in March, and I'd never listened to his stuff before, so I wandered down to the local hip record store to check him out. Although these are all quintet albums, the first two are from the mid-80's with a three horn (sax,trumpet, bone)/bass/drums lineup, and the latter two are his two most recent, with his current instrumentation of sax, bone, vibes, bass and drums. He has quite a large catalog, and I chose these because I was interested in the compositional/arranging approach to the odd instrumentation of both groups. I like it all very much. The mid-80's stuff is a little bit more avant garde, with a free jazz slant to some of the tunes, and the newer stuff is more focussed on form and grooves. There are lovely tunes in both eras written as non-improvisational compositions for just the horns, and of course the Holland bass sound is rivaled only by Charlie Haden's for its big, fat, swinging and grounding bottom. I'm looking forward to hearing this stuff live.

2. The Persuasions	Might As Well	Grateful Dead Records

The Persuasions are making something of a second career out of tribute albums. First they did a Zappa thing (reviewed elsewhere on this site), they've got a Beatles CD coming early in 2002 (can't wait for that!), and this is their mostly a cappella visit to the music of the Grateful Dead. I like this one even better than the Zappa, which is saying a lot for me. They include music both old, new, and, in one case, a tune left unrecorded by the Dead by Jerry Garcia's passing. The Persuasions are the best old school doo-wop singers left active, and on this CD they invite some of the young turks to join them, adding additional vocals, vocal "instruments", and vocal "percussion". Dead associates also make appearances, most notably Vince Welnick on keyboards. Whether you like the Grateful Dead, great singing, or great music, this is a CD that should not be missed.

3. Loudon Wainwright III	Last Man On Earth	Red House Records

"My mother died in 1997 and naturally my world fell apart." So begins the liner notes on the latest album from LWIII. He completely stopped writing and performing, moved into her home after the funeral, and lived there for eighteen months until these songs started coming and got him engaged with life once more. My partner Candlin thinks the experience mellowed him in an entirely appealing way. I don't know about that, but I do know I'm always interested in Loudon's reports from the angst-ridden-middle-aged-white-guy front, and I found these latest dispatches to be amongst his funniest and most heart-breaking ever. If you know nothing of Loudon besides "Dead Skunk", this is the place to start.