Bill Dixon, 1925 - 2010

I saw sad news on the Bill Dixon Facebook page of his passing. The legendary Jazz empire has lost another great. TRULY, TRULY A GREAT.

From the Bill Dixon Facebook page:

Dear friends,

Bill passed away early this morning at his home. He died peacefully in his sleep with loved ones close by.

The rapidity with which the news of Bill's death has traveled, even before any official announcement, is a testament to how many lives Bill and his work have touched. Take comfort in knowing that he went out in the same manner that he lived his life - working on/thinking about his current work, the recording of our orchestra concert at FIMAV, and planning the materials that will soon accompany the release to market.

Bill spent every waking moment of his life thinking about and creating things of beauty and sharing openly what he knew and loved, through his art and his teaching, with everyone that he came into contact with and everyone anywhere who was paying attention.

We will be sharing stories and images and will bring news regarding his memorial service in the coming days.

-Stephen Haynes

Hi-Fi

Caught this from the Facebook update feed of KMHD [the local Portland Jazz radio station]. It's incredible! Blue Note album covers, even the earlier or later ones outside the Reid Miles regime, are just gorgeous. Absolutely the best typography and graphic design out there. And even though jazz albums have always had a knack for being modern and hip, Blue Note went farther out then just adding text over a Surrealist or Expressionistic painting. For that reason, Blue Note record sleeve designs still influence and effect musicians, listeners, designers, and artists all over the world.

I know nothing about the creators of this video. Or what it's advertising. It's just great to take in the effort and skill, and the appreciation of beautiful design.

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

music video for the upcoming concert season @ Bellavista Social Pub.
Director: Bante
DOP: L.Semplici
Hero: Moussa Kaba
producer: frisca
dog: ultimo
Produced by Filmatindustriali

"Love Cry" - Albert Ayler

I love this record. It's significant in a number of ways. Here, we observe Don and Albert recording together for the last time. Shortly afterward, Don Ayler was fired from the group. According to a review by Al Campbell, this was under the insistence of the Impulse label. However, the documentary film, My Name Is Albert Ayler, portrayed an awkward relationship brewing between Don, Albert, and Mary Maria Parks; Ayler's girlfriend at the time and up until his death.

This recording session also represents the transition period in which Ayler began a more commercial aesthetic, which was also urged by the label. By no means, did his music ever seem totally commercial, or poppy for that matter, but to an Albert Ayler purest, it's a difference between black and white, night and day, sweet and salty -- you get the point.

For Albert Ayler virgins, it's a great entry point into his music. Sort of a step outside of his normal (or abnormal) ventures. Focusing on the melody of the compositions rather than the intense, volcanic eruptions that spew from his collective improvisations. There's still that feeling of free exploration and in the moment decision making. Really though, we hear how powerful, and beautiful these melodies are. The version of Ghosts really exemplifies this, and is one of my favorite Albert Ayler tracks in my iTunes. Alan Silva and Milford Graves back nicely, offering waves of percussion for Don and Albert to float on, and still maintaining a sophisticated, yet primal marching tone.

The harpsichord performed by Call Cobbs Jr. is hit or miss. I don't mind it myself, but I can understand why others may be put off by it. The harpsichord gives an added texture, but perhaps a piano or an organ would be best suited here. If the harpsichord isn't your bag, no worries, it's only heard on four of the tracks.
1967 - Impulse.
Albert Ayler - vocals, alto & tenor saxophones; Donald Ayler - trumpet; Call Cobbs - harpsichord; Alan Silva - bass; Milford Graves - drums.

"Judgment!" - Andrew Hill

Whenever Andrew Hill's hands touched the piano, pure gold was created. His compositions and arrangements hit right on the money -- illustrating modernity, intellect, and strong emotions. Probably the forefather of the semi-avant garde/post bop academy, Hill weaves harmonies and chromatic scales to offer us Judgment!. The beauty with Hill, is that his playing and songwriting fits so perfectly in so many forms. Whether it's with the vast polyrhythms and dynamical drumming of Elvin Jones, or the melodic, modulated, & cymbal accentuated drumming of Tony Williams. Whether it has a strong horn ensemble, or a smaller group like in Judgment!, which is backed by Richard Davis, Elvin Jones, and Bobby Hutcherson.

Judgment! exhibits textured, extended and thoughtful solos that really mess with the ideas of harmony and melody. A lot of colors show through with this group. Especially in Yokada Yokada, a whimsical take on a blues using the chromatic scale to form the melody while also offering tidbits of modern aspects. For example, instead of playing the Five-to-Four-to-One turnaround ending the verse, Elvin Jones fills in with a quick solo before the group enters in on the One chord to finish the break. This reminds me of Sol LeWitt's Incomplete Cube Series. Where the artist removes sides of the objects, playing on the notion of how viewers can perceive a shape while parts are lacking. And like in Yokada Yokada, the listener still perceives that bluesy lick to finish the bar even though it's absent.

1964 - Blue Note.

Andrew Hill - Piano; Richard Davis - Bass; Bobby Hutcherson - Vibes; Elvin Jones - Drums.

Beer & Jazz

Besides being a huge jazz geek, I am a (dare I say even bigger) beer geek. Sometimes it can be a struggle -- at least for my wallet -- to divide my attention between the two. But often times I can successfully combine these passions. I wrote a guest post for Brewpublic.com. A great Portland/Northwest beer blog, beer news, and event update website. I have contributed to the site here and there in the past and I am great friends with Angelo and Margaret, who are the geniuses behind the site. It's a great pleasure to be part of the Brewpublic crew.

Check out my featured post, Beer & Jazz.

One Down One Up

On my commute the other day, I was listening to the Impulse release, One Down, One Up: Live At The Half Note. On disc two, host, Alan Grant, described the John Coltrane Quartet as, "one of the finest jazz groups around; today or any other day."

45 years later, how true and relevant is that?

"Sizzle" - Sam Rivers

Found a copy of this on vinyl for just $8 at Jackpot Records. Not really known for their jazz collection (mostly shiny, new reissues), but occasionally gems like this surface. On instances I have found Anthony Braxton's The Montreux/Berling Concerts on Arista, AEOC's Bap-Tizum, and even Coltrane Time, a recording originally slated as a Cecil Taylor date, but for marketing purposes was later reissued under United with Coltrane as the leader.

Sizzle is a unique album for my ears. A premonition to 80s Ornette Coleman and his Prime Time band. From my research online, this album has generated mixed reviews. Some claiming it to be the bottom of the barrel for Sam Rivers recordings. I have to admit, most of the Sam Rivers I have in my collection are his late 60s Blue Note releases and a couple of other albums where he appears as a sideman. So I don't have any ground to argue that it isn't, but that doesn't mean I didn't absolutely love this record. I know what your thinking, "this here is a free jazz cat and he doesn't have some of the essential Sam Rivers recordings from the 70s." Well... No excuses... You're right.

What we're provided here is the powerhouse rhythms of Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, major driving forces in the avant-garde during that decade. The session also includes the guitar chops of Ted Dunbar, and Warren Smith laying down vibes & percussion. Sam delivers on flute (Dawn), soprano (Flare), piano (Flame), and tenor (Scud). Holland plays cello for the opening track, Dawn, which creates a juxtaposing perspective over the supplied sounds.

Smith really shines on Flame with his outstanding vibe playing. He keeps right up there with Holland, while Dunbar really accentuates it all with his funky riffs. And Rivers on piano adds a strong, heavy weight to hold down the group from sounding like they're going to take off. Finally, on Scud, you hear Sam's great tenor playing. Showcasing a style he has perfected, relentlessly appearing free and unique.

An explosion of rhythm on top of rhythm, and even on top of rhythm. It's an interesting experiment with the amalgamation of soul, funk, avant-garde, and heavy polyrhythms. This album exemplifies what the title implies... it SIZZLES.

1976 - Impulse.

Sam Rivers - tenor & soprano sax, flute, piano; Ted Dunbar - guitar; Dave Holland - bass, cello; Barry Altschul - drums; Warren Smith - drums, vibes, tympani.

Happy Birthday Ornette Coleman

Celebrate Ornette Coleman's 80th Birthday With All Day Programming On WKCR

Oh boy, just one day off from sharing a birthday with my favorite jazz icon. Mine will be this Monday the eighth, while Mr. Coleman's will be Tuesday the ninth. Now turning 80 and just as prolific as he ever was. I have both the 8th and 9th off from work, and you bet I will be spending the 9th tuning into all day programming of Ornette Coleman on New York's WKCR 89.9 FM.

According to Howard Mandel, WKCR will most likely be playing recordings in chronological order. What a great way to hear the shape of Ornette's music evolve as he always continued to push boundaries and expressions of melody, improvisation, and "harmolodics."

Join as we celebrate innovation, relentless individualism, and commitment to artistic freedom.

Amen to that!

*I haven't done an album write up in awhile, so plan on a post soon. A real classic this time around.

__________________________________________

Image Credit: Original painting by Martel Chapman.

Recap: Pharoah Sanders & The Portland Jazz Festival

What a fest. This year was stellar on all fronts. Despite the economy, several sold out shows proved Portland's dedication to jazz and PDX Jazz.

I attended a conversation hosted by Barry Johnson with Pharoah Sanders at PCPA's Art Bar. Sound was a little rough. The bar area was filled with rowdy, Saturday-going quaffers, and the volume was very timid on the PA. So my notes from that are a little scattered but as you can see from my previous post of pictures, it was still exciting. Walking away with an autograph on my 1971 LP of Village of the Pharoahs left me with a giant grin for the rest of the evening. I did hear Pharoah talking about his days in Oakland, meeting Nancy King, originaly wanting to be a painter and deciding to become a tenor player at the end of high school, and even how he hitched a ride across country while his sax at the time was held together by rubber bands. Little stories like that may not make it into the jazz history books, so thank you Portland Jazz Festival for allowing these educational programs to be available. It's just one of many reasons why this fest is so unique from others.

Pharoah talked a bit about Sun Ra, mainly what I heard most was when he worked in a kitchen in New York. Sun Ra would play above the little coffee shop and John Gilmore invited Pharoah to accept admissions for shows. This grew into a relationship with Sun Ra and the rest is history. Of course he talked a great deal about Coltrane, what it was like in the group, recording, and Coltrane as a leader. Of course he talked about "The Creator Has A Master Plan" -- and of course those were the two key discussions I couldn't hear well. What I did hear him say was that Coltrane wanted to go down two paths at once, and Pharoah was that other path.

Leaving the performance at Newmark Theater left me with an even bigger grin. Pharoah was in great spirits, happy to be in Portland and happy to to be performing. You could tell he was there for the joy of playing and not just for the paycheck. I intended on taking some notes at the show, just some feelings that popped into mind, but I was just so overwhelmed and hyptnotized with glory that I couldn't remove my eyes from the bandstand. Portland's Devin Phillips introduced the band and shared some feelings about his idol. He expressed that Pharoah Sanders wasn't just about technical playing, nor cerebral, but ultimately about spirituality. And the rich, expressionistic tone that separates him from any other tenor player. Then history was made when Phillips expanded his (already impressive) resume by sharing the bandstand with Pharoah. Soloing on almost half the compositions from the set.

Pharoah's band was top notch. Most exciting was his drummer, Justin Faulkner. An amalgamation of rhythm over a four piece set. Not unlike Elvin Jones, often sounding like two or three percussionists as the audience was surrounded with polyrhythms and uptempos. With solos that were melodic as they were explosive.

Ultimately, this was an utmost spiritual event. In fact, at the end of the opening composition of "My Favorite Things," which lasted for nearly a half hour, my girlfriend was left in tears. This was then followed by "Say It (Over And Over Again)," a classic, and one of my favorite ballads. I can't help but think this may have been what it was like to see Coltrane's classic quartet in the 60s -- and I think this is as close as anyone in my generation is going to get. Thank you Pharaoh Sanders for playing music, and thank you Portland Jazz Festival for bringing musicians like Pharoah to Portland.

____________________________________

Photo Credits: All images by Fran Kaufman [with the exception of the PCPA marquee taken by myself]. Check out the PDX Jazz Fest's own Photostream.