Jazz On The Beach 101
Archie Shepp, Phillip Namanworth, Detroit Jazz City
This week’s Jazz On The Beach playlist features a sensational version of John Coltrane’s Cousin Mary (named after his younger cousin Mary Lyerly Alexander), performed by tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp from Four For Trane ( Impulse! 1964), his first album as a leader. With a remarkable band of alto saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, trumpeter Alan Shorter (elder brother of Wayne), double bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Charles Moffett, the approach is straight out of the avant garde and almost 60 years later sounds just as fierce and fresh.
The guitarist Elliott Randall, my friend and former N.W. London neighbour, recently introduced me to the music of Phillip Namanworth, a New Yorker with an illustrious musical past who plays piano, sings and writes wonderfully moving and witty songs on his album Late Night Cafe (The Audiophile Society, 2023) with a rhythm section of double bassist John Miller and drummer Warren Odze. For this week’s show I chose Everything’s Better With You, but could have picked any of the ten songs from the album, they’re all great. More to come soon and check Phillip out here.
Also this week, two tracks from the excellent Detroit Jazz City compilation (Blue Note, 2015), produced by Blue Note Records President and proud Detroiter Don Was that focused on catalogue and new music from the Motor City’s jazz musicians. There’s tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson’s title track from the album Mode For Joe (Blue Note, 1966), with the stellar lineup of trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Cedar Walton, double bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Chambers. It’s one of my favourites, and I’m betting that it’s probably one of yours too.
The second track from Detroit Jazz City is the mesmerising Lost Dancers by guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, with double bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Sean Dobbins. If you’re not aware of Barefield, as well as being a fantastic guitar player he’s a composer and educator, member of the Creative Arts Collective, a recipient of the prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship (2010) and has played with Sun Ra, Roscoe Mitchell, David McMurray and Oliver Lake.
‘Jazz is a fighter. The word 'jazz' means to me, 'I dare you. Let's jump into the unknown!'
The Wayne Shorter documentary Zero Gravity is now showing on Amazon Prime and it’s fantastic. Here’s the trailer…
Radio Times
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