Jazz On The Beach 156 & Blues Beach 61
Charles Tolliver, Peter Bernstein, Benny Golson & Patrice Rushen
Out Of The Blue Dept….a few days ago there was a soft drop that hit my radar hard with the sensational previously unreleased Black Vibrations from trumpeter Charles Tolliver Music Inc’s Live at the Captain’s Cabin (La Reserve, November 29th), recorded in Edmonton, Canada, in June 1973.
The musicians sharing the bandstand with Tolliver are pianist John Hicks, double bassist Clint Houston (the track’s composer) and drummer Cliff Barbaro, the same lineup that appeared on the excellent Live in Tokyo (Strata-East, 1974) recorded six months earlier. I can’t wait to hear the rest of this.
Another new release on this week’s playlist is guitarist Peter Bernstein’s terrific version of Duke Jordan’s No Problem from his album Better Angels (Smoke Sessions Records, September 27th), with pianist Brad Mehldau, double bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Al Foster. What an amazing band this is, and Bernstein tone and playing are fantastic.
I finally succumbed to Disney+ TV and have been devouring episodes of The Bear and daydreaming about Chicago Italian beef sandwiches. In the second series (episode four) Chef Marcus is wandering around Copenhagen to a soundtrack of Tezeta (Nostalgia) by the father of Ethio jazz Mulatu Astatke with the deeply moving tenor saxophone of Tesfa Mariam Kidane. I first discovered this on a later version of the Ethiopian Modern Instrumentals Hits compilation (Amha, 1974), and was delighted to hear it used on TV to such great effect.
I’m really enjoying The Mantecas Afro-Cuban jazz treatment of Wayne Shorter’s Yes or No (or is that Yes and No?)(Grosso Records) featuring the mighty tenor saxophonist Paul Booth, trombonist Jonny Enright, trumpeter Shanti Paul Jayasinha, pianist Dave Oliver, bassist and arranger Javier Fioramonti, vocalist Flavio Correa and percussionists Davide Giovannini, Alejandro Martinez and Will Fry. Booth’s soloing is just astonishing on this.
Another great single this week is the dancehall/electronica of Circuit Breaker, the first release from London band LEDJ and the title of their EP (Bridge the Gap, October 24th). They are tenor saxophonist James Arben, Hackney Colliery Band drummer Luke Christie and tuba player Ed Ashby, and keyboardist/producer/mixing engineer Danny Keane. It was mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Mastering too.
Quite by chance there are two new releases from pianists that both focus on the start of the day. There’s Lisa Hilton’s evocative Little Beach Mornings from her upcoming album Lucky all Along (Ruby Slippers Prods, November 29th) and Christian Sands’ title track from Embracing Dawn (Mack Avenue, September 27th) that gradually builds to a crescendo and features the superb chromatic harmonica of Grégoire Maret.
There’s plenty of Blue Note hard bop, and opening the show (not for the first time) is John Coltrane’s majestic title track from Blue Train (Blue Note, 1958). Gearbox’s Darrel Sheinman would usually open the Jazz Kissas held at the studio with this one, and so the tradition continues.
Also, trumpeter Donald Byrd’s sensational Ghana from Byrd In Flight (Blue Note, 1960) with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and pianist Duke Pearson, and Herbie Hancock’s Oliloqui Valley from Empyrean Isles (Blue Note, 1964) with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, double bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams.
We mourn the loss but celebrate the life and immense contribution to jazz music of Benny Golson. With so many marvellous songs to choose from, here’s his composition, arrangement and tenor saxophone on Along Came Betty with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers from Moanin’ (Blue Note 1958), with trumpeter Lee Morgan and pianist Bobby Timmons. I was lucky to see him at the Soho Pizza Express five years ago when he played and talked about the music he loved. Please read Ethan Iverson who writes beautifully about Benny Golson here.
And finally, pianist Patrice Rushen’s deeply funky Haw-Right Now from her debut album Prelusion (Prestige, 1974), now given the big Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf Series treatment with mastering by Kevin Gray. I hadn’t heard this for some time (it was a big track at The Speakeasy Club in Margaret Street) and almost forgot how great Rushen and tenor saxophonist are over the deepest groove laid down by bassist Tony Dumas, drummer Ndugu Chancler and percussionist Kenneth Nash.
To listen to Jazz on The Beach, just click the link below…
Another big Blues Beach playlist this week with Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Otis Rush, Reverend Gary Davis, Junior Wells, Jimmy Reed, Eric Bibb, Elmore James, Otis Spann with Fleetwood Mac and Buddy Guy.
There’s the second part of Geoff Muldaur’s Got to Find Blind Lemon, Ry Cooder’s Willie Brown Blues from the Crossroads O.S.T, Elvin Bishop and B.B. King’s Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket and John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana’s magical The Healer.
To listen to Blues Beach, just click the link below…
Listen live on Deal Radio
Jazz On The Beach
Live every Wednesday evening from 10.00pm - midnight and repeated the following Monday from 2.00am - 4.00am
Blues Beach
Live every other Thursday from 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Catch up on Mixcloud
If you can’t join in live, listen anytime, anywhere via Mixcloud.