Jaco, Scofield & Dennard

Ridiculous clip featuring Jaco Pastorius, John Scofield & Kenwood Dennard playing the track The Chicken.  This is from a Jaco instructional video on playing the bass released in 1985 only two years before his untimely death.

A smoking hot performance from three amazing players, and even though Jaco was definitely not on the top of his game at this point (the turn his life would soon take is a sad story indeed) he still shows why he is considered one of the best jazz bassists ever.

Jazzpix [Bob Parent Archives]

Jazpix is a nice website featuring some really great photos by Bob Parent. You can be find it here.  Lots of candid pics of jazz legends as well as a cool section with some nostalgic shots of the fronts of some very important, but sadly now gone, jazz clubs from the grand old days.

Bud Powell - New York City - 1953

Charles Mingus - Lenox, MA - 1951

Ornette Coleman (with Dizzy Gillespie) - New York City - 1960

Village Gate Marquee - New York City - 1953

Listening Room – “Up All Night”

The John Scofield Band - "Creeper"

The John Scofield Band - "Thikhathali"

The John Scofield Band - "Freakin' Disco"

From "Up All Night" : 2003 : Verve Records

This is John Scofield at his funky and adventurous best, playing with some like-minded individuals who present the listener with music that both grooves and shows off the impressive chops of all involved.  Creeper starts off with a quiet theme but builds nicely as Scofield's guitar plays over a nasty rhythm laid down by the band which then develops into a playful set of noise before returning to the original melody of the tune.  Thikhathali is a wicked jazzy take on Nigerian funk as only Scofield could put together.  Freakin' Disco is a personal favorite of mine, with the players setting down a groove while the guitars fuzz and jam their way over and all around the place.  Any way you slice it, "Up All Night" is a new millennium classic that pushes jazz into new territory while still be mindful of it's classic past.

Players:
John Scofield - Electric Guitar and Guitar Samples
Avi Bortnick - Rhythm Guitar, Samples, Loops
Andy Hess -  Bass
Adam Deitch - Drums

Horn Section on Thikhathali:
Craig Handy - Tenor Sax
Earl Gardner - Trumpet
Gary Smulyan - Baritone Sax
Jim Pugh - Trombone

A Reggae “Kind of Blue”?

Should be some differing opinions on this one, a vinyl only release of a 1981 reggae recording of  "Kind of Blue".  Information on the background of the recording can be found on Secret Stash's website here.  Definitely not for everyone, but if you're into this type of stuff, the Dub versions of the original album tracks on Side 2 are pretty happening (not to mention the cool clear blue vinyl that the album is being pressed on!).

Orrin Keepnews in WSJ

Orrin Keepnews & Cannonball Adderley

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 11, 2011
By MARC MYERS

El Cerrito, Calif.

Orrin Keepnews can be prickly. The celebrated co-founder of the Riverside, Milestone and Landmark jazz record labels has been known to scare off the uninitiated with his blunt temperament. But when the 87-year-old greeted me at the front door of his ranch-style home here last month, he was borderline cuddly. "Cranky?" he asked, dismissing my description. "Impatient—I'll go along with that, but not cranky."

On Tuesday, the National Endowment for the Arts will honor the five-time Grammy winner with its Jazz Masters Award. For nearly 60 years Mr. Keepnews has produced a sizable chunk of jazz's most enduring recordings—including classic releases by Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery and Sonny Rollins.

Mr. Keepnews was the creative force behind Riverside, the influential independent record label where he produced 300-plus LPs between 1954 and 1964. An accidental entrepreneur, he leveraged a simple idea: Find promising jazz musicians and inspire them to be original.

Today, he is keenly aware of his place in jazz history and role in preserving the music of geniuses at the height of their powers. "I have no musical training, which turned out to be my strong point," he said. "When you subtract what I don't know, you're left with my taste, enthusiasm and respect for what jazz musicians were trying to do."  Full Article...