Monday, February 25, 2019

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Vibration Continues

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 90:19
Size: 210,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:52)  1. The Inflated Tear
( 6:28)  2. Introduction And Medley (Live At The Village Vanguard, New York, NY May 12, 1970)
( 3:46)  3. Water For Robeson and Williams
( 5:42)  4. Volunteered Slavery
( 2:51)  5. I Love You Yes I Do
( 3:40)  6. Rahsaanic
( 4:39)  7. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
( 2:25)  8. Ain't No Sunshine
(13:05)  9. A Tribute To John Coltrane
( 7:14) 10. Old Rugged Cross
( 6:04) 11. The Black and Crazy Blues
( 6:22) 12. Portrait of Those Beautiful Ladies
( 8:40) 13. If I Loved You (Live At Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA, June 9, 1973)
( 3:49) 14. Creole Love Call
(10:36) 15. Seasons (Live At Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI July 1968)

Arguably the most exciting saxophone soloist in jazz history, Kirk was a post-modernist before that term even existed. Kirk played the continuum of jazz tradition as an instrument unto itself; he felt little compunction about mixing and matching elements from the music's history, and his concoctions usually seemed natural, if not inevitable. When discussing Kirk, a great deal of attention is always paid to his eccentricities playing several horns at once, making his own instruments, clowning on stage. However, Kirk was an immensely creative artist; perhaps no improvising saxophonist has ever possessed a more comprehensive technique one that covered every aspect of jazz, from Dixieland to free and perhaps no other jazz musician has ever been more spontaneously inventive. His skills in constructing a solo are of particular note. Kirk had the ability to pace, shape, and elevate his improvisations to an extraordinary degree. During any given Kirk solo, just at the point in the course of his performance when it appeared he could not raise the intensity level any higher, he always seemed able to turn it up yet another notch.  Kirk was born with sight, but became blind at the age of two. He started playing the bugle and trumpet, then learned the clarinet and C-melody sax. Kirk began playing tenor sax professionally in R&B bands at the age of 15. While a teenager, he discovered the "manzello" and "stritch" the former, a modified version of the saxello, which was itself a slightly curved variant of the B flat soprano sax; the latter, a modified straight E flat alto. To these and other instruments, Kirk began making his own improvements. 

He reshaped all three of his saxes so that they could be played simultaneously; he'd play tenor with his left hand, finger the manzello with his right, and sound a drone on the stritch, for instance. Kirk's self-invented technique was in evidence from his first recording, a 1956 R&B record called Triple Threat. By 1960 he had begun to incorporate a siren whistle into his solos, and by '63 he had mastered circular breathing, a technique that enabled him to play without pause for breath. In his early 20s, Kirk worked in Louisville before moving to Chicago in 1960. That year he made his second album, Introducing Roland Kirk, which featured saxophonist/trumpeter Ira Sullivan. In 1961, Kirk toured Germany and spent three months with Charles Mingus. From that point onward, Kirk mostly led his own group, the Vibration Society, recording prolifically with a range of sidemen. In the early '70s, Kirk became something of an activist; he led the "Jazz and People's Movement," a group devoted to opening up new opportunities for jazz musicians. The group adopted the tactic of interrupting tapings and broadcasts of television and radio programs in protest of the small number of African-American musicians employed by the networks and recording studios. In the course of his career, Kirk brought many hitherto unused instruments to jazz. In addition to the saxes, Kirk played the nose whistle, the piccolo, and the harmonica; instruments of his own design included the "trumpophone" (a trumpet with a soprano sax mouthpiece), and the "slidesophone" (a small trombone or slide trumpet, also with a sax mouthpiece). Kirk suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1975, losing movement on one side of his body, but his homemade saxophone technique allowed him to continue to play; beginning in 1976 and lasting until his death a year later, Kirk played one-handed. ~Chris Kelsey https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rahsaan-roland-kirk-mn0000864257/biography

The Vibration Continues

Michael Cochrane - Footprints

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:53
Size: 165,4 MB
Art: Front

( 5:31)  1. Black Nile
( 5:27)  2. One by One
( 5:44)  3. Fee-Fi-fo-Fum
( 5:48)  4. Virgo
( 6:01)  5. Esp
( 6:52)  6. Footprints
( 5:49)  7. Ana Maria
( 5:49)  8. Pinocchio
( 6:09)  9. Fall
( 8:35) 10. Infant Eyes
(10:04) 11. Speak No Evil

Pianist Michael Cochrane displays here his deep appreciation and understanding of saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter’s music of the 60s. The 72 minutes of Shorter melodies are performed with great sensitivity, imaginations and dexterity by one of the best jazz piano trios today. “Cochrane is a mature and imaginative pianist with a delicate touch and deep harmonic resources…” (Dave Gelly, Gramophone Jazz Good CD Guide)

Personnel:  Michael Cochrane - piano; Ron McClure - bass; Yoron Israel - drums

Footprints

Merl Saunders, Melvin Seals - Live on Tour Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Live on Tour Disc 1

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:55 + 57:12
Size: 170,1 + 131,6 MB
Art: Front

(11:05)  1. Strugglin' Man
(10:16)  2. It's In The Air
(11:29)  3. Dark Star
( 8:43)  4. Whiter Shade Of Pale
( 8:54)  5. That's What Love
(13:51)  6. Finders Keepers
( 9:34)  7. Lay Back Baby

Album: Live on Tour Disc 2

( 8:40)  1. Summer Jam
( 6:24)  2. Built For Comfort
(14:24)  3. Fire On The Mountain
( 8:21)  4. Travellin' Man
(19:21)  5. Merl's Tune

Hammond B3 player Merl Saunders has recorded with numerous renowned artists since the early '70s and has led many of his own dates in a variety of genres from jazz to blues to new age to rock. Born on Valentine's Day, 1934 in San Mateo, CA, Saunders began learning to play the piano at the age of 10. Saunders decided on music as a profession after seeing how much fun was had by audience and performers alike at concerts by such musicians as Cab Calloway. He apprenticed early on with Jimmy Smith for a time, and attended various music schools. Starting in the 1960s, Saunders collaborated on and off with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. He also began working as a jazz keyboardist in the early '70s, and since has performed and recorded with Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and Paul Butterfield. One of his several albums with Jerry Garcia, Blues From the Rainforest, hit the Top 5 of the U.S. Billboard New Age charts in the early '90s. This album is a keyboard extravaganza, as two of the instruments premier players join together for these live recordings. With Melvin Seals on organ and Fender Rhodes and Saunders on piano and synthesizer, you can bet this 2-CD set is packed to the gills with stunning performances. From legendary covers like "Whiter Shade Of Pale" and "Fire On The Mountain" to their own soulful tunes and beyond, Saunders and Seals display mastery of form and freedom for the duration of this release. Anchored by a tight rhythm section and colored by nimble guitar work, these two giants of the music world are allowed to shine equally and intensely. https://homegrownmusic.net/store/cd/merl-saunders-melvin-seals-live-on-tour-2-cd

Live on Tour