Hard Bopː Jazz and Black Music 1955-1965

It's nineteen fifty-something, in a dark, cramped, smoke-filled room. Everyone's wearing black. And on-stage a tenor is blowing his heart out, a searching, jagged saxophone journey played out against a moody, walking bass and the swish of a drummer's brushes. To a great many listeners--from African American aficionados of the period to a whole new group of fans today--this is the very embodiment of jazz. It is also quintessential hard bop. In this, the first thorough study of the subject, jazz expert and enthusiast David H. Rosenthal vividly examines the roots, traditions, explorations and permutations, personalities and recordings of a climactic period in jazz history.

Beginning with hard bop's origins as an amalgam of bebop and R&B, Rosenthal narrates the growth of a movement that embraced the heavy beat and bluesy phrasing of such popular artists as Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley; the stark, astringent, tormented music of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Tina Brooks; the gentler, more lyrical contributions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianists Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, composers Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce; and such consciously experimental and truly one-of-a-kind players and composers as Andrew Hill, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. Hard bop welcomed all influences--whether Gospel, the blues, Latin rhythms, or Debussy and Ravel--into its astonishingly creative, hard-swinging orbit. Although its emphasis on expression and downright "badness" over technical virtuosity was unappreciated by critics, hard bop was the music of black neighborhoods and the last jazz movement to attract the most talented young black musicians.

Fortunately, records were there to catch it all. The years between 1955 and 1965 are unrivaled in jazz history for the number of milestones on vinyl. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um, Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners, Horace Silver's Further Explorations--Rosenthal gives a perceptive cut-by-cut analysis of these and other jazz masterpieces, supplying an essential discography as well. For knowledgeable jazz-lovers and novices alike, Hard Bop is a lively, multi-dimensional, much-needed examination of the artists, the milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's great musical epochs.

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Flemish Manuscript Painting in Context

A companion to the prize-winning exhibition catalogue Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, edited by Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick (2003), this volume contains thirteen selected papers presented at two conferences held in conjunction with the exhibition.

Chapters include Lorne Campbell's research into Rogier van der Weyden's work as an illuminator, Nancy Turner's investigation of materials and methods of painting in Flemish manuscripts, and trenchant commentary by Jonathan Alexander and James Marrow on the state of current research on Flemish illumination. Although topics are wide ranging, one recurring theme is the structure of collaboration in manuscript production. Essays uncover an important new patron of manuscript illumination and address the role of illuminated manuscripts at the Burgundian court along with the contributions of individual illuminators. A series of biographies of Burgundian scribes is also included.

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Sal Salvador • Tribute To The Greats

 

Biography by Ron Wynn:
A versatile guitarist and onetime head of the guitar department at the University of Bridgeport, Sal Salvador was a capable soloist and accompanist whose single-string style, shaped by his early interest in the music of Charlie Christian, was augmented by extensive studies of guitar technique. Salvador's years of research, playing, and analysis eventually led to his writing guitar methodology books, among them Sal Salvador's Chord Method for Guitar and Sal Salvador's Single String Studies for Guitar in the '50s and '60s. He became interested in jazz during his teens, and began playing professionally in Springfield, MA, in 1945. He worked with Terry Gibbs and Mundell Lowe in New York at the end of the '40s, then joined Stan Kenton's orchestra in 1952. Salvador worked with Kenton until the end of 1953, and appeared on the New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm album. He led bebop bands featuring Eddie Costa and Phil Woods. Salvador was featured in the film Jazz on a Summer's Day and headed a big band in the late '50s and early '60s. He worked in a guitar duo with Alan Hanlon in the early '70s, and began recording again as a leader later in the decade. He re-formed his big band in the '80s, and was named to his position at the University of Bridgeport. Salvador led recordings for Blue Note (1953), Capitol, Bethlehem, Decca, Jazz Unlimited, Dauntless (1963), Bee Hive, GP, and Stash; he died September 22, 1999, at the age of 73.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sal-salvador-mn0000241002/biography

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Biografía de Ron Wynn:
Un guitarrista versátil y una vez jefe del departamento de guitarra de la Universidad de Bridgeport, Sal Salvador era un solista y acompañante capaz cuyo estilo de una sola cuerda, formado por su temprano interés en la música de Charlie Christian, fue aumentado por extensos estudios de la técnica de la guitarra. Los años de investigación, interpretación y análisis de Salvador finalmente lo llevaron a escribir libros de metodología de la guitarra, entre ellos el Método de Acordes para Guitarra de Sal Salvador y los Estudios de Cuerdas Sueltas para Guitarra de Sal Salvador en los años 50 y 60. Se interesó en el jazz durante su adolescencia, y comenzó a tocar profesionalmente en Springfield, MA, en 1945. Trabajó con Terry Gibbs y Mundell Lowe en Nueva York a finales de los años 40, y luego se unió a la orquesta de Stan Kenton en 1952. Salvador trabajó con Kenton hasta finales de 1953, y apareció en el álbum New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm. Dirigió bandas de bebop con Eddie Costa y Phil Woods. Salvador apareció en la película Jazz on a Summer's Day y dirigió una gran banda a finales de los 50 y principios de los 60. Trabajó en un dúo de guitarras con Alan Hanlon a principios de los 70, y comenzó a grabar de nuevo como líder a finales de la década. Volvió a formar su gran banda en los 80, y fue nombrado para su puesto en la Universidad de Bridgeport. Salvador dirigió grabaciones para Blue Note (1953), Capitol, Bethlehem, Decca, Jazz Unlimited, Dauntless (1963), Bee Hive, GP y Stash; murió el 22 de septiembre de 1999, a la edad de 73 años.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sal-salvador-mn0000241002/biography

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane • Duke Ellington & John Coltrane

 

 

Review
by Matt Collar  
The classic 1962 album Duke Ellington & John Coltrane showcased the rising jazz saxophone innovator performing alongside the long-established piano institution. While the pairing might have portended a dynamic clash of the musical generations, instead we got a casual, respectful, and musically generous meeting of like-minded souls. Similarly, while one might have assumed that Ellington would use his sidemen, instead producer Bob Thiele (who also produced similar albums for Ellington including pairings with Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins) chose to bring in Coltrane's own outfit for the proceedings. Consequently, the duo is backed here at various times by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones, as well as alternates bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Sam Woodyard. The most surprising aspect of the Ellington/Coltrane date is how well suited Coltrane and his group are at playing what largely ends up being Ellington's own material. While he was certainly in the nascency of his more avant-garde period in 1962, Coltrane had a deep understanding of traditional jazz vocabulary, having played in a swing band in the Navy in the 1940s and studied the style of artists like Hawkins and Ben Webster while coming up in Philadelphia. Similarly, though an icon of the big-band era by the 1960s, Ellington had been on the upswing of a career resurgence ever since his dynamic performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, later released as Ellington at Newport. His meeting with Coltrane was emblematic of his renewed creativity and was one of several albums he recorded in his latter life with theretofore unexpected artists, not the least of which his other 1962 date, Money Jungle with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach. Here, Ellington and Coltrane play a handful of well-known Ellington book numbers, including a supremely lyrical "In a Sentimental Mood" and a soulful, half-lidded version of Billy Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book." Ellington even supplied the brisk original "Take the Coltrane," allowing plenty of room for Coltrane to let loose with knotty, angular lines.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/duke-ellington-john-coltrane-mw0000416142

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Reseña
por Matt Collar  
El clásico álbum de 1962 Duke Ellington & John Coltrane mostró al innovador saxofonista de jazz actuando junto a la institución pianística de toda la vida. Mientras que el emparejamiento podría haber presagiado un choque dinámico de las generaciones musicales, en su lugar obtuvimos un encuentro casual, respetuoso y musicalmente generoso de almas afines. Del mismo modo, aunque uno podría haber asumido que Ellington utilizaría a sus acompañantes, en su lugar el productor Bob Thiele (que también produjo álbumes similares para Ellington, incluyendo parejas con Louis Armstrong y Coleman Hawkins) eligió traer el propio equipo de Coltrane para los procedimientos. En consecuencia, el dúo está respaldado aquí en varios momentos por el bajista Jimmy Garrison y el baterista Elvin Jones, así como por el bajista Aaron Bell y el baterista Sam Woodyard, que se alternan. El aspecto más sorprendente de la fecha de Ellington/Coltrane es lo bien que Coltrane y su grupo se adaptan a tocar lo que en gran parte acaba siendo material propio de Ellington. Aunque ciertamente estaba en la incipiencia de su periodo más vanguardista en 1962, Coltrane tenía un profundo conocimiento del vocabulario tradicional del jazz, ya que había tocado en una banda de swing en la Marina en los años 40 y había estudiado el estilo de artistas como Hawkins y Ben Webster mientras crecía en Filadelfia. Del mismo modo, aunque en la década de 1960 era un icono de la era de las big bands, Ellington había estado en la cima de un resurgimiento de su carrera desde su dinámica actuación en el Festival de Jazz de Newport de 1956, que posteriormente se publicó como Ellington at Newport. Su encuentro con Coltrane fue emblemático de su renovada creatividad y fue uno de los varios álbumes que grabó en su última vida con artistas hasta entonces inesperados, entre los que destaca su otra cita de 1962, Money Jungle, con el bajista Charles Mingus y el batería Max Roach. Aquí, Ellington y Coltrane tocan un puñado de conocidos números del libro de Ellington, incluyendo un "In a Sentimental Mood" supremamente lírico y una conmovedora versión a medias de "My Little Brown Book" de Billy Strayhorn. Ellington incluso aportó el enérgico original "Take the Coltrane", dejando mucho espacio para que Coltrane se soltara con líneas angulosas y nudosas.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/duke-ellington-john-coltrane-mw0000416142

Ralph Towner-Paolo Fresu • Chiaroscuro

 

Review
by Jeff Tamarkin
Chiaroscuro at once has the feeling of inevitability and a sense of randomness about it, as if it were meant to happen, yet it's such a long shot that it ever did. Towner, the guitarist of the jazz/world/new age outfit Oregon, is an American who celebrated his 70th birthday in the year of this album's release, 2010 -- it's his 22nd for ECM. Fresu is an Italian trumpeter, not quite 50, whose only previous ECM connection (among some 300 albums he's appeared on in all) came in 2007 when he worked with pianist/composer Carla Bley on her release The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu. Towner and Fresu actually met some 15 years earlier, but didn't commit to recording together until now. Good thing they did, because they've made an exhilarating, affecting recording rich with great sensitivity and vibrant colors. Towner's spare, translucent acoustic 12-string and baritone guitar, and Fresu's bold, meaty trumpet and flügelhorn complement each other exceptionally well, their tight-knit interactivity and radiant melodicism reminiscent of collaborations of much longer duration. Laid bare in typically flawless ECM fidelity, their urbane compositions (most by Towner alone, the last two with Fresu) and perceptive improvisations are more like quiet conversations than contests. Each musician allows the other ample space to investigate and develop in solo format, but although their histories and perspectives are so unlike, when they meet up, they're always speaking the same language. Towner prefers a lighter touch than Fresu, but there is courageousness and respect in both of their statements. On "Wistful Thinking," the opening track (which appeared on an earlier Towner solo album), Towner's first notes feel as if they might just float away. Fresu's lines, though hardly brash and never aggressive, provide an anchor as the number builds. "The Sacred Place" is offered twice in balanced but dissimilar arrangements, while "Zephyr" is a more fully realized, more focused take on the song than the Oregon rendition that appeared on 1987's Ecotopia. "Blue in Green," the only non-original composition, can't be considered a cover of the Miles Davis/Bill Evans Kind of Blue track so much as a thorough reimagining of it -- Fresu doesn't mimic Davis; instead he suggests how the song might have developed independently of Davis had it originated someplace else. Chiaroscuro, naturally, boasts virtuosic musicianship, but it's never about that; it's about two artists coming together by chance and allowing their mutual respect to show them the way to something great.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/chiaroscuro-mw0001937310

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Reseña
por Jeff Tamarkin
Chiaroscuro tiene a la vez la sensación de inevitabilidad y de aleatoriedad, como si estuviera destinado a suceder, aunque es muy improbable que lo haga. Towner, el guitarrista del grupo de jazz/world/new age Oregon, es un estadounidense que celebró su 70º cumpleaños en el año en que se publicó este álbum, 2010, que es el 22º para ECM. Fresu es un trompetista italiano que no llega a los 50 años y cuya única conexión anterior con ECM (entre los 300 álbumes en los que ha aparecido) se produjo en 2007, cuando colaboró con la pianista y compositora Carla Bley en su disco The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu. Towner y Fresu se conocieron unos 15 años antes, pero no se comprometieron a grabar juntos hasta ahora. Menos mal que lo hicieron, porque han hecho una grabación estimulante y conmovedora, rica en gran sensibilidad y colores vibrantes. La sobria y translúcida guitarra acústica de 12 cuerdas y barítono de Towner, y la atrevida y carnosa trompeta y flügelhorn de Fresu se complementan excepcionalmente bien, su estrecha interactividad y radiante melodicismo recuerdan a colaboraciones de mucha mayor duración. Con la fidelidad típica de ECM, sus composiciones urbanas (la mayoría de Towner en solitario, las dos últimas con Fresu) y sus perspicaces improvisaciones son más bien conversaciones tranquilas que concursos. Cada músico deja al otro un amplio espacio para investigar y desarrollarse en formato solista, pero a pesar de que sus historias y perspectivas son tan diferentes, cuando se reúnen, siempre están hablando el mismo idioma. Towner prefiere un toque más ligero que Fresu, pero hay valentía y respeto en las declaraciones de ambos. En "Wistful Thinking", la canción que abre el disco (que apareció en un álbum anterior de Towner en solitario), las primeras notas de Towner parecen flotar. Los versos de Fresu, aunque no son descarados y nunca agresivos, proporcionan un ancla a medida que el número crece. "The Sacred Place" se ofrece dos veces con arreglos equilibrados pero diferentes, mientras que "Zephyr" es una versión más completa y centrada de la canción que la versión de Oregón que apareció en Ecotopia de 1987. "Blue in Green", la única composición no original, no puede considerarse una versión del tema Kind of Blue de Miles Davis/Bill Evans, sino más bien una reimaginación completa del mismo: Fresu no imita a Davis, sino que sugiere cómo podría haberse desarrollado la canción independientemente de Davis si se hubiera originado en otro lugar. Chiaroscuro, naturalmente, hace gala de una música virtuosa, pero nunca se trata de eso; se trata de dos artistas que se unen por casualidad y permiten que su respeto mutuo les muestre el camino hacia algo grande.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/chiaroscuro-mw0001937310