CD-Charts Position 41
Average Rating:

The Shape of Jazz to Come

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Ornette Coleman

Release Date October 25, 1990
1959 is to jazz what 1977 is to punk rock: glorious. John Coltrane's Giant Steps. Miles Davis recording Kind of Blue. Charles Mingus and his eponymous Mingus Ah Um. And my personal favorite, Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. 1959 also introduced one man whose debut album shook the foundations of jazz and introduced a shift in jazz music that is still felt today.

The young man with the plastic horn. Unprecedented.

Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come

Jazz had not seen anything like it. It would be safe to assume that no one thought anything of this caliber would be possible. With its apparent lack of chords, its atonality, and its complete disregard for traditional jazz conventions, Ornette Coleman's ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 42
Average Rating:

Tiny Resistors

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Todd Sickafoose

Release Date June 10, 2008
I was a huge fan of Todd Sickafoose's Blood Orange, but this one trumps it methinks. Those who dismiss it for concentrating too much on mood are missing the depth of the arrangements here. The first track alone contains an album's worth of textural cross-currents, with brass, violin, multiple guitars, piano and drums blooming in ever-growing floral patters -- the "Future Flora" of the title. There's some Fela Kuti omni-funk to be found on a track like "Warm Stone," and again the groove is overflowing with texture and tons of rhythmic combo-punches. Sickafoose's melodies on "Invisible Ink, Revealed" and "Everyone Is Going" curl quizzically, or "like a couple of question marks" (to quote Ani DiFranco, who guests on the indomitable cosmic jam "Bye Bye Bees" ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 43
Average Rating:

Miles Ahead

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Miles Davis

Release Date September 23, 1997
Either as its own or as part of the elegant boxed set collecting all of the orchestral collaborations between Miles Davis and Gil Evans, "Miles Ahead" finds the ripe Davis crossing into previously unchartered lands for him - playing in front of a large-scale orchestra conducted by Gil Evans. Unlike the other orchestral collaborations, "Miles Ahead" has no specific theme or flavor to it, but it was the first of such albums, and its music stood tall because of its newness and daring approach, hence its name.

In "Miles Ahead," Evans' orchestra serves as a bed of gentle flowers for Davis to walk upon while playing his delicate and meaningful musical statements. The orchestra includes five trumpets, three trombones (and a bass trombone), three French ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 44
Average Rating:

Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Various Artists

Release Date April 09, 1991
Picked this CD out of the rack after not listening to it for years.

Los Lobos' Bertha interpretation is close to the original, but with a nice hint of accordion. Bruce Hornsby's Jack Straw is great, one can tell he played with the Dead many a time and I (for one ;-) think that he performed wonderfully with them over the years. Whatever you think of him, he can play piano.

Forget The Hashed Mellows' US Blues, what a disappointing straightforward rock-ish version that is. Elvis Costello's Ship of Fools is sort of interesting in the sense that he has some of Jerry's raspiness and I like the instrumentation.

Suzanne Vega's China Doll sounds like, well, a Vega tune, which isn't bad, but perhaps a bit dull. Happily her Cassidy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 45
Average Rating:

Sweet Rain

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Stan Getz

Release Date July 29, 2008
Picked this CD out of the rack after not listening to it for years.

Los Lobos' Bertha interpretation is close to the original, but with a nice hint of accordion. Bruce Hornsby's Jack Straw is great, one can tell he played with the Dead many a time and I (for one ;-) think that he performed wonderfully with them over the years. Whatever you think of him, he can play piano.

Forget The Hashed Mellows' US Blues, what a disappointing straightforward rock-ish version that is. Elvis Costello's Ship of Fools is sort of interesting in the sense that he has some of Jerry's raspiness and I like the instrumentation.

Suzanne Vega's China Doll sounds like, well, a Vega tune, which isn't bad, but perhaps a bit dull. Happily her Cassidy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 46
Average Rating:

Anthem

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Christian Scott

Release Date August 28, 2007
great contemporary jazz displaying hints of classical composition with a texturality reminiscent of Davis's Blue period and a similar atmospheric moodiness. the style and sound recall Wallace Roney though the composition is a bit more rigourous and methodical. Excellent contemporary Jazz with a traditional feel.

CD-Charts Position 47
Average Rating:

Polish Night Music

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: David Lynch

Release Date March 25, 2008
"Inland Empire" seems to be more than a film, as it is the hub of a variety of Lynch works including photographs, some web shows, and now this album of music. "Polish Night Music" consists of four lengthy tracks exploring the aural environment of various portions "Inland Empire". If you have the soundtrack, listening to "Woods Variation" will give you a very close idea as to the sound of "Polish Night Music". Most of the music consists of some droning synthesizers over a bed of airy and menacing ambient textures. Acoustic piano occasionally provides some melodic motion, but for the most part, the atmosphere is dense and stagnant. I don't mean 'stagnant' in a bad way, but rather to suggest a very heavy feeling that really brings the listener down with a remarkable intensity and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 48
Average Rating:

Grand Central

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Jeff Golub

Release Date March 06, 2007
Saw Jeff twice in concert in Chicago and just past week in Pompano Beach, Florida with Peter White, Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber. So bought this new album at that concert. Holy smokes, Grand Central will just blow you away. It has the same energy as Grand Central Station. One of those great road trip songs, I never tire of it. Mojito is also an infectious tune that you will be humming in your head over & over. But can't leave out Shockwave, it will grab you too. My 10 year old Grandson has now become a Jeff Golub fan too. But trust me on this, you have to see Jeff in person live in a concert, he is quite a showman and will take off on a lot of his songs, that you just don't get in a CD. But be sure to add this one to your collection and you'll get the Jeff Golub bug ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 49
Average Rating:

Karma

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Pharoah Sanders

Release Date November 07, 1995
Why did I purchase this? Well, I'd finally managed to get my head around Coltrane's "Mediations" and learned to love it. I happened to pick up a used disc by Alice Coltrane "Journey in Satchimandana". Both of these works feature Mr. Sanders. I got curious and discovered his web site. If you haven't been there you should stop in there soon! The "Tunnel" video is wonderful! So anyway, I picked this up along with "Jewels of Thought".

Both releases are almost 100% wonderful but I do have one thing that bothers me. Leon Thomas' singing is good, he's a good vocalist. There is nothing at all wrong with his bizarre "yodeling" affect... But... it is over used to the point of distraction in my opinion. It really catches the new listener off guard, and that's ok. There is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 50
Average Rating:

Vienna Concert

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Keith Jarrett

Release Date March 07, 2000
Yes, Keith Jarrett is a wonder. In this album, as in others, his technical prowess at the piano is amazing. At times, it seems as though there are two, perhaps three, pianists playing simultaneously. The problem here, as in similar solo improvisational albums, is that the technique is an end in itself. There is little beauty, wit, or thoughtfulness. Listening to this often painful album is like watching a world's strongest man contest. Wow, look at those hulks move weights. But what does it prove? And after you've seen it a couple of times, who cares any more? Jarrett is at his best, in my opinion, when facing a score. His The Melody At Night, With You is one of the most gorgeous and sensitive albums I know of. He also plays splendid Bach and Handel. Don't buy the Vienna concert ... Read More: