Sunday Music Muse Day - Duke Ellington, Stanley Clarke Band,Ochion Jwell Quartet, and Bill Frisell

Here's my Sunday Music Muse Day, delayed 24 hours by football games and Downton Abby. My first selection is one should have posted last week to commemorate my late father's  birthday,  Duke Ellington Piano in the Foreground, with, my father, Sam Woodyard on drums.  I almost passed on buying this CD, since I already had a copy, but checking  the song list I saw it was a remastered collection with 7 bonus tracks.  That made it well worth buying.  I really enjoy the small group setting of Dukes. Plus, the cover is a favorite of mine, because Sam is on it.

Next, is the Stanley Clark Band which find the Jazz Fusion pioneer fronting a band of young talented players, including the popular pianist, Hiromi.  Stanley playing sound as fresh and daring as the early outings with Return to Forever, and his solo efforts.

My next selection is one of those leaps of faith.  Ochion Jewell Quartet, Volk, is group and CD I knew nothing of, but two cuts features the Lionel Loueke, a guitarist I recently started following,  So, I picked up the CD, and I can say I enjoyed. It's a very contemporary sound, with a leaning toward avant garde, but still accessible.  I'll keep my eye out for other releases from this group.

My last selection is head scratcher. Richter 858, Music by Bill Frisell, is a very abstract, experimental, project by the amazingly adventurous guitarist Bill Frisell with a string trio. The music is explorations inspired by the 8 abstract paintings by artist Gerhard Richter.   I admired the effort, but I don't know if can warm up to this CD.  Maybe someone into new modern Classical music that borders on avant garde will find this more interesting than I did.  That said I still will pick up a Bill Frisell CD, just because it's always a surprise.

That's week post.  Hopefully I'll get back on the track on next Sunday.  Enjoy.