Sunday Music Muse Day - Ron Carter, Keith Jarrett

This Sunday Music Muse Day finds most sport fans killing time before tonight's Super Bowl game. I'll probably watch part of it before switching over to PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, our normal Sunday viewing. Likewise, I'll rather spend the afternoon listening to some good jazz. First up. is Ron Carter Spanish Blue, a classic from the acclaimed legendary bassist, and Rochester native. This is "The Original CTI Recordings Digitally Remastered for Compact Disc" of an album released in 1976. Of the four tunes, three are by Ron Carter.  The liner notes states Carter "plans to intensify his writing efforts",  indicating he hasn't writing much for his previous records.  It also says two of the tunes, El Noche Sol and Sabado Sombrero, were inspired by a tour with Miles Davis to Barcelona, Spain in 1964. Of the two, Sabado Sombrero in my favorite, but more for the version by guitarist Jimmy Ponder on his Illusions LP  (unfortunately not on CD). Still Spanish Blue is a must have recording.

Here's the Ron Carter original, with flute by Hubert Laws. 

Here's the Jimmy Ponder version.

My second selection is another Keith Jarrett trio CD, Whisper Not,  with Gary Peacock (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums).  This is a two CD set recorded live in Paris in 1999.  I can't keep from finding more Jarret recordings, although enjoyable his vocalizing while playing can annoy me.  I love Jack DeJohnette's drumming.  He was one of the first drummers beyond Rock drummers like Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, and fusion drummers like Billy Cobham, I became aware of for his various ECM recordings with musicians like John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner.

I have no picks for the Super Bowl, although I wouldn't mind seeing Tom Brady lose.