Sunday Music Muse Day - Jan. 21, 2024 - Brad Mehldau Trio, The Blue Note Years

This Sunday Music Muse Day finds many in my area anxiously awaiting the Buffalo Bills game against The Kansas City Chief in the NFL game tonight. Some maybe more interested in Taylor Swift attending.  In any case, here's two jazz selections to help fill the time. First up, Brad Mehldau Trio Day is Done. With the leader on piano, joined by Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums.  This is a tasteful collection of movie themes, a couple of Lennon/McCartney tunes, a Paul Simon tune and some originals all done in Mehldau's uniquely modern piano styling.  Well worth a listen.

Next is an anthology collection, The Blue Note Years 1955–1960 The Jazz Message. Many of the recordings of the artists on the 2 CD were made long before I was into jazz, but of course I've learned of importance to the music over the year.  I like to recommend anthologies like this to new jazz listeners as it gives them a wider range of musicians and styles to sample, in contrast to suggesting a certain artist or album like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (a great choice, but variety is the spice of life).   This would be a perfect CD for background music for a Jazz brunch, or ease you into a football game.  

Lets's hope for and Bills win.  Enjoy

Sunday Music Muse Day - Andy Summers, Grant Green

Today Sunday Music Muse Day finds me diving into a backlog of new purchases.  First up is Andy Summers Green Chimneys, The Music of Thelonious Monk, and as the title states it a collection of all Thelonious Monk tunes.  This is an early companion to another DC "Peggy's Blue Skylight" that was all Charlie Mingus tunes he released two years later..  In the Liner notes Summers relates how, as a teenager, he saw Thelonious Monk perform in England and how it have a massive impact on him.  Although best known as a member and guitarist for the Police, with Sting and drummer, Steward Copeland, Summers deep jazz root shows in his solo work after the Police.

My second selection is Grant Green Grantstand on the classic Blue Note label.  This 1961 session is tasty sample of soul-jazz groove of the era with fun, straight-ahead playing.

My post is short and sweet this week, but music leaves a lasting impress. Enjoy.

Sunday Music Muse Day - Django Reinhardt, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and Kenny Burrell

Time again for another Sunday Music Muse Day.  I originally started these to help me keep up my interest in playing music, but they seem to have become an excuse to buy more CD's.  Actually, that's not a bad thing, as I was missing the pleasure of adding new music to me collection.  Especially, as I find myself fulling more holes in my jazz collection as this week's selections do. First up is Django Reinhardt: Nuages with Coleman Hawkins, a nice collection of the legendary Gypsy guitar's playing with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, from the 1930's and 40's.  The Quintet also featured legendary violinist, Stephane Grappelli.  I have some Django tunes on several guitar anthology LPs, but it's nice to have solid collection on one CD.  The bonus is the the two cuts alto saxophonist, Coleman Hawkins, joins him on.  The picture of Django is an iconic image of a "Jazzman", it just draws you it.

Continuing with the concept of filling gaps in the my collection, is The Modern Jazz Quartet Blues on Bach.  By the title you can tell the music is themed around the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  I always loved the sound of the Modern Jazz Quartet, but surprisingly never pickup a LP.  I always enjoyed hearing them on the radio.  So this gives me a chance to spend more time with their music.

Here's another Rudy Van Gelder Edition CD which he transferred and remastered a classic Blue Note album with 24-bit technology, Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue.  I can't get enough of this classic jazz guitar playing.

A nice thing was I have a copy of the first tune on the CD, Chitlin Con Carne on the Best of Blue Note CD, I featured before.  In case you missed it, here it is again.  There a lot of great classic tunes on it.

I spied more of these Rudy Van Gelder Edition CDs at the record shop. I may have to pick them up.   Until then, enjoy.