Arthur Blythe - "Lenox Avenue Breakdown" (1979, Columbia)

Elvin Ray Jones (September 9 1927 – May 18 2004) is one of the great Jazz drummers. He is especially known for being part of John Coltrane's band 1960-1965.

He was the pulse of that quartet. I still enjoy his duet track with Coltrane - "Vigil" on the "Kulu Sé Mama" album.

I was also very fortunate to see him live in London with his own band.

Any favourites? Any stories? Have you seen him live?

Please let's remember him today and always.

Enjoyed reading this and was curious about your thoughts on other Jazz festivals and Newport

OK this has actually eluded me for YEARS. A long time ago, probably in 1991 or 1992, I heard this great jazz song "Don't Tread on Me" on a local jazz show. Back then I used to record these shows onto cassette tape and then edit them down. I had ELEVEN tapes full of absolute gold from this show, called "Jazz, Etc" hosted by Jay Trachtenberg, on KUT here in Austin. So I listened to this song and others all the time, but I never really knew who the artist/band was. Then one day, someone broke into my car and stole all of my tapes :(

Here's what I know about the song:

• It starts with the female vocalist doing some spoken word, which I'm pretty sure included the US Constitution preamble ("we the people...")
• It then transitions into a full band arrangement of a song with the refrain, "Don't tread on me, don't tread one me". I assumed that was the title but who knows.
• The song itself I would say is a slow swing, very jazzy.
• The singer is/was incredible.

I've searched Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc and I just can't find any jazz songs titled "Don't Tread on Me" that match. Lyric searches and archive.org have turned up empty too.

It's a great song and a great performance so I'd hate to think it's been lost to time. If this rings any bells, please let me know!

Found this set of three in the bins this weekend—Art Blakey on Prestige, the era with Hubbard and Shorter in the early 60s. Kyoto, likely becoming my favorite of the three, the vocal track on the A-side is a really unique edition. Although all three are truly fantastic records.

Since starting on my jazz journey about a year ago, I’ve realized how much I value drumming as part of the overall musical experience. Part of that (I think) is because I have a punk background… jazz albums that center the rhythm section just bring that fire, speed, and attitude that I always loved in punk music.

However, Blakey’s musicianship elevates the art form to a place I’m still struggling to fully comprehend, that’s how extra-ordinary I think it is. The a-side tracks on Free for All and The Freedom Riders, are two of the most powerful pieces of music I can ever remember coming across.

Other drummers have brought me to a similar singularity—Elvin Jones, Max Roach, even Pete La Roca (on Basra). But outside of Jones, I’m not sure there’s any real equivalent… in any genre.

Anyways, this is an Art Blakey appreciation post because I’m not sure he gets enough. Interested in the perspective of others who have been on this journey longer than me.

(Journey seems to be the right word to describe jazz. My other big musical love, punk… was always a destination. The journey was always secondary.)

Michel Petrucciani was a great pianist and I dug how he played Miles famous tune here.

Probably one of my favorite albums from John Coltrane.

I fell for Keith Jarrett's music when I first heard the song "Country" on the album My Song. This was before I decided to take the plunge with the Koln Concert. The music writer Ted Gioia once recommended the song The Journey Home on his book How To Listen To Jazz, which happens to come from the same album.

Marion Brown (September 8 1931 - October 18 2010) was one of the notable Jazz musicians of the Free Jazz era. He played with artists like John Coltrane on "Ascension", Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, etc.

Any favourites? Any stories? Have you seen him live?

Please let's remember him today and always.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet on a magic carpet ride https://fb.watch/B-q-rPJ7st/

So earlier today I was doing a dive into my MP3 collection for Jimmy Forrest and found this track featuring him along with Oliver Nelson and King Curtis. I'm fairly sure the first solo is Curtis, and IMO it's pretty amazing. Not that the other two solos aren't great, but this is really indicative of Curtis's abilities as a straight jazz player. I always just knew him for his R&B playing, and even on his 1960 album with Nat Adderley & Wynton Kelly he sticks closely to blues licks. Anyway, here's the track on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/3HI-luqMMQ4

Was listening to this song on the way to school one morning and fell in love with jazz. 3 years later, and my playlist is full of legends, classic and modern

The lower east side isn’t really known for its jazz. But Closeup is really making a name for itself. A little over a year in and it continues to host really amazing artists and jam sessions.

Run by two young best friends the vibe is immaculate and the music diverse. I really hope it gets more popular because it’s something special.

Hello! My younger sister knows that I've always wanted to go see LIVE Jazz played at a restaurant. Where we could dress up and go see them towards the evening and eat. And she invited me to a place in SF. I liked it a lot. I wish there was something in Oakland. But it was really nice :) 🎷🎙🎶🎺