Jazz On Sunday: Miles Davis

Miles Davis (trumpet; b. 1926 - d. 1991)
The Columbia Years 1955-1985 (Columbia/Legacy)

So this is a short entry today. I had been thinking as we head into the holiday season and people start thinking about gifts to give others---why not think about what you want. You deserve it. Right? RIGHT!

An album I've been listening to a lot lately is Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955 - 1985. This four disc boxed set usually gets lost in the discussion of Miles' boxed sets and other multitudes of Miles Davis collections. The reason being, because all of the most recent boxed sets have been extremely focused on particular periods or styles of the great legend's music (e.g. Bitches Brew, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Silent Way, etc.).

There has also been a very nicely curated The Essential Miles Davis (Legacy Recordings), a 2 disc set, that covers the most significant moments spanning his entire career with the labels OJC, Prestige, Fontana, Columbia and Warner Bros. While this is a perfect gift for any Miles newcomer or all around jazz newcomer, I think The Columbia Years still deserves a place on someone's shelves this year. If not as a gift, be stingy and get it for yourself.

The Columbia Years represents the best of Miles material and is pretty comprehensive in what was chosen for the set. You get one of the earliest tracks, "Generique" from a little known label Jazz Track (which also served as the soundtrack for French film Elevator To The Scaffold). The iconic "So What" from the best jazz album in history Kind Of Blue to "Flies Of Kilimanjaro," "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down," to "What It Is" from one of the later albums Decoy.

This definitely is a set covering an extensive amount of Miles material during his most prolific period and may be too much for some newcomers, but I think you may also be able to find this boxed set pretty cheaply now due to the aforementioned boxes being available now.

The Columbia Years boxed set is divided into five sections over four discs: 1) Blues based material. 2) Standards. 3) Miles' original material. 4) Mood or atmospherics and lastly 5) Electric Fusion.

The other significance of The Columbia Years was that this was the very first ever boxed set of Miles Davis material. It was released on vinyl, cassette (yes cassette) and CD. At this point in 1988 there were absolutely no boxed sets out for jazz artists so this was a big deal.

I, for some nostalgic reason, always gravitate to this box when I have company over or when I just want a nice long dose of Miles for a Sunday afternoon. So if you are thinking of being a greedy little pig this holiday season let me recommend Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985 as something well worth your schilling. Enjoy...

Fred Hersch: Whirl

Fred Hersch (piano; b. 1955)

Whirl (Palmetto Records)

Eric McPherson (drums)
John Hebert (bass)

Fred Hersch has been on the scene for more than two decades. He has become one of the most prolific and consistently creative musicians around. He is not only a great performer he is an unmatched composer and interpreter of the jazz standard songbook. He has recorded material from Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Bill Strayhorn, Antonio Jobim and more. He has recorded with such greats as Joe Henderson (sax) and Stan Getz (sax) among others. He is consistently compared to the great Bill Evans, which is justifiable. Hersch's has a intricate and emotional ability to connect with the listen and the utmost level that you are truly moved by just one piece.

Fred Hersch was diagnosed with HIV in the early '90s and has been a great advocate against the illness. But he is also a symbol for us all on how to cope with adversity. Recently he has recovered from a coma and has come back amazingly strong with his most recent release Whirl (Palmetto Records).

Whirl is about as perfect a piano trio as you'll find. There is something very smooth and free-wheeling about Whirl that hasn't been apparent is his most recent recordings. Tracks like "Skipping" and "Mandevilla" are beautiful and intricately balanced showing a rich upbeat Hersch with superb work from John Hebert and Eric McPherson. The title track "Whirl" jumps with vibrancy and creativity that will surely make new listeners of Hersch stand up and take notice.

Whirl is by far one of my favourite Fred Hersch records. Fred Hersch is still touring (not consistently but he is out there) so if you see his name on the bill at your local jazz club I highly advise you to go. It is a must! Along with Jason Moran's Ten, its definitely one of the best albums by a pianist this year. Fred Hersch continues to paint a beautiful picture of jazz repertoire and standards that will be a monumental legacy for others to follow.

Latin Jazz Week: Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto (vocals; b. 1940)

Many may know the name or if you don't you know the song she made famous,"The Girl From Impenema" by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. But that wonderful masterpiece is not the only statement she will leave on the cultural landscape of the music lovers.

Astrud burst onto the jazz scene through the aforementioned Brasilian classic. Her soft yet uplifting bled of Brasilian and American accented vocals has always been an enchanting element in her arsenal. But also the combinations of musicians she has worked with over the years has made her lyrics and vocals something to be treasured. Her work with her husband Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz and later Gil Evans are among some of the best Bossa Nova recordings of the sixties.

Among her many later solo albums, she record an excellent duet with Chet Baker entitled, "Far Away" on the album That Girl From Impenema. Her albums during the seventies and eighties showed that she was more than just the girl we sang that famous samba launching an entire genre to the rest of the world. Astrud had become an "Artist".

While most of her material is pretty hard to find. And there is an overwhelming dearth of compilations of her '70s material--it is really hard to know where to start. I would have recommend the compilation Finest Hour (Verve). This compilation while leaning heavily on the obvious '60s material does provide a clear overview of Astrud's gentle and easily accessible "girl next door" vocals. You can fall in love very quickly with songs "So Nice," the legendary "Corcovado," "Wish Me A Rainbow" and the infectious "Crickets Sings For Anamaria".

Finest Hour is definitely what I would suggest to anyone who doesn't own an Astrud Gilberto album and wants to learn more. The songs on Finest Hour are truly beautiful and legendary. A worthy lesson in Latin/Brasilian jazz.