Ray Charles... Peter Brotzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake... Art Farmer... Toshinori Kondo... 'Big John' Patton...

Opening the cabinet of curios again – this is a Ray Charles date, one that is usually sidelined in favour of the better-known sessions that produced 'Genius plus Soul equals Jazz.' A run through 'Senor Blues', the Horace Silver tune. No vocals – just instrumental. An insistent bass figure builds the spine of the piece before the ensemble comes in. Trumpet solo – Blue Mitchell. Some high stepping and brassy preaching. Clifford Scott, I think, solos next. Juggles some soul blues fragments effectively enough. Then Brother Ray, who could play a mean blues. Spare and funky, just a couple of choruses, slightly battling the background band figures and oddly reminding me of John Lewis... Trying to get the personnel for this date was difficult – robbed it from the BBC Radio 3 in the end... I have fond memories of Ray Charles, one of the musicians I worshipped when I was a kid - saw him live a couple of times with his big band and the Raylettes, just as he was breaking to a larger audience. An interesting combination of raw blues and jazz with country just peeping in at that point.

Brotzmann opens, sounding like an asthmatic vacuum cleaner, hoovering up the notes. 'The heart and the bones,' from a trio date with William Parker and Hamid Drake, taken from their 2001 album 'Never too late but always too early:dedicated to Peter Kowald.' (The late bassist, although recorded before his death as a tribute). The Brotz granularities extend to William Parker's cross-sounding arco solo. Brotz moves to clarinet and takes over, woody and mysterious, distanced, over sporadic colouring percussion and riffing from Parker. Up the register to raise the emotional stakes as Drake starts to hit a few grooves. Return to the lower end, fluid, bubbling. A zig-zagging game of register polarity as he rises again into high squalling spurred by heavy hitting from the drums. Parker exercises his doussin gouni for a section, extending into a quasi-African sound world with hypnotic repetitions. Brotzmann returns on taragato, to cross an eastern timbre with the African as Drake goes berserker, sounding like he's enjoying himself with his rolling thunder. Ebbing nicely away at the end... An interesting journey away from the usual sturm und drang of Brotzmann's fire musics – and especial honours to the drummer.

Toshinori Kondo – solo trumpet, playing a splattering, smearing dazzle of textures fired through his electronic rig to amplify the different shapes of his breath and saliva moving through the instrument. Setting off a looping fragment as background, an insistent whirling that dies to leave slow gurglings that intensify and speed up - to suddenly stop. Kondo also performed with Brotzmann and company in the 'Die like a Dog' band, adding an impressive chunk of technical expertise and colour to that powerhouse unit. Playing the old influences game: if a line extends from Albert Ayler through to that group, Kondo walked in on one leading from Electric Miles (and late Don Ellis?). He'd travelled a long way...

Out of the traps fast – a boppish blues line: 'Farmer's Market.' Kenny Drew, nifty and accurate, takes first solo honours, rolling single notes out in a long arc. A droll quote - 'Buttons and Bows'... de rigeur for the genre... Farmer next, rapid fire elegance – a man who never seemed hurried at whatever tempo. Mobley picks up from his last phrase as he enters. Quite a soft tone compared to many other tenorist of the time, he was capable of much subtlety. Addison Farmer does a fast walk for a chorus or two – straight four. Last chorus and out. The young Elvin Jones keeps it all moving. Bop as she was done in 1956.

'Jakey' by Big John Patton, from 1965. Fast riff theme and Patton goes up first. Funky lines backed by sharp splinters of Granty Green chords. Vibes next, cooling it down a tad, the ice next to the smoky fire, sparked again by Green's guitar comping. Green solos, a keener, bluesy twang to his tone than many other modern jazz guitarists. Patton rides it out to the end. Music to make you feel good... dedicated to my young grandson... Jake...






Ray Charles (pno) Bobby Bryant, Blue Mitchell (tpt) Glen Childress (tbn) J. Lloyd Miller (oboe) Curtis Peagler (as) Andrew Ennis (ts) Clifford Scott, Albert McQueen (ts) Leroy Cooper (bs) James Martin (gtr) Edgar Willis (bs) unknown (d)
Senor Blues
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Peter Brötzmann (ts, a-cl, tar) William Parker (b, doussin gouni) Hamid Drake (d)
The heart and the bones
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Toshinori Kondo (t, electronics)
Tojin
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Art Farmer
Art Farmer (t) Hank Mobley (ts) Kenny Drew (d) Addison Farmer (b) Elvin Jones (d)
Farmers Market
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Big John Patton
John Patton (org) Grant Green (g) Bobby Hutchinson (vib) Otis 'Candy' Finch (d)
Jakey
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Thelonious Monk... John Patton... Art Farmer... Booker Little... Eric Dolphy/Ken Mcintyre... Matthew Shipp/Roscoe Mitchell... Howlin' Wolf...

Thelonious Monk was out on the coast in 1960 and recorded a rather happy live session at San Francisco's Blackhawk club with an expanded quartet – Charlie Rouse, John Ore and Billy Higgins were joined by locals Joe Gordon and Harold Land on trumpet and tenor saxophone respectively. This is 'Worry Later,' also known as 'San Francisco Holiday,' which maybe refers to this sojourn. This album never seems to score as high as I think it should, for some reason. There's a casual, relaxed feeling to the date – the audience are a bit chatty in places but that adds to the ambiance. Billy Higgins takes it in with drum figures that echo the melody before the ensemble play the head. Rouse first – with no great advantage of knowledge over the strangers in the front line, actually, as this tune was relatively new. Gordon follows, negotiating the changes well. Harold Land comes in strong and keeps up. Monk plays his usual games of displacing the rhythm with unexpected accents, a couple of times (amusingly) seeming to stop some of his more familiar runs abruptly which leaves you hanging, the theme never far away... He appears to be on cheerful form...

Do the boogaloo – a choppy, funky track from Big John Patton and company, 'The Turnaround,' from a 1964 soul jazz classic: 'Let 'Em Roll.' Some nice Grant Green to commence before Big John comes in, firing off a batch of bluesy runs that go to some interesting melodic areas, Green backing up with sharp chording. Green has a raucous edge to his guitar than was usual in jazz at that time, a more r and b sound. Another ensemble timbral oddity perhaps – the inclusion of vibes master Bobby Hutcherson – who does not solo on this track. Rocking stuff.


There is a calm elegance to Art Farmer's music that maybe disguises the intrinsic fire... Here is the title track from his album 'Farmer's Market,' a fast jumpy bop blues. The first solo is by Wynton Kelly and comes out of the traps at speed, complete with bop-cheeky quote from 'Buttons and Bows.' Farmer next, a fluent display. Hank Mobley follows him, breathily in the pocket. Art's twin brother Addison takes his bass for a swift sure-footes run. All held together by the young Elvin Jones in fairly conventional but swinging style. Freshly consolidated bop, from 1956, a year on the cusp of change...

The Booker Little track 'The Confined Few' can be found under his own name as part of the 'New York Sessions,' but was originally out with Teddy Charles as leader. The trumpeter was only twenty three when he died – an amazing fact when you consider the poise and control here. Charles is luckily still with us but has been off the critical map for a while – unfortunately, as he was a prominent member of the generation who set about re-modelling jazz in the fifties. A slow beginning that drops off into a steady tempo. Addison Farmer on bass again. The rather wonderful Booker Ervin is up first, booting tenor nicely tracked by Shaughnessy's drums. Mal Waldron takes a thoughtful solo, followed by fluent and melodic bass floating on Charles' vibes. Then Booker Little – fire and brio. Sharp and bright...

Two contrasting alto players – Ken McIntyre and the great Eric Dolphy. From their album 'Looking Ahead,' this is 'Curtsy.' Dolphy seemed fond of this frontline format - he recorded a couple of similar albums with Oliver Nelson, who led those sessions. The two altos come steaming in on the theme then McIntyre solos first. Some interesting curlicues – but Dolphy follows and ups the track a gear. His tone is so powerful, although his lines here are not pushing across the harmonies as far as usual. Mcintyre retaliates, rising to the game then Dolphy again, this time expanding outwards – as he continues to do in the ensuing fours, bringing to bear more of his unique intervallic conception. McIntyre, it has to be said, is not left behind. Some sure-handed piano from Walter Bishop before the theme close. A jaunty, cheerful track. Their turn to curtsy - my turn to bow ...

Coming relatively up-to-date... 1996. A duo performance by Matthew Shipp and Roscoe Mitchell. Starting off with dabbed at notes and short phrases, pointillism in action, the piece slowly expands into a swirl of dense lines, the sour-sweet horn of Mitchell swathed in the deep, cavernous sonorities of Shipp's piano. Which reminds me at times of our own Keith Tippett and his pounding storms of overtones. This is the last track from the album '2Z,' 2-Z-11 - also named 'The Physics of Angels,' which combines neatly the scientific and the spiritual. Or something. Wonderful, expansive music...

Back a few years... opening on a rough scrawl of overloaded guitar before settling into a bouncing blues. The Wolf, singing 'Mr Highway Man,' interspersing vocals with gutty harmonica. A wild slice of prime rhythm and blues from the Golden Age, thumped along by booming drums and ending on a juke-boxy scratch and scrape before the needle lifts...


In the Videodrome...

Art Farmer, with Lee Konitz and Oliver Nelson...

More Konitz – with Lennie Tristano...

Booker Little with Max Roach...

...some recent Anthony Braxton...

Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk (p) Joe Gordon (t) Charlie Rouse, Harold Land (ts) John Ore (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Worry Later
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Big John Patton
John Patton (org) Bobby Hutcherson (vi) Grant Green (g) Otis "Candy" Finch (d)
The Turnaround
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Art Farmer
Art Farmer (t) Hank Mobley (ts) Wynton Kelly (p) Addison Farmer (b) Elvin Jones
Farmer's Market
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Booker Little
Teddy Charles (vibes); Mal Waldron (p); Booker Little (tpt); Booker Ervin (ts); Addison Farmer (b); Eddie Shaughnessy (dr)
The Confined Few
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Eric Dolphy/Ken McIntyre
Eric Dolphy, Ken McIntyre (as) Walter Bishop (p), Sam Jones (b) and Art Taylor (d)
Curtsy
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Matthew Shipp/Roscoe Mitchell
Matthew Shipp (p) Roscoe Mitchell (as)
2-Z-11 The Physics of Angels
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Howling Wolf
Mr Highway Man
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