Jul 27, 2021 10:30 AM
John Pizzarelli’s Ode to Pat Metheny
It was in his darkest hour, during the early stages of the 2020 lockdown, that guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli…
A live Alice Coltrane recording from 1972 marks a turning point in her music.
(Photo: DownBeat Archives)Charles Lloyd, Forest Flower (1967)
This might not be the best album of Lloyd’s discography, but it was extraordinarily popular, and worked to insinuate jazz back into popular culture (to an extent). It also features a pretty remarkable band with Cecil McBee on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Keith Jarrett on piano.
Gabor Szabo, The Sorcerer (1967)
The legacy of this Hungarian guitarist, for some reason, hasn’t endured over time. But this disc, recorded at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, finds the bandleader conjuring up an admixture of jazz, rock and strains of psychedelia in an effort to create his own brand of freedom music.
Duke Ellington, The Great Paris Concert (1973)
Duke’s band—with the saxophone titans Johnny Hodges (alto), Paul Gonsalves (tenor) and Harry Carney (baritone)—stretched out with bluesey originals by the leader, as the ensemble dispensed some of the best of what the States had to offer in 1963. The recording was released as a double LP in 1973, and its track listing was expanded in subsequent reissues.
Billie Holiday, The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert (1961)
Despite Norman Granz reciting snippets of Holiday’s biography between tunes, the vocalist fronts an extraordinarily loose collective on this 1956 set that counts drummer Chico Hamilton during a formative moment in his career, as well as guitarist Kenny Burrell. It’s probably not the pinnacle of Holiday’s powers, but she still plays with the beat and turns in a remarkable blues-filled performance.
Bill Evans Trio, Sunday At The Village Vanguard (1961)
Iconic for not just its music, but that stark image of Evans on the cover, the album featured a pair of tunes by bassist Scott LaFaro sandwiched around songs from Cole Porter and George Gershwin. A dark twist: It was recorded less than two weeks before LaFaro died in a car accident. DB
John Pizzarelli hit the woodshed, literally, to develop material for his new recording Better Days Ahead: Solo Guitar Takes On Pat Metheny.
Jul 27, 2021 10:30 AM
It was in his darkest hour, during the early stages of the 2020 lockdown, that guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli…
New, impactful live recordings of the late pianist Bill Evans continue to emerge on vinyl.
Jul 20, 2021 4:10 PM
Bill Evans’ discography is immense, beginning with his first recordings as a sideman in 1953 and running through…
This year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has been canceled. It was scheduled to take place in October.
Aug 9, 2021 10:28 PM
New Orleans musicians reacted with distress and disbelief — along with some relief — to the latest COVID…
In Harmony is culled from live 2016 and 2017 duo performances by modern-day legends Roy Hargrove and Mulgrew Miller.
Jul 20, 2021 4:08 PM
The history of jazz is fraught with artists who’ve died too young. But what lives on is their music — the legacy of…
Corea was named Artist, Pianist and Keyboardist of the Year for the final time in the 69th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll.
Aug 27, 2021 2:14 PM
Editor’s Note: This article is from the August 2021 DownBeat Critics Poll issue.
At the time of this writing,…
