Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk (1964)

Solo Monk, recorded mostly in 1964, features only Thelonious Monk playing piano compositions that are only about half his. I don't know a whole lot about jazz, nor am I a piano player, so I can't try to talk about the intricacies and genious of Thelonious Monk, but it's kind of cool to hear him just playing around on the piano by himself.

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Dinah (Akst, Lewis, Young)

2. I Surrender, Dear (Barris, Clifford)

3. Sweet and Lovely (Arnheim, LeMare, Tobias)

4. North of the Sunset (Monk)

5. Ruby, My Dear (Monk)

6. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) (Daugherty, Neiburg, Reynolds)

Side Two

7. I Hadn't Anyone Till You (Noble)

8. Everything Happens To Me (Adair, Dennis)

9. Monk's Point (Monk)

10. I Should Care (Cahn, Stordahl, Weston)

11. Ask Me Now (Monk)

12. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) (Link, Marvell, Strachey)

Monk (1964) - 320kbps

Leonard Cohen - Live Songs (1973)

I've been in a bit of a Leonard Cohen kick lately, and with the onset of summer in Montreal, I figured I'd post this - especially because it isn't so easy to find in North America. Here, the album was only released on LP in 2009, but for some reason, it's been floating around Europe since 1973. This version is the original European shit (to allow myself some snobbery). Anyways, Leonard Cohen's Live Songs was recorded from live shows in London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and the Isle of Wight in 1970 and 1972 (and also from a "Room in Tennessee" in 1972). The album took me a couple of listens before I began to like it, as the songs are all pretty slow and soft with more sparse instrumentation than on his studio albums. "You Know Who I Am" is really good here, a lot better than the version on Songs From A Room, I think, and towards the end, there is a soft, fluttery kind of collaboration between Leonard, the bassist, and the other guitarist that sounds really pretty. Actually, the album as a whole is really pretty if you like Leonard Cohen.

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Minute Prologue (London 1972)

2. Passing Thru (London 1972)

3. You Know Who I Am (Brussels 1972)

4. Bird on the Wire (Paris 1972)

5. Nancy (London 1972)

6. Improvisation (Paris 1972)

Side Two

7. Story of Isaac (Berlin 1972)

8. Please Don't Pass Me By (A Disgrace) (London 1970)

9. Tonight Will Be Fine (Isle of Wight 1970)

10. Queen Victoria (Room in Tennessee 1972)

Live Songs (1973)

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella In Berlin

Apparently a classic LP, this is the album where Ella sings "Mack The Knife" for the first time, forgets the lyrics, and substitutes them for her own. She even includes a sweet Louis impression, her own rendition of "Summertime", a pretty kickin' version of "The Lady Is A Tramp", and you get to hear a little bit of her while she isn't singing. The record was a pretty cool find - moreso because I had heard a singer at the Detroit Jazz Fest in 2007 covering a bunch of Ella Fitzgerald songs, but I found that she was pretty much just singing this album.

Recorded in 1960 at show in Berlin.

Lineup: Ella Fitzgerald, vocals; Paul Smith, piano; Jim Hall, guitar; Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass; Gus Johnson, drums

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Gone With The Wind

2. Misty

3. The Lady Is A Tramp

4. The Man I Love

5. Summertime

Side Two

6. Too Darn Hot

7. Lorelei

8. Mack The Knife

9. How High The Moon

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella In Berlin (1960) - 320kbps

Pharoah Sanders - Elevation

I thought it fitting to post Pharoah Sanders after Prince Lasha - two jazz royalty members in a row, both prescribing to the free jazz aesthetic - though I was disappointed just now when I found out that Pharoah Sanders wasn't the self proclaimed pharoah, but just named that by Sun Ra. Oh well. That's cool, I guess. Other than that, I don't know much else to say about this album other than that I liked it, despite "Elevation" sounding a lot like Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" - in both length and in melody. Either way, it's still pretty raucous. The other songs break away a lot - featuring a more 'western' style piano amidst more 'african' sounding chants - coming together in some pretty cool ways, but "Elevation" is still the best, and not just because of length.

The album was recorded in 1973 from performances at Ash Grove, Los Angeles on September 7 and September 9, except for "Greeting to Saud", which is a studio recording. Pharoah Sanders has played with John Coltrane (Om and others), and with Sun Ra, Sonny Simmons (remember!!?), and Don Cherry, amongst others.

Lineup: Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax, soprano sax, percussion, vocals; Michael White, violin; Sedatrius Brown, vocals; Joe Bonner, piano, cow horn, wood flute, vocals, percussion, harmonium; Calvin Hill, bass, tamboura, vocals; Michael Carvin, drums, percussion; Lawrence Killian, congas and bell tree, percussion; John Blue, percussion, vocals; Jimmy Hopps, percussion

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Elevation

2. Greeting To Saud (Brother McCoy Turner)

Side Two

3. Ore-Se-Rere (Nigerian Juju HiLife)

4. The Gathering

5. Spiritual Blessing

Pharoah Sanders - Elevation - 320kbps