The Jazz.com Blog
April 23, 2009 · 0 comments
Jazz Classics That Aren't Kind of Blue
Did you hear that there was an anniversary for Miles Davis's Kind of Blue?
Of course you did. The jazz world may be in recession, but even in a tight economy the public relations campaigns sometimes go into overdrive.
We saw that with the recent push behind Diana Krall’s new CD. We see it in the extraordinary support being given to the career of a young altoist named Grace Kelly (a subject I hope to discuss in more detail in a later column; but in the meantime go here to see the highly orchestrated photo opps pairing this lady with every name jazz player on the planet.) And, above all, we see it in the hoopla surrounding the anniversary of Kind of Blue, the album that got casual listeners to switch from mood music to modal music without missing a syncopated beat.
Dang, I can hardly spell mixolydian without the help of a cue card. But I know that jazz.com needs to get on this bandwagon. So today we feature “Flamenco Sketches,” recorded fifty years ago this week, as the “classic song” of the day on the web site.
Of course, jazz.com doesn’t wait for big anniversaries to tout the old jazz masterpieces. Five days per week, the site features A Classic Revisited, which celebrates a great track from the past. In order to qualify for inclusion, a performance must stand out as a work of exceptional merit and be at least twenty-five years old.
Below are links to our reviews of the tracks featured as A Classic Revisited in recent weeks. There are 82 performances here, and they span the full range of styles and eras. Most of them come from the heart of the jazz tradition, but there are some surprises mixed in for good measure. Enjoy Kind of Blue, by all means, but you are also encouraged to check out a few of the other recordings on the list. They may not have a PR campaign to hype their merits, but each of them is deserving of your attention.
Classic Tracks Recently Featured on Jazz.com
Miles Davis: Flamenco Sketches
Ada Falcón: Yira Yira
Zoot Sims: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
George Lewis: Homage to Charlie Parker
John Lewis: The Golden Striker
Benny Carter: Blue Lou
Art Ensemble of Chicago: Magg Zelma
Harold Land: The Fox
Joe Pass: Darn That Dream
McCoy Tyner: Blues on the Corner
George Shearing: East of the Sun
Julie London: Cry Me a River
David Murray: Coney Island
Bud Shank: Casa de Luz
Mary Lou Williams: The Scarlet Creeper
Terje Rypdal: Per Ulv
Jack Teagarden: I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
Denny Zeitlin: Blue Phoenix
Roland Kirk: You Did It, You Did It
Jimmy Smith: Blues for J
John Coltrane: Aisha
Lee Konitz: Subconscious-Lee
Buddy Rich: Norwegian Wood
Don Byas: Laura
Willie "The Lion" Smith: Echoes of Spring
The Poll Winners: Volare
Jeff Beck: Love Is Green
Les Brown: Rock Me To Sleep
Tommy Dorsey: Lonesome Road
Air: Abra
Mose Allison: Parchman Farm
George Adams & Don Pullen: Big Alice
Mills Brothers with Duke Ellington: Diga Diga Doo
The Swingle Singers: Bach's Prelude #9
Lennie Tristano: I Can't Get Started
Ali Farka Touré: La Drogue
Lou Rawls: Lost and Lookin'
Cecil Taylor: Song
Bill Bruford: (square root) q.e.d.
Weather Report: The Man in the Green Shirt
Peggy Lee: Fever
George Russell: 'Round Midnight
Bill Evans & Jim Hall: Darn That Dream
The Boswell Sisters: Shout, Sister, Shout
Joe Henderson: Blue Bossa
Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti: Raggin' the Scale
Mamie Smith: Crazy Blues
Etta James: At Last
Johnny Hodges: Prelude to a Kiss
The Jazz Makers: The Real Funky Blues
Sidney Bechet: Strange Fruit
Blossom Dearie: They Say It's Spring
Chick Webb: Liza
Rose Murphy: I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Boogaloo Joe Jones: Right On
John Klemmer: Touch
Elmo Hope: Vi-Ann
Benny Golson / Jazztet: Park Avenue Petite
Fred Frith: No Birds
Miles Davis: My Ship
Gerry Mulligan: You Took Advantage of Me
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra: These Foolish Things
Big Joe Turner: Cherry Red
Muddy Waters: Country Blues
David "Fathead" Newman (with Ray Charles): Willow Weep for Me
Roy Haynes: Reflection
Richard "Groove" Holmes: Misty
Frank Sinatra: The House I Live In
Don Redman: Chant of the Weed
Hugh Masekela: Grazing in the Grass
Mahavishnu Orchestra: Dream
Hank Mobley: Venus De Mildew
Billy Bauer: Lincoln Tunnel
Serge Chaloff: A Handful of Stars
Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather
Stan Getz: Nature Boy
Nellie Lutcher: Kiss Me Sweet
Biréli Lagrène: Wave
Barney Kessel: Viva el Toro!
Hal McKusick: Jambangle
Freddie Hubbard: Lament for Booker
This blog article posted by Ted Gioia.
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