Various Artists, A Day In the Life: Impressions of Pepper (Impulse!, 2018)

One of the recordings I’ve come back to pretty regularly in the last couple of years is Wes Montgomery’s cover of “A Day In the Life” (https://youtu.be/psvs4axQ10A?si=G_bbudbgqUuGyJb8) recorded for A&M/CTI records in 1967. Interestingly, it was recorded literally a few days after Sgt. Pepper’s was released. I discovered this particular record from the musician/writer Ethan Iverson, who, in a post to his twitter account, had some negative things to say about it. His main complaint, which I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with, is that Wes and his band don’t really know what to do with the Paul parts of the song and the arranged schmaltz takes over. Fair. But, man, the groove up until that point is pretty unimpeachable.  The way in which Wes’ performance manages to be both deeply funky and deeply melancholic (the later keeping with the overall tone of John’s parts). 

The Beatles’ songbook was an obvious, if not exactly natural, choice for jazz musicians to cover in the 1960s. Some jazz musicians like Count Basie (https://youtu.be/uf-DrTuDbvU?si=Jf3RWWKAEnQ-lNNQ), Ramsey Lewis (https://youtu.be/xfakeKbW2wg?si=Pq4jLqM-bpm211Lm) and George Benson (https://youtu.be/b6IDWgIjH6I?si=lMTmoqwo5ix3ukxt) would devote entire albums to Beatles’ songs. In fact, Wes’ cover isn’t even the only jazz cover of that particular song in 1967: Gabor Szabo, the great Hungarian jazz guitarist, did a slightly disappointing (mostly due to the very “up with people” vocals) version on his Wind, Sky and Diamonds album (along with a better version of “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds”) (https://youtu.be/LjKvr3z4f4U?si=CnpmcHYPHG2mnM7p). Jazz covers of Beatles songs in the 60s were produced mostly to soundtrack discotheques, dinner parties and, perhaps, lure some unsuspecting kids into the lifelong addiction that is jazz. 

The album A Day In the Life doesn’t leave the listener wondering why such an object might exist in 2018: “After recently taking the helm of the Verve Label Group for Universal Music, I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to this iconic masterpiece, as well as tip our hat to our own legendary Impulse! Records, which has equally stood the test of time.” I want to preface my following comments by saying that I like this record and enjoy listening to it often. Yet, the more things change the more they stay the same. Writing this the week a “new” Beatles single was released (the perfectly fine “Now And Then”), it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Beatles sells (whether in 1967 or in 2023). So after relaunching (yet again) the Impulse! Records imprint, what better way to get people interested than doing what CTI records clearly did in the late 60s and early 70s. 

That said, I do agree with the following statement on the copy: “this recording showcases the most meaningful up-and-coming and established artists that are taking the new jazz scene by storm” (okay, I agree with the sentiment, not that faux—or is it?—60s label PR language). For example, Makaya McCraven is arguably the most important artist working in jazz today (releasing his own records on the gold standard International Anthem label). His “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” is probably the highlight of the whole set and is essential listening (https://youtu.be/XEKtUzSFhPs?si=sCPLTzym2v4uYnQa). Brandee Younger’s take on “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” channels the pop psychedelia of the great Dorothy Ashby’s brilliant Cadet records Afro-Harping and The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby. (https://youtu.be/o4Asx_osRYY?si=t9IxFTKzRrDMcy49) Brandee Younger and Dezron Douglas (who is also on bass here) released my favorite record of 2020 Force Majeure, a deeply moving record that is one of the essential works from the pandemic era. (https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/force-majeure)

Shabaka Hutchings working with his group The Ancestors, offers a rolling, minimalist, highly rhythmic saxophone driven reading of “Good Morning, Good Morning.” (https://youtu.be/3JOBsR65QOA?si=2pY_GKOUK-rMkXWy) Though it bares little resemblance to the original (each entry varies with regard to their fidelity to the original Pepper tracks), the music  demonstrates again how the next generation of jazz artists understands the task of interpretation in their playing. Shabaka has almost too much good music to name just one or even two of his ensembles, but his Impulse! Records released as The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kismet are both worth checking out. 

Beyond that, most of the album is good: I enjoy Mary Halvorson’s loopy guitar cover of “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Sullivan Fortner’s piano cover of “When I’m Sixty-Four” which re-imagines Paul McCartney’s music hall ditty in the hands of Art Tatum or Fats Waller tickling the ivories. I imagine Macca would approve. In fact, I imagine all the Beatles would be pleased by the care and interest each one of these talented musicians took in covering their music. 

⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Broken Consort, A Box of Birch (Tompkins Square, 2007)

A Broken Consort, Crow Autumn (Tompkins Square, 2009)

All music & art by Richard Skelton

Whenever I listen to Richard Skelton's remarkable music and view his art (a piece seen here hanging in my living room), I am reminded of my dear departed friend Cory Card, who introduced me to his work. Cory ended up working with Richard for a show Cory curated at the View Art Center in Old Forge, NY.  

This is the type of music that defies easy elucidations or discursions, therefore I would just encourage you, on this fall day, to take advantage of Bandcamp Friday (the day in which artists receive 100% of the proceeds from sales of their work from the website) and purchase some of his beautiful, natural drone work to accompany the landscape, the water, the weather. 

https://aeolian.bandcamp.com

 

15 Kinder & Brötzmann, Van Hove, Bennink, Free Jazz Und Kinder (FMP, 1973)

Recorded April 1972 during Kinder Und Künste at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin

The late, great Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink and Fred Van Hove came up with the idea of setting untrained musicians (ages 8-12) on instruments accompanying the three free jazz musicians originally in 1971. At the time, the demand for this program was so great (according to Brötzmann over 1,000 eager, amateur musicians showed up!) that the three adult musicians felt overwhelmed and decided to postpone the workshop for the next Kinder Und Künste in l1972. 

The following year, the adult musicians decided to break the children up into groups and work with them for a four day period to, perhaps, lend some order to the chaos and prevent too many musicians from joining the project. Brötzmann, van Hove and Bennink all played their respective instruments (saxophone, piano and percussion), while the children improvised over this (minimal) structure.  It appears, again, according to the liner notes written by Brötzmann, this plan didn't quite work out, and they weren't able to work as intensely with the kids as they would have liked to. 

Based on the results, which you can hear on the recording, Brötzman made a few observations about the experience: musicians can learn and borrow for their own techniques after improvising with the children. The action showed that there was a need for more dynamic and less conventional music education in schools. Such experiments shouldn't be confined to institutions like the Academie der Künste, but should be incorporated into public school music programs. 

But what does it sound like? It doesn't deviate much from the free work of the men involved, nor the music released by FMP label (co-founded by Brötzmann). If you find that stuff interesting, listenable, etc then it seems to me that you will find this release even more worthwhile because of the musicians and techniques involved. And this, perhaps, is the main point of this record: less a musical document to be played repeatedly, more a sociopolitical, educational and political document regarding how to do things otherwise. Very much reflective of this moment in German history and very much reflective of the brilliant, unique visions of these three musicians. 

⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadly, this doesn't seem to be on YouTube or any streaming service. If you find it somewhere, put the link in the comments! Danke! 

 

The 5th Dimension, Stoned Soul Picnic (United Records, 1968)

Recorded March-June, 1968

Whenever I think of this record, the first record alphabetically/numerically in my collection, I usually think of the above album cover section from Pavement's Westing (By Musket and Sextant). That record cover features a number of songs which, ostensibly, meant something to the nascent Pavement. The early 90s were often about rehabilitating and openly enjoying music that the previous generation had found offensive. The 5th Dimension was a group that I heard on the radio all the time growing up. Though no one explicitly told me that their music wasn't as good as other music from the period, no one was bothering to push the 5th Dimension as an important group. They made light music in dark times and that was always evidence of shallowness and disposability. If the previous generation of independent, outsider, punk and amateur musicians mocked the AM Gold sound(z) of groups like the 5th Dimension, Pavement and the indie bands of the 90s would be different. This will all culminate, partially, in the If I Was A Carpenter comp from the mid-90s which had a celebrated roster of independent/alternative artists covering the most golden of AM Gold, the Carpenters. 

The MVPs of this record are the songwriters: we have two Laura Nyro songs: "Sweet Blindness" and the title track. We also have Valerie Simpson and Nikolas Ashford's near-standard "California Soul." I've yet to hear a bad version of this song and the 5th Dimension version is perfectly fine, but you really want to hear this one: https://youtu.be/AlPFif7_tuI?si=iLR6lSjfbBAXfMkO (or this one: https://youtu.be/CUosSQZSw5c?si=EEDlKNI6XR_TO-eS) I'll be saying more about Ashford and Simpson's amazing disco records shortly and much more about Laura Nyro when we get further in my collection. 

Adopting the Michelin Guide/Jokermen rating system, I will rate each record on a three star scale: 

⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️ (1 out of three stars)

Announcing a new blog: 

Upon the advice of my twin I have decided to start a new blog about my 40+ years collecting records. I will structure it around listening to every record in my collection starting with 1 and ending with Z. Some posts will only be a few words of commentary, others will be essays, depending on the record and what I have to say about it. This will also function as a writing "warm up" early in the day to inspire my other work. I hope you enjoy and get some music recommendations as well.