I'm one of the trumpeters playing this in my school's Big Band, to get an idea of the quality of the group, we were one of only 11 bands in all of the UK to be invited to this: http://www.jazzservices.org.uk/index...ally-ellington
I'm not playing the awesome solo part in Cakes but still....
Been listening to a lot of the classics recently. Purchased the "Ultimate" cd reissue of Coltrane's Blue Train to replace my worse for wear old copy - music sounds a bit fuller & there's a couple of extra tracks (alternate takes) on it which is cool, a good excuse to listen to a great album again.
Also picked up the Sundazed vinyl reissue of Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King - a fantastic pressing (which sadly isn't always the case with reissues), great depth & lifelike presentation to the recording. A real pleasure to listen to.
Lastly I've been listening to an record that I picked up a few years ago based purely on liking the name, but which I disliked on first listen & didn't take out of the sleeve again. A few days ago I decided to give "Rev" Eugene McDaniel's Headless Heroes of The Apocalypse another spin & to my surprise (possibly because I've listened to a fair amount of soul jazz, funk & psychedelia in the intervening period) I actually really enjoyed it. Probably a bit weird for some but interesting to listen to it in the political context of the time. Having heard Gil Scott Heron's Free Will in the interim I was put in mind of that album (released the following year), though Heron's commentary is more directly contemporary. There's some great playing on Headless Heroes & it's definitely worth a relisten if it doesn't grab you the first time.
Some wonderful stuff posted here lately, thanks all For those of you that are not accustomed to the Hammond B3 of Larry Young (he played with Tony Williams Lifetime, and also on Bitches Brew), this is a real treat:
His album Unity on Blue Note is a classic. Also check out his recordings as a sideman with Grant Green, especially Talkin About.
Setun, many thanks, didn't know this one. The tune for today is "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck Quartet. I know it's rather well known album but I got me hands on brand new 180g pressing so this spins at home at the moment. My favourite is "Everybody's jumpin" with such a cool double base progression.
Yeah Time Out is great, coincidentally I've just started listening to this again recently. The final track with the staccato piano block chords is a fantastic moment on the album.
Another wonderful pianist with a great composition: Duke Pearson - When Sunny Gets Blue