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| Track list: 1. Line For Lyons 2. For An Unfinished Woman 3. My Funny Valentine 4. Song For Strayhorn 5. It's Sandy At The Beach 6. Bernie's Tune 7. K-4 Pacific 8. There Will Never Be Another You Running time: 70 minutes Released: 1974 |
One jazz epic down, another to go. This is the second hour-plus disc in a row, and again coming from the same big box of jazz classics. Two old school horn players; not a lot of hope that this will work for me. Lets see.
There is no preamble here, it just dives into a melody right away. TV jazz; soft, bland and inoffensive are the first thoughts that assail me as it gets going. Perfectly pleasant but devoid of a selling point. This is a concert recording, as the title states, and the audience make themselves known in the form of the applause that is clearly audible as the horns pass the main theme from one to the other, or to their supporting cast. There are some little incongruities here; the keys sound electric and all kinds of tinny. The beeping, curtailed nature of those notes is at odds with the oh so standard forms exhibited. The guitar part stands out some for the same reasons.
Whereas Carmen Sings Monk was a large number of generally short pieces, this album is a 10 minutes shorter with 10 fewer tracks. If the opening number is anything to go by then these will swill around for the best part of 10 minutes each and then conclude without leaving any strong impressions on me at all.
I find the opening of the second tune much more engaging than any part of the first one. There is a bit more... something. Personality, I guess. The first track was so standard and traditional it failed to stand out. Here there is a bit more play in the rhythm, a bit more of a bottom end to the sound, and the horn leads us a wandering line over the top of quite a frenetic arrangement. It has some life, some liveliness to it. The guitar solo ditches the best of that - the clean, clear tones are at odds with the messier, dirtier sounds behind it and the contrast doesn't work too well. That said, I am liking the tune generally, and it has surprised me in that, which is good. There is a funky edge to things, and here the keys don't have the tinny electric sound so I think maybe I just didn't pick out the parts right before?
Anyhow, the primary problem with For an Unfinished Woman is its length. I wish it was wrapping up now - its done its bit. Alas there are another two minutes to go, as the spotlight merry-go-round spins around the band, then the main players retake the stage for the outro. This elongation stretches the interest a little thin, offering little in return. Knowing when to stop is a good thing.
There is a brief intro muttered to track three, I don't catch it beyond the name of the tune. The theme itself is a lonely trumpet, which could be from almost any era. It tugs on my biases, and my appreciation of the instrument even as it is deathly slow and causing me to yawn. It is a horrible wet November day outside, getting seriously dark already and it's only 16.20. I hate this time of year. Darkness and chilliness; the rain an added insult. I find myself yawning a lot as the laid back tune potters along, barely concealing the noise of traffic on the soaked road outside. It is, like the opening number, very pleasant in that sort of bland nothing kind of way. Harmless, but not something you would seek out.
No; it's better than the first track. The slow pace gives it character, and some of the horn-work has real charm to it. They are playing together now, a hint of conversation, call-response, and parallel narrative to close the track out. That was very nice, actually.
We are then into the soft electronics as primary backing. There is something about the jangly, slightly unreal nature of their sound that turns me off. Old movie soundtrack quality, bland and fading behind some soppy scene of disinterest to me. I look up having let my mind wander to find that I am only half way through this purgatory. This utterly unidentifiable, lost in a crowd meandering is over 9 minutes of dullness.
The next track is also a touch over 9 minutes, and begins with a breezy pace to it. The tempo is welcome as an antidote to the tune before - I can imagine that working really well for waking up an audience that may have become dozy - but not enough on its own to sustain an interest. It sounds like a cop-show soundtrack this time, old time car chases and sun-lit streets in some American town or other. Fast notes slide by like under-watered trees and overly perfect front yards. The first applause break is loud, as loud as any thus far, which makes me think they had been stirred into life. I like the staccato keys here, but not much beyond that and the bass. Those two elements give the track its flavour and vision; the other people cycling in and out offer attempts to enhance the solid base but uniformly fall flat. The hum of the bass in particular carries a purpose that is just not quite matched by the wandering nature of the tunes that are laid down over it. I find myself losing interest, but far further into the piece than I thought I would be.
I am struggling to find words. I don't like falling back to a boring "track 1... blah, track 2... blah, track 3... blah" format but with a selection of longer tracks like this that feels inevitable unless I either sit without writing for a while or digress into other topics. These posts are meant to be a stream of consciousness, an immediate reaction to the music that I own and catalog and whatever else is in my head at the time, not a play by play report. I have been mulling this over during a pacy but characterless piece which leaves me with no immediate opinion to share. I think that probably means it is rather dull.
Jazz guitar. I remain to be convinced. I am sure it can be played well, but there is something about the timbre of guitar jazz of this vintage that rubs me the wrong way. I think I like my guitars dirty and energetic and the super clean, clear sound that appears on jazz recordings like this one is too noodle-y, too self-referential and self-important. I think I have the same issues with many rock guitar heroes - all pose, no purpose; all skill, no soul; all touch, no torch. Suffice to say that the guitar has a prominent part in the 11 minute epic that is our penultimate number and I find the track flowing off my ears like water from a duck's back. I just don't care - not that this monolith doesn't have good points, but they are rather buried under the mountain here.
I am trying to mentally organise my next four days. There are a number of things I want to achieve in my week off and I have not made the best start today. Not a complete wash, but not far off for one reason or another. The crappy weather certainly didn't help (being uninspired when looking up and out doesn't help my naturally low motivation), though luckily I was out and back in the dry for my errands earlier. I am struggling to pin down a plan; hopefully the next listen won't be an hour plus - because these things feature in plans for every day this week. Making up for lost time, but they do pin me here, especially because I am busy most evenings and all next weekend. It's a hard life.
Anyhow, our protagonists are into their final act, another bright and breezy number, but one that is devoid of engagement, all a little flat for me. The disc had a couple of good numbers on it, and a few more moments of real class. It certainly wasn't a horrible listen, but the majority was no more than diverting, elevator music and soundtracks rather than something I might want to sit down to.
There is no preamble here, it just dives into a melody right away. TV jazz; soft, bland and inoffensive are the first thoughts that assail me as it gets going. Perfectly pleasant but devoid of a selling point. This is a concert recording, as the title states, and the audience make themselves known in the form of the applause that is clearly audible as the horns pass the main theme from one to the other, or to their supporting cast. There are some little incongruities here; the keys sound electric and all kinds of tinny. The beeping, curtailed nature of those notes is at odds with the oh so standard forms exhibited. The guitar part stands out some for the same reasons.
Whereas Carmen Sings Monk was a large number of generally short pieces, this album is a 10 minutes shorter with 10 fewer tracks. If the opening number is anything to go by then these will swill around for the best part of 10 minutes each and then conclude without leaving any strong impressions on me at all.
I find the opening of the second tune much more engaging than any part of the first one. There is a bit more... something. Personality, I guess. The first track was so standard and traditional it failed to stand out. Here there is a bit more play in the rhythm, a bit more of a bottom end to the sound, and the horn leads us a wandering line over the top of quite a frenetic arrangement. It has some life, some liveliness to it. The guitar solo ditches the best of that - the clean, clear tones are at odds with the messier, dirtier sounds behind it and the contrast doesn't work too well. That said, I am liking the tune generally, and it has surprised me in that, which is good. There is a funky edge to things, and here the keys don't have the tinny electric sound so I think maybe I just didn't pick out the parts right before?
Anyhow, the primary problem with For an Unfinished Woman is its length. I wish it was wrapping up now - its done its bit. Alas there are another two minutes to go, as the spotlight merry-go-round spins around the band, then the main players retake the stage for the outro. This elongation stretches the interest a little thin, offering little in return. Knowing when to stop is a good thing.
There is a brief intro muttered to track three, I don't catch it beyond the name of the tune. The theme itself is a lonely trumpet, which could be from almost any era. It tugs on my biases, and my appreciation of the instrument even as it is deathly slow and causing me to yawn. It is a horrible wet November day outside, getting seriously dark already and it's only 16.20. I hate this time of year. Darkness and chilliness; the rain an added insult. I find myself yawning a lot as the laid back tune potters along, barely concealing the noise of traffic on the soaked road outside. It is, like the opening number, very pleasant in that sort of bland nothing kind of way. Harmless, but not something you would seek out.
No; it's better than the first track. The slow pace gives it character, and some of the horn-work has real charm to it. They are playing together now, a hint of conversation, call-response, and parallel narrative to close the track out. That was very nice, actually.
We are then into the soft electronics as primary backing. There is something about the jangly, slightly unreal nature of their sound that turns me off. Old movie soundtrack quality, bland and fading behind some soppy scene of disinterest to me. I look up having let my mind wander to find that I am only half way through this purgatory. This utterly unidentifiable, lost in a crowd meandering is over 9 minutes of dullness.
The next track is also a touch over 9 minutes, and begins with a breezy pace to it. The tempo is welcome as an antidote to the tune before - I can imagine that working really well for waking up an audience that may have become dozy - but not enough on its own to sustain an interest. It sounds like a cop-show soundtrack this time, old time car chases and sun-lit streets in some American town or other. Fast notes slide by like under-watered trees and overly perfect front yards. The first applause break is loud, as loud as any thus far, which makes me think they had been stirred into life. I like the staccato keys here, but not much beyond that and the bass. Those two elements give the track its flavour and vision; the other people cycling in and out offer attempts to enhance the solid base but uniformly fall flat. The hum of the bass in particular carries a purpose that is just not quite matched by the wandering nature of the tunes that are laid down over it. I find myself losing interest, but far further into the piece than I thought I would be.
I am struggling to find words. I don't like falling back to a boring "track 1... blah, track 2... blah, track 3... blah" format but with a selection of longer tracks like this that feels inevitable unless I either sit without writing for a while or digress into other topics. These posts are meant to be a stream of consciousness, an immediate reaction to the music that I own and catalog and whatever else is in my head at the time, not a play by play report. I have been mulling this over during a pacy but characterless piece which leaves me with no immediate opinion to share. I think that probably means it is rather dull.
Jazz guitar. I remain to be convinced. I am sure it can be played well, but there is something about the timbre of guitar jazz of this vintage that rubs me the wrong way. I think I like my guitars dirty and energetic and the super clean, clear sound that appears on jazz recordings like this one is too noodle-y, too self-referential and self-important. I think I have the same issues with many rock guitar heroes - all pose, no purpose; all skill, no soul; all touch, no torch. Suffice to say that the guitar has a prominent part in the 11 minute epic that is our penultimate number and I find the track flowing off my ears like water from a duck's back. I just don't care - not that this monolith doesn't have good points, but they are rather buried under the mountain here.
I am trying to mentally organise my next four days. There are a number of things I want to achieve in my week off and I have not made the best start today. Not a complete wash, but not far off for one reason or another. The crappy weather certainly didn't help (being uninspired when looking up and out doesn't help my naturally low motivation), though luckily I was out and back in the dry for my errands earlier. I am struggling to pin down a plan; hopefully the next listen won't be an hour plus - because these things feature in plans for every day this week. Making up for lost time, but they do pin me here, especially because I am busy most evenings and all next weekend. It's a hard life.
Anyhow, our protagonists are into their final act, another bright and breezy number, but one that is devoid of engagement, all a little flat for me. The disc had a couple of good numbers on it, and a few more moments of real class. It certainly wasn't a horrible listen, but the majority was no more than diverting, elevator music and soundtracks rather than something I might want to sit down to.
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