RH came through with Les McCann and Gerald Wilson. Prestige tried him out with Gene Ammons and Joe Pass, before this trio debut as leader, in 1965.
Top-notch, archetypal soul jazz — the opener states the case, the closer sums up — hard-swinging, blues-saturated, lots of chords, propulsive bass, open and gritty.
Nicely Latinized version of Song For My Father.
A suite of revolutionary anarchist songs from the Spanish Civil War — featuring Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Gato Barbieri, Dewey Redman and guitarist Sam Brown — plus Ornette’s War Orphans, three works by Carla Bley (who arranges brilliantly), and two by the great bassist himself, in tributes to Che Guevara and protests against the Vietnam War, on his tumultuous, bracing, expansive first outing as leader, in 1970.
The title — ‘coming together’ in Sanskrit, sometimes ‘the meeting-point of three rivers’ — alludes to the mixture here of jazz, contemporary composition and diverse world folk traditions.
With bassist Mats Eilertsen and saxophonist Tore Brunborg — and introducing the seductive, bluesy voice of Kristin Asbjornsen on Tord’s settings of the poetry of W.H. Auden.
Songs and ceremonies of the Yoruba, Dahomean, and Kongo-Angolan religions, performed by Marcus Portillo Dominguez, Candido Martinez and others, recorded in Cuba in the late 1950s by Lydia Cabrera.
Lavishly presents previously-unreleased and new material from Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets on Fire, Eternal Tapestry, Steve Gunn, Mouthus, D. Charles Speer and Wooden Wand.
Powerful new trio versions of Peacock classics, interspersed with recent compositions — including work by pianist Marc Copland and drummer Joey Baron — and a reading of Scott La Faro’s Gloria’s Step.
GP — bassist on Spiritual Unity — was eighty this year.
In lyrical homage to French filmmaker Jacques Tati, with pianist Stefano Bollani and drummer Paul Motian.
With the brilliant Italian pianist Stefano Bollani — a mixture of their own compositions, improvisation, and covers, including two versions of Jobim’s Retrato Em Branco Y Preteo.
With Steve Coleman, Julian Priester, Marvin Smitty Smith and Kenny Wheeler.
Silvio Rodríguez, Bartók and Satie, in amongst original compositions and improvisations, beautifully elucidated by Stenson’s uncluttered lyricism, Anders Jormin’s arco double bass and Jon Fält’s impressionistic drumming. Mompou’s Canción Y Danza succeeds perfectly this way.
‘The ghosts of Armstrong and Handy smile down as Trovesi’s octet roars through a programme that cross-references the spirit of New Orleans with Italian popular song and European classical music.’