Making a Jazz MixTape
Recently I sat down to do something I haven’t done in a long time. Make a MixTape for a friend. After hearing No Room For Squares by Hank Mobley, my friend admitted that she was much more knowledgeable on the subject of vocal jazz as opposed to instrumental jazz. So, I offered to make her a MixTape of some songs that she might like.
These are the tracks that I decided on. By no means is this a list of tracks I feel to be the most important or most influential in the jazz genre, but rather a compilation of tracks that I enjoy or find unique for a particular reason. Please feel free to leave comments on any of the tracks that I mention, or ones that you feel should have been included.
The Real McBop Live at the Blue Note by Arturo Sandoval
- Recorded June 10-11, 2004 at the Blue Note, NY
Arturo Sandoval (Trumpet)
Dennis Marks (Bass)
Felipe Lamoglia (Saxophone)
Rene Toledo (Guitar)
Tomas Cruz (Percussion)
Alexis Arce (Drums)
Phil Magallanes (Piano)
This album includes a DVD of the performance as well as the CD version. Well worth the money, especially since halfway through the performance Arturo plays an imaginary Acoustic Bass and does some extended vocal solos that are better appreciated seen than just heard. The DVD also includes some interviews with Arturo Sandoval as an added bonus. The opening track, The Real McBop, is a fast Bebop tune pushed along by Afro-Cuban rhythms. I love this sound, and clearly nobody is doing it better these days than Arturo Sandoval.
Moontrane Unity by Larry Young
- 1966
Larry Young (Hammond B3 Organ)
Woody Shaw (Trumpet)
Joe Henderson (Saxophone)
Elvin Jones (Drums)
A friend of mine gave me a cassette tape version of this album when I was in college. I loved it so much it pretty much stayed in the tape deck of my car for a few years. Then, one hot sunny day while moving across town, I took it out and left it on the passenger seat — it melted. After that I bought it on CD. Moontrane is a Woody Shaw composition, and you can hear the original version on his album Moontrane, but I think this version is the best. I also saw John Scofield and Jack DeJohnette do an amazing version at Yoshi’s in Oakland several years ago. As a guitar player, it was nice to hear another guitarist play the melody of this song. I find it to be a rather difficult one to really nail as it alternates between quarter-note phrases and triplets, and also triplets that tie into quarter-note phrases.
Keiko’s Birthday March Puttin’ It Together by Elvin Jones
- 1968
Elvin Jones (Drums)
Joe Farrell (Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Flute)
Jimmy Garrison (Acoustic Bass)
Usually, I don’t like such high pitched instruments like the flute for extended soloing, but Joe Farrell manages to pull it off somehow. The song is beautiful. I can almost imagine Keiko doing her Birthday March. This song was also a recent discovery for me and I felt it was even more appropriate considering I live in Japan.
Self-Portrait in Three Colors Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
- 1959
Charles Mingus (Piano & Acoustic Bass)
John Handy (Alto & Tenor Saxophones, Clarinet)
Shafi Hadi (Alto & Tenor Saxophones)
Booker Ervin (Tenor saxophone)
Jimmy Knepper, Willie Dennis (Trombone)
Horace Parlan (Piano)
Dannie Richmond (Drums).
The African Queen Cape Verdean Blues by Horace Silver
- 1965
Horace Silver (Piano)
Joe Henderson (Tenor Saxophone)
Woody Shaw (Trumpet)
J. J. Johnson (Trombone)
Bob Cranshaw (Bass)
Roger Humphries (Drums)
Horace Silver is a mean piano player, but I also really like the way he arranges songs. The saxophone, trumpet, and trombone all crescendos and decrescendos beautifully over an addictive slow groove. The only further advice I could give is to sit back and crank up the volume to concert levels for full effect!
Ilya The Best of Irakere by Irakere
- 1978
Chucho Valdéz (Piano)
Arturo Sandoval (Trumpet)
Paquito D’Rivera (Alto Saxophone & Flute)
Oscar Valdéz (Percussion & Vocals)
Carlos Puerto (Bass)
Carlos Emilio Morales (Guitar)
Jorge Varona (Trumpet)
Tato Alfonso (Percussion)
Bernardo Garcia (Drums)
I first heard about Irakere listening to KCSM in Oakland, CA. They were doing a radio show about Irakere and one of the members (I forget who) said they started the band with the goal of killing Jazz Music. The 70’s surely wasn’t the best decade for Jazz, but after hearing that comment, and a few of their early singles, I went out and got the first album of theirs that I could find, which happened to be this Best of Irakere compilation. I know that “Best of…” compilations are generally looked down upon among collectors, but what can I say, it was cheap. I believe most of the album is live recordings too, so as far as compilation CDs go, I think this is a pretty good one.
Belle Isle Yusef Lateef’s Detroit by Yusef Lateef
- 1969 Yusef Lateef (Tenor Sax & Flute)
Danny Moore (Trumpet)
Snookie Young, Jimmy Owens, Thad Jones (Trumpet)
Eric Gale (Guitar)
Hugh Lawson (Piano)
Cecil McBee (Acoustic Bass)
Chuck Rainey (Electric Bass)
Bernard Perdie (Drums)
Roy Brooks Jr. (Drums)
Ray Baretto (Conga)
Albert “Tootie” Heath (Percusion)
While I was a student at Hampshire College I was lucky enough to take some classes with Yusef Lateef and I have been a huge fan ever since. His music and compositional style really transcends classification. I am somewhat partial to his funkier albums during the 1960s and this one might be my favorite, but then again Live at Pep’s might be too. I originally was going to put the track Livingston Playground on this CD, but at the last minute I changed my mind. Both tracks are pretty funky tunes with some nice signature sax playing by Dr. Yusef Lateef, however, Belle Isle is a bit more up tempo and “intense” sounding. Listening to this track with headphones on in a crowded train station may cause you to dance (or strut) your way through the crowded turnstile.
Tapscotts Blues The Moontrane by Woody Shaw
- 1975
Woody Shaw (Trumpet)
Steve Turre (Trombone)
Azar Lawrence (Tenor & Soprano Saxophone)
Onaje Allen Gumbs (Piano & Electric Piano)
Victor Lewis (Drums)
Cecil McBee (Bass)
The first version of Moontrane I heard was the version recorded on the album, Unity, by Larry Young, which I mentioned earlier, however, after hearing that I had to go out and find the original too. I still like the Unity version of that song better, but if you ask me Tapscott’s Blues is the gem on this album. I wonder if it has anything to do with Horace Tapscott, who I read about in Wax Poetics magazine recently?
Stopover Bombay Journey In Satchidananda by Alice Coletrane
- 1971
Alice Coletrane (Harp & Piano)
Pharaoh Sanders (Soprano Saxophone & Percussion)
Vishnu Wood (Oud)
Tulsi (Tamboura)
Cecil McBee (Bass)
Charlie Haden (Bass)
Alice will be the only Coletrane on this list. Alice Coletrane can create a sound environment like no other. It is free flowing, spacious, and undulating, without suffering from becoming atonal or arrhythmic. Pharaoh Sanders is also greatly responsible for helping her achieve the vibe. You’d be hard pressed to think of anyone who could have played a better sax on this album — except for maybe her brother.
Joshua Fit De Battle Ob Jericho Feelin’ The Spirit by Grant Green
- 1962
Grant Green (Guitar)
Herbie hancock (Piano)
Butch Warren (Acoustic Bass)
Billy Higgins (Drums)
Garvin Masseaux (Tambourine)
Little B’s Poem Organic Vibes by Joey DeFrancesco
- 2006 Joey DeFrancesco (HammondB3Organ) Jake Langley (Guitar) Ron Blake (Saxophone)
George Coleman (Tenor saxophone)
Bobby Hutcherson (Vibraphone)
Byron Landham (Drums)
This is the most recently released track on the tape. Joey DeFrancesco is a monster on the Hammond B3. I have always enjoyed the way he played, but I never owned any of his albums. I bought this on a whim a few years back and never really listened to it until recently when I put it on my iPod. Every time I set the iPod to random, and this track comes on, I find my self taking it out of my pocket to find out what track is playing. I particularly like the way the melody almost seems to ramble on and digress, yet at the same time refrains from being noodling or wasteful.
