Warne Marsh
Warne Marsh

★★★½

I really don't know why I'm on this bop binge recently. This is a bit cooler than the Dexter Gordon album for sure, and more importantly, a lot more sophisticated. Marsh is the definition of a "cool" player so in that regard it's not really fair to compare him to someone like Gordon. Though I can really say that each player on here does a great job especially compared to that live recording. 

The two to watch out for are Paul Chambers and Warne Marsh, of course. Both are superb players and their soloing is a real indication of that too. The drummers, Philly Joe Jones and Paul Motian, were already large figures in the jazz scene at this time and they definitely help keep the rhythm section tight along with Ronnie Ball. While Paul Chambers might be one of the best on this, it's nothing THAT different from the rest of the work he's done, perhaps slightly more confident.

Yet when we speak about Marsh, it's important to consider his subtleties. On the surface he appears to be the stereotypical cool jazz player from the west coast, what lies underneath is an extremely underrated player and style that only a few have truly mastered. I was probably on my third full listen when I drew connections between Marsh and Lester Young. And Marsh's relative obscurity in the jazz scene is a direct result from what happens to be the greatest double edged sword in sax player history. To me, it's the obvious Coltrane shadow that controls the canon of sax players throughout the most recent decades, but just as important, was the shadow of Lester Young. 

Warne on this album, keeps up with the new shape of jazz that arriving on the scene while also paying homage and respect to the ones who fundamentally changed the genre forever. Working his interpretation of Lester-like improvisations is great to listen to once you put the pieces together. Everything is so low-key that it makes you feel as if his playing is a glimpse into the mind of an introverted and shy man who only reveals himself in the subtlest of ways. I want more of this. 

Favorite Song: It's All Right With Me

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Jo David Meyer Lysne & Mats Eilertsen Kroksjø     ★★★½   Jo David Meyer Lysne and Mats Eilertsen are two Norwegian musicians who have come together once more, on the Hubro music label (also originating from Norway). This encounter seems to place focus on the textural environment and less so on the improvisation techniques of Lysne (on acoustic guitar) and Eilertsen (on bass). The title Kroksjø is the Norwegian word for an oxbow lake, in which a "U" shaped lake is formed after being cut off from a river. Lysne has stated that these geological formations helped inspire this endeavor and that he views them as a symbol of the artistic effort, being impermanent and forever changing. Hypnotic motifs are lost and found on this record, and with the help of a turntable, the comfort of physical home audio is brought forward. Sounds from the natural world and folk musings seep through to the heart of this record, providing points of focus that solidify t...
Read more
Image
Jason Lescalleet The Pilgrim ★ ★ ★★ Everything I've been listening to has been really great recently. This is a very heavy and somber record by Jason Lescalleet. Part of the newer cohort of abstract electronic music, he's known for working with people like Graham Lambkin and Kevin Drumm. This class of individuals have been creating intense and vivid textures in their music with the help of outside sources, mostly field recordings. That concept is also utilized here but not in the usual manner.  Summed up, this album is about the relationship Jason had with his father, and a sort of memorial in remembrance of his passing. It's not easy to create an artistic project like this for anyone, in any medium or platform. Especially not in the niche and sometimes conceptual subgenre that Lescalleet resides in. But he does it beautifully and in great effect. The album starts off with a spoken introduction bye Lescalleet describing how his father felt about his mus...
Read more
Image
Joe McPhee, Piotr Michalowski & Andrew Drury  Live at Edgefest ★★★½   Edgefest serves as one of the larger American Midwest's avant-garde jazz festivals. Since 1997, the Kerrytown Concert House has provided an up-close and personal listening experience through this now four-day long festival. Its popularity, support, and collaborations have continued to grow in recent years. In 2017, Joe McPhee, Andrew Drury, and Piotr Michalowski performed three improvisations that have finally met my ears nearly two years later. Joe McPhee is no stranger to me, and while I have not heard Drury's music, I know that the two have played with each other before. Michalowski resides in Ann Arbor and besides being a self-taught horn player, he teaches at the University of Michigan and writes for the Ann Arbor Observer. So this setting and player arrangement was all new to me, and I was determined to go in with little expectations and to really listen to the interactions...
Read more