IM: WHUSDJ
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News & Affairs w/ Matt Grasso
Song - Artist - Album
The New Life Out There - The Neon Philharmonic - The Moth Confesses
Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, NYC (May/August 1957)
Miles Davis- flugelhorn
Gil Evans- arranger, conductor
Lee Konitz- alto saxophone
Taft Jordan- trumpet
Ernie Royal- trumpet
Bernie Glow- trumpet
John Carisi- trumpet
Louis Mucci- trumpet
Jimmy Cleveland- trombone
Frank Rehak- trombone
Joe Bennett- trombone
Tom Mitchell- bass trombone
Willie Ruff- french horn
Tony Miranda- french horn
Jimmy Buffington- french horn
Bill Barber- tuba
Romeo Penque- flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe
Sid Cooper- flute, clarinet
Eddie Caine- flute, clarinet
Danny Bank- bass clarinet
Wynton Kelly- piano
Paul Chambers- bass
Art Taylor- drums
I enjoyed listening to this album, I think Miles worked well with that big band sound and Evans' arranging is phenomenal. A noticeable feature of the album I noticed is that despite the large band, Miles is the only soloist. It really worked for him though, as it complemented his sound outstandingly.
I also noticed Miles' use of flugelhorn instead of trumpet on the album. It felt like this change was appropriately less bright-sounding and fit the general mood of the album very nicely.
The big band was also spot on. Their colors and textures worked both with and without Miles, and the album just wouldn't be the same without it. This album was really phenomenal, and putting things into words is giving me great difficulty. I've outlined the major things I've noticed, but if you want the big picture I recommend giving the album a spin for yourself!
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (August 1964)
Wayne Shorter- tenor saxophone
McCoy Tyner- piano
Reggie Workman- bass
Elvin Jones- drums
Another solo-oriented album this week: Wayne Shorter dominates this album as the one horn in the quartet (but hey, he wrote the music and his name is on the cover, what can we expect?). There were definitely some shining moments where McCoy Tyner broke through however, which made the nearly hour-long album a bit less of a "tenorsaxopalooza"
In terms of scales used, some songs strayed toward what sounded like augmented triads and possibly whole-tone scale gestures, whereas others seemed to stick to pentatonic scales. The variety of scales and harmonies to complement them used kept the album a surprise from track to track.
Probably due to its small-ensemble soloistic nature, many of these melodies feel longer and more exploratory rather than brief and to the point. If you are looking for a jazz adventure with some more complex changes, this album might be right for you.