My favorite vibraphonist, Bobby Hutcherson, died August 15, 2016. He enjoyed a long and critically-acclaimed career. His discography spans six decades, as both leader and sideman; he could play inside and outside. My favorite setting was in a group with a great piano player, such as McCoy Tyner or Chick Corea. His leader recordings are also a good place to hear the fine saxophonist, Harold Land.
Hutcherson's Total Eclipse (1968 Blue Note) is a desert-island recording for me. The title track and "Same Shame" are treasured tracks among the set's five tunes. Saxophonist Harold Land soars, and drummer Joe Chambers sets the perfect foundation throughout.
Nada Surf
I am often asked by younger people about the kinds of newer music I am listening to. This can be a miserable fail, because either I am about 10 years behind the times or I am discovering anew older music. For example, my appreciation of Radiohead came much later than it should have, and my appreciation of John Mellencamp, and especially his more recent output, has not happened until just recently. Both of these shortcomings can apply to a newfound pleasure in Nada Surf. It wasn't until earlier this summer when I was at a conference at Boston University and they were playing in a club down the block that I even knew of this band. Nada Surf was formed in 1992 and has released about 10 CDs.
My first real exposure to Nada Surf was to download "Blonde on Blonde," an irresistibly sweet ode to the Dylan album. I have been recommending this song to lots of people. Then I picked up a used copy of Let Go (2002), which is a perfect CD—tight song structures, having good variety and plenty of musical interest. Not a clinker or annoying mannerism to be found. I have also procured The Weight Is a Gift (2005) and really enjoy it.
P.S. The other newer band I have been playing is My Morning Jacket. Yeah, I know.
Recent acquisitions to recommend
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story: Prologue, Leonard Bernstein
When I Wake Up Tomorrow, Cheap Trick
Almustafa the Beloved, Billy Cobham and George Duke
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, Bob Dylan
Homegrown Tomatoes, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Push, Terrace Martin
Bill Evans, Lyle Mays
Blonde on Blonde, Nada Surf
True Love Waits, Radiohead
I Want You Bad, Charley Robison
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor: III Allegro, Tchaikovksy and Van Cliburn
I Only Have Eyes for You, Archie Shepp and Mal Waldron
Chest Fever, Widespread Panic
(a baker's dozen from iTunes)
Found a diamond in the debris
You can spend a lot of time, and a more than a few dollars, looking through the racks of used CDs, finding good, but not rarely-good, stuff. And then, every once in a while, you come upon something that rewards your taking a chance on it. Jeanne Lee and Mal Waldron's After Hours is such a find, a duet of voice and piano that is distinctively different, from the opening bars. I had no idea when I put down my four dollars, although Waldron is a favorite player.
From 1994, recorded in France, After Hours was available in the USA through Universal Music. The concept was for a standards album, albeit one that includes tunes by Mingus / Kirk and Waldron / Lincoln.
My recommendation is to enjoy it in a quiet room or space, with other distractions eliminated. "Caravan" and Waldron's own "Fire Waltz" are highlights.
