It’s All Jazz

I was flipping channels on the tv today, and on SPIKE there was a CSI episode named “Felonious Monk” !!!!! Unfortunatley, it was just about the killings of monks, nothing to do with jazz.

Anyways, I was browsing around today and found this great website listing the Top 100 Jazz Albums as selected by voters. You can find the site here (editor’s note: Link is down. Google it.)

And finally, I found this great article about a class of 2nd graders who dig Trane! Here’s the article: (editor: Again, google it.)  Apparently a teacher played some Trane for them, and they really liked the ballads and avant stuff. When the Coltrane House was going to be destroyed, they held tons of fundraisers to save it and fix it up. Take a read, it’s really inspiring.

OK, the first topic for the day is Jazz Reviews.

The second topic is a new Miles Davis EP I bought entitled Evolution of the Groove. It features 5 tracks, the first of which is a previously unreleased outtake of Freddie the Freeloader back when it had no title. The outtake has some great dialogue between Miles and Teo Macero and the tune itself has some killer 16th note basslines and vocals from Miles. Totally nuts.

Next you have two guest artist remixes. The rapper Nas appears on a remix of Freedom Jazz Dance, and Santana performs on It’s About That Time. Believe it or not, Nas is the better pick. Santana’s lines sounds forced and more of a marketing scheme then a musical choice.

Finally there are two short remixes of Honky Tonk and Black Satin. If any songs ever, these don’t need remixing. They’re pure groove. Honky Tonk of course comes from Get Up With It and Black Satin from the legendary On The Corner. The Honky Tonk remix adds a new drum beat and some atmospheric whole notes on bass. Also added is a long distorted guitar solo. Black Satin starts with the same intro and moves to a more rock-ish version with plenty of synthesizer and distortion.

All in all, it’s not a bad album, but it certainly could use work. Luckily it only cost me $2 at the Princeton Record Exchange (PREX, an amazing place btw). So for the price, it wasn’t a bad buy.

Finally on my list is Kid Koala. Koala is a turntablist signed with Ninja Tune records. He frequently incorporates jazz into his work, notably covering Basin Street Blues. So take a listen. Anyways, the reason I put him on here is because he does an absolutely beautiful version of Moon River that puts me in tears. Have a listen: (editor’s note: Video down. Feel free to search on YouTube)