The holidays are closing in. Here are a few suggestions for the discerning jazz lover in your life:
Weather Report – “The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981” (Legacy) If these four CDs of recordings of varying (but always acceptable) fidelity teach us anything, it’s that this quartet (or quintet) of loud guys loved playing together. There’s a seemingly unending supply of virtuoso keyboard runs, earth-shattering bass statements (from Jaco Pastorius, himself the subject of a new documentary) and show business pizazz, with chipmunk sound effects thrown in — and why not? This is music definitely of its time, when excess ruled and subtlety was suppressed deep down inside the souls of fusion musicians. But Weather Report sounds better than most of the other jazz-rock bands of the age, because they weren’t afraid to get sonically weird and because they had saxophonist Wayne Shorter up front, doing battle with Joe Zawinul’s army of electronic gizmos. This is a more exciting testament to their work than any of the studio albums they released at the same time. And your parents or the parents of someone you know will love it.
John Coltrane – “A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters Super Deluxe Edition” (Impulse!) I’m assuming if you’re reading this, you’re already familiar with the most famous (and deservedly so) spiritual jazz album ever released. If not, your half-century wait to spring for it has finally paid off: This three-disc set is most likely the final word on the saxophonist’s profound statement of devotion to his deity as well as his music. There has never been a quartet like Coltrane-Tyner-Garrison-Jones, before or since, and they were communicating in peak form during this period. Many “deluxe” sets are padded with outtakes that you might listen to once. Here, the second CD provides impassioned alternate versions of the music you’ve lived with for decades, including the added bonus of charismatic tenor man Archie Shepp as they forged their way through the immortal “Acknowledgement.” The 1965 live performance on Disc 3 was first made available in 2002, but having it here helps to tell the definitive “Supreme” story.
Various Artists – “Jazz from America on Disques Vogue” (Sony Import) You’ll have to do a bit of digging to find it, but the music in this 20-CD collection of classic jazz is as irresistible as it is beautifully packaged. In the ’40s and ’50s, the French Vogue label pressed 10-inch recordings of exciting American swing, bop, gospel and blues musicians, and marketed them to the European audience. This is how Parisians initially heard artists they would grow to appreciate more than those musicians would be respected in their native United States. Charlie Parker, Sidney Bechet, Mahalia Jackson, Lester Young and Art Tatum are just the tip of the iceberg. The original artwork of these releases is lovingly re-created, the music is timeless, and I don’t think I’ve heard so much celebratory music in one place all year.
Shows: The Bob Montgomery/Al Hermann Quintet plays Nocturne on Wednesday; Allen Harris sings “A Nat King Cole Christmas” at Dazzle on Dec. 20, and Annie Booth celebrates “A Charlie Brown Christmas” there Dec. 23 and 24; and pianist George Winston will play music for the season at the Boulder Theater on Dec. 23.
Bret Saunders can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekday mornings at KBCO 97.3 FM and . bretsaunders@kbco.com.
