This is from the session in 1965 (Belgium). I love the way he stretches out on this performance (almost 9 minutes). Relaxed and joyful… that’s the Wes way.
Wes often approached solos in a three-tiered manner: He would begin a repeating progression with single note lines, derived from scales or modes; after a fitting number of sequences, he would play octaves for a few more sequences, finally culminating with arpeggiated chords.
The use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one octave apart) for which he is widely known, became known as “the Naptown Sound”. Montgomery was also an excellent “single-line” or “single-note” player, and was very influential in the use of block chords in his solos. His playing on the jazz standard Lover Man is an example of his single-note, octave- and block-chord soloing. (”Lover Man” appears on the Fantasy album The Montgomery Brothers.)
Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy part of his thumb, using downstrokes for single notes and a combination of upstrokes and downstrokes for chords and octaves. This technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar. George Benson in the liner notes of the Ultimate Wes Montgomery album, wrote, “Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the corn. That’s why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to shock people.”
Well, listen and enjoy one of the greats of jazz guitar….
I can’t recommend this album highly enough. Only the highest recommendation possible… This record features the genius songwriting of Joni Mitchell, the intricate collaborations between Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and steller guest performances by Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, and Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, and Tina Turner. Here is a mesmerizing performance of “River” on video.
Also, give a listen to the instrumental cut “A Case of You” featuring the sophisticated interplay between Hancock and Shorter. This album may skirt the definition of jazz for some folks, but it is a deeply felt and highly conceived venture. Thanks Herbie for dreaming this one up… kudos, kudos…..
Reviewer Marshall Bowden adds: ” Joni Mitchell’s music will continue to be of interest to jazz singers and songwriters (see my piece The New Singer-Songwriters) as well as musicians who value music that responds well to a deep reading. River: The Joni Letters is a valentine from the world of jazz to Joni Mitchell, communicating that her heartfelt experimentation with that world has stood the test of time and come full circle to influence the music that influenced her.”
If you want to hear another great track by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter playing “Round Midnight” in The Miles Davis Quintet just scroll down through the older posts on this blog. It’s a really good listen…
OK, this probably looks like an ad for our new CD… It is available on CD Baby, I Tunes, and Amazon. For now, there are a couple cuts from it here on the blog. In a Sentimental Mood is posted a couple posts back. I’ll be getting back to posting the kind of material my blog is known for soon…
Emiko, Stan Poplin, and I recorded this “ridgetop session” at Highland Studios on August 18, 2008. Emiko and I met last July 4th and played for an hour or two at my home… we had a nice connection both musically and personally. She is a dynamic professional pianist, composer, arranger, and performer based in New York. I later wrote Emiko asking if she would like to play for an afternoon at Joe’s studio while on her summer trip to Santa Cruz. . The idea was to explore some musical territory that showed itself during our first visit.. Emiko said “let’s do it” and she asked Stan Poplin to play on the session. Stan is one of the best acoustic bass players on the west coast… having played with Dave Brubeck, Roger Kellaway, Robben Ford, Mose Allison, and myriad of other great musicians. I feel very fortunate to have had Stan and Emiko on this recording. for they are both exceptional in all ways.
I was looking for an all acoustic sound and with Joe’s expertise we accomplished just that. Emiko played the session on Highland’s 7′ Kawai grand piano, Stan played his 19th century standup bass, and I used my favorite guitar, the Andersen Archtop . We were pretty focused and were able to put down these seven songs that day. We chose to play these jazz classics simply because they are beautiful songs that have stood the test of time.
Emiko has recently written an instructional book for pianists covering left and right hand technique.
Just listen to In a Sentimental Mood in the previous post to realize that she practices what she preaches…! When Kenny Barron raves about this book, you know it must be good. RC
Emiko Hayashi: Etudes for Jazz Piano- Conversation of the Hands
Available at: http://www.jazzbooks.com
A “must have” for all pianists seeking a creative approach to developing left and right hand coordination. The exercises and solos (based on the chord changes to well-known standards) are rhythmic, colorful, and fun to play. The chapters cover six specific areas of left hand development and left/right hand integration, with practical application from standard jazz tunes in the form of musical solo piano pieces. This book will definitely be an essential part of your practice routine. Besides improving your hand coordination, it will challenge you to think differently about it. All of the concepts are easily applicable to the “real world.” Highly endorsed!
“Pianist Emiko Hayashi has written a very comprehensive, challenging yet very accessible method book. With exercises designed for left hand alone and exercises designed to develop interplay between the hands, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I’ve already started practicing!” Kenny Barron
“In Etudes for Jazz Piano Emiko Hayashi illuminates a challenge that faces scores of jazz pianists at all levels; that of integrating the left hand in improvisation in a meaningful way, not only as an accompanist, but as an integral part of the whole. By taking various jazz standards and creating etudes specifically for the left hand as well as for developing coordination and the conversational aspects between the left and right hands, Ms. Hayashi illustrates many possibilities for expanding one’s technical and expressive range. I would think this set of etudes would be extremely useful to jazz pianists at any stage of development since the obvious outcome of the study will improve one’s ability to play melodically and expressively throughout the keyboard, without regard to the traditional roles of the left and right hands.” Todd Coolman
“It is understood that all musicians must play piano. Emiko’s book fills a void for non-pianists addressing specific technical problems which will help towards being able to use the piano to improve and enlarge one’s playing and composing, no matter what instrument you play. This is a hands-on book directed towards immediate results.” David Liebman
This Group is Considered to Be One of the Finest Jazz Ensembles Ever….
Give this rendition a listen and then compare it to Wes Montgomery’s version….
“Herbie Hancock received considerable attention when, in May 1963 he joined Miles Davis’ “second great quintet.” This new band was essentially Miles Davis surrounded by fresh, new talent. Davis personally sought out Hancock, whom he saw as one of the most promising talents in jazz. The rhythm section Davis organized was young but effective, comprising bassist Ron Carter, seventeen year old drummer Tony Williams, and Hancock on piano. After George Coleman and Sam Rivers each taking turns at the saxophone spot, the quintet would gel with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone. This quintet is often regarded as one of the finest jazz ensembles, and the rhythm section has been especially praised for its innovation and flexibility.
The second great quintet was where Hancock found his own unique voice as a master of jazz piano. Not only did he find new ways to use common chords, he also popularized chords then rarely used in jazz. Hancock also developed a unique taste for “orchestral” accompaniment – using fourths and Debussy-like harmonies, with stark contrasts then unheard of in jazz.
With Williams and Carter he would weave a labyrinth of rhythmic intricacy on, around and over existing melodic and chordal schemes. In the later half of the sixties their approach would be so sophisticated and unorthodox that conventional chord changes would hardly be discernible, hence their improvisational concept would become known as “Time, No Changes.” (Dobbins, Bill and Kernfeld, Barry. “Herbie Hancock”)”
“In 1964, Miles Davis persuaded Wayne Shorter to leave Blakey and join the Miles Davis Quintet alongside Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Davis had been searching for a saxophonist to replace John Coltrane for some time, and the new quintet is considered by many to have been Davis’s strongest working group. Shorter composed extensively for Davis (”Prince of Darkness”, “ESP”, “Footprints”, “Sanctuary”, and many others; on some albums he provided half of the compositions), typically hard-bop workouts with spaced-out long melody lines above the beat.
Herbie Hancock had this to say of Shorter’s tenure in the group: “The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter. He still is a master. Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn’t get changed.” Davis said: “Wayne is a real composer. He writes scores, write the parts for everybody just as he wants them to sound. He also brought in a kind of curiosity about working with musical rules. If they didn’t work, then he broke them, but with musical sense; he understood that freedom in music was the ability to know the rules in order to bend them to your own satisfaction and taste.”
Shorter remained in Davis’s band after the breakup of the quintet in 1968, playing on early jazz fusion recordings including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (both 1969). His last live dates and studio recordings with Davis were in 1970.
Until 1968 he played tenor saxophone exclusively. The final album on which he played tenor in the regular sequence of Davis albums was Filles de Kilimanjaro. In 1969 he played the soprano saxophone on the Davis album In a Silent Way and on his own Super Nova (recorded with then-current Davis sidemen Chick Corea and John McLaughlin). In live Davis recordings from summer 1969 to early spring 1970 he played both saxophones. By the early 1970s, however, he chiefly played soprano saxophone.” (Michelle Mercer, Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter -Tarcher/Penguin, 2005)
This is about the greatest sounding mandolin ever.. and played by one of the greatest mandolinists. I met John at Steve Palazzo’s house for a concert and got to hear it from about 5 feet away and even picked a few notes on it… thrilling! Recently I was lucky enough to get a one on one lesson from Matt Flinner and he let me play his Gilchrist mandolin. It is so much like John Reischman’s F-5 in tone, playability, and appearance… they both have a depth and beauty that is hard to describe. ! What a sonic treat to experience these instruments…
Juan Zelada is an impressive singer-songwriter and session musician for bands touring UK and Spain. He recently left a nice comment on my post of Emiko and I playing Angel Eyes. I checked him out and and found a sophisticated songwriter with a very deep understanding of chord movement and melody, and a soulful and authentic voice. . His influences include , Sting, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Michel Camilo, Maria Rita, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Pat Metheny, Radiohead, Coldplay, Bill Evans, The Police, Pearl Jam, Maceo Parker, Jorge Drexler, The Beatles, The kinks, Seu Jorge, Weather Report, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, Ketama, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong….. He has listened well and has been able to absorb the best these artists have to offer. And, he is a very accomplished piano and guitar player.
“Juan is truly a global artist and his music reflects this cultural and linguistic diversity. Originally from Spain, Juan currently lives in London after spells in Hong Kong, Liverpool and Madrid. His songs are a rare mixture of intricate chord progressions, uplifting melodies and impressionist lyrics that merge with the music to create a mellow and sophisticated sound.” (from Lost FM)
Juan is here to stay and destined to become one of the greats… in my humble opinion. So give a listen to some of his songs on his MySpace site http://www.myspace.com/zeladaband….. and be sure to read his musings on music and living the musical life on his interesting blog at http://www.juanzelada.wordpress.com
This video gives you a bird’s eye view of Tony’s fantastic technique. Check his fluid picking, clever and economic left hand technique, and, of course the exquisite tone that he is famous for. He is one of the few that can use a Martin flat top style guitar in a jazz format and make it work (Scott Nygaard is another that does it). Of course, this song is not a jazz piece… I’ve presented it mostly for its close camera work of Tony’s facility with the guitar…… I took this series of photos of the Tony Rice Unit in 1985, about the time they had released the album entitled “Still Inside” which I think is one of the all time best “jazz grass” records.
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I love Tony’s his jazz-infused, experimental “spacegrass” with the Tony Rice Unit on the albums “Mar West”, “Still Inside”, and “Backwaters”. These albums with John Rieschman on mandolin, Fred Carpenter on Violin, and Tod Phillips on bass are breakthrough albums which feature Tony and his bandmates playing at a high level that has rarely been matched.
Backwaters has a superb version of “My Favorite Things”… I highly recommend a listen to this exciting and original interpretation of a jazz classic.
More about Tony…… Two highly regarded albums with traditional instrumentalist and songwriter Norman Blake garnered a great deal of acclaim, as well as two Rice Brothers albums that featured him teamed with his late elder brother, Larry and younger brothers, Wyatt and Ronnie. 2007 saw Tony team up with Alison Krauss and Union Station for a string of spring concerts, drawing material from Rice’s 35 year career. Krauss always has cited Rice as being her prime musical influence.
Rice’s most recent recording for Rounder is “Quartet”, the second collaboration with bluegrass and newgrass legend Peter Rowan. Despite recent problems with his voice related to dysphonia, Tony Rice remains one of new acoustic music’s top instrumentalists, bringing originality and vitality to everything he plays.
Photos and Text by Ron Clegg
These photographs were taken at Highland Park in Ben Lomand, Ca around 1985!
This an informal living room recording with me on guitar and Emiko Hayashi on piano. I really like the sparse sound of duet .. and the harmonic movement within the piece keeps me hoppin’. Emiko is based in New York City… she occasionally plays at Birdland and stays busy gigging, writing, and studying. She is a marvelous woman…and a real joy to play music with!
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