Combustication, Medeski Martin & Wood

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up. 

Combustication, Medeski Martin & Wood, 1998, 1:08

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Keyboard, bass, drums, and... a DJ?  With record scratches and loops added into the power trio, this stands out from the pack and pushes the boundaries of jazz.  Indeed, most jazz people don't consider this jazz, but something akin to rock or dancehall reggae.  Whatever it is, it's generally pretty catchy.  The music is powered by the various keyboards, but the bass lines are impressively funky and groovy.  Sometimes the record scratching overpowers the melody; I could have used a little less of it.  Favorite tracks: "Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho," "Coconut Bugaloo."

Journey To the Urge Within, Courtney Pine

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up.

Journey To the Urge Within, Courtney Pine, 1986, :49

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The debut album of a saxophonist and clarinetist who apparently revived a moribund British jazz scene.  This is the kind of music that most people usually think of when they think of jazz.  Drums crashing, punctuated by bleats and the sudden wahhhh! wahhhh! of a sax and tinkling vibes.  These pieces pleasantly surprised me; they zig and zag in directions that they don't telegraph ahead of time.  I'd be tapping along to one rhythm when suddenly some other beat snuck in. Some people think of jazz as background music.  This isn't background music.  You gotta pay attention.  Favorite tracks: "Miss Interpret," "E F P."

Once Upon a Time, Earl Hines

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up.

Once Upon a Time, Earl Hines, 1966, :37

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I stumbled upon an article about Earl Hines that extolled his piano skills.  Apparently one of the best jazz pianists of all time, and one who had an immense influence on jazz music general, a giant with a unique talent.  So I picked this album as one of his peak works and gave it an expectant listen.  But... it seems to be a horn showcase.  Three saxophones, a trumpet, a trombone, a couple of clarinets, all blaring and bopping and screeching.  Lots of jazzy riffs where the horns wail and cry and sing.  Not that this is a bad thing per se.  It's definitely a toe-tapper.  I was just expecting a display of piano virtuosity.  Favorite tracks: "Cottontail," "Hash Brown."

These Are the Vistas, The Bad Plus

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up.

These Are the Vistas, The Bad Plus, 2003, :52

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Drums, bass, piano. That's all this jazz trio needs to make a lot of noise. They describe themselves as democratic, but to me the piano seems the driving force, the skeleton of the sound, and the drum the muscle. A hip modern jazz band that blends rock and theater into free-form, very tight-knit jazz. On this album, they do shambling reconstructions of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Heart of Glass" (piano keeping it grounded, the rhythm going wild).  Favorite tracks: "Smells Like Teen Sprit," "Flim" (an Aphex Twin song, apparently).

Held on the Tips of Fingers, Polar Bear

It’s Jazzurday! Wherein I listen to a jazz album, like a grown-up.

Held on the Tips of Fingers, Polar Bear, 2005, :42 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Never heard of this album or the band; apparently bandleader and drummer Sebastian Rochford is a big deal in jazz circles. If Tom Waits were a jazz drummer, he’d make this album. It’s the musical equivalent of a carnival barker. Hints and riffs of Kurt Weil, middle eastern ragas, and metal slide in and out in turn.  It’s all horns and percussion, out-of-time clonking and wailing and frenzied crashing. Dave Brubeck might wonder at what he hath wrought. There is at times a good deal of histrionic screeching. But I like histrionic screeching; others may not. Adventurous, eclectic, surprising, and reveling in it. It’s not all wonderful; the five-minute “Fluffy (I Want You)” is a bunch of weird creaking noises. I don't particularly like weird creaking noises; others may. Favorite track: “Beartown.”