Jazzgroove Selector

John Hibbard asked me to compile a list of 10 cds that have influenced me the most so i thought id share it here too.

• Miles Davis – 64 Concert My Funny Valentine

My housemate and I recently acquired the record of this concert and for the first 3 weeks in our new place listened to it over and over again every night. I can’t get over how the rhythm section reacts to every solo keeping things fresh and exciting. The way Ron and Tony make decisions about feel and direction makes the solos so exciting. Herbie’s solo on All Of You is possibly one of the greatest on record. The way this band interacts is one of the major inspirations for the Dilworths.

• Terence Blanchard – Flow

Terence is one of my living idols. He has a big glorious sound and plays with such conviction and freedom that transcends the notes and harmony to which he’s playing over. The rhythm section on this record, Aaron Parks, Lionel Loueke, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott, work so well in creating a bed for the soloist to improvise upon and help propel the music forwards. To me this band is like the 60s Miles band of today, always searching and making such a high level of music. There’s also a great live gig from the Village Vanguard you can download from the website.

• Sonny Stitt – Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio

Back when I was 16 I had my first band and it was before copying hundreds of gigabytes of music from other people iTunes and I remember that this disc was getting passed around us. I think it was Alex Boneham’s originally and by the time it got through the band and to me it was fairly scratched (it was getting passed around without a case). For the 4 of us at the time this album was our life and only recently i managed to find it in a store in New York second hand. Man, this album is like the definition of straight ahead feel good swing. The kind of music that puts a smile on your face.

• Ryan Kisor – Battlecry

When I first started learning with Phil Slater he gave me a whole bunch of albums on an Mp3 disc, and most of them I had never heard of. I took a random pick and this album came up and it was one of the first I could sing along to start to finish. Its a straight ahead record with Sam Yahel on Organ, Peter Bernstein and Brian Blade. Kisor is an unbelievable trumpet player and the lines he plays are almost compositionally perfect.

• Hancock/Hargrove/Brecker – Directions in Music

This was the first “modern jazz” albums I got into. It’s a live album with Roy Hargrove, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, John Patitucci and Brian Blade doing a tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. I remember loving the sound and intensity they all played with but having no idea what was going on with forms and harmony. Every time I getting the CD out I still find it so exciting and spontaneous.

• Kenny Dorham – Quiet Kenny

Phil Slater told me this was a must have so I ordered it from Amazon and from the first moment was hooked. Kenny is quite understated and gets such interesting colours out of his horn. Every track on this swings and Paul Chambers and Art Taylor create that feeling on 2 & 4 where I guess they coined the phrase “In the pocket.” There are so many great recordings from 1959 and this is certainly one of them!

• Dvorak – New World Symphony

I heard the London Symphony play this live earlier this year and then permanently borrowed the CD from my girlfriend. This work has largely influence my writing in placing more emphasis upon themes and development from the material you already have. So much of it is built upon one melodic idea and passed throughout the orchestra. This idea has simplified my approach to writing new tunes.

• Avishai Cohen – Continuo

This album has a great sound, energy and one of the best bass sounds on record. I went through a phase of checking out the Jewish New York scene, guys like Avishai Cohen (Trumpet), Omer Avital and Jason Lindner. There’s something very accessible about the music these guys produce, a lot based around the harmonic minor scale modes and rhythmically really groovy but mixed with virtuosic technique making complicated stuff sound simple.

• Ambrose Akinmusire – Prelude to Cora

I spent some time hanging out with Ambrose in New York and recently when he was out and he has been a big inspiration for me. He got me thinking about having my own concept and thinking about my sound and where I wanted to head with it in the future. I really dig this album for its writing and the way an overall mood is created throughout.

• Matt McMahon – Paths and Streams

The guys on this CD are local heroes of mine. I’ve been fortunate enough to see them live many times and had many conversations about music with Matt and Phil Slater. I saw the release of this album at the Studio and was blown away by the beauty and space these guys created. I bought the CD and went home and listened to it twice that night.