Cosmic Jazz this week featured brand new music from Christian Scott and John Surman together with a track from EST’s stunning final album. We also paid tribute to two jazz artists who have influenced our musical choices over the years. Jose Roberto Bertrami, keyboard player from Brazilian trio Azymuth who died last week, was featured on Butterfly – a Herbie Hancock tune from one of the group’s recent releases on the UK-based Far Out label. Chicago guitarist Pete Cosey, whose unique tunings and fuzz-drenched style guitarist made such a powerful contribution to the late 1970s work of Miles Davis, made major contributions to 2008’s Miles in India project and we showcased his work on the track Ife.
Following a recent listener request, we also checked out two sides of guitarist Pat Metheny’s work with one classic live track and another from his surprising journey into the avantgarde with Ornette Coleman.
Jazz is about sound and many jazz instrumentalists can be distinguished after just a few notes – the rasping edginess of Ornette Coleman or the buttery smoothness of Stan Getz. Jazz vocalists are the same, and on the show we discussed our favourites – those artists who could sing entries from a telephone directory and still make them sound interesting. On our list would be Carmen Lundy, Ella Fitzgerald, Mark Murphy and – on the fringes of jazz – Gil Scott Heron. I feel the same about great soul singers too – Marvin Gaye and Bobby Womack for example. What are your choices? Just let us know via the comments section.
- John Surman – On Staddon Heights
- Miles from India – Ife (slow version)
- Esperanza Spalding – Cinnamon Tree
- Joe Henderson – Mode for Joe
- Charlie Haden and the Liberation Music Orchestra – This is Not America
- Cannonball Adderley – The Eternal Walk
- Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny – Police People
- Pat Metheny – Are You Going With Me?
- Carmen Lundy – The Night is Young
- Azymuth – Butterfly
- Christian Scott – Who They Wish I Was
- EST – The Left Lane
Video this week had to come from Azymuth. Here’s a promo video of their 2010 European tour which combines reheasal and performance footage as well as a soundtrack of classic moments from the Azymuth canon: