PotLuck ~ by Ted Kane
NakedSunfish ~ Issue 2

Jazz for Rockers: Essential Recordings

Editors Note: Naked Sunfish welcomes Ted as a contribitor to Naked Sunfish. Ted lives in L.A. and is editor of the zine, Crapshoot. We will feature Ted's writings under PotLuck.

The following is a list of ten great jazz albums. The best of all time? Not neccessarily. These 10 are all here because I like them and because I think they are albums that would have special appeal to listeners who, like me, are approaching jazz from the standpoint of a lifetime devotee of rock and roll.

1.) A Love Supreme-John Coltrane. A classic, catches the the great Coltrane Quartet at the peak of their powers, before Coltrane's spiritual and musical quest headed for regions that McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones chose not to follow. Lots of great recordings from the master, however: Impressions, Crescent & Ascension (both versions) are equally deserving.

2.) Dancing in Your Head-Ornette Coleman. One of the most perfectly named albums in any genre of music. A dense brew of funk and free jazz that has more to do with Ornette's years of giging with R&B than it does with any attempt on his part to cash in on the then current fusion movement. Features great, hyperkinetic drums from Ronald Shannon Jackson and a unique colaboration with the Master Musicians of Jajouka on the last track. The Shape of Jazz to Come and Change of the Century are two good examples of his earlier style with the classic quartet of
Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins.

3.) Brilliant Corners-Thelonious Monk. Monk is certainly one of the essential figures in jazz, a unique and prolific composer and perfomer that made so many great albums, it is hard to pick just one. Monk's Music with a young John Coltrane and the great Coleman Hawkins comes to mind. Criss Cross, with Monk foil par excellence Charlie Rouse on sax, is equally wonderful. But I recommend above all others this classic set featuring some beautiful playing by Sonny Rollins.

4.) Sun Ra Arkestra. Outer Space Employment Agency. The Ra arkestra made an inumerable amount of recordings, and I could (and may eventually write an entire article) debating the relative merrits of several of them. But, as good (some times unbelievably so) as Sun Ra's various studio creations are, it is the group's tremendous live performances that made them one of the world's most beloved jazz
ensembles. This relatively recent release on John Sinclair's Big Chief label documents the group's performance at the 1973 Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues Festival. Unless you get the chance to see them in person (though Ra died in the mid-90's, the group continues to blow minds under the direction of Marshall Allen), this is probably as good an intoduction as there is to the weird and wonderful world of Sun Ra.

5.) Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus-Charles Mingus (but you knew that). Charles Mingus was a brash and brilliant giant of the jazz bass. This album features the definitive versions of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat & Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul and some fine playing by Eric Dolphy & Booker Little. New Tijuana Moods and Live at Antibes are other good choices.

6.) Iron Path-Last Exit. If you don't like noise, this would be a bad choice. But beautiful cacophony here from an all-star band of Jackson, Peter Brotzman, Sonny Sharrock & Bill Laswell. Beyond fusion, this music could be called post-fusion or even industrial jazz.

7.) Kind of Blue-Miles Davis. Some say this is the greatest jazz recording of all time. I don't have an argument against that.

8.) Streams-Sam Rivers. Rivers plays reeds and piano, Cecil McBee plays some of the best bass you will ever here and Barry Atshull covers the drums at the Montreaux jazz festival. Amazing 40 minute continuous performance.

9.) Wildflowers-The New York Loft Jazz Sessions. Really amazing, multi-disc compilation of a special week of shows in NYC, 1976. Who's Who of avant garde jazz-Rivers, Marion Brown, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, etc. Highlights include Sunny Murray (w/David Murray and others) performing Over the Rainbow, Mitchell's Chant and Randy Weston's Portrait of Frank Edward Weston.

10.) Bird and Diz-Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie. Lots of compiliations of their work. This refers to a Verve lp that features Monk and other great musicians as well. I'm sure there are other equally good and even better compilations. But no jazz collection is complete with out some Bird and Diz.

...and one to grow one:

11.) Pharoah Sanders-Tauhid. This landmark recording dates back to 1965, about three years before Miles Davis went electric. The blistering sounds of Sanders' saxophone and Sonny Sharrock's electric guitar not only influenced the world of jazz, but also rock bands like the Doors and the Stooges.

Enjoy!