Long Play on The Nightside

Listen to Long Plays during the 11 o’clock hour of The Nightside with Andy O’…these special extensive compositions needed a deeper listen.

Sinnerman (12:53) from Nina Simone Sings Billie Holiday/The Gospel According to Nina Simone
“Sinnerman” is one of Nina Simone’s most famous songs. She recorded her definitive 10-minute-plus version on her 1965 album Pastel Blues, on which the credit is simply given as “Arranged by Nina Simone”. Simone learned the lyrics of the song in her childhood when it was used at revival meetings by her mother, a Methodist minister, to help people confess their sins. In the early days of her career during the early sixties, when she was heavily involved in the Greenwich Village scene, Simone often used the long piece to end her live performances. An earlier version of the song exists recorded live at The Village Gate but was not used on the 1962 Colpix album Nina at the Village Gate. It was added as a bonus track to the 2005 CD release.

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On Day One (15:16) by Pat Metheny Unity Group from “Kin”
Metheny has said that his idea behind Kin was to push the quartet-led concept that led to Unity Band further forward by adding more orchestration to the instrumental core of the band so that Kin would be “more like the Technicolor, IMAX version of what a band like this could be—but with that hardcore thing still sitting right in the middle of it all.” The album also re-explores the concepts of worldview, unity, and the global village explored on previous Pat Metheny Group albums such as Letter from Home and We Live Here.

Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, electronics, orchestrionics, synthesizers
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, clarinet, alto flute, bass flute
Giulio Carmassi – piano, trumpet, trombone, French horn, cello, vibraphone, clarinet, flute, recorder, alto saxophone, Wurlitzer, whistling, vocals|
Ben Williams – acoustic and electric bass
Antonio Sánchez – drums and cajón

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Churn (15:16) from the eponymous recording by The Billy Higgins Quintet.
Although Billy Higgins appeared on literally hundreds of sessions as a sideman, the famous drummer didn’t record nearly as many albums under his own name. One of the albums he provided in the 1990s was Billy Higgins Quintet, which was recorded in 1993 but didn’t come out in the U.S. until 1997. This time, Higgins is in the driver’s seat, leading a cohesive post-bop/hard bop quintet that boasts Harold Land on tenor sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Cedar Walton on piano, and David Williams on bass. Land, Brashear, and Walton all have their share of inspired solos, and the swinging Higgins brings out the best in his colleagues on well-known jazz standards like Tadd Dameron’s “Hot House” and Thelonious Monk’s “Jackie-ing,” as well as original pieces by Brashear (“Seeker,” “Churn”),

Long Play is a deep dive during the last hour of The Nightside into the music that time forgot.

Tune in to The Nightside with Andy O’ on Sunday night, November 7, from 8 to midnight.

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