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.

KUSH (16:01) by Dizzy Gillespie from Swing Low Sweet Cadillac. Recorded at Memory Lane in Los Angeles, California on May 25 & 26, 1967

Featuring: Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet, vocals; James Moody – tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute, vocals; Mike Longo – piano; Frank Schifano – bass; and Otis Candy Finch Jr. – drums

The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 3 stars stating “A strangely popular album for Dizzy Gillespie, Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac represents a period in his career where he was adapting to the times, keeping his goof factor on board, and individually playing as well as he ever had… This is not an essential listing in the vast discography of such a great jazz artist, but remains a curiosity in his collection, especially considering the two-day time frame where much more music could have been considered to be issued. It is not to be completely ignored, but less worthy than many of his other seminal groundbreaking recordings.”

The Last Chieftain (16:00) by Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah from Axiom. Dedicated to Mardi Gras Chiefs Donald Harrison Sr. and Donald Harrison Jr.

Featuring: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – flugelhorn, trumpet, siren, percussion; Weedie Braimah – djembe, congas, bata; Corey Fonville – drums, sampler [SPDSX]; Elena Pinderhughes – flute; Lawrence Fields – piano, electric piano, keyboards; and Kris Funn – bass

Jim Hynes in his review for Glide Magazine stated, “Chief Adjuah made the right decision to put this live disc out. Somehow it makes his music, often abstract for many, more tangible, more accessible, and eminently more powerful too. Rob Shepherd of PostGenre wrote, “It suggests a new approach to sound, one even less defined by rigid categories. Instead, it builds off of the theory that if the underlying musical concept is of value, all that extends from it must be equally worthy. In the interim, it provides much to consider.” Guillaume Bourgault-Côté of Le Devoir observed, “Scott relies on the material from his Ancestral Recall album to deploy this “stretch music” which is his: incandescent jazz with tribal rhythms, a sort of sound crossroads of Afro-American, native, West African music and everything that feeds Christian Scott in this quest that is both spiritual, musical and political.”

The album was nominated for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards as the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. PopMatters included the album in its list of “20 jazz albums you might have missed in 2020.”

Bad American Dream (15:22) by Percy Jones from his recording, Tunnels With Percy Jones

Featuring: Percy Jones- Fretless Bass, Marc Wagnon- Midi Vibes, Van Manakas- Guitar and, Frank Katz- Drums

Percy Jones (born 3 December 1947) is a Welsh bass guitarist known as a member of the jazz fusion ensemble Brand X, from 1974-1980, and 1992-1999.

Jones, who was born near Llandrindod Wells, has also done extensive work as a session musician and has been active with other groups. He played with a New York City trio called Stone Tiger (featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and drummers Mike Clark and Dougie Bowne during different periods) in 1982/83 Jones was also the driving force behind Tunnels, an improvisation collective which released four albums including Progressivity and Live From The Knitting Factory. Residing in New York, he currently is a member of MJ12, an instrumental group based in NYC.

Jones was also a member of the jazz-fusion group Soft Machine, the poetry rock group The Liverpool Scene (featuring poet Adrian Henri), and has contributed to recordings by Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Steve Hackett, Paranoise, Suzanne Vega, Richard Barbieri, and Fovea Hex amongst others.

Long Play, 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, June 13, from 8 to midnight.

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