Yes, talk more about Oregon, if you can. It is like a crystallization of so many genres over the years and always, as far as I'm concerned, sounding original, of course featuring the amazing Paul McCandless.
Nothing more amazing to see than Paul McCandless making the oboe soar using circular breathing and watching every vein on his neck and head pop until you thought he’d have an embolism. But it was a sad day for me When I learned that Colin Walcott had passed he was absolutely flawless on the tablas and the sitar.
I have been periodically listening to Towner´s Solo Concert since it came out in 1980 (first on vinyl of course). Interesting to see it was picked up by you, Andy. It is certainly a one-of-a-kind album. I would have included Egberto Gismonti´s Solo (ECM, 1979) in your list as my personal choice. Thank you for this review Andy!
Chantanooga Choo Choo. Classic. Couldn’t agree with you more on the subject of Bob Dylan. Cry is a great solo spinner by John Klemmer. Looking for the British Jazz top ten, yeah? Yeah? Stan Tracey, John Cameron et, al. Great video Andy, hope to pop in on Friday.
Oregon actually used English Horn, Oboe, Sitar, Tablas, Guitar, 12 string guitar, piano, Bass, mostly in the 70s. Ralph Towner is known for using classical technique on the 12 string guitar, amazing.
So nice to see Ralph Towner and Pat Metheny here great choices!!! , Ana by Ralph Towner is my favorite album by him " The Reluctant Bride ' and " Green And Golden " are some of my favorite guitar pieces . A map of the world by Pat Metheny is also a wonderful album and soundtrack!!!
Andy, thanks for the vid., especially for the final words on Wittgenstein! That was really unexpected but very inspiring. The students of Wittgenstein could be compared to the guys who were lucky to buy "The Velvet Underground and Nico" album right in 1967. According to the rumour, all of them started their own bands, infected by unorthodox thinking, expressing something unusual, different, and important to the culture, and thus, renewing the canons of popular music (and think about '67 as a year in which sooooo many significant albums were released!). To me, this video is one of the most important ones you've done so far (doing a great job in each). Both emotional and intellectual, entertaining and inspiring, giving us mind and heart. As for Dylan's second album, I would add The Beatles' debut of 1963, which was a strong kick against the music establishment of the era - I do not mean songs as such, but their courage to say: this is our life, our experience, let us do it our way! Look at the first words on it: "One, two, three, four!" that was a real knock on the industry door! Short, strong, and insolent.
Good to hear Ralph Towner and Anthony Braxton getting a mention. Here are some of my solo choices... Peter Hammill - Typical Derek Bailey - Solo Guitar Volume 1 and Solo Guitar Volume 2 Michel Doneda - Anatomie des Clefs Hans Reichel - Coco Bolo Nights Keith Jarrett - Spheres
All great performances! Some truly paradigm changing! I agree with one other messenger-“Silent Tongues” by Cicil Taylor. I would also like to add “The New Tristano.” By Lennie Tristano. Mastery and iconoclastic artistry. I believe most of the album is solo. Lennie was experimenting with “overdubbing” very early. There may be some tracks on the “New Tristano” that are overdubbed?” But, the majority of the album is solo. Take a listen to “Turkish Mambo” re: overdubbing!” ( From the album called “Lennie Tristano.”).
Not a bad list. I’d strongly suggest you check out the solo album by the late US Jazz pianist and arranger Clare Fischer titled : Alone Together . It is a sublime one off. He never put out anything else solo piano wise like it- and was mostly known for being Prince’s string arranger and for running a Latin band for years in LA. His harmonic approach - how he voices chords - is very unique to him. But that one album Alone Together is a masterpiece.
Footnote- Fischer has been referenced by Jacob Collier in one of colliers masterclasses . that should come as no surprise as both Fischer and Collier have such a deep love and ability for advanced harmony
Good choices! I guess my own list (just jazz piano & guitar) would be something like this: Art Tatum - The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces (1953-55) Lennie Tristano - The New Tristano (1961) Johnny Smith - The Man with the Blue Guitar (1962) Bill Evans - Conversations with Myself (1963) Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk (1965) Oscar Peterson - My Favorite Instrument (1968) Keith Jarrett - Facing You (1971) Bola Sete - Ocean (1972) Joe Pass - Virtuoso (1973) Ted Greene - Solo Guitar (1977) Thanks! 😎
As you have set the parameters on this video, Fred Frith's "Guitar Solos" is one of the most sonically interesting solo performance albums I have heard. On some tracks he is playing more than 1 guitar simultaneously. Brain Eno heard the album and immediately enlisted his services on "Before and After Science" and "Music for Films". Robert Fripp's Frippertronics album, "Let the Power Fall" is another interesting one.
I would consider Sony Roliins "The Solo Album. Victor Wooten" s " A Show of Hands" had overdubs on one or two tracks, but mostly a landmark solo bass guitar album. Quite the take on Dylan! As a fellow "muso" I have trouble separating the performance aspect of musicianship when assessing music
You tried to keep your hair ruly, but I see it's coming back to it's natural state! Love your videos! I totally checked out that Art Tatum album! You should play a bit at the end of the video... ;)
Thank you Andy for this valuable video. Solo albums are very special because the musician is totally free to give just his / her personal approach. Through the years I collected this ones, a lot of piano, two guitars and -of which I’m very happy, but surprisingly a solo record on this beautiful instrument was pretty hard to ‘find’- a Hammond organ: 1. Bill Evans Alone 2. Jan Akkerman Passion 3. Clare Fischer Introspectivo 4. Keith Jarrett The melody at night, With you 5. Oscar Peterson Tracks, since someone else already advises My favourite instrument (great album) 6. Thelonious Monk Thelonious Himself 7. John Scofield John Scofield 8. Barbara Dennerlein Solo (Hammond) 9. Brad Mehldau 10 years Solo Live (4 cd, or 10 LP, box!) 10. Clare Fischer Jazz Song, or, since that one is pretty hard to find, Just me 11. Bill Evans Solo sessions volume 1 12. Michiel Borstlap Piano solo Standards and for the encore, from 13. Jeff Beck Wired the astonishing Goodbye Pork Pie Hat And secretly walking in another direction: 14 Hannes Minnaar Gabriel Fauré Piano Music is also beautiful Looking forward to your future lists Andy! Thanks again
I remember in the early or mid 70s I was watching a TV variety show looking forward to an appearance by the great comedian George Carlin. Carlin came on and stood on stage and looked at the audience, making faces, never said a word and walked off after 7 or 8 minutes. The audience gave slightly nervous laughter. I couldn't believe it. Pretty great list. The story of the Koln Concert is more involved than you remember. Jarrett wasn't going to play, and they begged him to. The full story is pretty amazing. Good to see Art Tatum being remembered. Anything by Tatum is extraordinary. He was beyond virtuoso and was worshipped by other players of the day. It took me a long time to warm up to Dylan, but the more I listened, the better it got. He brought a folk aesthetic (there's your word) to pop music and the wider culture. Brilliant stuff....
Lots of white singers were covering Ledbelly, blues (and Woody Guthrie) alongside and before Dylan. Although folk and blues forms were his primal material what Dylan crucially did was open up pop and nascent rock music, lyrically, to the endless intellectual and spiritual possibilities of high art poetry- the beat poets, surrealists and indeed the whole poetic tradition. He isn't named after Dylan Thomas for nothing. It's a bit sad that you rate him one of the 3 crucial figures of 20th century music but. on your own admission, you get neither his songs, his lyrics nor his voice :-) For me he is a magnificent singer (not in all phases of his career admittedly) with a unique masterful swagger, with frequently unforgettable phrasing and often (for me) a beautiful tone. He is a genius of a poet and in his great mid 60s albums especially his delivery convinces the listener that he alone could be the source of the astonishing lines we hear- that alone makes him a very special singer.
Saw Oregon in concert in the late 70s or early 80s. Towner played piano and prophet v synthesizer for at least half of the show, in addition to guitar. Amazing group and concert.
Heck yeah, Andy, that was hilarious! Great discussion on Art Tatum, Chick Corea and others. Based on documentary footage I've seen, I believe Thelonious Monk was "on the spectrum." The notion that brilliant minds carry very specific DNA for creative endeavors is absolutely the reality we've witnessed for literally centuries. Not to mention artists who dealt severely with Bipolar Disorder, such as Charles Dickens, Van Gogh, and Beethoven. Most musicians I've played with have varied and interesting personalities. I love that you focused on Bob Dylan at the end of your video. It's funny, I agree with you completely on Dylan - I never enjoyed listening to his music, and yet I carry a high respect for his accomplishments. The mark of a great teacher, as you are, and just an individual living in the world in general, is the ability to simultaneously hold the high regard one has for a specific person while simultaneously feeling either neutral or dislike towards his actual work. If we're talking about painters, then Pablo Picasso is the Bob Dylan of the visual arts for me. As far as being an innovator, there is no question, however Picasso's work is simply unappealing to my eyes. That's just how I'm wired. I was wired to not enjoy Dylan or Picasso's work, but I can still appreciate it from a distance. All the artists you discuss here are integral to 20th Century music history. I would include Buddy Bolden as one of the most important people of the early 20th Century, as well, even though I don't believe we have access to a single recording of his. Woohoo, great video, Andy! Cheers!
It hurts my heart you didn't pick a Thelonious Monk solo album. And the very best Art Tatum solo piano I've heard is a 2CD set on Verve called Art Tatum 20th Century Piano Genius. It is all recorded live at Ray Heindorf's home in Beverley Hills California in 1955. The sound is truly excellent and the performances are out of this world great. Check out his version of Willow Weep For Me and get your mind blown.
I love this genre. Limitation always seems like a pathway to originality. I also enjoy watching the panicky expression telegraphed by friends when i play them solo instrumental music and it dawns on them that drums aren't about to drop.🤣
Hi Andy, great lists, and I love your informative and entertaining style of presentation. I wanted to add there are also great solo albums by Fred Hersch (his songbook albums from the 90s), Brad Mehldau ("Elegiac Cycle") and Erroll Garner, who I honestly prefer over Tatum. Imo Garner is more "human" (Tatum's gift seems almost "alien", Idk if that's a good way to say it, but I just find Garner's music more relatable and Tatum played too many runs for my taste anyway). Garner played with so much heart and joy and he's probably the swingiest pianist ever (Wynton Kelly and Gene Harris are also up there).
I can't pronounce that Metheny album. either... The Joe Pass albums on Pablo were mind blowing. I was just beginning to listen/buy Jazz when I picked these up. "That's the way you play the guitar". That sums it up.
Zabaleta Harp? I didn't know Coltrane loved HARPO Marx. Alice is amazing on ILLUMINATIONS with one of Santana's greatest expositions... Seeing Harpo as a kid was my 1st subconscious exposure to "deconstructing" an instrument. The Marx Brothers' = The American aesthetic. A family of immigrants sticking it to the man with Zen surreal humor... (The middle finger) a big influence on The Goons, Monty Python, & THE BEATLES! We need another British Invasion (From anywhere). Thanks for returning the influence with epic cascades of immersive albums. ⚛⚛
I heard Joe Pass Virtuoso a couple of years after it came out and totally blew me away. BTW he used a polytone amp for that sound sadly no longer in existence
Yeah I used to own one. Polytones we’re apparently made by these ex hippie type dudes who never quite gave the firm or product line serious focus ( too laid back ) so in the end most jazzers moved to other combos. Had a great tone though.
Arguably the greatest pianist of the modern era, Vladimir Horowitz, would leave Carnegie Hall in New York after a classical recital and go down to a jazz club where Art Tatum was booked to play late on a Saturday night to hear Tatum play. Both Horowitz and Rachmaninov agreed, that if Tatum turned his hand to classical music, they would both be out of a job. There's a great story about Tatum in the recording studio cutting a disc with some marvellous playing while wearing headphones. After the recording, someone asked, why were you wearing headphones? Oh said Tatum, I wanted to listen to the Ball game!
Shocking choice at number 1!!! Good list. Thanks. Anyway, the solo alto sax album by Lee Konitz is really nice. The Scott Joplin albums by Joshua Rifkin are fantastic.
I'd like to nominate James Newton's Axum album - (mostly) solo flute, surprising he gets some astonishing sounds out of it, not what we usually associate with the instrument. On ECM.
I’ve always wanted to love Dylan because his importance is obvious: his influence on the the songwriting of Lennon and McCartney, the Byrds and therefore CSN(Y), etc. and while he didn’t create the folk music explosion, he turned it from an atom bomb to a supernova. But aside from 3 albums in the mid-60s, I don’t care for him.
Perfectly legitimate position in my view. As it happens, I love Dylan but have no time for the music Led Zep or Black Sabbath whilst acknowledging that they are seminal acts in the evolution of rock.
I love the videos and there are some monsters on this list. I was disappointed that Bill Dixon did not make the cut. I love his solo trumpet work and it is 100% worth the time and effort to listen to him.
What I found most interesting here (and not for the first time in your talks) is the idea of the difficult listen. Like some others here I have tried to like Dylan and cannot with the exception of Love and Theft and Time Out of Mind - not typical Dylan - but you have opened my mind to his importance. I think Bjork is a genius and fully enjoy a few of her cds but others leave me wanting but I continue to think of her as one of the greatest unique musicians of our time. You also introduced me to the Cardiacs (thank you!) who I have mixed feelings about but sense the worth nonetheless. It is so easy to fully embrace someone's music and think of them as great but more of a leap to not like them and still put them on a pedestal.
Since becoming a die hard Andy fan I found myself doing the difficult listens over and over. Things I appreciated on the past received much more airplay in my home and started to really grow on me. Even difficult albums from Miles, Zappa, Hatfield, Holdsworth, Frith, Henry Kaiser etc... It's all so rewarding once you get it.
@@PaulBergen you're right. Not many. Music and movies are at the top. But wine, chocolate and coffee are maybe a bit like that. Acquring the Taste (pun intended). There's something about music which is very different from other art forms. It is, you know, the highest art of them all. According to Plato....
@@kzustang and to take it further - even with music there is a limit - you cannot entirely hate it while admiring it - there has to be a little foothold somewhere for you to take your appreciation to the point of admiration.
"Oregon", one of my favorite groups, and back when Colin Walcott was still with them ... "Out of the Woods", my favorite album. When driving through the mists in the mountains west of Tokyo, this is my go-to soundtrack. Towner is also a hellofa good pianist too. Please, PLEASE post a podcast dedicated to Oregon. Here in Japan, if you want to find their albums in Tower Records Shibuya, you have to browse the "jazz' section. But I tend to think of them as "modern, improvisational chamber music". Meh, a rose by any other name. Metheny! Wow, if these are 10 and 9, I am buckling up for a great ride here ... though I have to admit my favorite PMG albums are the three Brazilian influenced albums beginning with "The First Circle". McFerrin! Yeah! Now in retirement, I occasionally teach English to kids here in Japan, and "Don't Worry Be Happy" is a staple. Was floored when a dad of one of the kids' knew EXACTLY who McFerrin is and what he has done. Looking forward to a beer with him. Joe Pass! Indeed, a true virtuoso! Because of my Brazilian bias, my favorite is "Tudo Bem!" Braxton ... yeah, free jazz is a bit beyond me. I know Chick played with him, and Metheny loves Coleman, but I just can not get into Free Jazz. Chick Corea's Piano Improvs, especially No. 1. I like this better than the Koln Concert. In fact, it was one of the Children's Songs that prompted me to buy my first guitar and try to emulate it. From there, I went on to bossa by tab scores. Keith Jarrett ... has a big following here in Japan, and I've talked to some Japanese musicians who were floored by his "spiritual" tuning the piano. I must confess, I like his later stuff better than his solo albums ... and now prefer Hancock and Bill Evans to Chick or Keith. Especially Hancock. Art Tatum ... I don't have any of his albums, but have seen/heard him in DVDs and videos of the history of jazz. He was an awesome force-of-nature genius. I think it was in Chick's history of jazz piano that I heard that "God is in the house" story. Another funny story, but from a book is when Joe Venuti came out of retirement, and for the first time, asked for requests. Some lady in the back screamed out "Feelings!" ... And Joe answered back, "Feelings? Feelings? That's the worse goddamn song I've ever heard. That's it. No requests." And then he launched into something like "How High the Moon". Robert Johnson ... don't have recordings of him, but know him by name and reputation. Dylan? I know he is important, but my ears don't get him either. I can't help but automatically think of Joni Mitchell (especially those jazz influenced 70's albums), and MUCH prefer Joni. Yeah, I prefer Zappa to Dylan too, but I can follow your reasoning. Wittgenstein???? LOL. Back in undergrad, I slogged through the Tractatus and climbed his ladder without a parachute. Now nearly 50 years later, I realize the book was one loooong and convoluted shaggy-dog story. Now I prefer zen one-line zingers (Suzuki Daisetsu or Paul Reps) or the pregnant silence between notes of a Miles Davis solo. But I get ya! Really enjoyed this podcast. Much thanks from Japan!
I had the pleasure of seeing Joe Pass in 1980. Had tickets for Oscar Peterson on the opening night of Jazz City in Edmonton. Oscar couldn’t make it, so Joe filled in. A disappointment not to see Oscar, but sure enjoyed the unexpected substitution. Another guitarist to add to your solo recording list is Lenny Breau.
If we're going with Braxton, I'll add Cecil Taylor's Silent Tongues. Like Braxton, there's more of a classical footing and it is a very challenging work. A truly virtuoso display of technique and creativity.
"the only problem with me is I can't pronounce stuff." Wish that was my only problem. I heard Joe Pass just turned up at the studio one lunchtime and recorded the whole thing in less than an hour (58 minutes to be precise, and I think it was a Wednesday). 🤯
I think it was Muddy Waters (around 1940?) rather than Big Bill Broonzy. He was from the same area and was playing in that regional style."Stovalls Plantation" (sic) rings a bell. (Yeah I could have looked it up but I'm on my way out the door.)
What I got wrong was it wasn't Allan Lomax, It was John Hammond . (from Wikipedia) Broonzy's reputation grew. In 1938 he was asked to fill in for the recently deceased Robert Johnson at the "From Spirituals to Swing" concert at Carnegie Hall, produced by John H. Hammond.
Andy, we need you. We need you to say something about Peter Brötzmann, who we lost yesterday. (He also did a great solo album, simply entitled "Solo.")
Love Towner got into him more lately then back in the day. , Metheny in my top 5 guitarist and composer of all time ,Towner and Metheny would be quite a collaboration ! Joe pass was amazing ! Chick was something else to say the least.Jarrett amazing !. Robert Johnson essential historical blues master.Bob Dylan is one of the most interesting and bold lyricist for his time in his early years without a doubt.
Went to a solo Cello show about 10 years back (sort of dreaded having to go) it was Erik Friedlander playing music from his Maldoror album. It was as just about as interesting and engaging any great jazz unit, Just mind blowing in terms of time and very texturally rich stuff. Uwe Kropinski So Order So has unbelievably twisted percussive acoustic guitar playing on it. Can't really think of anyone quite like him. Leo Kottke / One Guitar No Vocals is exceptionally well recorded and he's in great form on this one. Greg Fox (percussionist from the amazing band Zs) album The Gradual Progression is stunning boundary pushing stuff that can change the way you think of and hear music.
The Pat Metheny album you're talking about is New Chautauqua (cha-táw-quaw) where the second syllable is emphasized. The word "Chautauqua" comes from the Haudenosaunee (try pronouncing that one!) language. You'll be forgiven for not knowing that word as it's not English. Chautauqua was a social movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. The four pillars of the Chautauqua Movement are arts, education, recreation, and religion. You can think of these references when you listen to Pat Metheny's album.
Another stellar performance, Captain Andy; glad you showed some love to Braxton - sometimes his stuff gives me a bit of a headache in trying to figure out the structure, but it's always worthwhile. In addition to some of the worthy contenders noted below, I'd think I'd make a case for Yo-Yo Ma's Bach Cello cycle (I also love some of the Bach cycles played on marimba - splendid stuff, indeed). I got to see Oregon play at my high school back in 1978 or 1979 - more than half of the audience walked out at the intermission, but it was my first live taste of improvisation - such wonder! Thanks and keep 'em coming...
I would consider Sony Roliins "The Solo Album. Victor Wooten" s " A Show of Hands" had overdubs on one or two tracks, but mostly a landmark solo bass guitar album. Quite the take on Dylan! As a fellow "muso" I have trouble separating the performance aspect of musicianship when assessing music.
As a fiddle player one must listen to MAB's solo album "No Boundries" in its entirety b4 forming an opinion on this matter. It is a benchmark by witch all guitarists must be judged.
Ludwig Wittgenstein: "A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes." Also, “Don't for heaven's sake, be afraid of talking nonsense! But you must pay attention to your nonsense.”
As I mentioned in my comment, I slogged through the Tractatus about 50 years ago, to find that his ladder was the south-end of a northbound shaggy dog joke. It took some time, but had a big impact on me.
Wonderful Video Andy. loved the inclusion of Art Tatum . Most of your picks are justifiable in my opinion. But, while Dylan’s greatness and reach are undeniably vast, I think they are not as important as you profess. I get that Robert and his mates carried Bob’s album about as a code of coolness or whatever. And I get that influence does make it important. On the west side of the pond a greater influence in the folk-blues was Howlin’ Wolf and Woody Guthrie. Woody was a White guy who lived it. He spawned from the pool of blues and folk. Dylan liked it and learned how to play it and make a career out of it. Dylan is not one of the top three most important musicians of the last century. Might be less than Michael Jackson. Frank Zappa and Miles Davis are far more important. I am not saying Dylan was not important. It’s just that ……… Folk blues drips off of Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, and Woody Guthrie. It is in their souls. Bob liked it, then learned to play it. Made a very good living out of it. Would we never have Black Sabbath or Hendrix without Dylan? What would we not have if there never was a Hendrix or Zappa. I have the utmost respect for your knowledge and opinion but Your view of Dylan is extremely exaggerated to the point of ridiculous.
I totally agree with you about Bob Dylan. He singlehandedly revolutionized popular music by destroying boundaries and introducing previously unexplored subject matter. For the longest time I couldn't listen to him because I didn't like his voice and couldn't sit through what seemed like interminable, droning songs. Also, I hated the sound of his harmonica. But slowly, over time, I learned to thoroughly enjoy him and his performances. I still don't like his harmonica playing, but now I love his voice, and think he's a much better singer than he's given credit for. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is a great and seminal album, much more so than the records preceding and following it, in my opinion. But my all-time favourite of his is Bringing It All Back Home, closely followed by Desire, Another Side of Bob Dylan and Freewheelin'. Splendid music! By the way, to the list of greatest solo album performances, I would add Innervisions by Stevie Wonder, since he wrote the songs and pretty much plays all the instruments. Cheers!
Herbie Hancock's "Dedication" (1974) is a monster solo record, all improvised, especially known for one of the first examples of using a drum/rhythm emulator (on "Nobu"). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UHO7OETPtX4.html
Oregon is a great great group, more world music fusion than Americana, I like the guitars and also the horn solos, my fave album from them is Always, Never and Forever.
Andy - I enjoy your videos. Thanks for mentioning Ralph Towner. But, you are remiss, there is not 1 woman in your list. Kind of an oversight. Can you do a ladies list? Keep up the good work.
