Best (& worst) jazz by non-jazz musicians

[Nate Dorward]

Interpret the parameters as you like--could stretch to anything from the Kronos 4tet to Joni Mitchell's Mingus album to Texas swing. I was interested in hearing about jazz performances by players usually identified with other genres--both the really good instances, & (ahem) any memorable train wrecks. I ask in part because I'm usually fairly leery of such things (e.g. classical musicians doing albums of jazz tunes) but every so often something good comes....

One personal favourite is Debbie Harry's work on the Jazz Passengers' Individually Twisted--a terrific cover of "Angel Eyes", for instance, & her version of the JPs' "Imitation of a Kiss" gets the nod even over Jimmy Scott's rendition on In Love. The duet with Elvis Costello on a Neal Hefti tune is also pretty darn good.

[Dmitry]

Duke's "East St. Louis Toodle Oo" by Steely Dan, from Pretzel Logic ... I'm still idiosyncratic about it.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Well, if you don't consider Western Swing to be jazz to begin with (Bird thought it was jazz.), it would be hard to beat Vol. 3 of the classic Tiffany Transcriptions, which is devoted to jazz and blues tunes by Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. Relaxed, swinging, funny, and afire with dozens of brilliant instrumental passages.

1. Basin Street Blues
2. I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)
3. Crazy Rhythm
4. Milk Cow Blues
5. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
6. Four or Five Times
7. Frankie Jean _
8. It's Your Red Wagon _ _
9. Good Man Is Hard to Find _ _
10. You Just Take Her_ _
11. Barnard Blues _ _
12. I Never Knew _
13. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
14. Take the "A" Train






The worst? It's been a long time since I've actually heard them, but my recollection is that the attempts at jazz-classical fusion by composer Claude Bolling reached depths of boredom that surpassed anything those two great musical traditions had previously reached on their own.

[Jason Bivins]

Anything by Sting, whose aspirations to "jazziness" I've always found nauseating.

[stonemonkts]

[gnhrtg]

So stonemonkts, what's the worst, then ?

[Dan G]

Short but enjoyable segment of Bill Payne's solo and the dixieland-style horns during Spanish Moon on Little Feat's live Waiting for Columbus makes me think these guys could really play jazz if they wanted to.

[Tanager]

Hank Garland's Jazz Winds from a New Direction ranks at the top of the heap for me. Simply incredible music. Agree with Jason re: Sting - what massive suckery.

[stonemonkts]

Originally posted by gnhrtg
So stonemonkts, what's the worst, then ?

Hahahahahaha. I posted Roddy for the benefit of Mr. Nagel. I suppose if one wished to torture him, all you'd need is the commercial for that piece of putrid shit. Tie the man up and force him to watch it over and over, Clockwork Orange style.

I'm sure there are far worse albums than that one, but I challenge anyone to dig one up from the past two years which rivals it.

[Pete C]

I'm very fond of Dr. John's standards albums, if he counts as a non-jazz musician.

I've never heard Charlie Watts' "Live at Fullham Town Hall," but it certainly has an interesting cast:

Jack Bruce - Cello
Evan Parker - Sax (Tenor)
Courtney Pine - Sax (Tenor)
John Stevens - Drums
Charlie Watts - Drums
Harry Beckett - Trumpet
Alan Cohen - Conductor
Jimmy Deuchar - Trumpet
Paul Rutherford - Trombone
Alan Skidmore - Sax (Tenor)
Stan Tracey - Piano
Bobby Wellins - Sax (Tenor)
Don Weller - Sax (Tenor)
Dave Green - Bass
Dave Defries - Trumpet
Ted Emmet - Trumpet
Bill Eyden - Drums
Willie Garnett - Sax (Alto)
John Huckridge - Trumpet
Peter King - Sax (Alto)
Jim Lawless - Vibraphone
Bill Le Sage - Vibraphone
Ron Matthewson - Bass
Danny Moss - Sax (Tenor)
John Picard - Trombone
Chris Pyne - Trombone
Steve Sidwell - Trumpet
Colin Smith - Trumpet
Gail Thompson - Euphonium
Olaf Vas - Clarinet, Flute
Ray Warleigh - Sax (Alto)
Annie Whitehead - Trombone

[Nate Dorward]

I think I used to play that one when I had a radio show....didn't it have "Lester Leaps In" or some other Basie/Prez tune on it, done as a tenor battle (with Evan included!)? I don't remember much about it, though. My impression was that Stevens was the "real" drummer of the band...

[Nate Dorward]

Originally posted by stonemonkts
I'm sure there are far worse albums than that one, but I challenge anyone to dig one up from the past two years which rivals it.

Don't tempt me.....


& yeah, however you classify Texas swing, Bob Wills was great. I've always been curious about his ill-fated contemporary Milton Brown (& his Brownies)--anyone heard that stuff?

Some of Lyle Lovett's stuff in this vein is OK too--there's even a Clifford Brown cover on the Large Band album (though Lyle doesn't play/sing on it). & someday I've got to track down his promo-disc duo with Blossom Dearie......

[Chris D]

It was more Louis Jordan-style at heart, but Joe Jackson's "Jumpin' Jive" was a respectable effort.

[me wag]

Terry Adams' (NRBQ) Terrible CD has to be one of the best. Of course, he may have too many real jazz credentials to count.

[Pete C]

I once saw Terry Adams do a duo concert with Marshall Allen.

[chuckyd4]

Not totally sure I'm understanding the premise here (should I have pulled a Nagel and signed off that way?), but here goes:

Best : Fela. Strikes me as a non-jazz artist playing something "jazzy." (I've made my girlfriend swear to never use that word in my presence, so she'd really enjoy seeing this thread now I'm sure)

Worst : Any saxophone playing on David Bowie's albums. Drives me up a fucking wall. Ruins otherwise perfectly good songs for me. Atrocious, and if I was allowed the chance to remix some of his classic albums, that shit would be entirely gone.

[frank m]

During WWII there was a superb classical pianist name Jose Iturbi. For reasons unknown he decided to do a boogie woogie number on record.
It is memorable for its dumb headedness.a true classic of its genre.

[hornplayer]

My favorite "Awful" Jazz by non-Jazz Artists remains "Blue Skies" by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She is a superb operatic artist who unfortunately thought she was a crossover artist! I have never forgotten that album. Nelson Riddle did the arrangements and conducted the orchestra. We laughed so hard we had to run to the bathroom! I don't imagine there are too many leftovers of that album, but if you ever see one, it's a true hoot.

[graypencil]

Best: the recent Brasilan album by Yo Yo Ma (with Paquito Rivera and several others of equal stature ) Ma really likes to take chances ..and he makes them all come off well ..

There was a duet CD with Itzak Perelman and Oscar Peterson some years ago that was also very effective ..

Worst: WE've already covered that ..and I despise him as badly as Nagel does...


( its too bad we don't have an emoticon for a rancid festering POS ..It would comr in handy in this case )

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by graypencil

Best: the recent Brasilan album by Yo Yo Ma (with Paquito Rivera and several others of equal stature ) Ma really likes to take chances ..and he makes them all come off well ..

The album has a remarkable number of top Brazilian musicians, excellent choice of repertoire (Brazilian warhorses, for the most part), and it's great that it will expose a lot of new ears to these players and tunes.

[Mike Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Pete C

The album has a remarkable number of top Brazilian musicians, excellent choice of repertoire (Brazilian warhorses, for the most part), and it's great that it will expose a lot of new ears to these players and tunes.

I don't like your attitude here Pete...all sounding WAY too kind ;-)

[Pete C]

Well, I was going to add that it does have a certain prissiness, as crossover albums by classical musicians often do, and that I'd rather hear Jacques Morelenbaum's cello in Brazilian music than Ma's, but I was trying to suppress my inner bad seed.

[Elliot]

If Carlos Santana counts as "non-jazz," I'd point to Santana's excellent cover of "In a Silent Way." (I don't know if that's on any of Santana's own albums; I have it on the "Fillmore" soundtrack album [from the closing concert of the Fillmore West].) There's also Santana's album with John McLaughlin, which works for me only in spots.

Jerry Garcia (not jazz) and David Grisman (arguably borderline jazz) did a respectable-but-not-great album of jazz tunes together ("So What," "Bag's Groove," etc.). Grisman and Martin Taylor (definitely jazz) did an excellent album of string-band jazz together.

Derek Trucks (who recently joined the Allman Brothers Band, and who is the best rock guitarist working today IMHO) did some jazz tunes on his first (pre-Allmans, Derek Trucks Band) album; I really like his versions of "Footprints" and "Mr. PC," though I can't say that his "Naima" works as well.

And I certainly second the nomination of Steely Dan's version of "East St. Louis."

As for worst, I haven't heard Ten Years After's cover of "Woodchopper's Ball" in ages, but I don't recall liking it.

[pollo loco]

Originally Posted by graypencil

There was a duet CD with Itzak Perelman and Oscar Peterson some years ago that was also very effective.

I'm a Oscar Peterson fan. That said, I can tell you that I did not like the Perelman/Peterson duo--at all. I still own that recording to remind me that my idol does indeed have clay feet!
pl

[Pete C]

The Grappelli/Menhuin duets were pretty schlocky. Menhuin had his "improvisations" composed by someone else and notated for him.

[SinginSumo]

Wonderful album (and, to these ears, the best of an impressive pop catalog):






Big thumbs-up to Pete C. in recognizing this terrific album:




********************************************************

Proof that producer Craig Street had absolutely no clue about the music or legacy of Louis Armstrong:





What stinkers these are:

[Nate Dorward]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I once saw Terry Adams do a duo concert with Marshall Allen.

Yeah I did too (a Toronto gig), but truthfully it was horrible. Allen was OK but Adams seemed to be goofing off (& under the mistaken impression that "goofing off" was easily mistaken for the work of Sun Ra or Thelonious Monk).

Incidentally I learn from Country Music: The Rough Guide that Phil Alvin of the Blasters recorded an album, Un "Sung" Stories, which includes the Sun Ra Arkestra among the personnel (as well as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band). Anyone ever hear this?

David Grisman's album with Stephane Grappelli by the way is pretty good, I remember--good version of "Pent Up House" on there for instance, though the rest of the material I recall as duller ("Satin Doll" anyone?). -- Richard Greene's Ramblin' also has a nifty bluegrass cover of Ornette Coleman's title-tune. I think Buell Neidlinger is in tow on that one.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Elliot

There's also Santana's album with John McLaughlin, which works for me only in spots.

There were two, "Love, Devotion & Surrender" and "Welcome." Both work for me in general.

Santana's "Lotus" album, a live double CD recorded in Japan in the early 70's is very much influenced by electric Miles. Leon Thomas is the vocalist. It's fun to hear him sing "Black Magic Woman."

The only opera singer who was a credible jazz singer was Eileen Farrell.

[Elliot]

Originally Posted by Pete C

There were two, "Love, Devotion & Surrender" and "Welcome." Both work for me in general.

Santana's "Lotus" album, a live double CD recorded in Japan in the early 70's is very much influenced by electric Miles. Leon Thomas is the vocalist. It's fun to hear him sing "Black Magic Woman."

I was thinking of "Love, Devotion, Surrender."

"Lotus" is also an excellent album. I'm not familiar with "Welcome."

[DTMX]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I've never heard Charlie Watts' "Live at Fullham Town Hall," but it certainly has an interesting cast:

Evan Parker - Sax (Tenor)
John Stevens - Drums
Paul Rutherford - Trombone
etc...

What - no Derek Bailey on guitar?