Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical What Are You Currently Listening To?

There are so many different people here from all over the world. So, I think it would be fun to start a discussion.

What are you currently listening to these days?

I'll start....

1.Barry Harris "Live At The Jazz Workshop"

2.Percy Hill "After All"

3. Brad Mehldau "Ode"

Bieber's Greatest Hits...

Steve,

Although it has been around forever, I just picked up a copy of McCoy Tyner's ILLUMINATIONS. Nobody, but NOBODY, builds up a head of steam like Tyner!

I keep returning to Jimmy McNeely's solo work. Absolutely masterful!

Alberto has reminded me of Cecil Taylor, and I continue to TRY to get a handle on his work. So far, minimal success.

Nice topic. Anxious to hear about others . . .
Ed

Well, Steve, I guess that either
(a) We are the only two who are listening to anyone else, OR
(b) Everyone else is so occupied listening that they have no time to post.

I have been listening to Johnny Costa's recording "Fleet Fingers." I know it's sacrilegious (so I'm told) to mention anyone in the same breath as Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, but Tatum himself called Johnny the "White Tatum." That's pretty fair company to keep. I grieved when Johnny passed away a few years ago. Of course, like many, I grew up listening to him on "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood," and Johnny was right--he was actually exposing kids to a higher form of music. I do believe that show was as educational regarding music as anything else they did.

Hugh,

Is that Costa's FLYING FINGERS album, or something else?

Thanks,
Ed

What a great thread -- I'm always looking for new listening, and PW posts have turned me on to many recordings. I learned about three that are currently on my iPod at the moment, in fact, from PW posts:
Bill Evans on Mariane McPartland's Piano Jazz -- for Bill's insights and to hear how two great pianists make room for each other during duets
Mark Copland (tracks from Night Whispers and Alone) -- compelling harmony
and the Alan Broadbent Trio (Pacific Standard Time) -- strong swing and clever and assured piano playing.
I look forward to discovering more wonderful music through this thread.

I'm also listening to
Joshua Redman on James Farm -- something that makes me feel tuned in to the modern jazz scene
and various tracks from Bud Powell, who I can never seem to get enough of. Hearing his lines is like scratching the itch that I thought I couldn't reach.

I love a young artist called Birdie and she covers a song called Skinny Love. I like the arrangement and key of this to play on the piano.

McCoy Tyner - Blue Bossa. A recent purchase, and now one of my favorite McCoy CDs. Claudio Roditti plays a very lyrical trumpet/fluglehorn on several tracks, and McCoy also uses a conga player on several tracks. I really like the piano conga combination, which is best heard on Michel Camilo's Mano a Mano. Camilo, one of the best Latin players on the scene today, uses a trio that has bass (the recently deceased Flores) and conga (Giovani Hidalgo) instead of drums.

Oops, Ed, you are right--it is "Flying Fingers," not "Fleet Fingers." Are you a Costa fan as well?

Hi Hugh,

I have only knowingly heard him on one tune, a long time ago, but now that you have reminded me, I will pick up that Flying Fingers album as soon as I see it.

I, too, have a 1920s Knabe Grand (a Parlor Grand in my case), and absolutely love it!

Ed

Have Keane's Strangeland on repeat. My faves are:

Disconnected
The Starting Line
Sea Fog

Neon River has an awesome piano riff at 2:58.

Day Will Come is my song of the moment.

Hi Elizabeth,

Are you aware that this Keane character sings FLAT on every, single piece? (Well, all that I could stand to listen to . . .)
At first I thought it was just the digital delay that was set "too wide", but that would make him sound sharp an equal amount of the time. On another, I thought he might be having trouble hearing in that particular hall. Then I ran out of excuses for him . . .

Apologies to Steve: I know that critique was not your intent.

If really listening is the goal, then we need to choose carefully.
Ed

I wrote 120 piano rags in 2009 and I spend a lot of time listening to them actually. I can pm the link to anyone who is interested.

Aside from that I have a large cache of opera cds at work that I listen to sometimes.

Besides my usual Eddie Higgins, Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan listening, I've been on an Oscar Peterson kick lately.

I got the Oscar Peterson Berlin Concert recently:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Berlin-Co...r=8-1&keywords=oscar+peterson+berlin

And it's inspiring to watch his technique. I also watched this documentary on Peterson:



I used to "shun" him because he is so fast and far beyond anything I could ever do. That's still true, but I can still learn a lot from him.

I've been falling-in love-all-over-again with the Duke Ellington Blanton-Webster band - thanks to the Never no lament 3-cd package.

These are recordings from the early 1940's in a remastering job that was probably done about 10 years ago. I've owned the previous cd incarnation from the 1980's - and before that, many of the tracks on LP. But this more recent set sounds unmuffled and revelatory. I get goosebumps.

I'm also really enjoying the new Ravi Coltrane disc - one of the few instances where I agree with the 'critics.' And on the pop side, I like Mumford and Sons - they're kind of like a cross between The Pogues and Arcade Fire.

I am a big fan of the Blue Note catalog, so you can put me down for just about anything recorded around 50 years ago. I especially love the hard bop sound.

However, lately I've been listening a lot to something else... I've had the 5 disc set of Shelley Manne and His Men at the Black Hawk on shuffle and never grow tired. Victor Feldman, Richie Kamuca, Joe Gordon, all of these musicians are in top form. A very enjoyable recording.

Frankie Beverly and Maze - good old 80's funk.

Back in Stride Again

Morris Day & Original 7ven

Cadillac

we're working some of this up. It's really fun.

I've been listening to a lot of Bill Carrothers, both After Hours, vol. 4 and The Electric Bill
He and Bill Stewart are just ridiculous - I can't imagine a better duo in terms of energy.

Also Luciana Souza's Neruda album - amazing.

Bill Evans with Jim Hall
"Undercurrent"

I could be perfectly happy to set my iPod looping the 16 minutes of "Romain", "Skating in Central Park" and "Darn That Dream" from now until dinner time. Great music to work by.

But after lunch I'll probably switch to the Jimmy Giuffre/Jim Hall "Complete Studio Recordings".