Nathan Mitchell Gentle And Smooth

Joni Mitchell reached her commercial high point with Court and Spark, a remarkably deft fusion of folk, pop, and jazz which stands as her best-selling work to date. While as unified and insightful as Blue, the album – a concept record exploring the roles of honesty and trust in relationships, romantic and otherwise – moves away from confessional songwriting into evocative character studies: the hit "Free Man in Paris," written about David Geffen, is a not-so-subtle dig at the machinations of the music industry, while "Raised on Robbery" offers an acutely funny look at the predatory environment of the singles bar scene. Much of Court and Spark is devoted to wary love songs: both the title cut and "Help Me," the record's most successful single, carefully measure the risks of romance, while "People's Parties" and "The Same Situation" are fraught with worry and self-doubt (standing in direct opposition to the music, which is smart, smooth, and assured from the first note to the last).

For those of you who recall Bobby's late '70's work, this will be a pleasant surprise. In my opinion, an artist who can play all genre's of jazz is truly a jazz musician. And that is what Mr. Lyle does here. Sraight ahead, a little "fusion" if you will, and then todays "smooth" jazz. Then add a little Jobim for a beautiful rendition of "Wave." Listen closely to his improvisation over the changes. Thank you, Mr. Bobby Lyle.

Recorded live in Burghausen, Germany in 2007, Far Side features journeyman avant-garde saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and his ensemble the Note Factory performing in a concert. Joining Mitchell here are trumpeter Corey Wilkes, pianists Craig Taborn and Vijay Iyer, bassists Jaribu Shahid and Harrison Bankhead, and drummers Tani Tabbal and Vincent Davis. Beginning with the epic three-part 30-minute suite "Far Side/Cards/Far Side," the concert is an atmospheric and cinematic mix of Mitchell's longstanding musical touchstones including free jazz, European classical music, and modern creative group improvisation. Tracks such as the fragmented and atonal "Quintet 2007 A for Eight" and the similarly inclined "Trio Four for Eight" have the feel of composed classical music while evincing a more freely improvised aesthetic. This is often achieved by juxtaposing bowed cello and bass parts against improvised piano and sections where each musician seems to interject a melodic idea into an overall harmonic theme. There are moments of layered percussion, expansive atonal soundscapes, and fiery and combative moments between Mitchell and Wilkes as well as windy, drawn-out passages that tilt upon silence. If you're a hardcore Mitchell aficionado and/or fan of ECM's cerebral jazz catalog, Far Side would be a stellar addition to your library.

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years 1963-1967 fills in an important chapter that heretofore has gone undocumented through in her official discography: her formative years as a folkie, playing intimate venues and radio stations while recording the occasional demo or gift tape at home…

Roscoe Mitchell and George Lewis first met in the summer of 1971 on Chicago’s South Side, where both musicians were born and raised. Mitchell and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, had just returned to the South Side after a two-year sojourn in Europe, and Lewis was back home too, taking a break from his undergraduate studies at Yale. Since then, they collaborated very regularly, pushing each time the limits of the possible in music. This album, the latest chapter of a creative partnership spanning five decades, is a major step in their collaboration and is thus much more than just the sum of the immense talent of each of them. Recorded live … at CTM Festival on February 2nd 2018 at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany.