Xavier’s Lair

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: Charlie Parker via last.fm

This post originally appeared on my music column ‘The Crossroads’ over Dad-Blogs.com on June 26, 2009

Shortly after college I started to develop an appreciation for Jazz, the artists that laid the foundation for the art and those that continue to carry the torch. Around the same time I had dreams of owning my own night club and the idea of a laid back jazz club sounded enticing. I would sit in my little office crunching numbers, breaking down financial statements and running liquidity ratios, all the while dreaming of a sweet venue that would evoke memories of Charlie Parker and Birdland in its heyday. Sure, I had no experience running a club, no connections to book talent that would sell tickets and make drinks flow, but I didn’t care. It was my ‘Field of Dreams’ moment, and I had the name all picked out – Xavier’s Lair, the title of a Branford Marsalis composition.

Eventually I was part of a group that opened a restaurant/night club to disastrous results. It was not a jazz club, but did teach me a lesson why restaurants and bars are a bad investment. Nevertheless, my love for Jazz, in its many forms, remains and I’d like to share with you a few of my favorites:

Kind of Blue – Miles Davis

Thinking of dipping your toe into the jazz pool? By and large considered Davis’ greatest work, ‘Kind of Blue’ should be standard issue for anyone new to jazz and it never disappoints. Leading up to the recording Davis replaced two members of his sextet introducing pianist Bill Evans and drummer Jimmy Cobb. While Evans would leave the group shortly after laying the tracks for this jazz masterpiece, his effect on Davis and the music they made together was profound. Since I’m kind of a percussion junkie, one of my favorite things about this particular album is how cool of a cat Cobb was on the skins. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the return of saxophonist John Coltrane to the fold and his contributions to the effort.

Bloomington – Branford Marsalis

A live recording from earlier in Branford’s career ‘Bloomington’ features the trio of Marsalis on saxophone, Robert Hurst on bass and Jeff Watts on drums. I’m by no means a technician when it come to jazz, I just know that I enjoyed the groove they have on this disc starting with ‘Xavier’s Lair’ through the conclusion of ‘Roused About’. My favorite track, however, has to go to ‘Citizen Tain’ because it reminds me of the trip I took to New Orleans.

The Magic Hour – Wynton Marsalis

The Marsalis family should just go ahead and change their last name to Talented. It is crazy how many members are in the music business, and successful. They could be their own Jazz quintet if Wynton were to team with father Ellis (piano) and brothers Branford (saxophone), Delfeayo (trombone) and Jason (drums). This particular piece is one of his newer efforts and features Dianne Reeves on a few tracks handling vocals. An accomplished band leader, Wynton assembled a quartet for ‘The Magic Hour’ representing a departure from his larger ensemble works that are more his style.

A Show of Hands – Victor Wooten

This isn’t your traditional jazz sound since it is missing the sweet sound of brass instruments, but it is still pretty powerful to hear. What Victor can get out of bass guitar is absolutely sick. I once saw him and Steve Bailey (who plays a six string fretless bass) tear it up, just themselves and a drummer, at a workshop given at a music store where I once took lessons. Their album ‘Bass Extremes Cookbook‘ is another favorite of mine and really showcases two highly talented musicians who are at the top of their craft.

Unseen Rain – Ginger Baker

My long strange trip through the world of jazz continues with yet another unconventional selection. Baker, better known as the driving force behind British super group Cream, employs a style more reminiscent of British jazz drummers of the 50’s and 60’s rather than a pure rock drummer. In the mid nineties Baker formed the Ginger Baker Trio and released the albums ‘Falling Off the Roof‘ and ‘Going Back Home‘, both of which are solid works. Still my first exposure to Baker’s jazz catalogue was 1992’s ‘Unseen Rain’ and am amazed each time I hear ‘The Great Festival of Destruction’.

So what about you? Does jazz move you? Is it the horns, the meticulously tickled ivories or something else? I’d love to hear anything you like about the genre, including some of your favorites.

Do you have a music question for me? Is there something, or someone, you’d like me to cover? Leave a comment or drop me an email atpj@realmendriveminivans.com so I can work on it for a future article. Also, if you’re new here, consider joining Dad-Blogs and grabbing the RSS feed so you can get this and all of the other awesome columns delivered fresh directly to you. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the ride!