Music Monday: A Grab Bag of Music

I had a quiet weekend of grading and reading and for some reason didn’t listen to much music. 

I did however take some time to listen to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme which was recorded on December 9, 1964. It doesn’t need much introduction and I obviously don’t need an anniversary of its recording to motivate me to listen to it. 

I also continued to listen to some more modern “spiritual jazz” and have found myself returning to trumpeter Matthew Halsall’s Salute to the Sun (2020).

He performed it live a couple of years ago in Manchester:

It has a good, smokey, vibe to it which complements its spiritual aspirations in unexpected ways. It’ll definitely go on my late night listening list.

As an aside, Halsall runs Gondwana Records which we noted a few weeks ago on this blog for their release of the most recent Ancient Infinity Orchestra album.

Finally, I’ve been listening to the new Bill Evans release: Tales: Live in Copenhagen (1964). It’s an interesting recording largely because it features Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. I’ve never loved this trio’s work perhaps because I feel like Evans was searching for something new while at the same time trying to build rapport with Israels and Bunker (or Paul Motian). The Live in Copenhagen concert is interesting because Evans plays his usual repertoire with some enjoyable variation and probing and thoughtful accompaniment.

Like most Elemental releases, it’s tricky to find online, but you should be able to listen to parts of it via Bandcamp.