Music Monday: A Summertime Rut

I’m in a bit of a music rut this summer. It’s not that I haven’t heard some great music. It’s more that I haven’t had the energy to really listen to music lately. 

That said, I’ve been enjoying a few albums this summer that I figure I should share.

First, I’ve been listening to King Curtis’s live masterpiece: Live at the Filmore West (1971). There are few performances (even counting “serious jazz”) that are as exciting as Curtis and his band (plus the Memphis Horns) playing “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and then ripping into Zeppelin’s  “Whole Lotta Love.” I’ve not listened to the complete recordings which includes Curtis’s support of Aretha Franklin at the same show, but it’s now on the list.

This summer, I read some of Stanley Crouch’s grumpy-ass essays on jazz music. Generally, as a fellow grump, I enjoyed them and I particularly appreciated his praise of David Murray. This led me to listen to his 1980 album Ming which he performs with his octet (and which features Henry Threadgill on alto). 

Here’s the title track: 

(By the way, you know I wouldn’t let the great Albert Ayler’s birthday pass without mention. As a celebration of his life and legacy, here’s David Murray’s epic tribute, Flowers for Albert. [1976].)

Finally, I have a soft spot for solo instrumental jazz. Maybe it’s because it makes you listen rather than just hear the music. Maybe it’s because I imagine the courage needed to perform on one’s own without accompaniment. Maybe it’s because these albums tend to be recorded very carefully.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been enjoying trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s Beauty is Enough (2023).

I have a few more albums that I’ve enjoyed this summer and I’ll share them next Monday (assuming, of course, that I can’t muster the discipline to stay focused on what I should be doing)!