Music Monday: Oliver Nelson, Houston Preston, and Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quartet

I finally found some time to catch up on music over the holiday week and long weekend.Since the mood was pretty upbeat and social, I didn’t spend much time listening to heavy, abstract, or challenging music.

For example, I took a deeper dive into Oliver Nelson’s discography. I knew him from his iconic album The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961) which is a long time favorite in my household (even the campy-ish “Hoe-Down”). The line-up alone: Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Chambers, Roy Haynes, and, of course Oliver Nelson. (It’s also on of Creed Taylor’s last albums with Impulse!) It’s just so good:

Nelson also recorded some other lovely albums around the same time. For example, I found Nocturne (1960) and Taking Care of Business (1960) with vibe player Lem Winchester to be pretty great. I have a soft spot for Lem Winchester because he grew up in Delaware and was the son of William J. Winchester, the first African American in the Delaware state house. 

Check them out: 

Taking Care of Business includes Johnny “Hammond” Smith on organ and Nelson seemed to show a particular affinity for playing with organ players. Check out his sound on Philadelphia organist Shirley Scott’s Blue Seven (1961) which Nelson records with Shirley Scott

The Oliver Nelson albums that I noted above dance the line between hard bop and early soul jazz. They’re great albums to listen to while relaxing at the holidays or entertaining guests. Soul jazz is just great at the holidays and I’ve particularly enjoyed some Houston Person especially his Houston Express (1971). The performers are veritable who’s who of late 1960s soul jazz and while I couldn’t find the entire album, you can get a sense for it from the opening track: 

His 1968 album, Blue Odyssey, is another great example of interesting late-1960s soul jazz that also features another great ensemble: 

If all I do is post early 1960s hard bop and soul jazz, some of my friends will get on me for going soft (I can’t help it, I just love this stuff). I did a bit of work on a book this weekend and I listened to Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quartet, Hear the Light Singing. I can’t share the album because it JUST came out and Rogue Art (otherwise a wonderful French music label) doesn’t do a great job sharing their music online (they don’t even stream their stuff), but you can check it out here on Bandcamp.