I read this article about the Muhammad/Younge-produced Jazz is Dead series -- it's a good read, focusing more on the recent Gary Bartz record but touching on the series as a whole. There are now five dedicated albums plus the anthology with which the series launched:
Jazz is Dead 001 (Anthology) Roy Ayers Marcos Valle Azymuth Doug Carn Gary Bartz
I'll come back in a bit and rank these after giving each another listen or check-in, but all of these have stayed in fairly relative rotation since their relase for me. That new Bartz release might be my favorite of the bunch though.
Anyhow, any thoughts about the series so far? What have been your favorite entries? Least favorite? Disappointments?
1. "I've got all of them on vinyl..." In response to Reply # 0
Pre-ordered the Donato about a month ago.The anthology seemed to pick more of the better tracks from each release of course. Matter of fact, it was one of my favorite releases.
My favorite so far is Gary Bartz or Doug Carn...depends on the day. I was somewhat surprised at how good the Gary Bartz release sounded. I'm biased because he's one of my favs.
I was disappointed in the Roy Ayers release. I was expecting a bit more of his sound. There are flashes of it but its drenched too much in that Younge sound (not taking anything away from him tho). I'm really interested in the Brian Jackson release coming up.
"When I'm on the mic, a nigga throw down his blunt just to hear what we say...up in this bitch..."-Baatin
2. "RE: I've got all of them on vinyl..." In response to Reply # 1
Nice -- how's the vinyl quality? I might go back and try and pick these up if they're still available -- it would be nice to have as a set. I noticed they were running some sort of subscription thing through their website -- price didn't look too bad either.
>I was disappointed in the Roy Ayers release. I was expecting a >bit more of his sound. There are flashes of it but its >drenched too much in that Younge sound (not taking anything >away from him tho). I'm really interested in the Brian Jackson >release coming up.
I think this is my biggest issue with the series and I'm still not sure how I feel about it overall. They've definitely established a sound for the series - very much in Younge's general vein - and at times it does feel like it almost overshadows the style and feel of the lead.
But I'm actually going back this week and listening to each release and a few of each artist's older releases -- using it to dig into stuff I love and haven't listened to in a while as well as stuff that's more new to me. Maybe I'll feel differently listening to the records in the context of each artist's larger discography.
6. "damn, now i want to go look for that" In response to Reply # 4
Good to see you man. Haven't heard that record but there was an interesting solo piano jazz-ish take on the Dead last year, Holly Bowling's "Seeking All That's Still Unsung" -- I really liked that one. (Apparently she's exceptional live.)
Like Wordsmith said, the JID series is from Adrian Younge/Ali Shaheed and pairs them with mostly jazz musicians. It's been a fun series to watch unfold even if the results (imo) are a bit uneven.
7. "Additions since JID007 (Joao Donato)" In response to Reply # 0
Since the Joao release, there's been:
Brian Jackson - JID008 Instrumentals - JID009 Remixes - JID010
Just putting this here because I lost track of the series a bit and only *just* realized the Remixes comp had come out. It includes remixes by Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pink Siifu, Kaidi Tatham, and quite a few others. (Haven't listened yet but good lineup)
JID 011 - sampler of forthcoming tracks (kind of like 001) JID 012 - Jean Carn JID 013 - Katalyst JID 014 - Henry Franklin JID 015 - Garrett Saracho JID 016 - Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison Forthcoming: JID 017 - Lonnie Liston Smith
Some general thoughts: The Carn album is *awesome* imo (but probably not for everyone)
The Katalyst album is really nice and gives a bit of insight into the consistent sound across the records, have played quite a bit
Need to listen to the Franklin and Saracho records more but liked both a lot on first listen
The Ranelin/Harrison record is really good, listening now and it inspired me to make this post. I have only listened straight through once or twice but every time a track comes up on my shuffle, I have stopped and paid attention -- good sign.
Is it just me or is this latest record mixed better than the others? The drums are killing me in a good way.
I have been a little critical of these records but I feel like this last stretch was exceptional. Has even pushed me to look past the continued abuse of the wah wah guitar, lol. Good stuff all around and more personality than some of the earlier records (imo)
9. "2023 releases were..." In response to Reply # 8
>JID 016 - Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison >JID 017 - Lonnie Liston Smith
And JID 018, Tony Allen.
The Tony Allen record was (imo) pretty snooze and unnecessary.
The other two are some of the best in the series so far.
Cuts for days on that Ranelin/Harrison record: * Ursa Major * Running with the Tribe * Metropolis Blues
Really the whole thing.
I've tried to stop thinking of these as records by the featured artist, and instead as Younge/ASM records with a guest soloist. I still wish they felt more individual between artists, but we're still getting a lot of good stuff out of the run.
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