Southern Jazz Music

Ellington -- meets Blakey and his Messengers -- meets the Miles Smiles Quintet -- distilled via the excellent early nineties sextet of the grand eminence and standard bearer of jazz, Mr. Marsalis. Thoroughly satisfying composition and ensemble work throughout, highlighted in my opinion by the Todd Williams penned "In the House of Williams" which would make a dead jazz lover shout!

Mr. Marsalis seems to elicit polar reactions from critics and the public. Musically speaking, Marsalis is the truth. End of discussion.

He's supremely talented. He's done his homework -- and then some. He is the direct linkage to, descendent from, and obvious heir of the most serious, talented and prolific progenitors of this American popular and classical artform.

Marsalis is no gimmick, fad or one trick pony. His vision is wide; his accumulated knowledge and studied understanding of his chosen artform runs deep. He is a preeminent instrumentalist, composer and ensemble leader. He is a musical and cultural intellectual. History will assuredly prove his critics both shortsighted and tasteless.

Armstrong, Ellington, Bird, Monk, Miles, Trane, Marsalis? Who else in the last twenty years has come close to responsibly assuming any part of this mantle?

Better ask somebody, or better yet listen for yourself -- then get on board, or get left behind.

If you haven't already, especially for those who feel Marsalis belabors traditionalism, don't sleep on his Citi Movement or The Marciac Suite.

And, don't be afraid of beauty.

I recently picked up this recording, and already am wondering what took me so long. I have over twenty Marsalis recordings and think I stayed away from his "Soul Gestures" series so long becuase of bad critical reviews that I'd read and been influenced by. Shows what they know because this album is full of startlingly beautiful blues and swing. I can see why someone might dismiss this album after only one listen, which is what I imagine most critics rely on for their views, becuase the album's five tracks have similar tempos and feelings that could cause a casual listener to become bored or disenchanted with the recording. But keep playing this one because its beauty unfolds like the best art does, slowly, improving with each new listen. Some find Marsalis to be a complacent composer, throwing out whatever comes into his head and passing it off for tunes, but they're missing the point entirely. Read the linear notes. Read Marsalis' own books, and for God's sake, listen well to his recordings, and you'll find that he's way too smart and way too talented to release anything that isn't full of structure and careful planning. This, if anything, is the one drawback to some of Wynton's recordings--they're almost too planned out. But that feeling takes a distant back seat to the joy that comes through in his best recordings, of which Levee Low Moan is one.
Marsalis and his partners, including Marcus Robers, piano, Reginad Veal, bass, Herlin Riley, drums, Wess Anderson, alto, and Todd Williams, tenor and soprano, are so locked into the grooves on this five tunes, that it's almost scary. They have such a deep respect for the groove and never try to push these numbers too far for the sake of a cheap thrill or a flurry of notes that they could easily execute but would cheapen the chosen tempos and feelings. Like Stevie Ray Vaughan learned and spoke about, a slow blues is a lot harder to play than a fast one, even though it sounds like the opposite would be true.
Check out the other nice reviews that folks have written about his gem and do what they recommend, pick it up, put it on repeat and relax into this one. Glorious.

Put on some headphones and set this cd on repeat. I loved Jmood and Black Codes, but this is the Wynton that I love. Easily my favorite album of all time and I love everything from Prince, to Marilyn Manson, to Swedish Komeda, and Miles. I have turned many people onto this disc, especially horn players of all walks who are just blown away by this.

What are you waiting for; find out what it's all about.

I purchased this CD largely due to the other Amazon reviews. I own more than ten Marsalis recordings and this is by far the best, probably in my entire music collection. All five songs are excellent. It is the most relaxing, well though-out album ever. Not one musician misses a note, and the balance of the instruments is perfect. It is a better representation of jazz than other Marsalis recordings because the trumpet playing is excellent, yet every other instrument is given just as much time in the songs and is played with just as much skill. 5 stars.

I never could understand why most critics believe Wynton Marsalis took a huge step back with his "Soul Gestures In Southern Blue" recordings. I am even more baffled on as to why they consider this installment (vol 3) to be the weakest of the series. I personally believe "Levee Low Moan" is one of Wynton's finest, and I think it is a much more solid entry than "Joe Cool's Blues", any of his "Standard Time" recordings, and even "Black Codes".

ALL of the songs on this album are memorable. There is some serious swinging on the title track and a MUCH improved version of "So This Is Jazz, Huh?" Perhaps the crown jewel of this album is "Superb Starling": an odd-metered beauty of a ballad featuring beautiful lyricism and a smoldering saxophone duel that will make you fall in love with jazz all over again. The album overall also includes some beautiful piano work, courtesy of Marcus Roberts.

"Levee Low Moan" is easily Marsalis's most overlooked and most underappreciated album. Give this album a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Carmen McRae live, and at her very best...

ABSOLUTLY AWESOME

Belongs in every jazz collectors music library

A MUST HAVE

(Note: this CD is really titled "Live at Bubba's," not "Budda's" as listed here on Amazon.)

They say the older the grape, the sweeter the wine, and such is the case with Carmen McRae. It doesn't seem possible that any one singer could become any more better with age than Carmen McRae, and this album proves it. She inhabits a song like no other singer in history. Her virtuosity as a musician is front and center at this live and intimate show, where she reinvents traditional and contemporary songs into their absolute definitive versions. Take "New York State of Mind" or "Send in the Clowns" for example. I personally have never liked "Send in the Clowns" ever, until I heard Carmen sing it here. It's amazing, simply amazing, what she does with this tune. And the same can be said for every tune in this set. But the absolute high point on this CD is the luscious, melancholy and exquisite "My Foolish Heart." If this doesn't move you to tears, nothing will.... it's one of the great jazz vocal performances of all time. "How Long Has this Been Going On" is another definitive moment in music history available right here on this CD.

Don't hesitate in purchasing this superlative work of art. This is Carmen McRae at her absolute best.

This album is a wonderful Mcrae performance. She tackled standard material and current material. She is esepcially wonderful on Stevie Wonder's "Superwoman" and Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind". Carmen more than any other jazz singer consistently appreciated current songwriters with wonderful lyrics. She translates music from any genre into the jazz idiom with ease. Her "Send in the Clowns" is great and so is my "Secret Love". What's the best bet for jazz lovers? Carmen Mcrae !!

NO EXISTE EL SOUL,,,,NI UN SAXO COMO EL DE KING KURTIS,,,COMO UN HENDRIX CUALQUIERA,,,,,,SOLO DESPRENDE UNA ENERGIA,,,,,QUE NO SE VOLVERA A SENTIR NUNCA,,,SOLO A TRAVES DE GTANDES DISCOS EN VIVO COMO ESTE

Six months after this recording was made, `King' Curtis Ousley would be stabbed to death while standing in front of his New York City apartment building. This tragic violence brought a premature close to a career that had recently projected to new heights, and seemed poised to go just about anywhere. Active since the early fifties, King Curtis moved easily from jazz to soul to rock and roll. To put things in perspective, you should know that when Sam Cooke sings "Play that one called `Soul Twist'" in "Having a Party," he's referring to a King Curtis tune. The man was ubiquitous, but usually stayed behind the scenes, serving as a bandleader, producer or back-up musician for an endless number of performers, including the Coasters, the Isley Brothers, Bobby Darin and John Lennon. In 1971, he was acting as bandleader for Aretha Franklin (see my review for "Aretha Franklin Live at the Fillmore West") and racking up a few hits of his own. "King Curtis Live at the Fillmore West" culls the highlights from his own sets at this venue, and it also marks a high point of his recording career.
The band alone justifies the price of admission. Billy Preston plays keyboards and Cornell Dupree plays guitar, while Jerry Jemmott and Bernard Purdie make up the rhythm section. Fattening out the rich sound of Curtis' own baritone saxophone are the Memphis Horns, making this ensemble a dream team of funky soul-music brethren. Even when the material is lacking, the band manages to transcend mundanity with spirited interpretations. Would you expect "Ode to Billie Joe" to have a fatback groove? I wouldn't have. Could you even imagine a baritone sax handling Robert Plant's vocal line for "Whole Lotta Love"? I didn't think so. This version in particular brings the song full circle, taking it closer to its roots as a Willie Dixon composition. The best tune here, though, is "Memphis Soul Stew," a gorgeous eight-minute rhythmic workout that virtually defines the funky/loose and yet stop-on-a-dime/tight spirit of contemporary soul music. It is a virtual primer in everything anyone would need to know about cooking up a hot rhythm and letting it simmer until it boils over with intense energy. Throw in a bonus track that features Billy Preston molding "My Sweet Lord" into something uniquely his own, and you will have to wonder how on Earth anybody could claim George Harrison's composition as a derivative of "He's So Fine."
King Curtis had a lengthy career, but it still ended much too soon. Catch this set and you're also bound to wonder how soul music would have progressed had we not lost such a talented force at the peak of his powers. A- Tom Ryan

The late 60s and early 70s gave us many music acts "Live at the Fillmore," a sign that the act had really arrived. By today's standards, the recordings were raw and, at their best, authentic to the sound and feel of the time.

King Curtis "Live at the Fillmore" is a satisfying mix of instrumental soul, R&B that combines the smooth melody of cuts like "A Lighter Shade of Pale" with some funky R&B (Memphis Soul Stew and others). While not every cut works (Led Zeppelin's A whole Loota Love), the CD shows a consistet level of musicianship and is a great sample of the musical experiments and fusion of the era.

From the moment I put on this recording, I was captivated. Six minutes into 'Memphis Soul Stew' listners are treated to an explosion of sound that wraps up in it the genres of soul, rock, jazz, and most likely some unearthly sound millions of light years away. From beginning to end, King Curtis and the incredible musicians brought together on this recording groove and interact in a manner that few bands achieve. If you own three live recordings in your life, this should be .333333.

As in the very best. King Curtis and everyone here cooks up the finest Memphis Soul Stew. Whiter Shade of Pale is lovely. Everything surges with a funky pull. Billy Preston shines on organ, but the others rise to the occasion too. If you like soul, get this, you'll love it.

How can I be the first person to rate this masterpiece of funk soul perfection? If this album was any funkier you'd have to build a whole new universe just to hold it all. The heaviest funk band ever assembled. Period. Billy Preston, Bernard Purdy,
Cornell Dupry, Jerald Jermott, Groover Thomas, Pancho Morales, and the Memphis Horns HAVE MERCY!! If you have ANY soul at all you should have this album. If you have no soul you NEED this album. Look out for Curtis's version of "Whiter Shader of Pale" it will leave you breathless and in tears. In the words of a man in the audience(listen close and you'll hear him) "Well go ahead and play it then!" Billy Preston follows Curtis's first solo with THE most stunning organ solo EVER played. Billy goes on to ride that Hammond B-3 like a wild bull on "Them Changes" and the
Memphis Horns define the words Turn This Motha OUT! Sheer funk genius. Buy it. NOW! DO IT!

Great bit of recorded music history, showing how great the Dixie Dregs were. Fabulous musicianship, great tunes, and a hilarious reminder of the clothing styles of the 70's and 80's. It was nice seeing Allen Sloan ripping it up on violin.

This is an amazing DVD of the Dixie Dregs at their peak! Both sound and picture has been remastered/restored. A great performance from one of the greatest and under appreciated band ever. Now if only they would release the Sea Level performance from the same show.

It's the Dregs.......what else needs to be said. Of course the sound is not quite what you get with a current performance today but it's decent and the performance, well......again, it's the Dixie Dregs. What more do you need to know. It's worth the money just to see Steve Morse and Rod Morgenstein so young. Rod looks like a "caveman" in this performance.

If you don't know who the Dixie Dregs are and have never heard them then do yourself a favor if you have any appreciation at all for mesmerizing musicianship and buy this DVD!

Considering when it was shot, it turned out well. What a great band! I really enjoyed seeing them from back in the day. I hadn't even heard of the band till 1986. That's my 2 cents.

If you actually need a review of this band and you have a question about this CD/DVD then you haven't heard their music ...It's Steve Morse...... in his younger days.... Even then, one of the best lead players ever!.... Nuff said.....

Great bit of recorded music history, showing how great the Dixie Dregs were. Fabulous musicianship, great tunes, and a hilarious reminder of the clothing styles of the 70's and 80's. It was nice seeing Allen Sloan ripping it up on violin.

This is an amazing DVD of the Dixie Dregs at their peak! Both sound and picture has been remastered/restored. A great performance from one of the greatest and under appreciated band ever. Now if only they would release the Sea Level performance from the same show.

It's the Dregs.......what else needs to be said. Of course the sound is not quite what you get with a current performance today but it's decent and the performance, well......again, it's the Dixie Dregs. What more do you need to know. It's worth the money just to see Steve Morse and Rod Morgenstein so young. Rod looks like a "caveman" in this performance.

If you don't know who the Dixie Dregs are and have never heard them then do yourself a favor if you have any appreciation at all for mesmerizing musicianship and buy this DVD!

Considering when it was shot, it turned out well. What a great band! I really enjoyed seeing them from back in the day. I hadn't even heard of the band till 1986. That's my 2 cents.

If you actually need a review of this band and you have a question about this CD/DVD then you haven't heard their music ...It's Steve Morse...... in his younger days.... Even then, one of the best lead players ever!.... Nuff said.....