Mark Whitfield [7th Ave Stroll]

This disc is getting lots of exposure in my Blog, [7th January 2010 / 9th November 2011 / 24th August 2012], it's my most favourite Guitar Jazz disc i have, initially i thought it was a bit low key, now i notice all the vibes going on by the quartet, in fact there are two separate quartets rotating throughout this disc, an older crew, and a younger, and it seems to be the mature guys that get to the heart of things here, rather than slowing down as they get older, they have a tendency to get more intense, they use silences to speak rather than just sounds, one note can speak a whole sentence, there's a deeper cleverness going on here, it's one of the best Jazz discs i've ever bought.

Mark Whifield is American, he's now 48, this was one of his albums from his middle period back in 1995, the photography throughout the whole booklet is excellent [by Kwaku Alston], the front cover shows Whitfield in New york i guess, at night, long exposure shot, black & white, yet the lettering is in red, i really like it.

Well the tracks i liked the most were 2-3, 7 & 9, and i would like to give a synopsis on the very best two of these, 7 & 9, they both have the same quartet, Tommy Flanagan = Piano / Dave Holland = Bass / Al Foster = Drums,
7 Sunday In New York [5:38] - Except this one misses Flanagan, it starts with Holland laying down a really grooving bass vibe, and Al Foster adds cymbals and a tic tok rhythm [0:08+], Whitfield plays over this drum and bass undercurrent [0:17+], and it quickly develops a real intensity, there's lots of swing in there too, you can hear Foster moaning in the background, Holland gets to solo, and Fosters work over him is really clever, love the way that Whitfield comes back in with the return of the tube [5:00+], what a trio!.
9 Sunset At Waterside [6:23] - This is my favourite track on the album, it's a simple tune really, played straight and easy, Whitfield comes in with the guitar from the offset, it's the most gorgeous tune, Foster lays the most superb groove to the thing, using brushes and sticks, his drumming is something to truly marvel, no robotic beat here, he goes all over the place in invention, constantly chopping and changing to suit the mood of the moment, one of the greatest Jazz Drummers ever, after playing the 'theme' [0:00-1:34], Whitfield starts playing variations, Flanagan then comes in to give his solo [3:07-3:57], he's no hundred notes a second Pianist, but rather very clever, i love the way at the start he plays a little phrase, and then lets the bass finish it off!, and when he comes back in it's a moment to treasure, it's almost a shame when he lets Holland do a solo, as i would have loved to hear more of his ideas, again it's a lovely moment when Whitfield comes back in with the opening theme [4:34+], a fantastic 6-7 minutes of Jazz. 

You can listen to samples on the AllMusic website.

Ron Affif [52nd Street] 

The 52nd Jazz disc in my Blog so far, and very appropriate considering the title of the album, Jazz discs appear roughly every 22 days, still quite a phenomenal minority, i now own 71 Jazz discs, and even though i bought my first Jazz album back in 1992 [20 years ago!], yet still Jazz seems to be stuck in its infancy in my life, a good Jazz album is hard to come by, i used to own 140 discs at one point, but i purged a lot of the dross, Affif falls into a genre of Jazz which is not as popular as the main two, horn based [saxophone / trumpet], and keyboards [mainly piano], also Jazz Guitar can veer towards the 'smooth' Jazz end of the spectrum, a genre that i've never warmed to, but Affif gets over any soulful doodlings of the smooth Jazz brigade, and certainly a Trio is harder to pull off, and he succeeds wonderfully.

Ron Affif is American, he's now 47, not a lot of albums to his name, this is the third album out of five, and quite possibly he's stopped recording since 1999, this album came out in 1996, the front cover shot [photo by Steve Maruta] is a nice portrait of Affif, nice and sharp, with guitar in hand, a red background which is aglow right behind him, i like colours, and the idea to put the lettering in green bands is inspired, along with the blue shirt, it makes a pleasing colourful front cover.

The tracks which i found really compelling were 1, 5, 7-8 & 10, with the very first track a superb gem [Bohemia After Dark], it's head and shoulders above everything else, 

Mark Whitfield [7th Ave Stroll] 

This is the third time that this disc has appeared in my Blog [9th November 2011 & 7th January 2010], so basically a good once a year thing, Guitar Jazz is usually not my thing, it seems that a plethora of Jazz Guitarists skirt on the very edge of Jazz [George Benson, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Ronny Jordan etc], either veering into Rock, World Music, or Fusion, it's hard to find a player that keeps to the pure Jazz tradition, so it's good to hear Whitfield on this recording, working two distinctive Quartets, i bought this disc upstairs in a bargain attic in Notting Hill Gate in London for £2, a bargain then, but more reasonable on Ebay today, it was so good to get out of the 'norm' of musical circles, and delve into some Jazz today. 

Mark Whitfield is American, he is now 45, he made this record in 1995, the photography throughout is excellent [by Kwaku Alston], the front cover is a black & white picture at night in New York i take it, using a long shutter speed, but also using flash too, therefore you can see movement in the background, the vehicle passing, and the ghosting legs of those behind him, the red of the name lettering adds a burst of colour, in a way similar to yesterdays black & white image with red writing, i like the finished product, it's great visually, as well as musically.

There's so much good music on this disc, tracks 2, 7 & 9 were the very best, with track 9 'Sunset At Waterside' the real gem of the whole pack, Whitfield isn't a Hard Bopper, this is quite a gentle track, he works with two different Piano Trios on this disc, a younger Trio, and an older Trio, here on this track he's working with the men of mature experience, Tommy Flanagan = piano, Dave Holland = bass, and Al Foster = drums, the tune is a Whitfield original, the three oldies are quite happy to stay in the shadows [at least initially], the tune is brilliant, so memorable, Whitfield plays it with such an upbeat funky straightness [0:00-0:55], the 'verse' is played twice, before the 'chorus' comes in [0:56-1:08], and this is where subtly the thing begins to take off, the drummer Foster gets a bit more complicated, you can hear him thinking, he tightens the screws very nicely, and the thing is rounded out with a third verse [1:09-1:34], then comes the more BeBop 'variations' [1:34+], i just love the way Whitfield takes it to the next swinging level [2:01+], you can hear i believe Foster in the background really letting go with his vocalise, superb drumming too, and then the time is turned over to Flanagan [3:08-3:57], the start is so excellent, a slight shock to this system as he's been so reticent up until now, there's a wonderful moment where he hesitates and bassist Holland seems to be starting a tag with him, that would of been absolutely great, and after the hesitation he just rolls straight in again [3:13], it's a superb moment, but i think a 'mistake', the bassist does get a solo later, it's wonderful to hear the opening tune come back in its full glory with Whitfield [4:34+], the chorus again is so excellent [5:25+], tremendously and endlessly inventive Jazz. 

Here's Mark Whitfield playing 'Sunset On Waterside' on his MySpace page.

Mark Whitfield [7th Ave Stroll]

A cheap acquisition from upstairs in a bargain department from a second-hand record shop, i search through the rubbish left overs, and now and again you find a gem, i bought this for £1 or £2, but it turned out to be a priceless disc of Guitar Jazz music, this genre of Jazz can have a tendency to be more smooth and mainstream, the tracks have a tendency to be shorter, unlike the saxophone, when you think of guitar, you think of Rock for electric, and Folk for acoustic, i find it hard to get a true HardBop Jazz Guitarist that plays serious music, there's too much 'soulful doodling', Mark Whitfield is excellent, i played this same disc right at the start of my Blog [7th January 2010].

Mark Whitfield is an American Jazz Guitarist, born in 1967, he made this recording in 1995, the booklet is actually one of those poster fold out affairs, usually i don't like these, but at least this one has nice folds so that it opens like a booklet at first, the front cover [by Kwaku Alston] is awesome, with excellent pictures throughout, the cover is a long exposure photograph, with i take it a flash in there somewhere, you can see the ghostly images of people behind Whitfield, and some vehicle rushing by, a black and white shot, but it's nicely splashed with red for his name, and some choice lettering too, the back insert is also well done.

What a lovely album, Whitfield actually creates two separate quartets here, one with an established group of older masters, and the other with a younger crew of Jazz interpreters, i really think i prefer the older gentlemen, they really bring wisdom to the table, the album is all about New York in the titles, most of the tracks are Whitfield originals, the four very best tracks were 1-2, 7 & 9, and it's track 9 'Sunset At Waterside' that is a genius of a composition,

Here's the Verve music website, where you can listen to samples from the album.

Mark Whitfield [7th Ave Stroll]

A lovely Jazz Guitar disc, Mark Whitfield works with two separate groups on this recording, one with some veteran musicians, and the other with a much younger group, but the whole thing works so well it's seamless, as a generality, the younger group play the more hip upbeat numbers, and the older guys play the more thoughtful slower stuff, i prefer the older group, wisdom wins the day.

This album has the theme of New York running through it, two thirds of the tracks were composed by Whitfield, on this listen my favourite tracks are 7 and 9, Sunday In New York [a Peter Nero tune], has a great mesmerising groove by the Bassist Dave Holland, and Al Foster adds great cymbal work, Whitfield freely uses this base to improvise over, Sunset At Waterside is even better, what a lovely laid back tune by Whitfield, and Foster's drumwork is so superb and inventive [extra mention should be made of his brushwork on other parts of the album], Tommy Flanagan's short piano solo is also laid back, he reminds me of Cedar Walton, the reprise of the tune by Whitfield is a joy.

I bought this disc for a bargain £2 in a second-hand shop in London, but i would gladly have paid full price, you can hear samples from each track on the AllMusic website.