Ron Carter - Etudes

I got this record for $2.99. Sometimes a record is so nicely priced, you just can't pass it up. It features Ron and Tony plus Art Farmer and Saxophonist Bill Evans. Etude is an interesting musical term. Usually they are musical pieces used more as an exercise to achieve a technique rather than a beautiful piece of music. See wikipedia . How is this album a reference to etudes? Are they still working on the Ornette Coleman model of improvising without a pianist? I'm not sure.

Ron Carter is certainly a master of the bass, but sometimes I get a little nauseated with all of the glissandi in his solos, especially on certain tracks on this record. Listening to so many slides gives a sense of seasickness, like I'm not on stable ground.

Excellent musicianship on this record. I admit to not knowing much about saxophonist Bill Evans, other than he played with Miles in the 80's. He plays nicely on this record, and I like his soprano playing best.

The record sleeve is very cool for Elektra Musician. It seems like they had a few interesting recordings in the early 80's, some including Charles Lloyd Quartet - Montreux 82, Chico Freeman Tradition in Transition, and The Young Lions. The Young Lions in the 80's - There is a lot of discussion about the neo-traditionalists such as Wynton Marsalis and co., but this album includes many names that I feel honor tradition while still reaching for the unknown (which is the essence of Jazz, I think):

• John Blake
• Hamiett Bluiett
• Ronnie Burrage
• Anthony Davis
• Paquito d'Rivera
• Kevin Eubanks
• Chico Freeman
• Craig Harris
• Jay Hoggard
• Fred Hopkins
• Bobby McFerrin
• Wynton Marsalis
• James Newton
• Daniel Ponche
• Avery Sharpe
• Abdul Wadud

Some of these names are unfamiliar to me, but others like Hamiett Bluiett, Anthony Davis, Craig Harris, Fred Hopkins, James Newton, and Abdul Wadud are very familiar names from the AACM, BAG, performances with David Murray, Arthur Blythe... Not people I tend to think of when I hear Young Lions. This has kind of made me rethink jazz history that I've read about the Young Lions. As always with history, it's best to immerse yourself in the artifacts of the time and come up with your own conclusions. I don't want to think of Donald Harrison as a saxophonist only interested in honoring the past when I hear him performing with Don Pullen. I should simply listen to every musician for what they are doing in that moment.

I have a very cheesy Jay Hoggard record (well, the cover is cheesy. Some of the performance is cheesy too, but I will write about it when I get to the H's)