That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

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Part I: All That Jazz: A Tour of the Basics
Albert Socarras: The first jazz flutist on record
Albert Socarras was first to record the jazz flute.
Like other jazz flutists, Socarras was a doubler —
he played saxophone and clarinet. Socarras
played flute on several songs recorded by
Clarence Williams’s big band in 1929, and his solo
on “Have You Ever Felt That Way” included on
Clarence Williams 1929 (Classics) is the earliest
example of flute improvisation I’ve found.
“Have You Ever Felt That Way” is an upbeat
number led by Williams’ piano and “de-de-dedoo”
vocals. After cornetist Ed Allen’s raunchy
solo, Socarras comes trilling in, delivers an
inventive solo, and pauses as Williams calls out,
“Everybody in the cycle now; everybody in the
cycle” and then takes his piano break. Socarras
returns for another burst of invention. Although
his moment lasts only 30 seconds or so, it’s
enough to show that he was a capable improviser
as creative as horn players, pianists, and
vocalists — the common leading sounds of his
day. Socarras pointed the way toward jazz’s
great flute virtuosos who didn’t come along until
the 1950s.
Finding a concentrated sample of great jazz flute music is difficult. Probably
half of jazz’s top flutists play other wind instruments, including saxophones,
and these players seldom make recordings that focus solely on the flute.
More commonly, these doublers include a flute tune or two on their albums.
Only a handful of flutists have made recordings devoted to the flute: Herbie
Mann, Frank Wess, Hubert Laws, Holly Hofmann, Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Charles Lloyd, Sam Most, Jeremy Steig, Buddy Collette, Lloyd McNeil, and
James Newton. For details on an early doubler, see the nearby sidebar
“Albert Socarras: The first jazz flutist on record.”
In recent decades, flutists like Eric Dolphy, Joe Farrell, Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
James Moody, Yusef Lateef, Hubert Laws, James Newton, and Frank Wess have
brought the instrument front and center with their sublime performances.
For intimate headphone listening that can be as calming as a good meditation,
try these albums that feature the flute:
� Does Your House Have Lions (Rhino): In this retrospective of music
from 1961 to 1976, Rahsaan Roland Kirk moves easily from flute to saxophone
and exotic wind instruments such as the mandello and stritch as
he runs a range of jazz influences from New Orleans to bebop. He also
displays his talent for playing two or three saxophones at once.
� Echo Canyon (Celestial Harmonies): James Newton gets inspiration
from Southwestern landscapes and painter Georgia O’Keeffe to evoke
the mystical moods of red canyons, deserts, and mesas.
� Live at Pep’s (Impulse): Yusef Lateef plays flute, as well as bamboo flute
and saxophone, on this powerful live recording in 1964.