The JazzKeys.fyi blog

Cool links and random thoughts about jazz…

• The Bad Plus calling it a day ↗

  Posted 18 February 2026 – Permalink

  

  Today I learned, via the group’s former pianist Ethan Iverson, that The Bad Plus is calling it quits after 26 years. I must confess to having not really followed them since Iverson left in 2017, but they were a big early inspiration for me.

  Suspicious Activity? (2005) and Prog (2007) rank as my personal favourites among their recordings. I had the former on repeat for a while (standout tracks for me: ‘Prehensile Dream’ and ‘Lost of Love’), and the latter provided inspiration while driving to gigs. The original tune ‘Giant’, built around a hypnotic nine-beat metre, is simply beautiful. Prog also has great covers of ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’. And ‘Physical Cities’ (an original) is an absolute banger (I’d like to know how in the heck they counted the breakdown bit).

  Fare ye weel, TBP, and cheers for the music.

  

• Teddy Edwards and Howard McGhee, Together Again!!!! ↗

  Posted 16 November 2024 – Permalink

  This was either the first or second jazz recording I ever bought, and I’ve listened to it countless times over the past 25 years. A lively studio session recorded over two days in 1961, it features Howard McGhee on trumpet, Teddy Edwards on sax, the amazing Phineas Newborn Jr on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. This re-issue seems to be a new mix (the reverb on the CD version I bought in 2000 is absent) done from the original tapes: the label’s website refers to “(AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman[.]”

  The sound is great: crisp and dry. The instruments are panned pretty hard left and right, which means this mix is perhaps better suited to listening on speakers rather than headphones. It makes sense if the primary audience is vinyl buffs listening on home setups. It’s also available digitally on Apple Music, Spotify and as lossless audio files. I’d welcome a Dolby Atmos mix for the ultimate listening-on-headphones experience.

  There is a review by Joseph Neff at The Vinyl District.

  Also newly remastered for 2024 is Maggie’s Back in Town!!, recorded under McGhee’s name in 1961 a month after the Together Again!!!! sessions. (Maggie also features Phineas Newborn Jr on piano.)

  Edwards and McGhee would be together again (again) in 1979, where they recorded material that was released as Young at Heart (1983) and Wise In Time (1985). Both were remastered and issued in Japan in 2015 and 2016 respectively. You may still be able to buy them on import.

• Cool always-on hardware device that captures all your MIDI data ↗

  Posted 11 November 2024 – Permalink

  Recording your playing is a great way to track progress and allow for self-critique. If, like me, you practise on a digital piano, this device might be worth considering.

  

  JamCorder:

  easier than having to hit record — jamcorder is always on, always capturing. […]

  jamcorder is great for capturing your [impromptu] improvisations, letting you play freely. you can track how much you practice, review your playing, and share recordings with friends, family, and teachers. […]

  unlike most recorders, jamcorder doesn’t capture audio. instead, jamcorder plugs into your piano via midi, and transcribes every note you play — including its strength — in midi format. these recordings sync to your phone via bluetooth, or can be accessed via sd card.

  The promo video highlights how performance often deteriorates when you consciously record. This can definitely be true in my experience, but I think it’s valuable to deliberately record yourself as psychological preparation for studio sessions or live performances. I also use my iPhone camera for filming as another method to help overcome recording-induced self-consciousness.

  I wonder whether having this device running constantly might boost your confidence in higher pressure recording situations, knowing that you’re always being recorded anyway.

• Rick Beato interviews Brad Mehldau ↗

  Posted 22 September 2024 – Permalink

  

  In case you missed it, here is a fascinating interview with Brad Mehldau. Many subjects are covered, among them the use of the left hand, genre, guitar as a model for playing piano, Bach, the Beatles, his background in improvisation, what and how he practises, flow vs intellect, working with pop tunes vs jazz standards, the ‘triadic’ ECM harmonic language, his various influences (from Billy Joel and Windham Hill to George Winston and Keith Jarrett), how jazz has developed and innovated, musical snobbery, recording remotely, and synths.

  Another great interview by Rick Beato. See also his conversation with Keith Jarrett.

• Jazz in Spatial Audio (Dolby Atmos) ↗

  Posted 23 April 2023 – Permalink

  

  Jazz really sounds great in these new, Dolby Atmos mixes that have been appearing on Apple Music. It’s like enhanced 5.1 surround sound, where the producer or mix engineer can place instruments in a 3D space. And, unlike 5.1, you don’t need a complex, multi-speaker setup to enjoy the immersive experience: you can listen on AirPods when you’re out for a walk.

  I listen mainly on my Mac on a standard pair of Sony MDR-7506s (and therefore I’m listening to what’s known as binaural audio). If you’re using wired headphones in this way, any pair will work. You’ll just need to make sure the Always On option is selected in the Apple Music app (under Preferences → Playback). Full details on how to listen on iPhones, iPads and various brands of wireless headphones are available on the Apple website.

  Recordings I’ve listened to hundreds of times (John Coltrane’s Blue Train and Esbjörn Svensson Trio’s 301, for instance), have never sounded so good. Some panning on older records can be a bit extreme, where the saxophone might be placed fully left, and the drums fully right, with only some bleed between the two. The Atmos mixes tend to sound much more pleasing, with more space for the mix to breathe. And on newer recordings, the results are similarly great: check out Ethan Iverson’s Every Note Is True and Bill Charlap Trio’s Street of Dreams.

  I’ve compiled a playlist of some of my favourite tracks with Atmos mixes. Apple also has a playlist which is regularly updated as new recordings become available.

• Brad Mehldau book ↗

  Posted 8 April 2023 – Permalink

  Brad Mehldau has an autobiographical book out called Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1. From the blurb on Brad’s website:

  The book creates a vibrantly-written portrait of the jazz world in New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s, showing how a generation of musicians met and sparked off one another to take the music in new directions, drawing on a wealth of influences but also keeping sight of tradition, including those rooted in both the jazz and classical worlds. The atmosphere of the clubs, the creative scene in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and Brad’s early experiences of touring are brilliantly brought to life. […]

  I’ve been a fan of Brad’s music since I heard Largo in 2002. Other album favourites of mine are Elegiac Cycle (1999), Live in Tokyo (2002) and Day is Done (2006). I’ve listened to those recordings a lot!

• Behind the scenes with Thelonious Monk in ‘Rewind & Play’ ↗

  Posted 18 March 2023 – Permalink

  The New Yorker:

  Alain Gomis’s film is a treasure trove of Monk in performance and a revealing look at common documentary practices.

  Also: trailer, New York Times review, and an Ethan Iverson essay originally written for the Jazz Icons DVD (now out of print) featuring the same footage.

• Musicwriter ↗

  Posted 8 March 2023 – Permalink

  

  Music Printing History:

  The Musicwriter is a typewriter that was used to print music. It was invented by Cecil S. Effinger, a noted choral composer, music professor, and inventor. It eventually sold around the world. Working with various manufacturers, Mr. Effinger was able to produce over five thousand Musicwriters from 1956 to 1990.

  Also: discussion on tech forum Hacker News.

• Floris Nico Bunink, restless bopper advised by Bill Evans ↗

  Posted 6 March 2023 – Permalink

  Werner Herbers, in a piece translated from the original Dutch, published at Point of Departure:

  And finally, there’s that eight-page handwritten memo from Bill Evans, which Nico described as “many pearls of wisdom.” Bunink was insecure about his musical background and Evans, seeing him as “a friend in need” wanted to put some courage into him. So he supplied Nico with a handwritten list of tips: music to listen to, things to know. Later, Nico claimed Evans had written it all out while on a break at the Village Vanguard in 1961. But in a 1979 note to Nico, Evans recalled writing it 15 years earlier – when both pianists were in California.
  
  Here is the misspellings-and-all text, as best we can make it out: […]

  Evans concludes the notes thus:

  Be concerned with nothing but music. Take care of music and all other things will follow (such as recognition, work etc.)

• The Keith Jarrett interview ↗

  Posted 2 March 2023 – Permalink

  Wow, this video from Rick Beato was a wonderful surprise. Includes Keith playing piano.