Bass Desires
Bass Desires
ASIN: B0000261H4
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Bass Desires has become a recurring concept since this 1985 date, when it was merely the title of a CD and not a band. But the two-guitar quartet has a special appeal to bassist-leader Marc Johnson, who's joined here by drummer Peter Erskine and celebrated guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield. A study in the stylistic contrasts and shared values of the two six-stringers, Bass Desires shows off Scofield's linear, rapid-fire and hard-edged attack and Frisell's floating solos that use guitar synth to bend lines with elastic flexibility. Johnson's Japanese-themed "Samurai Hee-Haw" has Scofield tempering his funk with touches of hoedown, while Frisell adds atmospheric waves of sound to the folk ballad "Black Is the Color." Johnson is a superb melodist, apparent particularly in his unaccompanied introduction to the "Resolution" theme from John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, where Johnson's solo space builds toward strong work from both guitarists. All the tunes show thought, with Erskine's title tune setting a slow-moving theme against a fast tempo he and Johnson set down. The group is a format that seems to work for all concerned, with Frisell and Scofield clearly thriving on one another's presence, as well as with the rhythm section. --Stuart Broomer
Bass Desires,Marc Johnson,Ecm Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Modern Creative,Pop,Post-Bop
Average customer rating:
- Bass Desires By Marc Johnson
- Fantastic!
- A Bit Worn Production-Wise But Still a Classic
- One of my all-time favorite jazz CD's
- Flat-out amazing
|
Bass Desires
Marc Johnson
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
 Avant Garde & Free Jazz
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Bebop General
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General
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Modern Postbebop
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Similar Items:
- Second Sight
- Shades of Jade
- Metheny / Mehldau
- Sound of Summer Running
- Gnu High
ASIN: B0000261H4
Release Date: 2000-09-12 |
Tracks:
- Samurai Hee-Haw
- Resolution
- Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair
- Bass Desires
- A Wishing Doll
- Mojo Highway
- Thanks Again
Amazon.com
Bass Desires has become a recurring concept since this 1985 date, when it was merely the title of a CD and not a band. But the two-guitar quartet has a special appeal to bassist-leader Marc Johnson, who's joined here by drummer Peter Erskine and celebrated guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield. A study in the stylistic contrasts and shared values of the two six-stringers, Bass Desires shows off Scofield's linear, rapid-fire and hard-edged attack and Frisell's floating solos that use guitar synth to bend lines with elastic flexibility. Johnson's Japanese-themed "Samurai Hee-Haw" has Scofield tempering his funk with touches of hoedown, while Frisell adds atmospheric waves of sound to the folk ballad "Black Is the Color." Johnson is a superb melodist, apparent particularly in his unaccompanied introduction to the "Resolution" theme from John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, where Johnson's solo space builds toward strong work from both guitarists. All the tunes show thought, with Erskine's title tune setting a slow-moving theme against a fast tempo he and Johnson set down. The group is a format that seems to work for all concerned, with Frisell and Scofield clearly thriving on one another's presence, as well as with the rhythm section. --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews:
Bass Desires By Marc Johnson .......2006-11-04
It's One Of My Favorite Fusion Album? If You Are A John Scofield 'Or' Bill Frissel Fan This Cd Is Must Have! Two Great Guitars And Peter Erskine On Drums.
Fantastic!.......2006-03-09
This is one of the best ECM recirds ever. The sound is perfect and the playing simply blows your mind. Also there are both Bill Frisell and John Scofield on the record. Unique.
A Bit Worn Production-Wise But Still a Classic.......2005-08-10
Before the days of Amazon I bought this CD on one of my infrequent trips to a "hip" record store back in 1987. I subsequently listened to it probably at least 200 times and still return to it occasionally with great joy.
This is one of the all-time great examples of improvisatory music involving two guitars. The interplay here is just amazing. When Scofield solos on "Resolution," it just seems like Bill Frisell, Marc Johnson, and Peter Erskine are GLUED to him. Every twist and turn of his solo brings forth complimentary jabs, thrusts, and DRIVE from the rhythm section. It is truly awesome.
The first two songs are the easy standouts; "Mojo Highway" is almost as good. It's worth the purchase price (especially a used price) for those three tracks alone. The rest is not quite as engrossing but is still very good. Almost 20 years later I still think this is some of the best guitar jazz ever put down.
Yes, it's quite clear it was recorded in the late 1980s, when even JAZZ was affected by the production trend toward copious amounts of reverb. Get past that -- and this CD will reward repeated listening.
One of my all-time favorite jazz CD's.......2005-04-01
This is one of the better examples of jazz fusion to come out of the otherwise dead period of the 80's. Marc Johnson's songwriting, bass playing, and supporting cast blend to create a cohesive and melodic jam session of world music rhythems.
So many cultures are sampled in these compostions, Folk, Country and Western, Japanese, Blues, Funk, Indian, Reggae,
classical...you name it and it is represented somewhere on this disk. My personal fav is "Mojo Highway". A half funk/half reggae opus featuring many of Peter Erskines subtle and not so subtle drum riffs. It also features the best (of the many available) versions of John Scofield's blues classic "Thanks Again".
As typical on the ECM label the recording quality is stunning...particularly the bass response. You wanna test out your subwoofer and annoy your neighbors? Pop in this disk and let the bad neighbor relations commence.
Flat-out amazing.......2005-01-06
I am not, by and large, a fan of 'fusion,' whether it's called that or any of the other euphemisms for bad cocktails of rock and other musical forms. I also have no use for 'smooth' jazz as the term is used.
This is one of those instances where the musicianship of the participants rises above a contrived splice of styles. Peter Erskine's infallible time, Sco's signature blowing (at a time when it was maturing from the Miles years), and Marc Johnson's virtuoso bass playing would be enough. But Bill Frisell's synthesizer guitar work is the catalyst that really makes this album a great one.
Perhaps most amazing of all is, with an electric player like Sco, AND Frisell's synthesizer guitar, the album is so utterly organic and naturual.
And from the wonky 'Samurai Hee-Haw' to the hard-swinging 'Resolution' (the Coltrane tune from 'A Love Supreme,' not the Mahavishnu song), to the ethereal 'Black is the Color,' the album has no weak spots. It's four great artists who had absolutely spectacular chemistry. The result is a rarity for 80's jazz recordings, genuine originality, variety and absolutely nothing contrived or phony.
As far as the test of time, it's been in my rotation in vinyl and then CD for roughly 15 years, and out of the thousands of albums I own, it's still one that I keep coming back to.
Average customer rating:
- Not as exceptional as expected!
- The 5 Stars Go To Bill Frisell
|
Second Sight
Marc Johnson's Bass Desires
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
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ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
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Similar Items:
- Bass Desires
- Shades of Jade
- Sound of Summer Running
- Saudades
- Pilgrimage
ASIN: B0000260OF
Release Date: 2000-09-12 |
Tracks:
- Crossing The Corpus Callosum
- Small Hands
- Sweet Soul
- Twister
- Thrill Seekers
- Prayer Beads
- 1951
- Hymm For Her
Amazon.com
This second recorded meeting of Johnson's quartet with drummer Peter Erskine and celebrated guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield took place in 1987, and it's every bit as inspired as the first. Each member of the group contributes compositions, and they pick up on different qualities inherent in the band. Erskine's slow infusion of the gospel "Sweet Soul" offers Memphis soul notes to Scofield, while Frisell finds a comfortable base for some pedal steel-like country. Scofield's "The Twister" picks up on the rock basics implicit in the instrumentation--he and Frisell are both very electric guitarists here--and adds some harmonic complexity to the groove. Frisell's "1951" gives the listener a good idea of what Thelonious Monk writing quarter-tone country & western would sound like. There's much here that's playful, but there's also emotional power in the brooding force of Johnson's "Crossing the Corpus Callosum" and elegiac beauty in his "Hymn for Her." --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews:
Not as exceptional as expected!.......2006-03-09
Now this was oen huge disappointment. Do not get me wrong. I love Frisell and I completely agree with the other reviewer. It is simply that I was so blown away by the first bass Desires that I expected much much more. Also Bill Frisell has been associated with so many exceptional records that a very good record is simply not enough.
The 5 Stars Go To Bill Frisell.......2006-01-07
I love John Scofield's guitar playing don't get me wrong, but the way he arranges his compositions aren't quite up to par with Bill Frisell's. First of all, look at what Bill Frisell has done in the past 20 years, and then look what Scofield has done. There's really no contest. Bill Frisell is one of biggest things to happen to jazz guitar since the Pat Metheny explosion in the late 70s. Like Pat Metheny, he plays unusual music, but what he's playing really works. I can't say the same for Scofield, because it seems he hasn't really pushed himself into anything experimental or exploratory, in fact, Sco hasn't really gone in a new direction at all. Sco has always stayed where he was at, which is okay, but I don't really feel inspired when I hear him play. Scofield is an exceptional player, but when it comes down to it, Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny are so much better at what they do then Scofield is at what he does. A good example of Bill Frisell pushing himself into ackward and new musical situations would be his collaborations and work on John Zorn's Naked City projects. I mean that is some of the most dissonant and absolutely insane jazz music I ever heard. Frisell has also been on more records than Scofield, and probably Metheny as well. If you don't believe me go to Bill Frisell's website and look up all his session work. That HUGE list will give you a little insight at what this virtuoso has been doing.
Now on to the review of Marc Johnson's Bass Desires "Second Sight" album. This is the second album by this group and I must say that I'm more impressed with it than the first, but it's hard to forget the unforgettable opening song on the first album, "Samurai Hee-Haw." That's a really good song and both Frisell and Scofield really sound great together. The music on this second album ("Second Sight") showcases the two players better I think than the first. They also seem to have a little bit more room to stretch composition wise. My favorite song on this album is "Small Hands" composed by Frisell. It's a very hauntingly beautiful song. It's this side of Bill that I love to hear more than anything.
I can't go on about this music. I just hope that however buys this album, that they have at least more than one Bill Frisell albums.
Average customer rating:
- Bass Desires By Marc Johnson
- Fantastic!
- A Bit Worn Production-Wise But Still a Classic
- One of my all-time favorite jazz CD's
- Flat-out amazing
|
Bass Desires
Marc Johnson
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Avant Garde & Free Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Miscellaneous
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Second Sight
- Shades of Jade
- Metheny / Mehldau
- Sound of Summer Running
- Gnu High
ASIN: B0000031T9
Release Date: 1994-06-14 |
Tracks:
- Samurai Hee-Haw
- Resolution
- Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair
- Bass Desires
- A Wishing Doll
- Mojo Highway
- Thanks Again
Amazon.com
Bass Desires has become a recurring concept since this 1985 date, when it was merely the title of a CD and not a band. But the two-guitar quartet has a special appeal to bassist-leader Marc Johnson, who's joined here by drummer Peter Erskine and celebrated guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield. A study in the stylistic contrasts and shared values of the two six-stringers, Bass Desires shows off Scofield's linear, rapid-fire and hard-edged attack and Frisell's floating solos that use guitar synth to bend lines with elastic flexibility. Johnson's Japanese-themed "Samurai Hee-Haw" has Scofield tempering his funk with touches of hoedown, while Frisell adds atmospheric waves of sound to the folk ballad "Black Is the Color." Johnson is a superb melodist, apparent particularly in his unaccompanied introduction to the "Resolution" theme from John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, where Johnson's solo space builds toward strong work from both guitarists. All the tunes show thought, with Erskine's title tune setting a slow-moving theme against a fast tempo he and Johnson set down. The group is a format that seems to work for all concerned, with Frisell and Scofield clearly thriving on one another's presence, as well as with the rhythm section. --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews:
Bass Desires By Marc Johnson .......2006-11-04
It's One Of My Favorite Fusion Album? If You Are A John Scofield 'Or' Bill Frissel Fan This Cd Is Must Have! Two Great Guitars And Peter Erskine On Drums.
Fantastic!.......2006-03-09
This is one of the best ECM recirds ever. The sound is perfect and the playing simply blows your mind. Also there are both Bill Frisell and John Scofield on the record. Unique.
A Bit Worn Production-Wise But Still a Classic.......2005-08-10
Before the days of Amazon I bought this CD on one of my infrequent trips to a "hip" record store back in 1987. I subsequently listened to it probably at least 200 times and still return to it occasionally with great joy.
This is one of the all-time great examples of improvisatory music involving two guitars. The interplay here is just amazing. When Scofield solos on "Resolution," it just seems like Bill Frisell, Marc Johnson, and Peter Erskine are GLUED to him. Every twist and turn of his solo brings forth complimentary jabs, thrusts, and DRIVE from the rhythm section. It is truly awesome.
The first two songs are the easy standouts; "Mojo Highway" is almost as good. It's worth the purchase price (especially a used price) for those three tracks alone. The rest is not quite as engrossing but is still very good. Almost 20 years later I still think this is some of the best guitar jazz ever put down.
Yes, it's quite clear it was recorded in the late 1980s, when even JAZZ was affected by the production trend toward copious amounts of reverb. Get past that -- and this CD will reward repeated listening.
One of my all-time favorite jazz CD's.......2005-04-01
This is one of the better examples of jazz fusion to come out of the otherwise dead period of the 80's. Marc Johnson's songwriting, bass playing, and supporting cast blend to create a cohesive and melodic jam session of world music rhythems.
So many cultures are sampled in these compostions, Folk, Country and Western, Japanese, Blues, Funk, Indian, Reggae,
classical...you name it and it is represented somewhere on this disk. My personal fav is "Mojo Highway". A half funk/half reggae opus featuring many of Peter Erskines subtle and not so subtle drum riffs. It also features the best (of the many available) versions of John Scofield's blues classic "Thanks Again".
As typical on the ECM label the recording quality is stunning...particularly the bass response. You wanna test out your subwoofer and annoy your neighbors? Pop in this disk and let the bad neighbor relations commence.
Flat-out amazing.......2005-01-06
I am not, by and large, a fan of 'fusion,' whether it's called that or any of the other euphemisms for bad cocktails of rock and other musical forms. I also have no use for 'smooth' jazz as the term is used.
This is one of those instances where the musicianship of the participants rises above a contrived splice of styles. Peter Erskine's infallible time, Sco's signature blowing (at a time when it was maturing from the Miles years), and Marc Johnson's virtuoso bass playing would be enough. But Bill Frisell's synthesizer guitar work is the catalyst that really makes this album a great one.
Perhaps most amazing of all is, with an electric player like Sco, AND Frisell's synthesizer guitar, the album is so utterly organic and naturual.
And from the wonky 'Samurai Hee-Haw' to the hard-swinging 'Resolution' (the Coltrane tune from 'A Love Supreme,' not the Mahavishnu song), to the ethereal 'Black is the Color,' the album has no weak spots. It's four great artists who had absolutely spectacular chemistry. The result is a rarity for 80's jazz recordings, genuine originality, variety and absolutely nothing contrived or phony.
As far as the test of time, it's been in my rotation in vinyl and then CD for roughly 15 years, and out of the thousands of albums I own, it's still one that I keep coming back to.
Average customer rating:
|
Time Stands Still
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Dowland
| Dowland, John
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ASIN: B000002ZIN
Release Date: 1993-09-01 |
Tracks:
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- Come, Cheerful Day
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- It As A Time When Silly Bees Could Speak - John Dowland
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- What Then Is Love But Mourning?
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- Mignone Allons - Anonymous
Customer Reviews:
A Timely Reminder.......2000-07-08
This CD is at once a stunning example of vocal virtuosity; an amazing example of the intimacy of LIVE performace captured on a recording; a wonderfully ambient recording; an introduction to the glories of English Renaissance song; and a meditation on the passage of time, on the brevity and sweetness of life, and the spectral, though in some regards rewarding, inevitability of old age and death. As the "Editorial Review" above states, Kirkby's command of "subtle inflection of melody, imagination and taste in added embellishment, and sensitivity to nuance in both text and melody" are truly astounding. But this is too academic for such a powerfully emotional recording. Simply sit down with the text in hand (all the texts are contained in the CD booklet), and notice how Kirkby emphasizes a word here, or alters a musical phrase in a repeat, there. Her mastery of such musical "gimmicks," if you will, is unmatched. The effect is profound: the texts are brought alive. We can hear the melancholy and wistfulness of Dowland, the profound awareness of the deep meaning of the temporality of human existence couched in the formalisms of Elizabethan courtly language, and yet modern in an almost existentialist way. Feel the shiver up your spine, and recognize in this shiver the visceral, and yet not violent, confrontation with your own mortality. This is an album for the ages, and for all the ages of an individual, an album whose meaning reaches across the life-span.
Average customer rating:
- If you Liked Second Sight..
- great interplay between all musicians
|
Second Sight
Marc Johnson's Bass Desires
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B0000031UD
Release Date: 1994-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Crossing The Corpus Callosum
- Small Hands
- Sweet Soul
- Twister
- Thrill Seekers
- Prayer Beads
- 1951
- Hymm For Her
Customer Reviews:
If you Liked Second Sight.........2000-05-14
You will love Bass Desires by the same group. It is their first album and, I believe, much superior.
great interplay between all musicians.......1999-08-06
Unfortunately I couldn't hear Marc's playing under Scofield's melodic lines, which I find always have this uniqueness to them, even though I find Scofield to be a tad bit predictable in his approach to melody. I love Frisell in terms of his very odd harmonics that he brings to the plate, he's the perfect counterpart to John. His playing has grown on me. Even though I find alot of people are thrown off by his use of "overtone" playing, he has a fantastic approach to space and rhythm. Peter Erskine never fails. Always consistent in his rhythm section. On this cd, from what I've heard so far (which isn't I believe a good representation of the music due to poor sound quality coming from the computer), the band has a great mix between spaced-out stuff and in-your-face-type fusion which is usually rare for alot of hard fusion artists. Here there's no pressure to play fast or with dexterity, the motifs and the creative concepts seem to come first. Which is what ECM music is all about anyway. Great job, Marc. Keep it up!
Average customer rating:
|
Béla Faragó: 353 Days "Mass"
Manufacturer: Budapest Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Chamber Music
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ASIN: B00005A0GR
Release Date: 2001-02-27 |
Jazz Music:
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Jazz Music
Jazz Music
