I CURATE Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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"I CURATE"
- Recommendations by: The Matrix
Individual Works I Recommend
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Books, Films, Plays, Songs, Albums...
Miles Davis: Seven Steps to Heaven
This song is from a 1963 Miles Davis album, and features pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Tony Williams who was a star in Miles Davis’ Band at age seventeen. For some ten years that quintet stayed together and was considered one of Miles’ best bands, with Williams being singled out as “the center of the group’s sound.” Miles’ trumpet has the insistence of a nagging conscience while the rest of the band buoy him up on a wave of sound as bracing as the ocean.
Charlie Parker: Confirmation
This classic 1953 Charlie Parker work is a lively blend of Parker’s alto sax with accompanying piano, bass, and drums. It’s clear to see why the “Bird,” along with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, were the Holy Trinity of Bebop. They were anxious to abandon the swing style of jazz that you could dance to in favor of the more improvisational style that you would sit and listen to. Composer and pianist John Lewis, the artistic director of the Modern Jazz Quartet,l once said that Charlie Parker was the only artist he knew of in jazz whose every single solo was perfect. That is certainly true in this song.
Bud Powell: Dance of the Infidels
“Bud” Powell’s troubled life is well known from the film ‘Round Midnight‘. But whatever his personal demons were, there is no denying his genius as a pianist. Thelonious Monk was an early friend and mentor who introduced Bud to the other Bebop musicians that hung out at Minton’s Playhouse, the same place where my father used to jam, sometimes all night long. Thelonious and Bud were the dominant pianists of the movement. “Dance of the Infidels” represents his jaunty, irreverent style of improvisation at its best. Try listening without bobbing your head in rhythm. Near impossible. As a bonus, this song features a very young Sonny Rollins, a tenor saxophonist who was a favorite of mine while I was in high school.
Freddie Hubbard: Red Clay
The trumpet equivalent to a fast break. Freddie Hubbard’s hard bop notes enter through your gut, then pinball of each organ until your whole body is involuntarily bopping along. Freddie’s album, Red Clay, featured my favorite musicians who were also friends of mine: Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Lenny White. During the playoffs with the Knicks in 1970 I used to listen to this album every day because it both inspired and relaxed me.
John Coltrane: Afro Blue, Mr. Day
In these songs it’s easy to see why John Coltrane is often credited by other musicians as being a major influence on their work. These musicians include Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, the Doors, and Outkast, among others. These two songs were recorded after Trane left Monk’s band and started recording for the Atlantic Label. They clearly show how the blues provided a foundation for Trane and influenced his later work, which took on a more ethereal approach as he used jazz to express his own spiritual quest. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board for his “masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz.” You can see the John Coltrane Quartet playing “Afro Blue” on YouTube.
Duke Ellington: Cotton Tail
A major presence in music for six decades,making his music a source of pride and inspiration for African Americans. On May 4, 1940, he recorded “Cotton Tail,” which would redefine jazz for the next generation. This song would go on to be recorded by many of the jazz greats, including Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery, and Buddy Rich. “Cotton Tail” broke a lot of the rules: though it starts with a traditional thirty-two bar structure, the Duke quickly abandons it to introduce a new four-bar form. Solos by Ben Webster and Ellington help make this a classic.
Count Basie: Back to the Apple
Did any musician have more fun playing jazz than Count Basie? Listen to this song and you’ll know why his orchestra bridges big band swing with modern jazz. The Count plays effortlessly yet energetically, as if he had just arrived at a dull party, plopped down at the piano, and said, “Let’s get this joint jumpin’.” And suddenly everyone’s dancing. This song is featured on video collection of Count Basie.
This Node is in Respect of Whom?
- Name: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- City/Place: Los Angeles, California
- Country: United States
Life & Work
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Bio:
NBA all-time leading scorer, New York Times-bestselling author, and U.S. Cultural Ambassador...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a global icon that changed the game of professional basketball. Since his stellar professional career, he has gone on to become a celebrated New York Times-bestselling author, filmmaker, ambassador of education, and Time Magazine columnist. A sought-after speaker, Abdul-Jabbar recounts in riveting and humorous detail his exciting evolution from street ball player to successful athlete, author, producer, and community activist.
Contact Information
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