Greats Who Pick Up Where Ken Burns’ Series Left Off

In last week’s column, I proposed a list of 11 major jazz artists who were not included among the two sets of 11-CD collections released in association with the Ken Burns “Jazz” documentary. That first grouping of unacknowledged players--Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmie Lunceford, Roy Eldridge, Art Tatum, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Erroll Garner, Bud Powell, Gerry Mulligan, Gil Evans and Carmen McRae--focused primarily on the pre-1960 period.

Matters get a bit trickier with this week’s group of 11, which largely concentrates on the post-’60s, with one or two acknowledgments of earlier explorers. Most jazz observers, whether or not they’ve seen the Burns documentary, are aware that this is the period that has received--to put it kindly--short shrift in Burns’ historical overview. So here’s an effort at compensation by proposing 11 artists (and groups of artists) who are equally deserving of their own “best of” collections:

Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. Wynton Marsalis’ insistence that blues, rhythmic swing and improvisation are essential to a definition of jazz probably affected Burns’ failure to give much attention to Tristano’s subtle and influential improvisational methodology. A sight-impaired pianist who balanced his cool intellectualism with surges of improvisational passion, Tristano is definitively presented on “Intuition” (Blue Note/EMI) and the limited-edition “The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh” (Mosaic). Alto saxophonist Konitz has made dozens of recordings in every imaginable setting, and any one of his albums is worth hearing. Check out the early “Subconscious-Lee” (Fantasy), and counter it with the recently recorded live album “Alone Together” (Blue Note) with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden. Tenor saxophonist Marsh, sadly under-recorded, can be heard to advantage on the mid-’50s album “Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh” (Koch).

Eric Dolphy. Dolphy was one of the ‘60s’ most vital new woodwind voices, adept on alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. When he died after a diabetic coma in 1964 at age 36, the jazz world lost one of its most innovative artists. His relatively brief work is well-documented in “The Complete Prestige Recordings,” a nine-CD set, as well as his Blue Note debut album, “Out to Lunch.”

Chick Corea. The gifted pianist-composer has been active since the late ‘60s, first with Miles Davis, later with Return to Forever and since then in dozens of manifestations, all creative. The too-short life of RTF, one of the defining post-’60s ensembles, offered some superb music, especially in “Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy” and “Where Have I Known You Before” (both on Polydor). “Music Forever and Beyond: The Selected Works of Chick Corea” (GRP) is a five-CD boxed overview of Corea from 1949 (when he was 8 years old) to 1996. His latest group, Origin (“Originations” on Stretch), has done consistently admirable work, and Corea’s still-unrecorded current trio is even better. And don’t overlook his many classical recordings.

George Russell. Still far too little-known, Russell’s early theories regarding modal improvisation affected players such as Bill Evans and John Coltrane, and probably had a significant effect on the music in Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue.” Russell’s compositions sound alive and vital on “The Jazz Workshop” (Koch), from the mid-’50s. His small groups of the early ‘60s, especially the ensemble (with Don Ellis and Eric Dolphy on “Ezz-thetic” (Fantasy), were a marvel. And his large-ensemble writing on “New York, New York” (Impulse!) brought new textural ideas to big jazz band instrumentation.

Sun Ra. By any definition, keyboardist, composer and iconoclastic transcendentalist Sun Ra (Herman Blount) was a true jazz original. Starting in the ‘40s and ‘50s with bop-tinged big bands, he gradually moved into a dramatic combination of theatricality, edgy avant-garde sounds and collective improvisation, all of it fueled by outer space-oriented fantasies. “Sun Ra and his Arkestra Greatest Hits” (Evidence) covers 1956 to 1973. “Languidity” (Evidence), from 1978, reveals a somewhat softer aspect of his music. And if anyone is a candidate for a DVD visual chronicle, it’s Sun Ra.

The Art Ensemble of Chicago. As an outgrowth of the Assn. for the Advancement of Contemporary Musicians, the AEC, beginning around the mid-’60s, established the Second City as a major center of jazz avant-garde activity. The primary movers--trumpeters Roscoe Mitchell and Lester Bowie, saxophonist Joseph Jarman, and bassist Malachi Favors--with their exploratory embrace of poetry, ritual and jazz, can be heard on “Art Ensemble 1967/68” (Nessa), “Bap-Tizum” (Koch Jazz) from 1972, “Fanfare for the Warriors” (Koch Jazz) from 1975, and “Urban Bushmen” (BMG) from 1982.

Wayne Shorter. An important composer and one of the most inventive of the post-Coltrane saxophonists, Shorter came out of the blocks quickly in the ‘60s (when he was still with Miles Davis) with two classics--”Speak No Evil” and “Adam’s Apple” (both on Blue Note)--and moved the jazz-Brazil connection into a new phase with 1975’s “Native Dancer” (Columbia). Partnered with Joe Zawinul, he created Weather Report, the definitive jazz fusion ensemble. Their best albums: “Weather Report” and “I Sing the Body Electric 1972.” More recently, “1 + 1” (Verve) was a brilliantly conceived duet series with longtime companion Herbie Hancock, while “High Life” (Verve) revealed his capacity to adapt to the shifting trends of the ‘90s.

Keith Jarrett. Jarrett’s long, productive career has moved from early avant-garde work through his brilliant solo piano excursions into the equally stunning trio work with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. “The Impulse Years: 1973-74” (Impulse!) is a set of his edgy early efforts, and his solo piano is at its peak in “The Koln Concert” (ECM). The standards trio--with Peacock and DeJohnette--is framed in a particularly felicitous setting in the 1995 five-CD box “Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note,” and 1999’s “The Melody at Night With You” (ECM) is an intimate, personal view into the heart of his artistry. And don’t overlook his substantial catalog of classical recordings.

David Sanborn/Grover Washington Jr./Michael Brecker. It’s a fair bet that most of the student saxophonists of the past two decades would list this trio among their first influences; Coltrane and Parker come later. Sanborn (“The Best of David Sanborn” on Warner Bros.) built a link with the blues, rock and jazz. Washington (“Grover Washington Jr.: The Ultimate Collection” on Universal/Hip-O) found similar territory between jazz, soul and rhythm ‘n’ blues. And Brecker (“Don’t Try This at Home” on Impulse!) brought the Coltrane sound and technique into the jazz and pop mainstream.

The Swing Revivalists: Scott Hamilton, Ken Peplowski, Warren Vache. Swing--contrary to what Burns’ documentary might have suggested--is, like bebop, very much alive, especially in the work of players such as saxophonist Hamilton, clarinetist Peplowski and cornetist Vache, all of whom have significant catalogs of recordings on the Concord Jazz label. “Ballad Essentials” is among the prolific Hamilton’s dozens of albums. “The Natural Touch” showcases Peplowski’s swiftly fluid clarinet work. And Vache plays in spirited fashion with his Syncopatin’ Seven on “What Is There to Say?” on the German Nagel-Heyer label (available from Amazon.com).

Latin Jazz. Burns pretty much missed the boat in this category, and one could easily come up with 11 more--probably even 22 more--important artists. In any case, don’t overlook “Obra Maestra” (RMM), reportedly the only joint recording between Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri; or Puente’s “The Complete RCA Recordings,” a five-CD boxed set; “The Best of the Concord Years” on two CDs; and “El Rey del Timbal: The Best of Tito Puente” (Rhino). Also Palmieri’s unique interpretations on “Arete” (RMM) and “El Sonido Nuevo” (Verve), a 1966 outing with Cal Tjader. But don’t stop there.

Also check out recordings by, among numerous others, Ray Barretto, Machito, Mongo Santamaria, Jerry Gonzalez, Poncho Sanchez, Willie Bobo, Chucho Valdes and Irakere, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, David Sanchez, Danilo Perez and Hilton Ruiz.

OK, that wasn’t a hard list to come up with. And it didn’t even include such obviously important young artists as, to name only a few, Dave Douglas, Joshua Redman, Jane Bunnett, Marcus Roberts, Terence Blanchard or Kenny Garrett. Nor did it mention such intriguing developments as acid jazz, slam bands and the young swing ensembles. Burns says it’s too early to know what the important historical trends of the last 40 years will turn out to be. Maybe he just didn’t ask the right people.