Tommy Flanagan - Beyond the Blue Bird (Timeless, 1990)

 

Tommy Flanagan, piano
Kenny Burrell, guitar
George Mraz, bass
Lewis Nash, drums

Recorded April 28 & 30, 1990

Studio 44, Monster, NL

Engineer: Max Bolleman

In my not-so-humble opinion, Tommy Flanagan is one of the most important pianists in the history of jazz. He belongs in a select group of players that includes George Cables, John Hicks, Don Friedman, Kenny Barron, Enrico Pieranunzi, Harold Danko, and a few others. I call this group the "no wrong notes" club for somewhat obvious reasons. Listening to them in solo spots and in accompaniment to other artists, you can never predict what's coming next from the keyboard, but it's always a coherent choice. Flanagan distinguishes himself by not playing dissonantly (like Cecil Taylor, Andrew Hill, or Monk) or effusively (like Brubeck or Oscar Peterson). His style is elegant and totally absorbing despite his embrace of convention. 

Beyond the Blue Bird features the legendary Kenny Burrell and the top rhythm team of George Mraz and Lewis Nash. Mraz always elevates the sessions he plays in. As a result, he was constantly in the recording studio making many of the best albums of the 80s and 90s as well as touring with different groups. He was a superb accompanist and an inventive soloist. 

Flanagan and Burrell are almost telepathic sharing the front line of the quartet on Beyond the Blue Bird. Two chordal instruments can easily get in each other's way, but the best guitar-piano units exhibit a complementary relationship. Here, Flanagan and Burrell often play chords behind each other's solos. 

My favorite track is the venerable "Yesterdays," which Flanagan and Burrell transform into something magnificent, using introductory tempo-free solos followed by an up-tempo round of solos that culminates in fascinating countermelodies. Another highlight is Flanagan's "Something Borrowed, Something Blue," an extraordinary ballad given tender treatment by the whole band. 

Beyond the Blue Bird an album that is both approachable and varied, despite the dominance of blues. Multiple composers are featured: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Reece, Benny Carter, Barry Harris, Jerome Kern, and Thad Jones in addition to Flanagan and Burrell.

Beyond the Bluebird was recorded in 1990 and issued originally in Japan by Alfa. The Dutch release on the Timeless label did not occur until 1999, which seems strange given that it was recorded in Holland and produced by Timeless' founder Wim Wigt. 

For my reviews of two other Tommy Flanagan albums, go to:

Post: Edit Jazz Poet

Post: Edit Giant Steps

Charlie Haden - First Song (Soul Note, 1990)

 

Charlie Haden, bass

Billy Higgins, drums
Enrico Pieranunzi, piano

Recorded April 26, 1990

Barigozzi Studio, Milano

Engineer: Giancarlo Barigozzi

Although bassist Charlie Haden's name receives first billing, First Song is a co-equal, cooperative venture that doesn't require a leader. If anything, Enrico Pieranunzi commands the most attention as one might expect in a piano trio. Although he had begun recording in Italy 15 years earlier, Pieranunzi's reputation was not firmly established outside of Europe in 1990 when this album was recorded. That was soon to change. 

The title track begins the album and is one of Haden's most familiar compositions. The simple melody is introduced by Pieranunzi, and Haden joins in on the second verse as Billy Higgins accompanies on brushes. Pieranunzi then embellishes the tune for its final four minutes, winding down to a satisfying end.

The rest of the album is quite varied. Two ballads are handled quite differently. "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" begins with a re-imagined melody that serves as solo opportunities for Pieranunzi and Haden. Not until the last 30 seconds of the tune does the actual melody appear. By contrast, "All the Way" is given a lush, romantic treatment that remains true to the original version sung by Frank Sinatra in 1957. I've known this song since slow dancing to it in my teens. The trio's version prompts the lyrics to form in my head and kindles my sentimental attachment to the song.

The album continues with radical transformations of two bebop compositions: Lennie Tristano's "Lennie's Pennies" and Charlie Parker's "Si Si." Pieranunzi's solo on "Pennies" includes intriguing variations that grow in intensity - not what I would expect on a Tristano number. "Si Si" is even more adventurous as the pianist rips through the changes of Parker's reimagined version of "Honeysuckle Rose." Billy Higgins finally gets solo space by trading fours with the piano before Pieranunzi returns to the main theme.

The album ends with two shorter numbers. "For Turiya" is Haden's short, solemn tribute to Alice Coltrane. Like most of Haden's music, it is simple in construction yet profound in its impact. Pieranunzi's "In the Moment" is a feature for Billy Higgins. 

First Song is the earliest recorded album in this blog. Although recorded in 1990, it was not released by Soul Note until 1992. The sequence will continue in order of recording dates, not the release dates. 

For my reviews on four other Charlie Haden albums, go to:

Post: Edit The Montreal Tapes

Post: Edit Etudes

Post: Edit Quartet West

Post: Edit The Ballad of the Fallen

Introduction to the Blog

More Favorites: Jazz in the 1990s

Dan Robey 

Who Am I?

I'm a retired college professor who has been listening to jazz for over 70 years. At about age 10, I heard my oldest brother's record albums played on an inexpensive turntable in his bedroom. He brought the turntable and his albums along for our summer holidays. With no TV or radio in the cottage, he played jazz records by the likes of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Gerry Mulligan, Lennie Niehaus, and others. 

My brother also gave me my first jazz album - Ray Charles at Newport - in about 1958; another brother gave me John Coltrane's My Favorite Things in about 1960. I owned Miles Davis's Kind of Blue in high school and bought a number of Art Blakey albums in the 1960s. This was a great time for jazz, and I never stopped listening. 

Blogging Experience

Six years ago, I discovered Scott Mortensen's blog about jazz in the 1970s. PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s (jazzinthe70s.blogspot.com). I was intrigued by Scott's selections and commentaries and contributed numerous comments to his posts. When he finished, I proposed that we co-author a new blog about jazz in the 1980s. That blog reviewed about 300 albums and was completed in early 2023 MORE FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1980s (jazzinthe80s.blogspot.com). I then created a blog about progressive rock with my son and completed it in late 2023 Discovering Prog: From Father to Son and Back Around (discoveringprogfatherandson.blogspot.com).

All of these blogs were enjoyable to work on, so I decided to blog about the next decade of jazz in the sequence - the 1990s. You are reading that blog now.

Why the 1990s?

Aside from simply being the next decade in the procession, the 1990s are distinguished in three related ways. 

First, digital recording was thoroughly ensconced in the music business during the 1990s. Almost all new records were released on CD, and new LPs were scarce. Most new music of the decade never made it to vinyl. Jazz lovers therefore added CD racks to their music collections, sometimes trading in LPs as titles came out on CD. 

Second, jazz had become postmodern and international, as Scott and I document in our 1980s blog. In the 1990s, European labels recorded new jazz in a variety of styles. SteepleChase, ECM, Criss Cross, Black Saint, and Soul Note would yearly release dozens of new jazz albums on CD, allowing collectors to expand their libraries to include American and European artists. 

Third, the first edition of The Penguin Guide to Jazz (1992) surveyed hundreds of artists and thousands of albums. Based in the UK, authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton issued 10 editions published between 1992 and 2010. Their astonishing insights across jazz's complete history guided my collecting during the 1990s and beyond.

Blog Objective 

Today, much of the great music recorded in the 90s is ripe for rediscovery. While current vinyl reissue programs favor material from the 1950s and 1960s on LPs, physical CDs are now either rare or cheap depending on where you look. I see used CDs listed on Amazon priced at $100 or more, while my local used record shops can hardly find room for their CD surplus priced under $10. 

In this blog, I present detailed posts on 104 of my favorite jazz albums of the 1990s. The albums are selected from my own music library and include CDs, digital downloads, and vinyl. Fortunately, music of all genres and vintages is available on streaming and download services such as Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music, among others. Although resolution, subscription rates and availability vary across these services, they are convenient ways to sample and acquire digital music. 

Schedule

I plan to post reviews of two albums per week on each Saturday in 2026. Set your calendars to read my new posts every Saturday beginning January 3, 2026.  

In addition to personal commentary, my posts include photos of album covers and artists, recording dates and venues, and recording engineers. The format is text and photos but not links to YouTube versions. Since most albums in this review are available for streaming or download, curious readers can cut and paste song titles or album names into their favorite streaming services' search windows. 

My Biases

Favorites are subjective, and mine are biased toward my 70+ years (roughly 1955-2025) of listening. During this span, jazz exhibits a lot of diversity, so my favorites are also diverse.

My other bias is toward music that sounds good, regardless of format. I love vinyl, but I am not a vinyl snob. I also prefer to collect and possess rather than stream, although I do not begrudge anyone's format or listening preferences.

My Hi-Fi System

For those who care, I list my Hi-Fi equipment below:

Loudspeakers	Vandersteen Kēnto Carbon
Crossover	Vandersteen M5-HP Balanced
Stereo Power Amplifier	Ayre VX-R TWENTY
Preamplifier	Ayre KX-R TWENTY
Phono Equalizer (preamp)	DS Audio DS-W3
Stylus Cleaner	DS Audio ST-50
DAC	Ayre QX-5 Digital Hub TWENTY (upgraded)
Digital Music Server	Aurender N100H
CD Player	Ayre C5xe MP
Turntable	Brinkman Audio Bardo
Turntable Power Supply	Brinkmann Audio RoNt Tube
Tone Arm	Brinkman Audio 12.1"
Cartridge	DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge
Turntable Clamp	HMS Analog Disk Heavy
Plasma Display System	Pioneer Elite PRO-1150HD
AC Power Conditioner	Audioquest Niagara 7000
Speaker Cables	Audioquest Gibraltar s/s 8'
Interconnect Cables	Audioquest Sky 1m XLR
Interconnect Cables	Audioquest Colorado .5m XLR
Interconnect Cables	Audioquest Colorado 1m XLR
Interconnect Cables	JPS Super FX 1m XLR
AES/EBU Cable	Audioquest Diamond 1m
USB Cable	Audioquest Diamond 3m
Furniture	Bush
Isolation Base	HRS M3X
Stand	Premier
Cones	Goldmund
Wood Blocks	Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Wood Blocks (3)
Wall Power Outlet	Maestro
AC Power Cord	Audioquest Hurricane 1m
AC Power Cord	Audioquest Thunder 2m
AC Power Cord	Audioquest Tornado 2m
AC Power Cord	Audioquest Tornado 2m
AC Power Cord	Audioquest Monsoon 3m
AC Power Cord	JPS Digital AC
Mobile Player	Pono
Media Software	JRiver MC 32