Jazz recommendations (Part 1)

Just a couple of tracks I've been listening to recently. I suggest you obtain them, one way or another, and give them a shot.

1) Jaco Pastorius - Broad Way Blues (12:42)
This live track, from his album Heavy 'n Jazz is a trio masterpiece, with bass, guitar and drums, any one of which can be taken as the lead instrument. Some beautiful and very funky grooves with the bass and guitar doubling up comprise the intro to the song, and then we're treated to a beautiful jazz guitar solo reminiscent of Wes Montgomery's earlier playing, but with just a touch of experimental/fusion in there. Naturally, the bass and drums backing this up are worth listening to just on their own. Following some experimentalism, and a return to the opening grooves, we're treated to a drum solo, later backed up with some solo bass with distortion in the high register - one of Jaco's trademarks and not to be missed. He finishes off the bass solo by simply playing (because they can never be improved) Paul Chambers' riffs from So What? by the Miles Davis Quintet. One more drum solo leads us back into the main themes and the outro, a truly stunning piece, and one that can easily be listened to for the full 12 1/2 minutes without the listener ever losing focus or interest.

2) Jacques Loussier Trio - Sleepers, Awake! (Wachet Auf) (4:19)
Jacques Loussier, one of my favourite artists is a French jazz pianist, famed for his interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach's works. This gavotte is taken from Bach's cantata "Wachet Auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (BWV 140), already a masterpiece in its own right, and the interpretation is simply sublime. The double bass leads in with the main theme from the cantata, and is soon joined by some sublime piano accompaniment. Jacques then proceeds to play through the piece, although he adds so many dynamics, graces and extra fills, with both hands all over the keyboard that the original is sometimes almost unrecognizable at first impression, though once you look closely at what he is playing you realise that it is uncannily true to the Bach piece. Following another gorgeous bass solo, based around the original theme, Jacques Loussier leads the piece out by simply playing some of the main themes at speed, with his perfect grasp of feeling. The percussion throughout the piece is extremely interesting, and manages to really give the piece some rhythmic tension without ever standing out above the other two pieces.