Jump to content

mikeweil

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    23,201

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Donations

    0.00 USD 

 Content Type 

Posts posted by mikeweil

  2. Pentangle

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    A pity the BBC have not released some of the stuff he recorded in the mid-70s for them. I used to have a tape of a session where they did absolutely marvellous extended, spaced-out versions of things like Inside Out.

    **********

    I hope Island take on that classic Martyn catalogue in the way they've spring cleaned the likes of Fairport, Free and Traffic. I have crackly old vinyl of 'Bless the Weather', 'Inside Out' and 'Sunday's Child', the latter being especially battered. They did a good job on 'Solid Air' a year or so back. Finish the job please!

    I have a 15 minute version of Outside In recorded for the BBC in 1977, on Windsong WINCD 012, released in 1992, "John Martyn, BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert".

    Is that what you're talking about? (the majority of the tracks on this CD is from a 1986 concert).

    The Tumbler, Stormbringer, Bless The Weather, Solid Air, One World, Inside Out have all been on Island CDs in the late 1980's, maybe more.

  3. Pentangle

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted · Edited by mikeweil

    Speaking of John Martyn and Danny Thompson. Here's an article from the folk magazine Dirty Linen from 1992. Martyn tells some tales about his antics with Thompson.

    :g:g:g Thanks for posting that Interview! LMAO; ROTF :g:g:g

    Bev, could you recommend any of Richard Thompson's albums with Danny Thompson? Thanks!

  4. *** Clifford Jordan ***

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by mikeweil

    I highly recommend "Repetition" on Soul Note SN 1084 CD, a date from 1984 with Barry Harris, Walter Booker and Vernel Fournier. I agree that Jordan is taken for granted most of the times and his individuality not recognized.

    The remarks about Mapleshade's "silly audiphile claims" are too harsh: Jordan's "Live at Ethell's" received one the most prestigious awards among American high end circles. These CDs are about the only ones that sound like an acoustic band (with minimum amplification, that is) in front of you, which may not be to everyones taste. The graphics are indeed way below the level of their sound.

  5. Herbie Hancock comping in "outside" compositions

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by mikeweil

    I guess what my brain remembers my ears hearing is Herbie banging an ambiguous chord (one that doesn't suggest a root, or key-center), in a rhythmic sort of way -- almost using the piano more as a percussion instrument, rather than implying static harmony, or (to an even lesser extent) trying to suggest any sort of harmonic movement.

    Great topic, thanks for bringing it up!!

    That's the way I see it, too (both parts I quoted ;) .

    I learned a lot from Herbie as far as rhythmic awareness is concerned; being a percussionist the intricacies of his harmonic style were less important to me. I often found that Afro-American musicians sometimes use a chord for its sound in the first place, and use it percussively, like a drum with its rich multicentered (tonally speaking) sound. I experience a similar thing with a Kurdish musician I play with for three years now, he harmonizes for sound's sake, not according to functionally appropriate harmonic rules.

    Listening to Herbie's solos on "Ostinato" on the "Mwandishi" album always makes me think of a battery of African xylophones.

    I have to add that this preoccupation with harmony is a typically Western thing; research about scales and chords in Non-Western music started roughly a little more than 100 years ago, whereas the serious study of African rhythm started in the 1950's. From an African point of view, sound and rhythm is always more important than harmony, a chord being more or less a sideproduct of the search for a rich sound. Remember, jazz is black music, at the core, and you can get niggers out of Africa, but you cannot get Africa out of niggahs .. :g:bwallace::g:bwallace::g

  6. Pentangle

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    Just because The Pentangle was a lot jazzier than the other British Folk/Rock bands of the time, I liked them a lot more. Danny Thompson and Terry Cox were a great team, playing with Alexis Korner's Blue Incorporated before he urged them to join the Jansch/Renbourn/McShee triumvirate. I also found Jacqui McShee's vocals more attractive because they were so clear with out the sometimes forced expressiveness of singers with a heavier rock influence. I admit, though, that her blues singing doesn't convince me either.

    I have all of their original LPs and the CD versions, they were unique and an early idol for my own first band, for their fusion of folk with jazz and early music (Oregon and Shakti were the other two bands we looked up to). I never warmed up to the later reunions because they were comparatively unflexible, rhythmically. We played one of their pieces, Light Flight, with that first band, and I do play it again with my actual trio. Some of their music was downright beautiful, the last two albums, Reflection and Solomon's Seal, being my favourites (Jacqui McShee once told me Cruel Sister was her favourite). The master tapes for Solomon's Seal were presumed lost, but I have an order for a CD of it running at amazon.uk, so let me see what happens ... There also is a nice CD from Band of Joy Records with live performances from three different BBC concerts which gives a better expression of the band's live vibe than the live part of the Sweet Child double album.

    I think they paved the ground for the whole folk/jazz movement, they were the pioneers.

    Danny Thompson played with singer/guitarist John Martyn a lot after Pentangle's splitting, any opinions on him among you folkies?

  8. Bobby Jaspar

    in Artists

    Posted

    It's sad he died prematurely. In connection to some heart surgery it's been said; was it drug-related too?

    Edmond Devoghelaere writes Jaspar suffered from endocarditis, an infectious disease that effects the heart valves. Although he had felt sich for a while, it was diagnosed only after a heart attack on September 1, 1962. The surgeons at Bellevue Hospital in New York suggested open heart surgery as the only means to rescue him, as the valves of his heart were already damaged, but his chances to recover were considered low, and he had to wait and rest six months before the operation to gather sufficient strength, but he died shortly before. No substances involved.

  9. Bobby Jaspar

    in Artists

    Posted

    There also is Flute Soufflé, a companion disk to Flute Flight, with two more tracks from the Prestige session with Herbie Mann and another session with Jaspar, Eddie Costa and Flanagan. Bought it recently (OJC) and certainly don't regret it.

    I especially enjoyed his clarinet playing, there is a track on a session for French Columbia displaying these abilities, titled Clarinescapade. Was reissued by Fresh Sound.

    There was a bio-discography by Edmond Devoghelaere published in 1967, may be hard to find.

    All the stuff mentioned in this thread is great; he was one of the best jazz musicians ever to come from Europe, his recorded legacy is still held in high esteem in Belgium.

  11. Give It Up For Booker!

    in Artists

    Posted

    I get Chuck's point, too, and have to agree, but as all the others before, I don't care, as these two solos are great. His spirit is so high it doesn't matter. Always liked him very very much, and think he should have gotten more recognition than he had.

  16. Don Patterson

    in Artists & Recordings

    Posted

    As far as I remember Don doesn't solo too much on it; please correct me if I'm wrong. This was, btw, the first recording session of the Don Patterson/Paul Weeden/Billy James Trio, followed shortly by sessions for Roost (now on the Stitt Mosaic box), Jazzland, and the screwed up Stitt/Gordon for Blue Note.

    I like all the Muse sessions, recently got the CD on 32Jazz with Jimmy Heath, like it much better now than the first time around when I bought the LP. The fourth Muse "Why Not" is nice, I always have a cassette of it in the car, with a nice Horace Silver vibe in the heads.

  17. Jack Sheldon

    in Artists

    Posted

    Let's ask the question the other way 'round: How many trumpeters were there in California at that time being adequate for the Curtis Counce Group? That band was hard bop, but also very sophisticated, and he had it down. If the musicality counts first, there were musicians from the swing era on trying to play with anybody they liked with no regard to color. At least that's the way it looks to me from old Europe.

    I, too, would be interested to read something about his life. Liked him from the first time I heard him with the Counce Group and he's been one of my favourite trumpeters ever since. Did he ever record with Jimmy Rowles? Would have been a great pairing.

  19. G.T. Hogan

    in Artists

    Posted

    That's a great drummer with a very personal version of hard bop drumming. I especially enjoyed his playing on A.K. Salim's Blues Suite on Savoy.

    He guested on Sebastian Whittaker's 1992 Justice CD "One For Bu!!", Justice Records JR 0203-2, he must have been a mentor to Whittaker as well. Plays a nice solo on this record.

  21. Tenor Battles

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    Yeah, tenor battles are one of the greatest things in jazz! Of the ones mentioned, I dig Griff 'n' Lock the most, they were a great team. I second the recommendation of the Oliver Nelson Soul Battle.

    On Prestige, there also is a fine album called Very Saxy with Lockjaw, Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate and Coleman Hawkins where everyone has a ball! Then there is of course the Tenor Conclave with Coltrane, Mobley, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims.

    Recent aquisitions include:

    - an Antilles CD from 1991, The Tough Young Tenors, with Walter Blanding Jr., James Carter (his recording debut), Herb Harris, Tim Warfield and Todd Williams. Carter is definitely the most original of the bunch, but pianist Marcus Roberts plays the wittiest solos on this date and steals the show for me.

    - The Art of the Saxophone, Bennie Wallace with Harold Ashby, Jerry Bergonzi, Oliver Lake and Lew Tabackin

    - Tenor Legacy, Benny Golson with Ashby, Branford Marsalis, and James Carter.

    The camaraderie among tenor players seems to defy any limit.

  22. Discographies online

    in Discography

    Posted

    A fellow discographer expressed his doubts to me about the value of online discographies: Since Tom Lord's or Walter Bruyninckx' CDROMs include (well, almost) everything, is there any need for specialized name discos on the web?

    What's your opinion, and do you look up things there, and how often?

  23. Frank Strozier

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by mikeweil

    There is a Strozier discography in the works. I wanted to do it, but Noal Cohen sent me an e-mail that he considered it too, so I sent him my material - this guys shares my tastes, he did discos on Elmo Hope and Carl Perkins that I wanted to do - he needs encouragement, so go to his site and praise him for his good work!

    Noal Cohen's Jazz History Homepage

  24. I was sad... but now I'm mad

    in Forums Discussion

    Posted

    Yeah, I got those stupid emails about Soul-dead :g . Guys, let's face it that stupid board is over and frankly we don't have that much marketing power unless we act as a group and frankly I don't know how big this group is or if it could exert any influence. If someone like Kevin B can't and he know some of these guys, well, forget it. Yeah, know if we get Michael C, different story.

    How many members were registered at the old BNBB? A little above 4.000. If they all would NOT buy the new Soulive CD, would that do any harm to them or the band? - Besides that, I doubt that we all succed in fighting our curiosity about that CD :lol:

×
×
  • Create New...