mjazzg

Richard Landry - Solos [Chatham Square]

I watched the Springsteen earlier today. An extended promo film maybe but it had some great moments and the songs are strong on this album. Nicely shot film

Yes, I think there was an added value, maybe not mystique, to the BN reissues in the mid-80s. There was a big fanfare and a marketing campaign that highlighted the history of the label and it did coincide with the jazz revival that included landmarks like the film 'Round Midnight' which featured BN artists. My perspective is one of someone very new to jazz at that time. Maybe more experienced listeners knew their Prestiges as well as their BNs. I knew more about labels that Mingus LPs came out on and Black Saint at that time...reflecting my two entry points of Braxton and Mingus

What about the DMM reissues in and around 1985? They may not have opened the floodgates as the CDs did but they certainly made a lot of titles available and with good media coverage (we were having a Jazz Revival I think). That's when i started buying Blue Notes in any number. I still remember the NME review, by Roy Carr I think, that introduced the idea of 'brown-bagging' in that you could buy any of the reissues in a brown bag without seeing the cover and still be guaranteed great music. My introduction to 'Out To Lunch', 'Empyrean Isles', 'Let Freedom Ring', 'Spring', 'The Rajah', a few Joe Hendersons and Sam Rivers. I must have bought twenty plus titles. And, you got a poster too! They were readily available in Our Price as well as the specialists. Also available at this time were the French Pathe Marconi, nicer quality covers than the DMMs.

Bruce Springsteen - 'Western Stars' This seemed to get a lukewarm reception but I think it's classic Bruce. Wide panorama songwriting and arrangements.

Bruce Springsteen - 'Letter To You' First listen. 'Western Stars' and the autobiography rekindled my long buried love for Bruce. This one's sounding great on initial impressions. There's something reassuring about having his American Dream restated at such troubling times. And, the sax sounds just like the Big Man too. Well done for listening to your uncle so closely. One of the soundtracks to my teenage years. Loved them back then.

Thanks for reminding me. It looks like it is still available.

£35 in the UK so expect even better quality control here 😃

Can't see a Barry Guy solo set not sounding good really. Unless he takes up the bagpipes

All of the above and the Red Trio+ too! Could be an expensive haul

some of my earliest international online purchases were with Okka. It was always a very friendly experience, glad to see this resurrection do you know if there's any plan to make downloads available of the catalogue? Sadly international postage charges have made purchasing physical product a pretty unrealistic option nowadays.

Me too. I had to sit down after watching the video. Too much excitement for one day...

No idea but I wasn't about to take the risk, It's the sort of title that could end up at Jazz Messengers or Honest Jon's. I would guess that will very much depend on how the initial sales go - if they go well then they may not be inclined to bother with international distribution. Maybe worth seeing if you find any of the label's other releases in Europe? Or, email them and ask?

Thanks, ordered. Hopefully be here for Xmas...

What a shame. I sat in the front row when he played with Full Blast at the Vortex. It was so loud it nearly hurt (shades of Motorhead). But the playing was wonderful, Kondo's in particular. I don't know nearly enough about his recordings away from Brotzmann.