HutchFan

George Mraz - My Foolish Heart (Milestone, 1996) Beautiful trio record with Richie Beirach & Billy Hart

Regarding Akinmusire: I think he's a very interesting player. I only know one of his records well, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, but I think the compositions go unexpected places. IMO, the band is strong too -- particularly the tenorist in the front line with Akinmusire, Walter Smith III. You can tell that the band plays together regularly. They're tight. ... And I don't have any issues with Akinmusire's approach or sound. He can be "colorist" and play with some dissonance, but I find myself pulled in by it. Besides, another aspect of his playing -- every bit as prominent, if not more so -- is his tenderness and lyricism. All that said (HutchFan said as he climbed aboard his hobby-horse), I really do think people tend to hear & experience music differently -- even when they're listening to the same thing. So there you go. BTW, I've been meaning to get the CD that Akinmusire made with Tom Harrell for a while now. Just haven't got 'round to it yet. It's called Something Gold, Something Blue, released a few years ago on HighNote. Anyone heard that one?

Frank Foster & the Loud Minority Big Band - Manhattan Fever (Denon, 1978) Not to be confused with Foster's earlier BN release with the same title.

NP: JazzCuba, Vol. 5: Irakere (Rumor Records) From what I've been able to gather from Irakere's VERY confusing discography, this is a reissue of a 1976 studio album recorded in Havana -- with two bonus tracks. Originally, the album was simply titled Grupo Irakere (EGREM/Areito), as shown below: Also, earlier this morning (via YT): Irakere - 2 (Columbia) Studio album recorded in NYC in 1979, after the success of their first Columbia record made at Newport & Montreux. This is much less jazz-oriented, more commercial (Let's DISCO, baby!) compared to the album above -- but it's still interesting. Yeah man! Love that Bennie Green record!

More Irakere:

First spin:

Phew... 100 Mosaic sets!!! Time for a listening party at Dave's house!

A couple new-to-me LPs: Irakere - Chekeré Son (Milestone) and Mick Goodrick - In Pas(s)ing (ECM)

That title cut... UNSTOPPABLE.