HutchFan

Disc 2

Absolutely. I like 'em all -- but I think Flute Flight might be the pick of the litter. Lou Levy brought his "A" game.

Now listening to some live Ellington from 1959. Tonight, I got a real charge out of Shorty Baker's loose-as-a-goose solo on "Mood Indigo."

Wayne Shorter - The Odyssey of Iska (Blue Note, 1971) This incredibly creative album is the subject of today's post on my blog, PLAYING FAVORITES. I know Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros -- but I'm not familiar with Antonio "Chocolate" Diaz Mena. Regardless, this latter "Chocolate" has one helluva line-up on that record (including the other "Chocolate"!). Good stuff?

Sam Most - Flute Flight (Xanadu, 1977)

Feeling Free is also my favorite Kessel record, by a considerable margin. (And not just because it features Bobby Hutcherson! 😉)

Morton & Cook don't "get" Griff & Lock. They dismiss most of their records out of hand. Everyone has their blind spots. 😉 Earlier:

Now: Earlier:

NP: Grant Green - Alive! (Blue Note) This album is the subject of today's entry on my blog, PLAYING FAVORITES.

Re-listening to this: Marian McPartland - Ambiance (Halcyon/Jazz Alliance, 1970) It's the subject of yesterday's entry on my blog, PLAYING FAVORITES

No way! Never!

On January 1, 2020, I'm launching a new blog dedicated to exploring recorded jazz from the 1970s. It's called Playing Favorites: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s. During the year-long blogging project, I plan to list one album per day for the entire year. So, at the end of the year, the site will provide details for 366 albums, all recorded between January 1, 1970 and December 31, 1979. As the title of the blog implies, I'm not focusing on the "most important" or "best" recordings from the decade. Rather, I'm discussing my favorite recordings, music that has personal meaning to me. One other caveat: I'm limiting myself to one recording as a leader per artist and one recording as a co-leader per artist. Rather than digging deeply into a handful of musicians, I wanted to show the breadth and diversity of jazz during the decade. This strategy also had the effect of prompting me to listen to lots of new music -- and to carefully re-examining old favorites. The URL for my blog is https://jazzinthe70s.blogspot.com/. So far, I've written one post, providing background info about the project (as above). I've already chosen all 366 recordings. I have them listed chronologically (by recording date) on a spreadsheet -- with sidemen, labels, reissue details, etc. I've already written several of the entries, but I won't post them until next year on their "assigned" date. Some blog entries may only provide a sentence or two of commentary. Other entries will be longer. I think the main value of the project will be to shine a light (however dim) on some under-valued artists and express some appreciation for all the enjoyment that they have given me. It goes without saying that I will NOT be sharing files on this blog. That's not my purpose. I may occasionally provide links to music that others have posted on YouTube -- assuming that those YT posts are legal. But I'll emphasize again that my main purpose is to offer up a sizable, annotated LIST of recordings that others might recognize as jumping off points or gateways for further exploration. I've been tinkering with this idea for a long time, and I'd intended to write a book on the topic. But, based on the progress that I've made (nearly none), I decided that it would be better to create something, rather than holding on to a grander idea and as a result produce nothing. Let's see how this thing goes.

NP:

Fair enough!

Earlier:

O.K, I can see that. Sounds like I'm more convinced by Hutcherson's 70s output in general than some (many? most?). I think Cirrus is a stinkin' masterpiece, one of the best LPs Hutch ever made. Full stop. I think Waiting is a tremendous record. I think Live at Montreux is outstanding. I really, really dig Montara. The View from the Inside ... fabulous. So gentle and mellow. And you know how I feel about San Francisco. The music on these LPs isn't built like Hutcherson's music was in the 60s. Very different intentions and directions. Of course, I mean that in a GOOD way. But others may hear it otherwise!

I'm sorta surprised that you gents don't enjoy San Francisco more. Again, not try to convince anyone to hear things otherwise. Just talkin'. I think Sample was the perfect player for the record. To me, San Fran is a funky minimalism record, as if African abstraction could meet soul-jazz in mellow Northern California. The equation works for me. Just curious: Do you guys like Montara? O.K. Gotcha. So I guess the album titled 1 represented a second "re-set" after the name change from Jazz Crusaders to Crusaders. Didn't realize that.

This is Hutcherson's and Land's "co-led" album. So I still get to choose one more from each of them. Montreux and Cirrus and Head On all of Hutch's other 70s "sole leader" albums are still in play. Same with the records under Land's leadership -- Choma (Burn), A New Shade of Blue, Damisi, Mapenzi, etc. Oh. I didn't realize that they actually had recorded that song! I'm familiar with the first two "non-Jazz" Crusader records -- 1 and Second Crusade -- but I've never heard Pass the Plate. Gonna give that a listen. Thanks for the heads up!

Listening to more Duke from the mid-1940s: The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973) Disc 16

That looks interesting . . .

NP: Originally released as Energy on Capitol Records in the U.S. This Italian "I Giganti Del Jazz" LP is the version that I own. Damn good jazz. Don Alias shining bright.

Earlier today: Bobby Hutcherson - San Francisco - featuring Harold Land Today's entry in my blog, PLAYING FAVORITES.

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 01/21/20 - Bobby Hutcherson featuring Harold Land – San Francisco (Blue Note, 1971) 01/20/20 - Lee Morgan – Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1971) 01/19/20 - Dexter Gordon with Junior Mance – At Montreux (Prestige, 1985) 01/18/20 - Rusty Bryant – Soul Liberation (Prestige, 1970) 01/17/20 - Charlie [Charles] Earland – Black Drops (Prestige, 1970) 01/16/20 - Donald Byrd – Electric Byrd (Blue Note, 1970) 01/15/20 - Music Inc. [Charles Tolliver] – Live at Slugs', Vol. 1 (Strata-East, 1972) and Live at Slugs', Vol. 2 (Strata-East, 1973) Who said Blue Note didn't make any worthwhile records in the 1970s?!?!? THREE this week!

Last weekend, I found this Hampton Hawes LP in a local shop. I was happy to stumble across it. Been wanting to hear it for a long while.