Nate Dorward

edc: I think you're talking about the feature on Jeff Schlanger in the current Signal to Noise. Weakest piece in the main section, alas (& I can't believe they caved in to Schlanger's demand that a registration symbol appear after every instance of "musicWitness" in the piece, & even on the magazine cover!). Still haven't heard any other of Parker's big band discs beyond Raincoat in the River (which I see I mentioned when this thread started). Certainly that disc didn't suggest much of a talent for big band scoring.

There's a sequel called Corn Meal Dance. If you don't mind the lyrics, it's a very nice album. My review here (originally for Exclaim!): William Parker/Raining on the Moon Corn Meal Dance AUM Fidelity www.aumfidelity.com Corn Meal Dance is the second album by Raining on the Moon, a project helmed by free jazz bassist William Parker that centres on the work of vocalist Leena Conquest. The focus is on songs of consciousness-raising and spiritual uplift; the lyrics’ earnestness requires a willing suspension of cynicism in the listener, but Conquest’s sweet, dignified delivery helps immensely: she sells them, but doesn’t oversell them. Saxophonist Rob Brown and trumpeter Lewis Barnes get off some brief but telling solos, while pianist Eri Yamamoto’s gospelly chords cushion and shape the deep-juju grooves carved out by Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. This is Parker’s most polished and user-friendly CD to date, though there are still enough dizzy free-fall passages to keep it just to the side of the jazz mainstream.

BIS--audiophile classical label with an excellent roster of recordings of Nielsen, Rautavaara, Sibelius, &c. My problem with the packaging is just half the time the discs have scrapes on them. My copy of The Dark Tree skips, dammit.

You mean you don't like dreary B&W pics of urban blight?

I try to avoid the label now after having had many problems with the horrible card sleeves. Though some things I can't resist (like that Giuffre live set).

Just thought I'd add that Gayle's Time Zones is a really, really good solo piano disc which would probably appeal to fans of Jaki Byard & Sun Ra's solo stuff. The man can play some great piano when he wants to, though you wouldn't guess it from some of his more random assaults on the instrument in the past.

My copy of Intensity only has one bonus track, the blues "Five Points". Maybe there's a difference between North American & European issues of the CD?

It's excellent. Not a lost classic, certainly, but solid jazz by players who have their own personal styles.

Re: The Way It Was--Actually none of the outtakes from the various other sessions are on the OJCs in my collection--were they included at a later date? In any case, it's great music, both the Side A session with Marsh & the Side B of outtakes (I remember the fast "The Man I Love" as particularly strong).

Hey Chuck--since I'm not a big user of online CD sources, just thought I'd ask--where does one go for the Vanguard sessions at $50-70? (New or used?) I'd recently seen it for $169 Cdn--too much, but would like it for less.

And what do you think that story might be, Nate? Something 'content-oriented', perhaps? Jeff's passing is a sad loss for his family, friends and fans. And losing his knowledge is like watching a library burn down. Hm, maybe if the article were signed I'd have a better idea what's going on there....

Odd that that Globe & Mail (really, Canadian Press) obit goes out of its way to avoid naming JAZZ-FM. Maybe there's a story there...

Jesus Christ. That's awful news. Rest in peace, Jeff. I think the first time I encountered him was a video of him playing some nifty laptop blues guitar which was in heavy rotation on MuchMusic. But he's most familiar to me for his radio work, as a conoisseur of early jazz & blues.

Why would anyone "want" to like a Eugene Chadbourne recording? It's not like they're rare birds. Half of them seem to be issued with an audience of one in mind (his name starts with "Ben"). It's the rare exception to encounter an E.C. disc actually worth spinning twice, & sometimes you could cut that down to "once" or less. There's about two or three good tracks on the one you mention (the Iraqi rewrite of "The Girl from Ipanema" is a classic), but he deserves to be hanged for what he does to the Marvin Gaye tune. "Be yourself": classic useless advice. Maybe you're a boring, tin-eared person: I'd rather you pretended to be Larry Kart instead. Go ahead & fake it! -- The best advice is "write something that you'd enjoy reading".

He used all of his tools on every recording, that is there is not just one record under his own name where he just sticks to say, tenor. Plase correct me if I'm wrong. I remember that late in life, after the stroke, Kirk did play mostly just on tenor, using one hand. I caught an hour of this material on Ted O'Reilly's old show once, & it was just incredible--& incredibly moving too.

Nice translation of St John of the Cross, too.

The exact quote from Duke is: "If it sounds good, it's good music, and if it doesn't, then it is the other kind." Link to Music is My Mistress here--the context is an interviewer asking him his opinion of "young's people's music", i.e. rock/pop.)

I've heard Tuomarila, in fact just reviewed a CD by him. Eh.

The somewhat earlier quartet with Stenson, Jormin & Oxley is much more exciting than the group with Wacilewski &c--I have The Soul of Things, like it a lot, but don't need any more of it than the one CD I think. -- Bosonossa & Other Ballads on Power Bros is great stuff, a lot spikier than the title would suggest & the rougher sound makes a nice change from the ECM ambience.

Presumably because the repertoire on Have a Little Faith was likely to sell a little more briskly than the all-originals program on This Land. Truthfully, I don't think any of Frisell's albums match his best sideman work or his best live performances; & ever since Nashville I've found him unlistenable.

I was in the record shop the other day & spotted this one--remembered Larry's enthusiasm, & grabbed it. Not much to add, really--I'm glad Larry mentioned "These Foolish Things" specifically because it is truly a performance for the ages. A more general question: any further recommendations for later (postwar) Prez? I've mostly collected the earlier work (I suppose scared away by the generally mixed rep of his later work, & indeed the few recordings I'd heard were pretty sad at times), but obviously I should be remedying that omission.

Marc Ribot?

Aha--I was wondering why on earth Garner's representation on CD was kind of spotty; hadn't known of the estate issues. -- I'm still baffled why there seems to be no recent remastering of Concert by the Sea (it'll never sound GOOD but I'm sure more could be done with it nowadays).

Getting back to this (will post here rather than backdating my earlier post)-- 4: hm, no idea who any of the players are. The big surprise is the over-the-top return of the alto, which initially sounds like a wailing harmonica. I like some of the pianist's moves. But on the whole, I'm not getting too excited about this. 5: I forget the name of this oddly-structured tune--"Falling in Love with Love" I think. The most familiar player is the drummer--a reined-in Roy Haynes? Can't put my finger on the other players. The tenor player isn't really my cup of tea--I guess I find his phrasing an over-stuffed mix of swing tenor & postbop. 6: Nice track that reminded me of albums like Very Saxy, though the recorded sound suggests it's fairly contemporary. Not really grabbing me, but then I'm not really plugged in to this genre of music enough to make fine distinctions between examples of it. 10: Uh, Warne Marsh in an atypical context.... ?!? Dated but enjoyable! A really interesting arrangement, especially that horn pileup at the end. A websearch suggests it could be a Clare Fischer big band disc. Pity about the poor sound. 11: Not sure I'm taken by the saxophonist's tone, but he makes purposeful use of polytonality rather than just as a rote gimmick, & the solo cadenza is commanding. 12: Lovely stuff--I guess it's got a polished nostalgic glow, but I like this style of music too & they do it justice. 13: Nice tenor, but not getting me too excited. 14: Not too up to date on my Birdophile altos--I'll guess maybe Frank Morgan just because it would (obviously) be timely. Maybe Lou Levy on piano. It's OK, but I guess it lacks that central calm & assurance that attracts me to classic bop. 15: "El Gaucho" in a multipiano version. I never understand the point of these things, sorry--sounds like a mess. I think this format only works with stride piano (where there's a very firm groove to ride) or avantgarde settings *where players can work independently)--with the more idiosyncratic rhythmic sensibilities of postbop players, the result is just a lot of clashing ideas. This is surely the Danko/Lightsey duet album--I don't know either player well but recognize Danko from his duets with Konitz. * Thanks for the music SJ!

OK, just got it & am spinning now. Scattershot comments for now, more detailed later on. * 1: Hawkins obviously, maybe Thad Jones too? I see the Penguin guide lists a 1960 date with them both + Eddie Costa, that sounds right. 2: Soprano-led big band with Dexter Gordon & I think Phil Woods in the band. 3: nice male voice + vocal take on "It's All Right With Me", the arrangement holds no great surprises, but it's OK. Alto is a 1950s West Coaster, probably Pepper? & yeah, it sounds like a Paich arrangement. A peek at Straight Life indicates it's a singer I've never heard of before, Jesse Belvin. ... 7: a variant on "Woodyn' You", probably under the leadership of the tenor, surely Clifford Jordan, not sure about the other players. I like the tune & arrangement, even if it is overlong & repetitious, & CJ's playing; pity it's let down by the other players, whose solos are kinda bumpy. 8: well, this is a familiar enough track--SC's last album as a leader, with a rare non-Monk appearance by Rouse in this period. Rhythm section is familiar from Dexter Gordon & Jackie McLean's Blue Notes of the period. 9: Classy reading of this Dameron tune, probably players I should know. The pianist is fascinating & idiosyncratic, with those spare solemn chords.