JSngry

I would be one of those people! ← I actually pulled out MFJ last week, just because, and I have a better/renewed understanding of why it's a favorite of so many people. The tunes are great, as are the charts, and there is definitely some fine playing going on. The thing about it that doesn't quite "gel" for me, though, is the stylistic grouping of personnel. On the one hand, you've got the two Joes, Bobby Hutcherson, and Ron Carter sounding like they might want to go one way, and on the other, you got Lee, Curtis, and Cedar sounding like they're going a slighty different way. Sometimes these type things end up with everybody finding a common/comfortable middle ground, but here, it seems like it doesn't make anybody uncomfortable, not really, just that there's not as much "consensus" as there might have been. Maybe if Billy Higgins had been the drummer, or McCoy the pianist, that consensus might've been clearer. Or not! Then again, that's jsut how I hear it, and maybe the hangups are all in my head. Distinctly possible!

I'm sure that most of y'all got this in the most recent Mosaic e-mail, but I thought I'd add it to this thread, because I think it's pretty relevant to understanding the music of The Crusaders (Jazz and otherwise). That, I think, is a highly cogent statement not easily dismissed. There will always be those who will fliply dismiss the bands "change of direction" as being motivated strictly by money, but it's not that simple. A cynic often sees the reality of a situation without always understanding the truth behind it... "Territory musicians", eh? I like the notion. A lot.

Well, the true "intent" of this album is made evident that it was a blue-label Verve, if the CD is any indicator. But intent aside, this is one of those sides that I find myself digging in spite of its flaws. Tunes are short-ish (playing time for the entire CD is in the low 30 minute range), McDuff is not utilized to anywhere near full potential (nor are the horns), and there's two(?) pretty lame attempts at "rock" grooves. BUT.... Melvin Sparks is freakin' sublime throughout (this is the "purest" blues playing I've ever heard from him - his Houston upbringing virtually oozes out of every note), and the good tunes are damn near great. Plus, it's Spoon. "Nuff said in that regard. All in all, the price was right, and so is most of the music. Recommended in spite of the caveats. What other sides did Jimmy Witherspoon record for Verve? Seems like I've got that info on some inner-sleeve somewhere, but maybe not. Maybe an intellegently packaged collection of all of them is in order?

I've heard his first two RCA albums, and although the first is tightly produced (by Chet Atkins, iirc) and the second is a somewhat rambling (at times) live date, both would be "essential" listeniong for fans, I'd think. The first one, in fact, was my introduction to Breau. Heard "King Of The Road" on a Tyler, tx "Easy Listening" FM station in 1972 and flipped out. For some reason, the "DJ" (a misonomer of sorts, since on those type of stations, all they did was pop in every half hour and give the weather forecast) announced the artist. If that tune sounds like an unlikely vehicle for some truly amazing guitar playing, well, so be it. Guess he was a fan!

Tenor & Fallen Angels is the one McPhee album I've heard that I'm 100% certain is going to have perpetual staying power for me. Highly recommended, especially on sale.

Oh yeah, the Tolliver. Count me in.

If the Nelson set was to include Flying Dutchman material, it would be essential. But it' still gonna be a good'un, and I'll bite at some point. It could be better though... Definitely excited about the Chu and the Bechet. Those will fill some pretty inexcusable gaps in my knowledge. I know these players "in general", but not in detail. Time for that crap to stop! Wish the Tony would've been complete w/the live material included. As it stands now, some sessions are better than others, imo, but if you've not heard any of them, the good ones will make more than make up for the others. Foreign Intrigue in particular is a very nice album. The McCoy stuff....hmmmm.....the albums from the periods preceeding and after this period have always grabbed me a lot more than the ones from this period. But that's relative, doncha' know. It's still McCoy, it's still got some great music, and it's an commonly overlooked period in the career of one of the Masters. Mulligan? Hey, its Mulligan! Its gonna be what its gonna be. Along w/everybody else, some big for the new page, and for the new releases, all of 'em. Nobody does it like Mosaic, at least so far!

Bingo.

Tink I'll have me a piece of cheesecake with my gouil.

If you ever had any serious off-board contact with him, you'd know that he is one sharp hombre.

any recommendations for those of us unfamiliar with a lot of those titles? ← Here's what I got. Stuck to the $9.99 items only, simply for budgetary reason. Plus, I already have some titles on the list Ran Blake Something to Live For Jimmy Giuffre Momentum, Willisau 1988 Franz Koglmann & Lee Konitz We Thought About Duke Cecil Taylor It Is In The Brewing Luminous (1) Steve Lacy Clinkers Steve Lacy Morning Joy That's roughly $60 worth of sides for $40. Can't complain about that. Hat's had an amazing record of consistency over the years, so if you browse the list and see something that makes you think, "hmmmm, THAT looks like it might be interesting", you can feel safe in adding it to your cart, because odds are that it will be. That goes for the work of the "names" a well as for the work of those whose names might be less familiar.

Yeah, and the stamp doesn't even seem to have been cancelled!

Some good deals to be had.

Aqui!

Last I heard, he was in a mine looking for his old man. Hope he's not lost and gone forever.

Lesse, you're trying to get "young people" "interested" in jazz with a program of octogenarians (or near-octogenarians), a clarinet player, a lounge singer past her prime, and a teenager who sings a song that her great-grandmother might have known in her time (and that her grandmother probably did know)? Hey, The Big Bands Are Coming Back!

That live Cannonball side does have my attention...

Nobody's seen "They Saved Hitler's Brain"? A crappy movie, but that first part of the score is pretty intriguing.

Isn't that a scene at Newport or something? Been a few years since I watched that movie. Brief? It's about ten minutes isn't it?! You gotta love Clint. 'Bird' notwithstanding... ← Monterrey. I don't recall it being that long!

Also a brief piece of live Cannonball footage in that film iirc.

What about the score to the first (newer-shot) part of "They Saved Hitler's Brain?"? Electric piano-centric near-free-jazz. Never have found out who it was, but it definitely sounds like somebody who can play.

Thank you for sharing that with us, Katherine. You husband was (and will always be) special to many of us here.

Hearfelt condolences here as well. Here's hoping that the rest of your life constantly carries with it the memories of her beautiful spirit, and that the rest of your life be lived as a tribute to it.

You look at a list of the names this guy played with over theyears, and it boggles the mind that he wasn't better known. He took Ray Brown's place in Dizzy's Big Band, he was on The Birth Of The Cool, he was in the forefront of Latin Jazz, he played on seminal recordings by Monk & Herbie Nichols, the list of notable accomplishments goes on and on... Hate to repeat myself, but as with Dom Um Romao, what a life!

Jack Webb Spider Martin Carl Rowan