relyles

Tonight in Northampton, MA I caught Steve Swell's Kende Dreams with Rob Brown (as), William Parker (b) and William TA Thompson (d). This may be my last live music experience for a while since it seems like most shows in my area after this weekend are being canceled. At least it was a good one that will hopefully hold me over for a while.

Last night: Gerald Cleaver, William Parker and David Virelles in Northampton, MA. Long continuous improvised set with a lot of close listening going on between the musicians.

I am leading a covenant group during the 2020 Lenten season at my church titled "Food, Jazz and Disciplines". In addition to sharing meals and the neccesary study, during the group sessions I will also be curating listening sessions featuring jazz interpretations of music from the black church tradition. In about ten minutes of thought I identified several artists in my collection that have either recorded entire albums or individual tracks featuring jazz interpretations of gospel, hymns and spirituals such as Gregory Tardy, Jimmy Greene, Charlie Haden/Hank Jones, Grant Green, Larry Willis, Eric Reed and Jay Hoggard. I would appreciate any recommendations from board members for me to consider as I prepare for my group. Thank you.

I don't think you can entirely blame CD Baby since they only offer what the artists provide to them.

I use Napster (formerly known as Rhapsody) to audition recordings before purchase.

Avery Sharpe Quintet plus the Extended Family Choir - 400: An African American Musical Portrait Polish National Home, Hartford, CT

In the past week I have felt the impulse to fill in gaps in my David S. Ware collection. In addition to the new release I picked up a few missing items to complete all of his leader dates available on CD, except for the solo saxophone recordings. I have also been listening to his earlier appearances on recordings by Cecil Taylor, Andrew Cyrille's Maono and early William Parker sessions on the Centering box set. At times Ware's playing can be a little dense or relentless, but there is something about his music that continues to make me want to listen.

Peter Evans Being & Becoming Peter Evans (trumpet), Joel Ross (vibes), Nick Jozwiak (bass), Savannah Harris (drums) Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT

I am very tempted to drive down Friday to catch Tsahar with William Parker and Gerald Cleaver.

Yes, two. A Movado and a Swiss Army.

It was!

As my father used to say, when you are slow, you blow. Yesterday I received the following email from my local independent retailer which survives primarily on used CD sales: Just received 14 Mosaic used Jazz CD Box Sets All 4-7 CD sets Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers 1960’s Lee Morgan/Wayne Shorter Vee Jay sessions Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orch complete recordings Gerald Wilson Orch complete recordings Phil Woods Quartet recordings Johnny Hodges Verve recordings Jimmy Giuffre Atlantic recordings Serge Chaloff sessions Duke Ellington complete Reprise Duke Ellington complete Capitol Jack Teagarden complete Roulette Jack Teagarden complete Capitol Bix Biederbecke/Jack Teagarden/Wayne Trumbauer 1924-36 We’re here Tue/Wed/Thur see you Bobby Hackett complete None of these sets were priorities for me when they were first released, or items I have felt compelled to seek afterward for a number of reasons. Nonetheless, I figured I might be able to catch a good deal on sets such as the Blakey, Woods, Wilson, Jones/Lewis, Shorter/Morgan or Giuffre, which I at least have an interest in. I spent time this morning debating whether to leave work early and researching reviews on the sets I might want. The store officially opens at 11:00, but the sole proprietor is usually there earlier. I thought about getting there early, but ultimately decided to get there when I knew it was open. I also thought about calling and asking him to hold a couple of sets for me, but I didn't. Both decisions proved to be huge mistakes. When I walked in the door someone else was at the register with two piles of the sets. He purchased everything except the Woods, Chaloff, Hackett and Teagardens. To give you an idea how much of a lost opportunity this was, I purchased the Woods set for $28. All of the sets were in like new condition and all were priced for less than when originally issued. I doubt he charged more than $40 for any set since I suspect he priced them all at around $7 per disc. He does not know the value of some of these among collectors, plus he does not like to price anything in the store too high. Oh well ... maybe next time.

Wednesday night I caught the Ingrid Laubrock quartet with Brandon Seabrook, Michael Formanek and Tom Rainey in Easthampton, MA. Tonight I will likely go hear the sextet with Tomeka Reid and Mazz Swift added at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT.

I thought the Sevian date was already released? I have owned it for months.

Sylvie Courvoisier Trio Firehouse 12 New Haven, CT Sylvie Courvoisier (piano); Drew Gress (bass); Kenny Wolleson (drums)