Edlock8718

I picked up my copy via Now Again Records "Reserve" subscription, which has proven to be a solid quarterly-release subscription over its first couple years. The releases have all been blind-eye purchases for me, of course; but each release has been a solid find from the domestic and international soul/rock/funk/prog/jazz of the '60s and '70s, reflective of what the label offers from its individual releases. The subscription also included a release from the "World's Experience Orchestra," which Cosmic and Musra played with for a bit and the closing live track of the Cosmic/Musra is an awesome recording of that band. Now Again offers an opportunity to join the subscription and simultaneously "catch-up" on past releases - pricey by now, I'm sure, but recommended if you have a wide taste for music. Just noticed that they have also just offered up an individual release of The Lightmen's "Free As You Wanna Be" from a Houston-based spiritual jazz band led by Bubbha Thomas in the 70s. Anybody ever hear of it? I'll undoubtedly pick it up, no matter what. Their "Function Underground" (what African-American musicians were doing with rock in the '60s while the Brits stole it away from them) and "Welcome to Zamrock!" (the rock that grew following revolution of Zambia in the '70s) are great anthologies as well.

Yes, Kuchen has released some great stuff recently, some of it traceable back to the Trespass Trio and Angles group recordings on CF and of course his own releases on NoBusiness. Thanks for pointing this Trost release out, because it had slipped through the cracks when it showed on Squidco. That btw, Steve, is why I often miss the latest Not Two releases, because for some reason Squidco typically doesn't carry their stuff at all. And why I rely on boards like this to catch them. I agree Not Two has a strong catalog, and am a bit saddened when I visit their site to see that I am several months behind. There are certainly interesting recent releases by Swell/Brotzmann/Nilssen-Love, The NU Band, and Evans/Fernandez/Gustafsson. I would love to indulge in their 8-disc box for Joelle Leandre as well, but do have to put a cap on my spending these days. Does anybody here tend to order directly from their site?

Wow, this is a forum that dropped off in participation lately - I mean, I had to go to Pg 2 to find it! Have all the users here just stopped using the board, your tastes grown off into other genres, other sounds? I certainly don't think there's a lack of quality releases lately - the last couple this year from Clean Feed have included a number of great albums IMHO, albeit starting to stray a bit more into the less jazzy "improv" and "electro-acoustic" styles. Examples from the enormous batch of releases so far this year include the Trespass Trio's third CF album, "The Spirit of Pitesi"; Harris Eisenstadt's predictably good Canada Day Quartet putting out yet another one, "On Parade in Parede"; and the one that I wasn't predicting would grab me (vocals in the more avant-garde, even operatic style typically turn me off), Kaja Draksler's 2-CD "Gledalec". I could go on there - it was overall yet another good batch put out by CF - but I should also mention the GREAT batch recently put out by NoBusiness... NoBusiness continued their typical production of a few CD releases and limited-edition LPs. I thought the LPs put out for Klaus Treuheit/Lou Grassi's "Port of Call" and Anemone's "A Wing Dissolved in Light" (Peter Evans / John Butcher / Frederic Blondy / Clayton Thomas / Paul Lovens) were great; as was the CD "The Attic", recorded by a trio of Goncalo Almeida, Rodrigo Amado, and Marco Franco. What I especially liked about "The Attic" was that Amado playing a more subtle, relaxed style than I typically heard on his previous releases. It probably helped there that Almeida was probably understood to be the "leader" for these sessions. Most important of the NoBusiness batch was what appeared to be the beginning of a re-issue series of releases from the Japanese label, Chap Chap. The album "Kami Fusen" features two trumpeters, Itaru Oki and Choi Sun Bae, and a bassist, Nobuyoshi Ino, and its fantastic! Not the hard-core avant garde that I was expecting, but more of the later, more experimental hard-bop that we might have been hearing from say Blue Note in the late '60s. The other Chap Chap release by Paul Rutherford on trombone and Sabu Toyozumi on drums, "The Conscience", is another fine example of what a small group can do to create a compelling release. The two are a great introduction to the Chap Chap catalogue - one that I had never heard of before. Does anybody else know about this label (only 16 releases on discogs, including recordings by Evan Parker and Han Bennink), and what NoBusiness intends to do with it? Some great stuff was put out this year so far. Other releases recently include Holiday's intriguing Alexander Hawkins & Konstrukt release and Ballister's live recording, "Low Level Stink" (better I believe than their release on Rempis' own Aerophonic label, "Slag"). Does nobody here care anymore?

I first heard Han when I was introduced to the early avant-garde European scene via Atavistic's great Unheard Music Series, and he was Brotzmann's typical drummer in the early FMPs. I didn't realize what a significant force he still is today until I took the plunge and bought the incredible "Complete Instant Composers Pool" box containing their first 50 recordings on the ICP label, which Han started with Misha Mengelberg and Willem Breuker. Some great recordings of Han there in solo, small group and the ICP orchestra! Also 2 DVDs of two different solo performances by Han in the '90s. A great item to have if you can afford it; it was definitely an impulsive act of irresponsible spending for me...

Mosaic finally got this set out to me this past week! I have only given it a taste so far, but once again the quality audio (and playing, of course) from the LPs brings a tear to my eye. I just hope Mosaic continues to keep these LP releases going. I missed all the initial ones, and while I cannot at all claim to be an audiophile with a particular noteworthy hardware setup, I just love to hear this stuff on an LP issued by a label that I know will do the best they can with the source material.

I almost hate to mention it to a feasibly global community, 'cuz I would hate to burden their servers and potentially slaughter their streams, but I nonetheless feel like I owe the people here something. The NY clubs Smalls and Mezzrow, run by the fantastic pianist Spike Wilner who regularly performs at both venues, has put a great version of their combined website http://www.smallslive.com that not only features video streams from the shows at both clubs every night but also has several years worth of audio and/or video recordings going several years back. This requires a paid membership, that has since been worked out to pay the performing musicians a cut whenever their shows are given a listen or look. There is a lot of quality performances - as may have already been found by many on the "Smalls Live" albums that the club put out a few years ago - at both clubs. A New Yorker, I particularly love the duo and/or trio shows, often piano and a bass, at Mezzrow's, and while I cannot claim the a/v comes anywhere near capturing the amazing acoustics of this small "listening room", it is still a great way to hear everything that I simply cannot afford to witness on-site. Check it out, at least until you start to notice any buffering in the streams...

Sal Nistico makes a couple quality appearances in Mosaic's recent "Complete Bee Hive Sessions" box: His own "Neo Nistico", with Ted Curson on trumpet, Nick Brignola on baritone, Ronnie Matthews on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. Curtis Fuller's "Fire and Filigree", with Walter Bishop, Jr, on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums. As always with Mosaic, this box overall is a definitely a good compendium of what you would expect from a core group of hard bop veterans keeping the sound alive through the late '70s and early '80s. Nothing new or particularly striking, but solid playing. Worth picking up if you've already thoroughly explored the original hard bop from the '60s, and want to hear more.

This board has been very quiet lately - where did everyone go? And while I know there has been little in the way of new releases in the past couple months, there were a few notable batches, so I thought I would try to kick off some chats. Here's what I've picked up in the past couple weeks, and sorry if I'm not the guy who posts the album covers... Clean Feed put out their latest batch with the following: Harris Eisenstadt - Old Growth Forest. This is yet another quality release from Eisenstadt, but more of the same if you know what I mean. I enjoy his releases from the past few years, and this has the familiar players of Jeb Bishop, Tony Malaby, and Jason Roebke; but Eisenstadt once again isn't trying anything new here. Its compositions based on environments that provide decent tunes that then open up to some solid improvising. Definitely worth a listen if you like his stuff. Renku - Live in Greenwich Village. This is Renku's second album with Clean Feed and third overall. The trio of Michael Attias on alto, John Herbert on bass, and Satoshi Takeishi on drums has put out some great work and this album is probably my favorite of this particular Clean Feed batch. I love the smaller groups that balance out the heavy playing with quieter moments in the improvising over a live set, and this is a quality performance from start to finish. Left Exit - Mr K (CD and LP release). This quartet of Scandanavian musicians, includes Klaus Ellerhusen Holm on sax and clarinet, who is a familiar name from the groups like Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit and Ballrogg; Karl Hjalmar Nyberg on sax; Andreas Skar Winther on drums; and Michael Duch on bass. This is experimental improvisation on the outskirts of jazz that definitely gets very minimalistic and abstract. I admit I have yet to delve too deeply into this one, but with my first pass found it interesting. Darren Johnston & Fred Frith - Everybody's Somebody's Nobody. Frith, of course, has already established himself as a jazz legend on guitar, and Johnston on sax has built an established list of involvement in many quality releases on both Clean Feed and NoBusiness (the trio with Dave Rempis and Larry Ochs on Aerophonic is worth a mention as well). Here the two alternate between tracks that tend to be more melodic or very abstract as the two merge sonic effects that are anything but a note. I prefer the melodies, which make this album worth a purchase. Dre Hocevar - Collective Effervescence. I have yet to pick this one up. There is just something about the samples from this album and Hocevar's previous release on Clean Feed, Coding of Evidentially, that doesn't particularly grab me. It just seems very, I dunno, formulaic? Please try to sell me on on it... Protean Reality - s/t. Another one that I did not pick up. This is immediately advertised as hard-driving, "propulsive" playing from a German trio of Chris Pitsioko on alto, Noah Punkt (suitable last name) on electric bass, and Philipp Scholz on drums; and the samples definitely sound like something I don't need to listen to over the course of an entire album. Pitsiokos seems to be building a name for himself as a intense musician that combines hard jazz with noise rock, but I don't believe I've heard any of his stuff. Any thoughts? And NoBusiness puts out their latest batch with this: Wiliam Hooker - Light: The Early Years 1975-1989. This 4-CD box combines Hooker's releases on his own Reality Unit Concepts from the later '70s with unreleased live recordings from the '80s. The early long sets of Hooker solo on drums and then in groups with saxophonists like David Murray, David S Ware and Jemeel Moondoc are more or less what I would expect from free-jazz of that time. I have yet to get into the later '80s sets, but I'm enjoying it so far in very small doses. A group of 4 LPs, including one that is actually only a 10' from Jean-Luc Cappozzo on trumpet and Didier Lasserre on drums. These LPs only just arrived from Lithuania late this week, so I have yet to give them a listen. There is the double-LP 'Intuitus' from Vladimir Tarasov on drums, Eugenijus Kanevicius on bass, and Liudas Mockunas on sax and clarinet that I look forward to getting into (I have enjoyed Mockunas' previous duo recordings as well as his Mockuno NuClear trio on NoBusiness) ; 'One for Cisco' from Thomas Borgmann on sax and toy-melodica (?!), Max Johnson on bass and Willi Kellers on drums looks interesting; and 'Live at Edgefest' with Marilyn Lerner on piano, Ken Filiano on bass, and Lou Grassi on drums should be good. So, everyone, there's lots here, and I won't bother yet to get into some of the other individual releases that have twinkled through recently. What do you think?

As I downloaded the Braxton set to iPod, iTunes identified my copies of Disc VII and Disc VIII as "Non-Verbal Communication" by Anthony Galie (motivational speaker, apparently) and "Untitled" by Genesis, "The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway"!

Has anyone seen any confirmation of these yet (ie UPC codes)? I don't know where one would find a UPC code - I assume they are set before an album is available for pre-order. And sorry, Clifford, if I'm regurgitating a topic that you could care less about...

The Ornette studio sessions are just one example of outdated releases that I'd like to see get an RVG treatment before another Connoisseur. Those Connoisseurs, if not remastered, at least have some decent packaging (for those of us who care about such things) - my copy of 'The Empty Foxhole', 'though apparently a domestic and legitmate release, looks like it was put out by some bootleg label in the early 80s! But we do have this discussion with every RVG batch, and I apologize for once again stirring it up... The 'Head On' release has Hutch-Harold Land pairs so much on my brain that I just happened to stumble across this release on Dusty Groove, as if by fate. Anybody know much about it - how it compares?

I must admit I'm a bit disappointed to see so many Connoisseur releases re-issued as RVGs in the last few batches ('Further Explorations,' 'Here Comes Louis Smith' AND 'Shades of Redd' in the latest), if only because it makes me nervous to sell those Connoisseurs well in advance of the RVG release dates, which is my typical practice to get the most money for them. The last thing I want to do is sell a Connoisseur and then have it dropped from the list! But I suppose there are plenty of people here who would just bash me for being the sucker for supposed upgrades that I am... There was plenty of description of 'Heads On' earlier - my question is, how does it compare to 'San Francisco'? It sounds like it might be a bit less groovy, am I right? Also, my out-dated AMG Guide lists it as a Cadet release - what's the story behind that?

Thanks, guys. CDUniverse has been my source for new releases/reissues, both jazz and otherwise, but I do find their catalog to be a bit inconsistent sometimes, completely ignoring albums by fairly well-known artists on fairly well-known labels. And I was hoping to find a site more jazz-centric, where I might see some reviews and get some samples. Both Dustygroove and CDBaby are sites I was aware of as well, but I've never known how reliable they are. I'll give 'em a try. I also checked out the Jazz Record Center many years ago, but got the impression that they were primarily for used CDs and import re-issues, but I did see on their website that they have made an effort to increase their catalog of import labels, such as FSNT and Criss Cross. Downtown Music Gallery is a new one to me - and pretty close to Other Music, a regular of mine. So, no takers on the best releases of 2007? I would put put a new topic for it altogether, but I'd feel like an idiot without any nominations of my own...

With the closing of the Tower Records here in NY awhile ago, I've been fairly out of the loop when it comes to new jazz releases over the past year and I'm definitely starting to feel it. Of course, the end of Jazzmatazz hasn't helped me keep on top of things either. So what's the best source of new recordings on indie/import jazz labels these days, such as Smalls or Fresh Sound New Talent? I would love a brick and mortar where I could simply walk in and browse, but I know the chances of that are slim, so how about an online shop? And while we're at it, anyone care to volunteer their top 10 releases for 2007?

Lately, Michael has been giving me PCN numbers for upcoming releases. Somehow, I think this makes them more "official". Thanks, Kevin. That's what I was hoping to see. I do own most of these titles in one form or another, but I am always happy to upgrade (and no, I won't ever be selling my Mosaics - that's as good as it gets!) Another quick question that I could easily answer myself with 10 min of research, but I'll leave open to the board here: With the RVG re-issuing of "Takin' Off" has the entirety the BN Herbie Hancock boxset now been released on RVG? I remember way back in the day hearing a number of complaints about the sound quaility of the "Maiden Voyage" (or was it "Empyrean Isles"?) RVG, but I may be tempted to go sell that box and go for individual releases instead, much as I did with Dexter, even though I couldn't get all of those albums on RVG.