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What vinyl are you spinning right now??


wolff

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Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan at Basin St. East

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Joe Malinga - Sandile

How is that one? I only have "Tears for the Children of Soweto," which I like.

I just found it on my little trip to Germany last week... was a first spin - pretty nice!

But like the second album ("One for Dudu") it isn't quite as good as "Tears...", I think. That one's a favorite here!

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My sense is this album is generally overlooked. Been awhile since I listened to it. On this listen I was really impressed by the interplay between Lacy and Smith, who really gets outside on a lot of the pieces.

042505.jpg

I think Michael was the best pianist Lacy ever had in terms of getting to the meat of Steve's compositions.

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The Songs of Alec Wilder (JJA mono). A promotional LP in a plain white cover put out by Wilder or one of his publishers. Most of the performances seem to be drawn from Wilder's American Popular Song NPR series. The songs (and performances) vary in quality, but the best of them are outstanding: "'S Gonna Be a Cold, Cold Day" by Johnny Hartman, "The Winter of My Discontent" by Marlene VerPlanck, "When Yesterday I Loved You" by Mark Murphy, "Baggage Room Blues" by Woody Herman, "The Lady Sings the Blues" by Tony Bennett. This is an LP I'm glad to have.

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My sense is this album is generally overlooked. Been awhile since I listened to it. On this listen I was really impressed by the interplay between Lacy and Smith, who really gets outside on a lot of the pieces.

042505.jpg

I think Michael was the best pianist Lacy ever had in terms of getting to the meat of Steve's compositions.

I used to have that album and didn't keep it. You know Michael's music better than I do, Jeff, but I'm curious to hear your opinion. Always thought Mal was kind of the "perfect foil" but then again, he's also the pianist I've heard with Lacy the most. Others being Smith, Satoh, Cecil, Perez, and of course that "Five Facings" duets CD on FMP (which wasn't all that great IMO) with Crispell, Van Hove, Gumpert, Mengelberg, and Vladimir Miller.

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My sense is this album is generally overlooked. Been awhile since I listened to it. On this listen I was really impressed by the interplay between Lacy and Smith, who really gets outside on a lot of the pieces.

042505.jpg

I think Michael was the best pianist Lacy ever had in terms of getting to the meat of Steve's compositions.

I used to have that album and didn't keep it. You know Michael's music better than I do, Jeff, but I'm curious to hear your opinion. Always thought Mal was kind of the "perfect foil" but then again, he's also the pianist I've heard with Lacy the most. Others being Smith, Satoh, Cecil, Perez, and of course that "Five Facings" duets CD on FMP (which wasn't all that great IMO) with Crispell, Van Hove, Gumpert, Mengelberg, and Vladimir Miller.

Let me clarify: Michael was not the best pianist Lacy ever had, but he was the best in terms of interpreting Lacy's music. He seemed to grasp Lacy's compositions and complement them perfectly. (Bobby Few also came close to this level of empathy with Steve's music.) When Waldron or Mengelberg (to pick two obvious examples) played with Lacy, their strong personalities changed things so that so that it was no longer "Lacy's music" - it was Lacy-with-Waldron, or Lacy-with-Mengelberg. Michael, on the other hand, seemed to completely give himself over to Lacy's vision.

I love the Lacy/Waldron duets, and you're right - Waldron is a great foil for Lacy. But it's a completely different experience than listening to a "Steve Lacy" performance.

Does that make sense?

I like Five Facings more than you do, by the way.

(Edited to correct spelling.)

Edited by jeffcrom
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Yeah, it does. I don't know how I forgot about Mr. Few as a Lacy confrere. He's fantastic on some of those Hat Hut sides.

Maybe I should pull out Five Facings again - it's been a while, but it never really grabbed me in the past (save the Gumpert stuff).

I should add that I think Michael's playing on the Anthony Braxton compositions from the Dona Lee (sic) album is absolutely perfect for Braxton's pieces. His playing on the standards on that album, on the other hand....

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My sense is this album is generally overlooked. Been awhile since I listened to it. On this listen I was really impressed by the interplay between Lacy and Smith, who really gets outside on a lot of the pieces.

042505.jpg

I think Michael was the best pianist Lacy ever had in terms of getting to the meat of Steve's compositions.

I used to have that album and didn't keep it. You know Michael's music better than I do, Jeff, but I'm curious to hear your opinion. Always thought Mal was kind of the "perfect foil" but then again, he's also the pianist I've heard with Lacy the most. Others being Smith, Satoh, Cecil, Perez, and of course that "Five Facings" duets CD on FMP (which wasn't all that great IMO) with Crispell, Van Hove, Gumpert, Mengelberg, and Vladimir Miller.

Let me clarify: Michael was not the best pianist Lacy ever had, but he was the best in terms of interpreting Lacy's music. He seemed to grasp Lacy's compositions and complement them perfectly. (Bobby Few also came close to this level of empathy with Steve's music.) When Waldron or Mengelberg (to pick two obvious examples) played with Lacy, their strong personalities changed things so that so that it was no longer "Lacy's music" - it was Lacy-with-Waldron, or Lacy-with-Mengelberg. Michael, on the other hand, seemed to completely give himself over to Lacy's vision.

I love the Lacy/Waldron duets, and you're right - Waldron is a great foil for Lacy. But it's a completely different experience than listening to a "Steve Lacy" performance.

Does that make sense?

I like Five Facings more than you do, by the way.

(Edited to correct spelling.)

Lacy's hookups with pianists can be hit or miss. Waldron was clearly the most successful partner. On the "Five Facings," IIRC, I thought the Van Hove and Mengelberg were the most successful of the pairings. The others were not happening. I suspect from the pianists' POV, playing with Lacy was a challenge; you couldn't just comp or play easy licks. What I like about the performance with Smith is how ardently both play, the high level of interaction, and the inventiveness of the playing. Smith pushes the envelope more than I expected. In turn, Lacy seems really into it. I really don't know Smith's other work, but this album was a pleasant surprise to me.

Now on to something completely different:

Miles Davis "IN A SILENT WAY"--

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Edited by Leeway
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