Interesting Mainstream Records reissues

[gmonahan]

On 4/27/2017 at 11:29 AM, felser said:

Straight ahead hard bop, with not-unattractive 70's trappings of electric piano (George Cables) and guitar.  I am quite happy with it.  Stanley Clarke on bass - he played on a lot of Mainstream label sessions in that period, for whatever reason -  Lenny White on drums, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and some players I'm not otherwse familiar with - Bill Washer on guitar and Ray Moros on tenor sax.  Recommended if you enjoy that era where things were being stretched.  I do.

Thanks! It sounds good--I may just have to get it!

 

 

gregmo

[HutchFan]

On 4/25/2017 at 7:48 PM, felser said:

Got my package and have been listening.  Something is definitely wrong with the Land.  Either defective master or not from master tapes.  Other titles aren't audiophile, but are quite acceptable.  But the music on the Land is incredible.

I agree 100%.  It would be nice if the sonics were better -- but the music is so darn good that I'm willing to "listen through it"!  

[Ken Dryden]

On 4/28/2017 at 10:00 PM, felser said:

Hal Galper says "Why whatever do you mean?"

 

When Hal Galper was a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, he described how he made a clean break with the Fender Rhodes, claiming that he took it to a dock on the Hudson River late one night and dumped it, cover and all.

[paul secor]

That Galper story reminded me of hearing George Duvivier tell a story on the radio about getting tired of playing electric bass. He put his instrument in the back seat of his car, left the car unlocked and, when he returned, it was gone from his life. He probably was lucky the car wasn't gone too.

[Spontooneous]

4 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

 

When Hal Galper was a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, he described how he made a clean break with the Fender Rhodes, claiming that he took it to a dock on the Hudson River late one night and dumped it, cover and all.

I got a chance to talk to Hal once. I asked him to describe the sound a Rhodes makes when it hits the water. He said, "Beautiful."

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, Spontooneous said:

I got a chance to talk to Hal once. I asked him to describe the sound a Rhodes makes when it hits the water. He said, "Beautiful."

....

[Ken Dryden]

I'll have to admit the Fender Rhodes can work in some situations, but most of the time I end up thinking "Why didn't they use a REAL PIANO?" I especially despised hearing Bob James' gimpy accompaniment behind Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker at their Carnegie Hall reunion.

 

[Peter Friedman]

With only limited exceptions (such as the Charles McPherson, and Clark Terry / Brookmeyer sessions) the Mainstream label's recordings were major disappointments to me. Too much electric piano for my taste, and recordings by musicians I like such as Harold Land, Curtis Fuller and Hal Galper were, in my opinion, far far less interesting than what those same musicians have released on other labels.

Furthermore, the general sound quality on most Mainstream recordings seemed a bit off to my ears. 

[felser]

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

With only limited exceptions (such as the Charles McPherson, and Clark Terry / Brookmeyer sessions) the Mainstream label's recordings were major disappointments to me. Too much electric piano for my taste, and recordings by musicians I like such as Harold Land, Curtis Fuller and Hal Galper were, in my opinion, far far less interesting than what those same musicians have released on other labels.

Furthermore, the general sound quality on most Mainstream recordings seemed a bit off to my ears. 

I found the label's approach in the 70's to be very interesting, something different for a different era, so I really appreciate the recordings by the artists you mention.  I think the three Land recordings and the first two Buddy Terry recordings for the label are stone classics, and really am thankful for many others on the label.    Different strokes for different folks.  But I don't think anyone would argue with you about the sound quality, which always did seem a little out-of-kilter.

[JSngry]

Worth noting for the sake of comparative logical consistency that the Terry/Brookmeyer & the McPherson dates were done in different decades from each other. What the label was "about" in the 1960s was not the same as it was in the 1970s.

 

 

 

[gmonahan]

Sarah Vaughn did some nice work for the label. The old Musical Heritage Society reissued some of that on its own labels, but not all of it.

 

 

gregmo

[Late]

Did anyone pick this one up?



Sound samples can be found on YouTube. Tasty. It appears to already be out-of-stock at CD Japan.

[soulpope]

Another installment of Mainstream reissues is looming ahead in Japan .... :

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/release/music/jazz-fusion/month/2017/07?page=1

Inter alias .... :

Edited June 30, 2017 by soulpope

[felser]

Noticed that today out on the site, had some expiring points to look to use, ordered the McPherson, Dave Hubbard, Kynard, Coles, Galper, Barry Miles.

[soulpope]

Any views/opinions on the Dave Hubbard Mainstream session ?

[JSngry]

It's good enough if you don't pay a whole too much lot for it.

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

It's good enough if you don't pay a whole too much lot for it.

It is around USD 9 so likely to fall in this category ;-) ....

[JSngry]

yeah, it's one of those "supplemnetary" things that fill out that fill out a bigger picture.

Also see that Johnny Coles Katumbo is on there. That's a typical Mainstream of the time - with better/tighter production it could have been a great record, but as it is, it is what it is. Still a better-than-good listen, though, Johnny Coles!

The bit of crossover in personnel from the then-Gil Evans band is pretty interesting:

• Johnny Coles - trumpet, flugelhorn
• Astley Fennell - trombone
• Howard Johnson - tuba
• Gregory Herbert - tenor saxophone
• Cedar Walton - piano, electric piano
• Reggie Workman - electric bass
• Bruce Ditmas - drums

The tune selection is as well:

1. "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Clifton Davis) - 3:01
2. "The September of My Years" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) - 5:29
3. "728" (Johnny Coles) - 7:17
4. "Petits Machins" (Miles Davis, Gil Evans) - 3:41
5. "Betty's Bossa" (Cecil Bridgewater) - 4:28
6. "Funk Dumplin'" (Coles) - 6:49

[mikeweil]

That Coles is the only of his albums I never had - one to order, it seems!

[felser]

5 hours ago, soulpope said:

It is around USD 9 so likely to fall in this category ;-) ....

Agreed on both points.  Different era, different label, I would pass on it, but that era/label are meaningful to me past the absolute musical content of the  album.  

[Peter Friedman]

I would agree that the Mainstream releases of the 70's reflect the period. That is probably why most of them don't reach me.

i had a large percentage of them on LP at one time and disposed of almost all of them. Hearing someone like Cedar Walton (for example) a strong favorite , playing electric piano is a turnoff for me. The general vibe of so many Mainstream albums were such a letdown for me after so many great recrdings from the 50's and 60's.

Just my personal opinion. But perhaps my old age is a key factor in my view.

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

I would agree that the Mainstream releases of the 70's reflect the period. That is probably why most of them don't reach me.

i had a large percentage of them on LP at one time and disposed of almost all of them. Hearing someone like Cedar Walton (for example) a strong favorite , playing electric piano is a turnoff for me. The general vibe of so many Mainstream albums were such a letdown for me after so many great recrdings from the 50's and 60's.

Just my personal opinion. But perhaps my old age is a key factor in my view.

I'm an old guy too, Peter, and I have no interest in most (or perhaps all) of Mainstream's 70's output. I don't think that age is a factor (for myself, anyway). It's strictly a matter of having some taste. 

[felser]

1 hour ago, paul secor said:

I'm an old guy too, Peter, and I have no interest in most (or perhaps all) of Mainstream's 70's output. I don't think that age is a factor (for myself, anyway). It's strictly a matter of having some taste. 

Agreed from the opposite side, I'm an old guy too, but generally enjoy the label and love the Harold Land's and the first two Buddy Terry's.

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, felser said:

Agreed from the opposite side, I'm an old guy too, but generally enjoy the label and love the Harold Land's and the first two Buddy Terry's.

Different strokes. That's one of the things that's great about music.

[JSngry]

Old guys are funny! Like, you get old and objectivity is still not a consideration, hilarious! "Taste" uber alles! Forever young, right?