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Playing Favorites: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s


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1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

The one for me on this latest list is - Cecil Payne / Duke Jordan - Brooklyn Brothers.

It's a fantastic record.  :tup  Was happy to see Elemental reissue it a couple years back.

 

1 hour ago, sidewinder said:

I picked up the ‘Realization’ LP on Capricorn as a 50p cutout in its UK version around 1976. Been a fan of it ever since !

As my father would say, "You caught a plum!"  ;) 

 

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15 minutes ago, JSngry said:

you most dandily did not! :g

Definition from Merriam Webster:

Definition of dandily

: in the style or manner of a dandy.

From the Free Dictionary:

1. Suggestive of or attired like a dandy; foppish. 2. Fine; good. [Perhaps short for jack-a-dandy, fop.]

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Well "dandily" might be a real word that shows up in Merriam-Webster.  But that doesn't mean that we should actually USE IT.  :P

 

BTW, I see the word "fop" in the definition above... This immediately comes to mind:

BTW:  I have no problem whatsoever with the words foppish or even foppishly.

I guess I am a FOP man.

 

Edited by HutchFan
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One day late...

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s

04/15/20 - Hampton Hawes – Live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Vol. 1 (Enja, 1981) and Vol. 2 (Enja, 1989)

04/15/20 - Terumasa Hino – Taro's Mood (Enja, 1973)

04/15/20 - Mike Gibbs & Gary Burton – "In the Common Interest" (Polydor, 1974)

04/11/20 - John Lee & Gerry Brown – Infinite Jones aka Bamboo Madness (Keytone/Limetree, 1974)

04/11/20 - Abbey Lincoln – People in Me (Philips Japan/Inner City/Verve, 1973)

04/11/20 - Marion Brown – Geechee Recollections (Impulse, 1973) and Sweet Earth Flying (Impulse, 1974)

04/11/20 - Clare Fischer – The State of His Art (Revelation, 1976) and Jazz Song (Revelation, 1979)

 

The two Fischer LPs are (probably?) among the most obscure records that I'll include in my survey.  But they are superb.  I can't think of much that's so "off the beaten path" that I think deserves MUCH wider exposure.  If you want to dip your toe in the pool of Fischer's solo piano work, Alone Together is much more readily available -- and nearly as good as these two Revelation LPs.  Alone Together was originally released on MPS, and was subsequently reissued on a private label now run by Fischer's son.  But, if you like that one, you owe it to yourself to find the Revelation LPs.  They are worth the search and the $.

Infinite Jones / Bamboo Madness is some kick-ass fusion.  None of the plodding, "saurian" (Cook & Morton's word) aspects of the sub-genre here!

Hampton Hawes with Cecil McBee and Roy Haynes.  What's NOT to like?

And so on...

No write-ups this week.  Will try to remedy that at some point -- after the work workload settles down a bit.  In the meantime, it's gonna be a list with pix and links to YT videos.  That's worth something -- even if it only prompts some discussion here. ;) 

 

Thoughts on this week's selections?

 

 

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Good call on the Abbey, and well worth noting that at the time of its release, it was the first US availability of any new record that was all her own in 10+ years, and would be the last one for another...can't tell you off the top of my head. And I don't think that Inner City released it until...1977? 1978?

Was she blacklisted even harder than Max reportedly was? You tell me. From the looks of things, yes. Can't speak to the total reality, but from the looks of what I see from an admittedly limited view....

She landed ok, though, finally. But that was not a given.

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Big fan of the Marion Brown, good to see it on the list.

My impression is most folk go for 'Sweet Earth Flying' or 'Afternoon...' which are both marvellous but there's still something about 'Geechee Recollections' that really encapsulates the sense of place so important to the trilogy. Well it does to someone who's never been within a couple of thousand miles of Georgia :)

Edit to add: just seen 'Sweet Earth Flying' is listed as well. Must pay more attention...

Edited by mjazzg
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16 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Good call on the Abbey, and well worth noting that at the time of its release, it was the first US availability of any new record that was all her own in 10+ years, and would be the last one for another...can't tell you off the top of my head. And I don't think that Inner City released it until...1977? 1978?

Was she blacklisted even harder than Max reportedly was? You tell me. From the looks of things, yes. Can't speak to the total reality, but from the looks of what I see from an admittedly limited view....

She landed ok, though, finally. But that was not a given.

I didn't know that Abbey had been blacklisted.  That's terrible and stupid.

My one and only Abbey Lincoln story, and it's an oblique one b/c I never met her...  But I did meet Tony Williams once.  I was with a group -- 10 or 12 people -- hanging out with Tony before a concert here in Atlanta.  (The Story of Neptune had just come out.  He had his band with Wallace Roney, Ira Coleman, Mulgrew, and Billy Pierce.)   Tony was talking about musicians that he loved, and he brought up Abbey.  He LOVED her, talked about how Abbey's voice might not be the "instrument" that some other singers have -- but Abbey was so much more of a musician than almost any singer.  He even favorably compared Abbey to Billie.  At the time, I'd barely even heard of Abbey Lincoln. I remember standing there thinking to myself, "OK, I need to remember this. Time to check out Abbey Lincoln."

 

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18 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Big fan of the Marion Brown, good to see it on the list.

My impression is most folk go for 'Sweet Earth Flying' or 'Afternoon...' which are both marvellous but there's still something about 'Geechee Recollections' that really encapsulates the sense of place so important to the trilogy. Well it does to someone who's never been within a couple of thousand miles of Georgia :)

Yes, Marion Brown does an incredible job evoking Georgia and the coastal Southeast.  Amazing and vivid music.  You can almost smell it.  I can't think of anyone who does a better job of taking us on a magic carpet ride back to and in to that world.  ... Not many jazz musicians have even tried to (re)create that rural, Southern thing.  (O.K.  There is John Carter and his album Fields.  He sorta goes for the same thing with rural Texas.)  But who else?  

Talking about his connection to New England and the music the place inspired in him, my man Charles Ives often said (in so many words)  that the most particular is the most universal.   True with Marion Brown too. 

... No matter that you've never set foot in Georgia, mjazzg.  ;) 

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1 hour ago, HutchFan said:

I didn't know that Abbey had been blacklisted.  That's terrible and stupid.

My one and only Abbey Lincoln story, and it's an oblique one b/c I never met her...  But I did meet Tony Williams once.  I was with a group -- 10 or 12 people -- hanging out with Tony before a concert here in Atlanta.  (The Story of Neptune had just come out.  He had his band with Wallace Roney, Ira Coleman, Mulgrew, and Billy Pierce.)   Tony was talking about musicians that he loved, and he brought up Abbey.  He LOVED her, talked about how Abbey's voice might not be the "instrument" that some other singers have -- but Abbey was so much more of a musician than almost any singer.  He even favorably compared Abbey to Billie.  At the time, I'd barely even heard of Abbey Lincoln. I remember standing there thinking to myself, "OK, I need to remember this. Time to check out Abbey Lincoln."

 

Just to be clear, "blacklisted" was never explicitly claimed by anybody directly involved. But the backlash agains Abbey & Max after their early 60s records was pretty overt, and someboy, I think Max himself, told the story of being pressured by Atlantic to play something "familiar" for his record after Members, Don't Get Weary. so he told Atlantic, hey Black Spirituals, THAT'S familiar! Well you know what THAT record was, and it was his last for a US label for....how long? And fuckyeah, THAT'S why everybody be jonesin' for a MaxBillyBand set, becuase WHERE THE HELL DID ALL THAT GO??? Not here, that's for sure...

I've also heard that both Max and Abbey could be... "difficult" (and that's a word that means so many things to so many different people, but it's usually weaponized when it's not being used to celebrate or mourn). And some people on any side of a discussion do not go for ass-kissing, or even diplomacy, ever. So I don't know for sure. After Max and Abbey split up...who knows what went down around and after that. people are people and great, noble musicians can be just as vindictive and pernicious as trifling and ignoble ones. Greatness is by people, not of people, if I'm saying that right and if you know what I mean.

Just saying, though - that record was a big deal for me because Inner City released it when I was in my first throes of Max World Hero Worship, fully accompanied by Full Frontal FUCK THE MAN!!!! I've never really lost that, but I do have a bigger/broader perspective on "the way business works" now, and that's affected, not my moral compass, but definitely my sense of Realistic Expectations, my Survival Compass, if you will.

Oh yeah, I'm with Tony all the way on this one. :)

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3 hours ago, mjazzg said:

Big fan of the Marion Brown, good to see it on the list.

My impression is most folk go for 'Sweet Earth Flying' or 'Afternoon...' which are both marvellous but there's still something about 'Geechee Recollections' that really encapsulates the sense of place so important to the trilogy. Well it does to someone who's never been within a couple of thousand miles of Georgia :)

Edit to add: just seen 'Sweet Earth Flying' is listed as well. Must pay more attention...

I'm also a big fan of those Marion Brown Impulse! albums, and the other two he did on the label, "Three for Shepp" and "Vista"  (all very different from each other).  I've never really "gotten" Fawn, but need to try again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Two Weeks Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s


Last Week:

Billy Harper – Capra Black (Strata-East, 1973)

Ray Barretto – The Other Road (Fania, 1973)

Dick Wellstood & His Famous Orchestra featuring Kenny Davern (Chiaroscuro, 1974)

Flora Purim – Butterfly Dreams (Milestone, 1973)

Bob Wilber & Kenny Davern – Soprano Summit (World Jazz)

Eric Kloss – Essence (Muse, 1974)

John Surman – Morning Glory (Antilles/Fledg'ling, 1973)

 

Two Weeks Ago:

Duke Jordan – Flight to Denmark (SteepleChase, 1974)

Norman Connors – Love from the Sun (Buddah, 1973)

Dave Liebman – Lookout Farm (ECM, 1974)

Don Patterson – These Are Soulful Days (Muse, 1974)

Art Ensemble of Chicago – Fanfare for the Warriors (Atlantic/Koch, 1974)

Dudu Pukwana & Spear – In the Townships (Caroline/Earthworks, 1974)

George Benson – Body Talk (CTI, 1973)

 

Since I missed last week's recap, I've listed two week's worth here.   Quite a bit of diversity style-wise in two just two weeks, no?!?!

 

As always, I welcome your feedback.

 

Edited by HutchFan
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From last week's list I am onboard with the Dick Wellstood album on Chiaroscuro. Sorry I never had the chance to see Wellstood in person. He was an interesting guy who liked to play tunes from various eras. On this one he plays "Original Dixieland One-Step" and also "Blue Monk".

The list from 2 weeks ago has two I like .  Duke Jordan recorded a large number of albums for Steeplechase, most of them in a trio context. To my way of thinking they all turned out good, and "Flight To Denmark" is perhaps one of the vey best.

"These Are Soulful Days" by Don Patterson  though original on Muse, has been re-issued on 32 Jazz. The original has Jimmy Heath on tenor, Pat Martino and Albert Heath. The reissue includes 2 bonus tracks with Richie Cole on alto, and 1 more track with Eddie Daniels on alto.

This is not my favorite Don Patterson album, but is nonetheless a good one. In truth, I like almost all of Don Patterson's recordings.

 

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57 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

From last week's list I am onboard with the Dick Wellstood album on Chiaroscuro. Sorry I never had the chance to see Wellstood in person. He was an interesting guy who liked to play tunes from various eras. On this one he plays "Original Dixieland One-Step" and also "Blue Monk".

Wellstood really was a wonderful pianist. ... Have you heard those two Soprano Summit LPs?  If you like the Wellstood recording with Davern, you will almost certainly like those as well.

In fact, Wellstood was miffed that Dick Hyman was invited to be a part of those recordings instead of him!   Wellstood's biographer, Edward Meyer, talks about this.  His biography, Giant Strides, is well worth reading too.

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I guess I apparently sort of like Harper's 'Capra Black' OK :D.   Also all in on the Purim (also would have been fine with "Stories to Tell"), Kloss (desperately needs CD release), Liebman (also needs CD release, very strange it isn't available), and Patterson (considering 70's work as opposed to 60's work).  And I do agree that is one of Benson's best, along with "Beyond The Blue Horizon" (my favorite) and others.  And the AEC is a good one (hard for me to pick a "best" by them, as their albums can be so different from each other).  Agreed on the diversity of styles.  Early 70's were a magic time for the music.

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