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I saw Sonny Stitt in 1980, it must have been in March. He traveled as a single artist but was supplied with a fantastic trio for that evening. The great Fritz Pauer on piano, the great hungarian bass professor Aladár Pege , and I think Fritz Ozmec on drums, really a superb trio. 
But Sonny Stitt was quite juiced. He still played well on the concert, though he did silly stuff like lecturing those three great musicians. And at one point he shouted to the audience "What do you want to hear" and one guy shouted back "Salt Peanuts", and Sonny made that grimasse and played something else (I think "They can´t take it away from me"). 

After the concert it was planned he would play more at the defunct club "Jazz by Freddie" with the same rhythm section and two other great austrian tenorists Harry Sokal and Roman Schwaller, but it went completly out of controll and after one jam, a Blues in Bb, where he had to sit down, he went to the piano and fooled around on the piano and tried singin....

Really a sad memory....., but the next day a three day festival "Jazz Frühling" started, with Dex, Griff, Chet Baker, McCoy Tyner, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, heaven on earth for 3 days....

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Brad, if you're taking about the excellent Argo album later issued as a CD on Chess-MCA -- the one with "Propapagoon," "Just You, Just Me," etc. and no personnel listed (the original LP had the same color photo of Stitt on the front and back covers and no liner notes) -- while the rhythm section is identified in the CD liner notes as "possibly" Barry Harris, William Austin, and Frank Gant, Stitt is in fact backed there very well by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, who were  of course Argo regulars. One giveaway is the quite distinctive bass playing of El Dee Young. Also, the unboppish pianist sounds like  Lewis and in no way like Harris. Furthermore the CD liner notes quote Harris as denying any knowledge of this date.

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11 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

Brad, if you're taking about the excellent Argo album later issued as a CD on Chess-MCA -- the one with "Propapagoon," "Just You, Just Me," etc. and no personnel listed (the original LP had the same color photo of Stitt on the front and back covers and no liner notes) -- while the rhythm section is identified in the CD liner notes as "possibly" Barry Harris, William Austin, and Frank Gant, Stitt is in fact backed there very well by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, who were  of course Argo regulars. One giveaway is the quite distinctive bass playing of El Dee Young. Also, the unboppish pianist sounds like  Lewis and in no way like Harris. Furthermore the CD liner notes quote Harris as denying any knowledge of this date.

Larry, you are referring to a different album.  Argo 661 recorded August 1, !956  did have Stitt with Barry Harris, Will Austin and Frank Gant. There was a mixup with the personnel listed on the one to which you are referring, but that is not the session with Barry Harris. 

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15 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

Larry, you are referring to a different album.  Argo 661 recorded August 1, !956  did have Stitt with Barry Harris, Will Austin and Frank Gant. There was a mixup with the personnel listed on the one to which you are referring, but that is not the session with Barry Harris. 

Peter -- The confusion arises (probably) because Fresh Sound issued "Burnin'" in a two-CD package coupled with the Argo album I referred to above. I don't know what (if anything) the liner notes of that Fresh Sound package say about rhythm section personnel, but I stand by my ID of the Ramsey Lewis Trio as the rhythm section on the album that Fresh Sound coupled with "Burnin." The "ear" test tells the story. The bassist sounds like (is) El Dee Young, and the pianist on the date I referred to doesn't sound at all like Barry Harris.

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26 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

Peter -- The confusion arises (probably) because Fresh Sound issued "Burnin'" in a two-CD package coupled with the Argo album I referred to above. I don't know what (if anything) the liner notes of that Fresh Sound package say about rhythm section personnel, but I stand by my ID of the Ramsey Lewis Trio as the rhythm section on the album that Fresh Sound coupled with "Burnin." The "ear" test tells the story. The bassist sounds like (is) El Dee Young, and the pianist on the date I referred to doesn't sound at all like Barry Harris.

Larry, I have both albums. We are in agreement that that one Stitt album does not give accurate information on personnel. Yes Ramsey Lewis, and  El Dee Young are on one session. My ears tell me what yours tell you.

My point was only to indicate that there is also a Stitt album on Argo with Barry Harris, Will Austin and Frank Gant.

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3 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Brad, if you're taking about the excellent Argo album later issued as a CD on Chess-MCA -- the one with "Propapagoon," "Just You, Just Me," etc. and no personnel listed (the original LP had the same color photo of Stitt on the front and back covers and no liner notes) -- while the rhythm section is identified in the CD liner notes as "possibly" Barry Harris, William Austin, and Frank Gant, Stitt is in fact backed there very well by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, who were  of course Argo regulars. One giveaway is the quite distinctive bass playing of El Dee Young. Also, the unboppish pianist sounds like  Lewis and in no way like Harris. Furthermore the CD liner notes quote Harris as denying any knowledge of this date.

I have that Chess reissue. Agreed, it seems to include the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

 

2 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Peter -- The confusion arises (probably) because Fresh Sound issued "Burnin'" in a two-CD package coupled with the Argo album I referred to above. I don't know what (if anything) the liner notes of that Fresh Sound package say about rhythm section personnel, but I stand by my ID of the Ramsey Lewis Trio as the rhythm section on the album that Fresh Sound coupled with "Burnin." The "ear" test tells the story. The bassist sounds like (is) El Dee Young, and the pianist on the date I referred to doesn't sound at all like Barry Harris.

 Was it Fresh Sound? I have a CD on "Jazz Beat" with Breakin' it Up and Burnin'. Breakin' it Up is a trio session, and the pianist sounds kinda like Barry Harris to me.

OK, I see now. Fresh Sound had a different reissue, with Burnin' and the Argo Larry mentioned. I was confusing the Jazz Beat and Fresh Sound.

 

Not that any of this is relevant to "Reflections on Jazz in the 1980s"...:D

Edited by T.D.
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3 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Brad, if you're taking about the excellent Argo album later issued as a CD on Chess-MCA -- the one with "Propapagoon," "Just You, Just Me," etc. and no personnel listed (the original LP had the same color photo of Stitt on the front and back covers and no liner notes) -- while the rhythm section is identified in the CD liner notes as "possibly" Barry Harris, William Austin, and Frank Gant, Stitt is in fact backed there very well by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, who were  of course Argo regulars. One giveaway is the quite distinctive bass playing of El Dee Young. Also, the unboppish pianist sounds like  Lewis and in no way like Harris. Furthermore the CD liner notes quote Harris as denying any knowledge of this date.

Larry, this is the LP that I have.

https://www.discogs.com/release/3126292-Sonny-Stitt-Burnin

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I've posted this week's albums on MORE FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1980s:

- Milt Jackson - Night Mist (Pablo/OJC, 1981)
- Arthur Blythe - Illusions (Columbia, 1980)
- Weather Report - Night Passage (Columbia, 1980)

 

Take a peek at the commentary on the blog.  Would love to hear what you think.  

One note: Two out of three albums from a "major label," Columbia.  Well, that is a thing of the past.  

 

Edited by HutchFan
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15 hours ago, HutchFan said:

I've posted this week's albums on MORE FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1980s:

- Milt Jackson - Night Mist (Pablo/OJC, 1981)
- Arthur Blythe - Illusions (Columbia, 1980)
- Weather Report - Night Passage (Columbia, 1980)

 

Take a peek at the commentary on the blog.  Would love to hear what you think.  

One note: Two out of three albums from a "major label," Columbia.  Well, that is a thing of the past.  

 

While I thought I had Sonny's Back, in reality its taken to January 16th and Night Mist for an album I own. Many unknowns to date, none strike me as things I need to get at this moment.

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38 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

While I thought I had Sonny's Back, in reality its taken to January 16th and Night Mist for an album I own. Many unknowns to date, none strike me as things I need to get at this moment.

I don´t have so many Sonny Stitt albums, though I love his playing. I have some from the 40´s , 50´s and one of those Muse recordings from the 70´s. 
"Sonny´s Back" as a title I know  from an  Archie Shepp album that was much earlier, late 60´s . 

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I hadn’t realised Illusions was actually his first of the 1980s. I associate all those early Columbias strongly with the 1980s, so am surprised to find that they are in fact mostly 70s.

Interesting choice of Special Edition record, and concentration on John Purcell, a player whom I don’t know at all. I wonder if Dan would recommend any other records that he played on?

I should add that there are some interesting choices from the last day or two. 


in terms of adding comments, it currently requires a Google account. Is there any way of adding an anonymous option where it isn’t necessary to sign in?

Edited by Rabshakeh
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Arthur Blythe was very much in demand in the early 80´s and got a lot of admiration. I also like his one LP side on the McCoy album 4xQuartet. Very very powerful alto. Too bad he died quite early. 
The great Allen Praskin, with whom I could play on some occasions than around 1980, was the first to tell me about Athur Blythe. It was still a time where some things would happen. I remember Roland Shannon Jackson as a big name in the early 80´s too. In general, my memories about early 80s was Arthur, World Saxophone Quartet, Prime Time and musicians who started with Prime Time, and as a surprise in 1981 the comeback of Miles...., the other half were new traditionalists like Wynton, and some of the older survivers who filled the festival halls (Dex, Art Blakey etc. ). .....

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9 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

I hadn’t realised Illusions was actually his first of the 1980s. I associate all those early Columbias strongly with the 1980s, so am surprised to find that they are in fact mostly 70s.

Rab, it's only the first two of Blythe's Columbia albums -- Lenox Avenue Breakdown and In the Tradition -- that were released in the 70s.  All others were in the 80s.  So your understanding isn't really off the mark.  

 

9 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Interesting choice of Special Edition record, and concentration on John Purcell, a player whom I don’t know at all. I wonder if Dan would recommend any other records that he played on?

I can ask Dan about it.  Here's what I know.  Along with DeJohnette, Purcell played and recorded with Muhal Richard Abrams, Chico Freeman, David Murray, and others.  One that stands out in my mind -- perhaps because it's with a small ensemble, unlike a lot of his other work -- is his sideman appearance on Chico Freeman's Pied Piper (BlackHawk, 1986).

Here's Purcell's discogs entry (all credits): https://www.discogs.com/artist/257694-John-Purcell?type=Credits&subtype=Instruments-Performance&filter_anv=0

 

10 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

I should add that there are some interesting choices from the last day or two. 

I hope that means "interesting" as in compelling, not "interesting" as in odd:P 

 

10 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

in terms of adding comments, it currently requires a Google account. Is there any way of adding an anonymous option where it isn’t necessary to sign in?

Not sure whether that's possible.  Will look into it.

However, as far as I'm concerned, you can just comment here if that's your preference.

 

 

10 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Arthur Blythe was very much in demand in the early 80´s and got a lot of admiration. I also like his one LP side on the McCoy album 4xQuartet. Very very powerful alto. Too bad he died quite early. 

Blythe died in 2017.  He was 77.  So he didn't really die terribly young. ... But I think your impression that he did is indicative of the fact that Blythe didn't maintain the high profile that he had at the start of his career.

Many of Blythe's post-Columbia recordings are outstanding, IMO.  For example, Focus from 2003.  But they're far less well-known.

 

12 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said:

Illusions is a solid album and Blythe had a truly distinctive voice on his instrument.  

Totally agree. :tup 

 

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John Purcell was/is a very gifted multi-woodwind specialist. He was guest artist on a few Daagnim records that I was on. A very professional guy.  Among his other credits, he also ended up as a member of the World Saxophone Quartet. Perhaps not the most distinguishable soloist ever, but definitely a supremely talented musician.

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Glad to see Winter Moon, Art Pepper at or very near his best and the string charts are actually pretty good unlike too many 'with strings' albums.  I was very deeply into Art in the '80s, starting shortly before he died, had planned to see him at a festival he didn't make, but at least he had a good excuse for once.

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7 hours ago, HutchFan said:

My friend Dan posted these three albums on our 80s jazz blog this week:

- Joe Bonner - Impressions of Copenhagen (Theresa/Evidence/Pure Pleasure, 1981)
- Carla Bley - Social Studies (WATT, 1981)
- Art Pepper - Winter Moon (Galaxy, 1980)

 

I'm planning to post my "weekly three" sometime this weekend.

 

That Joe Bonner title is a beautiful album.

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