All Activity

That's also a really good one. I like the push-and-pull of Grossman nudging the music into Coltrane territory and the rhythm section vacillating between modalism and abstraction. There's something special about this period in the music. There's just so much crossover in the interval between roughly '65 and the early 1970s, where the boundaries between mainstream and fringe felt porous and mutable. And there were so many sub-factors influencing the development of the music, like the death of Coltrane, the exodus of American jazz musicians to Europe (and vice-versa), the cross-pollination of ideas from Europe, South Africa, Latin America, etc., monumental political upheaval throughout the world, and so on. Our reading of this music is (almost by necessity) informed by historical understanding, as so much of it went undocumented and what we do have in hand has been litigated in writing and discussion for over half a century. I know that some of the board members were there. As far as I know, however, so many of the inherited biases of 21st century jazz friction against the reality of what was happening at that time.

Still waiting for a Peter Brötzmann plays for lovers over here 😏

I played Jackie McLean's Demon Dance these days, it's another McLean favorite with great DeJohnette...

Jack is also on Corea’s The Sun, which is a little more concise. Is feels more like a search down various tributaries, which is interesting even if not all of those tributaries bear obvious fruit.

The Miroslav Vitous version comes to mind. There's some aggressively angular playing from John McLaughlin partway through. It's definitely in a post-Miles vein, but it threads the needle between fusion and modal/quasi-free jazz quite nicely: And then there's this version by the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, which is squarely free funk territory. I love the surrealist solos superimposed over the (very insistent) groove:

Yeah, Jacknife is the one I go to after the Moncur/Hutcherson groups. It's very early for DeJohnette, but his playing animates what might have otherwise been a routine session. I like the "Is" Sessions double CD, too. The music seems to occupy a midway point between the Lost Quintet and Circle. The energy is off the charts, even if the improvisations can feel a little incoherent at times. IMO the real knock on the recording is that the music lacks a guiding voice - there's no Miles to editorialize the rambling or a Cecil or Braxton to give the freedom explicit direction. It's a transitional moment for virtually everyone involved.

I have been listening to the original version of Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance” (from The In Sound) and am struck by how much its popularity in more avant-garde circles was already baked in to the original. Yes the beat is very “soul jazz”, but the melody is pretty angular and syncopated, not your stereotypical populist pitch. I think of the Davis version and its offspring as just taking what’s implied in the original and taking it to its obvious conclusion. Did anybody ever record a version that combines an avant-garde vibe with the soul jazz (or even funk/rock) rhythmic approach?

I put together a simplified mini-discography of Stitt's recordings with organ—both leader and sideman dates, studio and live. Here's what I came up with. Please post corrections/additions. (1961-1971 is a guidepost. There might be sessions outside this decade.) Thanks! Sonny Stitt Organ Dates 1961-1971 1. At The DJ Lounge 6/--/61 Argo 2. ‘Nuther Fu’ther 2/16/62 Prestige 3. Boss Tenors In Orbit! 2/18/62 Verve 4. Soul Summit 2/19/62 Prestige 5. Low Flame 4/4/62 Jazzland 6. Feelin’s 4/--/62 Roost 7. My Mother’s Eyes 5/--/63 Pacific Jazz 8. Move On Over 6/17/63 Argo 9. Soul Shack 9/17/63 Prestige 10. My Main Man 3/10/64 Argo 11. Shangri-La 3/19/64 Prestige 12. Soul People 8/25/64 Prestige 13. Night Crawler 9/21/65 Prestige 14. Made For Each Other 7/13/68 Delmark 15. The Boss Men 12/28/65 Prestige 16. Soul In The Night 4/15/66 Cadet 17. Deuces Wild 9/11/66 Atlantic 18. What’s New!!! 1966 Roulette 19. Parallel-A-Stitt 1967 Roulette 20. Soul Electricity! 9/23/68 Prestige 21. Funk You! 9/24/68 Prestige 22. Donny Brook 9/15/69 Prestige 23. Brothers-4 9/15/69 Prestige 24. Night Letter 10/27/69 Prestige 25. It’s Magic 1969 Delmark 26. Turn It On! 1/4/71 Prestige 27. You Talk That Talk! 2/8/71 Prestige 28. Just The Way It Was 3/21/71 Label M 29. Black Vibrations 7/9/71 Prestige 'Nuther Fu'ther was originally titled Stitt Meets Brother Jack. I left out Patterson's People because (if I'm not mistaken) the two tracks with Stitt are actually part of the Shangri-La session. Lastly, what are your favorites from this bunch?

Milestones' post reminds me... Jan Garbarek

Western Final preview https://pifflespodcast.com/blog/game-day-west-final-riders-host-lions-with-a-trip-to-grey-cup-on-the-line/ ***** ***** *****

Instant order! Thanks so much.

Definitely some mixed reactions. I get that.

Jed Levy - Faces and Places Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Diz Jimmy Greene - As We Are Now Rusty Bryant - Legends of Acid Jazz

Same for me.

Louis Prima, Ted Lewis, Joe Venuti, George Wettling – The John R T Davies Collection (Volume 1: Jazz Classics)

LATE last night I listened to the stereo original mix disc 1 in the new Hendrix set. It sounds great but it’s not a new remaster as it was supposed to be, but one from 1997 maybe tweaked a bit, maybe not. That’s disappointing. But the mono mix is a Grundman one, either new or the one used for the SACD. Sounds GREAT. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Bold as Love” 4 cd, 1 blu-ray box set, disc 2 I didn’t realize this set was to be numbered, I got #420 640×640 57.1 KB 300×307 31.7 KB

Frankly, I'm not going to diss someone if they are able to make a living playing improvised music, even if it's not the sort of thing that hits me hard. I'm glad that he's gotten his dues! But the stuff that really has a lot of energy is where I sign up--the first few ECMs (Triptykon is a favorite, and reminiscent of the John Surman Trio) as well as the work with George Russell. I also have a few live concert recordings that are pretty incredible.

Maybe he has run out of ideas or inspiration. I saw his group with Rainer Brüninghaus and Trilok Gurtu some years ago. Gurtu was the most engaging that evening. He is currently touring Germany with Gurtu.

Til Vigdis needs a proper reissue. Early on, he showed a hell of a lot of promise. After Witchi-Tai-To things get too much of a sheen for me to stay interested.

What's up with Jan Garbarek in recent years? Limited research shows he has not really been recording for about a decade. Admittedly, I have not collected much of his work. I liked him in the trio with Haden and Gismonti, as well as with Jarrett's European quartet. Some of his own early solo worked sounded good--pretty different from the later low-key stuff. He has had one of the longest runs ever on ECM, and it is a highly diverse output. I have sampled rather than explored. I do like several tracks on the live album Dresden. Whether one is a fan or not, it has been a major career. He appears to be one of the most important European jazz musicians...ever. I am just wondering what he has been up to lately, and who here has been keeping up with his work.

+ 1

I like Jack's groove on this one:

One of my two or three favorite McLean albums, which is saying a lot.