All Activity

Starting off a listen with the new Ahmad Jamal 2 cd release from Resonance Records, “At the Jazz Showcase: Live in Chicago” which is a great way to start the day. From 1976 with John Heard and Frank Grant.

Two things that interest me are (1) the way that the geographic descriptor means that people interpret the New York downtown scene of that period as being something different to the wider trends in improv that were also happening in London and Tokyo which went in the same direction, rather than as being part of a cohesive second wave of free improv (to use the term that I think Shoemaker uses in reference to e.g. Steve Beresford pissing off the oldies at Company week); and (2) the apparently complete dominance of Eugene Chadbourne in the early stages of the NY scene (I wasn’t there but he seems to have been everywhere). Were Slug’s Saloon and Ornette Coleman’s loft Downtown? Perhaps the descriptor was used for them? My knowledge of where the line is drawn is hazy.

It's Coltrane and we're all hooked so naturally we are going to give it a listen. But one wonders if the artist would have approved of people cashing in on bootleg scraps with poor sound quality.

yeah, I was thinking the Voice, and Johnson would make sense.

I think the transition from a geographical distinction to a "scene" one was really a slippery one that started with the writings of Tom Johnson in the Village Voice starting around 1977 where he'd differentiate by referring to groups of composers working downtown and then referencing The Kitchen or Artists Space. I think that it started to have a stylistic meaning around '80 or '81 - still by Johnson - just because the divisions were growing clearer and the term was already circulating in the informal speech of the time so it just naturally worked its way into reviews with the knowledge that VV readers would just know.

RIP. I discovered him via Traffic and still have a copy of Alone Together. He played nearby (Bearsville Theater) in 2015 but I was too cheap to go. Now I regret that.

I saw him with what I think was the first performance of "Derek and the Dominos" at a fundraiser in London. (Can't remember the theater but it was on The Strand.) I once had an argument with someone who knew Mason and said that couldn't be true or he would have known about it. He picked up his phone and called Mason who confirmed my story.

Loved his music! He played the loudest concert I ever went to, at the Warehouse on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans ~1975. What an artist!

yes, Robert Wilson was called "Downtown Bob" (because of another Robert Wilson living, you guessed it, uptown), but I do not know if the term "Downtown" was ascribed to his art/theater scene in the late '60s or if the term as an aesthetic qualifier emerged later. https://whitney.org/exhibitions/rituals-of-rented-island

Somewhat off-topic, but "Downtown music" is a thing in classical/"new" music as well. Kyle Gann dates the scene (but not usage) to 1961 (Yoko Ono's loft 🙂), see https://www.kylegann.com/downtown.html I'm going to look into when that usage first appeared in print.

yeah, I guess the question that I'd have for myself is whether I need it as a physical item (box set) or if I can be fine with it digitally, for reference.

Draft talk https://www.cfl.ca/2026/04/22/5-burning-cfl-canadian-draft-questions/ https://www.cfl.ca/2026/04/22/biggest-needs-for-all-9-teams-ahead-of-the-2026-cfl-canadian-draft/ https://www.cfl.ca/2026/04/22/mock-draft-2-0-whos-going-first-overall-to-ottawa/ https://3downnation.com/2026/04/15/john-hodges-2026-cfl-mock-draft-2-0/ https://3downnation.com/2026/04/22/2026-cfl-draft-position-rankings-defensive-linemen/ https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/article/2026-cfl-canadian-draft-guide-25-prospects-you-need-to-know/ ***** BC analysis https://www.cfl.ca/2026/04/22/5-things-to-know-for-2026-bc-lions/ ***** *****

I went back and listened to this again. You are right - it is a fantastic performance in every way. Trucks & Haynes are in great form, and Haynes is a good singer and does the songs justice there as well. Nice to have Reese Wynans in Gregg's chair on organ/keys, and also nice to have 70's ABB member Chuck Leavell on board for this show.

This might be a question for Will Hermes... https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374533540/lovegoestobuildingsonfire/

sweet!!

Does anyone any idea when this was first used in print to describe that circle of players and small DIY venues? Now it is ubiquitous but some journalist must have used it first. References to downtown jazz can be found in DownBeat as early as 1962 but that is strictly geographical discussing clubs rather than an aesthetic description.

And also to Winwood/Capaldi/Wood. 'Alone Together' and 'John Barleycorn' were classic unified albums. The first couple of Traffic albums were somewhat schizo collections of songs. Incidentally, amazing how much stronger the US version of the first traffic album is than the British version (out: "Utterly Simple" and "Hope I Never Find Me There" in: "Paper Sun", "Hole in My Shoe", and "Smiling Phases"). Weird fact: 'Low Spark of High Heeled Boys' did not chart in UK, despite going Top 10 in USA.

Ella was in good voice for this late effort.