corto maltese

Those Think! reissues are CD's, aren't they? Both albums have just been reissued on vinyl by HMV Japan. "Matrix" is fine (maybe a bit conservative), but "Electrum", I don't know... I've tried several times because I felt I should like it a lot (time, context, players), but I gave up and didn't keep it. "Blackstone Legacy" is an old favourite; I think it was one of the first straight jazz records I bought.

This reminds me of first hearing a Japanese CD-set of Miles' Blackhawk recordings with Hank Mobley and noticing that some of the (very long) solos had been heavily edited on the original LP's. I won't tell whose...

You might have been unlucky with some copies you got, Clifford, because generally speaking those German records you mention, including the private label issues, are really top-notch recordings ànd pressings.

A bit late, but thanks for this enjoyable BFT. One thing that strikes me with the reveal is that different tracks feature Japanese musicians with whom I'm familiar in a more "outside" context ( Masahiko Sato and Masahiko Togashi especially).

Not surprisingly (surely I'm not the only one here?), this is the composition of which I own the largest number of recordings (LP and CD). The sound on this Denon is gorgeous and I really like this version. I have another recording by Takahisha, split over two LP's on the great Swedish Fylkingen label. Those records are 50 years old and mono, but they sound great and Takahisha's interpretation might even be superior to the later one.

I'm still recovering from not readily identifying the Springboard track (such a great record!). Anyway, a small step towards rehabilitation: track 8 is "Admire, But Detest" by the Masabumi Kikuchi Quintet (End For The Beginning, 1973).

Track 10 sounds like Marshall Allen with Konstrukt doing their Sun Ra tribute.

Track 4 is "Beatrice" by Sam Rivers, from one of his Nato label CD's with Tony Hymas.

You mean Waldron's unreleased "Candy Girl" album with members of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band ? I didn't know Mal didn't play on it. Still would love to find a copy (there are promo's). At that time, the Calumet label was distributed by Discodis, not by Jaubert's Musidisc (see the back cover of "Church Number Nine"). On the other hand, music from the same session (a track also called "Church number nine") was released on Noah Howard's "Space Dimension", which was released some time earlier on the America label (part of Musidisc) and produced by Jaubert. It's always a bit complex in France...

No need to duplicate. I'll add for now: Mal Waldron Free At Last (ECM) Sven Finnerud Trio (Norsk Jazzforum) Gordon Beck Gyroscope (Morgan) Bob Degen Celebrations (Calig) Siegfried Kessler Live at the Gill's Club (Futura) So many more... Re: Irène Schweizer. For our friends with a distaste for anything free, it may come as a surprise that her very first recording (a 1962 trio) was a cover of Junior Mance's "Jubilation". Is the jury still out on Jim's question about strictly piano-bass-drums ?

I don't have much by him: "Alive and well in Paris" On Pathé, "The day after" with the Rolf Kühn Group, the "Sorcellerie..." soundtrack with Michel Portal and Eddie Louiss... RIP

This will be a first for me, but I would like to try.

Excellent choice. Many treasures to be found on the Hungaraton label in the 1970s and 1980s, especially by composers of the Budapest New Music Studio (Jeney and Sary were both founding members). I've yet to find a dud on that label. Zsolt Durko is another favourite. Do you have any other recommendations? Hungaraton also did that amazing edition of Bartok's works. Sorry for replying late and I don't have my records here, but I would recommend really almost anything by the New Music Studio composers (I'm particularly fond of Zoltan Jeney). Hungaroton also released a string of excellent electronic/electroacoustic records by Hungarian composers. And there's Kurtág, of course... (I'm not an expert on "straight" classical music, but given the high quality of so much contemporary/avant-garde releases on the label, I would imagine their standards to be pretty high there too. The Bartok edition you mentioned is a case in point.)

Excellent choice. Many treasures to be found on the Hungaraton label in the 1970s and 1980s, especially by composers of the Budapest New Music Studio (Jeney and Sary were both founding members).

"Man On The Moon"/"Growing Up" was only issued in France. There are, however, white label promo copies on US Impulse (I've seen them offered without picture sleeve or with the French sleeve). Don Cherry definitely plays on "Man On The Moon". (The musicians of the quintet are not credited, but I have no reason to believe they're not OC, DC, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell, plus electronic music composer Emmanuel Ghent.)

I didn't know about the hand coloured copies, but there are some small black & white drawings on the cover which you can colour yourself.

According to the All Music entry on Ed Summerlin, his "Requiem for Mary-Jo", written in response to the death of his nine-month-old daughter, is the centerpiece of his 1959 debut LP "Liturgical Jazz". I have that album but there's no "Requiem for Mary-Jo" (or anything similar) on it. Does anybody know if a recording of this "Requiem" exists?

"To You" is a great album. I have the Spectator issue which came out immediately after the private label original. I'm verry happy with it, but a high quality reissue could be useful. The Yamsh'ta with Kosugi is stunning. Every bit as essential as the Taj Mahal Travellers records, which have been reissued/bootlegged to death... BTW: it's on the London (Japan) label, not Liberty.

Yes, she is on both "Oh Strange" (the BYG "Live part 1") and "Bon Voyage" (BYG "Live part 2"). But according to Discogs and several online discographies, the "Oh Strange" performance on the first record of "Live in Paris" (which is supposed to be a reissue of the two BYG albums) is by the quartet without Moye and Fontella. This would mean that, while the second record of "Live in Paris" is indeed the "Bon Voyage" performance in Châteauvallon that was originally issued on the BYG "Live part 2", the first record is not a reissue of "Live part 1" but a completely different performance (another time, another place, another line-up, so probably even not "Oh Strange"...). That's why I was wondering if the credits or liner notes of one of the "Live in Paris" issues could help...

Yes, it's funny: I remember finding "The Collector" which allowed me to dispose of the 1980 "Etcetera" with its typically dull packaging. Just when I realized I was now missing "Toy Tune", the Blue Note Conaisseur series came to the rescue with a very much more attractive "Etcetera".

Well, I've listened to "Live part 1" ("Oh Strange") again last night and I'm pretty sure it's the quintet playing, with Don Moye. And Fontella is definitely there too. I suspect the 1970 Chateauvallon performance of "Oh Strange" was issued on the original Japanese BYG, but has been replaced at some point by an earlier recording (probably the 1969 Paris concert) by the quartet and without Fontella. I don't have any of the "Live in Paris" editions to check, but I would be grateful if someone could confirm (or correct) this.

Nice record, but I always wondered why they would have called their band "Avant Garde".

Wonderful video. It's "Bon voyage" which was originally issued on the "Live part 2" album (BYG Japan/Toho YX-2041). This is indeed the Châteauvallon performance of August 13, 1970 (their last European concert before returning to the US, which probably explains why this improvisation was called "Bon Voyage"). The original Japanese records (the second one is "Live Part 1", BYG/Toho YX-2040, containing "Oh Strange") have only Japanese notes, but I can't find any mention of Paris or the October 1969 date. The back cover (both part 1 and part 2) credits "quintet + fontella bass". I guess the confusion results from sloppy reissues.

I played Joe Daley Trio At Newport '63 last night and I fully endorse this nomination.

Last night : Sun Ra Live in Paris et the Gibus (French Atlantic): I'm not an expert, neither a completist, but this a favourite. Joe Daley At Newport '63 (RCA, UK mono): According to the sleeve notes, it's the complete afternoon concert filled out wiith a recording of the soundcheck, but I also read (here?) that some of the tracks are studio recordings. Anyway, it's a great set and the mono sound is very sweet. George Russell Sextet In K.C. (Brunswick): I have the original Decca, but with a water damaged cover. Now I've found a beautiful German mono pressing. I like this one very much. One oddity is that the "Lunacy" track is credited to trombonist Dave Baker, while it's a composition by a very young Carla Bley who was Russell's student at that time.