Justin V

How about the Don Pullen/Milford Graves duo sessions?

I wanted to make that show but I couldn't. If you haven't heard it already, you should check out Occhipinti's A Bend in the River, a strings date with Prieto. Don't worry about missing Duran; he is at Nighttown at least once a year. I was disappointed in Duran's Motion, however. I found his playing to be a bit ham-fisted.

RIP, Pinetop. Thanks for the music.

I personally enjoy Donald Byrd's Byrd's Word, with Foster, Hank Jones, Paul Chambers and Kenny Clarke, which has never been released in complete form on one cd. The easiest way to hear the complete session is to track down the Savoy cd reissue and download the stray track from a Savoy comp on iTunes.

Whenever I listen to this recording, I wonder why I don't listen to it more often. It always strikes me as strange to read in the liner notes (written by Freeman 19 years later) that it was his last recording. He sounds so good on it that it's shocking that he didn't record in the final 20 years of his life. I'd love to see some kind of private treasure trove of Freeman recordings get released.

I stopped Mrs. Grimes and waited a few minutes for her to grab a copy of a cd she had brought. It's a benefit cd for Aaron Ibn Pori Pitts, a Detroit artist/poet who suffered a stroke after the album (originally a radio broadcast)was recorded. The cd, For Ibn Pori, is quite good. Ibn Pori's spoken word is thought-provoking and rhythmically flexible, and Grimes swings like mad throughout. It also has saxophonist Andrew Lamb and percussionist Avreeayl Ra, both of whom I was unfamiliar with but whose playing I enjoyed. When I went back out to the lobby, Taylor and Mr. Grimes were talking to Edward Ayler, and Campbell was talking to someone else. I didn't see Ribot. The bass that Grimes played belonged to Peter Dominguez, a monster bassist and professor at Oberlin, whom I had spied in the lobby before the concert. Mrs. Grimes said that she hadn't been sure whether Mr. Grimes would play his violin because he enjoyed Dominguez's bass so much. Regarding Taylor, while I was about 15 to 20 feet away from Mr. Grimes, Taylor was sometimes an unseen force with the music stands obstructing my view. I missed him taking the cymbal apart but I saw him using it. I just thought that he had brought another cymbal out from somewhere. I'd also like to see more avant garde musicians make it Cleveland, but the venues are limited. In the meantime, there's always Hall Walls in Buffalo (where Mr. Grimes performed a solo bass/violin/poetry recital a few months ago) and the Erie Art Museum (where Kahil El'Zabar plays almost every year).

Tonight I saw Spiritual Unity, with Marc Ribot, Henry Grimes, Roy Campbell, Jr. and Chad Taylor. They were fantastic. Seeing the group play Albert Ayler's music in Ayler's hometown (with Ayler's family present) was something special. Albert Ayler's father, Edward, was in attendance. At 97, you wouldn't believe how good he looks. He looks younger than what Albert would be if he were still alive. It was one of the best concerts I've been to. Campbell is really a versatile player. Between flugelhorn, trumpet, pocket trumpet and an arsenal of mutes (with a bit of flute), he brought a variety of colors to the music. Henry Grimes killed it. With the way the music flowed, it wasn't the type of concert that left much room for applause after solos, but Grimes' violin solo was rewarded with much applause. His arco playing was impressive; like his pizzicato playing, it's just so fluid. I found out after the show that he has been playing violin since he was 12, and that it was his first instrument. In school, he played violin, double bass, French horn, percussion and tuba. Ribot was interesting. He reminded me of Ayler in spots due to his wide vibrato. My wife, who normally doesn't like avant garde (other than Ornette!), said that Ribot was her favorite of the group. Chad Taylor is definitely out of the Cyrille/Murray school and was busy without being overbearing. During one tune, Grimes was bowing and I think Campbell was on flute. During a serene moment, Taylor dropped a bomb that was like the arrival of thunder at a picnic. For some reason, it worked. The group really captured the joy of Ayler's music. In a perfect world, Don and Albert would have been there to sit in. It was great to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Grimes after the show, too. EDIT: Where were you, Holy Ghost? I was in the front row in the left section. Did you stay for the encore? I felt bad for those who left before the band came back on stage.

Andrew's Music 4830 South Dakota Avenue, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20017 (202) 526-3666 As of a year and a half ago, the only albums that he had released on cd on his own label are the 4 discs of the Gigtime 2000 series. Each one is dedicated to the various facets of his musical persona. The series was recorded during one marathon gig at the One Step Down club. He does have other cd's available that were released on other labels, and his label's back catalog is available on tape and vinyl. I'd love to see him reissue the second JFK Quintet album or issue the unreleased third JFK Quintet album. Thanks for the article. I remember writing Andrew White, perhaps 15 years ago, inquiring about the possibility of him releasing JFK material that Fantasy/OJC was sitting on. He wrote back that Fantasy was holding it with the possibility of reissue some day. That never happened, with the exception of the first JFK album and, with Concord now holding the rights, it will never happen, at least not legally. Young Ideas, the second album, turns 50 next year, so maybe our European friends will do the world a favor. At least Verve has the Verve Vault. Why can't Concord release OOP albums digitally? If paying to remaster it is the issue, why not let Andrew White take care of the remastering and let Concord take care of the digital distribution, with some revenue sharing between the two sides? Concord wins by profiting from a dormant album that it won't touch otherwise. White wins by taking full advantage of the digital format and distribution. The fans win by finally being able to hear it. Just as composers can regain the rights to their compositions, maybe musicians should be able to regain the rights to their recordings when the recordings languish out of print.

Andrew's Music 4830 South Dakota Avenue, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20017 (202) 526-3666 As of a year and a half ago, the only albums that he had released on cd on his own label are the 4 discs of the Gigtime 2000 series. Each one is dedicated to the various facets of his musical persona. The series was recorded during one marathon gig at the One Step Down club. He does have other cd's available that were released on other labels, and his label's back catalog is available on tape and vinyl. I'd love to see him reissue the second JFK Quintet album or issue the unreleased third JFK Quintet album. Thanks for the article.

Way to go, Sonny! I hope that I get a chance to see him with his new band this year.

RIP, Mr. Triglia. Coincidentally, I've been planning on listening to Fruscella's Tony's Blues for the past few days. That's an album that really should be under Triglia's name.

I've never heard it, but what about Satchmo's Louis Armstrong and His Friends, with Ornette (and Miles) on vocals? The fascinating list of sidemen can be found here: http://allmusic.com/album/louis-armstrong-and-his-friends-rcabluebird-r598321/credits.

Did they ever record together? I know they came from different periods of Detroit's jazz history, but it'd be surprising if they never recorded or performed together at some point.

Roy Haynes deserves whatever accolades he receives.

Some of you may be interested in this with your $2 credit: Jon Irabagon w/ Mike Pride - I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues, available for 99 cents. I was recently turned on to Pride through his work with Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore. On their latest album, Three Kinds of Happiness, Pride proves to be pretty versatile and sounds great playing with brushes. On I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues, he favors a surprisingly heavy, almost bludgeoning attack. The album is a single track, clocking in at almost 48 minutes!

Thanks, Clifford. I became interested in hearing it after hearing Coursil's latest album, Trails of Tears, which just came out on January 25th on Sunnyside.

Anyone willing to part with this cd? If so, please shoot me a pm or email. Thanks.

That's too bad to hear. Here's an article on Thursday's show: http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment-headlines/ci_17228236?nclick_check=1. .

I like the Ben Wolfe disc, with Marcus Strickland, Ryan Kisor, Luis Perdomo and Greg Hutchinson. Wolfe is a strong composer. I hear some Andrew Hill in him, mixed with some classic hard bop swagger.

I've placed my order. Gene told me that he was shopping this around when I made it down to Pittsburgh to see him for the first (and, sadly, last) time. Thanks for releasing this, Jim!

TTK, some years ago I got a promo without the booklet of his album Time's Mirror. Perhaps you are thinking of that one. I enjoy it. I don't know who did the arranging. Tom Harrell did all the arrangements on Time's Mirror. I wish that he'd do a follow-up to Time's Mirror. Given that many of the arrangements were quite old at the time of the recording, I wonder if he has done any recent arrangements for a large ensemble. Incidentally, I recently purchased David Berkman's Handmade, with Harrell, Steve Wilson, Ugonna Okegwo and Brian Blade.

I could use a new mechanic. (rimshot)

I like Scott's playing on Mike Clark's Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 1, with Donald Harrison, Jed Levy, Patrice Rushen and Christian McBride. I also enjoyed Scott's Anthem, which was Scott's response to Hurricane Katrina. While it suffers from a certain degree of sameness from track to track, there is some powerful playing on it.

I also used Christmas money to order this. Out of the ten titles I ordered (many OOP), I'm most excited about this one. PS: Like Niko, I'd also be interested in hearing the Joe Alexander album, as well as the second JFK Quintet album (not to mention the unreleased JFK Quintet album).

Man, it's hard to believe that after purchasing this, I will own Don Sleet's entire discography. I didn't think that I'd ever hear any of this stuff.