AllenLowe

yes, yes, you are correct.

I have long been an admirer of the French Fremeaux label, which does a great job on sound - good transfers without butchery; their Chicago: South SIde 1923-1930 is to die for - good clean miracle transfers on Paramounts like those of Ollie Powers and nice stuff from Young's Creole Orchestra. Also, Morton/Oliver duet and much much more. If you have any interest in that city's music from those days, get it. Also, an incredible trumpet solo on a Sammy Stewart record from 1924 (what year did Miley do his first growling solo? This one is amazing).

he definitely can play changes. No question.

Zorn plays alto well, I agree. He's got his own thing,

while you were gone there were 3 pregnancies, one assault, and one instance of insider trading,

yikes, John, that's one of the best things I've ever read on the whole question of this music and what the hell should be done with it. You're confirming my recent conclusion that the best critics we have are the least prolific, at least in terms of number of words produced and published - because unlike a lot of the word-a-minute journalists among them they take the time to actually listen and think. Thanks for that.

I wish......

well, that was the reviewer consensus - I can't cite chapter and verse, but The Big Gundown was the recording which seemed to move Zorn front and center (internationally as well; he was/is a bona fide new music star and one of the few who've gotten rich in the process). The downtown thing was significant - centered around the Knitting Factory and, though based there, was not really NY-centric. Impacted a lot of musicians, including myself. It put the last nail in the coffin of my bebop-centricism. Not only Zorn, but Byron, Joe McPhee, Brandon Ross, Robin Holcomb/Wayne Horvitz, Ben Goldberg, even Frisell, as I recall (this was a long time ago); even Braxton was somehow, if artificially, appended to that whole era. Also, a lot of significant post-Punk non jazz things, Teenage Jesus, No New York, Mars, Lydia Lunch, Robert Quine. Arthur Russell. Also Ribot, Anthony Coleman. So it was, IMHO, as significant in its musical after-effects as AACM. and actually I disagree re: Jetman and Zorn - Zorn is truly a World celebrity, not really attached to NYC anymore, a star attraction internationally and (at least he used to be) a resident of Japan.

I like the Lulu sessions.

about a year from now Music and Arts will be issuing a 4 CD set of my old and new work (stuff with Byron, Hemphill, Cheatham, Murray, Ribot, Rudd, et al), 3 cds of old stuff, one cd of the new (a new project that I'm hoping has Steve Bernstein, Ray Anderson, Darius Jones, but I am working out the details), I want the notes to be a series of short impressions, the critical equivalent of speed dating. I am looking for volunteers (I will try to raise a little cash for this thing, but between my daughter's college tuition and life itself, it is unlikely I will have enough to make a financial dent on anyone's budget). I would likely assign 1-3 cuts for commentary - and please note, NEGATIVE commentary is not necessarily discouraged, so if there is something of mine you don't particularly like, feel free to submit (getting tired of happy-talk liners; of course I say that now...) - anyone interested, shoot me an email at allenlowe5@gmail.com

continued thanks to everyone, though I'm somewhat sorry I asked - making cut and paste lists as we go, not really sure what I can do with all this, but it does have the makings of a fascinating tapestry.

Lorraine looks good. She's gotta be at least 125.

well, that was a few years ago, I thought maybe his voice had changed. But his Mouth is Murder.

PETE BROWN! first live thing of his I've ever heard - WOW - very boppish -

good idea.

can't stand that idiot whiney voice. Oy.

glad to hear some agreement - when this came out it was just a major event in the whole downtown thing, considered to be a breakthrough; I don't really remember what I though of it then. I was just very surprised at how little it did for me on this listen.

agreed on Naked CIty and Lulu; both more interesting.

how about Gilligan's Island?

I just took this out for the first time in many years; in its day this was the project regarded as Zorn's masterpiece and was the recording that ascended him to some celebrity - and yet, it sounds to me, at this date, thin and un-realized, like a lot of near-good ideas assembled so that the total is neither equal to nor greater than the sum of its parts. After about 4 cuts I'm bored and restless. Anybody else?

I agree on all of the above -

just re-the above comments about how things sound in these videos - to me all the audiofile considerations go out the window when I see a great player on film - whether its Bird, Prez, Monk, Byard, Bud, Tristano, et all, even in very lo-fi sound, somehow WATCHING these guys play has more impact that 10 albums of 24 bit remastering.

just to make things more complicated, I'm thinking that I may integrate the '60s thing as part of a larger timeline of American music that I was thinking of doing - and thanks, everybody, for the engaging responses so far.

just a BTW, Sonny Rollins was a big admirer of Fruscella -