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srellek
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Posts posted by srellek
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For anyone on the fence or just waiting around for the Mosaic box, don't lose another minute. This is all-time great stuff. The sound, the tone, there really is something special about Hankenstein. Charlie Haden had some great observations in last month's DownBeat, remarking on the beauty and inventiveness of Hank's use of silence...
"Hankenstein"????
But yes, the Mobley box is one of my favorite Mosaics without a doubt.
OK, I'm no longer on the fence. I just ordered the Mosaic box.
Solid, DukeCity. I'll be interested to hear your feedback, but think you will love this music.
Mobley is one of those few musicians/artists who with just a couple notes can really take me to another place. It's all about his subtlety; there are no grand gestures or exercises in technique, not the flash of Coltrane nor the force of Rollins (whom I love immensely). There is a quote by another neglected genius, Antoine de St. Exupery, "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." For some art is an additive process. For others it is an subtractive one. And I usually find myself in the latter camp. Hank is a master of what he doesn't play. And I think a lot of people are sleeping on him. I think Miles had the vision to bring Hank into his group but for a bunch of reasons (mainly that Mobley cut a little too close to Miles' own style, to play dimestore Freud) he couldn't get excited about him the way he did about Trane. But that's another post...
Point is, for me there is something hard to define about his work where the sum of its parts - his round sound, his compositions, the atmosphere of his playing which can be at once jaunty and melancholy - makes for a greater whole.
Ah, Hank...
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Thanks for the post, JSngry. Much appreciated!
I had thought that the movie/Paris music was THINKING OF HOME, the record and the suite (which I believe is the only multi-form composition we have from Mobley)...?
For anyone on the fence or just waiting around for the Mosaic box, don't lose another minute. This is all-time great stuff. The sound, the tone, there really is something special about Hankenstein. Charlie Haden had some great observations in last month's DownBeat, remarking on the beauty and inventiveness of Hank's use of silence...
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Anybody else have a copy of this to post. I had read it a couple years ago and it was a great piece as I remember. I've since lost my printout. Anybody else have it?
Thanks.
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Has anyone ever come across a well recorded/performed version of the Sun Ra composition, Face the Music? I heard this live by the posthumous Sun Ra Arkestra at the Knitting Factory a number of years ago and the melody would not (and still has not) leave my head. But I've only ever found one recorded version of the song, and not a very satisfactory version.
kh,
You're absolutely right, FACE THE MUSIC is infectious. I know of two versions on cd that you can find. The first version (though titled COSMOS SONG) is on the LIVE IN LONDON 1990 cd that is on Blast First. (It was originally a special giveaway from Wire magazine.) And the other is LIVE AT THE HACKNEY EMPIRE, also from 1990 on Leo Records.
..."What do you do when you know that know that you know that you're wrong...?"
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No Crabgrass, I'm talking about the first volume of the Lost Reel series on Transparency, the second disc. It's an actual class given by Ra and I find it 100% BS and it was making me really dislike Ra, so I'm not listening to it further!
I would respectfully offer another viewpoint. And I may be in the minority, but I really like Ra's lectures/interviews. The second disc of LOST REEL vol. 1 is an exceptionally rare treasure. When John Szwed had tantalizingly described Sonny's class at UC Berkeley in his great bio, he mentioned that tape records were expressly not allowed, so it's a real treat to have this recording. I can understand why many would rather just listen to the music, but I find this UCB lecture especially entertaining. Ra's humor, intricate wordplay, baffling hermeneutics, street parables, koan contradictions, and generally wonderful non-sense. Fascinating stuff. As Szwed writes, "Sun Ra the southern black man, the jazz musician, the reluctant leader, the recipient of outer-space wisdom, the messenger, the militant, the hippie icon, the avant-gardist, was now Sun Ra, visiting lecturer." (p. 295)
Lon, you also mentioned some bonuses from Transparency. I did get the bonus live DVD. What other bonus stuff are you aware of? Thanks...
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My usual second hand and new cd's went recently out of business and I have noticed CD Universe doesn't care to ship to Europe anymore...
Would anybody care to recommend a couple of good and reliable online shops willing to take my orders at a reasonable cost?
Thks for your help
Check out:
http://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/
I've had very good experiences with all of these retailers.
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I don't have nor have I really looked for a digital image anywhere of the Horsehow cover; it comes in a black binder that has cdrs in sleves two ring bound, with a color photograph on the front. No booklet for this. The two discs I've listened to are both "one track discs," i.e. no indexing of titles. Which is okay with me. Disc ten is an interview disc. As disconcerting as I find his interviews, I may skip that one!
I think Vol. 4 is very good, and I also really like Vol. 1's music.
Any more details on this box? Are they all "one track discs" (how annoying!) and is there much repetition between sets? I still can't find any setlist anywhere on line.
All of the discs in the Horseshoe set (mine anyway) are single-track. While it's always nice to have the freedom to navigate these things as one wishes (as in the Detroit set), there is also something fun about "having" to listen to the whole thing, without a track list, with the surprise of what comes next. A little taste of Ra jail. Discipline is more important than freedom, as Sonny often reminded us, right?
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So I picked up the Freedom box set today and I am quite pleased that contrary to the Amazon reviews, the sound is of pretty decent quality. Needless to say the music is fantastic. I really find Sun Ra's transitional music of the mid to late '60- early '70's pretty interesting. FWIW, I did not know that Pat Patrick doubled on electric bass, at least that's what the liners say for the 12/71 set.
Good move, Ghost. SONG OF THE SPARER on the first disc is a real favorite of mine...
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I'm a little late on this one, but thought I'd chime in my appreciation for Don Shirley. While he may certainly be at the "far right"(?) of jazz (i.e., nearing classical), I think it is absolutely jazz and quite enjoyable at that. I couldn't disagree more with any sentiment that says, "whatever it is, it ain't jazz". I distrust categories in art and simply don't believe in them as a rule. But the beauty of "jazz" is that if it is anything, it is pretty much everything. Certainly the most inclusive of categories. You can have jazz that spreads out effectively into other categories: music that has rock elements, classical elements, folk elements, world elements, etc. and it works. Jazz is more of an approach, I think. And although I know many may disagree, for me Shirley's music is jazz. Most def.
He certainly has the classical background and those chops. In '55, Duke picked him as the piano soloist for the premier of his NEW WORLD'S A-COMIN' with the Symphony of Air. And he lives at Carnegie Hall. How cool is that by the way?
http://nymag.com/homedesign/greatrooms/42385/
All I know of his personality is that he was very gracious when I ordered a cd from him, writing a nice note with it, etc. You can still get it here I think:
http://www.donshirley.com/cds/cdds3332.html
With a version of LOTUS BLOSSOM that just kills.
For those who haven't heard his music, check him out and decide for yourself...
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I never read/hear too much about the Ellington transcriptions on Circle from '43 to '45. You can still get these through George Buck at:
http://www.jazzology.com/index.php
Highly recommended.
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What's the verdict on the legitimacy of the Lost Reel series? I ask because they've apparently been branded as boots and have popped up on at least one trading site.
My understanding is that the Transparency sets do pay royalties to Marshall Allen (and maybe others). Not sure about the Lost Reel series specifically.
But my take on these issues of legitimacy is this: First is __________(insert title here) available from another, "legitimate" source. In the case of some of our Andorran friends' work the answer is yes and I try to seek out other, proper releases. Second, is there a reasonable chance __________(insert title here) will/might otherwise be released. Now that we're down to almost one record company the answer to that question is increasingly no. In those cases, the music lover in me overpowers any other rational arguments and it becomes about the music -- listening to it, appreciating it, sharing it, having it out there for those few others who are also appreciating and listening. As unfair as it may be, it would seem better to have the music out there (even if no royalties are being paid) than to have the music not out there with still no royalties being paid. And maybe there is a kind of interest in the music that carries over into the enthusiasm for (and purchase of) those other "legitimate" releases by a particular artist.
Again, I don't say this is fair. The omniverse ain't fair. But I look at it this way, in the case of an outfit like Transparency, is this really a way to exploit or make a quick buck? Finding/remastering/packaging/selling obscure (even by Ra standards!) videos, music, concerts, lectures, etc. cannot be thought of as the road to riches. Be smarter to buy a bridge or start a war somewhere. This is material that would NEVER otherwise see the light of day. With the aforementioned Monolith Records Corp ascending this is only going to get worse. I think the guerilla (or gorilla, if you like) approach is going to be the way of the future for those of us who may be comfortable with MP3s but still need that physical object and nothing else will do. Yet one more way Sonny was light years ahead of the game...
And clifford, thanks for the kind words...
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I'll add my kudos for the ArtYard re-issue of Disco 3000 - very nicely done. I can't wait for them to release the others... those small group recording from Italy (Disco 3000, Media Dreams, and New Steps (which isn't on the reiisue list)) are amongst my favorite Ra and On Jupiter is excellent. It'll be nice to retire the LP dubs of these I've been living with for years.
Has anyone picked up the Transparency "Live At The Horseshoe Tavern" CD-R box set yet? ...any thoughts?
I got the Horsehoe Tavern box Saturday in the mail. Sound is nice. You'll like it.
Is the Detroit Jazz Center Residency box still available? And are y'all getting these sets directly from Transparency, or through third-party vendors?
blake:
I'm with you, Disco 3000 is pure pleasure. I got my Horseshoe set yesterday and have been listening to it today. I think both the audio and musical quality are excellent. Lon is right, there is no book or song listing. But on the first three discs (as far as I've gotten) there are versions of (as best as I can tell):
Discipline 27
Calling Planet Earth
(a blistering) Take the "A" Train
Love in Outer Space
King Porter Stomp
I'll Wait for You
Stardust from Tomorrow
Springtime
Outerspaceways Inc.
We Travel the Spaceways
...among others
I particularly like Sonny's little snippet of "As Time Goes By" on a very stream of consciousness (but then what Ra isn't) "I'll Wait for You". The band personnel seems pretty standard for the time: Gilmore, Allen, Thompson, Michael Ray, June Tyson, Eloe Omoe. Luqman Ali, etc. with a conga player. There's a really nice vibe on these discs: joyful, relaxed, fun. I've really enjoyed what I've listened to so far...
I ordered this directly from Transparency. I also ordered the Detroit set from them as well, almost a month ago now, but haven't received it. I emailed Michael to check on the status of that but never got a response. The few people I've spoken to about it seem to think there was some kind of production glitch in the second batch of the 28-cdr set and that more are coming soon. Chuck at DMG said they are supposed to get a bunch more. If anyone has any more info on this, please post.
Best,
Tony
Chicago's Avant-Garde Musicians
in Jazz In Print - Periodicals, Books, Newspapers, etc...
Posted
Thought I might mention another Chicago artist, D Bayne. His septet record, PREMONITION is fantastic. His compositions have a little Don Grolnick influence, a little Gil Evans too maybe. Really fine, haunting stuff.
His piano playing is definitely informed by Paul Bley. His trio record with Tim Daisy and Kurt Johnson also merits repeated listening. Bayne's also worked with Keefe Jackson and Frank Rosaly - to tie in with some previous posts.
I think both his cds are available through Cadence and/or Jazz Record Mart.
(BTW, Hate making all these comparisons, but sometimes with a new artist it helps give people a frame of reference.)