Stereojack

This is debatable. I like the stereo "Monk's Music". Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd "Jazz Lab" was issued in stereo originally, but turns up in mono on the CD. I guess it has to do with one's preferences, and probably the system on which one listens. Whoever is making these choices at Fantasy obviously prefers the mono, but doesn't mean that we all will agree with him.

"Swing Me No Waltzes" (Storyville) was the one that first turned my head. Eventually became an avid fan. I think Hanna is pitifully underappreciated.

I was 24 when Freak Out was issued. Am I disqualified? Frank was a bit older - was he pandering to teens? ← Disqualified, no. Overqualified, maybe. The point that whoever said that was trying to make, I think, was that Zappa's music, almost all of it, is rooted in a bird-flipping type mentality that's never going to be able to chill out and enjoy the pleasures of "normalacy", if only in passing, and that's an attitude best accomodated by the adolescent and still freshly young adult. Not sure that I totally agree, but I certainly don't disagree. ← I was about 21 when Freak Out came out. Up to that point I had been a jazz snob, but was beginning to like some of the rock music that was coming out - Beatles, Beach Boys, et al. Freak Out blew my mind - here was a funky rock & roll bar band with a real cynical perspective. Became an avid Zappa fan, bought everything; saw the band live several times, etc. Zappa didn't play favorites - he lampooned the straight people and the hippies. I think Uncle Meat is their masterpiece. However, The CD contains a long bonus track that is completely worthless. I gave up around Apostrophe. The humor was getting more amd more juvenile (and I was approaching 30!). That said, it all sounds very dated to me now. The comedy is a bit stale and forced, the music will be fine and then they'll get silly again. I'd recommend Hot Rats as a good introduction. Peaches En Regalia is one of Frank's most memorable tunes, and the comedy is kept to a minimum.

I’ve listened to all of disc one, and here are my comments. 1. “How High the Moon” My first thought when this started was early Jimmy Smith, but after listening for a bit, and not recognizing the tenor player, I began to wonder. Maybe this is a younger group emulating Jimmy’s style? 2. Louis Armstrong – “Cheesecake” OK, Jim’s having some fun with us here. Not one of my favorite moments from the old man, but I guess it’s always nice to hear Pops. Even though this is pretty late (mid-60’s?), his trumpet (what little there is of it) still sounds pretty good. 3. Really liked this, wish the saxophonists could have stretched out a little more, but that probably wouldn’t have pleased the producer! Might these be well known jazzmen moonlighting with a Latin band like Tito Puente? 4. My first thought when this started was Archie Shepp, and as the tenor solo went along, I got to thinking how much Archie recalled Sonny Rollins on this. And then it occurred to me – this IS Sonny Rollins, presumably one of his Milestone records. The trombone is Clifton Anderson, the electric bass Bob Cranshaw. Really don’t care for Sonny’s harsh tone on this, and overall don’t think there’s a lot happening here. 5. “Gone With The Wind” It didn’t take long to realize that this was a joke, a spoof of Dave Brubeck’s popular college albums of the 1950’s. I believe this is from the “Morris Grants Presents J.U.N.K.” album. To this day, I don’t know who’s behind this! 6. “The Man I Love” I think this is from the famous 1947 Pasadena Concert, produced by Gene Norman. The alto is Willie Smith, the trumpet Al Killian I think, possibly Irving Ashby on guitar? Too bad about the fade after the piano solo – I wonder if this may have been originally issued in two parts? 7. Sounds like Gene Ammons, probably from one of his later albums. Poor Jug is practically drowned out by the strings, voices, and what have you. A valiant attempt, but not the Jug of yore. 8. Well, I’m pretty sure that the tenor on the left channel is Archie Shepp. Can’t name the singer or the other tenor player. A gold star to the singer for staying on track with all the distractions. J 9. “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” This has got to be Count Basie, circa mid 1960’s. Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, tenor sax, Rufus Jones on drums. Trumpet sounds like a flugelhorn, could it be Waymon Reed? My guess that this may be from the Command album “Broadway Basie’s Way”, given the big stereo spread. 10. After the somewhat over the top Basie track, I like the more relaxed groove of this track, although I can’t place the alto player. Might this be Lou Donaldson with Oliver Nelson? 11. “Hi-Fly” A nice vibes player – I’m thinking Walt Dickerson, possibly from one of his Prestige albums? Like this track a lot. 12. The tune is Chick Corea’s “Litha”, but this isn’t either of the versions I know (Stan Getz, Chick Corea). The pianist could be early Chick, I guess, can’t place the tenor player. I know I’m gonna kick myself when I find out who this is! 13. Duke Ellington “Moon Maiden”. Only Duke could get away with this! 14. “Mountain Oysters” Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, recorded circa 1949. I had this on the old King LP “Risky Blues” years ago. Don’t believe Jaws is the vocalist. however. 15. “Time After Time” Stanley Turrentine, tenor. Only guessing here, but the organ is Shirley Scott? Stanley Sounds great on this tune, which I’ve always loved. 16. This is interesting – a jazz beer ad! I’ve heard of Jax beer, but is Mellow Jack’s a local beer somewhere? Are we supposed to know the singer? 17. Betty Carter specialized in this kind of way down ballad, but this singer strikes me as a little too maudlin (maybe that’s too strong a word). She ain’t Betty.

Live at the Lighthouse (1962) Live at the Lighthouse '66 Lighthouse '68 Lighthouse 1969 Live Sides (Blue Note) more tracks from 1968 sessions To my knowledge, only the '66 album has been on CD.

Have always loved this record & consider it to be one of their best. The bonus material (which I haven't heard yet) is from a live date recorded at Shelly's Manne-Hole, most of which was unusable at the time due to the band's not having had sufficient time to learn the material, I'm told.

Saw it last week. Liked it a lot. Keeps you guessing!

Received mine today. Have promised myself I won't read anyone's comments until I've listened to the whole thing.

Looks like your LP is missing a fourth performance: Django plays five choruses on "Ride, red, ride" on that concert. ←

I'd also recommend "Live at the Harlem Square Club", a fantastic live recording.

I would take with a grain of salt any discographical information provided on the CD, as well as the supposed source. Who is Paul Ellington, anyway? Django did tour with Ellington in late 1946. The only recording I've been able to find is from the Chicago Civic Opera House, November 10, 1946. Django performs three tunes which are entitled Blues, Improvisation No. 2, and Honeysuckle Rose. The second is a solo performance, and sounds like it is probably a Django original. On the other two, Django is backed by the rhythm section, with the full band coming in at the end. I have this on Prima 01/02, a 2-LP set that appears to be of European, possibly Italian, origin.

Me too, but I have to say that the tenor players are coming out of Trane as much as out of the usual influences, so their is greater appeal (for me anyway) than many other "soul jazz" groups might generate.

Barak shares a birthday with Dubya! So do I.

Agreed! This band is a real find! They made several LP's for Cadet in the late 60's - "Mellow Yellow" is the best of them. Both tenor players, Artee "Duke" Payne and Thomas Purvis are MF's!

The average shellac 12" 78 will hold about 4 1/2 minutes of music. V-Discs are pressed on vinyl, and quite often will hold as much as 6:00 or slightly more. I don't know if the material from which it is made is a factor or not. Btw, V-Discs are 2-sided.

Attendance of dealers and customers was off somewhat this year. Two longtime regulars, Red Carraro and Lloyd Rausch were missing, both due to illness I was told. Still, I managed to pick up three Mosaic sets at a discount, a few LP's and about a dozen 78's. Mainly I go for the hang at this point. It's a lot of the same people every year, and I like to hobnob with the fellow record mutants.

June 24-25 Holiday Inn 4701 Stelton Road South Plainfield, NJ

I've attended this bash every year since 1978 - through four different promoters, three different locations. I wouldn't miss it, and I'll be there again this year.

Brown's band usually followed a pattern of dance-oriented swing, often featuring fine arrangemants. One on which they really outdid themselves is "Jazz Songbook" (Coral), a late 1950's LP on which six guest soloists are brought in, each given two feature pieces. The soloists are Zoot Sims, Frank Rosolino, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs, Don Fagerquist, & Ronnie Lang. If you can find this one, it's a winner all the way.

Hey Dan, it was great to meet you and your wife. Glad you got to see the Sox win!

I saw Miles a number of times in the years 1965-1970. I'm going from distant memory here, but besides "Agitation", most of the material was usually older. In the years 1965-67 one usually heard "Walkin'", "Joshua" & "'Round Midnight". I remember them doing "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Gingerbread Boy" before they appeared on "Miles Smiles", but maybe because I was already familiar with those tunes at the time, they made a greater impression. I do recall hearing "Mood" once, but can't recall them doing any of the tunes from "Sorcerer", "Nefertiti", "Miles in the Sky", or "Filles De Kilimanjaro".

Have only heard the "official" releases. Can't tell you where this one falls amongst the others. I would suspect that there are private recordings that are better than this. I should know better than to criticize the work of a musician held in as high esteem as Wayne Shorter, but I can't help it. I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

I think you are taking my comment abouty "noodling" a little too literally. I thought that the musicians rarely found a common ground, that is, a singleness of purpose in the music. I don't know just how many of these pieces can actually be considered compositions - they are more like semi-free improvisations. Not that it matters, but you asked. If you are a devotee of Wayne Shorter, as I suspect you are, you will want to hear this for yourself, of course. After the brilliant previous album, this one just seemed too loose, unfocused, and I was disappointed. On the last album, I was very impressed at how the band was able to weave in and out of familiar material, and make it totally fresh. On this record, I get the impression that their aim is spontaneity, but the magic just doesn't happen. I wouldn't have bothered to criticize the record, but somebody else already did, and I wanted to agree with him. Sorry I brought it up. In regards to you keeping your comments to yourself, you came across as smug, questioning the validity of my opinion, and that usually pisses me off.

If you'd read my first post, you might have noticed that I said I liked his last record a lot. And, I have seen Shorter live many times. I just don't like his new record, although, AS I STATED, the problem is not so much with his playing, but with the group dynamic, which falls short. You haven't answered my question as to whether you've heard the new record. When you have, you might even agree with me. Until then, why not keep your comments to yourself?