ATR

I've had the double LP of this for about 30 years. Are the extra tracks on the CD box set version as good as the music on the original?

The first gig Lacy had when he returned from France in the 70's I think was at Ali's Alley in NYC. The band was Potts, Oliver Johnson, and probably JJA or maybe Kent Carter. The contrasting musical personalities of Lacy and Potts was a highlight of hearing that band for me. I went back several times that week. I don't think I've ever heard Potts without Lacy, but of course I've heard Lacy without Potts. Since you don't actually say why you don't like the combination, I guess we can just chalk this one up to personal taste. But while I'm here, I might as well admit that I don't think the idea of a Lacy RCA box is nearly as good as getting the original recordings with their individual cover art back in print. There isn't any particular theme to that series of records, and unless there's a lot of unreleased material it just doesn't make sense to me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/arts/mus...gill&st=cse It's all Threadgill all the time these days.

Looks like a Gambit release. Caveat Emptor.

Seems like Threadgill is everywhere these days, even though he has always been with us. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/arts/mus...gill&st=cse

I got into Betty Davis because of this video. I like Joni Mitchell comparing the response to Miles plugging in to the response to Dylan doing the same. The guys who were in the band were OK. You can always just watch the interviews once, or skip them if you really don't like them and get right to the concert. But I thought it was cool to see how they've aged, physically.

What did you think of the editing on Spiritual Dimensions? The pieces seem to begin and end in the middle. You can hear the audiences reacting to the music, yet there is no applause at the end of any tracks. I like some of the grooves, Pheeroan AkLaff and Don Moye are always welcome participants on any sesssion, and the electronic atmospheres are engaging. But I'm not satisfied with the edits, somehow. That, plus I think more could have been made with all that guitar ingenuity available on disc 2.

The box may be out of print, but it is available. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Jack-Johnso...1177&sr=1-1 The question is whether you'll be getting the 'metal spine' or 'long box' edition. I think that Legacy discontinued the original metal spine boxes in favor of long box, digipak type boxes. If you have a preference, as some people do, you may have trouble getting the one you want since the box type isn't specified in this link. But from the picture, as well as the other package that amazon lists, it looks like this is the 'metal spine' box.

That is too bad. I understood he was quite a fisherman, as well as being a fine bass player. This biography and discography looks fairly complete to me. http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/sirone-jones-norris-sirone Of the great Revolutionary Ensemble trio only Jerome Cooper is still with us.

Stand in the Fire, the live album, is a keeper. I saw him tell Letterman that he didn't remember doing it.

Kind remarks are always appreciated. The website is about-time-records.com/

Didn't I see that Air Time is still in print too?

That's interesting. The current release on the Mosaic site is corrected to state that the sextet was formed in 1981 and began recording for RCA in 1986. The first three sextet albums, entitled When Was That?, Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket, and Subject to Change were released by About Time Records. All three are still in print and available from jazzloft or cadencebuilding. The first two are available as CD's, LP's, or from ITunes. Subject to Change is LP only. Unfortunately for Mosaic, Threadgill didn't record for one label over a period of time long enough to collect a box set as Braxton did. And as I look at the Mosaic catalog I see that many or most of their boxes are The Complete [insert label name here] Recordings of [insert artist name here]. It was probably a difficult decision to decide what to include. As a listener, I think that for the sake of continuity the About Time recordings would have been my choice over the Columbias. But I'm biased. This is going to be a great box, and the About Times are still available. AFAIK, a good part of the box (some of the Airs) has never been released on CD, and X-75 Vol.2 is a welcome addition to the Threadgill discography. Enjoy.

You might try "Too Much Sugar For a Dime", for something more accessible. I got 'Sugar' and love it. Where should I go now? I'd like another one that is similar to 'Sugar' and that would not be included in the Mosaic box, as I plan to save for that too. Thanks Mosaic Box?

Yes, happy birthday. I miss seeing Muhal Richard Abrams in person, as I did many times in the 70's and 80's. His fairly recent trio record with Lewis and Mitchell on Pi is astounding, and I'm rediscovering his 70's work with Braxton on the Mosaic box set. He is the leader of a musical revolution that began in the 60's and is too little known today. Simply too many great recordings to list them all, but a special remembrance is due to a concert with Hamiett Bluiett at Environ. An unforgettable evening.

The full story of the AACM, including its links to bands like Paul Butterfield Blues Band, EW&F, and Miles Davis is told in George Lewis's excellent book about the AACM. Buy it, and read it. Support the cultural tradition.

I understand the new mantra is update the firmware.

I don't recall how I discovered his recordings back in the early 70's, but they opened up my mind. Never got around to studying Lydian Chromatic Theory but that's okay, I wasn't playing in the band. The music made sense enough to me. And he was a big fan of Cecil Taylor's, said that no great jazz musician had appeared on the scene since CT. This was sometime in the 90's, I believe. A jazz deity, so long Mr. Russell.

Maybe it's not considered avant enough, but any of the Miles Davis bands from Complete Cellar Door through Get Up With It, Agharta, etc. For one track, it's hard to top Henry Threadgill Sextett's Bermuda Blues from You Know the Number, or his Very Very Circus composition Try Some Ammonia from Too Much Sugar for a Dime. He used to do this number in concert only, entitled Cool, Cool, Well Water that was an absolute scorcher. Never has appeared on a recording. I prefer the Pullen composition Big Alice from Live at the Village Vanguard with the Adams/Pullen group. Got a hand jive like back beat. James Carter with Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen, and G. Calvin on his Layin' in the Cut for Atlantic. Jamaaladeen's own Showstopper for Gramavision, and Bernie Worrell's Funk of Ages for the same label. Ornette Coleman, Of Human Feelings.

Haven't gotten the box so I haven't read the notes. If he doesn't mention Cooper, who I'm sure is credited for his performance in the discographical information, perhaps he's not familiar with his work. In order to write the booklet, he should have been. Maybe he's just young.

Just happened to see this post, and I realize it's quite old. Two great CT recordings. Akisakila was a two record set documenting the trio in Japan with Cyrille and Lyons. There was a companion record of CT solo. This is the first version of the Unit I heard live, and the recording is essential. Live in the Black Forest is the same band as the New World studio recordings and One Too Many... Features Ronald Shannon Jackson, Lyons, Sirone, Ramsey Ameen on violin, and Raphe Malik on trumpet. More concise than One Two Many, and equally essential. I've never seen it on CD, and only seen Akisakila as an expensive import.

Not a big Frisell fan, but I do like a few records he's been on. I recommend Zorn's Film Works 1986-1990, both of the Lulu trios with Zorn and George Lewis (albeit mostly for Lewis), Power Tools with Shannon Jackson and Melvin Gibbs, and One Time Out with Lovano and Motian. Of his own recordings I bought some of the early ones before he scattered himself all over various idioms. Is that You? I seem to recall was my favorite, Before We Were Born not so much. Smash and Scatteration, the duets with Vernon Reid, I haven't listened to in years. A good example of Frisell work that I think doesn't work in context is the Dave Douglas album Strange Liberation. Shows you how far he is from that chunky, rhythmic stuff that Miles had going on. I just don't care for all the sampling and echo in his sound, or the fact that he's so darned eclectic.

My first exposure to Crouch was seeing him play drums for a David Murray trio at Studio Rivbea, substituting for Sonny Fortune at the last minute sometime back in '75 or '76. We walked out and got our money back. Then again, we didn't care for Murray at the time, either. Recently, though, I read in George Lewis' AACM book that Muhal Richard Abrams credited him with being a decent writer of melodies (IIRC). Nice to know he can write something, even if we've never heard them. At any rate, Mr. Crouch reviewed Jerome Cooper's Unpredictability of Predictability record on About Time for the Village Voice, concluding that although Bert the Cat was great, the first side suite was too influenced by contemporary European Classical music. In response, Mr. Cooper wrote and recorded 'The Crouch Opinion' on Outer and Interactions, also for About Time. I've never been assaulted physically by Mr. Crouch. His manner, on the one occasion I spoke to him, was a bit patronizing. I'm still waiting for 'Outlaws and Gladiators', his book about avant garde jazz. I guess it was permanently shelved when he went to Lincoln Center, but it's funny. Even though Crouch wrote some of the lessons for the Lincoln Center/NEA Jazz in the Schools program, their curriculum includes Braxton, Threadgill, and Douglas. As well as Crouch's (excuse the expression) bete noire, Bitches Brew. If you've seen the film Miles Electric, you know what I mean. And if you haven't, check it out for one of Mr. Crouch's most strident diatribes. As for what happened to him, who knows? I don't know him personally. I've heard musicians call him 'The Benedict Arnold of Jazz', which seems to fit.

An innovator on his instrument and a great collaborator and communicator. The duets with Sun Ra never fail to delight.

Don't want to miss out on the Nonaah and Saga of the Outlaws discs. Two of many that inspired me back in the day. Although the resale value of my Nonaah and Outlaws LP's will drop, it's a fact that records were made to be listened to and not listed on ebay.