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colinmce

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Posts posted by colinmce

  1. Best opening track on a Blue Note album

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    "Blue Bossa" - Page One
    "Funk In A Deep Freeze" - Hank Mobley Quintet
    "Falling In Love With Love" - Portrait of Sheila
    "The Griots" - Andrew!!!
    "Eco" - Right Now!
    "Arietis" - Ready For Freddie
    "Tune Up" - Newk's Time
    "Witch Hunt" - Speak No Evil
    "Snowflakes & Sunshine" - At The Golden Circle Vol. 2
    "Zoltan" - Unity

  3. New Albert Ayler biography

    in Jazz In Print - Periodicals, Books, Newspapers, etc...

    Posted

    I read the book this week, and found it a bit of a disappointment overall. It reads more like a longform article than an intensive biography. It's very glossy; compared to a work like Robin Kelley's Monk bio (admittedly the gold standard of jazz biography) or even Jack Chambers' problematic yet exhaustive Miles book, there is ultimately very little in the way of specifics or deep sourcing. In terms of the latter, it relies almost entirely on reviews and interviews from a small handful of publications (Coda, Downbeat, Cadence, The Cricket etc.); there is very little in the way of primary sourcing. Maybe this is difficult to obtain for a figure of Ayler's relative stature, I can't rightly say, but the line in the above Goodreads review ("a massive undertaking which gathers a phenomenal amount of research material") is frankly grossly overstated. As you move through the discography, the format becomes almost mind-numbing: the album, the songs, critical response, rinse & repeat. (And speaking of the discography, this text does not have one which is a glaring omission. I don't have the copy in front of me but I don't believe it contains an index either?).

    There is almost no background on his collaborators-- names come up with about a sentence of context before moving on. Again, most of the critical analysis of the music is outsourced to block quotes from other writers (and I counted at least two which were repeated within a few pages). If you're already versed in jazz history, and in Ayler's music and history, this is fine, you can fill the rest in yourself. But someone coming in cold would have very little context for the progression of free jazz, the context of the music in New York City at the time, the shifting roles of the instruments, i.e. what exactly Sunny Murray's innovations were, how they were developed with Cecil Taylor, etc. Much mention is made of course of the building blocks of Ayler's music, but no specifics at all beyond "marches", "blues", "New Orleans" etc. One illustrative aside that I found quite bizarre was the assertion re: Love Cry that Alan Silva and Milford Graves are less musically rigorous than Peacock and Murray, that they deal with sound rather than specific musical ideas. This, of course, could not be further from the truth. It's a missed opportunity to examine in a substantial way how their approaches differ. Essentially, musicians other than the Aylers are given rather short shrift in the text (with the possible exception of Michel Samson, oddly enough). Maybe this is a quibble, not all biographies need double as critical analyses, but I don't think I've ever read a satisfactory jazz text that did not engage on this level at least somewhat deeper than what you find here. The many overlapping perspectives ultimately create a lot of noise and add up to very little understanding.

    Anyways, these are the things that, in my opinion, it does not do well. There are many things it does do well (especially its consideration of Donald, this is almost a dual biography). As a straightforward overview of Ayler's life, it's a great start. I would like to see someone go further at some point. 

  7. Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook

    in New Releases

    Posted

    23 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

    Weston's arrangements on Jo Stafford Sings Broadway's Best (Columbia) are fantastic. Some would say they are dated, but I love them.

    As I think I've mentioned, My parents, who were in the biz, were in the final lineup of the Pied Pipers, but they never recorded.  When the final original member had to leave because of drinking problems, the group fulfilled their tour obligation with a replacement and then changed their name.  My Mom idolized Jo Stafford. 

    Thanks, I'm not familiar with the Broadway LP but I will track one down. Autumn In New York is one of my very favorite vocal albums. 

  8. Modern/Avant New Releases: A running thread

    in New Releases

    Posted

    Thanks to Steve and Д.Д. for a couple new recommendations. I agree that the 2xCD Judson Trio disc is tremendous. I don't exactly know what I was "expecting", but what I got was something else altogether. This one rewards much relistening. 

    I will take another spin through the new Barre Phillips ECM. My initial impression was neither good nor bad. 

  11. Paul Bley

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Late said:

    Aside from the Fontana Blood, are there any other pre-1970 recordings deserving of reissue? I'm sure there are live tapes out there...

    It should all be out there! Touching, the ECMs and the ESPs are just about the only ones to be consistently available. I can't say what all would be possible, but a box containing at least the Savoy/IAI, Fontana/Polydor, and Limelight recordings should be done. 

  12. Jeanne Lee - Conspiracy reissue, at last

    in Re-issues

    Posted

    44 minutes ago, Pim said:

    Apparently this one gets a cd release as well now:

    https://www.dustygroove.com/item/131619/Jeanne-Lee:Conspiracy?cat=jazz&incl_cs=1&no_incl_in=1&sort_order=release_date

    And so does Sirone's Artistry:

    https://www.dustygroove.com/item/131620/Sirone:Artistry?cat=jazz&incl_cs=1&no_incl_in=1&sort_order=release_date

    and Maliks Emerging Force Art Trio:

    https://www.dustygroove.com/item/131618/Maliks-Emerging-Force-Art-Trio:Time-Condition?sf=malik&incl_oos=1&incl_cs=1&kwfilter=malik&sort_order=artist

    I am curious to see if this is for real, there is no mention of CD releases on the label site. I have an OG Sirone and a Jeanne Lee RE, but I would go in for all 3 CDs if possible.

  13. Modern/Avant New Releases: A running thread

    in New Releases

    Posted

    If this is any help, here is a list of my 25 favorite jazz & improvised music releases of 2022:

    Michael Bisio Quartet – MBefore (Tao Forms)
    Anthony Braxton & James Fei - Duet (Other Minds) 2021 (Other Minds)
    Frank Carlberg Trio - Reflections 1952 (577 Records)
    Dan Clucas/Kyle Motl/Nathan Hubbard - Daydream and Halting (FMR)
    Andrew Cyrille/Enrico Rava/William Parker - 2 Blues for Cecil (TUM)
    Kaja Draksler/Susana Santos Silva - Grow (Intakt)
    Martín Escalante/Teté Leguia/Weasel Walter – Katyusha (ugEXPLODE)
    Barry Guy And Friends – Kraków 2018 (Not Two)
    Maya Homburger/Barry Guy/Lucas Niggli – Acanthis (Maya Recordings)
    Sven-Åke Johansson/Pierre Borel/Axel Dörner/Joel Grip/Simon Sieger - Stumps (Ni Vu Ni Connu)
    Takehisa Kosugi & Mototeru Takagi – 薫的遊無有 / Infinite Emanation (Chap Chap)
    Lantana - Elemental (Cipsela)
    Daunik Lazro/Jouk Minor/Thierry Madiot/David Chiésa/Louis-Michel Marion - Sonoris Causa (NoBusiness)
    Denman Maroney/Scott Walton/Denis Fourner - O Kosmos Meta (RogueArt)
    Joe McPhee/Tomeka Reid - Let Our Rejoicing Rise (Corbett Vs. Dempsey)
    Joe Morris/Agustí Fernandez/Brad Barrett/DoYeon Kim - Other Galaxies (Fundacja Sluchaj!)
    Fred Moten/Brandon López/Gerald Cleaver – Moten / López / Cleaver (Reading Group)
    Michiko Ogawa - Junkan (2020) (Marginal Frequency)
    Oùat - Elastic Bricks (Umlaut)
    Eddie Prévost - Collider-Or, ‘whose drum is it, anyway’ (Matchless)
    Hal Russell & Joel Futterman - The Chicago River (Fundacja Sluchaj!)
    Brandon Sebrook Trio - In The Swarm (Astral Spirits)
    Damon Smith/Andrew Neumann/Forbes Graham/Sandy Ewen/Junko Fujiwara/Eric Rosenthal - Quartet:Quartet:Trio (Balance Point Acoustics)
    Tim Trevor-Briscoe/Szilárd Mezei/Nicola Guazzaloca – Before Then (Not Two)
    Pat Thomas & XT – "Akisakila" / Attitudes Of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees) (Edition Gamut)

    My thoughts in brief: the current wave of au courant "mainstream" jazz music ranges, in my opinion only, from boring to passé to outright terrible. I do the due diligence to give a listen to the latest darlings of bandcamp, Pitchfork, et al and find nothing to like. Dig deeper and you will still find great, serious music being made that will never catch the attention of today's tastemakers. 

  15. Paul Bley

    in Recommendations

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

    No, I wish I had. Saw him perform but never got the chance to talk to him.

    In the last 15 years I've really come around on the electronic stuff. Had it before just for "completism" but now I quite like it. Sometimes you have to grow into something that was done several years before you were born.

    I also just came into an appreciation of this stuff in the last year. Maybe came from taking a very dedicated deep dive into his 60s acoustic music in a way that I never had before.

  20. Modern/Avant New Releases: A running thread

    in New Releases

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, Д.Д. said:

    My mailbox is begging for mercy on this bandcamp Friday... 

    Meanwhile, a November best-of-jazz bandcamp write-up. Except for a few well familiar operators, I barely know anybody from the list - which is good. Plan to skim through these our tonight.

    These lists are absolutely terrible. I take the time to give a cursory skim to each one every month and the music is almost uniformly boring, bland, warmed over, corny, you name it. I also can't stand the writing style. Very unserious stuff. 

    1 minute ago, Д.Д. said:

    Just noticed a note on the EMANEM website (my emphasis):

    This web site is closed for sales during the winter.
    Unfortunately, the local post office (really a sorting office) closes at 10 AM. This means that, in order to post something, I have to get up and go out early before the day has warmed up. I am feeling too old for such a routine, so I am hibernating until the spring and then will see how I feel. (I always wanted a long life, but did not want the limitations and frustrations of old age!)
    During my hibernation, I hope to be able to investigate that possibilities of putting downloads on Bandcamp, and also reduce the prices of much of the existing stock for sale after the winter. I am not expecting to issue any new CDs, nor to reissue or repress any CDs.
    M.D.

    Not surprising, Mr. Davidson (one-man-Emanem) turned 80 this year.   

    Personally I would love to see him hand over his inventory to another party, or parties-- preferably in both the US and Europe. I have had only great experiences ordering directly from him, but it would be nice to have some more options, and I would hate to see the catalog fall out of circulation. 

  21. *** Cecil Taylor ***

    in Artists

    Posted

    4 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

    Yeah, that is super -- got it from the WV website years ago. No idea who would have the rights. Would be great to see a little CD set of other New Thing at Newport recordings -- Cecil, Bill Dixon, Paul Bley, Joe Daley...

    Definitely. Maybe someone could find a pristine soundboard recording of Trane in '66 while they're at it. 

  22. *** Cecil Taylor ***

    in Artists

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Pim said:

    Forgive me my ignorance on Bill Barron but I’ve always thought he was more an inside than ‘outside’ player. Very curious to hear him play with Taylor so added it to my Spotify list. Also time to dive into Bill Barrons discography.

    He also played on CT's Love For Sale album. Barron has been quoted saying that they practiced the music for over a year just to record that one LP side. 

  23. *** Cecil Taylor ***

    in Artists

    Posted

    56 minutes ago, JSngry said:

    Cecil Taylor - piano; Bill Barron - tenor sax; Jimmy Lyons - alto sax; Henry Grimes - bass; Andrew Cyrille - drums

     

    This is a most worthy set.

    The sound quality is fantastic, too. I wonder why this has never had an official release? 

  25. Arthur Doyle (1944-2014)

    in Artists

    Posted

    Worth noting that with the exception of his sideman work on Babi and The Black Ark, none of his own music is currently in print, and most of what you can even find second hand is exorbitantly expensive -- most titles are scattered across a handful of long-defunct European labels. It's a damn shame; I don't think I can think of another comparable musician whose work is so difficult to hear in any capacity. And I don't exactly know what a viable solution would be. 

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