Big Al

You really need LiveIn Tokyo to get the complete picture. That one is a motherfucker, as were the other two albums, as was the band. Don't I know it. And don't get me wrong (I'm not the best at writing cohesively near midnight): I don't see the line from the first album to Heavy Weather as a decline in anything. As I've said before, the three albums that precede HW are my three favorite WR albums. The first two WR albusm are great, but I don't imagine I'm gonna listen to them as much as I listen to MT, TS, and BM. It's just that I can see what people are talking about; not necessarily saying I agree with them, but I can see where they're coming from. But then, I have always and forevermore been a fan, first and foremost, of the GROOVE!

Is Whataburger any good? My wife and I were in Dallas over the Labor Day weekend and saw a couple, and had never heard of it before, but didn't try it. Varies by location. Some are great, some are lousy. They were a lot more consistent back in the 60s & 70s before they became omnipresent. But a well-made, fully loaded triple-triple is one of those things you can't get anywhere else that you wish you could. What he said. As far as burgers go, I would call it the gourmet of fast-food burgers: you can definitely get better (did someone say Chapps? MMMMMmmmmm!!!!!), but they're better than any of the other fast-food chains down here. It's definitely a Texas thing. My son could eat there every day, every meal if given the chance. Heck, he wants to own his own franchise someday!

Got it queued (sp?) up, along with some other archived shows that I've fallen behind on. I love the slogan of the blogsite: "Where the birth of the cool come out of the past!"

Interesting. I don't like that album either. I like JZ and WS in other contexts but could never get into Weather Report. Maybe I need to check out the early albums. To clarify, the first album blew me away; completely mind-blowing. HW, by contrast, is an annoying bore to me.

Listening to the Montgomery right now, and so far so good! i.e. it's definitely a keeper. Mikeweil, check your PM box!

Bringing this back up for a number of reasons...... One to mark the passing of the band's co-founder Joe Zawinul; RIP Joe. Two because I never commented on this thread before. Before today, all I had was the Legacy reissues of Black Market, Tale Spinnin and Mysterious Traveller. That started because of the AOTW from almost four years ago about Black Market. Those three discs are such a huge chunk of intricate and well-planned grooves. I could listen to the title track of Black Market forever and never get tired of it. Always did like the slower, more contemplative pieces on MT and TS, especially thru headphones. These tracks are certainly not the kind to take out driving. Which leads me to today's purchase of the first album and Body Electric on vinyl this afternoon. Just got done with side one of the debut and WHOA is it an eye-opener. I can definitely hear the Miles influence, but it is so far removed from the other three that now I understand why a lot of people felt like WR was declining by the time they got to Heavy Weather (which I don't like, either). I haven't really seen these first two albums get much discussion in this thread. What are y'alls thoughts on 'em?

I'm ashamed I neglected to mention that one! An absolutely beautiful tune, one that stays in your head for days if not weeks! Good catch there, FFA!

Getting the thread back on topic, though, has anyone heard the new ones?

At least OK earned a portion of his ego by helping start a label and actually work with the artists involved. What did Feather ever do, based on Albertson's letter, besides write a book and allegedly write some songs? That's a tough call, between LF and OK. As Chuck says, LF did a lot of good and other things that were not good. In the former category, in addition to his assiduous and often valuable journalism, LF produced a number of recordings, organized concerts, and played significant roles in the early careers of Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, and (especially) George Shearing -- though how significant his role was in Washington's case is, as we know, a matter of some dispute. In the latter category, in addition to his bodacious ego and Machiavellian ways, LF's championing of modern jazz in the mid-1940s definitely had its dark side, because LF felt that championing etc. demanded that much so-called traditional jazz be sneered at. Thus, for example, in LF's scheme of things Jelly Roll Morton was an incompetent fraud, a "fact" that LF never ceased to proclaim. In the annoying "moldy fig" versus "progressive" wars of the '40s, which wasted so much energy, polluted the atmosphere, and were even hurtful to some musicians, LF was among the key figures. Oh, yes -- his Blindfold Tests (an idea that I'm pretty sure LF originated; he certainly claimed so, and I don't recall anyone weighing in to the contrary) were often marred by LF playing bad and/or unrepresentative recordings by musicians he didn't like and which he hoped would then be put down by the musician taking the Blindfold Test. Thanks for that; I honestly didn't know.

At least OK earned a portion of his ego by helping start a label and actually work with the artists involved. What did Feather ever do, based on Albertson's letter, besides write a book and allegedly write some songs?

FWIW, I placed an order with Tower/Caiman last week for the following OJCs: Cal Tjader - Tjader Plays Mambo Cal Tjader - Mambo with Tjader Blue Mitchell - Out of the Blue Blue Mitchell - Big 6 Blue Mitchell - The Cup Bearers Blue Mitchell - Blue's Moods Montgomery Brothers - Groove Yard Kenny Dorham - Jazz Contrasts (Keepnews Series) Every one of them arrived yesterday. Don't know if this is a fluke, but I'll definitely order from them again! Hell, the J&R order I placed at the same time (for a bunch of Blue Note RVG's) isn't scheduled to ship until tomorrow! A full eight days after I placed the order!!!

With an emphasis on the FAT!!! When recently putting together a Herbie comp for the car, I came across this album which I hadn't listened to in a long time. Boy, did I forget how unbelievably GROOVY this album is. It doesn't take long for the grooves to start, either! "Wiggle-Waggle" lives up to its name. For that matter, a lot of the names of the tunes live up to their names: "Fat Mama" sounds just like that! "Oh Oh Here He Comes" probably has the greasiest groove on the record, and all of this without a B3! The bulk of this record was recorded with Hancock's working group at the time, which included Johnny Coles on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax and flute, Buster Williams on bass, and Tootie Heath on drums. They had recently recorded and released THE PRISONER on Blue Note, which would be Hancock's last BN released. That album is championed by a lot of people, but it's always left me cold. FAT ALBERT, OTOH, is right up my alley, jam-packed with delicious grooves from start to finish. This was another album that caused me to continue to warm up to Joe Henderson. At the time I first heard this (2001), I was still getting used to his playing; THE PRISONER sure didn't make it any easier. His solos here ride the groove so nicely, but they never become rote. They still remain personally Joe's; I mean, you hear a Joe solo, you know right off it's Joe Henderson and nobody else! Herbie mainly sticks to electric piano for this album, to wonderful effect IMO. He plays acoustic piano on "Jessica," which kinda drags for me. This track seems to foreshadow the long drawn-out spaced-out forays that would follow on Mwandishi and Crossings. For me, only "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)" was the only remotely interesting track from either set; however, a few listenings of getting used to that 13/4 meter made me see how groovy that tune is as well. (In fact, it wasn't until Sextant that Herbie seemed to find his groove again, with "Hornets" seeming to be the seed that would eventually flower into the full-blown Headhunters) Finally, after hearing this album on CD for the longest time, I bought a nice clean vinyl copy from another board member. I know you vinyl-heads will roll your eyes and say "Duh!" when I say this, but what a wonderful difference that vinyl is! The sound (and the groove) is even fuller than I'd ever heard! Great music made even more enjoyable! (Thanks, Slide!)

We'll find out tomorrow. But I think you're correct.

Whoa...... uh oh....... The NY media has to be juicing their undies right now over this.

Damn right he isn't! This is absolute BS on the part of the commissioner.

Nah, they're both in the $5 range. Thanks for the opinion, though.

Lou Donaldson POSSUM HEAD (Argo) and Buddy Montgomerry THIS RATHER THAN THAT (Impulse!) Saw 'em at Half-Price Books during lunch, they're holding 'em for me until after work (don't want them to sit in a hot car all day and warp) along with a few other LPs. I can't find any info on either of these. Anyone have these? Opinions?

As much as I loved the concept of this series of issues, I never originally got into any of them. Of course, now that they're OOP, I wanna get 'em back again and listen to them with new ears. Happens every time.

Happy birthday, fellow baseball nut, and hopefully you don't have to wait another 80 years for another World Series ring! (Said the fan of the baseball team which holds the record for the oldest club without a World Series visit. OY!!!!)

'salright! I own neither at this point!

Oh, it's been discussed in other threads about the Keepnews series. I'm sure if you do a search on Keepnews, you'll find it. Me personally, with the few Keepnews CDs I've gotten, I've replaced the clear tray with a black tray. Not that I want to look at OK's mug in the first place, but that is one butt-ugly picture of the man!

'specially since Mating Call was on Prestige.

A Sure Thing arrived yesterday and OH is it sweet! Just what I was hoping for, and now I can't wait for the others to arrive!

I liked Yusuq's second great quintet, sharing the front line with Hous Bin Pharteen. That's my boy!

All of this is off-the-cuff, no edits, first take! Track 1: Now THIS is nice! Has a nice intensity a la some of Trane’s modal stuff. I’m already humming the bass part in those quiet moments. Beautiful track! No clue who it is, but it sure is nice! Track 2: Even more beauty! This reminds me of a Buddy Montgomery track that was on a BFT from some years back! Love that bass line, too. The drums are exotic and mysterious! Love it love it love it! Track 3: HA! Cool lead-cello intro on the Monk tune (no, I don’t know the name of it! Whattya expect? I’ve already confused “Blue Bossa” with “Fly Me to the Moon”). MAN, that was cool! Track 4: Who is playing those wicked harmonics? That is wild!!! Was almost put off by the unison voice and muted trumpet, but it’s okay. Oh, is that Joe Henderson? Which makes the voice Flora Purim? Stanley Clarke on bass? PLEASE say I’m getting close hear! Sweet, SWEET groove! Track 5: Oh my, what a guilty pleasure this would be for me! My kinda groove! Really, it is so freakin’ cheesy that I can’t help but love it! I can’t wait to find out who this is, cuz I can’t even begin to guess. Maybe Chuck Mangione in the 70’s on a good day? Heck, I don’t know! Track 6: Ooooh, nice mysterious 3/4 groove being played by the drums. Very cool. Sax trio, eh? First guess is something from Trio Fascination, the Lovano album with Elvin on it, but it’s been so long since I’ve heard that album. Okay, too many high squeals on the tenor sax for me. Losing interest very quickly. Track 7: Another nice piano trio, along the lines of tracks 1 & 2. I’d even go so far as to say it’s George Winston (who I enjoy) ever recorded a trio album, it might sound like this. My apologies to anyone whose heads just exploded because of that last statement. Eh, this one’s going on a bit too long as well, and the bass solo ain’t helping. No, I take back my earlier statement about this being George Winston; it sounds like a classical pianist trying to play jazz. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not good in this case. Track 8: The slow intro almost lost me, but now the groove has picked up and I’m really enjoying this. For some reason, I wanna say Michael Brecker from his final album. Sometimes the piano sounds like Herbie Hancock. Intro suggested yet another version of “All the Things You Are,” but this clearly ain’t that! Thankfully! Track 9: Nice. No clue as to the tenor player, they all kinda sound the same at this point. Heck, at one point, I thought I was still listening to track 8! Like the occasional percussion statements. Track 10: Nice Latin groove here! My first guess is Chucho Valdes, but that says more about how little I know than anything else! Track 11: Man, Marcos, you sure like your piano trios! Unfortunately, and especially among today’s players, I can’t tell one from the other. But this is nice! Track 12: Another nice groove! Another track I don’t know anyone! By and large, and especially with those first few tracks, this was a pretty enjoyable BFT. Thanks Marcos!