Big Al

I FINALLY get it!!! Lately, I've been on something of a Hill binge, what with the new Conn coming out & all (and reading all the great comments in that thread, which I am too lazy to link here ). I haven't got it yet, but plan to. QUICKLY!!! So, to bide the time, I've been digging other stuff of his. I was fortunate enough to stumble across a used Mosaic a while back (no booklet, alas), and thought for $22, this was well worth looking into. Needless to say, the first couple of go-rounds scared me to death. (In fact, I still don't get Point of Departure, but that may have more to do with me not being able to get Dolphy than anything else!) But slowly, EVER so slowly, it started working its way into my system. Judgement was the one that left the most lasting impression. I mean, you can't go wrong with Bobby Hutcherson & Elvin Jones. Then I noticed that Richard Davis was all over the sessions, and HIS playing started reeling me in as well. So, two years and countless listenings later, I'm slowly appreciating this set. Some I enjoy now more than ever (Black Fire, One for One, and Andrew!!!); others are still just a wee bit "out there" for me (Smoke Stack, and especially the session with Sam Rivers. I can only listen to that in small doses, intensity level being as high as it is). Fast forward and start to dig some sideman appearances, especially the Hank Mobley No Room for Squares album. Not only is Hill an accomplished writer, but he's a helluva comper too!!! Especially on tracks like "Three Way Split" and the title cut! Then, of course, there's Dialogue which features Hill stealing the show on a grand scale! AND, if Joe Christmas is reading, I want to say right now that I shoulda purchased Dusk when you showed it to me at Tower a few years ago. I finally heard that album this week, and cannot remember the last time an album moved me as much as this did. The section work is lush and provocative to be sure, but for me, the highlight is the piano solo (don't have it in front of me, but I'm sure many of you know which one I'm talking about: track #4). I was in a trance at work today, and it was like a beacon of light broke through. Then, the floodgates opened today during lunch, while listening to Greg Osby's The Invisible Hand. Hill's phrasing during the second track, his subtle use of space, and the way he plays with, around, behind, and through the beat was nothing short of breathtaking. That's the kind of thing where something reaches from the music, slaps me around a bit, and says, "SEE??!?" I do now!!! As a P.S., I picked up Grass Roots today, for fear that somebody else might beat me to it and then I'll wonder what I missed. Hopefully, this thread will go long enough that I'll be able to share some thoughts on that as well. One more thing, how is Beautiful Day? Does it live up to the title? Whew! Thanks all for letting me air all this out. Needed to do this after the Cubs heartbreaker tonight!

Not only that, but their song clips have all but vanished. Why did they discontinue the sound clips for Blue Note CDs?

Yeah, baseball lore it is. But when it comes right down to it, this was a grade-Z choke by a team that had the Marlins in their grasp and let it go. Come on: they brought out their two best pitchers, two guys who hadn't lost back-to-back games since 2001, and they got rattled. And then there was the non-existent Cubs offense in the last three games. Hell, the pitcher accounted for THREE of the Cubs runs tonight. Like Brad said, and the Marlins, apparently, do. They came right out swinging, and didn't let up, even after giving up a HR to the pitcher and then losing the lead. The Cubs. on the other hand, played like a team defeated from the 7th on, swinging for the fence at every pitch. It was heart- and gut-wrenching. I also hereby revoke all bad will towards that fan from last night's game. It's not his fault the Cubs gave away the game, and eventually, the series. Again, like Brad said, the good teams put this behind them and move on. The Cubs played tonight like they were still rattled. Having said all that, I'll be rooting for the Marlins this series for one reason and one reason only: PUDGE RODRIGUEZ, far and away one of the greatest players in the game right now, racking up the numbers, and steadily moving from hero to legend status. We loved him here in Texas, laughed at the Marlins when they signed him, and now we're (at least I am) eating crow for laughing. But in between gulps, I am extremely happy for this guy: he never would've gotten to where he is now with his former team. 95 years will seem like a drop when, 200 years from now, the Rangers will have yet to make it into the ALCS. So, GO PUDGE!!!

I love 'em all, but you're right: tonight's was especially surprising! I can't help but get hooked if I happen to walk by the TV and it's on!

(laughing thru my tears) Come to think of it, that avatar of mine is a pretty apt description of what I'm lookin' like right now!!! AAAUUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!

Received both PMs, and youse guys is taken care of!!! And to think I almost went to bed tonight!

Eight runs in the eighth inning!!! I hope emergency personnel is on hand, in case that guy gets the SHIT KICKED OUTTA HIM for fucking up what would've been AN OUT!!!! Man, if I was Alou, during the pitching change, I woulda been raggin' on that shit-fer-brains 'til everyone else kicked his worthless ass outta the park!!! And for what?!? A souvenier (sp)?!?!? Something he can put on eBay? "Hi, I'm the dumbshit who interfered with Alou, fucked up a sure out, and opened the floodgates for the Fish to score a shitload o' runs. Y'wanna buy an Official Major League Playoff Baseball??" Maybe the ghosts of Harry and Brickhouse will haunt his dreams for the next 95 years!!! Of course, it didn't help that the Cubs bats in the last 2 games have been as limp as pre-Viagra Palmeiro; and then, to add insult to injury, they brought in that washout Farnsworth!!! Game 7 tomorrow night, and the young Texan gets to carry the weight of 58 years of World Series frustration on his shoulders. Good luck Kerry and GO CUBS!!!

Updated! Unfortunately, I can't change the title of this thread.

Ooooooooh YEAH!!!

An absolutely sweet choice!!! This is gonna be a fun one to discuss, as I'm sure the other Green/Young/Jones albums will surely be discussed!

Guarded optimism at best. I hated Outland. So if it's anything like that, then big shmeal. Hopefully, it'll be more of the careless abandon of the early days than the Doonesbury-wannabe that BC became in the later days. Just my opinion, tho.

Nah. MMW's backing was cool, but Sco's guitar did nothing for me.

All prices include postage. Some changes since the original post! Components - Bobby Hutcherson (BN Conn, no OBI strip) $10 Expansions - McCoy Tyner (BN, 1995 issue) $20 Or $25 for both. PayPal gladly accepted. If anyone wants to trade anything, I’m really interested in the following RVGs: Indestructible (Blakey) Moanin’ (Blakey) Mode for Joe (Henderson) Our Thing (Henderson) Bud! (Powell) The Scene Changes (Powell) Hub-Cap (Hubbard) Grantstand (Green) Una Mas (Dorham) Adam’s Apple (Shorter) PM or e-mail: acrearick@hotmail.com. Thanks!

I have GOT to go get that back. Dirty little secret: I used to own this little slab o' greaze. Traded it away for something awhile back, don't know what. I GOTS to get that back!!!

Somethin' Else

I don't have this album, but as this seems to be a discussion about Stenson's work in general, who does he compare to? Or, put another way, who is he influenced by, and does he show those influences in his work? I hope to hear Serenity this week, and would like to think that at SOME point in the near future I'll actually hear the album for this week as well.

Just wanted to send out a hearty THANKS to everyone who participated during the "official" week for this album. Hopefully it comes up again in the future (will ANYONE be able to break the record set by Black Market?), and the next few weeks promise to be very challenging and adventurous! Cheers to you all, and thanks for keepin' it oh-so-greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeazy!!!! B)

Ahhhhhhhh. That'll teach me to be so.... listless!

Either I had a really crappy pressing, or maybe the original CDs of this were even worse than the RVG I heard; the copy of the Village Vanguard RVG I had sounded awfully muddy and muffled to these ears.

And they "swing" thru here (term used very loosely) tonight. Wynton's smug smarmy mug has been plastered in every newspaper since the event was announced. I hope, for Soul Stream's sake, that they played a less expensive venue in SA than they'll play here in the 'plex: Bass Hall, where if I'm not mistaken, the cheapest seat is around $45!!! Now THAT'S bringing jazz to the people for ya.

Just curious: how come Chris's posts are always indented? Nothing wrong with it, just curious is all. As usual, I don't have anything relevant to contribute to the thread, although I think Chris should get some special award for voluntary self-infliction. Why didn't ya call him up and harass him on the air? The worst that could happen is you might've been referred to as a "minor man," thereby putting you in that upper echelon of other greats who've seen thru the smoke and mirrors that is Crouch.

Daaaaaaamn straight!!! How 'bout that D? Two possessions, two safeties!!! And I was there to see it! Ooooooh yeah!!!!

Holy cow, YES!!!! Keep That Groove Goin' is all sorts of outstanding!!! That's why I'm so excited about this new Holloway disc. I heard "Go Red Go" on the radio on the way to work one morning, and had it ordered by the end of the day. I am so glad they still make records like this these days!

John Paul Jones did a solo album, a soundtrack to a movie called Scream for Help, which I got when I was going thru a Zeppelin-obsession in high school. It had Jon Anderson on vocals on a few cuts, and Jimmy Page on a couple others. It was okay, basic mid-80’s synth-rock, nothing more. Your memory is amazing, Rooster. Half of these albums I'd forgotten about (or tried to, anyway)!