Big Al

The liners to TIME OUT. Did that guy ever write anything else after that?!?? Anything by Phil Schapp. You'd think he discovered things that only the truly clueless thought were missing (the second set of tapes to Ellington's Newport show? Yeah right!)

I see where you're coming from. Tony Williams ferociously steals the show on this one! But, I find that it's so easy to get lost in the repetition of the two themes ("Nefertiti" and "Fall"), and when the feeling is right, it feels like I'm floating. (wish they had a smilie for the look of someone who's off in dreamland!)

Unfortunately not; they're in there, but their so small it's hardly worth the trouble trying to focus your eyes on them. But don't let THAT stop you from getting the box. Trust me: you will NOT regret it. Fact is, I had three of the six CDs covered in the box before finally giving in. Just get it now, and save yourself the money. It’s worth the price of admission just to hear these tracks (particularly the NEFERTITI/SORCERER tracks) played in order of recording. Fascinating! If I’m not mistaken, disc five is comprised mostly of unreleased (not necessarily alternate) tracks, so again, it's worth the purchase price for THIS as well! As you well know, this was an incredibly fertile time in Miles career.

How about "et al?" In the spirit of AL(z) everywhere, I'm going back to sleep. Think I'll read my AOW thread to get me there quicker!

WAIT a second here!!! How is it that a "coming soon" thread is running laps around my own AOW thread? Maaaaaaaan..... :g Seriously though, I can't wait to see what Joe has in mind (and if I'm not mistaken, I believe this means that the entire Texas contingency of Organissimo has been properly represented in the AOW!).

Just finished Dave Barry's TRICKY BUSINESS. It is every bit as good and funny as BIG TROUBLE. Really, I just read the last 200 pages, and it was a page-turner 'til the end. But I should warn: there's a couple of parts that are DEFINITELY not for the squeamish!

I know you're out there, I can hear you typing!

"I haff orders!" "Vat is orders, dahlink?" "Orders is keel moose."

Please do!

EXTREMELY LONG POST ALERT (don’t say you weren’t warned; go get something to drink, prop up yer feet, this gonna be a loooooong ride!) My first exposure to this quintet came about as a result of hearing Hancock’s HEADHUNTERS album a few years ago. The unbelievably unreal FUNK of that album (and as I write this, I can’t remember if I’d already heard all of Herbie’s Blue Note recordings (the box) or not; I was thinking that had some historical or chronological significance to all this) sent me in search of more along the same lines. I wish I could remember where I read it, but something pointed me in the direction from this to late-period Miles Davis Quintet. I had the opportunity to trade for MILES IN THE SKY and needless to say, THAT record blew me away. More solid funk, but what made this so special was this was my first real exposure to the (and I think the term is justified here) GENIUS of Tony Williams! Around that time, Where(aretheynow)house Music was having a huge Sony sale, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to start collecting the albums by this quintet. So I picked up NEFERTITI and SORCERER. (If memory serves me correct, either they were out of MILES SMILES, or it wasn’t on sale. Can’t remember which) NEFERTITI’s title track didn’t take long to permanently fasten itself to my brain. A theme repeated over and over, as the piano, bass, and drums do all the improvising. What a concept! And what execution! And it’s not like this theme is all that easy to play, either; playing it in unison, entering at the same time as someone else, and fighting the temptation to take off on some flight of improvisatory fancy takes a special kind of talent. It’s a testament to Miles and Wayne that they were able to sustain this level of concentration for this long. But it’s Herbie, Ron, and Tony who are the stars of this track. Herbie’s comping in particular is inspired: instead of concentrating on being melodic, it’s more percussive, following the old Miles adage of “Play what isn’t there,” and playing it beautifully. “Fall” is an aptly named tune, as it feels like free-falling, or perhaps floating. It seems to build on the same concept of “Nefertiti,” but this time Miles and Wayne offer commentary in the few measures between theme statements. “Hand Jive” showed me what kind of monster Tony Williams is when he’s on fire, and even that doesn’t justifiably describe his playing on this track. At times sounding like he has a few extra set of arms playing with him, he lights a fire under Miles and Wayne. As much as I enjoy Herbie’s comping on other tracks, I like it even more when the horns have to go it alone with Ron & Tony. Echoing much of the magic from MILES SMILES (sidenote: I had thought about choosing this album for AOW, for so many reasons (one that it’s such a brilliant concentrated burst of force; two that it could very well be the KIND OF BLUE of the 60s; three because as far as group improvisation goes, it is hands down my favorite; and four simply because IMHO it’s the greatest jazz album ever!), decided against it because had I not heard NEFERTITI or SORCERER, I might not have ever picked up MILES SMILES. Don’t know why things work out that way, but they do!), each player gets their shot at cookin’ and do they ever. Everyone’s solo is fiery, especially Wayne’s, but I love how Herbie builds his solo from single notes to chords. Then, just when you think you can catch a breather, here comes “Madness” to carry on the same intensity that was found on the previous track. Wonder how many record needles were melted by these two tracks back then? “Riot” is good, but I actually like the multi-colored textures found on Herbie’s SPEAK LIKE A CHILD. Just a preference, though. Finally, there’s “Pinocchio,” which has as lovely a theme as any that Wayne Shorter came up with (and continues to do so). Great solos and playing all around. The alternate to this track is fascinating in every aspect, not the least of which is the slower tempo. In fact, much as I love the album version, this one moves me much the same way that “Dance Cadaverous” does. I love that lilting feeling, and Ron Carter shows what a delicate touch he has on slower tunes such as this. Yet another reason to get the box! I want to offer a few comments on SORCERER and the box before turning it to the floor: I find SORCERER to be every bit the equal to NEFERTITI, and this might’ve made a fantastic double-album. These guys were at their creative peak at this time, with Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams coming into their own as writers. On these two albums, there are no covers and no tunes by Miles. Every tune is by Herbie (“Sorcerer” and “Riot” among others), Wayne (“Prince of Darkness” among others, which floored me on first listen when Wayne’s solo dovetails so naturally back into the theme statement at the end), or Tony (the raucous “Hand Jive” and the lovely “Pee Wee” among others). Herbie is improving not only as a player but as a listener by his laying out during solo statements. The box, of course, is worth every penny just to be able to hear the entire output from those inspired months in 1967 when this music was made. Getting WATER BABIES is fine and all (all three tunes from this era are from the pen of Wayne Shorter, each a sadly overlooked gem on its own, and each fitting in perfectly with these two albums), but you still miss all the OTHER unreleased gems. I’m not gonna go into detail here, but suffice to say that SORCERER and NEFERTITI made me get the box, and as a result, hear MILES SMILES. But then, I guess that’s another AOW for another time. Much fodder for discussion, I hope. Fire away!

Got ours last night and, needless to say, we are enjoying it immensely. But has anyone noticed during the opening credits, it seems like the "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends" is superimposed over the original banner. Anyone know why that is?

This is a sad loss indeed. A great talent. RIP.

And then, just to prove how silly the weather is down here, it rained all day yesterday, and the temperature didn't get above 90. Reminds me of when I was delievering pizzas as a teen, standing on one side of highway 360 in the sun, watching it rain on the other side of the highway. Weirdest thing I ever saw!

Was it '79? I remember 1980, with 69 straight days of 100+ heat! I remember being at a baseball camp, wearing my Little League uniform (the one with the polyester pants! OUCH!), and praying for death! And if memory serves me correctly, the next winter was particularly harsh: school was cancelled for three days in order to curtail the heat used by the schools. Record lows (one day, the high was 16! Never seen it that cold down here since!) and ice so thick, we went to the school playground and slid down the slide and all the way across the playground! Memories like that make these hot daze a little more bearable!

Awwww MAAAAAAN!!!! So close and yet so far. Wish he could've been there this past weekend when I was there!!!

Point taken, but: 1. The Who definitely ain't jazz, and 2. Miles in his less-than-prime was at least still releasing new music (sometimes simultaneously). The last Who album of new material was more than 20 years ago! And it's not like there's different stuff on this album, as opposed to previous Who live albums. It's the same damn stuff, just like last time, just like the previous time, etc etc ad nauseaum. However, I will concede that I did not realize this was for a charity benefit, and as such, the Who are to be commended for that. Also was not aware that this was a three disc set (I thought it was two). In that case, given the selling price of less than $20, then I recant most of my original vitriol. Now, anyone wanna gripe about KISS Alive IV?

Bringing this up to start off the discussion. I'll post more later, just want to say how glad I am this got picked. This is one of my favorite albums EVER, jazz or otherwise. I'll warn y'all now of a ridiculously long post to come, filled with commentary, memories, and other useless bits as I think of them. Cheers! And let the fun begin!

Make us proud, bro!

Was at Target last night and saw this. No, it's not the much anticipated '72 show or the '76 show at Swansea. No, it's yet another live album from yet another reunion gig, with yet more guests. The scary thing is people may actually buy this crap.

Checked out Infinite Jest from the library today. 'Bout needed a forklift to get it outta there!!! Only on page four so far, but I'm real tired right now, so it's not sinking in just yet. Also picked up some Tom Robbins novel that I don't have in front of me right now (too tired and lazy to actually get up and get it). Something about "Half-Awake in Pajamas" or something like that. Anyway, the synopsis intrigued me. So, as always, thanks for the recs, guys!

Yeeaahhhhh buddy!!!

Well, I'm going to Austin this weekend. If I see AFRICAINE anywhere, I'll pick it up!

Hey Rooster! Have ya received my PM yet? Loking forward to seeing that list! Hi Al!! I sent you a trade-list via e-mail. (Both via the "e-mail" button in your Organissimo profile, and also to the e-mail address in your PM.) If you didn't get 'em, I may just post my trade list here to this thread. Let me know if you didn't get it. That's weird; I haven't received either! I'll send you a PM with a different e-mail address. I wonder if my hotmail account has been inadvertently blocking the messages?

Pope Aric? Now THERE'S a horrible thought!

Hey Rooster! Have ya received my PM yet? Loking forward to seeing that list!