Gheorghe

Interesting point ! Well, I must admit I don´t NEED an accordion in "every jazz band" but I can even imagine that it might fit in some free jazz Recordings. Didn´t Pharoah Sanders some stuff where he also used an harmonium, so why not an accordion. Or, Albert Ayler, he had roots in Country blues but went totally free, so I think some accordion Player could try to got along with this. By the way, I even heard be bop bands with accordion in it. There is one record of Bird, I think it was done for a television Show and it had and accordion , and I have a recording of Bud at some summer resort, where at one point where he plays How High the Moon, an accordion player is added to his trio.

I Always like to tell a little story behind the albums I listen to, since they bring memories back: When Mingus´ "Me, myself an Eye" came out, I think it was just a week or two after Mingus´ death. I went to the record Store where I was a regular and Mr. Kratz, the owner told me "here is a new, the last Mingus Album, but you can Forget About it, I tried to listen and it sounds terrible, it doesn´t make no sense, don´t buy it!. Well, later in summer I thought I have to buy it just to "close circles", since I had almost all Mingus-albums. We thought, the title of the Album is "Me, myself, AND I " Well About the Music: It really starts with some very free Avantgarde big band Sound, I can imagine how old Mr. Kratz stopped it at that Point, but for me it´s the Logical next step after "Three Shades" and "Cumbia". See, Mingus was a big star in the late 70´s and he wanted to reach even more audiences though the fact that he went more into "Fusion" (using guitarists like Larry Coryell) and "World Music" (with etno flutes and Percussion on "Cumbia"). So "Three Worlds of Drums" was the next great opus after Cumbia . I head once, that the idea for this Opus was Born while Mingus during his last world tour visited Tunisia. That explains the lightly oriental Sound of some of the shout chorusses. And for me, as an absolute fan of drums and drummers, it´s paradise on earth to hear Danny Richmond, Joe Chambers and Steve Gadd and the percussionists together…..

A very fine set of Kai Winding ! I saw him live in 1978.

Bobby Hutcherson, George Cables, Herbie Lewis, Philly Joe Jones "Four Seasons". A great record on the Timeless label. Sorry I can´t post the cover.

This is one I would take with me on a lonely Island ! What can I say more About Dave Liebman than that he´s beautiful, such a fantastic musician and when I was a youngster and had first seen Johnny Griffin live, the great Dave Liebman was the second great saxophonist I saw live. The next day I had purchased the wonderful "Drum Ode". What a wealth of music is here and such great musicians, all of them ! "Loft Dance" is most exiting, then dig the romantic "Oasis" with vocals by the legendary Mrs. Eleana Steinberg ! The more oriental exotic stuff like "Iguana Ritual" and..... last but not least this extremely moving version of John Coltrane´s "Your Lady". Just Incredible. One of the ballads that moved me most.

Wonderful ! I tried to catch Chet Baker as often as possible and naturally he was very much in demand when I was Young. I see, he also had a drummer. As much as I remember I never saw him with a drummer. The first time I saw him live I think he had Phil Markowitz on piano, later he had that Belgian pianist , what was his name? His bassist very often was the Italian Ricardo Del Fra, and he had a flute Player (and occasional guitar also) Nicola Stilo. The last time I saw him late in 1987, he look terrible but played as a young God. It was pure magic. But we all knew or feared that it might be for the last time...….

I hear some of you don´t like Rollins´ Milestone albums too much. Others wondered how Rollins sounds on soprano. Well this here, let´s say I was already a fan when it came out. I think, Milestone records where quite easy to find during those days and we all waited eagerly for what well come next. That was in High School. So some from our "jazz gang" would say "hey, that´s the new one, Rollins, McCoy, Ron Carter, Al Foster", and it´s the best stuff and we all would listen to it together. Same Thing was the year before with McCoy Tyner´s "Supertrios". As soon as it came out, it was spinned and discussed…… can you imagine how wonderful this was ? Rollins was the hero of those who "tried" a bit Tenor. For those who don´t like his Milestone Albums: Sure, we listened to and dug his old stuff on Prestige, Blue Note etc. but we were Living then and Sonny Rollins was present so we eagerly awaited each new Album he did……., same with McCoy, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Tony Williams and all those master musicians….. And here again, you have a taste of Rollins on soprano on the Extended track "Nubia", McCoy Tyners composition. My favourite track during those days were "The Cutting Edge" and Ron Carter´s "N.O. Blues".

What a great album with wonderful musicians, George Duke and Tony Williams ! And a wealth of beautiful tunes: "Isn´t She Lovely" was also part of the set list of 1979 Rollins when I heard him live in Velden. "My one and only love" beautiful on soprano, also superb soprano work on his own "Arroz con Pollo" with some fantastic drum-work by my favourite Tony Williams. A very very good Sonny Rollins album !

"Sun Ra.....and his band.....from outer space…..are entertaining now !" Sun Ra Forever ! This was my first album and it started a live long admiration for this exceptional musician ! This 1966 band had some great musicians. I love them all, but would like to mention Bassist Ronny Boykins, he is great, has a fantastic arco sound . And the fantastic duet he does with Sun Ra, who plays that great Little instrument "Clavioline"...…..

He really deserves his retirement. He had a Wonderful playing Career and is one of the really great vibraphonists of post war jazz. I can understand he retired because he was very very busy. I once heard that he played on a jazz cruise and someone wanted to ask him some Questions, but Terry Gibbs never found time, he was Always in hurry to write Arrangements, to make Appointments for rehearsals for the evening gigs etc. I mean, if I had the luck to Play on a cruise, I´d relax at the pool and put out my horn for the evening gig and that´s it...…..

Wonderful ! When you are 91 and have a wife and can enjoy a cake for breakfast, and Maybe still Play some on the piano.....

His absolute Highlife on each Art Pepper set was his funky piano solo on the mega-Long track "Make a list, make a wish", that´s were he really cooked. And on the bossa "Your´s my heart only" . On faster swing tunes he has his own style, Maybe not exactly in the swing Idiom like it might be supposed in the jazz genre, but he does it well. Only some Drummers had difficulties playing with him, once I heard Al Foster didn´t like to Play with him.

That means it will be on Amazon next year ? I like Ornettes Music very much, everything from the first trio with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins to Prime Time. I already have on book about Ornette Coleman, but it´s in German language, I think the author´s name is Peter Niklas Wilson...…, I think the title is "His Life, his Music and his records".

Who is this ? Inge Brandenburg ?

Isn´t this also from the Gold Series. The famous "Bud in Paris". It´s Recordings from late 1959/60, some of them with Barney Wilen ts added, which is a highlight. The 2 Bud-Griffin duets are misdated, this cannot be from 1960, it must be from 1964. The cover Foto cannot be from Paris 1960, it must be Don Schlittens´ famous Picture of Bud when he returned to New York, I think the Foto was done still on the Airport.

Great record from the short lived Electra Musician Label. I saw the group with the same personnel in 1983 at Wiesen.

Great Thing, and as much as I know (I´m a bit too Young), it was this Group that brought a lot of People to jazz in the late 60´s. Many People got in touch with jazz via Charles Lloyd. Needless to say this was one of the very very best and most important Combos during that time...….

Quite interesting was the tune "Send in the Clowns", when Van Morrison sat in with the Chet Baker Group, I think at Ronnie Scott´s . And since I don´t know much other Music than jazz, this was the first time I became Aware of him. That "Send in the Clowns" with Chat Baker sounded good, of course......

Hi ! I don´t know if this fits in here in the "discography corner" , but let´s try: I remember in the late 70´s (summer 1978) , on Austrian TV (ORF 2) we had a television series about the story of jazz and when it came about "bop" and "cool" there was a video with Dizzy telling about the essence of be bop and then he said something like "let´s show you how it sounds" and then he played a very fast version of "Wee" together with Sonny Stitt, I don´t remember the others, but I noticed he had a Fender bass Player, not an acoustic bass. I think Sonny Stitt had the first solo. Does someone know when this short Video was done and if it still exists? As I said it´s Diz with Sonny Stitt, and an electric bass player. It must have been around the mid/late 70´s. Anyway, this was a great television film. Dexter and Mingus spoke, Lee Konitz spoke and played, Stan Getz the same, and there was a Video clip of Stan Kenton with a Young bearded Drummer who maybe was Peter Erskine...…..

Inspired by the album cover, another Affinity Thing: The Wynton Kelly Trio with George Coleman. Recorded About 1968/69. Ron McLure had replaced Paul Chambers. I remember Ron McLure very well as a very very fine bass Player: I heard him a fantastic group Dave Liebman had around 1980: Ron McLure was on bass, Terumaso Hino was on trumpet, John Scofield was on guitar. It was young John Scofield who helped me to "meet Dave Liebman". John Scofield was fantastic but still not as well known as he was a few years later. I had been Aware of him since he had recorded with Mingus (then recently). 3 Years later I hear that he joined the Miles Davis Group. I thought "Incredible", THE JOHN SCOFIELD, the guy who led my way to "meet Dave Liebman"

This was one of my first Messengers Albums, I later purchased the CD also. It was a highlight of our "jazz gang" at highschool, a lot of Youngsters came to my place and we would listen to it. Everybody dug "Moanin´" . And this edition of the Messengers was one of my favourites: Valery Ponomarev tp, Bobby Watson as, Dave Schnitter ts, James Williams p, Irving on bass. But when I saw them for the first time, Billy Pierce had replaced David Schnitter and I think on bass was Charles Fambrough, former with McCoy Tyner if I remember right. The only shortcoming on this album is that it´s too short, Maybe 35 minutes only……..

I have heard about that question why the bandmembers had "good old English names", embarrassing indeed ! Well, anyway, 1968 must have been a rough year. I´m too young, in 1968 I was 9 years old. I saw Roach twice , in 1978 and 1980. On the second occasion, Roach made the stage announcements in German language, much to the surprise of the audience.

Nice live stuff of Griffin/Davis. But this one is not so well recorded. "Jaws" sounds much more subdued, and he does not play on "In Walked Bud" . The Sound quality is not the best. The piano (and it´s the great Tete Montoliu) is very underrecorded…….while Nils Henning´s bass is too loud. I heard other CDs from that great "Uncle Poe´s " series, but on this the recording qualitiy really is not the best.....

I never understood why they didn´t show anything else than his hands playing on the Bird/Diz Video. I mean he played a fine solo on Hot House and why was he the only musician not showed to the public ? They showed that silly jumping bass player, the to me unknown drummer who didn´t really fit to Bird/Diz/Hyman, but not Dick Hyman. Was this some "Crow Jim" stuff goin on then ?

I must get into the stuff he did with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow.