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In the late 80´s I remember we did it a few times as a reggae

oh thanks for the info. I had thought it´s Trane´s because the time I purchased it, it was under Trane´s name, one on Musidisc I think "tanganyika strut" and one on an italian label Lineatre or something like that. As you say, both with Wilbur Harden, and I think this was my first encounter with Doug Watkins. Needless to say I got much more albums later.

absolutely. I think he had a very very strong and fat sound and that´s the best thing for the then "new" hard bop sound. Very much in evidence as early as his 1955 playing with the Jazz Messengers. A great sideman. His sound is even stronger than that of Paul Chambers, but IMHO he was not such a great soloist like Paul Chambers. Sometimes, as on some of Contrane´s albums for Savoy he just keeps walkin on his solo spot

This one might be the greatest thing and I really was glad when it started, but after a few minutes there are some strange symbols on the screen and they don´t get away. I found the video on you tube also but it also has those strange symbols on the whole screen. That´s really a disappointment. This almost two hours of music should be published on DVD, or just as a music CD. Two giants like that together, that´s an historic moment. I really hope it will be possible to enjoy it without those annoying symbols.

I think it depends on where you play. I remember when I was a youngster sometimes we got a gig somewhere where the audience wasn´t really used to jazz or to what to expect from a jazz performance. Most people who were not so much associated to jazz, had heard and had liked one single tune "Take Five". It seems that this was something that appealed to people who said they didn´t really like jazz but liked "Take Five". Others "Mercy Mercy Mercy". Well I could do more out of "Mercy" than of Take Five". "Take Five" and me , "we" had the wrong start, we never became friends...... On very rare occasions where someone had a request which really was not a "jazz associated" tune (I think it was a country melody or something like that and the only thing I ever knew is "jazz") I had to explain it in the kind manner, somehow like "look it´s like food, if you want pizza, you go to a pizza place and if you want chinese food you go to a chinese place and that´s what most people understand, that you can´t cook on anything.... The most ideal requests happend if a fan asked for a tune that you haven´t played yet but might go into the direction you play. If you are lucky you somehow know the tune and can execute it.

Brew Moore "Brew´s Stockholm Dew" with Lars Sjosten Trio is a fine record.

I´ve thought that at least when they made to the records "At Bohemia" in late 1955, though Horace Silver was still in the band, Blakey had become the leader. Because only on the late54/early55 record "Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers" Silver got top billing. And it´s significant that on the two "Bohemia" albums there is no Horace Silver composition. After Mobley had left Blakey, they still recorded very much together. After 1956 there´s that whole bunch of BN albums Mobley did, and at least on some of them is Blakey on drums, and after 1959 he still did at least two albums with Blakey "Roll Call" and "Soul Station". I never learned about the reasons why Mobley returned to the band and if he did, why didn´t he stay longer. 1957 was a good year for Mobley since he made so many records as a leader and a sideman, and in 1958 his recording evidence was less, there is 'Pecking Time" but somehow I don´t like that album so much. Wasn´t Hank arrested sometime for the usual things then ?

Thank you for sharing this great memories. The Double Quartet was quite well documented, usually they did two long tunes, one was called "A little Booker" as I remember, and the other was something based on the changes of Bird´s Confirmation. Well it´s a nice listening experience even if strings always sound a bit funny to me. About the "iron curtain"...... two years later Roach performed in East Berlin GDR ..... yes 1985 I got the CD.

The Chattahooche Red I must admit I haven´t heard. But Pictures in a Frame. It´s interesting there are a lot of Roach Fans, I´m glad he was one of my heros and I think the first time I heard them with Billy Harper and Reggie Workman this was one of the greatest concerts I ever heard, I´ll never forget that. And as you like more the Pope/Hill version: They were also in my hometown, spring 1980 if I remember right. I was there and the next day it was on radio, I recorded that on tape. It´s got that slow blues "six beat blues" which they performed often, and "Peaceful Heart" one of the most played tracks. Normally they did "It´s Time" and "Peaceful Heart" both more than 20 minutes long. That´s how I heard them. And Roach came down the club to greet Art Farmer, but maybe due to contractual reasons he didn´t sit in...... Heard Izipho Zam yesterday. Beautiful especially the long title track. That´s Pharoah at it´s best, and Sonny Sherrock´s guitar riffs are beautiful. Anyway those are the tunes you never get bored even if it´s repeating a riff, it get´s into your soul, you could listen to it for hours..... I think it´s very near to the other best achievments "The Creator has a Master Plan" and "Healing Song" (from At the East). And the first track has a lot of good piano also. Lonnie Liston Smith was one of the first of a long row of píanists who had that certain powerful quality Sanders want´s for his music. Joe Bonner was one, John Hicks , and for a very long time Bill Henderson. Only downer on that record: It´s not very well recorded, it´s very heard to hear the piano, it´s underrecorded. I think, though all those Strata East are first rate music, it still was low budged and good recording equipment was missing.....

have listened to it yesterday. The best track is the Red Cross, Clifford Jordan is fantastic on it. But I must admit it´s not very very well recorded. The bass is too loud. Okay the bass is the leader and want´s to show he´s the leader, but IMHO it´s overrecorded, louder than the other instruments. But I´m not an audiophile, it´s only because after 40 years of music my hearing isn´t that good any more and anyway I have difficulties hearing high frequenzes (flutes and the upper register of other instruments), so a very loud bass is an additional difficulty. But Wilbur Ware has great lines parallel to the lead voices, I first noticed that on a very early record I think on "Dial S for Sonny". I like him most as a sideman. As a soloist maybe he does not appeal me as much as let´s say Mingus, who always seems to tell a story on his bass........ But it´s interesting how those Strata East focus on very interesting musicians like Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell together with some from the older generation. And a lot of pianoless combos, Ornette-like.

Yes, I´ve heard so much about it, but missed it when it was available then, the only Horo´s I had and have are the two Sun Ra´s

Needless to say I heard him almost every time I could. He performed at least twice a year for several days at Jazzland and I was a regular. I was a youngster in the 70´s and spent most of my money buying records and going to Jazzland. Though I still was quite shy, I asked Art Farmer to sign "To Duke with Love" for me, which he did, asking me "what´s your name" so he even wrote it with a dedication for me ! Great site about him ! There are also famous Art Farmer Quotes. I might add another one. In his book "Worte zur Musik" , Frederick Gulda stated that when he played at Vanguard Art Farmer went up to him and said to him "get that edge off" . Indeed, it happens that people who were not born into jazz and have learned it out of classical music, sometimes are tending to stiff-collared phrases while improvising, it doesn´t "flow" the way it should. That´s what Art Farmer meant....... to get rid of that "edge"

There was a lot of Max Roach from the late 70´s that was not released on CD, never understood why. Got a fanstastic Live at Amsterdam also from 77/78 the great quartet with Cecil Bridgewater, Billy Harper, Reggie Workman (I liked that version more than the second quartet with Pope and Calvin Hill instead of those two, though they also exceptional musicians). Those days with Roach touring with that quartet were heaven on earth for me. I think the label of a lot of rare live stuff was Denon. They also did the best Archie Shepp Quartet recordings from that time. Such a fantastic album. And it has a very very special meaning for me, since it was the first Art Farmer album I purchased, and the rhythm section is fantastic. I purchased the LP shortly after it came out, Art Farmer was married in Vienna, he lived there when he was not touring. Needless to say I got the album signed from him with a really nice dedication. That´s a treasure for me. Needless to say for just listening I bought it on CD also a few years ago.

Yout got this ? It must be a rarity today. The only recorded version of Bemsha Swing. All those 10 CDs are very interesting.

solid. I like the versions of Ruby My Dear, Monk´s Dream and Off Minor and Thelonious. There is another record for about the same period "At Cafe Blue Note", with a fantastic version of "Round Midnight" too.

You are right. I also had the Verve twofers in the lat 70´s. While the first twofer is the complete first two albums with the 1949-51 sessions, the second one doesn´t have all the tracks. Actually those Verve albums from the period 1954-56 are 5 separate albums: Piano Moods Bud Powell "57" The Lonely One Piano Interpretations Blues in the Closet. The most uninteresting one is "57". I never knew why it´s titled "57" since it was recorded in late december54 and january 55. Really a sad thing with a shaky "That Old Black Magic", a completely forgettable "Like Someone in Love". "Piano Interpretations is much better. It has a fantastic version of "Conception" And there are some great moments on "Blues in the Closet", especially the "I Should Care" and "I didn´t know what time it was", and a nice stride section on "My Heart stood still". Peter Pullman´s book gives some inside views about that period. It´s reported that the sessions were not supervised by Norman Granz.

Well me not really. I really got into bass bowing as a listening experience by listening to the first jazz lp I ever had, Miles with Paul Chambers on bass. I taught myself to play bass when I was at high school and even could work some gigs. No one less than a really good austrian bass player told me I should go onm but I always felt my instrument is the piano and after 37-40 years I think there´s not much left even if I might still know how to finger it. I still have the bass fiddle at home, much to the annoyment of my wife "grin" I don´t feel hurt if it sounds "ugly" for classical trained musicians or listeners, and he can get far out also if he likes, but those bowed octaves alternating with plugged bass sounded a bit funny to me. But maybe a few more listening. Well Charlie Haden knew the music very well and is hand in glowe with Ornette and Cherry and them all, but when he starts solo, it sometimes sounds funny to me, very very diatonic, like childs songs. I feel more comfortable if Henry Grimes plays a solo, it´s more jazzy......

Right now , from the Clifford Jordon Strata East I´ve listened to Disc III. The Charles Brackeen-Don Cherry-Charlie Haden-Ed Blackwell "Rhythm X" , I had it on tape when I was a youngster and wanted to hear it again. So it was not a real surprise for me because it´s exactly how I remembered it: Like Don Cherry´s Complete Communion it´s an easy way for starters to get into free jazz. In my case I wanted to dig 60´s avantgarde and a guy gave me those two together with the easier Ornette Coleman (Golden Circle) to get into it, since it still has lines of straight ahead walking bass, approachable for Free-Jazz Newbies. It´s a wonderful work, very Ornette Coleman influenced, Charlie Haden is also really great but when he picks up the bow and start´s bowing it´s a bit funny how it sounds, like bees flyin around. David Izenzon was better for bowing avantgarde, and Henry Grimes above all......., but that´s part of the game, those sections where he starts to bow with a funny sound.... And the Ed Blackwell led stuff is also great, 2 tunes with regular quartet with Don Cherry and a guy named Lucman Lateef who sounds interesting, And as a drums lover I really enjoyed the selections with drummers and percussion only. I´ve always loved drums and drummers.....

Interesting point, Mike ! Would be a topic for the Musician´s corner, I´d like to discuss it. Here just for the moment, I play a lot of jam sessions also, that means first set our unit and our setlist, and second set anyone who want´s to play. Usually the guys who want to jam, if they want to play a rhythm changes tune they play Anthropology (more rare) and Oleo, very often. But I think they learn certain tunes and it´s part of the training program they get in those schools. Since I never attended a music school I just play what I would like to hear myself, or we concentrate on tunes that are not so much heard. Like: Everybody plays "Oleo" when he want´s to play an uptempo rhythm tune, but nobody plays "Dizzy Atmosphere" (maybe cause it´s in A-flat and more difficult to finger ? ) or "Salt Peanuts" ......, so we play whatever the guys in the second set want to play and start our own set with stuff like "Dizzy Atmosphere", "Salt Peanuts" , "Johns Abbey"......etc. when it should be a rhythm changes associated tune.....

Yes, good idea. I also should spin Time Waits again. I remember once I played with an alto saxophonist who did some of the tunes from that album : Johns Abbey, Marmalade, Monopoly, was a great experience to do it with a horn player. I still do "Abbey" on many occasions and people like it. Strange that it isn´t performed more often, it´s an easy tune....

Thanke you Late ! In combination with Epistrophy it´s interesting to listen to his very Monkish "Mediocre". It has some astonishing stride section, though I don´t think it is more than a Monkish idea. Bud didn´t keep it in his repertory. His most successful effort to compose a think in the Monkish vocabulary without too much copying him might be "Monopoly" from "Time Waits". It also has an astonishing stride section. And most important: Bud kept it in his repertory, he played it in Paris and quite often at Birdland 1964 after his return.

Was hard to find that thread again, searched with different combinations, but finally: Yes, I got it on chrismas eve. Listened to it yesterday. Fantastic. They really cook. And as a drums fan it´s natural I´m delighted by the participation of Philly Joe Jones, he really lifts up the whole thing. Dizzy is in top form. Not the slightests signs of loosing the chops due to age. James Moody impressed me most on flute. Milt Jackson was not only a wizzard of the vibes, but a master of ballads, listen to his "If I should loose you". Get Happy is at an ultra fast tempo, that´s bop at it´s best. I think Philly J.J didn´t record or play so much with Diz, and never heard of a combination between him and Ray Brown. Maybe it´s the different directions they went in the 50´s. Ray Brown after being the most important bop bassist after Oscar Pettiford, became Oscar Peterson´s man, and Philly J.J. became Miles´ drummer. So maybe they didn´t have much in common for many years...... Ray Brown´s solo feature the medley Manha de Carnaval/Work Song is fantastic, and don´t forget Mr. Hank Jones. Beautiful, the Gentleman of the piano.......

so you were there on the same night. It was a one nighter. I remember Axel, a born optimist, had this worried look. You say swiss live recording. I remember one year later in 88 there was an announce in JazzPodium about Woody that he became ill and cannot play and to donate money into a swiss bank account. But this was before Woody´s fatal accident.....I´ve always hoped that Woody might rally ....

I think this one was one of the last recordings, even one year later than "Bemsha Swing". It must have been around the time Woody Shaw appeared at Jazzland, at a very very late stage of his career. Woody had consumed many many of those little Underberg-bottles before being led on stage. Needless to say he sounded quite sad.