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That´s a fine record. And together with Dave Liebman´s "Drum Ode" the only ECM I have. But I like Keith most when he was with Miles around the time of "Live Evil". This was just the times where this early kind of electric jazz with Fender Rhodes and Yamaha Organ was invented. I also liked those 2LPs albums of Miles and as being from that generation (from 1972-75 I was a teenager from 13 - 16 years and a Miles freak from the very first moment on (both acoustic and electric). So it´s natural I bought all of them as soon as they came out, Live Evil, Miles in Concert, Get Up with It, Dark Magus, Agharta, Pangheea it was). And those caricatures on the covers, like you have them on "On the Corner", "Big Fun", "Miles in Concert", they aren´t even exagerated. That´s how WE looked like, how we dressed..... On that album is also "Ife". The song I fell in love with when I heard it live : Miles with Dave Liebman, Lieb on flute.....wonderful moments......, very similar to the way it is on "Dark Magus"......

I have the same impressions like @Big Beat Steve . And if I remember right, Fats had a fantastic memory and often he plays a very similar solo on the alternate track of the "Prime Source". Starts with the same phrase, makes the same quotes. I even have read that some critics thought that he memorized his soloes. The worst example of alternate takes I have is on the late 40´s record of Wardell Gray. And yeah, on CD-player at least I can scip them, but that´s not good listening for me, since mostly if I listen to a record I just close my eyes and listen to it without having to worry about anything else but the music. And since I practically USE records to hear them like a live performance if I am too tired to go out and listen to live music , and for learning or more than that get inspiration to play myself . In my beginnings, it was more imitating, now it is completly else. After listening to a record it would happen that I get up and go to the piano and play some, it may be completly else tunes and else moods, but at least the listening to the record made me get up and play myself some good music. I can´t get that feeling from those records which have all alternate takes, including interruptions, studio talk, false starts and so on. If I read a book, I also don´t want pages that repeat the same idea, if I go to a concert or play myself, I also don´t have the same tune played twice.

I love it, Dexter with Woody Shaw´s group.

Really ? But since his move to Europe (first Germany, since it was Gunter Hampel who brought him to Europe) he has been one of the most busy jazzmen over here, with enthusiastic write ups in Jazz Podium and other press. It would be almost impossible to not have heard his name and seen him play in the most famous jazz venues of Germany, Austria and many many other European countries. He was our hero here in Vienna, when he played with the best guys, no one could play bop as well as avantgarde with such dexterity and musical enthusiasm like him. And last not least he was the first important jazz man, with whom I had the honour to play and still do on several occasions. And he was one of the best educators, teachin´ jazz at Bruckner conservatorium in Linz.... look out for him he really burns...... look at least at some video stuff on youtube or whereever...... b) I like that you say CSSR. Those were the days when I still could know which country where is, I performed at some jazz festival still in CSSR and other Eastern European countries as well. But I didn´t know that Allan played there.

Maybe this might be quite interesting, the bassist and the alto saxophonist says something to me. I didn´t know Dollar Brand also played soprano sax. My only encounter with him was at some festival, where he led a kind of big band. But as you know, those festivals can get somehow tedious and after hearing the guys I was looking for most (Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter the only thing I remember is that he had some strange robe, stood with the back to the audience and somehow "conducted" that orchestra, which played a quite repetive thing, maybe later something would have happened, but.....I had fallen asleep......

Very interesting article. Somehow, shame on me I never got acquainted to her music. I have Paul Bley as leader on the mentioned Hillcrest Club gig but as many others I had purchased it because of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. The next Paul Bley participation I have on Jimmy Giuffree live in Graz. But from the 60´s avantgarde it seems that I never got beyond Ornette, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Pharoah Sanders and of course Sun Ra. The mentioned "Song for Che" is on an Ornette Coleman album "Crisis" on the Impulse label. Great music ! I think I heard one or two Carla Bley compositions but somehow it didn´t really reach me. Some friend who had the same musical tastes like me had a Carla Bley-Steve Swallow Duo CD that he had got for his wedding and we spinned it but I wouldn´t have bought it for my own use. I think it was quite nice, but without drums doesn´t really work for me......

such a great musician !

Yes they had painted portraits on the covers. I also think that those painted portraits were on the walls of the old Birdland from the late 40´s/50´s . It seems that you bought records much earlier than me. And more of them. Usually I bought something if I had heard a musician live, or if it was for learning how good musicians sound and phrase.... I didn´t know about twofers (is this the right name for double album ? ) that is called "Jazz History" but can imagine horror covers with strange obiect. The only European pressings of jazz records I have is the french Musidisk, "America" and the Italian "Kings of Jazz" and "Lineatre" , maybe other imports were harder to find around here. The things about covers that I hated most was that they somethimes reissued albums with other coverfotos of the artist, coverfotos that was from later stages of their live. For example: A mid fifties Davis Release of Prestige recordings had Miles in the 70´s when he played wah wah trumpet. And a mid fifties Bud Powell record for Victor shows an extremly fat, actually bloated Bud from his last days. Same thing happend with Mingus records and Dexter records...... I´m also no Bird Verve completist, or maybe involuntarly, since I got those 8 Volumes of Japanese Import as a birthday present or something......, so I have all 8 of ´em . Or do you refer to not releaste alternate tracks ? This I don´t have or know....., I´m annyoed enough if you have the same tracks repeated on albums, like on that Fats Navarro Blue Note. I always was pissed of by it since you pay for the hole album and "get" only half of it, since each tune is played twice..... or worse even......

Love it and saw it played live by Mingus with Bob Neloms, Jack Walrath , Ricky Ford and Danny Richmond. Wonderful event. It was played a bit faster than the studio recording and I think that the record wasn´t out for sale. It came out a bit later, but Mingus announced the tune as "something they just had recorded ", and that´s from a Movie Score. The second side "Todo Modo" I think was never played live.

I would like to add to your collection this one : Spontanuity | Allan Praskin Quintet | Allan Praskin (bandcamp.com) It´s a wonderful version of that ballad and I also have played it with Allan Praskin earlier this year. Here it is in Db as I told you. Allan is my favourite alto saxophonist, my idol since 1978 and though I never was a student, his musical advices or just listenig to him on the bandstand is my most beautiful experiences.....

Steve, do you remember those Verve double albums. In our youth they where quite cheap and were not samplers, and usually united to original LPs. I think there were two of them of Bird, one of the earlier stuff from the 40´s to early 50´s, and one of the midfifties. Like Bud Powell: There was one Double album which united the first Verve LP with "Tempus Fugit, and the second with the solo tracks, and two trio tracks. And the second double album was the mid fifties sessions, where a small portion may have been a bit uneven...... I think it was a mode of the 70´s both for Verve and Blue Note to release them double albums. And for kid with pocket money or student with need of beer and cigarettes, they where not to expensive and had more hours of music.

"Crazy he Calls me" is a wonderful ballad like all ballads originally sung by Billie Holiday. We play it quite often and it is fine in D-flat, the key Lady Day sung it. It seams that it is not played very often. I heard Gary Bartz-Buster Williams-Al Foster do it, but I think they did it in F .

Well yes, I had or still have those 8 Volumes of individual Verve LPs, I think they were Japanese Pressing where the cover is a bit harder than on most national editions of LPs. But the strange thing is that they was not in chronological order. Vol. 1 was not the earliest studio date and Vol. 8 was not the last studio date. I think the first mentioned "Now´s the Time" and "Swedisch Schnapps" are the most autentic vintage bop recordings. Those together with maybe "Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter" are the ones where Norman Grantz didn´t interfere with the personnel and it seems to be Bird´s personal choice of musicians, who knew his music. On "Bird ´n Diz" , though I love it to have Monk on it, there are two faults on it: Norman Grantz choose Buddy Rich on drums. Why not Max or Art Taylor or Roy Haynes ??? And the tunes are not so interesting like vintage bop standards, it seems that they just were penned down in the studio or didn´t even have a "head" . "Relaxin´ with Lee" sounds like a good old blues in Db, but it doesn´t really have a theme. "Jazz Perennial" is also small group, but what drove Norman Grantz to add this "Tommy Turk" on trombone. From the few stuff I heard, he had a helluva tehnique, but musically it just doesnt make me feel good. Why didn´t he take J.J. or Kai Winding ???? If I must listen to Bird with Strings, okay then the earlier things like "Just Friends" etc., but one 1952 string date with "Temptation" , good as the tune is, it sounds like a movie score of some old black white kitschy early 1950´s film, and the "big band" just sounds like a square studio band", no musical tension like charts written by Tadd or Gil Fuller would be...... Facit: To really learn from Bird what I have to know about him, other labels like Savoy and Dial were much more helpful to me.

I agree with you on more than one point, even if I am not a Peterson fan and never was. But I don´t like drumless trios since I´m a drum addict and the first thing I consider if I play or go out to listen is about who plays the drums. But Peterson as one thing and no drums as the other thing is double punishment for me 😄, though I must admit I heard some stuff where he is not so selfih as usual and leaves more space for the others. That´s why strange to say my favourite Peterson record is the one with the Singers Unlimited which is strange for me since I m no Peterson fan and vocal jazz also is not my most secret love. From the Pablo records I like mostly the Eddie Lockjaw Davis with the OP-Trio, that´s a fine little record. I don´t have others. Okay I heard a Montreux Jam once but listened to it mostly because it had Diz, Clark Terry and I think also Jaws, but one thing about Pablo often is the choice of the drummers. They just didn´t use drummers that I like, for example Klook, Max, Philly J.J,., Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Al Foster etc........

Maybe one of the last public performances of Kenny Dorham. His recording career ended much earlier and I think his last album was "Trompeta Toccata" Nickelsdorf is not far away from Vienna. I think the Sun Ra presentations from the late 70´s and the 80´s where more straight ahead stuff including and as that it might have been the more conservative performances on the mainly freejazz and post avantgarde festival Nickelsdorf. This one, and once the Max Roach Double Quartet. Joe Newman may have been a quite nice sounding pre bop trumpet player, but at least for us musicians in Vienna his unpleasant stage appearance, where he tried to lecture the local rhythm sections about how to play jazz was annoying and it came that nobody here in town would like to play with him anymore. There were other musicians of much more fame with whom it was a pleasure to play.

Great photo. Never saw a colour photo of Art Tatum !

When was this made ? I have only one "Charlie Parker Memorial Concert" from March 1965 which is not necessarly the best but quite interesting since it also features elder statesmen like Roy Eldrige and Coleman Hawkins, but that kind of fugue like piano playing of Billy Taylor on two blues tunes gets a bit on my nerves. On that night there was also a Bud Powell solo performance which is not on the record, I think it was published on an ESP album (Bud´s last album).

In my case, the boogaloo stuff doesn´t really exite me. It´s the Mobley on medium, fast tempo and ballads where I really can get inspirations what what I have learned. And yeah, the Prestige dates are not so exiting. With one exception: Those where he not the leader like "Tenor Conclave" and one that I think was led by Elmo Hope, which also has two tenors if I remember right. Though I think, "Three or Four Shades of the Blues" is a bit overproduced, it has a special meaning to me, since those Mingus albums came out when he was still alive and touring. Both "Three of Four..." and "Cumbia". I heard the title tunes done by the last Mingus group just before the albums came out. But then, it was just played with his working band, without all those guitars like on "Three or Four Shades of the Blues" or the etnic flutes, oboe and bassoon on "Cumbia". Both pieces in the live versions were faster and more exiting. I remember that Mingus announced them as tunes they just had recorded" and was eagerly waiting to find them finally in the record store. I never did understand why they needed to replace Bob Neloms with Jimmy Rowles just for those few bars of that little square piano solo waltz. On the live performance I saw, Neloms played it himself, he was a very good piano player and replacing him for those few bars seems to me like an insult of his person.

I wonder how Miles was in those years, where he still sometimes had to play with pick up local rhythm sections...... Somehow I have the feeling that it must have been astonishing easy and comfortable. If you could play and understood his music , it might be beautiful gigs..... It would be interesting what surviving musicians who played with him under such surroundings would tell, if there still are some alive. Like that Robert Reisner book about Bird, where a lot of people who played with him on few occasions said that he was very articulate and nice and helpful.....

oh, this one I think was the first Tristano I ever heard. I must have picked it up in my teen years. I was quite astonished since the title tune sounded almost like Cecil Taylor to me. Then I began to understand, what Miles had stated about free jazz, that the thing was discoverd years before by Tristano. There are also two long trio tracks from much later, mid 60´s I think, but it seems that Lennie never had the patience to play the theme. What he does on the faster tune is based on "You Stepped out of a Dream", as I remember. And if I remember right there is also some live solo tracks from late sixties in Paris, where I think he plays a version of "Darn that Dream"......

That´s interesting, didn´t know about it. I saw the Sun Ra Arkestra 2 month later and they were one of the highlights of the festival. Ra also played a lot of solos, but on acoustic piano. One of the tunes was Lady Bird into Half Nelson, and Ra played an almost Tatumesque solo introduction, great ! And his stride on the Fletcher Henderson tunes......., he really could play and most important, the Arkestra always was a gas...... I was a fan of him since my early youth, when someone gave me the ESP disk "Nothing Is".

I love Hank Mobley, his phrasings, his sound, everything. I think I learned a lot from him even if I´m only a piano player. But somehow I can´t listen to all of his records very often. Many of his lesser known 50´s records mostly from 1957 with their similar titles (Hank Mobley Quartet, Hank Mobley Quintet, Hank Mobley All Stars, Hank, Hank Mobley) are quite similar, the all are great little records but you won´t listen to them every day, + Same with his later BN´s from the mid sixties on. They all start with a more or less "boogaloo" first tune. This is a great record, no question, but if I might keep only one from that mid sixties period I´d keep "Dippin´". But too many of the mainstream mid sixties records of BN ran in the same groove. Starting with "Sidewinder" most started with a boogaloo in the hope to land another hit....

This is mine. I had heard Woody just around that time (1979) but without those stars. I liked what I heard, it was the last set of a three days festival. Remember still ,that I went there to see cats like Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, Sonny Rollins, Larry Coryell, Alphonse Mouzon, and even Chet Baker, but as a young longhaired hipster I was a bit sceptical about what would be "Woody Herman Herd". I mean I didn´t know, if an "old, all white Big Band" would be compatible with my tastes and conceptions then". But though I found it a bit straight and the attempts to play Chick Corea´s tunes sounded a bit ridicoulous to me, I nevertheless enjoyed it. So I bought this album, mostly because of the guests..... Usually I don´t listen much to those typical mainstream Blue Notes that came out in the 60´s . All those organ things, all those boogaloo things, not my taste, not the instrument, not the groove, but THIS one I like, because never did I see a frontline of non horn players, I mean organ, guitar, vibes. And the Hank Mobley tune "Turnaround" is the best from that groove I ever heard. I mean , I find it much much much better than Morgan´s "Sidewinder" and so on. Though my BN tastes are the Wayne Shorter, Sam Rivers, Jackie McLean, Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard things, I still like "Let ém roll", if I want to listen to some more easy music.

It seems I have another one with another cover. It´s the Woody Herman Herd with guest artists Diz, Woody Shaw and Stan Getz.

oh very interesting, I would have liked to see that edition. In my case it was in the late 80´s and it was Javon Jackson if I remember right, and it was Peter Washington I think, but no Roney and no Julian Priester which I would have liked to hear. I don´t remember who was the trumpet player , the trombone player I think was a very young guy, but they all was great and yeah, Benny Green. The only white guy I had seen until then in a Blakey band was the Russian trumpet player Valeriu Ponomarev.