Gheorghe

Time flies, I saw him with Thad Jones-Mel Lewis in 1978, he was one of the major soloists, he and Steve Coleman played and soloed on alto....., it was 43 years ago and I still remember it.

I don´t have 10.000 CDs or LPs, maybe I have more than 1000, I didn´t count them, and even on those I have some I wouldn´t listen to often, since once in the past I made the "mistake" to try to collect classic BN and Prestige recordings, but don´t have to listen to each Lee Morgan album on BN and each Coltrane album on Prestige, I´ll always go back to one ore two that was key experiences for me . And as a busy man I probably have one hour the day to listen to music. If it´s a CD set of two CD,s I might listen to the second CD the next day.... Among those who used to play when I was younger and still played a handful of gigs before the pandemia, I even think that I am the one who has the most LP´s CDs, most fellow musicians have less. They listen more to live music when they don´t play. So it´s much easier for my wife to find something I still don´t have, you know, for Birthday, for Chrismas.... She saw that Monk Deluxe Edition with the French Title at "EMI Columbia" in the first district of Vienna and was sure I might like it, since she knows about my admiration for Monk. So I like it most for the addition of Barney Wilen and the great playing , both group and solo. I close my eyes and listen to the fantastic playing of Charlie Rouse on "Rhythm" with that gimmick of Gb B E A D G C F Bb in the A section instead of the regular rhythm changes. That´s something I really like and do myself also. And I imagined how "Blue Light" might have sounded, if Monk would have played in the 70´s and would have been open to some rock beats like Diz was during that time.

Colour or not, I remember the exitement of us all when it was advertised to be shown at a "Jazz Film Week" organized at "Volkshochschule Stöbergasse" (in 1050 Vienna) back then. Bird and Diz are great, but that grinnin´ drummer and that jumping bass player look silly and it´s outright poor drumming at least for a be bop group. It sounds more like a Gene Krupa styled drumming, not fitting to the music of Bird and Diz. Dick Hyman is "okay", but it´s more a conservative style, not really bop piano. But a good pianist sure. I heard him also on a track "Honeysuckle Rose" from about 1950 which appears as the only Dick Hyman track on an LP of Birdland Broadcast "Miles Davis - Stan Getz at their rare of all rarest performances" (Kings of Jazz , Italy). That´s also some neat oldstyled piano). But on the film you don´t even see him, you only see his hands...... Here the cover of the LP Davis-Getz, with that one short trio version of Dick Hyman on "Honeysuckle Rose". The pianist on all other tracks is Tadd Dameron .

Thank you Jim, I heard it right now. They were quite en vogue here in the 70´s. A friend of mine who was more into pop music loved them, and as a concession of listening to "my jazz" I let him spin some stuff of that too. Fine sound the kalimba.

When was it recorded ? Great groop really. Ford and Walrath were in the Mingus Band when I saw it. is this the sessions from 1949-53 ? I have it on 2 CDs but on the 1949 it´s a bit annoying that threre are so many alternate tracks of each tune. The 1951 session with Art Farmer is fine, but also the 1953 stuff with Teddy Charles is very fine. I like Wardell Gray´s lines. But the best Wardell Gray I ever heard was as a sideman on "The Happy Bird" in Boston. His solos on "Scrapple from the Apple" and I think "I May be Wrong" are highlights.

Really strange, I thought Japanese were almost perfect in making recordings. I don´t know nothing about technical aspects and how it is done. I have listened to it twice, and have no apearant plans to re-listen to it in the nearest future. "Skagly" is the tune with the more rock-influenced rhythm? As much as I remember, the loudest on it was the bass, I wouldn´t have so much problems if the drum was the loudest, since my hearing problem anyway is that high frequences are more difficult for me to hear so I reduce the bass level a bit, but it still was too loud bass, and maybe it´s my own tastes, but on a backbeat rhythm I prefer electric bass. The acoustic bass, even amplified makes it somehow blurred. I´m so happy with all the live VSOP recordings and the live sound on it, I thought they would have captured some of it on the studio album, but they didn´t. I think I must purchase also the VSOP II or III , though missing Freddie and Wayne on those it might not be as exiting. But Wynton was a good musician in 1980-83, nothing new but as we suposed, a nice start. But I like everything, that has Herbie,Ron and above all Tony Williams on it.....

Nothing new or unexpected, but a very fine recording. Charlie Rouse is in top form and his solo on Rhythm a Ning is fantastic, and it´s interesting to hear him with Barney Wilen, who is also great and his sound and phrasing reminds me a bit of the early Sonny Rollins. A really strange version of "Light Blue", usually it´s played in a faster ballad style like a "slow fox", but here it has a certain beat that could have been worked out a little better if it would have been 10-12 years later as a rock beat. Here it sounds a bit like if a drummer just settles his drum set before a gig. Art Taylors drumming is a bit more subdued in comparation with other drummers like Roy Haynes or Ben Riley. I heard him in 1985 with a Tommy Flanagan Trio and his playing was really a highlight. The second CD is more remainders from the studio work. I could survive without the "Making of Blue Light", all those false starts, which is remarkable for such a simple tune. It´s like the second bonus CD on the reussue of Mingus 1970 in Paris, where the 2nd CD is full of false starts and studio discussion.

Yes, Joe Ford was on saxophone, and it was Ran Blake and yes, he wore that 3 piece white suit. Great performance ! A trio track was "Moment´s Notice" very fast.

Maybe, I might listen more closely the next time. But there must have been another very fine british pianist too, whom I heard on a Spotlite LP of Red Rodney with an all british group and the piano player really cooks and sounds very fine. I forgot his name, but maybe Stan Getz, Don Byas and Lucky Thompson would have felt more comfortable with his way of playing ? EDIT: P.S.: The name of the pianist was Bill Le Sage

Big Beat Steve, I´m sure you are right and I really apreciate your point! In my case, maybe once again the reason is more that I purchased what I found worth studying for own purposes. From the names you mentioned I sure know about Eddie Bert, Sahib Shihab, Sir Charles Thompson and Milt Buckner were. Eddie Bert with Mingus, Sir Charles Thompson for the 1944 album with both Bird and Dex, and Milt Buckner okay, the thing I liked most was his album with Illinois Jaquet in London (The King). I must admit I´m not a collector in the strict sens: I don´t buy records just to have something complete, it would take too much time and too much money. Years ago when that BN revival boom was, and that BN film I intended to buy most of the BN albums, spent too much money ordering them, even quite expensive from Japan if they were not available in US, but to be onest: There are many albums I heard when they arrived , and later forgot about them. "Hand auf´s Herz": Who needs to own all Jimmy Smith albums, all Lou Donaldson Albums, sure they all are fine and great but if I have to pick one I always get back to the "Date with Jimmy Smith" or the "Sermon", and about L.D. always "Blues Walk", Sonny Clark always "Cool Struttin", Hank Mobley always "Soul Station", and so on.

can you tell me what the "african thumb piano" is and how it is played. I think I saw it as an instrumentation on some album cover but I think I didn´t really hear it or it was lost in the many other instruments....

When I read "Qualitätswein/Baden" I first thought it´s austrian wine. We in Viena if we hear "Baden" we always think about "Baden bei Wien", a fancy little town about 30 minutes to drive south from Vienna and also a lot of good wine there. But my wife who is not from Vienna, and moving to Vienna after our marriage she heard about the town and said "Baden-Baden", since she had read more about the German Baden-Baden

love it

Was this the Afro-Cuban that also produced Machito Orchestra with soloists like Howard McGhee, Brew Moore, Mario Bauza in a kind of "friendly battle" with McGhee, and other tracks without the "jazz" soloists that have vocals with that female singer "Graciela" . I don´t spin it very often, but sometimes I´m really in the mood for it. It´s that old style record where singers sound like that very old postwar-radios. I think 1949.... I don´t know exactly what´s on Vol. 1 and on Vol. 2, but I love it and it´s some of the best Monk Piano, especially the stride pieces. To play such a difficult tune like "Trinkle Tinkle" with stride in the left...... I failed to do it, and I heard really good musicians having troubles with the changes. This must have been during the "Giants of Jazz" Tour, I have the double CD too. I´m still mad I was maybe one or two years too young to see Monk live. They were at Vienna Konzerthaus in 1972 and I was only 13. Two friends of mine, who were born 4 years earlier (1955) saw the concert. The only disappointment was that Dizzy was not on stage, he was replaced by Cat Anderson and Clark Terry, which is also fine, but the lineup Diz-Winding-Stitt was the classic one. Someone had told me that Dizzy had missed the concert because he missed the plane from Budapesta, where they had performed the night before.... Anyway, my friends who also were just starters of jazz in 1972 at that age were "disappointed" with Monk. They didn´t understand Monk´s unique piano stile and found it too "spare". Later they laughed and said "we thought a jazz pianist is someone who bangs into all the keys and plays much much much and has that big grin" (maybe the only "jazz" pianist they had knewn then was the omnipresent Oscar Peterson). So, due to age I missed the unique occasion to hear and see Monk live.

In my case I think I have all of those old Savoy that was released, The Parker studio and live sessions, the Don Byas, the Billy Eckstine, Lester Young, Dexter, Howard McGhee , which all appeared before on LP, so I got it on CD also (for preservation instinct). I think in the 50´s they had a less role as a record label, they still made fine things, the fine Donald Byrd "All Green", the Hank Mobley, the Kenny Clark, and a very strange and abstract Mingus from 54/55, but they didn´t have that main role they had in the 40´s. And I heard they later had some other than jazz music also, but that was not of my own interest...

I have the Coltrane in Seattle, and love it !!! Charlie Parker in LA I hope will come: I had ordered it on Amazon as soon as it was advertised and got many delete messenges and the last one told me it will arrive on 7 ianuarie, so I hope I´ll have it soon. Bud Powell 1962 in Copenhaga I didn´t purchase since I already have the recording. I might add another big surprise for me from 2021: Sonny Rollins-George Duke-Stanley Clark-Al Foster Live under the Sky 1981. I think it was announced he in the forum but couldnt find the thread anymore, I would have liked to add my personal review...,

Great to read you also saw and heard McCoy Tyner live in a sextet format. In my case it was also with Avery Sharpe on bass, Al Foster on drums, a percussionist I don´t remember his name, a saxophonist I don´t remember his name, and Ran Blake on violin.... During those great years for the Milestone Label I think the only occasion he did a trio record was the "Supertrios" from 1977 which we all had or heard at a place where they had it. For BN I think he didn´t make a trio album. Anyway, I love key role pianists like Bud, Monk, Horace, Tyner, Herbie, but I love them most when they have at least one hornplayer added, and McCoy was great in having groups.

Well understandable. That was quite common with a lot of musicians from the old generation to be "great storytellers", Art Blakey also was one of them. And Benny Golson did it on stage too, with much showmanship. I remember once in the early 2000´s he played with Curtis Fuller and when the next tune was a Curtis Fuller solo feature (Hello Young Lovers), Golson announced him in a strage manner, explaining the audience something like that "Look at my saxophone, what do you see? It has keys !! And now look at Curtis´ trombone and what you see ? It has NO keys! "..... well something like that might be nice if a star visits a "Kindergarten" or a hospital for children, but sounds a bit strange in front of a jazz audience...., But......great concert, fantastic rhythm section, and later Johnny Griffin sat in and called "In Walked Bud".... Dizzy Reece , he really was something else, I have all his BN records. But I always had thought he had retired long long ago. The last notes I heard from him was on a Sonny Rollins live double album from 1978 titled "Don´t Stop the Carneval" on which he plays on Disk 2, but it sounds very very weak, as if he was almonst inable to play.

I have that book Mingus/Mingus Two Memories, I purchased it very soon after it was published, but I was disappointed with the way it was written. I have 6 Mingus books, and still I think the best was the book written by Brian Priestley. Later the book by Gene Santoro appeared, but I think Priestley´s book was the first. Well, about Eggnogg, must be something with very very much calories. But Mingus looks like much calories.... I saw him in 1976 and he was very heavy but the music was great, most of all Sue´s Changes....

I love those old Krimi-Series, especially "Der Kommissar" (Erik Ode was the actor) and it was black white and brings memories back when we kids all liked it. My wife doesn´t like that. Anyway she didn´t know about it before we met. I like "Kojak" when it was around 1977 or so. My wife would like it better but she doesn´t like films or movies where you see old cars, old telefones, and with that voices that sound more like a radio voice from the post war period. That "Kommissar" and all the guys acting there has that old "radio voices".

New Years Eve/Revelion will be a challenge for us. We don´t drink and looked for some "Kindersekt" for opening it at "ora 12:00", but the only brand here is something with sweet cherry aroma ... I suggested "San Bitter" but my wife doesn´t like it. But it doesn´t matter . What count´s is a happy , succesful and healthy New Year which I wish all of you .

Though the electric jazz , jazz rock was the style of the 70´s I had less access to Weather Report than I would have had to Headhunters, RTF, electric Miles . I don´t know what the reason was or is.....

Finally I had the time to listen to this. Never heard it before. That´s really a great thing Al Haig does. Too bad he died when he was only 60 years old. He could have had a great career as one of the surviving bop musicians. Al Haig, as I consider, had a rough start. He played with Bird and Diz as early as 1945. During that time his piano playing sounds "stiff" in a way. At that point it still didn´t sound like bop. But in 1948, 49, playing with Bird at the Roost and recording with Wardell Gray, he really had it all together and was the best pianist next to Bud, I mean at his own, not really copying Bud. I always think about this when I remember how I started to play. My first attempts to play "bop" sounded like a cross between the early Haig and maybe Sadik Hakim on those 1945 Savoy recordings..... when I heard it back on tape I was puzzled it sounds so "stiff and edgy" and doesn´t flow. It also took me years to get that edge off..... And don´t forget: In an 1964 interview in Paris, while recovering from TB, Bud stated, that Al Haig is his idea of a perfect pianist". Back to Dizzy: Yes, I also found an urge to get the later Diz-material for stage performance. All guys play "Tunisia" and so on, but nobody plays "And Then She Stopped" or "Fiesta Mojo" ...

The strange thing is I didn´t see Joe Henderson live in the 80´s. I saw him twice, in 1978 and 1979. Archie Shepp, whom I have seen first in 1979, I saw a year later in 1980 with a quartet with Ken Werner, Santi Dedriano and Joe Betsch. I didn´t see him together with Horace Parlan, but saw Horace Parlan in 1983. I took a girl to the gig and we were in the first row and at some point, Mr. Parlan looked at us and said "and now..... Like Someone in Love" ....... I have not seen the Art Ensemble, but I think I saw some of there musicians around Chico Freeman, Don Moye was on drums and Malachi Favours on bass....., but that must have been in 1979.

I was lucky I saw quite some of those from your list performing live: Sonny Rollins (oh boy, he was 49 when I saw him) Lou Donaldson (the last time I saw him he was 87 ) Benny Golson on several occasions when he was in his early 70´s Roy Haynes when he was about 80 Marshall Allen when he was 95 and looked much younger. But sorry to say I never saw Kenny Burrell live. It seems he didn´t tour that much in Europe/Austria..... I saw Dick Hyman only on the Charlie Parker Dizzy Gillespie film "Hot House", but some idiots filmed only his hands, so you can´t see him playing.