jeffcrom

At various times throughout the day: The Georgia Yellow Hammers - The Moonshine Hollow Band (Rounder). The Yellow Hammers, from 70 miles up the road in Calhoun, Georgia, were one of the more musically sophisticated of the old-time string bands of the 1920s - one of the members was also the conductor of the local brass band. This LP is a nice complement to the four 78s I have by the band, with only two tunes overlapping. Gerald Wilson - On Stage (PJ mono). Anthony Ortega's two edgy alto solos were the highlights of this excellent album for me. Gil Evans (Ampex). In some moods, this 1969 album represents my favorite Gil Evans. Evans is at the midpoint of his evolution - halfway between careful compositional control over everything but the solos and his later use of sketches that allowed the improvisation to shape the performances. He is still guiding the pieces in a compositional way here, although sometimes that means deciding how to layer the improvisation. "General Assembly" is the prime example of this kind of loose control - it sounds about 75% improvised, but there's stuff going on in the foreground, in the middle distance, and in the background, and it seems like Evans is totally in control over the shading of those layers.

Jack Wilson - Brazilian Mancini (Vault). I pulled this one off the shelf tonight partially because of Joel's Jack Wilson thread. But it also felt right for my mood. By rights, this should be a terrible album. The concept of taking bossa and Mancini and shoving them together is a bad enough idea to presumably ensure awfulness. And the Vault label was apparently Atlantic's sub-budget label, a step or two below Atco. It's a really cheap-looking record and cover. But the music is pretty good, if not tremendously exciting. Two American jazz musicians (Wilson and Roy Ayers) are paired with a good Brazilian rhythm section - including Antonio Carlos Jobim, billed as "Tony Brazil." The tracks are so short that nothing really catches fire, but I'm enjoying this one tonight.

Yeah, it's pretty weird. During a listening session, I always put the record back in the inner sleeve right away, but don't always immediately put it into the jacket. I assume that the next morning (I'm not a morning person), when sorting things out, I grabbed two sleeves instead of one.... No, that doesn't make sense - I would have noticed that I had two records. Maybe I resleeved the Dregs, then later absent-mindedly grabbed the Houlik and put it in the wrong sleeve, not noticing that there was already a record inside. Whatever happened, it took a pretty bizarre turn of events and an extremely scattered person to create this result. I know myself well enough to know that I can't blame students or anyone else besides myself. Or, since years ago I played with both James Houlik and a couple of the Dregs, I subconsciously wanted to bring them together.

Vernard Johnson - In Concert - "I'm a Witness Too" (Savoy). Dr. Johnson would probably not appreciate me putting it this way, but this is some bad-ass saxophone playing.

James Houlik Plays the Tenor Saxophone (Golden Crest LP). Spun this for the first time a few years, since it was misplaced. (The story is in another thread.) The most substantial pieces here are by Walter Hartley - "Poem" and a sonata. But I've always been fascinated by William Duckworth's "Pitt County Excursions," a four-movement suite in which the movements time out at 1:02, 1:03, :24, and :41. The saxophone part of "Air," the second movement, consists entirely of multiphonics.

Cecil Taylor - Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come (Arista/Freedom), sides one and three. The most readily available issue of the November, 1962 Copenhagen recordings available when I was a teenager, which is why this is the version I have. It's funny - with music this free, there is really no harmonic or rhythmic need for a bass. But I still miss it - as good as this music is, there's a sonic / registeral hole in the sound. Which I guess is why most free jazz still includes bass.

Opinions will vary, but I consider Illusions to be absolutely essential - one of the great jazz albums of the period.

So a couple of years ago (at least), I digitized some hard-to-find classical saxophone records for your friend and mine, Jim Sangrey. A few days later, I picked up a pile of records to refile, and realized that cover of the extremely rare 1975 Golden Crest album James Houlik Plays the Tenor Saxophone was empty, and that the record was nowhere to be found. I spent days searching, and couldn't come up with it. I figured that I had either thrown it out - perhaps mixed in with LP mailers from records I had gotten in the mail - or put it in the wrong sleeve, probably with another record. I checked every classical LP I owned, with no luck. I started looking on Ebay and elsewhere for another copy, but none turned up in all that time. Well, tonight, after listening to a couple of hours of jazz, I was in the mood for something different. I decided on Free Fall, the first Capricorn album by the Dixie Dregs, those purveyors of Southern-fried instrumental prog rock. As soon as I pulled the record off the shelf, I knew. It was too thick and heavy - there were obviously two records inside. So now James Houlik is resting comfortably inside his sleeve, ready for the turntable later this week. My wife heard me yell from the other end of the house. She couldn't tell whether I was excited or hurt. So who here has had a lost record (or CD) turn up after a long tiime?

Jimmy Lyons - Other Afternoons (BYG Actuel). A nice latter-day reissue. Herman Foretich - The Foretich Four (Jazzology). Recorded in 1985, as the once-thriving Atlanta dixieland scene was on its last legs (although the banjoist here, Bill Rutan, is still playing). The very talented Foretich was once a big deal in here in Atlanta; I don't remember exactly when he died, and can't find that information on the internet.

Cecil McBee - Alternate Spaces (India Navigation)

Even if you can't make it, I appreciate the enthusiasm!

Going to hear a set of solo tuba with electronic processing, by my buddy and bandmate Bill Pritchard.

I don't hate this version.

For anyone in the Atlanta area who might be interested, I wanted to let you know about a concert I've got coming up. On Saturday, May 21, I'll be issuing a 7" vinyl EP of two of my pieces performed on overdubbed saxophones. I started thinking about how to have a release show for something like that, and it has turned into a 12-piece band with some of the best avant-ish musicians from Atlanta, Athens, and points beyond. So on Saturday, May 21, I'll be presenting the Edgewood Big Band at the First Existentialist Congregation, 470 Candler Park Dr., NE. We'll be playing 30 years of my compositions, ranging from almost-conventional jazz to some pretty out stuff. Beer and wine will be available, and admission is ten dollars at the door. The EP will be on sale for the concert-only price of five bucks. Hope to see some of you there.

I won't pretend that this is really rational, but there are certain performances that I want to have on 78, even if I have them in other formats. One such side that has been on my list is take two of "That's My Home" by Louis Armstrong from 1932, accompanied by Chick Webb's band. Take one was issued on Victor at the time, and it's a good recording. But Bluebird 10236, from the late 1930s, was the first issue of take two, and it's on another plane. Armstrong's trumpet playing at the two-minute mark makes my hair stand on end and brings a lump to my throat every time I hear it. A box of internet auction winnings arrived today. Ten good records, but this is the one that counts.

Sidney Bechet - Inedits Volume 1 (1939) (Nec Plus Ultra). Recordings made in Fonda, NY by Bechet enthusiast John Reid. Bechet leads a quartet with Sonny White on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums. Supposedly, Reid used these acetates to convince RCA to give Bechet the recording contract which led to that incredible Victor series. I could be wrong, but I don't think there was ever a Volume 2.

Jamming at Rudi's 2 (Circle 10"), with Hot Lips Page, Tyree Glenn, Paul Quinichette, Danny Barker, Walter Page, and Sonny Greer, among others.

Dizzy Gillespie - Live at the Village Vanguard (Solid State) Paul Bley & Scorpio (Milestone) Jack Montrose - Blues and Vanilla (RCA Victor) Tony Parenti - Ragtime (Jazzology) I enjoyed all of these, but none more than the Parenti - what a great album. Side one features a seven-piece band (with Wild Bill Davison, Danny Barker, and Baby Dodds); side two is by a clarinet/piano/drums trio. Most of the tunes are classic rags, beautifully played, and getting looser and jazzier as they progress.

Joe Newman - All I Wanna Do is Swing (RCA Victor)

Louis Armstrong - Louie and the Dukes of Dixieland (Audio Fidelity). Yeah, I know. But hear me out. This 1960 album is stunningly recorded. (Editing is not as good - I can hear some splices.) And Louis plays (and sings) magnificently - on a higher plane than most of the All Stars dates from this era. And the repertoire is interesting and challenging - not the same old same old All Stars tunes. I know that the Dukes of Dixieland were a "funny hat" (or "ridiculous jacket," in this case), lightweight Dixieland band. But the core of the band was from New Orleans, and they always had more of a real New Orleans thing going on than similar bands from outside of Louisiana. I've always had a little bit of a soft spot for them. Here, they seem to know that they were being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they rise to the occasion to the best of their abilities. In the case of the Dukes' trumpeter, Frank Assunto, this might be his best moment on record. With his idol standing next to him in the studio, there's no clowning from Assunto, just spectacular trumpet playing - he's really impressive here. An added bonus is hearing Armstrong playing beautiful second trumpet to Assunto in a couple of spots, notably on "Avalon." Rich Matteson, the virtuoso tuba player, is also very impressive here, and has a couple of very non-dixieland-ish solos. I'd forgotten how good this album is. I won't forget again.

Chick Corea - Circulus (BN). Sides 2 through 4; early improvisations by Circle.

All my Rev. J.M. Gates 78s, on Okeh, Regal, Paramount, Montgomery Ward, and now Victor. I found the record above in a thrift store this morning, in a stack of postwar pop discs. My favorite Rev. Gates side is still "The California Kidnapping" on Okeh. After preaching for a couple of minutes on a contemporary (1928) news story, Gates takes a sudden turn: "You know my grandfather and my grandmother - they were kidnapped from the dark jungles of Africa." I get chills at that point every time I play this disc. That's a cool thing you're doing, Clunky.

Last night and this morning: Reggie Workman Ensemble - Synthesis (Leo) Earl Hines - Quintessential Recording Session (Chiaroscuro) Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti - Stringing the Blues (CBS)

Carey Bell - Last Night (ABC/Bluesway)

Paul Barnes Quartets (Camelia). Side one: New Orleans, 1969, with Louis Cottrell, Emanuel Sayles, and Jeanette Kimball. Side two: England, 1974, with Cuff Billet, John Marks, and Ralph Hebditch. The cover is the same as the NoLa issue shown here, except for the label logo. I don't know anything about the Camelia label; there is absolutely no information about it on the label or the cover - no production info, address, or even country of origin. A little Googling reveals that the 1969 session was reissued in more complete form on an American Music CD. At this point in my life, I'm okay with this LP. The music couldn't be called "great" or "essential," but it's the kind of idiosyncratic New Orleans dance music I love.