jeffcrom

The 1948 Three Deuces recordings tonight.

You're a tougher soul than me, Clunky. I love Last Exit, but I can't listen to them in the morning. I have to ease into the day, with something like: Jack Wilson - Brazilian Mancini (Vault mono). Better than the concept-within-a-concept would suggest. Mr. Jobim himself is on guitar, although under a pseudonym. It's good for what it is - not profound, and it's perfect for the amount of attention I want to give it right now. And it offers a generous 13 minutes of playing time per side!

The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings of Charlie Parker. I'm listening to disc four, which is probably the hardest to listen to - this is where they grouped some of the shortest and/or poorest-quality recordings from the Benedetti archive. But it's got some amazing playing, including one of my favorites, item #64, "A Night in Tunisia." Bird's break and solo is very different from what he usually played on this tune. Later: There some near-unlistenable tracks on disc four, along with some stunning ones. But overall, this set is one of those bodies of music that you could study for a lifetime. And I'd forgotten that the last fragment on this disc is the only version in the Benedetti holdings of Bird playing "These Foolish Things" - one of my late mom's favorite songs. That minute of music kind of got to me.

Yes - see post #2.

I don't have any more info on Joe Guy, but I've been intrigued by his playing since hearing those Minton's recordings with Charlie Christian when I was a teenager. I also recommend checking out two of his solos with big bands: "Rocky Comfort" by the Coleman Hawkins big band (their only studio session, Columbia/Okeh, 1940) and the first recording of "Epistrophy," by Cootie Williams' big band - made for Columbia in 1942, I think. These solos are very "modern" - much like Gillespie at the time - full of hints of polytonality.

"Unser Mund sei voll Lachens," BWV 110 by Bach. Every time I go to the mall, there it is - over and over again....

Wadada Leo Smith - Divine Love (ECM). There's a lot of controversy here about the "ECM sound." All I'll say tonight is that I love how this record sounds. And dinner with Dwight Andrews in a couple of weeks, apparently. I'll try not to embarrass myself.

Yep. But what I like about the tour with Stitt is how Miles stepped it up on those dates - as if, since Coltrane wasn't there to set off fireworks, Miles decided he'd better do it himself. At least that's what I remember, but I admit that I haven't spun any of the Stitt tour for awhile. Every time I walk over to that shelf, my hand automatically reaches for one of the dates with Coltrane.

He didn't revisit "Ko-Ko" often, but he did a few times. The ones I know about are: Fargo, North Dakota, November 7, 1940 Carnegie Hall, January 23, 1943 Historically Speaking, Bethlehem label, February, 1956. There are probably others.

Smokey Hogg Cow Cow Davenport Oscar "Chicken" Henry

Gary Clark, Jr./Son House (Daytrotter No. 14). Small-run vinyl of Clark at South by Southwest, 2012 on one side and House at the Ash Grove in LA in 1968 on the other.

Charlie Haden Tim Green Lionel Ferbos Alice Babs Jean-Jacques Avenel Roy Campbell Not jazz, but: Teenie Hodges Tabby Thomas Pete Seeger Daryl Thompson (reggae guitarist - Lucky's son) I hate this thread.

The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve; disc 7. This takes me back to when I was a teenager, when I found Bird's South of the Border album in a junk store. I don't think anyone would consider that one of his best, but I found it fascinating, for several reasons. First of all, the quality of Bird's improvising on those pretty simple Mexican tunes is amazing. Then you have Max Roach interacting with Jose Mangual and Luis Miranda on Latin percussion. Then, the enigmatic Benny Harris on trumpet. His playing isn't that good here, but it's never less than interesting. That probably doesn't make any sense, but even as a kid, I loved his note choices.

I wouldn't call this my "favorite" Messiah, but this set is endlessly fascinating: A Collector's Messiah on Koch. It's two CDs worth of well-transferred recordings from 1899 to 1930. Highlights include a large chunk of the oratorio recorded for G & T in 1906 and a 1907 aria from Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, sung by tenor Edward Lloyd. The latter is included because Lloyd's lineage of teachers reached back in a direct line to Handel, and it is believed that this is the only recording representing the 18th-century Handelian solo style. It's declamatory, vibrato-less, and very "in your face" - and supposedly very different from any of Lloyd's other recordings. The liner notes (by compiler Teri Noel Towe) call this track "the single most important Handel record ever made." In any case, this album is not for everyone, but I find it fascinating.

Happy birthday 2014!

James Blood Ulmer - Are You Glad to be In America (Artists House). Inspired by Clunky's spin of the Rough Trade version. The horns sound just fine here. What kind of music is this? Good music. Later, after the whole thing: I should have said that the horns sound just fine in an 80s studio kind of way - they are indeed mixed kind of "vaguely," although presumably more clearly than on the Rough Trade release. For those interested: David Murray plays on every track; Oliver Lake is on all tracks except "Are You Glad to be in America," "Pressure," "Revelation March," and "Interview." Olu Dara only plays on "See Through," "TV Blues," and "Jazz is the Teacher (Funk is the Preacher)." And that last-mentioned tune is kind of amazing.

Dwight Andrews - Mmotia: The Little People (Otic). So my wife teaches at Spelman College in Atlanta, and mentioned a colleague who is married to a jazz musician who is also a preacher, or something like that - she was pretty vague. "That sounds like Dwight Andrews," I said. Yep. Dr. Andrews is now in the theology department at Emory University in Atlanta, and preaches at an Atlanta church.

PM sent on Dizzy Reece.

In whatever form, this has been some of my favorite music for 40 years.

I like that one, too, but I've got the Artists House reissue, and never noticed any issues with the "presence" of the horns. Either it was remixed or I just never noticed.

I remember Allen's high opinion of the French LPs from an earlier discussion. The 1990 Master Takes set has been my go-to set for this material since it was issued. The sound varies a bit from session to session, but it's generally pretty good - certainly good enough for me. It doesn't seem de-noised to death. And it has a session made in 1943 for V-Disc which is not readily available elsewhere - a really nice one, with Bechet and Vic Dickenson as the front line. Many of the alternate takes are pretty similar to the masters, but there is one you "need." The alternate of "Blues for You, Johnny" is superior to the master. The master has a vocal by Herb Jeffries which doesn't do much for me; the alternate is a sprightly instrumental romp. All the Victor alternates are on the The Alternative Takes, volumes 1 and 2, from Network. "Blues for You, Johnny" is on volume 1.

Cricket Smith Bumble Bee Slim Spider John Koerner

Ornette Coleman - Body Meta (Artists House). Very loud. This suits my mood this evening. Which is a little scary.

This is not the first time I've heard similar things said about Potts I think his playing on the Lacy recordings I have from the 80's is excellent. Vibrant, expressive and his tone is gorgeous. In fact, his solo on Wickets from Morning Joy is one of my favorite alto saxophone solos I've heard by anyone. His improvisation on the uptempo tune Blinks (second track) from the 1983 recording sets the tone for the great 2 CD set. Different strokes..... I had just put a Bill Evans CD in the player, and was about to hit "play," but after reading this, I pulled out that CD and put in Flim-Flam by the Lacy/Potts duo. If my opinion is between those of Mr. Nessa and Mr. Reynolds, it ends up being a lot closer to Steve's. Potts is certainly not "second-rate" as a saxophonist - as an alto saxophonist, at least. He has a good, individual sound and excellent command of the instrument. I've never enjoyed his soprano playing nearly as much - his sound and intonation on soprano are a little grating to me. As an improviser, he's obviously not Lacy's equal, but he's pretty good at his best. Putting it bluntly, he uses a lot more notes than Lacy - but practically everyone does. And those "extra" notes are not just decoration or filler - they generally have a harmonic significance. And Steve (Reynolds) is right that Potts is an excellent foil for Lacy. Potts brings a kind of energy and excitement to the music that Lacy's deliberate approach doesn't have without Potts. And, more importantly, Potts brings in The Blues, baby. Lacy's beautiful playing just doesn't have that blues flavor/content that I crave sometimes. Even when he's playing a Monk blues, or one of his own blues like "Wickets," Lacy treats the blues as a form and a chord progression, not as a style/language. Nothing wrong with that - plenty of other improvisers have done the same, like Peter Bocage, Benny Carter, and Art Tatum. But the contrast Potts' deeper blues style brings enriches the music. I was particularly taken with Potts' bluesy solo on the title cut of Flim-Flam. This is a danged good CD; it might be worth checking out if you don't think you like Potts. Heck, by the end of the 21-minute "3 Points" suite, I was just about ready to take back my qualms about Potts' soprano playing.

December 9, 1961 "thirded" by my mid-80s Japanese BN discography (thanks, again, Paul S!) and by the RVG CD.