mikeweil

Received a bunch of price reduced discs from JPC, Arion and Pierre Vérany recordings:

Thanks - my wife already agreed to put this on the gifts table for my birthday, upcoming in a few weeks. We're low on funds at the moment, but I know I'll kick myself for years to come if I fail to get me one.

Could I get some more comments, please, to make me pull the trigger for this set, now that it is on "last chance"?

R.I.P. I happened to see Esther Bejarano, who also survived Auschwitz and had played in the orchestra there, in a talk show last night, and she said how few of them were still alive ...

Okay, after comparing selected pieces from this new release with about ten other Forqueray recordings in my collection, I must admit that I am slightly disappointed. First of all, it is not complete in respect to all members of the Forqueray family: there is one Michel Forqueray, to whom three pieces are attributed (one of them very tentatively) that are not even mentioned. Furthermore, all of these pieces exist in two versions, one for solo harpsichord and one for viol with bass - I would have expected they present all of the pieces in both versions when they need four CDs, but no, they play each piece only once in one version, most of them in the harpsichord version. What's really new is the recording of four pieces from a collection with various composers and three pieces from the "manuscript de Lille", which Michèle Dévérité chose to present in her own transcription for two harpsichords. Again, having them in both versions would have been nice. All this needs three CDs - the newly discovered pieces take only twenty minutes. Other performers playing in roughly the same tempos need only two CDs, including all repeats - they could have distributed the music a bit more economically on the discs and included both versions and the new pieces on five CDs. But the fourth CD is filled with various tribute pieces to the Forquerays, among them many first recordings of rarely heard composers as well as the well known by Couperin and Rameau. The fifth CD is a recital of texts referring to the Forquerays with musical accompaniment. This and several texts in the booklet presented only in French require a thorough understanding of that language. They could have included a translation of these as well, or offer it as a download. It is a pityas the text about a musician's portrait that could be Forqueray, and about Marie Rose Dubois, who may have made the harpsichord transcription or at least had a hand in it, contain important information. Is the label not interested in serving customers outside of France? It is all very nice, and the years of preparation they put into this project shows, but only for francophiles? Furthermore, I am a bit underwhelmed by Michèle Dévérité's playing, which sounds somewhat tentative, as if she was afraid of the sound of her instruments, a certain sameness creeps in as she understands the tempos from the smaller note values and does not communicate the feel of the dance movements as clearly as other players. She does not spell me with her way of playing, where almost all others project expressive virtuosity and grandeur, where she relies on nobility and dignity. The recorded sound doesn't help her either, the engineers of harmonia mundi France prefer larger rooms and place the harpschord a some distance, as if to avoid mechanical noises under all circumstances. They used differerent microphone placements for the piecs with violin or viol placing the harpsichord in the background making almost inaudible. A smaller room and more intimate sound would have suited the music better. But that's a mistake they often make when recording chamber music with harpsichord. I would recommend this only for Forqueray completists or diehard collectors of French baroque chamber music. If you want a compelling rendition of the harpsichord version I would recommend Mitzi Meyerson, who has the chops this music needs and is recorded in fantastic sound (watch out to get the newer edition which is a bit cheaper): For a viol version the Malec/Urbanetz recording has more guts and again, better sound: It is not quite complete, but communicates the music better. Both together can be bought at the same price or for less than the new box.

Nice article by Kyle Long on the Paris recordings including an interview with Harold Mabern; https://www.nuvo.net/music/wes-montgomery-s-paris-concert-is-finally-on-record/article_ca279f2e-f615-11e7-b9ac-ef0791365afa.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

A good old friend and former percussion student of mine (and member of my current drum band of former students) is a member of Alles Blech (All Tin). They opened the evening's program and even invited me on stage for the number I coached them for,a Cuban Conga de Comparsa carnival rhythm. nice evening, with the Iranian duet playing some stunning things.

Here, too.

My favourite Nina Simone album! Gives me the chills each time .... Been listening through James Moody's 1968-1970 albums over the last days - arguably some of his best recordings. A fascinating soloist with lots of chops, but he never gets lost in the technical side of it. The settings on these three recordings are all different, but great, and he responds with inspired playing. The sidemen are great, Tom McIntosh's arrangements are superb.

Doesn't look like her to me. Are you sure? Is she credited on the album? The discogs page of this album says so, but the eyes, nose, and mouth look a little different to me.

I thought it was about moving to the new server, but started getting worried a bit, and started missing you all. This is the only web site I go to on a regular basis, everything else is becoming really boring these days. Grand Thanks to the Grand Poobah! p.s. much faster now!

Making my way through this new release:

R.I.P. The double LP with Dudu Pukwana, Larry Willis, Eddie Gomez,and Makaya Ntshoko is one of my desert island albums!

Pony Poindexter in a German movie from 1970:

They look like Diana Krall's cousins!

What do you think of the sound of these downloads?

Chasing Trane, the documentary, made me revisit this. I must say that I haven't listened to this for quite a few years, and right now the wailin's and meanderin' gets on my nerves in some tracks. The playing concept of his new quartet with Tyner, Steve Davis, and Elvin works beautifully with Coltrane's originals, but less well with standards - these versions of Body And Soul or My Favourite Things never really fascinated me. Tyner's chords get a bit repetitive at times. They still convince me in the more concise performances of originals. But the alternate of Blues For Elvin sounds, to me, as if the are tired from the long recording sessions and need a break. p.s. I always thought, and new listening confiirms this, that Paul Chambers is not getting the rhythmic structure of the bass line on Naima.

I've seen her perform a few times, have almost all of her recordings, and think she has one of the most beautiful soprano sounds around.

Zweitausendeins was the official distributor of Dauner's Mood Records.

I'm glad I saw it, the show was sold out quickly (I had a reservation), a small theater with 110+ seats, and will get me a DVD of this later this year. A good job, but I could have done without Wynton Marsalis' general appreciation blurb. I'd rather have seen some interview segments with Jimmy Cobb, Pharoah Sanders, or some saxophonists from the next generation avant garde scene he influenced, or Gary Bartz, who also caught him live. You can't anything but love Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath for their statements!