mikeweil

I love this album - it's raw and wild, contrary to the polished fusion music of later eras, takes chances, grooves like mad, and approaches funky rhythms in a much more creative way than is common today. I bought all Stone Alliance and Steve Grossman LPs back then, saw the band live twice, and wish Jan Hammer would have been a member - well, Kenny Kirkland wasn't a slouch either when he joined later (Bob Mintzer had replaced Grossman in the Stone Alliance band by then). You see, I cannot separate them all ..... I dig Grossman's Coltranesque wailings much more than the Rollins approach he adopted a few years later. He had it down, and had a fierce energy I marvelled at. But that new album title is crazy - I wish those shapes would come back every now and then!

Second the recommendation of his Time LP - there was a great sounding SACD reissue that's still around in places. Tommy and Stan were featured in Max Roach's group for a while - the Mosaic box has some of it.

If nobody else volunteers I offer to switch positions with you - if others do not object, as my previous BFT was less than a year ago. But it has a theme not covered so far, and I have it almost ready as I was tossing coins between this and the theme I chose for my last one.

Track 8: My mother had a 78 with Ghost Riders - this was loooong ago! No wonder I couldn't recall the name of the tune. I wonder if I checked out that Verve reissue at the time .... Track 13: I had that one as a Fresh Sound reissue LP, sold it at a time when I had grown tired of most West Coast Jazz ..... well ..... Jolly was better than Mathews!

Re track 6: Now that I've read the others' posts, I remember that Mr. Bassman suggested Dave Holland on bass, which I agreed upon after the bass solo, and further suggested Sam Rivers and Barry Altshul. But no idea which album this is. Track 10 is the great surprise! No wonder used copies of this achieve high prices! Gary MacFarland never stops to amaze me - what a great, entertaining talent!

Last Friday, Mr. Bassman paid a visit for a listening session and brought me a copy - we had a listen to the first disc together and started guessing and sleuthing until hunger struck and we abandoned the disc for some spaghetti .... in other words, the first guesses are a collaborative product. Other than that, the usual disclaimers apply. Track 1: I'm unable to identify the saxist from the short sentence "this is for Monk" nor from his playing. His tone is a little too hard and loud for my taste. I like the pianist much better, his sparing approach and the few Monkish references. Overall, an interesting version. I wonder who that pianist is ... Track 2: This reminds me a lot of the "European" school of piano trio, but I'm too vague about it. Sounds a bit like an earlier ECM recording, too, before it got too spacious. But more than that, I can't say - not something I would buy, although it is nice to listen too. That bassist sounds a bit like Dave Holland ... or like Arild Andersen .... I'm not sure. Track 3: I was pretty sure after a minute into the vibes solo that this is Gary Burton, and remembered an ECM LP with a Japanese trumpeter, Tiger Okoshi. Since the drummer sounds an awful lot like Roy Haynes, who also was on that album, I guess this is it. Sounds like an electric bass - and yes, Steve Swallow was on it too! I like this more than most Burton I have heard. Track 4: "I remember Clifford", written but not played here by Benny Golson. No idea who it is, but nice idea to play it with tenor, trumpet and bass, although I don't like the pickup sound and would like to hear more trumpet. Track 5: My guess for the trombonist is Al Grey. The name of the standard escapes me, although I remembered it when Mr. Bassman was here ....... Track 6: More awful bass pickups ..... alto and tenor intertwined. No idea. This is more saxophonists' music, IMO. Track 7: This reminds me of the stuff Manny Albam and others did in New York. I like this a lot,but Mr. Bassman didn't ..... Good solos, I find - for him they were doing routine exercises. (It shows you didn't grow up with jazz, buddy .... - these solos are far from routine.) Too bad I can't identify the vibist - very interesting angular approach. Osie Johnson on drums? Even more bad I sold my Albam vinyl many years ago .... Track 8: Very nice approach to this tune - arrrgh what was the name? Drummer uses some nice sounds, striking the rim of the China cymbal for that little rhythmic figure (although he takes some time before he really has the pianists' phrasing down!), and the woodblocks in New Orleans style. Wonder who this is. Really nice arrangement! Track 9: I'm not enough into neobop guitarists, but he sounds familiar. Jimmy Raney? Or his son Doug? No - this sounds like one of those Don Schlitten produced Xanadu LPs, at least the drums sound like it. Well ..... Track 10: Ohhh! Clark Terry!!!? Anyway, some cheerful music. Good spirits everyone. Yeah! Track 11: Can't identify this big band - interesting pianist. Drummer wanted to play on, it seems ..... Track 12: Accordion ..... Mat Mathews? If so, I should have this somewhere, if it is one of the few exceptions that were on CD. Sounds like Art Farmer's sweet trumpet in the section, but he's not the soloist. Osie Johnson again? Joe Puma on guitar? Well there's no baritone on the Mathews CDs I have .... Nice, if only for the swinging accordion. Track 13: Sweet trumpet - something like soap jazz. Mood music, but styled too much for the pop market. Not for me. Alto is too hard for Desmond - Bud Shank? Track 14: A welcome change of pace. Recording sounds a little strange, but that band is very good. Is this the Thad Jones - Mel Lewis Orchestra? Bassists plays almost like Stanley Clarke - if it's not Thad & Mel, they're inspired by them. That tenor sure digs in. I thin of Joe Farrell all the time .... Track 15: This is a better recording, but less adventurous. I know that alto .... piccolo flutist uses too much vibrato in that written part! Tenor plays older style - strange mix of styles. But they sure had a good time. I'm curious about who they are. Track 16: This sounds like an amateur singer with shaky intonation, maybe even a teenager, but she has the spirit and feeling, even if she lacks chops. Take some lessons, and you're in. The audience sure appreciated it. Very nice slections that were fun listening to! Thanks for taking the efforts to burn these all!

Indeed! Found a used copy at a good price, got it today, and I like it a lot! Only complaint is that he plays the very first prelude too slow and not straight enough - the music shows the same time/tempo signature as the second prelude, which he plays considerably faster. Nevertheless I strongly recommend this set.

Nothing on Herbie's website about this - but no 2007 tour dates either. They're all behind schedule with updates .....

Sounds more like a compilation - maybe including vault material? Legacy is indeed Columbia's reissue or vault issue label.

Happy B-day!!!

I'll move everybody by one month, as RDK's tuns out to be the January test. I'll add Claude Bartee, once more - more luck with the board meachnics this time!

I still remember how fascinated I was when I first heard this on the radio - pretty much at the same time as Towner's first ECM LP. I hunted for these LPs and got them from a mailorder shop in Munich. I listened to them lying on my bed with eyes closed, my mind wandering like through some 1001 Arabian Nights dreamland. Towner later admitted that it was too much of a showoff displaying all of the many instrments they could handle - I'm with Randy that Winter Light and In Concert are more on point. Nevertheless they were an important inspiration for the first band ever I played in - I will always remain grateful for that.

Third Plane is a nice record, but the sound sucks.

Practically all of the CTI LPs I had shared one trait: A rather high level of tape hiss. Since modern digitally trained engineers all suffer from hissophobia, they treat the tapes with some de-hissing software,which alway affects the room ambience, the transients, and the high frequency range. Those CTI CD remasters sound exactly like this.

Recent research by Siegbert Rampe and Robert Levin shows it varied widely depending on the acoustics and other circumstances. E.g., Mozart played his own late piano concertos on harpsichord when the performance room and the orchestra were to loud for the fortepianos of his time. But basically you're correct. If played on period instruments I find it always sounds a lot less sweet and cute - the modern piano sound and tuning take away a lot of the shades. Christopher Hogwood's latest Mozart recital on clavichord (DHM/BMG) is a stunning example - some harmonies sound very advanced on that instrument.

Carla White - A Voice In The Night (CDBaby has it)

Been listening to a lot of Cal Tjader of course, while checking things for the discography. Many recordings with Lenny White on drums, especially his own "Edge". But I've been spinning so many different CDs it's impossible to recall them ......

Listening to a good recording on period instruments can change that .... I intend to get me Robert Levin's WTC on Hänssler Classics after reading an interview in Fono Forum.

Bennie Maupin - The Jewel In The Lotus Stanley Cowell - Illusion Suite Julian Priester - Polarization Keith Jarrett & Jack deJohnette - Ruta & Daitya Marion Brown - Afternoon of a Georgia Faun most of them from the early years - I dislike the sound Eicher prefers.

Re: Victim - some mistake caused several members accounts to be deleted - you can recognize them by posts without the name of the members who posted them. Yours probably was among them - otherwise you wouldn't have to register again. I tried to contact you regarding a blindfold test you wanted to do - still interested? If so, PM me. (Nate Dorward was really looking forward to yours!)

Duh! Just read on the German amazon site the release date was postponed to January 30 ...... p.s. I'm not gonna wait this long! CD Universe offers it at $ 23.19 - what am I waiting for? Use the search link at the top of the page and hit it, folks!

Congrats, Sir George! His health is a little frail recently, I'm told - I wish him all the best.

Don't be afraid, this surely is a bop box ...... It's due out here on December 30, I've been told - guess what I'll be looking for during my next visit to Saturn in Frankfurt.

Turns out it was the perfect blindfold lead-in for Xmas ......