mikeweil

If there isn't anything that was not on the OKeh twofer or the Centennial box, I'll pass.

Brunch with this box set, in memory of Astrud Gilberto. Reading about Getz exploiting her almost drives me mad.

Perfect midnight listening.

Tom Nicholas, born in Philadelphia on March 8, 1938, died at his home in Germany on June 16, 2023, as his son Kamal reported on facebook this morning. He had started on cello, but switched to percussion and was reported to have played with Jimmy McGriff as a teenager. He moved to California after his army service and recorded with Michael Howell (one track featured in a recent Blindfold Test) and John Handy, played with Kenny Burrell, Dewey Redman, Pharoah Sanders, Eddie Moore. He moved to New York in the 1970s, played with George Coleman and recorded with Roland Prince but decided to move to Europe in 1977. He landed a regular gig with Lou Blackburn's Afro Jazz band Mombasa soon after and played with many bands on the German jazz scene, most notably with Peter Giger's Family of Percussion. Among his last activities was a band with saxophonist Anke Schimpf - here you can see some photos from his birthday concert. He was my first conga drum teacher, I admired his solid timing and swing - as he said "I always have a good time playing" - and sounded great, no matter what conga drum you placed in front of him. When I met him in 1978 he had a heavy fiberglass conga with a very thick muleskin that I hardly could get to sound. Regrettably, it was stolen when Mombasa's band bus was broken in. I'll never forget how he tried to encourage us to sound "more deutlich", make a clear distinction between different sounds on the conga. R.I.P., and eternal thanks for the inspiration. https://www.discogs.com/artist/1059178-Tom-Nicholas?type=Credits&subtype=Instruments-Performance&filter_anv=0 https://www.facebook.com/tomnicholassr

Not exactly jazz, but related: Has this been mentioned?

This morning:

Same here.

Thanks for the link. I knew him from the Ramsey Lewis albums and from Jack McDuff's The Heatin' System, where he plays some great stuff. (as Fred Walker)

I remember hearing Poinciana in the live version from the Impulse LP on AFN. But anything else was impossible to find in German record shops. Only during a trip to Paris I was able to buy half a dozen used LPs I always wanted to hear. Jamal is unique among pianists, and a big influence on the scene just for that. His ways of playing in a trio changed several times but all are interesting.

R.I.P. I have not ebnough of his music ....

Donald Harrison on this album, and with the Head Hunters.

I see - the Decca stuff from 1939 to 1952. If these masters still exist .... These were covered by a series of Chronological Claasics CDs starting with this one:

https://www.discogs.com/release/7631761-Buddy-And-Ella-Johnson-1953-1964/image/SW1hZ2U6NzY4MjkxNzc=

Tonight I took my wife and a young friend to a concert by my longtime friend and former colleague as dance accompanist at the Frankfurt music academy, Klemens Althapp. We enjoyed improvising together back then, and he recently added his own songs with his very personal lyrics in German language to his repertoire. He also sings some standards, and his choice of tempo and groove in Gershwin's Summertime makes much more sense to me than the way most people sing it. Another old friend, Klaus Frölich, added percussion accompaniment. We mused about trying to get a gig as a duo in my current hometown .....

Just pre-ordered a copy.

Here's what I found on my hard drive but for some reason didn't post: Here's my two cents: Track 1: Lush Life, played on a bassoon. I must admit I am spoiled by the more beautiful sound of historical bassoon instruments and the perfect way our local Frankfurt period performance practice students play them, so this does not satisfy me from a technical point of view. But it is a nice idea. Bassoon has to be played exclusively to really master it, in any genre. No idea who it is. Track 2: A Child Is Born - very nice that they take their time before they let the band come in. Beautiful arrangement, well played. I would have liked it even more if they had kept it as subdued as in the beginning. Concise and to the point. Track 3: This trumpet intro sounds very familiar. Tenor sax? I hear Dexter Gordon phrases. But that is neither his sound nor his vibrato. I am sure I have heard this or even own it, the tune sounds familiar, too. Very curious who this is. Track 4: Gene Ammons! Track 5: Another standard tune, A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing. That alto player has his own very personal way of approaching the tune. The pianist starts his solo with some Debussy phrases, which is a nice contrast. This probably will be on my must buy list. Like it a lot. This has class. Track 6. Cannot name this familiar tune right now. I probably know this player ..... Must be a seasoned older generation player. Not quite convincing to me how he plays the clsong cadenza. Track 7. Another familiar tune. They way he meanders licks around the tune rather than playing thematic variations on it does not convince me. Almost like Dolphy at times. Could it be him? Track 8. Billy Eckstine? Over The Rainbow! What a fantastic singer! This is better than classical opera as you never have that much freedom there. This has me shouting "Yeah" every other bar. On second thought, he does too many things Eckstine never did .... This was so great I have to take a break ....

As I just posted in the thread to Big Al's BFT I was distracted after I started listening and typing guesses, but I see there are four tracks I have and should have recognized. Great stuff throughout.