mikeweil

This afternoon:

http://acrobatmusic.net/?cid=5&AlbumId=1543

R.l.P. I know him from those Norman Connors albums. He fit in so well there.

The first session for Birdland/Prestige was held March 5, 1950.

I for one think that rough sound fits the unpolished quality of the music, like on a live gig, where you rarely have perfect sound. A too clean sound cuts the edges.

That band recorded this album:

Just listened to this one: In my ears, a masterpiece. Each track has a different mood and groove, Shorter's solos are exemplary. I love how he takes his time and audibly thinks while playing. One of my top recommendations whenever someone asks me for good jazz albums that show what the music can do.

No. I saw Blakey twice during later years, the band with Ponomarev, Watson, and Schnitter, James Williams on piano, and a later performance with a woran at the piano. That Leverkusen gig must have been something, maybe l saw part of it on a video. Keezer was great with Blakey. Taking some chances with wild unexpected passages in his solos.

I have that CD. You would never know from listening. Maybe Keezer was taking it too casually at first with his abundance of talent. Keezer was Blakey's last pianist. He was asked to join Miles Davis at the same time but preferred the Messengers.

Re-listening to that vocal track. He does some things Eckstine never did, sounds almost female at times. Now who is this?

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 shout "Yeah" every other bar. This was so great I have to take a break ....

Thanks for the link. I use Opera as a browser, and with the "download all" function it was a piece of cake. Four parts containing 24 ziped files, which unpack in pdf files. Great to have them all on hard drive.

R.I.P. Words fail me ....

Tony made deep black music starting with EGO.

PIPELINE W/KEN VANDERMARK & F. LONBERG-HOLM

Thanks all for the nice words. I had no idea most of these records were new to you. Like there was some discussion here about the Essence All Stars albums that made me curious, so l bought all of them and the other similar stuff that Milan Simich and /or Lenny White procuced (The Acoustic Masters, The Chartbusters, and tributes to Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, and a Tom Browne CD with players from the same pool of musicians). That nobody recognized the Shorter tune was surprise, considering how many of you love those VeeJay albums. I was expecting more astonishment about the identityof the mystery trumpet player. 😉

I love the Ego album, and think Ted Dunbar is great in that band.

Geat you enjoyed it. The late bird's reward is the reveal I just posted.