Joe Bip

George Shearing Capital Live Recordings. Took me a long time to get around to hearing this -- Shearing just isn't too important to me. However, I've been pleasantly surprised a few times just on the first disc, such as the performance of Weston's "Little Niles" and the group interplay on Denzil Best's "Nothing But De Best." My only question is why Mosaic spread 4 1/2 hours of music across 5 discs. They could have put it onto four discs and still had quite a bit of room to spare. I've noticed this with a fairly good number of Mosaic's larger sets. I know that back in '94, when this came out, they might have been using discs that held 74 minutes maximum rather than 80, but even taking that into account it could have fit on 4 discs. I don't mean this as a criticism of Mosaic, whose efforts I greatly appreciate -- just something I've been curious about.

This is great news, and there won't be too much duplication for me. I've mostly been listening to Air albums like Air Song, Air Time, and Live Air, although I do have Air Lore on Vinyl. I just acquired Threadgill's Carry the Day and Where's Your Cup within the last couple of years, but I somehow managed to misplace the former CD, so I guess this set will remedy that. As for the 20-year span, it's a little unusual but nothing to get bent out of shape over. Mosaic is doing what they need to do to make some of this music more available, and I'm grateful for that. I know that such chronological jumps can be jarring on a single-disc compilation, but who would listen to a box set as big as this straight through? Just take into account the recording date of the material on each disc as you take it out to listen to it.

Is It Love or Desire is also out on 180g vinyl from Sundazed. I bought it as a gift for the significant other, so I won't be able to listen to it for a few more weeks. I'm told her sound on it is a bit different from the first two albums -- but still good.

I received the Wright CD from this series in the mail today and was surprised to find Frank's name spelled correctly on the spine and front sticker. I had been under the impression that the "Franck" typo was on the entire run of this. Because of this and the low price I found for a sealed copy, my first thought was that the label cheated on the "limited edition" and printed another batch, but if they had done that, one would assume they'd keep the web site active that's printed on the back (free-america.net). Also, I doubt sales for a Frank Wright CD would really be big enough to warrant going beyond the promised run of 5000.

Yes, until Odwalla got bought out by Coca-Cola.

Just received Get Ready to Receive Yourself in the mail and, as the disc is a little scarce, I thought some might be interested in a couple of quotes from the liners, which are also an appropriate tribute now. "Joseph Maneri is a genius whose aesthetics have been the source of influence for a considerable number of musicians who have received the recognition which Joe has not enjoyed. I hope that this recording is only one of many for this original American voice. He is an artist without peer." --George Russell "Observed as a teacher, I found Joe Maneri to be delicate and yet probing. As a creator, he organised a language which is his own, indicating courage and the light of truth." --Cecil Taylor

In case anyone is looking to buy the Frank Wright (Uhuru Na Umoja), Tower.com happens to have a really good price on it right now.

Apart from Kuhn, the pianist I associate most closely with Coleman's work is Bobo Stenson. In addition to the Coleman piece mentioned upthread, Stenson has recorded a number of others. On the album War Orphans we hear "All My Life" and the title track, which features Anders Jormin slowly moving from rhythmic to melodic playing in a way I really like. Stenson's albums Goodbye, Underwear, and Very Early also feature Coleman tunes, as well as a couple more within the group led by Don Cherry's on Dona Nostra.

Peter Brotzmann and Bill Laswell -- Low Life

I meant to say 72 steps in an octave rather than "72 notes."

One thing I've had a hard time figuring out is how Maneri's 72-tone system works on a practical level. I know there are fingerings for quarter-tones etc. but with 72 notes in an octave, it seems like a virtually impossible level of precision. One could use an electronic tuning device to tune the instruments in a group together, but then actually playing the instruments still amazes me. I'm not sure how this many microtones can be produced on reeds. Even on Mat's violin/viola where there is an infinite gradations of pitch, it seems like he would have to have superhuman ears (and hand-ear coordination) particularly while playing in a group with other instruments. Again, I definitely understand to some degree how microtonal playing is possible on acoustic instruments that require tuning, but with a 72-tone system I'm just baffled. Spent quite a bit of time online the last couple of days trying to research this but to no avail.

For years and years, my only exposure to Joe Maneri was In Full Cry which I bought on a lark. Not bad, but I wouldn't say I appreciated what made it different. Then in the past year I've started getting a lot more of his recordings: Dahabenzapple, Coming Down the Mountain, Peace Concert, and I just now ordered a used Get Ready to Receive Yourself. I really like his playing but probably still don't "get it" in the sense of being able to explain to someone exactly what it was he was doing. I didn't buy Paniots Nine, unfortunately, and now it's out of print. But according to Maneri's site, the title track was featured on the soundtrack to American Splendor, so I guess I heard a small part of the album once but didn't notice it!

I got all the Atlantic ones on vinyl cheaply but haven't gone any further. I'm just not a huge Mann listener. Haven't listened to them recently but if memory serves, Sharrock stays pretty much in the background on a lot of the Atlantic Mann discs. I've made a habit of getting as many things as I can with Sharrock. I generally love his sound, and the only ones I have that are painful to listen to are Live in New York and Highlife, mainly because of the keyboards. I love Linda Sharrock, too, although I haven't heard anything she's done in years.

Herbie Mann's Song Book Memphis Underground Windows Open The Inspiration I Feel The Evolution of Man Concerto Grosso in D Blues Stone Flute Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go Memphis Two-Step Herbie Mann '71 Hold On, I'm Comin'