mjazzg

I'm sorely tempted by the UK set, living without a booklet I would read once in a blue moon doesn't seem too much of a hindrance. Having said that I think I have all the music, apart from the three unreleased ones, already.

I'm not too sure what the definition of "stone cold classic" we're working with but given the number of cover versions of this I'd say it's entered some kind of canon

Wishing Mr Graves strength https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/milford-graves-drummer.html

Clare Fischer Big Band - Duality [Discovery Records] and then by way of contrast Moholo/Stabbins/Tippett - Tern [FMP] Larry Stabbins!

Is there another label that creates so much debate ( and no little hot air) as ECM? I certainly seems to divide opinion It must be ten years ago I started a thread specifically to allow such "debate" and deflect it from discussion of the actual music but sadly that's lost to the mysteries of the search function.

Beautiful, and funny too!

With over 300 ECM titles I'm hard pressed to whittle them down but I'd take these three to a desert island definitely Paul Bley - Ballads Charles Lloyd - Canto Edward Vesala - Lumi

After three listens I'm still to be convinced by this, obviously a minority view around here. I agree that 'Emperor March' is the strongest track but find the others a bit undercooked and I wanted more Tolliver, wish it was a piano less quartet. I'm hoping it will reveal its delights in due course. I'll just go and hide in the corner now...

A pleasure. Gardening and 'Clangs' sidelined by a very good Byron Wallen stream from Ronnies, someone who I think is under recorded and possibly underappreciated, at least by me

Excellent livestream from Ronnies by Byron Wallen Quartet, here

Well, I'm never particularly confident in describing music especially when it was only my second listen to 'Together Alone' and my first to 'Moot' and I know there are other board members a lot more qualified to speak about the Delmark and probably the Ictus. I was struck by how apparent it was that both came from different improvising 'traditions' but how there was a connection between them. The Jarman/Braxton is is some ways denser than I'd imagined - they both play a number of different instruments and switch within tracks, there's some electronics on one track too. Lots of musical information to absorb but maybe not as much silence as I'd suspected. Some great flute playing from Jarman, contrabass and piano from AB. It's definitely an album of two distinct musical characters coming together sometimes harmoniously sometimes in a degree of oppostion. The sides are split between one of Jarman compositions and one of Braxton's which may go some way to highlight the contrasts. I think it's going to reveal much more with more listens and can't quite believe it's taken me this long to acquire it, missed along the way of collecting AACM recordings. If you like early AACM I can't see you not enjoying this. Initial impressions of 'Moot' is that it's top notch European improv, carefully chosen contributions from all the players leading to a revealed logic in the interactions. Nothing very loud or raucous, some swingingly unswinging trombone interjections, lovely percussion shades and Coxhill as pin-sharp as ever. I'm looking forward to getting to know this more. In the same batch, i purchased 'Clangs' by Centazzo and Lacy, that's for later after some gardening...or just sitting in the garden thinking about doing it

Joseph Jarman, Anthony Braxton - Together Alone [Delmark] Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Giancarlo Schiaffini - Moot [Ictus]

Out of curiosity just used their'Store Finder' (when did 'Shops' become 'Stores'? Grumpy old man alert) and for North London I got Fopp, Covent Garden, Westfield and Romford! No mention of Oxford Street

Probably physical copies shipped to shops in advance of proposed release date. Communication of hold on release made to website management quicker than to those shops? I wouldn't know where my nearest HMV was these days, is there still one in central London? I think I thought they'd all closed until this thread

Recommended to me by a friend who follows African music a lot closer than me, I thought this is a terrific album Alhousseini Anivolli & Girum Mezmur - Afropentatonism

Well, that's got be worth a listen at the very least. The prog rock reference worries me but otherwise

And in England, "Excuse me, sorry to bother you Al"

A couple of new arrivals... Dennis Budimir - Sprung Free! [Revelation] Dennis Budimir - A Second Coming [Revelation] now wondering if I should get the other Revelations And onto an old favourite The Chico Hamilton Quintet - With Strings attached [Warner Bros]

No discernible deviations from what I usually listened to. My job doesn't allow for lots of workday listening but I have snuck some in. I have bought a lot more however, yes that vinyl wagon has been well and truly left behind here too and I love it - as I have said before it's a great way to get to know your postman. But most different has been an increase in download purchasing, I'm now over missing the booklets and the physical CD. I think this has been largely down to having shelves that are really now too full and a broken CD player that no one wants to mend, so no point in buying CDs, and the advent of Bandcamp Day. I seem to be developing a two pronged approach - downloads for most contemporary releases (meaning I'm again buying more US releases the CDs of which had become increasingly more expensive to import - sorry Squidco) and LPs for albums originally released on that format. Some contemporary LP releases purchased just because I fancy them - Nat Birchall, Laurence Pike and anything on International Anthem for instance.

Agree about the Moncur which makes me think I should get 'Priestess'

I was only yesterday noticing and enjoying his contributions to Bobby Hutcherson's 'Components'

Regularly listen to Gilles P and sometimes Craig Charles but find a lot of the rest of it all about too pleased with itself. Like Peel without the self-deprecation. Don't get me going on Maconie and his sidekick (who I loved 30 years ago but is still doing the same thing) Cerys Matthews's eclecticism is easy on the ear too and after watching his Latin Music series I'll give Huey Lewis another go.