Soul Stream

Well...that's pretty much my thoughts on this one. I dig McDuff, but I have a feeling that's pretty much HIS thoughts on it. I think it was a commercial effort. Brother Jack was trying for a big seller and if this was on at a party I'd probably be perfectly content. I remeber I dug the opening tune but got kind of bored with the rest of it. When McDuff hit the last track he did a standard groove blues and that sounded great...and I have a feeling that was the one HE enjoyed. I thought about other albums that were more straight-ahead organ endeavors like "Grantstand" or "The Sermon", ect. However, I think "Moon Rappin'" shows the B3 shifting with the times. I Don't know if Jack liked it or not, but I think this commercial outing actually shows a different (and damn adaptable) side of his playing. I'm a big fan of Jack McDuff, and even though "Moon Rappin'" and the follow up, "To Seek A New Home" take a different route to Groovesville than his earlier stuff.... it's still some of his best work... in that it points towards the acid jazz movement of the 90's almost more than any other album of the era. If you think it's sheer commercial garbage, try McDuff's "Kisses" for a relative viewpoint. Is it "Grantstand,:" or "Brother Jack Meets The Boss?" No. But I would ask that you please give it another try Harold. There's some very nice musical elements happening here that I think go beyond the perceived 70's-itis the cover suggests.

They have them at Amazon.com, used for @ 8 bucks. I haven't checked half.com but I'm sure they probably have a few. Also, I would think Tower, ect. would have them online....

Jimmy Smith's "The Boss." I'd love to hear the whole night. Taped live in Atlanta, probably 3 sets worth of material that is all worth releasing I'm sure. Although since it's Verve, I won't hold my breath. Just think, I can use my copy of Jimmy Smith plays Peter and the Wolf (reissued) to hold up my couch in the meantime.

The Flip. I heard it once on vinyl and think it's a nice album. I've got "Mothership" through the Mosaic and have to say it's not a favorite of mine. Looks like a nice batch though....

Jack McDuff - Moon Rappin' (click here to buy) Pretty lightweight stuff in a way. But a real fun album to listen to with a lot of different things going on. I'd like to hear everyone's take on this one. Definately from an odd time in the Blue Note era, and jazz in general. This one encompasses soul jazz moving into fusion with a touch of psychedellics at times. Pretty wild, and one that I find myself listening to quite a bit during the summer months. So, I could have picked more "important" albums. But, here's one for the kid in all of us! ENJOY!

Just wanted to thank Brad for letting me pick the AOW after him. There's so many great albums, it's hard to pick. But with summer in full swing, I thought I'd choose something that's just plain a lot of fun. Jack McDuff's "Moon Rappin'" Although this may seem pretty lightweight, I think there's a lot of interesting stuff going on here as well. Hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I do. Plus, you won't have to think too hard! Also, I chose Ed Swinnich for AOW after me. Thanks everybody!

....Damn! This sounds like another one of those "impossible to finds." Oh well, I guess there's always a holy grail to be found. Thanks again Dan for the great AOW!

Well, first off. I have to thank Dan for such a great AOW idea. His plan to take an obscure, but deserved, organ lp and distribute it to all comers was a wonderful idea. Not only that, it provided me a chance to hear an album I've been dreaming about, but wasn't able to find, for years....Charles Kynard's "Where It's At!" I'm such a fan of Groove Holmes' Pacific Jazz recording, especially "After Hours," that I have always looked forward to hearing Richard Bock produce the Charles Kynard outing. And BOY, does it not disappoint. Unbelievable that this 1964 date is Kynard's one and only date for the label. Too bad, none of his other records even come close to this. From the all-out uptempo gospel of "I'll Fly Away," you know you're in for a soul-clappin' good time. What's so amazing about Kynard, is he honestly delivers the same kind of soul ferver that only Baby Face Willette's ARGO and Sam Lazar's ARGO dates managed to capture in a soul-jazz setting. Of course, the first side is made up entirely of tradition church hymms and themes. For me, this is the most INTERESTING stuff on the album! Kynard really shines in this setting, and HIS personality seems to come forth a little more than on side 2. That said, Side 2 grooves like a mf. It's jazz organ 101. EVERY jazz organist should be able to demonstrate what Charles does here. His ability to block chord solo, set up a "shout" and deliver on "Blue Greens and Beans" is textbook on how this should be done. He really burns here, sounding a lot like Jack McDuff on his early outings with Willis Jackson and Bill Jennings. His "Groove Holmes" really shines through on the ballad "I Wonder." If someone had told me it was Groove, I wouldn't have questioned it. Perfect. I also detect some Billy Larkin (another forgetten organist) in Kynard's approach. Also his two handed ballad work on "Sports Lament" is very, very nice. Clifford Scott is exceptional here...from the Ammons mindset, he makes it sound SO goood, the ballads the blues, he's ALL there. Howard Roberts mainly comps his way to groovesville alongside Milt Turner on drums. The title track "Where It's At" is a barn burner. Just what B3 was about in 1963. This was, as Lou Donaldson has said, ghetto bar music. Loud, in your face, jazz and soul. No apologies. I can't believe Pacific Jazz didn't follow this up with another date. Thanks again DAN!!!!!

...o.k...I already forgot something. Since Dan sent me a CDR of his AOW pick (Charles Kynard), I will be back to post for that! Also, Brad sent me "Endgame Brilliance" so I'll post for that as well. (This board is getting to be a hard habit to break already! ) Thanks everyone...have a good one.

Just wanted to let you know I was taking a break for a while. Nothing going on really, just trying to get some priorities together and feel now would be a good time to take a breather. I'll miss all the action, but I'm sure I'll peek in from time to time to make sure I'm not missing TOO much. Anyway, take care and I'll see ya'll after a while. Bye now....

Can you say...."Winter Bush"

I like "Soul Manifesto" quite a bit. Again, mostly for Lonnie Smith and Idris Muhammed. But Rodney Jones IS a bad mf. I saw him fill in for Randy Johnston one night at the Vanguard with the Lou Donaldson band. And man, they were on FIRE with him on board. He brings a real downhome phrasing and groove with him.l One thing I don't dig about Soul Manifesto...it's so short. Something like 7 tracks or something. Could have been twice as long imho. Also, if you dig that one, check out Bobby Broom's "Modern Man" with Lonnie, Ronnie Cuber and Idris. THAT is a smoking record NOBODY seems to talk about.

...o.k.... Here's one... What do you get when you turn a blonde upside down? ....a brunette with bad breath.

Both. Two great records that go great together.

See that would've been the case had the guy just posted it and left it alone. But no, he comes in two minutes later under yet another alias and posts again and then posts several more times even referring to his other identity as "Chicken Shit". Like I said before... if you want to talk to yourself, fine, but don't do it here. I think it's crap and so I did something about it. well said...

I think Tom's responsibilities at BN would preclude him from going insane and leaving unfounded Mosaic Box clues here.... If word ever got out that we seriously suspected Tom E. as doing such a thing, I think they would brand us all as the fringe nuts/nerds they always suspected we were.

But wasn't that just his other name wasn't it BLP1577, Chicken Shack and another person all the same. Ititially you said it was someone using 3 names.

If the post was a joke, then why hasn't the joker made himself evident? "Hey, it was all a joke guys!" However, I think it was less of a joke and more of a prank. Jokes, even bad ones have a harmless intent. Pranks, on the other hand, show a certain disrespect and malicious behaviour. I consider many on this board "friends." And I just don't dig it when people hurt other people for fun. That's my take on the whole thing. At this point, I will say it's taken on a little bit too much importance. In the end who cares. The other day my car was egged. I was out of town and the eggs baked in 100 degree heat for 2 days. I could hardly get it off with a power sprayer. That was a prank, not a joke. To the person who did it, it was funny. It wasn't so funny to me trying to get that stuff off. And I'm sure it wasn't so funny to those 3 or 4 people calling Mosaic on Monday morning. With that, I'll forget about it and move on....

I guess I'll add a dissenting reply. Initially I really liked emusic. However after the initial joy and staggering amount of downloading I did, I found myself 3 months into it and not really downloading that much. Why? Well, to be honest....if I really like an album that much, I'm gonna buy it as a CD with nice packaging, ect. If I'm not into a certain album, like "Oh, I don't have that...I'll download it." 9 times out of 10 it's going to be an album I'm not going to listen to. I've got a huge jazz CD collection (realatively speaking), and I've got more than enough to keep my ears busy for a long, long time. Emusic was just a download fest of music I rarely listened to. So, I let my subscription expire after my credit card expired...

This was the first Mosaic I ever bought. Had never even heard Larry Young. I knew he played organ, but up until that point absolutely nothing of his Blue Note stuff was available on CD. Boy, what a revelation that was. It's still my all-time favorite Mosaic. That said, with Unity, Something Else, I Want To Hold Your Hand, ect. still readily available...that's really the bulk of the Mosaic. Sure there's some other good stuff. But none of them compare to these sessions imho. You could spend the rest of your life listening to Unity and Into Something and IWTHYH and never miss the rest. So if you don't have the Mosaic, don't be too bummed. Especially with Mothership out soon, that's a lot of Larry's BN available on single CDs.

It's amazing how many organ dates there are these days. I didn't count the reviews, but it seemed like a half dozen at least. Nice to see the organ getting some review space that hefty! Congrats Organissimo!

Well, I posted before B3-er, and I didn't do it. B)

I clicked on my own....it said 9:16 P.M...which is wrong. It's actually 10:16 p.m. my time (central).

O.K....now I'm really confused...

Sure it's "harmless." Only a few people called Mosaic first thing this morning (I wasn't one of them). It's just that the intent of it was a little malicious (going so far as posting it on 2 different threads). People ought to be responsible for what they do. If a member in good standing made a little joke, and it's gone out of control... come out and say so. But to say it's "harmless." Well, I'm sure the people who fell for it and called Mosaic may not feel that way. To chaulk the reaction up as "greed," as some have...well, I'm sure that most of the people who'd like that Young mosaic for the pure listening pleasure. I saw this as the hoax it was from the minute I saw it. So my motivation isn't tied to that. I just feel that a cyber community works best when there is a level playing field.