Peter Friedman

Happy Birthday to one of the survivors of the jazz life. A marvelous tenor player. Thankfully I had the opportunity to see him play live a few times. They were memorable occasions.

Lightnin' Hopkins has been one of my favorite blues singers/guitar players for about 45 years. Had many of his LPs and now have quite a few CDs by him.

Other than "And All Those Cats", the other CD I have by Sahib Shihab is "Jazz Sahib" in Savoy. It features Sahib, Phil Woods, Benny Golson, and two different rhythm sections.

Just listened to this CD. My copy does not have the alternate takes. Lateef plays on every track. Lee Morgan is on Accident, Darryl's Minor, Be Back Ta-Reckla Wilbur Harden is on Judyful and New Date. It sure does not sound like Morgan on Judyful. The trumpet playing on that track sounds very much style wise like the playing on New Date. The crisp articulation and half valve bits that Morgan plays on Accident,Darryl's Minor, and Be Back Ta-Reckla are absent on Judyful.

Cool Struttin" is definitely a strong favorite of mine. In fact, all of Sonny Clark's albums as leader get very high marks from me. They are essential parts of my collection. They occupy a place of honor on my shelves as do the 13 Horace Silver Blue Note albums recorded between November 1954 and November 1966.

Sad news about Phil Urso. I have heard most of his recorded work. My favorite things with Urso are on Chet Baker & Crew, and Picture Of Heath/Playboys. Saw Phil play live a few years ago in L.A. and unfortunately, he was not (in my view) playing well. It would be nice to see his Savoy sessions reissued. Another of the Grey Boys (a Pres term) has left us.

Had both Art Tayor Prestige recordings originally on LP, and now on CD. Like them both a lot.

Soul Station is a damn fine album. But I like just about everything by Mobley, so it would be awfully difficult to select only one to be my favorite. Workout has been mentioned a number of times in this thread, but not Another Workout which I also like. I have a very warm feelings for Peckin" Time with Lee Morgan and love his playing With Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and with Horace Silver. In fact the Jazz Messengers at Cafe Bohemia sessions with Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins and Blakey continue to thrill me even after hearing them since they were first issued more than 50 years ago.

In my view, the Harold Vick is the cream of the crop among those you listed. Most of the others didn't do much for me.

I have an SACD copy that sounds terrific. I also have it on the Monk Riverside box set.

This thread has been interesting because it shows how one persons view of a tune that should be "retired" is a favorite of the next person. A number of the tunes mentioned are ones I continue to enjoy even though I have heard them played countless times. Here are the ones I would be happy to not hear for quite some time. Misty Satin Doll Caravan Summertime Green Dolphin Street 'Round Midnight Take The A Train

I've got very little Moody, but that piques my attention. What is it? MG MG, This album was originally on a Xanadu LP. I have a CD re-issue titled : James Moody And The Hip Organ Trio - Xanadu/EPM FDC 5176 It has Mickey Tucker(organ, Roland Wilson(Fender Bass), Eddie Gladden(drums) Recorded in NYC, 06/08/1972 It's a very nice session, and one I believe would appeal to you.

I had the good fortune to see Moody many years ago when he was a member of Dizzy Gillespie's Quintet. Have seen him a few times more recently as well. I always dug his tenor playing and thought he was underappreciated. Now that he has become an elder jazz statesmen, he has gained more recognition from jazz listener's.

Along with those already mentioned, here is another nice recording with Patti Bown on piano that I have on CD: Bill Coleman - The Great Parisian Session - Polydor with: Quentin (Butter) Jackson, Budd Johnson, Les Spann, Buddy Catlett, and Joe Harris. This was recorded in Paris in January 1960. Other than the leader Bill Coleman, the other musicians were all members of the Quincy Jones Band along with Bown.

Eric Nisenson made the comment that Mobley's playing had a negative impact on Miles playing on the "Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk" recordings. Though there are different opinions on this issue, It has long been my view that Miles (and Wynton Kelly) played wonderfully on the Blackhawk sessions.

I always listen to new acquisitions 2 or 3 times before filing them on the shelf. Other than new items, my listening is based on what I am in the mood to hear at a given time. Though, I do try every so often to pull off the shelf and play recordings I haven't heard in a long time.

After reading this thread with all the raves about this session I decided to revisit it. Hadn't heard it in quite some time. Have to admit, I don't see what merits such highly positive comments. I hear a stiffness and somewhat dull sounding session. I would rate this one way down on the list of Grant Green recordings. The dates with Sonny Clark are right up at the top for my taste along with Grantstand, Idle Moments, and at least 6 or 7 others I would choose over Feelin" The Spirit. Just demonstrates that we all hear things differently.

A couple of other versions of Moten Swing that I like: Basie Jam, #3 - Pablo with Clark Terry, Al Grey, Benny Carter, Lockjaw, Basie, John Heard, Louis Bellson Newport Festival All Stars (1984) - Concord Jazz

Though I don't share Larry's views on Scott Hamilton, I find his comments and analysis highly interesting. He has not personally attacked Scott, but rather shared his judgement in a well argued manner. However, I don't find his arguments to be convincing. There are countless musicians praised frequently on Organissimo who would likely fail the kind of comparison test that Larry made when referring to Ammons, Foster, and Wess. As I believe Jim said in an earlier post, the musicians one plays with and the spirit of the times in which one is playing can be highly critical. I have heard Scott Hamilton live numerous times . It has been rare that his playing was, to my ears, less than delightful. There are not many tenor players around these days who play in that "mainstream" style. Most others I have heard playing "mainstream" tenor today are less interesting to me. What I hear from Scott is a sense of getting further inside the music he is playing as compared to his earlier recordings. Hamilton's playing has become more natural and relaxed over the years. One definite exception would be the relatively recent playing of Frank Wess. I have found the tenor playing of Wess to be much more enjoyable in the last (roughly) 15 or 20 years than it was in the 1950's or 60's. Perhaps part of the reason is that in the 1950's and 60's there were so many excellent tenor players on the scene, but I also believe that Wess has also gained far more depth in his playing over the years. Among those jazz tenor players currently on the scene, Scott Hamilton is among that fairly limited group of players that I would consider to be one of my favorites.

Allen, Would you please indicate the title, label, and availability of the Percy france CD to which you referred. Thanks,

Though Ruby no doubt was fond of SH's playing, did he think he was better than Sam Margolis? Also, frequency of appearances together on record is not necessarily proof of what you seem to think it proves. Witness, Al Cohn and Osie Johnson, Milt Jackson and John Lewis, or Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Larry, What label did Franklin and Eleanor record for? :<) Would you clarify the Al Cohn - Osie Johnson issue? That's one with which I am unfamiliar. While recording together does not always prove a lot, when a leader selects sidemen to travel with and to record with, in the large majority of cases, it does prove a great deal about what the leader likes.

Ruby Braff clearly dig Scott Hamilton's playing as he recorded with him numerous times on Concord, Zephyr, Phontastic, and probably some other labels I am forgetting.

The Kicker and Stick Up are my two favorites.

Getz has made so many many albums that I like a great deal, it is an impossible task to select just one or two favorites. I decided to say a few words about the Getz albums based upon the pianist in his group. Stan made 8 albums with Kenny Barron on piano. I find Barron to be the ideal partner for Getz and like all 8 albums they did together very much. Lou Levy also was a fine match for Stan, and all the things they recorded together are also among my favorites. John Williams also recorded a number of times with Stan and all those albums are things I would not want to be without. Finally, the Getz sessions with Al Haig, with Jan Johansnsson, and with Jimmy Rowles also deserve special attention.

A point that strikes me as coming through in much of this discussion is that the listeners who enjoy the playing of Scott Hamilton, and others in the so-called Concord Jazz realm, tend to not listen to those who play in very different styles. While I suppose that may be true for some, there are a significant number of serious jazz listeners for whom it is very common to listen to James P. Johnson,Coleman Hawkins, Bird, Johnny Griffin, Lee Morgan, Scott Hamilton, Junior Mance, Ruby Braff, Jackie Mclean and Howard Alden (to pick just some examples) all in the same day. Personally, I like Scott Hamilton's playing very much, and also listen to just about all the other musicians referred to in this thread. Someone earlier stated that Scott's playing had significantly matured over the years. That is a view that I hold.