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CJ Shearn
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Posts posted by CJ Shearn
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Little piece I composed and dedicated to Pharoah Sanders https://www.bandlab.com/post/59d9f88d-f83e-ed11-b495-000d3a3ee153
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Great to hear about the improved sound, the sound of the Mobley (the brief time I had it before, you know by now) and the Henderson sound great, but still passing on this because, I have the Impulses on SACD, two of the Blue Note's on SACD and the Open Sesame Audiowave XRCD. There's other music I could be checking out from living artists and a lot of stuff I'd rather hear before stuff I've already heard a bunch.
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10 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:
Karma is one of those gateway albums that you will sometimes see in a collection where there is not a lot of jazz. Maybe people bought it for the cover art. It is an incredible album. I don't think of it as jazz.
RIP.
Interesting viewpoint. RIP. As a spiritual person, I feel the fact he left just after Trane's bday is PROFOUND. It's funny because Analogue Productions is issuing Karma in their Impulse! series, Chad Kassem doesn't particularly like it and downtalks it as being too out, but people requested it. For me, it's the furthest thing from "out" you can get.
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Great article as I have all those recordings mentioned. Montreux Summit, Blue Montreux ( which I've never heard in its entirety) Blue Note Live at the Roxy, and Blue Note Meets The LA Philharmonic fit the "stadium jazz" category as well
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54 minutes ago, JSngry said:
Happy to get it out there!
And in that spirit...Nicole Mitchell.
Yes! Have you heard Valerie Coleman whom Aysha mentioned?
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Thank you. Will be adding these to my list!
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Enjoy, with yours truly. Not sure what I'm doing with my face. I have to correct
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5 hours ago, Dub Modal said:
I’d rather listen to PnBRock’s entire album output over any Dead live show or album. For real.
Bringing it back to the OP, PnB ain’t bad at all. There’s a good bit of Drake influence on the lyrical structure and delivery but damn, he does it MUCH better than Drake. He was a talented cat, and listening to these tunes now really bring his tragic death into focus. He definitely had an artistic vision albeit way outside this board’s demo including myself.
That's interesting. He does have a bit of Drake influence. I can't say he does it better than Drake cuz he is too studio gangsta to me. Maybe I should listen more.
On 9/17/2022 at 5:13 AM, Rooster_Ties said:Everyone — and I do NOT mean to direct this at any one person — but this statement does include both Allen and CJ…
Everyone (myself included) please try and remember to be kind to each other…
(And that goes for ME too, when I forget to let my ‘better angels’ guide me (which happens all too fucking easily, especially of late, let me tell you)— and I use that phrase ‘better angels’ metaphorically, btw, because I’m basically an atheist, or more accurately, a non-theistic agnostic)
Remember that kindness goes a long way. Whatever negative things or behaviors someone else is exhibiting or actively demonstrating, there’s usually a better side of them to remember that’s still in there.
CJ and Allen, you are BOTH valuable members of this community. I’m sorry that feathers are being ruffled — but also remember that we are all quite limited in this mostly text-based world we ‘live in’ together. Emojis can sometimes help a little, but they’re also prone as fuck to misinterpretation too.
Be kind to each other, and try and assume good intent on the part of one another. Even when it’s not necessary there, just try and assume the other party ISN’T necessarily trying to say something else with a more barbarous intention or interpretation.
Allen, don’t you go anywhere. You’re a super valuable contributor here. I don’t feel like I know you all that well — for whatever reasons, even when we’re in the same threads, we’ve never really discussed things back and forth much (and I haven’t a clue why that is). I’m not in any way suggesting that’s your fault, or has anything specific to do with you. I just don’t feel like I ‘know’ you well enough to be even saying any of this.
And I guess that’s a little true with you too, CJ — but I don’t feel it as strongly because I know you’ve shared a lot with us about yourself. (And you certainly have too, Allen, and I absolutely don’t mean to suggest otherwise).
(And of course, CJ, you’re super valuable too. You and Allen both are.)
No, I don’t know where the fuck I’m going with all this. I woke up at 3:15am, and can’t sleep (life’s really got me down of late).
Anyway, just let’s all try and be kind to each other. And I’m telling myself that too.
Little background, fuck-it…
What’s getting me down (and woke me up) is making it harder for ME to want to be as kind as I can be to others lately. For the last 2 months some ongoing insurance fuck-up has me off some meds I’ve been on for a decade, and now my perception of the world is turning a little more ‘grey’ with every passing week, and I’m feeling like wallpaper paste all the fucking time now, oh joy.
It’s not the end of the world, and I’m sure half of everyone here has something worse (and many, a lot worse) that they’re grappling with, than what I’m going through. But it still sucks, and I hate that I have to remind myself not to be such a huge grump all the time (and I mostly do ok, by over-compensating in how I present myself on the outside, to make up for how I feel inside).
ANYWAY, please be kind to each other.
Again, CJ and Allen, even if I don’t really know both of you (or feel like I know you as well as I could) — we’re all friends here. Even when we’re not, we’re ALL friends deeper down. That may not be true all the time, but it’s more true than not.
PS: I’m briefly quoting both of you, so both of you get reply notifications as a result — so that both of you see and read what I’ve just posted right above this.
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On 9/17/2022 at 4:31 PM, danasgoodstuff said:
As far as I'm concerned, Deadheads and all other cultish fandoms are part of the decline of popular culture precisely because it tends to be so insular. It's a distorting lens through which to view the world. The band itself is fine mostly, and sometimes a fair bit better than just fine, but NOT the be all end all or even anything close. Nobody is, not the Beatles, not Bob, not Miles, not Blue Note to the exclusion of Prestige and everyone else, not nobody.
Right on. Back in my college, my suitemate played the Dead constantly, it was like the guy stepped out of 1969-- wonder how the guy is these days. I should probably be a bit more fair to the Dead, but I once heard a version of "Impressions" from a show and honestly the improvisation really bored me, and Garcia is an excellent guitarist.
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1 hour ago, Rooster_Ties said:
Everyone — and I do NOT mean to direct this at any one person — but this statement does include both Allen and CJ…
Everyone (myself included) please try and remember to be kind to each other…
(And that goes for ME too, when I forget to let my ‘better angels’ guide me (which happens all too fucking easily, especially of late, let me tell you)— and I use that phrase ‘better angels’ metaphorically, btw, because I’m basically an atheist, or more accurately, a non-theistic agnostic)
Remember that kindness goes a long way. Whatever negative things or behaviors someone else is exhibiting or actively demonstrating, there’s usually a better side of them to remember that’s still in there.
CJ and Allen, you are BOTH valuable members of this community. I’m sorry that feathers are being ruffled — but also remember that we are all quite limited in this mostly text-based world we ‘live in’ together. Emojis can sometimes help a little, but they’re also prone as fuck to misinterpretation too.
Be kind to each other, and try and assume good intent on the part of one another. Even when it’s not necessary there, just try and assume the other party ISN’T necessarily trying to say something else with a more barbarous intention or interpretation.
Allen, don’t you go anywhere. You’re a super valuable contributor here. I don’t feel like I know you all that well — for whatever reasons, even when we’re in the same threads, we’ve never really discussed things back and forth much (and I haven’t a clue why that is). I’m not in any way suggesting that’s your fault, or has anything specific to do with you. I just don’t feel like I ‘know’ you well enough to be even saying any of this.
And I guess that’s a little true with you too, CJ — but I don’t feel it as strongly because I know you’ve shared a lot with us about yourself. (And you certainly have too, Allen, and I absolutely don’t mean to suggest otherwise).
(And of course, CJ, you’re super valuable too. You and Allen both are.)
No, I don’t know where the fuck I’m going with all this. I woke up at 3:15am, and can’t sleep (life’s really got me down of late).
Anyway, just let’s all try and be kind to each other. And I’m telling myself that too.
Little background, fuck-it…
What’s getting me down (and woke me up) is making it harder for ME to want to be as kind as I can be to others lately. For the last 2 months some ongoing insurance fuck-up has me off some meds I’ve been on for a decade, and now my perception of the world is turning a little more ‘grey’ with every passing week, and I’m feeling like wallpaper paste all the fucking time now, oh joy.
It’s not the end of the world, and I’m sure half of everyone here has something worse (and many, a lot worse) that they’re grappling with, than what I’m going through. But it still sucks, and I hate that I have to remind myself not to be such a huge grump all the time (and I mostly do ok, by over-compensating in how I present myself on the outside, to make up for how I feel inside).
ANYWAY, please be kind to each other.
Again, CJ and Allen, even if I don’t really know both of you (or feel like I know you as well as I could) — we’re all friends here. Even when we’re not, we’re ALL friends deeper down. That may not be true all the time, but it’s more true than not.
PS: I’m briefly quoting both of you, so both of you get reply notifications as a result — so that both of you see and read what I’ve just posted right above this.
Rooster I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. Insurance fuck ups are never good. Thanks for trying to keep things civil.
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12 hours ago, AllenLowe said:
glad you think it's so funny (that kind of nastiness is one of the reasons I don't spend much time around here any more) but it's absolutely true in terms of timing. Find me another station that was doing AOR in '66 or '67. (and for anyone just reading this that laugh emoji referred to my prior statement)
But truly I find that using the laugh emoji when someone is not actually joking is about the lowest form of commentary.
In other words, fuck you. This kind of casual disrespect is something I don't find anywhere else that I post. I haven't spent 50 years, sacrificing so much of my life and energy to the music biz, or lived through three years of hell, to sit passively by while this kind of crap happens. And I know it's only a few here, but I don't make up shit or take credit for things I have not done.
On 9/15/2022 at 3:40 PM, clifford_thornton said:I think it's pretty awful that someone got shot.
The pop music world is pretty unappealing to me and long has been. Grew up in the dawn of MTV and became quickly familiar with the idea of music as an image to be sold. Realized that that image was unattainable for me and embracing eccentricity and complexity was more my speed. But the mindset that drives pop music will always be there in some form or another -- it's a commodity, plain and simple, and occasionally that intersects with actual musicality.
Also, tastes change -- things that I thought were pap years ago sometimes reveal nuance.
New Jack is pretty terrible but late '80s 'grunge' has a lot of quality music. Not the watered-down versions sold on MTV but the real stuff that was being released on SubPop, Homestead, Amphetamine Reptile, Touch & Go, C/Z, etc., that music is intense.
Allen, you are one strange, bitter, self important dude. Sure you've done historically important work and are a wealth of knowledge but implying you were the person who coined AOR is dumb, it's not funny... it's a huge bit of ego stroking which ultimately means nothing... you've also crapped on a ton of players I enjoy, Joe Henderson and Dexter Gordon among them so I really have no use for that. And what people are you speaking of that take credit here for others' work? Anyway this is on the internet, it's not the real world so these disagreements mean nil. FYI I genuinely was laughing at my phone screen and rolled my eyes reading your AOR story because its fantastic, so absurd. When I was 12 I wrote to Blue Note complaining about certain titles being out of print... it didn't do a damn thing. Likewise I'm sure your letter didn't. You must be related to this joker I knew in college who claimed similarly fantastical shit. This girl isnt mourning the loss of your posts if you call it quits. Bad Mujer out.
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2 hours ago, T.D. said:
Not meaning to be an old curmudgeon or belittle a tragedy, but haven't rappers been getting murdered for decades? Tupac (1996) was the first big case I heard of.
See for instance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_murdered_hip_hop_musicians
"Two studies in the mid-2010s concluded that murder was the cause of 51.5% of hip hop musician deaths. The average age of death is between 25–30 years of age. Hip hop has a higher rate of homicide than any other genre of music, ranging from five to 32 times higher."
True. This, because the art and the street are intrinsically linked. Jazz had this component too but its not like Miles attempted to murder Lee Morgan or Freddie or whatever.
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5 hours ago, AllenLowe said:
not to digress, but I actually invented AOR (Album oriented rock). When I first started listening to WOR, the first progressive rock station, in about 1966 or 1967, they still played only singles. I (either 12 or 13 at the time) wrote a letter suggesting they play all cuts from albums. I never got a response, but about a month later they started doing exactly that. No station had ever done that. I believe they got the idea from me.
6 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:I think it's pretty awful that someone got shot.
The pop music world is pretty unappealing to me and long has been. Grew up in the dawn of MTV and became quickly familiar with the idea of music as an image to be sold. Realized that that image was unattainable for me and embracing eccentricity and complexity was more my speed. But the mindset that drives pop music will always be there in some form or another -- it's a commodity, plain and simple, and occasionally that intersects with actual musicality.
Also, tastes change -- things that I thought were pap years ago sometimes reveal nuance.
New Jack is pretty terrible but late '80s 'grunge' has a lot of quality music. Not the watered-down versions sold on MTV but the real stuff that was being released on SubPop, Homestead, Amphetamine Reptile, Touch & Go, C/Z, etc., that music is intense.
It is awful he got shot... for no reason other than the stuff IG and TikTok peddles as hip hop culture. My former aide exposed me to more hood culture than I was comfortable with and theres a heavy dose of it several blocks from me, not only do I find the constant posturing and constant emphasis on "stuff" as a measure of self worth silly, I view it as a survival mechanism from the outside looking in. I'm glad that world is not a part of mine but if you can straddle the two worlds? Cool.
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The fact the rapper PnBRock's song "Selfish" is no. 1 on Apple Music says a ton about where we are in society. Really tragic the guy was killed yesterday, over something as stupid as his jewelry, but its also what you get with the tomfoolery that this current era of hip hop espouses.
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I'm ALL in!
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1 hour ago, Milestones said:
He's eclectic for sure, and for me that's a huge part of the appeal.
On the other hand, Pat doesn't sound quite as fresh these days. It's not like Side-Eye is such an innovation, and he seems more reliant on playing older music. Nothing wrong with that. Almost all musicians are largely doing that by the time they reach his age (or long before). Metheny is eminently listenable, and one of my misfortunes is that I have never attended one of his concerts.
So the next album will feature all new material?
Yes. That is correct. These days he is more of a mentor to young musicians these days as Gary Burton was to him. I do agree perhaps the playing old music now for many years it may be less interesting. I've seen 2 Side Eye shows and ready for the next thing. I really dig all of his thing and really take the time to listen. Are there things I like more than others? Sure but like Miles and Trane I dig it all. Plus, Pat always has a great show.
7 hours ago, Mark13 said:You mention Metheny''s experience as a player in organ trios and that info was new to me as well when I heard him elaborate on it in some fairly recent interview (with Rick Beato maybe?). Wasn't Charles Kynard the name he mentioned?
Anyways, great review. I saw them in Utrecht last May and they blew me away too..
Metheny provokes controversy in all he does and I often wonder why that is. Certainly, his chops as a player are beyond dispute. The guy can play ANYTHING. But maybe that's part of the problem. You can reach a point where effortlessness becomes suspect. Also I, think his eclecticism doesn't help.Or hasn't over the past forty-or-so years.
To me, he is a fascinating musician.
He didn't mention Kynard specifically there, but yes that's one of the folks he played with. Pat spends hours shedding so I think that's how he can play multiple styles like that. He wakes up early and practices 3-4 hours a day, and on a gig day warms up at least 4 hours.
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Sure! Like I said, you wouldn't think Pat knows the organ thing but he does. When I saw him at the same venue in 2008 with Larry Grenadier and Jack DeJohnette he was really diving into Grant Green isms... totally unexpected. Can a cat like Peter Bernstein do the Grant thing better than Pat? Yes... but Metheny really knows that thing inside and out.
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11 hours ago, JSngry said:
Here's something that could be released:
Zev Feldman told me years ago he'd love to release some of those shows but would be a hard sell. I doubt with his current trajectory we'll see any of that stufff released given Sony also holds the tapes.
On 9/4/2022 at 10:44 PM, Ken Dryden said:I am still puzzled why Milt Jackson recorded the obvious turkey “Feelings” and made it the title cut of a Pablo LP. Most musicians I’ve known despised that inane song.
I was gonna mention that
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4 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said:
I'm not going to try to argue that Natural Illusions isn't the weakest of Hutcherson's Blue Notes, but it's not unlistenable. And most of his '70s work for the label is strong, some of it as good as anything he ever did or anyone else on mallets ever did. Consider this from '75:
Bobby Hutcherson - People Make The World Go Round - YouTube
I think this is every bit as good as the version of this tune Milt did for CTI
Oh yeah, I love Linger Lane. For me, that album is quite underrated, and the fact it was recorded outside gives it a unique vibe. I recently got the Japanese CD version.
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6 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:
I am still puzzled why Milt Jackson recorded the obvious turkey “Feelings” and made it the title cut of a Pablo LP. Most musicians I’ve known despised that inane song.
I was gonna mention that
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Whoever said Sunflower is schmaltzy to them, I understand that comment and I can't really argue it. I will say that, and I love that album, the shit Herbie plays behind Freddie on "For Someone I Love" and Billy Cobham's responses to Herbie are anything but. I watched a recent interview with Cobham where he said it's one of his favorite CTI sessions. Now, Bobby Hutcherson Natural Illusions for me OTOH is an absolute dog and his worst Blue Note by far. It gives Jim's comment weight Blue Note was done by '72. It strikes me as an attempt to be their version of a Sunflower cash in and absolutely inline with musak. If Bobby made an album resembling Satie's definition of furniture music, that's it.
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5 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:
That box is 1944-1949 - the new one is "from the 1950s".
I had that set... burned in the fire like everything else. Magnificent set! All in for the 50's one. Not going for Clark or Hubbard sets.
Miles Davis: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7
in New Releases
Posted · Edited by CJ Shearn
Nope. Not issued because Vince is on it. I know for a fact because in Lenny White's Lenny's Loft Zoom, V has talked about the process of issuing Miles. Vince is an acquaintance of mine, we've talked about all sorts of things on the phone a few times and he's nothing like the way he has been presented in the industry by some folks who had negative experiences with him or folks on the board. Can't disclose more than that here out of respect.