John L

Great list, Ed! I second Ed's list, and the opinion that this material is much more essential than the Ayler Box. Get the discs on Ed's list first (although you might want to wait temporarily on the Copenhagen disc since it is on the Box). If you hunger for more at that point, go for the Box. Witches and Devils and My Name is Albert Ayler are also worth seeking out.

I just listened to this concert for the first time since 12/31/76. Sounds great to me, even better than I remembered it through the heavy fog of champagne and reefer. So you Pigpen addicts are just going to have to put up or shut up.

Notice the length on the Complete Perishing disc: 6:34 !

The Perishing Hotel 1950 is INCREDIBLE (IMO) I keep coming back to that one. The complete tracks from the last set have circulated for some time on Savoy (with terrible overdubs and repeats to make it longer) and on the "Bird in Chicago" LP. But some of what Bird played during the earlier sets (released by the first time as far as I know) is unbelievable. On the subject of the Sweden recordings from 1950, I think that they are highly worthwhile. The version of Bird in Paradise from Sweden needs to be heard by all.

Could it not be that Ayler himself was getting bored with what he was doing? I belong to what must be a small minority of jazz fans who like much of the more commercial stuff that Ayler did for Impulse better than what he was doing before that with the Quintet with his brother and Michel Samson. I have a lot of trouble listening through all the live Cleveland qunitet stuff on the Holy Ghost box. I could imagine Ayler getting bored of that night after night. The Impulse stuff is uneven, but I really enjoy hearing Ayler in some of the different contexts provided by Impulse (the four bar blues of Drudgery, for example). Of course, the trio recordings and the quartet with Cherry are in a class of their own.

Yea, I have never considered West Coast contradictory to crazy ass Euro style free improv. I think that one of the most interesting points that Ted Gioia makes in his West Coast Jazz book is that the West Coast scene was first and foremost about experimentation and taking chances. They didn't all pay off. But Guiffre is a prime example of someone who always seemed to be looking for something else, and having the guts to do something about it.

I assume that it must be this stuff, which I have never heard SAXOPHONE SPECIAL: Steve Lacy 1/ Staples (Lacy) 9:40 2/ Dreams (Lacy) 11:20 3/ Swishes (Lacy) 5:45 4/ Sops (Lacy, Parker, Potts, Watts) 7:10 5/ Snaps (Lacy) 9:20 Recorded at Wigmore Hall, London (UK) on December 19, 1974 Steve Lacy: soprano, gramophon on (2); Trevor Watts: alto, soprano on (4); Evan Parker: tenor, baritone saxophone on (3), soprano on (5); Steve Potts: alto, soprano on (4); Derek Bailey (all but (4)): guitar; Michel Waisvisz (all but (4)): electronics. 1976 - Emanem (USA), 3310 (LP)

Thanks for the clarification, Allen.

It must have been something to attend 2-14-70! As I am just now getting familiar with the huge archive of Dead shows, it is too difficult for me to choose a favorite at this point in time. When I found the archive, the first show that I looked for was 10/21/78 Winterland. Of all the shows that I attended, I found that one to be the most inspired and powerful. Listening to it now again for the first time since the live show confirms my feeling that it was a magical evening. Of course, all the Dead shows that I attended fall into the 3-year period of 1976-1978. I did see Jerry with his band a number of times after that. (Actually, growing up in the Bay Area, I am fairly sure that I did see the Dead once in either 67 or 68. But since I can't even remember the venue, let alone the concert, I don't count that.)

Yea, I don't think too many people have stopped listening to Miles because of all the terrrible things that he said about Dolphy and Ornette's music. People are welcome to their own opinions. The comments here about Hemphill and the WSQ are interesting. I guess that not too many people share Martin Williams' opinion any more about the WSQ being THE most imprortant jazz band of their time. I didn't realize that Hemphill was forced out by the other three. On the other hand, it did seem like Hemphill was becoming increasingly assertive as the de facto leader of the WSQ, and I guess the desire for a more democratic unit was understandable. Personally, I side with those here whose primary interest in the WSQ is Hemphill. I have all of the WSQ discs with Hemphill and none of the others.

So did I, although it wasn't so brief and I never got to meet her. (Talk about a classy woman!)

This was, uh, shared, a while back on dimeadozen.org. Should check it out. I would, but I'm not so sure about the relative ethical economics. I am surprised that they are releasing the Navy recordings before these airshots. This music is actually quite good, and in fairly good sound.

My favorite Lockwood might be his work with Sonny Boy Williamson on Chess. Robert Jr. was a big reason why those recordings are so classic.

Understood.

He was the last stong link to a great musical age past and gone. He was also a hell of a guitar player, somebody of jazz as well as blues interest. He managed to use jazz embellishments in a low down blues context without sacrificing any of the low down spirit of the music. RIP

...Mingus, Mingus, Mingus

...Mingus, Mingus, Mingus

Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus

Interesting thoughts, Jim. I have long been obsessive about trying to absorb all that I can about jazz, its roots, its development, etc. But I have considered myself to be abnormal in that respect. I have come to realize that a lot of people who enjoy jazz quite a bit just don't care all that much about coming to grips with the entire music and its history. These people don't necessarily listen to jazz only as light entertainment either. They might feel a deep personal connection with Miles or Coltrane, for example, but not really care about their links to Bird. I am not sure if that is necessarily "wrong." We all have limited time to absorb information, and there is a lot of revelant information outside of jazz. These people may have a limited understanding of jazz, but still enjoy it quite a bit. Despite my efforts to understand jazz, my understanding of much of it will never be as deep as yours. I don't play jazz. I will never attempt to transcribe and analyze Bird solos the way that you have done. Yet I still get tremendous pleasure and satisfaction from the music. So go figure.

While a number of people are recommending the Savoy and Dial master takes, and with good reason, you might want to consider the complete sets with the alternates 1) Alternate takes of Bird are every bit as essential as the masters. The solos are always quite different, and some of the best ones are on alternates. Hearing Bird take completely different approaches to solos on successive takes of the same number is astonishing. As often as not, the master is arguably not the best take. They were often all so good that masters could almost be chosen at random. In fact, some alternatives were released on 78s as separate tracks with different names, and for good reason. 2) There exist complete Savoy and Dial collections at bargain prices. 3) You will probably eventually want it all anyway.

Based on your enthusiasm, I gave this a listen over the weekend. Pretty spectacular, indeed! I had never heard a Brent show quite like this one. Looks like I am going to have to give post-78 a bit more attention. As much as I admire the post '73 years as having moments of excellent playing, I, too, could never get behind Brent. Like Dan, I was at that show; but unlike Dan, I was highly disappointed. Go to Heaven had just been released (if memory serves me well); I didn't like it all that much--except Althea. Mind you, I hadn't seen the band in seven years to boot. I went out of curiosity and because the fabulous Fox Theater is such a great venue--a restored histrorical theater--gorgeous. I think it holds only a few thousand people. Anyway, I had heard about the acoustic sets and hoped they would do one here. No such luck. They opened with Feel Like a Stranger--uggh. Disco Dead. I couldn't get into it. Still, the other 4,999 people did, so it must have been me! That was my last Dead show. I wish I could have enjoyed it more. Dan--was that you in the pit twirling? Okay: confession. I downloaded the tape a few years ago (I like to have the shows I went to), and it does have some fine moments. Yes, that SB---FOTM is great. In addition to SB - FOTM, I thought that some of the Jerry Garcia ballads came off very well that evening: Bird Song, Ship of Fools, It Must Have Been the Roses. For me, virtually every Dead show has its share of dead moments. Feel Like a Stranger comes off no worse with me than most of the Bob Weir Tex Mex/Cowboy numbers that were played to death since 69. And Bob Weir's R&B numbers can really make me long for Pigpen.

3/31/51 smokes! Jim S.'s comments about "information" versus "entertainment" are interesting. I find that the two are often very related. Some music requires getting to know before it gives high entertainment value. That includes music in very sub-standard sound. I often find that, once I get to know a great live broadcast in "challenging" sound, my brain starts to restore it to Hi Fi. I program myself to hear what is there, and not what shouldn't be there.

Based on your enthusiasm, I gave this a listen over the weekend. Pretty spectacular, indeed! I had never heard a Brent show quite like this one. Looks like I am going to have to give post-78 a bit more attention.