John L

Those are some classic albums with the possible exception of A Blowing Session. For Johnny Griffin, I would have been more inclined to choose his first album (Introducing Johnny Griffin). Of course, we can think of many other classics, beginning with Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Herbie Nichols, Sonny Clark, Sonny Rollins, etc.

Very sad news. Gaslini was a living musical giant. RIP

Thank God for both Max Roach and Art Blakey. They both led some of the greatest jazz bands. Their approaches and bands were very different. So the question here is very hard to answer.

A number of excellent newer releases have been on Dark Tree Records. I have been particularly enjoying "Robert Miranda's Home Ensemble: Live at Bing Theater." It features not only Horace Tapscott but John Carter & Bobby Bradford.

ditto. D)

It seems to be working now.

Great to have you back, Larry, and congratulations on the good news.

Thanks.

Jack McVea had a trumpet player in 1946-1947 named (it would seem) Joe "Red" Kelly. Discographies seem to list this name alternatively as John "Red" Kelly and Joe "Red" Kelly. The new Mosaic Black & White Set lists the trumpet player on the "Open the Door Richard" session as "John "Red" Kelly" but then lists the trumpet player on the immediate follow-up session for Black & White as "Joe Kelly." Presumably, this is the same person? It sounds like the same guy in both sessions to me. He gets off a really nice solo on Bulgin' Eyes from the Open the Door Richard session despite flubbing a few notes.

Maybe the subtext here should be "modern jazz for butt shaking." Before WWII, a lot of jazz was for butt shaking. But most modern jazz is not. Sometimes it might be good for toe tapping, finger snapping, head nodding, even shoulder wiggling, but rarely for full blown butt shaking. Some of the tracks mentioned here are good exceptions. Herbie Hancock's Chameleon is a classic in that regard. Deodado's Super Strut was another dance floor burner. I was living a lot in Ethiopia in recent years. Most Ethiopian Jazz is aimed directly at the dance floor, and still today. Then there is Latin Jazz...

Your grandfather was a truly great trumpet player.

It is interesting that she works at a federal agency but cannot get any vacation time. Usually, the government is pretty good about that. It sounds like she could really use a bit of time off from work right now to both relax and work on getting herself together. Perhaps it could even qualify as sick leave. Is that impossible?

I am also listening my way though this fascinating set. While the high quality of much of this rather obscure music is striking, I worry that this will still be a set that I will still rarely pull off the shelf after I finish a single listen. I am therefore planning to put some of the best material into playlists so that it won't be forgotten.

I really like Gato's work in the 70s, including the mid-70s Latin America series on Impulse (Chapter 4: Live in New York from 1975 is probably my favorite). For Pharoah, my preferred vintage is late 60s-early 70s. Not that he didn't record a lot of good music after that.

He had one of the really distinctive voices. RIP

Holy Ghost - My interpretation is a bit simpler than yours. Gato went through a number of stylistic periods (evolutions) in his career. I think Jim was just pointing out that some of his earliest work in avant circles, before he went off in his own musical directions, is worthy of exploration in and of itself. I didn't read anything more into it than that. But maybe Jim and CT can clarify.

I am sorry about your continuing health issues, Allen. I wish you all the best. Your post raises a lot of very interesting issues. I think that free jazz has always posed a challenge to the critical establishment due to a scarcity of clear objective metrics to judge its quality. After all, who are they to tell you, Matt Shipp, and Gerald Cleaver that the music is "too free?"

Yea, I also first got into Bebop in the age of the two-fers, although I bought single discs to get Charlie Parker on Dial. Some of the packages that have great sentimental value for me are:

I just got one too. Of course, I am already now on vacation far from my home...

You are not alone.

Some day we will have robots that will be able to play perfect solos on demand. I won't be listening, and that is not just because I won't be around anymore.

It looks like most of it is from national guard transcriptions from the early 60s. There may not be a definitive indentification.

Thanks!

Sorry to hear this. RIP