John L

You're getting the 9:14 version of "Get Up Off of That Thing" here. So what else could you possibly need?????? Maybe the devasting 12:00 remake of Sex Machine: When I ride, I want to glide, I need to ease my glide, I need cushions in my ride, I need cushions in my ride Now THERE is some deep existentialist shit.

Bird's quartets with Hank Jones or Al Haig and Max Roach were recorded in 1952 and 1953. If that doesn't satisfy the definition of "hard bop," then why?

Can we assign your essay in Philosophy 280B (Existentialism)?

I wonder if Dorn is aware that RTE France already released this (previously unreleased) part of the Olympia concert on CD a few years ago.

Nice post, Jim. I am sure that "There it is" has never received a more detailed examination. Your text reads the way that Greil Marcus would probably write if he were able to write in a coherent and understandable manner. I will never listen to "There it is" the same way again. Despite all of the recognition, I still contend that James Brown is underrated and underappreciated. He changed American music in the 20th century as much as anyone. Even his band members underestimated his role in the mix. When his illustrious bands quit him in the 60s and 70s, Brown responded by putting together a group of relative unknowns who, within a couple years time, were playing the best funk on the planet. There was only one common denominator and that was James. Good God!

If I was off, then sorry. I just remembered that the discussion on that thread at one time moved into an assessment of the place of "tightness of horns" in jazz. TOP was held up as the example of tightness, and you were using the example of Dr. Jeckle as "insufficient tightness," (if I recall correctly).

I like Parker and Drake very much together. They have found a means of bringing together swing, funk, and Afro-Cuban rhythms in a manner that sounds both completely contemporary and compelling. As for their place in jazz history, time will tell. But I am going to keep grabbing their releases and attending their concerts.

As we have learned, Sonny Criss was terminally ill and apparently in pain at the time that he took his life.

Good record!

"Band of the people" is right. I grew up in Berkeley and TOP was a integral part of our street community. You could go down to Flint's BQ on a given night and see the TOP front line sitting at one of the tables working out some charts with ribs and cornbread. (Sadly, I believe that Flint's shut down very recently.) It is hard for me to think objectively about their music. It was so much a part of my youth. Every song brings back the anguish of young love. Conan should check in here. I remember a thread that he participated in at the old Jazz Central Station BBS some years ago where it was noted that the horn section of TOP was much tighter than Miles, Coltrane, and Adderley in the classic sextet.

I have heard some things by Rob Swift that sound interesting. This is something that I would definitely need to hear before laying down a big head 20. I will only agree to "money for shit" in this case if I am getting "THE shit."

Will they reproduce a color version of that beautiful cover photo on "Oh, Baby?"

that Mulligan set is very tempting. Too bad they couldn't have made that one a budget-priced package as well.

I didn't realize that there exists a video. I will have to track that down.

I agree with virtually all of the above comments. As good as Criss played in the 40s and 50s, I think that he really hit his stride in the 60s and 70s. I like all of the Prestige records very much. I think that Criss already had everything together for "Crossroads" session that he did for Savoy in 1959. Certainly, get Crisscraft. I like "Out of Nowhere" even more. Blues Pour Filtrer is fantastic. And DO NOT neglect the live recording with the George Arvantis trio that was just re-released a few months ago. This is top drawer Criss stretching out for some dazzling extended solos.

Well, there's a fair amount of JATP stuff on the old box, but I think some new things got unearthed afterwards. The Jam Session is definitely on there - BETTER be, you can't have Bird on Verve w/o "Funky Blues"! The MAIN omission, now that I get the thing out and look at it, is the session w/Machito, and that's just wrong. Don't know how THAT happened. John, I got your PM, btw. Thanks! I dug out my lps too to take a gander - I just didn't remember that stuff being on there! Turns out I had the 6 lp set "THE VERVE YEARS". Three twofers. It's an American Verve set with a 1976 copyright on it. The three two-fers were what I had too. I didn't remember that a complete LP set came out.

I really enjoy Mal Waldron's "the Git Go" and "The Seagulls of Kristiansund," which were recording at the Village Vanguard in September, 1986 with Woody Shaw, Charlie Rouse, Reggie Workman, and Ed Blackwell. Waldron and Blackwell burn together like extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic. There is nothing else like it! In the liner notes to "Seagulls," Waldron comments "we did three sets a night and three tunes per set throughout the week - I guess we recorded enough music for six albums. Does anybody know anything about the status of those tapes?

With the BIG horn of King Curtis. Everyone should own this one.

There is a 2-CD Roomful of Blues set on 32jazz that is well worth searching for. One disk features Joe Turner and the other disk has Cleanhead Vinson. Both sessions were quite successful.

I don't even remember there being a complete LP set. When was that released?

I am not really an audiophile, but I couldn't stand the muffled sound on the long-box version. I was used to the LPs, which were far superior. The new reissue of King of the Delta Blues Singers is MUCH more enjoyable than the long box, with sound surpassing the LP version. I hope that they remaster volume 2 of King of the Delta Blues Singers as well. In fact, it is a bit curious that they haven't done it yet.

I join the majority opinion on this one. I bought it when it first came out and absolutely love it! Back before the complete Bird on Verve was released, you could hear stories about Bird's artistic demise during the later period of his life. Looking at pictures of Bird from that time, you could believe it too. The limited number of Verve Bird LPs available often came with a qualifying line to the effect that this happens to be one of the occasions during the Verve years where Bird still played well. Upon purchasing the complete Verve set, I was curious and prepared to listen to the deterioration and decline of a great artist. Imagine my surprise to hear Bird playing at a consistently brilliant level all the way through the box! There are no duds. Some things worked better than others, but Bird had it to the very end and here is the proof. Norman Granz went a bit overboard in trying to prevent Bird from giving "cheap" sessions for the label. He only let Bird record with just his working group once. As a result, however, we have a treasure chest of Bird performing in all sorts of different contexts, with all-star quartets and quintets, with strings, with big bands, with Afro-Cuban bands. The genius always comes through. I don't think that you will be sorry.

You might check out Otis Clay: "Soul Man: Live in Japan" He had a band with him back then called Chicago Fire. They burned up to their name.

AMG says that the 4-disk box set on Good Time Jazz of the complete recordings of Lou Watters and the Yerba Buena Jazz Band is "absolutely essential for all traditional jazz fans and historians." I enjoy listening to Lou Watters every now and again but...