Hot Ptah

Here is another one:

There are some album covers so unusual that they do not fit into any easily described category. Here is one:

This is a very interesting point to me. Jazz history has often been written as a "succession of progressively higher developments" with a Great Man Theory component added. In many published accounts which I read in the 1970s,when I was learning about jazz, the Swing Era giants gave way to the innovations of Bird and Diz, then Ornette and Coltrane took over....then, disappointment--who is the next Great Man, where is the next huge stylistic leap? Oh no! there are none, so "jazz is dead." I have always thought that such an approach was too simplistic and reflected lazy thinking by the critics who wrote that way. Gioia describes the limitations of that approach very well in the quotation you have presented, Bev. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I had lens implants for cataracts, followed by laser surgery and CK procedures. I was nearly legally blind beforehand, with severe astigmatism. Now I am 20/20, with no astigmatism. It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Yeah, some of the small group work in this set is not all that much different than say, Dave Holland's "Conference of the Birds". The small ensemble albums in this set are not too different from most avant garde small ensemble albums. It's not like Braxton is an alien from another galaxy. He has a distinct style and sound, but if you like the most commonly known small group avant garde albums, you will probably like this set.

Chuck Nessa, This seems to be as good as place to ask about this as any. Lester Bowie used smears, growls and half valve effects in his playing. Was this based on his familiarity with Bubber Miley, Rex Stewart and other earlier trumpet players who featured those effects, or was it something that Lester just came up with on his own, as part of his own personality and ideas?

Thanks for those posts. I will now seek out all of the Mandrill albums. Their first album was not difficult to find on CD as a reissue. Their first album strikes me as a lively, soulful, ambitious album. Delightful is the word I would use to describe it. I hear elements derived from earliest Chicago and earliest Santana, but with a lot more soul and better jazz chops. But the album has a unique feeling, which makes earliest Chicago and earliest Santana both sound ponderous by comparison. Great story, Chris!

Somehow the band Mandrill completely escaped me during the 1970s. I just heard their first album and like it. Does anyone else have any thoughts about Mandrill, and any recommendations for other worthy Mandrill albums? Is there a compilation which captures all or most of their best recorded moments?

He recorded some excellent albums! My personal favorite is: I think of it as Abdullah Ibrahim meets 1970s McCoy Tyner, done in a unique personal style.

I remember that this film made an impression on me, that the good guys could be wild drunkards. Seeing it years later, I think it is a very funny film.

I think I'll take a chance that we will survive, and not call off the county wastewater department installing the free sump pumps in my basement this week. It's a close call, but I think I'll let the sump pumps go forward.

"The Fire THIS Time" has their rousing Jimmy Lunceford song, which was a great highlight in concert.

Frank House Frank Church Johnny Temple