ep1str0phy

That's old school--exciting as hell. Why can't I be in Europe!!??

I'd just think that either some things have changed or some music biz cat has some ju-ju. It's a surprise pairing, no doubt.

George Russell Sextet: At Beethoven Hall -I purchased this one mainly on the promise of hearing Don Cherry in this sort of context, although I'm doubly a Russell fan. It's probably one of Russell's finer boppish sessions, and the whole group smokes.

Say what? So is this a full-on communion between two masters or a promoter's gig? And--whatever the case--isn't Cecil the one who didn't want to play ball? How did that change?

The bass player in that pic looks like a young William Parker.

Yeah! Barre Phillips really smokes on that one.

If by "two periods" you mean early Prime Time and Sound Grammar, then there are lots... but if your interest in this period is based mainly on your enthusiasm for the most recent album, then prepare to be jarred. From the late 70's up to the mid-90's or so, Ornette on record pretty much was Prime Time. To qualify (with the most readily availabe exceptions): the quartet with Cherry, Higgins, and Haden re-teamed for one half of the double-LP In All Languages (which also features a pretty stirring Prime Time set); for my money, though, it's a few notches below Sound Grammar and the 60's/70's acoustic material (all the sides are really short, so there's virtually no stretching). The Three Women/Hidden Man albums featuring Geri Allen, Charnett Moffett, and Denardo anticipate the present two-bass group, but the inclusion of a piano here is special (and, I think, successful)--it's the same sort of rhythmically open (and metrically obscure), polyphonic approach that we've heard from Ornette in recent years. The duet with Jochaim Kuhn is notable as both an Ornette + piano album and as a full-length duet record, and it's every bit as successful as anything he's put together in recent decades. If you were in any way put off by Dancing In Your Head-vintage Coleman, then the other Prime Time sides will probably turn you off. A better "sampling" of Prime Time might be found on Body Meta or the much more accessible (but hard to find) In All Languages, but the formula of the band remains essentially the same--with certain abstract and commerical permutations, in varying degres--for years. I actually think that Tone Dialing (IIRC) the most recent Prime Time album, might be the best overall album of the bunch. It's a what-you-see-is-what-you-get sort of thing, but the rewards are ample if you want to look in that direction.

He puts in some fine, fine playing with Johnny Dyani, especially opposite Dudu Pukwana on "Witchdoctor's Son". Now that is some joyful noise. To add to the former comments--the Roswell Rudd America album (which is essentially a NYAQ album, anyway)--is good, as is the drummerless music on Real Tchicai.

I think I might've seen Harper and Tolliver do a version of "Right Now" in concert a while back--killed it. I'm looking forward to this very classic band laying this stuff down, even if the cover is a little odd. It's just nice to see the faces from the old Strata-East crew on another big band record...

That will always be some sad, scary shit.

Out of touch with civilization for a few weeks, and I couldn't not leave my regards. This one really hurts--but the baaaaadness lives on. RIP

I have a feeling that you're going to love it here.

Ah--just did a quick check, and although the actual CD's seem pretty difficult to track down, the music is available in "places".

Yeah, they have (been reissued on CD). I haven't heard any of it, but it sounds interesting.

I was just flipping through the Jost "Free Jazz" book (having spent far too much time with said materials writing theses and whatnot), and the word "flowing" is used (as well as some terminology that would just as well describe syncopation in general--i.e., the displacement of accents, etc.). Motion or momentum, again, is what I hear often. But then, that's the academic side of things... There's a strong duality between the "spiritual" nature of swing and any sort of theoretical definition, and it's interesting to see what you'll "reach for" first when the question is posed. Like Free For All mentioned Beethoven--I'd say the same about Derek Bailey!

If a friend is convinced that Irene Aebi ruins Lacy's music, I play Vespers on Soul Note - it causes open-eared listeners to reconsider their criticism. charles She's brilliant on Vespers--that album may be one of the more fully integrated examples of jazz/free improv and vocalized poetry. On a related note: having just picked up a copy of Scratching the Seventies, I'm extremely impressed by Lacy's use of multitracking (Aebi on "Dreams" is just powerful, dominating stuff).

Here here, brownie. RIP

Just out of curiosity--when/where did you do the Norman Howard thing?

Didn't Phil Woods brutally pan everything? Braxton has always been among the more polarizing creative music figures, although it says something about the state of the scene that For Alto earned as many accolades as it did. Perhaps it's taken a couple of generations and a wave of reactionaries to bring us to some understanding regarding just how revolutionary that record was and is. On another level, it may be difficult to judge the impact of actual albums (versus the artists themselves) when the distribution of some very important works may have been poor to virtually nonexistent. The digital age and the easy travel of information has truly changed the game for the canonical discourse in this music.

Ezz-thetics is an interesting and extremely welcome choice there...

Although we'll be trailing off topic, the Braxton Aristas are excellent... I do get the sense that both the "leftishization" of the jazz review mags and the increasing visibility of the AACM members may have dulled some of the "WTF!?"-level impact of the recordings. The Downbeat review of For Alto, again, was extremely positive, IIRC... in retrospect, we can appreciate the importance/sheer explosiveness, but I'm not sure how many people really understood what was going down back then.

HA! So right man, so right. Reminds me of that Ornette Coleman Town Hall debacle... it was advertised as [free jazz concert]. Long story short, it was supposed to be read "Free Jazz" Concert. Everyone read "Free" Jazz Concert.

Maybe a little "avant" in spots, but John Surman's excellent Tales of the Algonquin might fit.