ep1str0phy

Ghosts.

Especially as an arranger/orchestrator/composer; however fine Julius's "solo" all-sax albums were, it was a total joy to hear the WSQ cut those charts.

I put in a review of Political Blues on AAJ a while back--generally positive. The horns are still terrific, and the political content is incendiary, but the thrill of the "new" wore off a while ago. It isn't an innovative record, but it's sincere, but I don't feel as if the WSQ is out to really reinvent the wheel every time, anyhow (PB often feels like a straight soul-jazz/free/funk amalgam--you've heard it before--although the band of Downtowners and Prime Time alumni is awesome). They're still crafting fine music.

Andrew looks pretty vicious on the One for One cover...

The one Nate mentions is as beautiful a record as anything the WSQ ever recorded (let alone the whole body of sax-harmony groups), but Jim's right that everything gets sort of inconsistent. Bright spots all over the place, but some phone-ins, too.

Don't forget Brotzmann and Ronald Shannon Jackson (which certainly popped up over the course of Last Exit's existence). It seems to force Brotz into a somewhat less liquid, "groovy" bag, but it certainly worked within the context of LE.

I was a fan (casual fan, but enough to enjoy). RIP.

From a Chicago Tribune article: "The dried flower is a dogwood bloom," Waggener explained in an e-mail. "It is said that the cross Jesus was crucified on was made of a dogwood tree. The legend goes that after the crucifixion, dogwood trees would no longer grow strong enough to crucify a person on. Dogwood blooms thereafter grew stained with blood in the center and with holes punched into the ends of their petals to symbolize the nail holes in the cross." The flower, like the box's title, underscores the deeply spiritual nature of Ayler's music. The box is "deep" like Ayler. Get a little bit in, and you're solid gone. I spent a whole week hearing nothing but...

Have fun--it's a great one.

Condolences to Late, and hell yes for Kenny Cox.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure this thing is OOP (but still 'locatable' here and there).

It's a wonderful date--potent, but not overpowering. I often get a vibe of "soft play" from this one--which isn't to say that it's soft, let alone quite music. It's just--especially with this personnel--the album doesn't strive for anything too bombastic or inflated. What we're left with is one of the finer in/out dates of the era. Charles Davis, in particular, smokes (not to take anything away from his mates--this is just some of my favorite bari).

OR...

Kenny Clarke Kenny Dorham Kenneth Terroade

I dunno. Rolf and Joachim have always managed to get away with (if not from) lackluster rhythm men. Can't speak for this session, but most of their albums (that I've heard) have been extremely directed.

Banyana and Good News From Africa are awesome. Ibrahim is always at his best with hefty bassists...

I don't think it's a matter of 'right' or 'wrong' per se. I think the zealousness of listenership is sort of a non-issue, anyway--personally, I love Bird when I hear him, but it can be like staring the sun in the face (short bursts... maybe I can't hear Bird 24/7, that is). I'm of the mind that tastes do differ, but I'd prefer to speak along the lines of appreciation. I won't speak for others, but I would doubt the cred of any 'in deep' jazz man on the street who couldn't look past the scratches, blips, and audio din of a Bird recording.

Being a late-20th century youth and most assuredly a child of your so-called "avant" stuff far, far more than anything else, I've probably seen both angles--the dabbler thing and the in deep thing. I can't count how many times I've forced my ass down to the record shop to buy something I knew was beyond my (then-present?) means or interests--The Hot Fives/Sevens, the Blanton/Webster Ellington, some Bird--perhaps out of some stubborn desire to force-expand my horizons. And I can say this much--Coltrane, Ornette, Ayler, Dolphy, and Rahsaan are and always will be my gospel, but Bird scares the shit out of me. I may have developed some sort of appreciation for Messrs. Armstrong, Ellington (etc.)--and I sure as hell enjoy the music on the bluntest of levels--but Parker has the capacity to incite visceral reaction from the listener. And as I've slogged through the different roles--casual listener, connoisseur, scholar, disciple, musician--the music has reached me in different ways. For people who know more than a piece about what jazz is about, I (emotionally) can't understand the disconnect with Bird. This hews more toward what JS was talking about--the strong dualism among the listening community (again, dabblers and the in deep). In short, if you can't listen to it, there are probably a whirlwind of reasons, but if you can't feel it, there's something missing there. I think it is a hard line.

Fair enough. If the demand isn't there, then there isn't a point (and I guess it's worth holding out for that one kid who will go nuts after hearing Dogon for the first time...).

Well, the real issue is that there's an Mbari issue of Dogon A.D. sitting around one of the organizations at the local university--from what I can gather, no one is listening to it, let alone any of the other records in the listening room. Despite the off chance that someone in the jazz org. suddenly "discovers" Hemphill from the stack of similar records just collecting dust on the shelf--and this seems like a fairly conservative organization, no doubt--it may be more practical for both the org. and the record community that some of these items get out on the market--where people can appreciate them, and earnings might be made that could update the university "listening station". I just thought of this a few hours ago, so there's a strong possibility that no one will go for it (I'm on the out in the org., anyhow--graduation + desire for more adventurous pursuits has driven me elsewhere). It's a thought, though (and no one seems to have a better idea).

We all know the music is priceless. I'm asking this for a friend (it's an accounting thing)--how much would an Mbari issue of Dogon A.D. run you for these days?

Some contemporary material: -Anthony Braxton w/the Creative Jazz Orchestra: Composition No. 175/Composition No. 126 -Dudek/Niebergall/Vesala: Open -Bailey/Lewis/Zorn: Yankees -Frank Wright: Unity ...listening to the Braxton right now, and it's pretty dense. Fascinating, but packed.

RIP.

I think the copies that are circulating (of the Redman date) list it as a rejected BN session, but the discography authorities have said (I'm pretty sure) that that's apocryphal. Good stuff, regardless.

Clifford--how would you "rate" the Dixonia book (not in any quantifiable sense, but rather--what do you think of it?). I'd get it on the merits of my enthusiasm for Dixon alone, but it's a hefty price tag and I just shelled out for Holy Ghost a few weeks back...