ep1str0phy

Second (third) the enthusiasm on Illumination...

I saw the "Night of the Cookers" sub-group at Yoshis a few months back (Harper + Tolliver + John Hicks--RIP--Dwayne Burno and Roy McCurdy). If the large group is anywhere near that level, than the audience is in for a treat.

Bill Folwell and Lewis Worrell. For a long time (hey, both are bassists, both associated with Albert Ayler--maybe it was just the 'l's).

Complete tangent, but I'd like to know how that (rumored) Revenant box is coming along (hopefully it will have some of the OOP material back in action).

Oh--and why does everyone talk about the first GC album over the second? Though they're both great, I've always felt as if Vol. 2 was the more nuanced document (a violin/trumpet burnout, a ballad, a fast-tempo free blower, a latinish groover...). Is everyone just turned off by "Snowflakes and Sunshine"?

To reiterate and add (a bit), Sam is in a different stratosphere in this one. Which is not to say that he outpaces the band, or that the "other" horn (Miles) sounds outdated by comparison--it's just that this was a group of cats who were willing to move with the flow of outness... and, whereas, Miles could rein them in tight, Sam could take them out loose. I don't find Sam more jarring on this one than on Into Something!, for example, but he's clearly not as much of a 'unity' with Miles as Wayne was. All in all, it makes for some startling stuff.

Edgier, yeah (and, at times, perhaps the darkest that Mingus ever got), but I think that there are moments on the other big band Impulse album that surpass Black Saint for sheer brio, shock, and surprise. Dolphy's solo on "Hora Decubitus", for example, is one of the single wildest things on a modern large group side I've ever heard... makes me wonder what his presence might have done to Black Saint.

Yeah, having Dolphy on the album would have been tremendous (it's terrifically wishy-washy, of course, but--then again--I've never been one of the many diehard fans of this recording). I think I first spun this one back when I was just getting into Mingus, and compared to the rougher, generally looser Atlantic material, I found the Impulse sides somewhat lacking. I still get the sense that this one is a little too rarefied--conceptually dense, of course (that was always one of the 'take it or leave it' parts of the whole Mingus ethos), and not without its moments of dire spontaneity (Mariano is superlative, as previously mentioned), but perhaps a little overwrought, verging on affected. This isn't to say that I don't find the album enjoyable--and technically, at least, it's a masterpiece of modern jazz... points for ambition, and passion, of course--only that it doesn't feel quite so organic and, for that matter, emotionally salient. For whatever it's worth, I'd take "Haitian Fight Song" for the win...

The Trane tribute is indeed fantastic, but--in the way of all-out free blowing--I'm almost as much a fan of his Silkhearts. For bullshitless, hardcore delirium, I'd track down a copy of Repent (which is about as exhausting as it gets, in my book). For whatever it's worth, though, Spirits Before is pretty great stuff--it's got Sirone on it, and the blowing (although more contained than on a lot of Gayle's albums and live perofrmances) is mark (post-Aylerian evangelizing in the finest sense).

Hey, congrats--that's a terrific set. Green, Clark--for that period, on Blue Note, that's what it's all about. I don't know if I'd call it 'typical' BN music, but it's certainly at the very apex of that rougher hard-boppish style. I don't think I pull the set out often enough...

If you're referring to the version with Blakey on skins, then I'm with you. Grant just tears it on that one. Instant favorite is right.

As a fan of GG, I'll second (third? etc.) the enthusiasm for Solid and Matador (interesting to hear Tyner on the latter session--in this less volatile context, the influence of later Trane--dissonances and all--is on full display). I've always been a Street of Dreams fan, myself. Also, the very fact that Clifford has an avatar (however appropriate) is freaking me out.

Wow. That's a gorgeous cover.

Jimmy Stewart Clint Eastwood Franco Nero

I live extremely close to the Berkeley Amoeba and Rasputin, so it's actually cheaper for me--in the long run--to go brick-and-mortar. For imports, I go to the usual online suspects (both corps. like Amazon and E-Bay and the smaller guys, like DMG...).

Yeah--Shepp is a bitch when he cuts into that pianoless burnout bag. He can go a million places, but I've always enjoyed him the most just floating over a great bass/drum duo.

...as far as the Rudd/shorter tracks axis is concerned: I think Mohawk is awesome. Milford Graves is stunning on that one.

Was it that "he sounds like he's rapping a cardboard box" (or something like that) comment? While I love Roach's dark, punchy sound, he's also very on-the-beat--which can get a little draining (there's a sort of "monolith effect" at work).

You're a fan of the Shepp BYG's, then? There's some dross in this period, but it may represent some of the most virtuosic "free" tenor ever waxed... there's certainly some disappointment in that Black Gipsy is (mainly) a soprano feature--sometimes it sounds like a concerto for Leroy Jenkins to me--but I wouldn't say it's any worse (it's more interesting, probably) than a lot Shepp's live Paris dates from the period. At the very least, the band is hot to play. Re: the Braxton discs... that "Donna Lee" never really connected with me, either (especially considering how well some of his other free-ish "standards" dates have fared--especially the ones with Dave Holland).

The Frank Wright is beyond belief (better, maybe, than the bulk of Noah Howard's own work in the same vein, but he's here too and is the writer on the session). Phase One is, indeed, the shizznit. And I'm with B on Black Gipsy--it's actually some of the most galvanizing, powerful music Shepp ever put together (the title track is like a more "unhinged" "Haitian Fight Song")--it gets better and better on every listen. Sleeper hit? I think so.

I just got the Holy Ghost boxed set (would've had it sooner had economic concerns not interfered, but it IS an investment), and I am in love.

Wow--I had no idea bout that. Excellent find--hope to see it someday...

Gesprachsfetzen is a brilliant album. This one certainly deserves its stars. Hampel is a revelation, and it's great to hear Niebergall in this context.

Unlawful Noise never really made it with me, although I love everyone involved and the album never really came across as bad... perhaps I was just hearing too much "first time" Euro free improv at the time, but it felt like a bit of "wash". One thing I can say, though--the brothers Bennink do play wonderfully in this larger ensemble, and it makes me wish for more from Peter. Of course, I've always been impressed by the sheer versatility of all the Blue Notes--Moholo and Dyani are top flight improvisers... makes me wish for some stuff by the hailed, if generally "unheard" Brotzmann/Miller/Moholo trio. Moholo also smokes on Pleasure, which is, IMO, one of the very finest entires in the entire UMS. The transparency of the ensemble really allows the rhythm section to shine through, and their interactions sometimes verge on psychodrama--it's compelling, and very rewarding stuff. Moholo's a groover, no doubt--but he's also among the most receptive, sensitive drummers in more "out" improvisation. What's to say about the later South African improvisers, anyway? I cannot identify too many "name" players among the younger SA improvisers, and far fewer if we take the later Ogun catalogue out of the mix... perhaps there's more to be heard--and lord knows I'd love too--but the press is remarkably sparse.

Ah... a great cover image for a phenomenal album. And that Cool Scene cover is this thread, no doubt.