ep1str0phy

Pharoah Sanders? Really?

Miracle of miracles, the East Bay got some copies of Sound Grammar in. It's to early to formulate any cohesive thoughts (first listened last night), but I like what I hear. I may have to listen again, but most--if not all--of these themes have previously been recorded (all but 'Turnaround' and 'Song X' have been renamed--from memory, so someone correct me if I'm wrong). These are fine recastings, and the band dynamic here is as nuanced and fully established as on any of Ornette's recordings since the early Prime Time ensembles, methinks. Beautiful stuff.

Mwandishi does reunite now and again, but it's particularly nice to know this cause (regardless, I still think It'd be interesting to hear them now, especially as their mutual perspectives have changed). How was JP, by the way?

I'm not sure if I'm looking for them to reach their old glory--I just deeply love that lineup and I'd be interested in seeing what sound they'd come up with now (chemistry changes, but it would be nice to hear the new brew).

Or, to put this back on sort of a jazz footing (!), there is Paul Desmond's legendary story about the security guy at the fair where they were about to play. He stopped their car and asked them who they were. "The Dave Brubeck Quartet," they answered. He looked at his paperwork and asked, "How many in the Quartet?" Desmond always intended to use that as the title of his autobiography, but sadly, never got around to writing it. I love that line. Greg M. Security man was obviously a fan of Gospel quartets includinf the "Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama" MG As far back as grade school I can remember a Three Tenors poster with four tenors on it. A lot of bewildered, snot-nosed kids that day.

I think the Penguin guide called it sui generis. While I don't think that the album is beyond reproach or contextualization, it really is one of the strangest, most schizophrenic of Mitchell albums. And I really do love "You Wastin' My Time."

That's about as not unattractive an Enja cover as I have yet to see (IMO, anyway).

Agreed--as a curiosity, at least, it should be/perhaps is a fun outing. Part of what made the Morricone disc so interesting was how Zorn took no singular tack in his approach to the music (let alone follow the master's pattern); that's about as non-repertory (or, maybe, noncommittal) as repertory music gets.

Although I can't compare, the American Demon's Dance is on par with the better RVG's, to my ears (good volume, clear balance, not as many artificats or as much deterioration as some of the other volumes). I didn't know the sound was even an issue.

Am I the only one who likes ...and the Sound and Space Ensembles? On the level of a lot of the Roscoe I've heard; the stranger, perhaps more insipid moments (including the rap and Buckner's acquired taste vocals) are quite fun on repeated listening. There can never be enough sessions with the Mitchell/Ragin/Barefield/Shahid/Tabbal conglomerate (or derivatives thereof, as featured here).

For those who've heard it--I'm hearing a quite a bit of Billy Higgins in Jack DeJohnette's playing on Demon's Dance. He's got just the right bit of 'pop' in the snare.

However old these posts are, this may be my favorite exchange of the past few weeks...

On the artistic merits of this session--if nothing else, it's an impressive integration of the piano into Cherry's generally pianoless BN-era format, and Pharoah is tremendously nuanced for so early an appearance. It's a curiosity in that it's probably not as impressive without the early Cherry sides as focus, but there's something to appreciate here.

James Blood Ulmer Peter Ustinov Lars Ulrich

A lot of larger record shops (e.g., Amoeba) pick up the foreign RVGs. I got a copy of Basra at the Amoeba in SF last spring (CP'd, but not enough of a hassle for me to really care).

I've actually been very wary of that release--may have to look for it again (shows up in shady spots, here and there). That lineup could give you absolutely anything, and 'funk' in the title didn't give me much hope beyond your upteenth Headhunters rehash. I'm still wishing for the will-never-come Mwandishi reunion.

My run-ins with Hal's music have left me deeply pleased, although I don't listen to him often enough. I have, I believe, all the ECMs--wonderful, all, and the solo record is quite beautiful. There's a great deal of pathos about his playing that is nicely complemented in the humor and aggression of his wilder moments. Time for another spin...

Excellent posts what, two years ago? Wasn't even on here then... But I agree with Clifford on the Dixon-Shorter issue. There are some facile similarities (mainly in the way of timbral liberties--especially when Bill had his chops issues--that's no knock, just an observation--but then there are probably some rudimentary commonalities among all trumpet players trading on the liberties of the 60's), but, again, very diverse aesthetics here. Dixon is, one the one hand, more ingrained in a compositional ethos dervied from Western art music as well as rhythmic and group idiosyncrasies that (as stated above) few other so-called 'avant' trumpeters have followed up on. Shorter was something else altogether--to my ears, anyway, a perverse twisting of the hard bop vernacular with a more directly 'anarchic' intent (a total turn on his brother, who went in the opposite direction and got more harmonically complex). It's arguable that their respective trumpet sounds acted in service of these concepts. As far as the 'strain' is concerned--any technical limitations immanent to Cherry's abilities are far, far more pronounced in the 80's, when leadership and multi-instrumentalist duties (among other things, including the obvious difficulty in maintaining brass chops) took their toll. 'Prime' Cherry's tone seems more like the result of accumulated liberties than faulty chops (to me, anyway). Regardless, when he was in the late 60's/early 70's and smoking, it's doubtful whether (tone control notwithstanding) any of the apparent school of early 'avant' trumpeters could diminish him in a harmonically free context--his later Ornette recordings (especially Science Fiction) and classic solo sides certainly reinforce the notion. Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be a greater diversity among the earlier avant trumpeters (in addition to the above, I'm talking Eddie Gale, Dewey Johnson, Bobby Bradford... and later, Earl Cross, Jacques Coursil, Lester Bowie, etc.) than saxists. Just a thought. On the first post--Steve Lacy once said something about Cherry being the more 'free' and unencumbered of the Ornette-DC dyad. It's always been a curious statement to me, and I'd love to hear more 'primary sources' speak up about the differences between Cherry's formative improvisational ethos and that of his former running parter.

Handy owns Ah Um, although I somehow feel as if he came off better on his leader sides (perhaps it is because he is the more conservative voice on many of the Handy group sessions, counterbalancing some of the more 'avant' younger cats). Again, I really, really need to hear this one again (stored in my LA home), but I tend to like many of these originals better elsewhere (mainly because of Dolphy, who provides the main attraction not only on the big band 'Hora Decubitus' but also the Antibes version of 'Wed. Night Prayer Meeting'--Booker is arguably more effective on those sides, too). But--the more obscure tunes on this set knock me out. 'Moanin'' is (I agree) a total classic--and I need to give Pepper his props!

Don Cherry Henry Grimes Ed Blackwell

I'm frankly happy we have so much of Reid available, but I agree... How about more material from frequent running parter Charles Tyler... and for that matter, the legendary, undersung Earl Cross? (ep1, who can't stop proselytizing...)

This is recent Marion Brown, right? I know he's been through a lot of trauma--how does he sound?

I'm not entirely sure that the cast here assembled is of the sort that would (perhaps could) attack Hill's music with the level of harmonic intricacy and exactitude found in Andrew's personal interpretations. Having seen and been taught by a few of these individuals in various contexts, I'm interested in hearing what they would produce, using Hill's material as a springboard. We've had straighter interpretations of Hill's music before, anyway (such as the Braxton albums on CIMP). Regardless, every time I've heard someone approach Hill's music with a more or less repertory faithfulness without the maestro in the driver's seat, I've felt something lacking.