ep1str0phy

Tonya Harding The Hubcap Exchange Cappy Dick Nightwing Darkstar Tempest

Really? It was only an hour long--not long enough, perhaps, to merit the full-on DVD treatment (I'm assuming that the actual performance was truncated). Somewhat inconsistent, again--but the brighter moments were quite fine (and it's nice to see Laswell shepherding the ensemble in real time--really effective). Check it out for the Material parts.

KCET has been airing a Bill Laswell concert (playing in the LA area, for now--don't know how old this is). There's an 'incarnation' of Material therein featuring, among others, Pharoah Sanders, Hamid Drake, and Toshinori Kondo (all playing quite fine, in fact); the group plays some African-inflected, groove-based music in the dub idiom--lots of free inflections, but beat-heavy. Not all of the concert is at this level--there's some hyper-showy stuff by Buckethead toward the end (nothing impressive--just hard and blustery)--but there are some moments of great beauty. Even for those among us with troubled notions of the Laswell legacy, I'd recommend a viewing.

Not one, but two Benninks: both Han and his brother Peter. Both make a fine impression, IMO (although it's hard to go wrong with this ensemble).

I'll look into it (the Howard, anyway)--I'm worried that the Vanguard record may be a poorly put together boot (and hey, cash is cash). Today (more to the topic)--I got a copy of Unlawful Noise: Johnny Dyani on bass, Louis Moholo on drums (early SA/Euro free improv--appropriately intense, in that Brotzmannish vein, but consummately played). Also picked up a copy of the Simmons Complete ESP Disk recordings--nice liner interview, man.

The Howard 'Village Vanguard' disc is available (on CD) on ebay right now. It's a 'buy it now' item (not to pricey, but looks sort of bootlegish). Any idea where to get a copy of Black Ark?

HELL YES.

Robert Iler Jamie-Lynn DiScala Edie Falco Han Solo Indiana Jones Jack Ryan

Right on the money with the Pearson as A&R guy/producer--and yeah, a phenomenal (and underrated) composer). This is the guy who gave us 'Cristo Redentor' and 'Idle Moments.'

Pearson's small group sessions are good fun, in the least. I like Wahoo quite a bit--it rides on the energy of the ensemble (and--any way you cut it--these guys don't sound tired). Pearson was hardly an innovator--and albums like this one just smack of archetypal Blue Notisms--but there's no denying the potency of his writing and leadership. He was a fine pianist, but it's even more notable that he was capable of wrangling this sort of ensemble into something his own. And the Henderson/Spaulding duo is a favorite of mine.

Now, I would be stoked if someone bothered to reissue Black Ark--it gets tons of talk on the underground circuit (no spin for me, yet--but hey, I'm one of those guys who wasn't disappointed by Alabama Feeling, so the wait'll be worth it). Anyhow, that America Wright/Howard disc is near the top of my list (Bobby Few and Art Taylor play pretty hot, too...). -On the Howard note--wasn't he making the rounds in Europe at the time?

Picked up a copy of Wendell Harrison's A Message from the Tribe (a co-leadership deal with Ranelin)... more or less the same retinue as the other Tribe discs. Some excellent playing here--explicitly post-boppish (somewhat less 'funky' than the Ranelin discs), some soul overtones. The highlight here is Harrison, who tips into Ayler-caliber harmonics on some of the tunes. I'd caution everyone against the Scorpio CD reissue, however--the sound blows (worth it, though).

I'd sure as hell like to hear the whole shebang. That is a top flight group. Question, though--so the concert was cut after 40 or so minutes of 'Alarm,' right? What happened with the other cuts (or did they happen/get recorded on a different occasion/in a different order/at a different time)?

Yesterday: Joe Henderson: Tetragon Paul Bley: Open to Love (don't know why I was holding out...) Art Pepper: The Trip Olatunji: Drums of Passion

I forgot that the reissue's a twofer--anyhow, I think the SA half is the stronger of the two. 'Patterns' could definitely have used a wildcard...

I don't think I've ever heard anyone plug the Collier disc (Above)--but it's some excellent post-boppish stuff. Not quite the kidney of this thread, but definitely one of the more beautiful Brit jazz discs I've heard (again, very Gil Evans).

I think the rhythm section is fine... however, Howard seems to have a difficult time shepherding the music into anything truly galvanizing. It's a somewhat static-sounding, 'free' blowing album that has some excellent subtle spots. At the very least, the SA cats play great--Dyani is, as always impressive. Howard was capable of a lot more, though.

Roy Harper Lowell Davidson Mark Summers

Well, I am not a big fan of Mangelsdorff. But Brötzmann-Mangelsdorff-Bennink-Van Hove Live in Berlin '71 (FMP) is one of my favorite Brötzmann discs. But largely due to Van Hove's playing. I dunno. Get it, of course Did you get the Alarm reissue yet? Gave it one listen - very impressive. And different from other Brötzmann discs I have (30, as of last count... hardly a half of Gary's Brötzmann collection, I guess). Very highly organized music (as is obvious from the tightly notated score below) I got the Alarm reissue. The extended title piece is so tight it's almost glib--programmatic to the point of near-parody, replete with nuclear panic/saxophone barrage and all the associated mayhem. In short, this isn't the sort of transcendental skronk one would expect from a band of this caliber, but still... there's some fine stuff here. Frank Wright--whose available appearances are few and far between nowadays--is the firebreather of old (compared to the Malik CD from a while back, where his improvisations seemed strangely restrained), playing at and sometimes above the level of his peers. I'm particularly pleased to see the Miller/Moholo team on yet another recent reissue--and they smoke like hell (nice to hear that Miller is decently recorded). Also--dig the international band (Euros, an American, a Japanese man, and a couple of SA expatriates). The upside is that everyone plays into the scenario; it's fun, if unextraordinary. And the Wright tune at the end is wonderfully slight (in a good way).

Yeah--saw this one on DG, thought it looked interesting. Don't care how you cut it, that's a pretty tough comp (and I'll be damned if 'Simply Beautiful' isn't my favorite late-nite soul ballad... MO-TION, man. What a great cut.).

Don't know if this has been discussed (lately), but I remember some discussion a while back... looks like the long-awaited Sound Grammar album is dropping soon: Tue, Sep 12, 2006. Hopefully, this is the well-recorded 'new' quartet (two-bass) album we've been yearning for all this time... scroll down this page

I'd completely forgotten that he was on Patterns--looks like a spin is on the horizon...

It's in the same 'family' of Ornette tunes that includes 'Theme from a Symphony' (i.e., 'The Good Life' from Skies of America), 'Dancing in Your Head,' and 'School Work.' It always varies somewhat, but the common thread is that insistent eight-note, diatonic line at the beginning (repeated ad infinitum--Ornette seems pretty loose with it). It's probably his trademark theme.

Skeets McDonald Ronald McDonald Willard Scott Fred Willard Fred Anderson Mississippi Fred McDowell

No doubt--those are some tight, beautiful performances--some of the best work by all involved, IMO (especially Jackson, who comes off strong as hell).