ep1str0phy

Jus wondrin--just how permanent was/is this lineup?

Seriously--I don't hear people say this enough. And good call DMP--hadn't thought of it that way. There's a sort of 'stiffness' to that early studio recording, and I'd love to hear what Herbie, Cedar (etc.) might've been able to do with it (no offense to Barry of course--he's just a stone bopper).

Bill O'Reilly Sean Hannity Rush Limbaugh Sammy Baugh Y. A. Tittle Hey diddle diddle Gato Barbieri Pharoah Sanders Frank Lowe

Man, I would stare at that cover for hours, back in the day. Nice to see so many fans of the Tolliver stuff.

When was the last time Globe Unity was a regular band? Probably before I came into the music...

And so it begins...

I got a mini-LP copy years ago (it's the Universe--a division of 'Comet Records,' apparently). It's wrapped in what the label calls a 'karmapack'--shaped like your average mini-LP sleeve, but hard as rock (this is tough, tough binding--compare this to Ogun, or even those Savoy reissues... much tougher). Nice to see so much enthusiasm, though--this may be my favorite Joe. The Blue Notes have that special, first-time polish, but there's fire and mystery to this one--hard and worldly (nothing 'easy' here--even the ballads sound a little tense). Also--there's a fine version of 'Lazy Afternoon' on this one... I thought Grant Green's version in 5/4 had totally demolished the tune for me, but Joe works some magic. Beautiful stuff.

Tom McCann Buster Brown Willie Shoemaker Tommy Dorsey Buster Williams William Parker

They weren't mediochre boogaloo albums; they were MFin' GREAT boogaloo albums. And YES ! I'm damn sure it's going to be in that vein. Looking forward to it greatly, thanks. MG For those familiar with the material--how do the Mozambique sides stack up? As far as I'm concerned, the Green of this period oscillates between insipid and utterly galvanizing. A big fan of Alive! and a sort-of fan of Lighthouse (some of those compositions--if not performances--leave me cold). But yeah, for what they are, they're the best). Not bad on the cover art, BTW.

A pity so few will have the disposable income for this one--I'd like to hear some comments, too. -Looks like I've been beaten to the punch--nice to hear some people have access to this stuff.

I find Sirone's bass to be fairly well-defined on the reissue, if (still) a little plastic here and there (at times, he's got monumental plucking pressure--makes for a unique, if often rough sound). Inevitably, Jackson swallows up the show here and there (although I'm a huge fan of his work--even in these 'jazzier' idioms... an awesome addition to the Ayler group, for a time).

Sadly, Mike Osborne stopped playing many years ago, on health grounds. A talent that is sadly missed. 'In Cahoots' is the Soft-Machine/Hatfield and the North-ish group led by Phil Miller and Pip Pyle and which often featured Hugh Hopper and the late Elton Dean. Another under-rated group. Real shame about Mike Osborne...had harboured hopes of getting him out for a gig! Wonderful player, who I'm only just getting into. I'll have to check out 'In Cahoots'! Real shame... Osborne's alto was (is) one of the most startling sounds on the Euro/SA scene--a talent on the level of few advanced saxophonists. Anyone hear the trio album with Miller and Moholo (I'm looking into that one, too)?

Excellent album--hope you enjoy it (I think it has its fans on this board).

X-Man X-Phile X-cutioner

What label is it on? It's a CIMP, recorded Jan 2005.

Try listening to Sidewinder full blast in a red 1987 BMW M6 speeding down Laurel Canyon and you will become a convert in about 10 seconds. ...that, or a heap of metal and flesh somewhere off the side of the SF Valley hills (I was driving Laurel day before yesterday).

Rip Van Winkle Sleeping Beauty Hamlet

Those sides are sick. The pianoless cuts are favorites of mine.

Maybe Sidewinder's just suffered from overexposure. Heck, I prefer The Rumproller myself. I guess hindsight has blunted the virtues of the boogaloo 'medium,' which could make for great performances (under the right circumstances).

I find Lee's modal work to be somewhat inconsistent... some of it is comes across as static and homogenous--Lee invented a lot of the cliches... doesn't make his sides any more involving--but quite a bit (New Land and, as I've come to think, The Procrastinator included) are remarkably dynamic--far more so, I'd posit, than the drawn out boogaloo of many 60's Blue Note sides. Upon closer listening, many of the tracks on Morgan's reputedly 'exploratory' albums are fairly conventional extrapolations on the older hard bop school--much of New Land included. It is, again, all of a piece, and much of Morgan's most exploratory work (in 'feel,' if not in the way of method) pops up in sideman gigs (Evolution, Mother Ship...).

Dangerous thread... MC5: "Over and Over" (seriously)

I've come to really, really appreciate Miller in the past few months--the guy's oeuvre has so few definitive solo spots that the smaller groups are to be treasured. The other material on the 3CD box looks very appealing--it has the other Isipingo, if I'm not mistaken (?).

Haven't heard too much talk about this one--sprung for it today. I have yet to be severely disappointed by a SA/Brit jazz album, and this one (a concert recording from a particularly compelling mid-70's Bremen gig) is quite a few notches above most. The recording quality isn't ideal, but it is quite serviceable--enough, at least, to catch the crucial details. Let me put it this way--a couple minutes into the first track, you get in deep. Altogether, a fine 'lost' recording by a notable (if underrecorded) band. Having not heard the other Isipingo release, I can't really compare--heck, I haven't even picked up the 3CD Harry Miller set (though I'm bending that way). Whatever the history, two facts come across exceedingly well: 1) Harry Miller was a terrific bandleader/writer/bassist, and 2) prime-era Isipingo could cook like a mother. At this point, the band still had Feza, and he makes all the difference; his splatter-faced, brass shrapnel figures are the ultimate in tempered freedom, precise and calculated--but hard. Evans and Osborne come across doubly well, not least because most of their other work in this vein--mainly with the Brotherhood of Breath--lacks definition; they're wonderful, combustible but remarkably composed. Miller, Tippett, and Moholo come across even better here than on Spirits Rejoice (IMO)--dynamic, flexible, and propulsive. All of the compositions run over 14 minutes, each fairly free but also tightly controlled, grooving in that potent SA way. I guess 'tight but loose' would be the proper phrase--yes, in the Led Zeppelin way, but just honest enough, true and virtuosic, to transcend the insipidity of long-form jamming. It all swings like hell--pick it up if you can.

B.F.G. The Jolly Green Giant John Coltrane

Not all at once, but within days of each other: Khan Jamal Quintet: Black Awareness (w/Grachan Moncur III--haven't heard too much talk about this one) Ivo Perelman: Brazilian Watercolour Wendell Harrison/Phil Ranelin: A Message from the Tribe Embryo w/Mal Waldron (feat. Christian Burchard) For Eva Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System Dollar Brand Duo: Good News from Africa (awesome--with Dyani) Peter Brotzmann: Alarm Harry Miller's Isipingo: Which Way Now