ep1str0phy

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

Wow--wasn't expecting that one. Great call.

Seriously--were any of us expecting all that much? Seconded notion, anyways--I'm surprised that they've included some of the harder cuts (a lot of burners, too). As per the all sold jazz is good jazz thing--I certainly can't eliminate my personal cynicism, if only because (despite the virtues of the music in-and-of-itself) it's difficult to dodge the notion that the Starbucks/Concord marketers are baking for the culture industry-and, whether consciously or not, such efforts often wind up reproducing a rather parochial concept of what this music is/was/can be. The plaudits are there for what they have done, but The Powers could've always gone a step further and put, I don't know, a Dolphy ballad somewhere in there. Would something a little more 'unusual' turn people off to the music--or, rather, a music? Etc., etc., etc.--as per JSngry's comments above, jazz is a lot more than this. Maybe the buyers will figure it out, maybe not. On the other hand--I got into jazz through a borrowed Columbia Monk sampler and an impulse buy of The Shape of Jazz to Come. So I guess it is possible.

Although few well-traveled session musicians have thoroughgoing knowledge of all the cuts they play(ed) on, it would seem strange if a cat like Purdie (who seems to remember the minutiae of his various supposed sessions) didn't know the name of at least a couple of the Beatles tunes he backed. Again though, it's agreed--he's one of the all time masters of the groove. No challenging that.

I'm actually a pretty big fan of Something Personal (one of the BNs)--grooves like hell (in an unhurried, WC sort of way). Ayers is on that one, too. The group tackles (among other things) Ornette's 'The Sphinx'--and, although nothing really inventive comes of it, the gesture remains notable (one of the bonus tracks is a version of Coltrane's 'Mr. Day'--so I guess Wilson was at least looking into more advanced idioms). Also worth mention is the cello work of Ray Brown--vaguely guitar-like, adding some fine coloration.

Agreed... and (just because I've been listening to him here and there over the past few days) Reece could play pretty well in advanced contexts, too. Dig his work on Passing Ships--right up with Woody Shaw. He could not only cut--he could step out a bit, too.

Big Mama Thornton Ma Rainey Mamie Smith

No good. I assume with new website and all that, old FMP releases will be maintained in print. I wonder if TMM will still take place? Last TMM had 2-3 interesting concerts - I was hoping they would get released on FMP one day. As for the already "ready for release" stuff, probably Atavistic could help ? Just heard about this here--not entirely shocking, but I'm still a little surprised. I hope the catalogue remains in print--I'd been holding out on far too many (and, cripes, after-market prices are going to skyrocket).

I just recently got a copy of Projections (w/Michael White, Mike Nock, Bruce Cale, Larry Hancock). Again, relatively 'inside' leaning post-bop (with a strong post-Coltrane/post-Mingus bent), but startlingly effective in spots. White lends the music a deeply romantic tinge--edging the music toward something slightly more esoteric (however harmonically conventional). And hey, the cats in the Concert Ensemble have creds in all manner of improv... it's nice to hear Nock reaching in for the piano strings here and there. Additional note: Larry Hancock plays beautifully here--a step or two above his work with Hutch (as far as I'm concerned). Maybe not classic, but damn good nonetheless (Penguin guide be damned).

Count me among the fans--Blues in Trinity is (IMO) one of the finest Brit jazz albums of all time (and, perhaps, one of the key Blue Notes, however neglected). The title track, again, is a classic; the three different time 'feels' would come across as a little gimmicky if not for the quality of the musicianship (everyone just smokes--but Art Taylor really earned my love on this one... I mean, going from this to a sideman spot with Frank Wright--damn). The whole album is gold, but people seldom mention Tubby Hayes's feature spot on ''Round Midnight'--just beautiful. There's a lot of class to these proceedings, but a lot of heart/soul, too.

Wallace Shawn Tom Hanks Tim Allen

Picked it up today, too. It's certainly one of the better BNs (for me), and they're almost uniformly classic. The whole band is on fire--nice to see Haynes in his more 'progressive' mode, and Hancock's support is utterly brilliant throughout. What a great listen.

Amen--and I'm sure one can find a lot of love in the Taylor/Braxton crowd 'round these parts. And hell, I dance. -Really though, I wish I could rememeber the day I bought my first jazz album. Maybe I'll go rifling through my old receipts...

Country Joe MacDonald Abe Vigoda Viggo Mortensen J.R.R. Tolkien C.S. Lewis Madeleine L'Engle

I found this one for a fairly reasonable price--in prime condition--not too long ago. It's a fine album, but the performances are dense--almost impenetrably thick at times, to be honest. Long and tough, but heavy, dark, and startlingly powerful--still working on it. Still, if you're a fan of any of these musicians, I'd urge you to check it out (thanks for bringing this one up, akanalog)... Moye gets ample space to move (and he's far too seldom heard outside of the AEC sides), Pullen is at his schizophrenic best, and Hopkins is a delight. Hamiet deserves special mention for his work on the bari--not only for his always remarkable command of register and pitch, but also for stamina... makes for an exhausting--if fulfilling--listen. -More personal note: there's a fine, if short version of 'R.B.'--one of my all-time favorite tunes, immortalized on Air Mail. Beautiful, beautiful stuff.