ep1str0phy

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.

Just heard about this one--was listening to 'All Things Must Pass' and 'Plastic Ono Band' as recent as yesterday, actually. So sad, but his music was/is a joy--he'll be missed and celebrated, all at once.

Really, really sad to hear it. Thanks for the sounds, Mr. Ruiz.

Peter Coyote Nero Wolfe Zero Mostel Nathan Lane Orson Welles Dave Foley

Charles Bobo Shaw Luther Thomas Joseph Bowie

I agree that Swallow can come across as a sort of destabilizing element in many contexts (especially in terms of his electric output), but I find his earlier acoustic work to be rather strong (and balanced, for that matter). Basra, Ezz-thetics, and the earlier Giuffre sides are gems (IMO).

Believe it or not...

Sound quality, while not great, isn't that bad, and it's really interesting material. Harper has a feature on "You Don't Know What Love Is" which is pretty wonderful. Only Messengers appearance on recording for Harper, Priester, and Mathews (and Evans, the bass player) as far as I know. -Re: mikeweil--yeah, that's the one. -I've had that Blakey album for some time... sound quality is pretty poor, but the music is of a fairly high quality. Harper appears in the full-on glory of his early years--really fine stuff (although the music doesn't extend that far beyond that of the early/mid-60's combos).

(To continue shilling) the version of 'Priestess' on In Europe is stunning. No doubt, though, those Evans treatments were awesome.

Totally unaware of this, though (regardless) I'd be surprised if Fuel 2000 put in the effort to play into the irony (it would certainly explain the notes, though)... these are the guys who said the Braxton reissue had 'audiophile remastering.' What discussion was this in?

Perhaps someone else grew up with Space Ghost, Johnny Quest, Super Friends, etc.? This cat was the animation designer: Alex Toth -A guiding light of the 'serial image' and a master of a much maligned medium... he'll live on forever in the postmodern/pop culture zeitgeist (and childhood memories, no?).

Anthony Braxton (Actuel): B-X... Benny Carter: Jazz Tribune No. 4 Dollar Brand: Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio (Makaya Ntshoko!) Sonny Rollins: East Broadway Run Down Sonny Clark: Leapin' and Lopin'