StarThrower

Henri Dutilleux Aulis Sallinen Karl Hartmann Hans Werner Henze Lutoslawski Alfred Schnittke

Oscar Brown, jr vocalist, lyricist, playwright, and one of the sharpest wits! RIP Bassist Rick Laird is a noted photographer.

Ha! Those are several of my favorites! I love Tilson Thomas's Ives symphonies on Sony. I don't have anything by Barenboim.

I have this 2 CD EMI set conducted by Simon Rattle. I prefer some of Rattle's interpretations to Boulez, who has a softer approach. I like Rattle's edgier feel. http://www.amazon.com/Schoenberg-Verkl%C3%A4rte-Orchestral-Symphonies-Variations/dp/B0018OAP4I/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1372629840&sr=1-2&keywords=schoenberg+rattle

Paul Motian ECM Box

There's no need to pay big bucks for the Wildflowers set on Knitting Factory. It's available on Douglas Records for the price of a single CD.

Prolly not burgers and fries. He looks nowhere near a guy approaching his 68th birthday.

He made it by quitting jazz. Ain't that the truth! I respect Sanborn, and he can play, but I never bothered with his records. Apparently millions of folks enjoy his stuff? His bright, abrasive sound makes me wince. I'd rather listen to his idol Hank Crawford if I want to hear some "smooth" stuff.

Yes. Hunter is better than that, for sure. However once I dug into a bit of Hunter, I thought the 'Hammond Organ via guitar schtick' was not really anything more than mechanical. What I mean is, his approach basically divides the guitar between lower strings that function as extended bass line facility - while the supposed 'Larry Young' fourths angle - he takes doesn't really develop towards anything beyond the standard 'piano to guitar' compromises that any 'standard' six string tweaker is going to utilise and settle for anyway. So a George Van Eps of grease and quartal harmony he is not. The other thing - is the chorus-y sound that supposedly apes the keyboard. I recently saw a Mike Stern masterclass over here, whereby Stern explained his own 'chorus' sound - as deployed - because he wanted to get away from the primary Guitar sound - and closer to a keyboard flow between the notes. And he believed the soft, wishy washy processed sound did this for him. Sometimes I wish these guys had just taken up keyboards and been done with it. With someone like Metheny, I feel the processed tone is somehow critical to his actual lines and the physical dexterity of the way he plays, but for most others it is somehow diminishing. As far as the heavy chorus sound goes, the only player I really liked with that sound is John Scofield, and he's scaled it back in recent years. Stern and John McLaughlin seem to favor that bland heavy chorus sound. But more predictable is Stern's playing and his recordings. I grew tired of it many years ago. I was also not crazy about McLaughlin's last CD, Now Here This. It all sounds the same from beginning to end, and it's a lousy recording/mix job. On the contrary, Metheny sounds great on the new Book Of Angels CD. I find his own compositions more interesting than Zorn's, but at least he's still adventurous and trying new things.

After a couple months of hesitation, I relented and ordered a copy. I already have Tribute, and Psalm, and a few of the Brackeen tracks on the Rarum compilation, but for 30 bucks it's worth having the rest of the material.

I received a package from Futura today. I'm enjoying the Shepp Big Band CD. Too bad they couldn't use the original album covers due to a legal dispute with the photographer. After a shopping spree, I now have five new Shepp titles including Fire Music; Steam; Yasmina/Poem For Malcolm; Antibes Festival; Attica Blues Big Band.

Hunter plays an 8 string guitar. If you "take away" (how does one accomplish this hypothetical ?) any musician's sound and unique traits, you would end up with generic, I suppose?

But FZ probably paid better than what a lot of these unknown at the time musicians were making playing bars. And after the Zappa gig, their resumes were a lot more attractive. I'd like my boss to pay me more too, but that's life. If you don't like the pay, start your own business and take on all of the responsibilities that go with it.

I recommend his second Blue Note CD Ready, Set, Shango. Features an excellent tenor/alto sax quartet playing some good material. It's a shame the young alto player Calder Spanier was killed in an auto accident. Also love the Bing Bing Bing Bing CD. I lost track after the Analog Playground CD.

I sent a payment via PayPal to Futura/Marge for the Shepp Big Band CD and three others, but have heard nothing after 10 days.

Not exactly a startling revelation. Zappa always said pot made him sleepy, which is why he didn't smoke much of it.

A charming lady, and wonderful actress! RIP

Five pieces For Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle on an EMI 2 CD set which has a bunch of other good stuff too. Chamber Symphonies; Verklarte Nacht for string sextet; Variations For Orchestra. I can't get into Von Karajan's orchestral recording of Verklarte Nacht. Too schmaltzy. Piano Concerto on DG w/ Boulez and Uchida. I enjoy the vocal works, and I have the Sony 6 CD set conducted by Boulez.

Thanks!

God places check writers in front of you at the register to teach you patience!

Dummy Up!