felser

Yes, very much so. Fuel label group is huge, and has put out new music (including Jethro Tull) as well as reissues.

This gem was a miracle release at the time:

I'm pretty sure this release would be existing recordings. The Cherry Red labels do beautiful box sets (I generally consider them definitive) and price them very kindly. I'll be picking this one up along with the dozens (hundreds?) of other releases I have by that family of labels.

Such an interesting label - thanks! I especially love the Gato Barbieri albums on the label, this being my favorite, but so many great albums by him, Nelson, Leon Thomas, etc.

It is deeply confusing - I've been following this very closely all along and still get confused. - I'd be surprised if the digital anthology was released on CD. I believe it's meant as a sampler to get you to buy the individual releases. - The Tolliver Mosaic Select #20 contains the Slug's material (including the digital only bonus cuts) being released by Mack Avenue here, and the Live in Tokyo album plus bonus cuts. They are mistaken when they deem the Tolliver bonus cuts as previously unreleased. - In addition to what we knew already (Sanders, Tolliver, Rouse, Cowell on Vinyi, CD, and Download), Bandcamp also shows Harper, Jordan - Glass Bead Games, Farrah - First Watch, McBee, Heath Bros. coming on digital download on April 25. No idea of future physical releases for those or any other titles. They may be holding back on planning to see how these sell? https://bandcamp.com/search?q=strata-east&item_type=a

1 – this is a stunning version of “Caravan”. Love the atmosphere and the percussion. Must look into this further! No guesses. 2 – Quite good once I got past the first two minutes. Tenor solo is strong. Bass playing is spectacular, and I assume it’s the bass player’s album. William Parker? 3 - Tenor player totally in my wheelhouse! The bass player does go on but sounds good. Third straight cut I am high on! David Murray? This could end up being a very expensive BFT for me if this stuff is available on CD! 4 – Alas, the streak ends here. I couldn’t make it through this one (though I did spot check the duration), which does not feel like “jazz” to me, but rather some sort of modern European classical chamber music. YMMV for other listeners, of course. 5 – Back on track. Rhythm! Melody! Harmony! Improvisation! You know, jazz 😊! Especially enjoying the drummer on this one, but the solos are strong, the guitar player has an attractive tone, it’s all good. Don’t feel the need to own this like I do the first three cuts but look forward to the reveal. 6 – James Newton on flute? It’s good, but not emotionally compelling. I like the rhythm section behind the piano solo. Feels like something Black Saint could have released in the 80’s or 90’s. 7 – Twin trumpets! Though not really twin, they play very differently. Everything seems to bog down partway through the piano solo. To me, the cut overstays its welcome by several minutes, though the return to the theme at the end is quite welcome. Overall, good cut. 8 - A lot of strong bass playing on this BFT. This is a strong cut, but did sort of fade into the background on me. 9 – Well, this one won’t fade into the background. These sorts of cuts can go either way for me, but this one sort of grabs me. I’m going to guess 60’s/70’s vintage, US Players on a French label (Such as BYG or America)? 10 – All The Things You Are. Sounds to be definitely vinyl-sourced. Another strong cut. Excellent tenor playing by what I’m sure will be a recognizable tenor for the hotshots on the board here who are beyond me. Shades of Clifford Jordan to me. 11 - Another vinyl-sourced track? It’s interesting, but does seem to meander. Again, guessing 60’s/70’s vintage. 12 – All the same thoughts as #11. Man, these are some looonnnggg cuts! 13 – I’m all in for this one, almost back to the level of interest I had in the first three cuts. Love the tenor player. The cut does go on. But the players are all good. Quite a fine BFT, really enjoyed it overall, and the only cut fully lost on me was #4. Especially looking forward to the reveal on those first two tracks! With tracks 3 and 13 in the next tier.

RIP. His music never did a whole lot for me beyond enjoying some of the 50's and 60's remakes, but he seemed like an interesting guy. So sorry to read about his decade of suffering, of which I was not previously aware.

Hope to pick this up eventually, sounds good.

Also CD's coming of Tolliver's Live at Slugs, Cowell's Musa, and Rouse's Two is One, all April 25.

Trumpet is Owens in everything I've ever seen/heard, including the original album cover. Agreed that the Bellaphon CD doesn't sound great, and obviously I share your affection for the album 😀. No note of a CD reissue yet in this series, but it would seem like an obvious candidate. They must have secured the rights since they included the one track in the sampler. 'Capra Black' and Clifford Jordan's 'Glass Bead Games' would seem to me to be the two most obvious obvious titles to feature CD releases on. The music merits it, and at least some level of demand for the product should be there.

I picked up several of these last summer, and did find the mastering to be quite an improvement over the versions I already owned (mostly early 90's Black Lion CD re-issues).

Lovely for what it is. I have always dug the sound of those Fender Jazzmaster guitars!

CD set pre-order is $21.30 on CDJapan, $24.99 on Dustygroove. LP set pre-order is $72.98 on Amazon, $75.98 on Dustygroove. Has not shown up on the Alliance Entertainment (DeepDiscount, importCDs, Collector's Choice) sites yet. The fact that the Amazon LP pre-order price is less than DG gives me hope they will end up being the best place to pre-order the CD from.

Still hard to believe that Riot... became a #1 selling album on Billboard Pop Charts. By comparison, Stand only made #13, though it no doubt had a much longer run.

They're dropping quickly now. Flack was 88, did some amazing, distinctive music on her early albums. R.I.P. https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-dead/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert

Nate Chinen has posted the Strata-East online seminar that took place a couple weeks ago, but for paid subscribers to his substack (I have a free subscription, so can't access it, though I saw the original): https://open.substack.com/pub/thegig/p/video-strata-east-the-return?r=8r0zk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Also picked up the Thad Jones. Such as the Teo Macero, John La Porta, John Dennis, Hazel Scott, and some of the Mingus? Or do you have even more in mind?

Comes down to how you value the extra material. For instance, Jackie Paris has always been lost on me, but many here esteem him.

It focuses on the Mingus-led sessions, excluding his sideman work, and adds in the essential 1966 "Right Now - At The Jazz Workshop" album with Jordan, Handy, and Jane Getz. It is a much more solid set - there was a LOT of dross on the Complete box (IMO, YMMV, etc.). I sold the Complete box, bought this Leader box and the most important (to me) of his sideman Debut sessions - Paul Bley, Hazel Scott, the Trombone thing with JJ etc. I got the John Dennis CD as a cutout. I already had standalone Quintet and Powell Massey Hall CD's. I have not regretted my decisions.

Yes.

Great question. I would subjevtively add Brenda Holloway to the list, "Every Little Bit Hurts" still sends shivers through me when I hear it. Also Martha Reeves maybe. YMMV.

Great singer, fascinating life. RIP.

Yes