felser

You may want to retry this one also. Very nice album. And pick up these one ASAP (all except 'Tranquility' also recorded at Montreux ca. early 70's):

I doubt the first producer is going to be the most objective evaluator of her later material . Part of the equation is that Laura Nyro could have sung the phone book and made it sound wonderful. Here is a good example of the mid-70's material to which I referred. The band sounds in sync to me, even with the tempo changes.

Sad but true. Also shelf space.

Do ya think maybe there's a stretch of middle ground between classic Blue Note and Kenny freakin' G?

Thanks for the heads up, will move the book up on my priority list. Maybe should would have been best served to just play solo at Monterey? I'm not a musician, so I miss a lot that guys like you notice. Her mid-70's material sounds (to me) well integrated with the band she used ('Smile', 'Seasons of Light', etc.). What are your thoughts on all that?

Be sure to add this one to your list if not already in your collection. Tons of stellar otherwise unreleased material along with his first few wonderful Columbia albums.

All excellent choices (and all in my collection - that tendency will fall away greatly as you get later into the decade, I'm sure).

Have the biography picked up as a remainder, but have never gotten around to reading it yet. I know there is some debate about her Monterey performance, on how negative the crowd was, though general take is that she was poorly received. The clip in the Monterey video box set sounds good to me.

I also have it with the different cover, prefer the one I posted, which I found when I googled the images. I agree with your assessment, Picked it up cheap ($3) to give a listen, and it unexpectedly has proven to be a keeper.

That works for me!

Looks like two very different experiences. How did the multiple drummer thing work out in that group? Is that the David Letterman Paul Shaffer, or someone different? I have some stuff by Longberg-Holm, and he's really interesting. Cello can do so much anyways,

Agreed. Time and distance has enabled me to reevaluate and appreciate labels and artists like CTI, Brubeck, and Kenton who I scorned or ignored back in the day due to their perceived lack of whatever...

That was his golden age. The album just before lt, 'Sahara', is his masterpiece.

Yes, each and every one of them, especially the first batch through 1971. This is a really good, economical starting point. Has her most important work on it. In a commercial sense, that is true. Her music on "New York Tendaberry" and "Christmas and the Beads of Sweat" is, to me, even more rewarding than the first two albums, but the song forms are much more personal and unorthodox. Her first album has "And When I Die", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoney End", and "Blowin' Away". The second album (Eli and the 13th Confession) has "Eli's Comin" , "Sweet Blindness" and "Stoned Soul Picnic". And her versions of almost every one (exception is "Stoned Soul Picnic") of them is even better than the excellent hit versions we are familiar with by the Fifth Dimension, Barbra Streisand, Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat and Tears.

Well done!

I have sealed copy of the Dave Douglas (6 CD's) and Roscoe Mitchell (9 CD's) Black Saint/Soul Note box sets, and see from further investigation that they are not something I am interested in (I have some of the Mitchell on individual CD's already). Would like to trade for other box sets (does not have to be jazz, can be rock/soul/etc.) or some CD's of interest (also can be various genres). USA only due to foreign shipping expenses. Please PM if interested. Also willing to consider sale, but trade just feels like the better way to go in this case. May well end up doing the same with the Jimmy Lyons, Julius Hemphill, Bill Dixon sets, but want to give them a listen first.

Fun stuff, but missing all the bonus cuts on the individual reissues.

Some of the Stan Getz albums on Verve, such as "Sweet Rain" and "Dynasty", are superb. Others are good, others yet are a mess, and some seem lost to history and I don't expect to ever hear them ("Marrakesh Express" etc.). I like the Montgomery Verve's a lot but they are a very different bag than the great Riversides. I much prefer my Bill Evans on Riverside but am glad to have his Verves on the cheapo European box set (much preferable to the mountain o' rust monstrosity), though I do pretty much hate the "Conversations With Myself" albums.

Callier's another of my favorites, especially "Dancing Girl" from 'What Color is Love'. Great Charles Stepney arrangements on his three early 70's Cadet albums. The cut you have noted is also great.

Incredible writer and singer.

Resistance is futile! They are better both sonically and musically than the High Notes, though those also are well worth having.

You're right on "Sunflower" and I knew that and meant to type it, but was thinking about Barron ("Sunshower") at the time. This getting old in the brain business is tough!

The Lloyd McNeill for sure. Also this: Haven't heard some of the other releases listed, such as the Getz, which are of great interest, and looking forward to hearing the aforementioned Liebman/Lookout Farm, the Timeless All-Stars Onkel Po, and more.