felser

Hod O'Brien has always been this mysterious figure to me. Showed up on a couple of good 50's albums (Three Trumpets, the Rene Thomas album), then again on Roswell Rudd's fascinating 'Flexible Flyer' with Sheila Jordan in the 70's, then fell off my radar. I see a bunch of later albums by him that I've never heard. Just read his wikipedia entry, and he looks to have had substantial connections in the early 60's, but seems to have been unrecorded in that period. I like his work on the Rudd album quite a bit. Also, would not have expected him to have co-led a group with Cameron Brown and Beaver Harris (think more of that being, say, Dave Burrell territory). Looks like he played with people from Sonny Greer to Archie Shepp. What else do I need to know about him?

Great singer. I believe she was the second British Invasion artist to hit the US Charts, next after the Beatles ("I Only Want to Be With You", January 1964), and her group with her brother, the Springfields, had gone USA top 20 in 1962 with "Silver Threads and Golden Needles".

Can't wait to hear Chuck's memories of that Bee Gee's Soundstage show from 1975 . The Wikipedia listing is clearly far from complete, in fact missing all shows for some of the years.

True that. There were some cataclysmic changes in the music between 56 and 61.

Yes. "The Quest" is incredible. Ervin and Dolphy. "Status Seeking" is especially killer!

They are seldom guilty of demonstrating that. Universal vault fire, masters thrown in trash, Sony no longer willing to lease, etc.

What's the best place to start listening to Dauner? Always meant to, never really got around to it in earnest.

Nick, all are fine music. Start with Hubbard's "Red Clay", which should be a staple of any jazz collection. The Alice Coltrane is another particular favorite of mine, but much more demanding listening (though Pharoah Sanders and Joe Henderson certainly reward close listening, as does Coltrane herself).

Me too, highly recommend Tom as a trustworthy and knowledgeable source of great music.

The estate got it right with the Roxy box. 7 CD's, under $45 on Amazon. And much excellent music (interspersed with silliness).

Definitely a big plus in my book. Still wish the box was less needlessly lavish and expensive.

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).