Stefan Wood

Jeez guys, this is something. You want to force people into participating? You know, in the guidelines for these tests it makes note that people do not have to participate in the tests yet can receive discs. I have only participated in a couple, but I am more interested in the musical tastes of other board participants. I will down the road come up with a test cd myself, but come on, get real.

Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun (FMP)

This should be really interesting. I am NOT a Beach Boys fan, not at all, but I have heard the lp "Smile" and found it creative and fascinating to listen to. More so than Pet Sounds.....

This one:

I would switch Miles Davis's KOB with "Relaxin'." I have given this to many people who don't listen to jazz and they all LOVED it. Ella's "Live in Berlin" makes for a nice intro to her work, live and in peak singing form as well. Chris Connor's Bethlehem dates are nice as well. I wouldn't do avant stuff unless you know the person was inclined towards that sort of thing.

I am glad I had the opportunity to see him play with his brother late last year in DC. He will be missed. BTW, his Vanguard recordings are nice as well. Maybe not as good as his Blue Note trio dates with Joe Farrell (my favorites!), but they are well worth a spin.

updated

More new stuff added.

I saw him play up in Baltimore a couple of years ago and it is still one of the best jazz concerts I have ever seen.

Supposedly they are scheduled to come back to the Kennedy Center early next year.

New stuff added.

They were required because it is part of the sponsorship for having shows at the Library of Congress. The musicians either contribute a composition written for this concert, or in this case, in honor of a musician who they have a large collection in their holdings. Cecil Taylor wrote a composition for the Library, a duet with Matt Manieri, when he performed there.

Dave Holland Quintet played at the Library of Congress last night, and I'll tell you, the DC folks were treated to an incredible jazz performance. While I've always liked Holland's recordings, and really dug the Live at Birdland double cd set last year, this performance went many levels higher than anything I've heard. Part of the reason was the enthusiastic crowd, and the other was the incredible playing of his group, especially the new drummer, Nate Smith. I think he will be to Holland like Brian Blade is to Wayne Shorter -- he is a dynamic, aggressive musician, who propelled everyone with a hard and varied rhythms. They introduced a few new compositions that will appear on their next cd -- one dedicated to Holland's granddaughter, and another by Chris Potter. I can only describe it, very poorly, by saying it was like listening to the Jazz Messengers with the aura of the Bobby Hutcherson/Joe Chambers collaborations, but harder. I left feeling exhilerated and gasping for breath at the fierceness of the performance and excellent compositions. Being the Library of Congress, they were required to do some sort of tribute, and Holland did a Mingus composition solo, and the group did a Mingus influenced tune, written by Robin Eubanks, I believe. All I can say is -- go see these guys!!!

An excellent article. Thanks!

And I got a blank box for the Serge Chaloff.

This week's list updated for the final time before I remove it this weekend. I will post new stuff next week.

From California with Love is a nice solo piano lp from the late 70's. Nothing essential, but good music. Evil man that I am, I actually have this on auction on ebay (heh heh heh)......

This is one of the best:

Who cares if it is problematic? If it is anything like the Connoisseur release, this should be great!

I think our collective attention span is so short now that anything before 1996 is old school to many...........

Prince makes it WORK, that's the thing. The cheesy synths actually sound refreshing, in light of a lot of the current music being made.

updated, added a few things, will add more in the future. Check out my ebay auctions also -- look for the seller kinggab. I have Cecil Taylor Blue Notes, Andrew Hills, Booker Littles, Mingus, a bunch of nice items.

Updated, with items on hold.

I'm selling the following: shippng in the US is $2 for 1-3 cds, $3.50 for 4+. Airmail is determined by location of buyer. Please PM me. And I take money orders or Paypal.

C'mon, it's NOT perfect! Prince has still done better, but considering what he's been doing over the past ten years this is definitely one of his strongest efforts. I'll agree that the first half of this album (and it is an album, a measly 47 minutes by today's standards) just gives up the funk old school style, and no one can imitate his style or creativity. I like a couple of his ballads also, but the pacing is lost as it gets towards the end -- even after a few listens, I found myself not paying attention to the final few tracks. Still, this is a good comeback album!