Rooster_Ties

Bringing up an old thread to mention that I've had the good fortune to hear Gary Thomas play live here in the DC/Baltimore area four (4) times since I moved out here about 4-5 years ago. He was never the leader on any of the dates (always a sideman), but a really fantastic player. Can't remember the order of the times I heard him, but here's the leaders on whose dates I heard him with: Helen Sung (piano) - at Blues Alley, with Gary and Alex Norris (t) on the front line, and I've forgotten the rest of the band. Very advanced straight-ahead stuff, all Sung's originals. Norris is a fellow instructor at the Peabody Institute (where Gary is the Director of the jazz program, in Baltimore). Alex Norris (trumpet) - concert at The Peabody promoting a REALLY nice album that Norris put out (with Gary), including Gary, George Colligan (B3), and Rudy Royston (d). Ingrid Jenson (trumpet) - a concert at Johns Hopkins, with Gary plus guitar, bass, and drums (not remembering a piano on this gig). The entire 2nd set was all Kenny Wheeler tunes (as he'd passed away less than two weeks before). Todd Marcus (bass clarinet) and his Tentet - at Bohemian Caverns, forget who all was in the band other than Gary (obviously), and also Greg Tardy (also on tenor). Anyway, Gary is as fantastic live as he is on record, and I could go listen to him every other month and never get tired of his playing. Oh, BTW, I also got to hear Gary for the very first time in Columbia, MO as part of Herbie Hancock's acoustic quartet -- probably around 2006-2008 or so. Talked with him (Gary) backstage a fair bit, and learned he actually *started* on flute, and only later switched to sax. Gary is one of the only woodwind doublers who I can hear stylistic traits in his flute-playing that seem related to his sax playing. Also, for my money, Gary is the best and most interesting modern jazz flute-player I think I've ever heard (live, or on record).

A new 9-minute promo video was just posted to Youtube earlier this week, including Larry's son (who I met here in DC maybe a year ago, at one of Bertrand's Larry Young tribute concerts. Lots of photos from the liners are included, enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV-_yQAO7aU

Is Woody Shaw on every track? I seem to remember seeing something that implied so, but not conclusively. Between this, and the expanded Japanese SHM-CD issue of Unity (with its four bonus tracks seeing the first light of day, at least legitimately) -- that would be nearly 2 hours of pristine unreleased music with Woody Shaw from the mid-60's. Amazing.

Here's the 2014 Maria-Schneider/David-Bowie track she/they won for. It was a one-off, and (unfortunately) not part of a larger/longer project. But one hell of a great tune, at 8-minutes in length. Oh if they'd only been able to record a whole album together! https://youtu.be/SaygoLgAe4Y

This would be for her collaboration with David Bowie, released in the late fall of 2014: According to Tony Visconti's facebook Maria Schneider has won a Grammy for Sue. This just in from pre-broadcast Grammys: Maria Schneider just won the Grammy for best arrangement in the Jazz categories, her arrangement for SUE (or in a season of crime)! She was in tears when she thanked David [Bowie] and me from the stage. Hooray for Maria! She's a real talent, been working all her life, a student of Gil Evans. David would've been over the moon to hear this. I am so happy. This was reported by my handsome manager, Joe D'Ambrosio.

I still have some hope that this Miles movie will be OK, but also really don't want to get my expectations too far out of whack. For instance, the recent Jimi Hendrix biopic "Jimi: All Is by My Side" was a huge disappointment (despite having been directed by the same guy who directed "12 Years a Slave"). The acting was great, and André Benjamin (André 3000 of Outkast) did an admirable job as Jimi. But the story was just awful, and really did very little to shed any new light on Jimi, and if anything, shed the wrong light on a bunch of stuff that either didn't happen at all, or didn't really matter in the long run (or probably both). No amount of "expectations management" going into it would have changed my experience of it, I realize, but I'd rather not get burned again so soon. (At least the recent Brian Wilson biopic was good, though admittedly I didn't know that much about the whole Beach Boys/Brian Wilson thing.)

Amazon doesn't have this released until March 11th (neither on CD, nor LP's). Is it already available elsewhere on-line?

Would be nice if there was some kind of statute of limitations on such contracts. Like the label had exclusive rights to release anything recording during the timeframe in question for a period of 25 years, after which the rights would revert back to the family. Or something like that. 30 years, even 50 years -- just some kind of deadline to give some incentive for the rights holder(s) to not sit on material infinitely.

Stumbled on this thread looking for something else, and did a quick search on YouTube, and voilà!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdZcBKVrLHs

The Henry Threadgill is tempting. And I could also pick up a couple extra Tolliver Big Band Selects for only $2 more shipping (I already have one, but could easily see wanting to have extras for a couple somebodies at some point or another (could be years from now, I know). Hmmmm...

6-7 times, but not since at least 10 years ago.

Thanks Chuck! I can see it now so clearly, but I sure didn't have any idea yesterday. Thanks again. I may post some other jazz pics this guy has, if I see any others that are unidentified. He has a nice one of Duke, and a couple other jazz-related images.

Just stumbled on a website, and noticed this unidentified trumpeter. Any ideas about who it might be? http://negativecollection.bigcartel.com/product/jazz-musician-takes-five Here's the website, overall... http://negativecollection.bigcartel.com/products

You know, the first couple times I heard Blackstar -- despite loving it overall -- I had some real hesitancy about McCaslin's playing specifically. But by the fourth and fifth spins, my hesitancy started to fade, and by spins #9 and #10 -- I honestly love all of it. Really weird, because if (when) I put my jazz ears on, I'm really NOT especially enamored with McCaslin here -- but my ears are usually 'on differently' listening to this, and it's more like: god damn, this all works so well, even the stuff I don't think I ought to like (but I do). His playing on the Blackstar version of "Tis A Pity She Was A Whore" especially is just rife with major intonation issues (in his soloing) -- at least to my ears -- that normally really rub me the wrong way (big time). He's like 20% sharper than Jackie McLean, for instance, in places (if I had to make a comparison). But fuck it, I absolutely LOVE Blackstar, top to bottom - and (now) I hardly notice anything I previously didn't care for in McCaslin's playing (even if I can easily cite problems with it, when I want to). Weird how that works, how context can really change how something hits you (or in this case, me).

Jim, you should REALLY be aware of this earlier version of "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)" that Bowie did with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra about a year before Blackstar -- a tune that would later appear on Blackstar in a fairly radically different arrangement. It's the first YouTube link below... And its b-side (at the time, a year ago), was later revealed to be the demo-version of "Tis A Pity She Was A Whore" (also later found on Blackstar). These are the only two "new" Bowie recordings released in the space between 2013's The Next Day and 2016's Blackstar - both recorded sometime in late 2014 I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaygoLgAe4Y << Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) - with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GN-duIY2A << Tis A Pity She Was A Whore - demo version, pre-dates Blackstar by about a year.

I've always liked Piston, and rarely disliked him, but there's also nothing of his I can truly claim to outright "love". I don't know if this analogy is accurate (or even relevant), but Piston has always kind of reminded me of what I so often like about Hindemith -- a sort of muscular but orderly modernist vision, not TOO modern, but decidedly "moderne". I'm a little MORE uniformly fond of Hindemith, and especially of his contrapuntalism -- but Piston has some of that going for him too. Trying not to damn him with faint praise -- he's a little better than that -- but at the same time, I've rarely been super-enthusiastic about Piston.

Bump, for anyone else interested in the Carmell set here. Too good a deal to pass on, and I really don't need a second copy - but will probably grab this in a couple days. Carpe diem!

Jim (JSngry), any thoughts on Blackstar especially(!), or any of the other 90's/2000's Bowie titles you picked up recently? Very curious to get your take.

I don't need this (I have one already, a really great set!). But if no one else here is interested, I'd probably be game to buy this as extra copy (and at a good price), to give to somebody else at some point in the future. I'll send a PM to that effect, but if anybody else has any interest in this one - please feel free! (And I'll tell Face The Bass to leave the Carmell available here a good week or two more, before we do anything to close the deal with me on this one.)

Trailer is out now... Main Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/02/don-cheadle-miles-davis-miles-ahead-trailer Shows bigger on desktop: http://www.milesdavis.com/news/watch-miles-ahead-movie-trailer-entertainment-weekly Still cautiously optimistic, hoping for the best, and (definitely) fearing the worst. Acting looks solid, but I sure hope the story isn't shit.

Very short review, but the picture is new (at least to me) -- and it expands to a huge format, with great detail. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/21/larry-young-in-paris-the-ortf-recordings-review-elegant-reckless-beauty-on-unearthed-60s-live-tapes And then HERE's the most complete info yet that I've seen about the full release (about as complete as it gets)... http://www.resonancerecords.org/release.php?cat=HCD-2022 Including the first time I've seen track-times listed, FWIW. Over 100 min of music, by my count. Track Listing Disc One: Trane of Thought (6:46) Talkin About JC (14:53) Mean To Me (4:12) La Valse Grise (16:09) Discothèque (10:43) Disc Two: Luny Tune (4:36) Beyond All Limits (7:36) Black Nile (13:59) Zoltan (20:31) Larrys Blues (6:13)

Yay, one of George's tunes!! Sounds great!

Bear in mind, it may take a few spins for some of it to get into your bones. I didn't fall in love with all of it instantly, but over time (a couple years for each album), more and more has wormed its way into my brain. I'd stay away from Hours (which I find kind of tame, and a bit too 'pretty', and some of it pretty boring, to be frank) but otherwise all of his other ISO Records releases between '95-'04 are top drawer (I've grown to love ~80% of the tracks of each). By comparison, I'm only sort of 'half-in-love' (at best) with the earlier (pre-"Tin Machine") albums (including even his very most popular 'classic' 70's albums). And anything before Station To Station (which I do like, especially the tune "Stay") -- but anything before Station To Station just sounds horribly dated to me. (I've never been able to get into all the Ziggy stuff much at all, for instance.) Station To Station, Low, Lodger, Scary Monsters - those all work for me somewhat better -- but I'd still take almost anything from the 90's/00's over them too. As far as Tin Machine goes, I'm of two minds. When I'm in the right mood, it's really great stuff -- but I'm not always in that mood (and when I'm not, it doesn't do nearly as much for me). I seem to remember liking the first Tin Machine album better than the second. I only spin them once or twice every couple years, at most - but should dig them back out again soon.

I would honestly take all of Bowie's post-"Tin Machine" output to that perverbial desert island, over everything pre-"Tin Machine". Cat wrote some great tunes in the 70's and 80's, but he was better (all-around), and in his prime -- at least for me -- from about 1995-2004.

An on-line joke I've been reusing for 10+ years, is to say his "brother" Lester (without the quotes) -- and when the inevitable "you don't know what you're talking about, because Bowie's real was David Jones!!" reply comes around from somebody, I always say "what about the striking family resemblance?" Of course the reply-ee never has any idea what Lester Bowie looks like, and when I'm really lucky, I can occasionally string the argument along for two or three more iterations before they finally look. It's a pretty juvenile routine, I'll admit, but half the time someone will fall for the bait - which is why I keep doing it whenever the chance presents itself.