Rooster_Ties

Yeah, I'd gotten that notion a time or two, I forget where all. Like I wonder if there ever really was any sort of opera he was working on in the 70's (which I've read several minor reports of), after his run at Blue Note. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd be more inclined to say 'no' than 'yes' -- though I don't doubt he might have been sincere in that such an endeavor might have been something he'd pondered more than a few times. I've heard from a couple players in his bands that when they'd ask for his input on how to interpret his cryptic charts and/or instructions, that Hill would ask what they thought 'it' meant, and that if he liked what they said, he'd say "yeah, that's what I meant". I don't mean to suggest he was a total fraud or anything -- he's still one of my all-time favorite jazz artists ever -- and none of this sort of thing is terribly surprising at all to me.

That Flamingos clip looks like the same set designer as this Miles clip from barely two years before!!

Makes me wonder if Andrew Hill and Hindemith ever really crossed paths (which I've wondered before). Hill talks about it here, in this interview below, fwiw. I should say I love a good story as much as anyone -- so I'm not trying to say this is any sort of great sandal or anything (if it happened not to be true). And even if it's not true, good on Andrew for coming up with it! https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/andrew-hills-80th-birthday-anniversary/

This separate upload claims it's 1963 -- but no idea which one is correct. Sound and image quality is a little better with this one (below) too. I love when there's footage of obscure players like this that exists, by the way.

Some live footage of Lester and that Flamingos song, from 1984 (if the YouTube upload is accurate) -- and a comment to the video says it's from the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland.

No 'surface noise', at least none that I can hear. Agree about the mastering being bright, but that's pretty much exactly how the LP sounds too (so a 'faithful' reproduction, for better or worse). I'd forgotten there was one track that Tyrone plays flute throughout (no tenor). Band is solid, I think everyone plays really well throughout. Roots (1973) is the first recorded appearance by drummer Clifford Barbaro, and the same year as the first recordings that Hubert Eaves III (piano) every recorded on (he was on 4 albums total that year, and Roots has a 1 in 4 chance of being his first). Stafford James had a dozen albums he'd been on by the end of 1973 (starting in 1970, with Sun Ra of all things -- didn't have any idea James had ever recorded with Ra, on Night of the Purple Moon). Halfway lengthy liner notes, but they're all in Japanese -- wish I knew what they said. Definitely glad to have this on CD finally, about 20 years after I first heard the album. Always figured we'd get this on CD eons before Do Right.

Are there any other reports of Stravinsky having gone to hear any other jazz groups back in the day? I would assume he might have heard the Thundering Herd (re: The Ebony Concerto) — but did he hear The Heard? (Do we know?) I mean, go to hear them play live? — as opposed to just hearing them on record.

From Dusty Groove, I just picked up a copy of this very Musak Japanese 2CD reissue of the complete Konitz Storyville recs -- which I've been diggin' all morning -- every bit as much as the first two discs of the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh Mosaic (the live Tristano-Konitz stuff recorded at The Sing Song Room, Confucius Restaurant in '55). Hadn't dreamed I like it as much as I do, but man this is some really nice stuff! I knew all this Storyville material had come out before on a couple Black Lion CD's (which I've never heard) -- but I finally decided to bite the bullet and spring for this Japanese 2CD version -- which sounds great! (I'm sure better, maybe even far better(?)... than any Black Lion CDs ever could). So quite thankfully, no regrats! And I *also* picked up a copy of the Tristano/Billy-Bauer trios on Key Note (Essential Keynote Collection, Vol 2) -- quite cheap, $6. Despite all the alternates being programmed in sequence, I really dug the heck out of it this morning too. Was a little nervous either or both of these wouldn't have been worth getting (on top of all the other Tristano and Konitz I've bought from this era) -- but I would definitely buy them again, if I had it to do over.

Especially the lengthy bonus track on the CD reissue.

The only Woody Herman I have is the 3cd Select — and while I don’t mind it — it’s also probably not something I would replace for $50 if my copy ever got lost/damage. Lou Donaldson Blue Note 57-60 Sessions Mosaic is pretty much the same for me. Nice enough, but not something I’ve spun more than a couple times in the last 10 years (when I got it, used).

Ditto

NYT… (Thanks for asking, because I had missed this myself) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/arts/music/grachan-moncur-iii-dead.amp.html Edit: Nothing from the WashPo (at least not yet) — but here’s one from The Guardian… https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/06/grachan-moncur-iii-obituary

My favorite low-key ‘late night’ BN album might be Speak Like a Child — not low-key harmonically, but still not exactly frenetic either.

Ethiopian Nights isn’t half bad either (the date after Kofi) — it’s the last album before the Mizells enter the picture (and my interest drops off substantially).

That absurd Bill Evans Verve box that was designed to rust — and get rust all over your hands (and clothes) more and more, increasingly more, with every passing year. I finally traded it off after about 5 years.

Yup, I remember when this was first discovered around here back around 2004-2005, something like that. Not pricey at all, either… https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Charles-Genio-Live-Brazil/dp/B000641A7M

Yes, and no. I like Teo-ing too. But, I sure has heck like the four-disc unedited Miles at Fillmore 1970 (Bootleg Series, Vol 3) a hell of a lot too!! Teo’s version is great! — and the (much) larger context from which it was drawn is great too!

My father-in-law’s mother was a schoolteacher in the area (maybe in Stanhope), and her name was Hildegard Bergstrom (before she married, and then became Hildegard Crim). My wife isn’t 100% sure she taught in Stanhope, but we think that’s pretty likely. Stanhope only has about 350 people in it now, so it’s super tiny! — and no longer has a school (hasn’t since sometime in the 60’s — Susan’s youngest aunt was in one of the last classes there, before they consolidated).

Hey Chuck — I see in today’s article that you grew up “on a farm in central Iowa, about 15 miles from Ames”. I knew it was ‘central’ Iowa before — but which direction from Ames? What was the closest town? Asking, because my father-in-law grew up in Stanhope, a tiny town 25 miles NW of Ames (and that never had a population greater than 450). And he had lots of family in Boone (14 miles due west of Ames). Anyway, small world! PS: If you knew anyone with the last name of ‘Crim’ back then — they were likely related to her dad’s family — he had ten (10!) aunts and uncles growing up, nearly all of them in the immediate area in and around Boone, Stanhope, Stratford, etc…

I ‘like’ a lot of 80’s Miles, but not enough to spin it terribly often (like hardly ever) — so I traded off practically all my 80’s and 90’s Miles when I moved to DC back in 2011. Might have kept Aura, but I’m not even sure about that. Still like Tutu and Amandla ok, but not enough to justify the shelf space for even them. It’s all stuff I’ll be happy enough streaming somehow when I get the urge to listen to that sort of thing — about once a decade, at this point.

What timeframe? — if you know.

I still can’t believe I got to hear Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, and Grachan — not all at the same time, mind you. Back when I was in Kansas City, I heard Andrew up in Iowa City — and Sam in Topeka. And then Grachan here in DC in late 2011. RIP

Some rare live footage to enjoy — over 48 minutes worth, from 1970! — as we think back on this unique voice in the music… This seems to have just been uploaded a couple months ago. I’m copying over the particulars, in case the video disappears later… Upload title: The 360 Degrees Music Experience - Live @ Molde Jazz Festival 1970 Description: Beaver Harris drums, Grachan Moncour III trombon, Roland Alexander sax, Dave Burell piano, Jymie Merrit bass, Buzzy vocals 00:00 Part 1 - New Africa 15:40 Part 2 32:25 Part 3 46:44 Presenting musicians... The 360 Degree Music Experience was an American band that performed both traditional and experimental jazz. Active during the 1970s and '80s, the group was initially co-led by drummer Beaver Harris and the pianist Dave Burrell. After Burell left the group, pianist Don Pullen replaced him. Several other notable musicians were members of the band at one time or another, including Hamiet Bluiett, Cameron Brown, Ron Carter, Ricky Ford, Jimmy Garrison, Grachan Moncur III, Titos Sompa, and Buster Williams among others. The group released two albums for BMG: From Ragtime to No Time and A Well Kept Secret - from Wikipedia

I will forever cherish getting to hear Grachan perform those fantastic Mark Masters arrangements of his (Moncur’s) music for octet, with and led locally by Brad Linde — in December 2011 (just shy of a year after I first moved to Washington DC). He’s a player I never dreamed I’d get to hear, let alone in the context of those masterful arrangements — and they even played a couple tunes Masters arranged that didn’t make the recording too… RIP

Spinning this again now.