Rooster_Ties

How many bidders were you up against? Since it was just a local auction, I had visions of you really getting a steal. In fact, until I looked again a second time (and saw it was local), I was gonna guess more like $400.

Does anyone have contact info for either Carol Tristano or Lenny Popkin? I’d love to drop them a note, thanking them for sharing all this wonderful music. EDIT: FWIW, this German Wikipedia link about her (if Google translate is accurate), says Carol and Lenny are married, and have lived in Paris since 2005. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Tristano >> She is married to Popkin, with whom she has lived in Paris since 2005 and plays in the trio, which also performed in Germany. (Not sure how to link to it go get it to appear in English — but my phone automatically gave me the option to translate it, so I’ve quoted it here.) The Wikipedia source note also goes to another German-language link, which my phone is also translating… https://www.oberland.de/magazin/kultur/lenny-popkin-trio >> What an elegant tone, what brilliant improvisations by saxophonist and trio leader Lenny Popkin. The world-renowned musician is not only a student of cool jazz developer and pianist Lennie Tristano, he also married his daughter: drummer Carol Tristano. (No specific mention of Paris though, in the article source.)

If you ever manage to come up with a list of all the titles — or even just all the artist names — please post it here! I’d be curious to see what all you came up with. Dare I ask how much it set you back? I’m gonna wildly guess $230. Maybe we should all guess, and see who comes closest.

Just yesterday, I saw the Target a couple blocks from us has a prominent display just inside the main entrance with books, music (LP’s) by Black authors and musicians — nearly all of them with people on the covers of the books and LP’s. And t-shirts, similarly themed (all with prominent individuals). Big banner over all of it — don’t think it said “Black Pride” or “Black Culture” — but something very similar. A Love Supreme was practically front and center. Was disappointed I didn’t see any Miles LP’s. The Trane was the only jazz one. Still, nice to see!

I’m really glad for the logical grouping/programming, by disc — enormously helpful in wrapping my head around all this material. With the added benefit of almost no radical jumps in sound quality either — every disc flows pretty nicely. I even had the solo piano (2) and duo/trio discs (4 & 5) on all day Thursday while my wife was “at work” in the same room — and she didn’t mind a bit of it — and she really liked the solo-piano disc especially (she also likes the solo-piano disc from the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh Mosaic too). The sound quality of those three discs is uniformly excellent (2, 4 & 5). I kind of wish they had included a nice ‘group’ photo of Lennie’s entire personal archive of tapes, wires, and — if any — acetates (I think there were a couple tracks here and there with some surface noise). But maybe not at the loss of another photo that they did include (come to think of it).

Does anyone have this release, and care to discuss? (I’m just discovering of its existence this very minute, and did a quick search to see if it had ever been mentioned around these parts before.)

No shit. I waited tables at a Denny’s on the graveyard shift, the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college — and there’s no way extra free food would fly at any Denny’s.

What looks to be a nice and recent article I just stumbled on (just seconds ago, I haven't had the chance to read it yet). https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/12/how-japan-created-its-own-jazz

A correction that is accurate, and that I much appreciate. (and please note, I put medical fascism and liberty in quotes)

“Medical Fascism” — 0 “Liberty” — 1

Am thru disc 5 now, the last one (for me). Discs 4 & 5 are by comparison, are both a bit more staid than all the rest — I’m not as instantly aware that they’re Lennie, stylistically speaking — but upon future, closer inspection, I’m sure more of what makes him ‘him’ will become more apparent to me. I can now also see the argument for releasing all of this — probably 6 hours worth (I haven’t done the math yet) — all in one unified set. What I find to be the most exciting parts, are all the ones with the most difficult sourcing in terms of sound quality — but their historic importance is unquestionable. But people would be screaming to the rafters if they’d only released that material as, let’s say, just a 2cd set (no matter how historically important and wonderful the underlying music). LIKEWISE, if they’d only released discs 4 & 5 together as a 2cd set, it might have looked more exciting on paper than it actually turned out to be (at least for people like me). Everything is, to one degree or another, quite good — even if it’s not all uniformly spectacular (I’d say the glass is 75% full). But thank goodness there’s a company still willing to do historic releases like this, and big ones at that (at 6 hrs). I’m spinning disc 5 again now, and hearing things I didn’t notice the first time around (what I get for doing other things while listening). That this is none other than “Lennie” is certainly more apparent now, than some of my first time through disc 5. He sure was something special, and well-deserving of a release like this.

I’ve got all of the first 4 High Notes (vol 1-4) under just Woody’s name — but I know I’m missing 1-3 of the various but numerous Woody Shaw related “previously unreleased” releases from the last 8-10 years or so. (Not that I’m complaining about how many there’re been of late, as they’re all excellent!). But it doesn’t help that a couple of them are similar, and both labeled as “Vol 1”. I think(?) all I’m missing is one of the Vol 1’s — and the also similar Louis Hayes (which is a double CD, iirc). And I might(?) be missing just the 2nd volume of Woody/Hayes “One Tour” single disc, also on Highnote (iirc) — but maybe not (can’t remember if I got it once on eBay really cheap, maybe). There’s so many, it’s hard to keep track! Can we compile a simple list of them ALL (all the ones from the last 10 years) by title, and organized (grouped) by label?? Something a person could use as checklist for what they have, and don’t? I can give it a go over the next few days, what I have anyway, but my CD’s are all spread out at the moment (the pandemic has me listening to more music than I have in years, but my bad habit of never putting things back is really out of control).

Thank you!

I’m thru discs 2 & 4 this morning (after 6, 3 yesterday and 1 last night). The SQ on both of today’s discs is uniformly good. Biggest surprise for me is that the solo piano disc (2) doesn’t have anything even half as wacky as “Descent into the Maelstrom” (the tune), or the sped-up piano things with over dubbing, etc. The very first track (the one recorded at RVG’s studio) might qualify, but it’s barely 2 minutes long. All that said, the music is wonderful! Disc 4 too — great music, if not as adventurous as I might have hoped. I’m really loving this set so far — and I can definitely see the historic and artistic value in the inclusion of the dicier sounding material (in terms of SQ). Only disc 5 left to go, this afternoon.

Just found a review, and I’ll look for others to post here as I find them… https://www.jazzwax.com/2022/01/lennie-tristano-personal-recordings-1946-1970.html

Ok, I’ve spun discs 6 and 3 (in that order). Wanted to get right to both the ‘free’ material, which is also the bulk of the wire recordings too — figured I’d start at the bottom rung of the sound-quality ladder, and work my way up. The first half of disc 6 — the 1948 ‘free’ session (from wire) — is lovely, if sonically a bit limiting — but the sound is very acceptable, even if it reminds me of the quality of the Charles Ives solo piano recordings (which may have also been recorded on wire). And the trio recordings that follow are wonderful too (even if recorded a bit ‘hot’). Disc 3 is wonderful musically, but also a bit of a challenge sonically. Still, the music most certainly comes through, and I had no difficulty filling in the gaps in my mind. The rest of the disc, after the initial wire recording, sounds surprisingly similar in quality (some of it), but is equally impressive musically. I’ve only skimmed the liners, but they’re pretty good, if a bit colored by the connection and deep affection of the author (whose name is escaping me, as I type this on my phone, waiting for take out from our favorite Ethiopian restaurant in DC, just blocks from our door). Can’t wait to hear the rest! EDIT: Listened to the first 20 minutes of disc 1 just now too. The vintage of the recordings (1946) is definitely apparent (I’m being polite), but the music will definitely stand up to repeated spins. EDIT2: Picking up where I left off with disc 1 — the music is fantastic, and I’m “getting used to” the sound quality. But, omg, so many lovely left turns, everywhere! The last 1/3rd of this disc is especially nice, and sounds better too.

Wishing you all the strength in the world to get thru this — and from the sounds of it, you have a remarkable well of strength to draw on (I’m sure some days more than others). Hoping every day is better than the last, and onward!

No can do! Hopes still elevated, as I’m just now seeing a status of “Loaded on Delivery Vehicle” on the UPS tracking website. (But here’s hoping yours gets to you ASAP!) 3:30pm EDIT: it just arrived!!!!

Has it really been going on 19 years since this first came out?

Due tomorrow for me too (shipping notice received yesterday afternoon). Counting the hours!

If Beatles “Butcher” covers can be peeled, stickers can possibly be removed — fully recognizing it would probably be a delicate operation to do it “right”.

From that cnn article: Actress Betty White died after suffering a stroke six days prior, according to her death certificate. I’d take 6 days — over the last 2 years my maternal grandmother ‘lived’ after she had a stroke in her mid 70’s, unable to communicate, and largely paralyzed on one side. She could track motion pretty well with her eyes, and gave some slight impression that perhaps she understood what people were saying to her. But we never, ever knew to what extent — if any — if she was “still in there”, in terms of cognition, personality, etc. I don’t mean to minimize Betty White’s manner of departure, but on balance, I’d take the same any day (at any age), over what my grandmother may have experienced (and again, we’ll never know). I may delete this later. I don’t mean to mess up a perfectly good remembrance thread for a legend like Ms. White.

https://www.discogs.com/label/41945-OmniTone

A good and informative review here. I’d forgotten who all was on this date… https://www.allmusic.com/album/second-communion-mw0000220623 French Horn, Producer, Arranged By, Liner Notes – Tom Varner Tenor Saxophone – Tony Malaby Bass – Cameron Brown Drums, Percussion – Matt Wilson Guitar – Pete McCann Cornet – Dave Ballou (3 tracks only)