Rooster_Ties

Can anyone (Kevin??) mention these sides to Michael sometime, and just get his perspective on this. Maybe get him to brainstorm about how to somehow get them released?? Or Chuck, do you have any kind of rapport with Michael, enough that it would it be worth you contacting him somehow (e-mail, phone, whatever), to discuss/brainstorm it?? Maybe even play the tapes for Michael, even over the phone (hell, Miles played music over the phone to people all the time!! - or so I've read in every Miles biography ever written). Then (maybe?) Michael could maybe talk it up with the right people, or at least help make some of the bigger "behind the scenes" movers and shakers aware of the music, and the need for it to be released?? Or is there anybody besides Michael worth bringing into the discussion on this?? Normally Chuck would be the first person I would think of in these kind of situations, but Chuck's already on the case!! ===== By the way, on the Cherry sides – does he play trumpet / pocket trumpet / cornet on the whole thing, or are there any of his world music instruments?? (I don’t mean that disparagingly, although I am revealing my personal preferences (brass!) in Cherry’s choice of instruments.)

This just came out in on CD in the U.S. in late April of 2003 -- with 3 pretty significant bonus tracks (about 20 minutes of extra music), all of them "alternate takes", but one is especially important in my estimation). It should be easy to order from almost any store or on-line source. Here's a whole thread about it... Link: Jimmy Woods - CONFLICT, first U.S. CD release, w/ bonus tracks!! One of the very best re-issues of the last year.

I'm amazed all the time at the obscure shit that Google can find for me. Or, rather, I guess I should be amazed at all the really obscure shit that's out there on the web in the first place!!!!

All this is RE: I see it at the used record stores practically all the time. That good? I'm not saying it's a 5-star record, but it's probably a 4-star record, or at least 3 & 1/2 stars. Frankly, I hadn't even given it a second thought when I first saw it in the stores, prior to it being offered to me in a trade. I'm not sure how I can characterize this, without going overboard. It's a much deeper album than it could have easily been. It's not just a bunch of guys doing a bunch of standards, without any thought or care about the music. (Not that I thought that Jackie, Cedar, and the others were gonna just phone it in.) But, I think they dug deeper than certainly I was expecting, on what I would have normally dismissed as being a fairly (sorry) boring program. I mean, come on, "Nightingale"?? - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"?? - not exactly titles that motivate me to buy something, that's for sure... 1. You Don't Know What Love Is (DePaul/Raye) - 7:47 2. Nature Boy (Ahbez) - 9:30 3. I Can't Get Started (Duke/Gershwin) - 7:57 4. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter) - 6:31 5. I Fall in Love Too Easily (Cahn/Styne) - 5:09 6. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Harbach/Kern) - 5:51 7. Star Eyes (DePaul/Raye) - 5:31 8. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Maschwitz/Sherwin) - 8:27 Jackie McLean - Alto Cedar Walton - Piano David Williams - Bass Billy Higgins - Drums If you see "Nature Boy" used, by all means get it. Just don't expect quite the same old Jackie. He's much more "inside" than usual (and I almost never (ever!) sing the praises of really 'straight-ahead' dates recorded within the last 10 or even 20 years.) This one, however, is strangely different.

hell yeah!!!!

Man, I shouldnt' have done this, but I did. Here's what I just posted to the parallel thread on AAJ, after several people started taking Hardbop to task over his complete dismissal of fusion, and his equating of "Head Hunters" with Kenny G.

Yes, the Impulse Ornette's would be excellent to finally have on CD, someday. And it's a crime that "Contours" has never been issued as a Conn. Although I'm really glad to see "Fuschia Swing Song" finally get released domestically (this Fall), I was really disappointed that it isn't/wasn't going to be a RVG, and instead is being released as a Conn. If it were me, I would have definitely released "Fuschia Swing Song" as a RVG, followed by "Contours" as a Conn about a year or three later. As it is now, I'm afraid it'll be 5 years before we get "Contours" released in the U.S. as a single CD. I'm not at all familiar with Art Hodes. (eek!! ) What's the story with "Shine"?? The AMG doesn't have it listed at all, and for that matter, none of the Blue Note albums for Hodes have any BN covers shown, with the minimalistic reviews in the AMG. Somebody edumacate me!! What's the 'original cover' to "Shine"???

Still, you'd think Jackie could play for the 'hometown' crowd once or twice a year, even if the money wasn't as good as in New York City. Reminds me of somebody else... Kevin Mahogany was way beyond being just a 'local musician' on the Kansas City scene, shortly after I moved here in mid 1994, although he hadn’t quite broken with the kind of huge success he would soon achieve in the mid-to-late 90’s. But, I remember having chances to hear him sing, maybe twice a year, from 1994 through at least 1998. Usually one of the jazz festivals would pick him up, every other year it seemed (there were two or three major jazz festivals in Kansas City back then, and then the University of Kansas has an annual festival that he was at one year, barely an hour from Kansas City). And then he'd get booked into one of the better jazz concert series, perhaps once every other year. And then, he'd probably do one 'club date' per year, locally. All that added up to nearly twice a year (or at least once every 9 months, roughly) that Mahogany played in his hometown, even though he was clearly a 'national' and 'international' artist, capable of netting gig money beyond what he could pull at home. All that says to me that Jackie could play at home at least once per year, without compromising his salary requirements too terribly much. Or am I being unreasonable?? Mahogony and his lovely wife (who is an incredible jazz photographer, I might add), have since moved away from Kansas City, so he doesn't play here nearly as much any more (in fact, I can't remember him being here anytime in the last 3 or 4 years). Then again, all three of our jazz festivals (except K.U.'s) have dried up and gone away too, one by one.

When I was demoing (sp?) bookshelf systems a couple years ago, I took... "New York Reunion" McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and Al Foster (on Chesky) "Requiem" by Hans Werner Henze, which is this HUGE 20th-century work for chamber-orchestra, trumpet soloist, and piano soloist. It's a MONSTER, and will put hair on anyone's chest. (Imagine a cross between Stravinsky, Ives, Hindemith, and Frank Zappa's orchestral work.) I usually call it Henze's "Trumpet Requiem", since it's basically an hour-long trumpet concerto for trumpet and 26-piece chamber orchestra, with lots of piano (but less piano than trumpet). Also, probably something more conservative, like some late Romantic chamber music, perhaps Grieg's string quartet, and/or cello sonata. And maybe Brahms' 1st piano quartet. And, probably some sort of pop/rock music, maybe Matthew Sweet, or Ben Folds, or something like that.

By the way, I picked up Jackie's "Nature Boy" from the late 90's - in a trade from Conn500 a few months back, and I really love this disc. It's a side of Jackie I hadn't heard as much (if ever?) - more 'inside', and it's all standards, but still some very tasty stuff, kinda like the way Joe Henderson treats standards - and above all, it really speaks with Jackie's voice. I wanted to tell others not to overlook this gem, especially if you see it as a bargain somewhere.

Of course the irony in all this is that I don't own either "Head Hunters" or "Blood On The Fields". I've heard "Head Hunters" before (about 6 or 8 years ago), but I've never heard "Blood...", not even any sound-samples. BUT, if you look at all my posts on this topic (both here and on the parallel AAJ thread) - I don't think I've ever made any grand statements about the relative value of either title, short of suggesting that maybe Carla Bley's "Escalator Over The Hill" might be more groundbreaking (for it's time), than "Blood On The Fields" is (for it's time). I just was getting tired of Hardbop and that other guy having a big old pissing contest, without enough other people giving their opinions on the matter - to hopefully add weight to what I think is the relative value of each. (And yes, I said "think", because I have my serious doubts about "Blood..." (which I've never heard) --- but then, yes, it's been years since I've heard "Head Hunters".) BUT, I never actually said one is better than the other. I just wanted to create a poll and a thread to go with it (more so on AAJ than here, cuz AAJ is where Hardbop and that other guy hang out), so people could hash it out however they like.

Paging "Peter Johnson".....

I know, many of you don't give a rat's ass about the jazz polls (and I'm not asking anyone to). But come on, some of you can admit that there is some aspect to them that's interesting, if for no other reason that to gauge what the core readership of a magazine like Downbeat is really interested in. And in that regard, although I never expect all my favorites to 'win' their respective categories... ...I am always glad to see when some more slightly obscure (or at least less 'popular' people) actually place highly in the polls. For instance, Jason Moran probably isn't selling a ton of CD's, but I love that he's doing so well in the critic's polls, and doing (what I think is) pretty darn well in the reader's polls. Same thing with Greg Osby. Gives me some hope for the future of the music. (And yes, I realize that some of you are barely interested in even half-a-dozen names (total!!) in any of the polls. That's fine - I'm not suggesting anybody like anything they don't like.)

ROTFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps release it as a series of box-sets, perhaps in 1,000 CD increments - which would mean one new box-set every couple of months (1,000 CD's @ 79 minutes each, is about 55 days worth of continuous sound.) Actually, anyone want to take bets on how long it takes before you can hear live-streaming-audio of the "performance", on the web?? I can see it now... "Just 'click here' to hear the work in progress."

Where's Aric's response to this thread???

What the hell, indeed... Glad to have you back, Aric.

Is anybody recording it???

Actually, now that nobody has voted for "Blood on the Fields" (over "Head Hunters"), I'm thinking of starting another poll over there where I just ask if anybody thinks "Blood on the Fields" is any good (yes or no??), just on it's own merits. :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile:

Couldn't help it. He was askin' for it!!!

Thankyou!!!!!!!

Quick update - 18 votes so far at the parallel poll on AAJ. 18 votes for "Head Hunters" Zero votes for "Blood on the Fields". Hardbop wouldn't vote, cuz he had never heard "Head Hunters" before.

So, just out of curiousity, when was the last time some serious "previously unreleased" Charlie Parker was discovered??? 5 years ago?? 10 years ago?? 20 years ago?? 30 years ago?? I know this is a major event, but could someone provide some perspective on how major it is?? I guess I'm asking this: For how long have Parker fanatics thought that that was all there was to hear from the man, and there probably ain't no more??? Thanks!!! -- R.T.

Your original point is mostly correct, Bev, in that most of the poll winners (as usual) were mostly Americans. However, down in the "Rising Star" ranks mostly, there were some notable non-Americans. Perhaps not as many as you'd like, but perhaps more than you might have been expecting?? Probably not, but there were at least a few - here and there.

You mean like "Blue Train" or "A love Supreme?" Ok, clearly not every SACD release... But, over the years, it's been my observation that the majority of "audiophile" releases are (at least more often than not), (re)releases of material that doesn't push the envelope, never did push the envelope (except 50 to 150 years before, in the case of classical recordings, of things like Mahler and Beethoven), and wouldn't even think of pushing the envelope. (Meaning most of them are pretty "safe" material.) There are exceptions, to be sure. Many of them, probably. But, in principal, I think my statement is largely true. I can't count the number of times I've read or seen references to "audiophile LP" releases of the most pedantic material imaginable. I'm not saying it's a hard-n-fast rule, but to my estimation, there sure are a hell of a lot of audiophile issues of some pretty damn "nice" material out there. (And that word "nice" is very much "in quotes", if you know what I mean.) Surely I'm not the only one who's had this observation??? Or perhaps it’s better with SACD's than with audiophile LP's. I remember getting some catalog in the mail a few years ago (late 90's), listing a ton of audiophile LP's, many of them even 45-rmp issues of 12" platters, presenting what was one 33-rpm LP (originally), now spread over two 12" 45's. And I remember thinking at the time that nearly all the selections in this catalog were for people who were way more into $20,000 turntables, and $500 needles, and the “SOUND” of the record... ...than they ever were interested in the “MUSIC”. Shit, if I remember right - there were even several Boston Pops recordings from the 50's in there, and other such nonsense. I'm not saying that music has no redeeming value, but to go to all that "sonic" trouble, for that!! - was and is totally beyond me. [/soapbox]