Rooster_Ties

and???......

16-year old Eldar, doing Chick Corea's "Matrix"

Yeah, he's been living in the Kansas City area for about the last 5 or 6 years. He's incredible now, but he was nearly as amazing even back when he was only like 12 years old. A couple good friends of mine are the rhythm section on both of his (Eldar's) CD's, and they can't say enough good things about him - even privately. (And this is coming from two of the very best local musicians in the Kansas City area - guys who are at the very top of the 'call list' if a national act passes through town and needs a sub.) The kid really is that amazing. http://eldarjazz.com or http://eldarjazz.com/bio.html to go straight to his bio. I understand last year Eldar was on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" show on NPR (although I didn't catch the show, unfortunately). Here's another good quote... “What Eldar has is some kind of gift. You don’t just learn the stuff he’s playin’ when you’re 10 or 15 years old. I can’t think of nobody I’ve known playing like that at that age. It’s amazing…and it’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever heard.” -- 93-YEAR-OLD CLAUDE “FIDDLER” WILLIAMS, JAM MAGAZINE, KANSAS CITY (Aug./Sept., 2001) <-- Then <-- Now Oh, there are sound-samples of several of his tunes on his web-site... http://eldarjazz.com/handprints-cd.html (his second CD) http://eldarjazz.com/eldar-cd.html (his first CD)

If I might ask, then, who would you (Bev) have voted for in each of these categories?? (And yes, the first post above is MY vote.) I ask in all seriousness, what would your vote be?? If it helps any, here are some non-Americans that I gave serious thought to voting for... Kenny Wheeler or Tomasz Stanko could have just as easily gotten my vote, as Jeremy Pelt. (I just was hoping to kick Pelt up into their top-10 list on the 'readers' side of the poll, since I'm pretty sure Wheeler and Stanko will already be there.) And, I love that Ingrid Jensen nearly tied Jeremy Pelt for "Rising Star - Trumpet". I would have voted for Rabih Abou-Khalil for "Beyond Artist/Group", and probably for "Misc. Instrument" too - but the critics didn't even put him on any their top-10 lists, so I figured - why bother?? Would it help to say that I was very pleased to see the Esbjorn Svensson Trio listed as 3rd in the "Rising Star - Acoustic Jazz Group" category?? I couldn't vote for them as my favorite, but I'm glad some others think they are. Also, I damn near voted for Nils Petter Molvaer for "Electric Group", but gave the nod to Dave Douglas (cuz I have my doubts as to weather Molvaer could even get in the top-10 in the readers poll). Does that help any?? Maybe not, but it can't hurt, can it.

I'm skeptical of any recording 'popular' enough to have been released on SACD...

I am vaguely aware of this release, but I've never seen one except on-line (then again, I could say that about 5,000 other titles). My understanding is that it is an import (non-U.S.) reissue of some sort, and I want to say that it's from Italy or something like that. They have it at Dusty Goove now, and describe it like this... 1. Joe Henderson -- Power To The People . . . CD . . . $13.99 (Item: 50852) Milestone/Universe (Italy), 1969 Condition: New Copy One of the best, and certainly the rarest, of the Joe Henderson electric sides from the early 70s! The record features Joe hitting a wonderful warm spiritual vibe -- playing with an excellent group that features Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums -- plus additional trumpet by Mike Lawrence on 2 tracks. Tracks are long and flowing -- with a mode that's a perfect bridge between Joe's Blue Note work, and the spiritual soul jazz sound of the 70s! Titles include "Black Narcissus", "Isotope", "Afro-Centric", and "Power to The People". (Issued in a cool 5" gatefold cover!) I should mention that I'm no fan of the 'mini-LP' format for CD's, which this appears to be. At least the price is pretty decent for an import. But what I want is for Fantasy to release this in a jewel-box, and have it be 'in stock' in Joe Henderson bins all around the country. IMHO, it is Joe's best Milestone album, and one of Joe's top-5 albums of his entire output (under his own leadership). When I'm asked what are my favorite Joe Henderson albums, I almost always say "Mode For Joe", and "Power To The People".

I should add that "Power to the People" is one of my all-time favorite Joe Henderson albums. Why the flip it hasn't been released domestically (in the U.S.) by the OJC folks is beyond me. It's Joe's all-time best 'electric-period' album, by far, period. (Desert-island-disc material, if you ask me.)

I think the AMG reviews are fairly accurate, in terms of their description of the albums. "In Pursuit of Blackness" is probably the better of the two, but I wouldn't have panned "Black Is the Color" quite as harshly as the AMG did. IMHO, "In Pursuit of Blackness/Black Is the Color" is a much more logical pairing on one CD, than their previous pairing of "Tetragon/In Pursuit of Blackness". Frankly, I'd dive in and get the whole Milestones box-set, most of which is fairly outstanding (is that a mixed message?). 1967 The Kicker - Milestone/OJC 1967 - Tetragon - Milestone/OJC 1969 - Power to the People - Milestone 1970 - If You're Not Part of the Problem.... - Milestone 1970 - In Pursuit of Blackness - Milestone 1970 - Live at the Lighthouse - Milestone 1971 - Joe Henderson in Japan - Milestone/OJC 1972 - Black Is the Color - Milestone 1973 - Multiple - Original Jazz 1973 - The Elements - Milestone 1973 - Canyon Lady - Milestone/OJC 1974 - Black Narcissus - Milestone 1975 - Black Miracle - Milestone Of those listed above, I'd give half of them 4 or 5 stars (out of 5), and the rest only 3 or 3.5 stars. But it's all Joe, and it's all good - in my opinion. I'd probably give "In Pursuit of Blackness" 3.5 stars, and "Black Is the Color" 3 stars.

And frankly, I mostly agree with many of the reasons NOT to care about polls. BUT, for some weird reason, I still read 'em, and usually try to vote in them. (Just like the national elections, I figure "you catch bitch if you don't vote!!") I often learn about new people that I should know about through the polls (mostly through the critics picks for "Rising Stars" (which used to be called "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition"). And, I'm always amazed and the number of people in the polls who I am totally unfamiliar with (most of whom I lookup and discover there’s a good reason I’m totally unfamiliar with them ). Probably 75% of the names that I'm glad I'm seeing in the polls, are in the "Rising Stars" categories, like I was glad to see Jason Moran get top honors in the "Rising Star - Jazz Artist", "Rising Star - Piano", and "Rising Star - Composer" categories this year. I was also really glad to see Chick Corea's "The Complete 'IS' Sessions" actually get enough votes to 'place' in the top-10 of the critics "best reissue" category. And, I was glad to see Jeremy Pelt win the "Rising Star - Trumpet" category, with Ingrid Jensen a very close second. Anyway, here's how I voted this year. I normally only vote for names that at least got a few votes in the critics poll (meaning they placed in the top-10, or in the top-10 "Rising Star"). I figure, there’s no point in throwing my vote away with some crazy 'write-in' candidates. (Although I did write-in "Gary Thomas" in the flute category last year, even though he wasn't in the critics top-10, even under "Rising Star/TDWR"; and I wrote-in Greg Osby for clarinet last year too. This year, though, Sam Rivers got the 'flute' nod from me; and Osby didn’t do any clarinet work on record, so Chris Speed got my vote.) And sometimes I'll vote for a slightly lesser 'rising star', even if I realize that there is a 'master' who I really think is better. So, here's my vote for 2003... Hall of Fame: Billy Higgins Jazz Musician of the Year: Wayne Shorter Jazz Album of the Year: Jason Moran - "Modernistic" Jazz Reissue of the Year: Chick Corea - "Complete 'IS' Sessions" Jazz Record Label of the Year: Palmetto Jazz Electric Group: Dave Douglas "Freak In" Jazz Acoustic Combo: Greg Osby Quartet Jazz Big Band: Andrew Hill Blues Musician/Group of the Year: Blind Boys of Alabama Blues Album of the Year: (no vote) Beyond Musician/Group: Elvis Costello Beyond Album: Elvis Costello "When I Was Cruel" Arranger: Uri Caine Composer: Andrew Hill Trumpet: Jeremy Pelt Trombone: Robin Eubanks Flute: Sam Rivers Clarinet: Chris Speed Soprano Sax: Chris Potter Alto Sax: Greg Osby Tenor Sax: Wayne Shorter Baritone Sax: John Surman Electric Keyboard/Synth: Uri Caine Acoustic Piano: Jason Moran Organ: Dr. Lonnie Smith Guitar: John Scofield Electric Bass: James Genus Acoustic Bass: Scott Colley Drums: Nasheet Waits Percussion: Kahil El'Zabar Vibes: Stefon Harris Misc. Instrument: Tom Varner (French horn) Male Singer: Andy Bey Female Singer: Cassandra Wilson Vocal Group: (no vote) (The one's I feel strongly about are in 'bold'.)

Yamaha CP70B Electric Grand Piano Hafta confess I'd never even heard of such an animal, until I just did a search. Lots more great pictures, and a fairly lengthy description at the link provided above. Here's one more good picture...

(I just started this exact same poll on AAJ, and the quotes come from another AAJ thread. Thought it might be fun to post the same poll here. And actually, if you have anything really meaty to say on the subject, I'd really appreciate if you also posted it over on the AAJ side of the world, since that's where the real fireworks are already beginning to happen on this subject.) Which of these two albums was more groundbreaking??? Make your choice: which one will "stand the test of time"??? :D

"Beatrice" - every version by Sam Rivers, and he's done it a number of times. My favorite is probably the original on "Fuschia Swing Song", but he also does a wonderful version backed by a guitar trio on 1989's "Lazuli" on Timeless. (Also, Joe Henderson's treatment of it on "State of the Tenor...".) Second place (for me) might go to Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus", which is also a seriously beautiful tune. I probably like the orignial best, on Joe's "Power to the People" on Milestone, but the big-band version Joe did for Verve is pretty amazing too. Anyone concur with either of these choices???

The notorius NORMAPHON...

Wyschnegradsky in 1935 in front of his quarter-tone piano. More pictures of the same guy... And pardon my french (I guess I'm having an 'Aric' moment)... ...but holy shit, what the fuck is this???!!!!!!!

RAVEN PIANO BASS Believed to have been manufactured by now defunct Japanese company Gyu Sashi Gyoza, we now know for a fact that this unit was not regularly used by Ray Manzarek of the Doors. I guess that when this was made ,Bass wasn’t considered too important because this instrument has the choice of a massive two sounds…..Mellow or Bright –(really only basic tonal filters) As well as the standard Sustain/Percussive attack features and Slow/Fast decay times, the manufacturers in their infinite wisdom chose also to include a vitally important "Fuzz" facility – ideal for that authentic "Electric Prunes" total square wave sound. Two octaves long with very fashionable grey and white keys, this was one keyboard that expired well before it’s use by date.

1) Kawai EP608 From the early 80's comes this electro-acoustic, upright piano. Standing less than a metre tall and only about 120cm in overall length, this piano is quite compact. Well, small for a real piano anyway…..and this is a real piano, with wooden keys, hammers and a strung iron frame harp section. Some concessions have been made - the keyboard is 76 notes long, and the top and centre sections of the harp have only one string per note. (An acoustic piano has 88 notes with two strings per note in the centre section, and three strings for all the top notes.) Other than this, the EP608 is, in all other aspects, an amplified acoustic piano. I would imagine that Kawai chose the single strings for ease of tuning while on the road. As for the keyboard length, a full 88 would've made the whole thing considerably larger all round, thereby reducing it's appeal for stage use. (Ever lugged a CP80?!) The whole thing is enclosed in a lightweight plastic casing, with steel stand-type legs supporting it. The keyboard section swings down through 90degrees to become totally enclosed within the plastic casing…..a clever concept. All controls are mounted on an aluminium panel just above the keyboard at the left-hand end. There you'll find three push-button tone controls with different filters producing quite noticeably different tones. Tremelo has also been added, with dedicated pots for speed and depth. Outputs are on the front (this side toward the enemy!) of the unit….stereo, of course. The 608 doesn't have a damper pedal (not very necessary in it's intended applications), but has a cable operated sustain pedal not dissimilar to a Wurlitzer's .The real beauty of an electro-acoustic instrument such as this, is in it's ability to customise the action…….which is bona-fide acoustic piano, so various things like key depression depth and weight can be altered. All in all, this makes an ideal unit for a home project studio, or an excellent instrument to have at home for practice or pleasure….Hey,…you can even play the thing with headphones and avoid unwanted nocturnal visits from that grumpy neighbour!!

I think Conn500 needs a new Avatar... Congrats!! My wife and I got our first pets (two cats) in February, and it's great having them!! My wife hadn't ever had a pet before, and it had been over 8 or 9 years since I last had a cat (when I was back in college). Well-cared for animals are good for the soul.

Hi Chuck - glad to see you back!!! RE: Your post just now... That's why I specifically said that the poll was only to consider jazz pianists of the last 50 years or so. I realize that if one opens up the choices to the whole gambit of jazz piano history (of the entire last century), then there are lots of other names to be considered too. I guess what I was driving at was some sense of where Hill fit in people's thoughts about the cats who came up in the 50's, 60's, and beyond. Maybe that shows some of my biases, but more than anything - it just shows where my interests are more strongly weighted. So then, can I assume you didn't vote, Chuck?? I almost did the poll by simply asking, "on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being 'not at all', and 10 being 'like manna from heaven'), how much do like Andrew Hill, as a pianist/composer/band-leader (combined). Perhaps that would have worked better at getting to my real question, which was "how much do the people on this board like/dislike Hill". (My sense was that the Organissimo board likes Hill a whole lot more than the All-About-Jazz board.)

Thanks Chaney!! By the way, I see AfricaBrass in on-line at this moment, and I know this poll wouldn't be complete without his vote. And I'll bet I can guess what he'll pick too!!

I wouldn't delete this thread either, but changing the topic 'title' and 'subtitle' (much like Jim changed his own first post) I think would make sense. Just my own opinion.

Speaking of which, does anybody know where I can score me one of these?? Preferably without breaking the bank, and possibly from a U.S. vendor of some sort?? Or if it has to be from some place overseas, can somebody vouch for them?? I'm a big fan of Hill's solo piano recordings, and I'm sure that years from now I'll be kicking myself if I don't pick this one up now, while it's still sorta-kinda-available. Thanks a bunch!!!!

...and THAT is one of the reasons why I LOVE this board!!!!

Just sent you an e-mail about the Freddie Redd "Shades of Red", and Bill Evans & Jim Hall, "Undercurrents" (BN 24-bit) discs. Thanks!! -- Tom / Rooster T.

Been down that long for me too...

Frankly, I'm speachless. And nearly 8 hours later (say what you will, Jim) -- "strung out" Bert is still on the "Family Friendly" Road-Runner homepage. http://www.rr.com/v5/home/0,1793,73,00.html I wonder how long it'll take for somebody higher-up to say "WTF???", and send Bert back into rehab. By the way, congrats to Jim on reaching "Groove Merchant" status (1,000 posts!!!), I think with the very post above this one!! Now, back to matters at hand... Jim, I think you're frontin' for Bert, though I can't for the life of me figure out why??? Anybody remember this???