B. Clugston

Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s.

There's a phone ringing and footsteps on an old Sun Ra Saturn date. Derek Bailey's Music and Dance featuers a rainstorm.

That's right--same line-up plus guests on the Montreux box, recorded three days earlier. My interest in the Montreux box ends about midway through that concert.

Robben Ford was a nice addition to the band. Adding another keyboardist wasn't--too many cheesy synths.

The Arista contains an extra track too from the earlier session ("Closer"). Levinson plays on sidelong versions of "Blood" and "Mr. Joy."

Just picked up "On the Beach" on vinyl the other day and am quite enjoying it. Definitely of its time, but enjoyable, like the missing link between Sun Ra and Earth, Wind and Fire.

I'm curious about the label. It's reissued a few gems from the FMP label. Also, its design is very Brotzmannesque.

That's where I first encountered him too. That was quite a horn section: Young, Howard Johnson, Earl McIntyre, J.D. Parran and Joe Farrell.

Keep posting the positive reviews--no one is going to pay too much attention to the dates. The two-star reviewer is nuts and probably listened to a rip of someone's old scratchy vinyl. This is a great reissue in so many ways--excellent remaster, interesting bonus tracks, interesting liner notes.

It will be part of the reissue.

Correct. Willisau has been an upcoming release for eight years now. Don't hold your breath on some of this stuff.

He also knocks one of my favourites — Miles Davis In Concert — and wasn't as enthused about Pangaea. I found the book more valuable for the interviews. Most of the Columbia era boxed sets have a lot of interviews and extensive details about tracks. The On the Corner box has very little information. Tingen's book helps fill in the blanks. In particular, I found what Reggie Lucas and Mtume had to say to be very interesting.

Ed Michel's liner notes to Sun Ra: The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals & Crystal Spears tell the story. It was either excerpted or reprinted in the Impulse book.

Bobby Hutcherson's Now has Gene (aka Eugene) McDaniels on vocals plus a small chorus (4 singers?).

"Honky Tonk" isn't on the box set (you'll have to get the Jack Johnson box for that one), but everything else is, including an alternate of "Mtume." Mixes are from the LP masters. "Calypso Frelimo" could use a remastering--it's always sounded partially submerged to me.

Third World with Dollar Brand, Don Cherry and Carlos Ward is a great one which deserves wider attention.

That's a great version and the first that came to my mind.

Marantzes were great. I keep hoping one will turn up at a garage sale. Actually saw one at a yard sale once, but my nap-fickle baby had just fallen asleep after an hour of pushing her in the stroller.

Happy Birthday Allen!

Lord Dufferin's Letters From High Latitudes is about a journey to Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen. Full of dry humour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_from_High_Latitudes

Just as a matter of interest (to me at least), why has Dogon A.D. never had a proper, official release? I assume that it has to do with complications in obtaining rights from the Hemphill estate. I know that Tim Berne was planning to release it on his label, but gave up. Berne had it up as a download for a while on his site. It is a classic! Maybe the fact Freedom issued it at one point complicated the rights.

I wish they would make a good movie.

I’m glad to see a Dogon A.D. reissue in the works. That’s a great album. How about more Bill Dixon? Would love to see Considerations 1 & 2 reissued in some format. Would also like to see the rest of Ornette Coleman’s 1962 Town Hall concert released, but I suspect that would involve a lot of lawyers plus finding out which cupboard or under which mattress Ornette stashed the reel.

One of my favourites too. The official explanation for the short playing time is because "the recording was cut at 160 lines per inch (instead of the usual 210 to 260 lines per square inch) making the grooves wider and deeper and allowing for more area between the grooves for bass frequencies." Some people suspect it was originally intended as a 10 inch.

Considering the volcanic tempers involved, it's lucky they got 27 minutes on tape.