king ubu

Yes indeed I noticed Hinte! There was some tv series over here on funk and soul, and it went on to disco, Donna Summer etc. - and yeah, plenty of it was downright fascinating to me! I never really bothered to find out much about it previously ... growing up in times of euro-dance crap (my sis listened to that stuff all too often and it hurt my ears ... she in turn considered me elitist), I never quite realized there was more to disco, but indeed there is.

Monday night was Howe Gelb and band ... great fun, very long concert in an intimate venue Howe has played several times and seems to really enjoy - first off was an acoustic set (Howe and another guy on guitars, third on a weird - seems self-made - double bass), then eventually Howe set down at the piano and played lots of Monkish stuff (with the guitar player changing to drums), and finally it went electric (Howe and bassist on electric instruments, third guy still on drums). Not quite sure what it all was, in the end ... dillentante stuff, genius, dada ... but fun it was! On Tuesday I saw german pianist Lars Vogt - change of pace and scene - doing a solo recital. First off, Bach's Goldberg Variations, played softly and with a wonderful touch, an amazingly rich colour palette, too (and with the roughly 75 minutes it took him, he must have played all or most repetitions). After the break, he closed with Beethoven's final piano sonata, op. 111 - amazing stuff to witness in concert, for sure! No encore - but I found that perfectly alright, I mean after op. 111, what else is there to say? Friday night, another change of scene, this time to free improv at the WIM, a musicians' collective offering rehearsal space and doing these workshop concerts. In front of twenty people (several of whom musicians themselves), Colin Vallon (p), Christian Weber (b) and Alex Huber (d) played a terrific concert. First set was powerful and intense, second took a while to build up steam, but again it was great. Vallon played as much inside of the piano than on its keys, using various devices to "prepare" it, Weber was his usual self, strong as a rock yet extremely fast in reacting to the surroundings, with neverending power and flow of ideas, him too applying various techniques they don't teach you in conservatory (or at jazz school), and Huber, whom I'd not seen before, was doing a great job, too, pushing and embellishing, bowing his cymbals but also driving them on with a free style that would still suck you in, rhythmically. At that concert I bumped into an old friend whom I'd not seen for years ... he tells me tonight Weber would play at his place, in front of some invited friends. So of course I went there too - and wow! Again, a great performance, about an hour of solo bass, much arco playing (his fingers nearly fell off yesterday - he never uses amplification and he really was playing hard for both sets!) and again creating soundscapes that were beautiful and wondrous in many respects. Love this big hungry man on the bass! Next up (hopefully, I caught some bad cold and was hesitant to go tonight already) on Wednesday Colin Vallon with his regular trio on their CD release tour.

having given some more thought ... of course it's local guys I saw most often (each of them four or five, maybe six or seven times - and I'll see more of them in the future, I hope): Colin Vallon (with his own trio and with singer Elina Duni, whom, alas, I've seen but twice yet) Christian Weber (from solo to gigs with Oliver Lake and Urs Leimgruber and as sideman with Co Streiff's fine sextet) Irène Schweizer (solo, duos with Pierre Favre and charming singer Françoise Kübler, as guest with Trio 3) of the non-locals, I'm quite sure Taylor Ho Bynum wins the honours (with his sextet, with Braxton, with the Convergence Quartet, with Mike Reed ...), then there's also Matana Roberts (Coin Coin Chapters 1 and 2 and two solo gigs), then the entire Trio 3 (plus Cyrille with Grimes and Crispell, plus Lake in various other settings, plus Workman solo and with Shepp/Lateef). This list is probably still incomplete ... the Bauer brothers have been up several times, Pierre Favre as well, Abdullah Ibrahim for sure (at least four times), Brötzmann ... I should really take notes of the concerts I catch, just like I do with the movies I watch. Memory about sidemen fades too quickly too often.

Wow, that sounds like quite a ride, Ricky! Thanks for sharing - fascinating!

Thanks for these videos - fascinating stuff!

Who is Sylvester? Stallone, Stone, Sonny Red ... or is that one of those cases where "believe me, you don't want to know"?

they seem to call 'em "swiss bells" here (btw, the name of Zurich airport in Dutch means just that: balls )

cow bells, uhm, bull balls? anyone ever tried? they just started serving that in some restaurant here ... fried and with some sauce - just read a story about it ... don't think I'm going to try.

Happy Birthday, Wes, wherever you're truckin' around!

I wonder, too ... that phrase just makes little sense ... I guess it might actually just be ONE record, then bloated to 12" because .... well, why anyway, because it's silly heavy duty vinyl and running at 45 rpm probably. I don't quite get it.

they good! don't know the duo yet, but yeah, go if you have a chance!

There's also this - judged on the disc from last year (sixth book of madrigals by Gesualdo) it ought to be glorious: Gesualdo: Responsoria (1611) La Compagnia del Madrigale (Glossa) Also recently released: Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro Musica Aeterna, Theodor Currentzis (Sony Classical) gets fine reviews ... but Kermes as countess? don't know if I need that ....

I'll be happy if there's new (to me) Teddy Edwards on it ... but yeah, if anyone finds out more on line-ups, please do share!

The Venuti/Lang is probably the one I kick myself most ... got the JSP then - worlds apart, of course! The Bailey I got, hesitatingly - but boy is it good! Recently got the Ella/Duke CD box, so I'll pass that vinyl set - still haven't bought any of those, not even the Monk/Coltrane ... next ones I'd be tempted would be the Coltrane and the Brownie, but in both cases I've got it all (and much more in the case of Brown/Roach) on CD.

dude got older but younger at the same time, crazy but: very valid points, all

I see you've gone for the Hackett. Good move - I've done the same. Yes, with all the Selects suddenly hitting the "running low" list (glad I got the Booby a few months ago - came back in stock and out it goes ... the end of the Selects is pretty near now, alas!) I figured I'll just put in another big order. I'm nearing - for the very first time after nearly 20 years of collecting Mosaic boxes - the state of having almost all I want (missing the Luncerford, Artie Shaw, not sure about the Crosby and the Goodman ... skipping the Satchmo, not sure about Ella and Woody Shaw either yet ... and the new Satchmo will go to the wantlist immediately although probably I won't pre-order. I kinda feel ... saturated Seriously now, I enjoy Hackett's playing where he popped up so far (including the two albums he made with Teagarden) and even though it will probably not turn out a real "must have", it would be one of those cases where I'd be angry at myself for missing it (there are a few of those, but I've found a dozen or so OOP sets in the meantime, although usually not at crazily cheap prices, but affordable and fair).

€ 19.79 at amazon.fr (somewhat more on amazon.de) - indeed pretty okay I'd say!

okay, so who starts the "grumpy old men and their sleep issues" thread?

Why? If they're nicely produced LPs like the Connoisseurs from the mid/late 90s, and if they don't ask crazy prices like those collector's rip-off hi-end 350 gram vinyl labels reissuing every track on a separate 7" at 78 rpm or some such ... I might actually be in for a few favourites on vinyl. Anyway, obviously they could try and get back into documenting at least *some* new stuff, but hey, the NoJo days have gone and come and BN hasn't been what it was for quite a while.

Thanks for posting these lists, will have to look more closely ... some albums might be of interest indeed!

Well, some folks' Blu Spec CD 2 is vinyl, you know?

wish I could grab these two special reissues someplace, but I know of but one shop joining these silly RSD procedures here and I have no idea if they bother about jazz at all ... there's also this: BLUE NOTE RECORDS 75th ANNIVERSARY VINYL INITIATIVE Blue Note will commence an extensive 100-album vinyl reissue initiative on March 25 with the release of five classic titles (Art Blakey Free For All, John Coltrane Blue Train, Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch, Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil, and Larry Young Unity). The vinyl releases are set to continue monthly and will also include modern classics from Blue Note’s recent catalog such as Joe Lovano Quartets: Live At The Village Vanguard, Jason Moran Soundtrack To Human Motion, Terence Blanchard Flow, Medeski Martin & Wood Combustication, and Cassandra Wilson Traveling Miles. Click here for the full list of vinyl releases. Blue Note President Don Was says, “Two years ago, we began remastering the jewels of the Blue Note catalog in hi-def resolutions of 96k and 192k. In order to develop a guiding artistic philosophy for this delicate endeavor, we donned our lab coats, ran dozens of sonic experiments and carefully referenced every generation of our reissues. Ultimately, we decided that our goal would be to protect the original intentions of the artists, producers and engineers who made these records and that, in the case of pre-digital-era albums, these intentions were best represented by the sound and feel of their first-edition vinyl releases. Working with a team of dedicated and groovy engineers, we found a sound that both captured the feel of the original records while maintaining the depth and transparency of the master tapes... the new remasters are really cool! While these new versions will become available in digital hi-def, CD and Mastered for iTunes formats, the allure of vinyl records is WAY too potent to ignore. This year, Blue Note - along with our friends at Universal Music Enterprises - is launching a major 75th Anniversary vinyl Initiative that is dedicated to the proposition that our catalog should be readily available at a low cost, featuring high quality pressings and authentic reproductions of Blue Note's iconic packaging. Although this program begins in celebration of Blue Note's 75th Anniversary, our catalog runs so deep that we will faithfully be reissuing five albums a month for many years to come!” [...] For Record Store Day in April, Blue Note will also reissue the label’s first two releases as limited edition 12” vinyl: Meade “Lux” Lewis “Melancholy”/”Solitude” (BN1) and Albert Ammons “Boogie Woogie Stomp”/”Boogie Woogie Blues” (BN2). Other catalog releases, including a 75-track digital bundle spanning Blue Note’s entire history, will be announced shortly. http://www.bluenote.com/news/blue-note-announces-75th-anniversary-vinyl-in AVAILABLE MARCH 25, 2014 ART BLAKEY - FREE FOR ALL WAYNE SHORTER - SPEAK NO EVIL JOHN COLTRANE - BLUE TRAIN ERIC DOLPHY - OUT TO LUNCH LARRY YOUNG - UNITY AVAILABLE APRIL 22, 2014 ORNETTE COLEMAN - AT THE "GOLDEN CIRCLE" STOCKHOLM, VOL. 1 HERBIE HANCOCK - MAIDEN VOYAGE SONNY ROLLINS - A NIGHT AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD CANNONBALL ADDERLEY - SOMETHIN' ELSE DEXTER GORDON - OUR MAN IN PARIS AVAILABLE MAY 27, 2014 Horace Silver - Song For My Father McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy Grant Green - Idle Moments Hank Mobley - Soul Station Madlib - Shades Of Blue AVAILABLE JUNE 24, 2014 Dexter Gordon - Go Lee Morgan - Cornbread Bobby Hutcherson - Total Eclipse Jimmy Smith - Back At The Chicken Shack Medeski Martin & Wood - Combustication AVAILABLE JULY 29, 2014 Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue Donald Byrd - Black Byrd Joe Henderson - Mode For Joe Cassandra Wilson - Traveling Miles Kenny Dorham - Afro-Cuban AVAILABLE AUGUST 26, 2014 Lou Donaldson - Lush Life Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 Wayne Shorter - Juju Herbie Hancock - Speak Like A Child Terence Blanchard - Flow AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 Kenny Drew - Undercurrent Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' Stanley Turrentine - That's Where It's At Freddie Hubbard - Ready For Freddie Brian Blade Fellowship - Perceptual AVAILABLE OCTOBER 28, 2014 Horace Silver - Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers The Three Sounds - Out Of This World Dianne Reeves - I Remember Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music, Vol. 1 AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 25, 2014 Curtis Fuller - The Opener Joe Lovano Quartets: Live At The Village Vanguard Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder Ornette Coleman - New York Is Now Clifford Brown - Memorial Album AVAILABLE DECEMBER 30, 2014 Andrew Hill - Black Fire Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring Anthony Williams - Spring Grant Green - Street Of Dreams Bobby McFerrin - Spontaneous Inventions AVAILABLE JANUARY 27, 2015 Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple Art Blakey - Mosaic Jason Moran - Soundtrack To Human Motion Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 24, 2015 Don Cherry - Complete Communion Elvin Jones - The Ultimate Robert Glasper - Double Booked Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music, Vol. 2 Sonny Rollins - Newk's Time AVAILABLE MARCH 24, 2015 Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer Freddie Hubbard - Blue Spirits Kurt Elling - Flirting With Twilight Grachan Moncur III - Evolution Sonny Rollins Vol. 1 AVAILABLE APRIL 28, 2015 Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner Horace Silver - Cape Verdean Blues McCoy Tyner - Time For Tyner Joe Henderson - The State of the Tenor - Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 Cecil Taylor - Conquistador! AVAILABLE MAY 26, 2015 Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land Medeski Martin & Wood - End Of The World Party Art Blakey - A Night A Birdland, Vol. 1 Bobby Hutcherson - Components Grant Green - I Want To Hold Your Hand AVAILABLE JUNE 30, 2015 Donald Byrd - A New Perspective Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter Hank Mobley - The Turnaround Bud Powell - The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 5 Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up AVAILABLE JULY 28, 2015 Miles Davis Vol. 1 Tina Brooks -True Blue Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure Joe Henderson - Page One Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing AVAILABLE AUGUST 25, 2015 Donald Byrd - At The Half Note Café, Vol. 1 Art Blakey - A Night A Birdland, Vol. 2 Freddie Hubbard - Breaking Point! Sonny Clark - Leapin' and Lopin' Stefon Harris - Black Action Figure AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 Horace Silver - Blowin' The Blues Away Miles Davis Vol. 2 McCoy Tyner - Expansions Art Blakey - Moanin' John Scofield - Time On My Hands AVAILABLE OCTOBER 27, 2015 Jimmy Smith - Midnight Special Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 Hank Mobley - Workout Bobby Hutcherson - Happenings Joe Lovano - Rush Hour **Release Dates Are Subject To Change**

here's an old thread discussing some of these post-comeback Blue Notes, including some for the Williams ones, which I've got by way of the Select, but I'm really not all that familiar with them yet, what I know better are some of the live recordings around ... and I guess the "good not great" bottom line works for me, too ... maybe the adult love even - anyway, for those interested:

Yeah, seeing the thread title I wondered ... but phew, I'm relieved now, Jon is still oder than me Happy Birthday!

Yep, I guess even two Selects, depending on how much beef you want ... but I don't got beef with you