king ubu

Anyone else planning to attend the Yusef Lateef/Archie Shepp concert in Ludwigshafen on November 10? Got tickets for Niko and myself - at the very end of the hall, on the balcony, I'm afraid ... some better seats turned up as free that were all purportedly sold when I booked, but anyway, I'm looking forward a lot! The rhythm section announced is: Mulgrew Miller, Reggie Workman, Hamid Drake. I've seen those three in other settings, but on paper, this all looks like an excellent band (and one to fit with Shepp, too, whom I've never seen live ... guess I'd have preferred catching him in the mid sixties, but even if I catch him live, I won't need to buy any of his boring albums of the more recent decades, will I? ) Anyone caught Lateef lately? He's old, so I am a bit worried ... but then I couldn't forgive myself for not having caught him live at all! (I should have gone to Cully in 2007, where he played with the Belmondo brothers, presenting their double disc release - great disc, great concert, Lateef in fine shape back then, but at this age, four years may change a lot.)

Yeah, actually I guess we ought to be glad to see any activies besides the Spanish and UK ones that are too often lacking soundwise ... but then again I still think evading the often moronic (and certainly marketing-department-dictated) reissue policies would have helped the labels to sell more while they still could have. Now, it seems to be too late, alas. But I'm stocked up on "classics" for (at least) half a lifetime, and there's still plenty of smaller labels releasing great music to keep us busy.

Fine disc indeed, no reason not to get it!

Oh, I didn't know that. So maybe it would be worthwhile my shopping around to see whether the new twofer is cheaper than a copy of the solo CD. Thanks. MG Probably the new ones will be cheaper (on amazon.de it's € 8.99 vs. € 21.99 - the latter being ridiculous for a Verve Originals disc, of course).

Yep, and the bonus material from the VME of "Domino" was pretty worthwhile, too! I got the VME even though I've got the big Kirk box. Yes ... I had to look it up as well since I wasn't sure. Got the Nelson Mosaic though, so I won't need it. One more (last?) bit of bitching: the Rich/Krupa ... now the bonus album is actually the continuation (kind of) of Krupa & Rich, yes? Not of the "Drum Battle" (which is worthwhile for fans of Willie Smith! ... and was part of the Verve By Request series). Seems a bit of an odd combination, not unlike plenty of the Impulse 2-on-1 discs were ... anyway, is that bonus album worth getting the twofer for? I'm a bit hesitant judging on the line-up.

Dan, I guess I'm talking mostly of the Tjader album - but the Three Sounds is still just okay, rather than good to great (which most of her other Verve albums are!). MG: I guess if you don't know the Hawkins material, the new reissue will be great ... but still, what I find sad about these reissues (same goes for the LPR/Originals series) is that previously available bonus material will be gone for good. It would have been around, and putting it onto the discs wouldn't cost much ... and twofers are quite far from "original album" reissues anway, so why not go all the way and included the previously available bonus material as well? Anyway, for newbies, there's plenty of good stuff here, the JOS, the Hammond, the Ammons/Stitt, the George Russell, the Getz, the Kirk, the Mulligan, the Golson, the Jazztet ... the Brown, Soul Summit an OPs are good as well. Still, this is kind of a not-happening series for me, sorry to say.

One more series, once more full of weird choices and odd combinations ... at least there still seem to be what, 0.2 people at Universal Germany working in the jazz department? Why pick the weakest two albums (Creed botched them) of Anita O'Day's great Verve years? Why not do Hawkins right and bring us a 2CD set including the bonus tracks of the previous CD reissues? (Remember, the Impulse 2-on-1 series did included a few 2CD sets ... no bonus material there, just two albums longer than 80 minutes ... but still!) ... Anyway, how are the albums on the Hodges, Brookmeyer and Winding discs? How's the Tormé that's not Shubert Alley (which I have and love)?

Israel Crosby died Aug. 11, 1962.

some hard blows these days ... haven't heard much of his music, but enjoyed what litte I've heard. r.i.p.

Is that from the same night that was broadcast on France Musique? No idea which broadcast you talking about. Half of 'Time Set' was recorded in New York. The other half was recorded in Paris on April 5 and May 24, 2006. Hm, I thought there was a more recent Paris broadcast, but turns out the one I meant dates fro 2002. Info (but no music) still on my blog: http://ubu-space.blogspot.ch/2010/04/lenny-popkin-paris-2002.html I also found there's an "Open Jazz" show on France Musique from September that can still be streamed for nearly a month: http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/open-jazz/emission.php?e_id=65000050&d_id=515002548 Guess I got to grab me a copy of that new disc!

which shouldn't necessarily be considered a good thing, I guess.

Gee ... guess our dames ought to be glad we collect but rekkids and cds!

Is that from the same night that was broadcast on France Musique?

Gave a first listen to the EMI 2CD-set compiling Ogdon's Scriabin recordings (rec. June 1971) - most impressive! Not sure if it's the Scriabin I'll want to hear most often (that might, indeed, be Sofronitsky's), but Ogdon is great in these pieces, running the gamut from his oft-cited highly dynamic and intense playing to soft and lyrical - he's really got it down, I think! My first impression of the 3CD set compiling his Rachmaninov is similarly positive, btw - and both of these are not or only partially included in the ICON (which I definitely want to get rather sooner than later now).

Yes, the 9CD is mostly wonderful! Some fine Chopin, Beethoven's "Pastorale", pieces by Borodin, some Liszt (from "Les années de pèlerinage", and transcriptions of Schubert lieder), Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov (bits from the études-tableaux), then some Schubert (the Wanderer fantasy, sonata D 784, D 960 and some more), Schumann's "Carnaval" ... that's about it. The two discs each of Scriabin and Chopin make it a worthwhile acquisition for sure!

Solomon ... I love his late ones, but I think the few additional middle ones (Pathétique, Moonlight, Waldstein, Appassionata, Les Adieux) are enough at this time. Not sure I really need to update Schnabel, as I found no fault in the EMI box and find it easily the best Beethoven I've heard, so I guess for the time being I'm fine with the EMI box. Gilels, to me, is rather different ... he's got a wonderful tone, but somehow I hear him as kind of pointillistic if that makes sense. Not that much attention to shapes, lines, longer stretches of thought. Don't get me wrong, I've liked much of what I heard (i.e. the trio with Kogan and Rostropovich playing Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Haydn, and - with Barshai - the Fauré quartet, also his third Rachmaninov and both Beethoven cycles) - but somehow he's still not a favourite.

Fischer, Annie or Edwin? Don't know either yet. No Gould for you, Chuck? I'm not sure if I'd have him or Kempff as #2 ... or Gulda's Amadeo cycle, which I've yet to explore more thoroughly (I've only given it one spin this week and found it fantastic). Also, what are the general impressions of Gilels' Beethoven? I've got his fifties and sixties concerto cycles (in the ICON box), but for solo, there's just the variations (again in the ICON). Should I seek some of his sonata recordings? The whole package or rather some select discs/sonatas, and if so, which ones? But Schnabel is *it*! That guy is just plain amazing. Missed notes? Damn, who cares, he is making music of the hightest order. First degree, all the way! (Same goes for his Mozart - I don't think I've heard much that is up there ... Rubinstein with Krips doing K 491, Lipatti with K 467, Gieseking maybe with K 491 and K 488, Weissenberg with K 467 - that's it - but Schnabel is on equal heights in all of those and a few others - but obviously I've got lots left to explore.)

previous thread: previous locked thread: anyone knows yet if content will be the same as previously listed in those threads?

Only ones that look like radios but have been emptied out to hide Mittensteins Romneyisms inside

This hit my doormat yesterday. All adding up to a great set thus far. This one, yes? http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4770132 any more opinions?

The Gulda (Amadeo 1967) is the most recent of a few great Beethoven cycles I've been playing since I got started in classical music early in June. The Kempff early fifties mono (I posted about buying it in this thread, never really played much of it until this year) was another - but I think my top favorite is Schnabel (I've got the EMI box, sound didn't bother me). Gould I found most enjoyable, too (not quite complete though), and also Solomon with the late sonatas (a little less so with some middle ones included in his ICON box). From Arrau, I have what's in his ICON again, and some of it was fine, I thought, but I found his Liszt better, and Mozart sonatas mo' better than his Liszt (though I do love Gould's Mozart sonatas, too - totally different, but wonderful). Rubinstein's Beethoven is kind of weird. His mid fifties and early sixties recordings are the best (speaking only of his few Beethoven sonatas recordings), but they're not quite up there with Schnabel, Gould, Gulda, Kempff, I think. Horowitz is pretty weak I found, but the few by Gieseking I've heard so far are again most wonderful. A lifetime of enjoyment? I guess so! It only started a few months ago and Beethoven (violin sonatas first, then piano sonatas, piano trios, string trios, the violin concerto a few other thigns) was played most often by a big margin in the first two months.

Anita O'Day Joe Daley Keira Knightley

Happy Birthday!

I never got around to dig his playing too much - but still, this is very sad news.

and also currently available on a Storyville 2CD set (paired with the worthwhile "Miscellaneous Miles" disc, previiously on Jazz Unlimited, which holds the entire famous Newport "comeback" set, the two live cuts with Bobby Jaspar and some more bits and pieces): http://www.storyvillerecords.com/default.aspx?tabID=2633&productId=27307&state_2838=2 can't find it on amazon but it's certainly there...