king ubu

I still have to get the CD - and here it was a club setting as well... it was the final gig of the tour and they just all seemed to be in a jesting and upbeat mood and enjoyed playing a bit longer and taking requests etc. Ballsy, yes indeed! And he dares to be ugly... his sound is still often pretty cool, but he can get that much emotion out of it, it's astonishing! And often he seems to rail on falling off track, playing such weird runs and notes or notes that don't fit our Western tuning at all (microtones if you will... more like just bent and slurred stuff, I guess though), and he is a master in bringing it back just in the right moment. Similarly with the pianist... in the opening number he took a long time joining in, and when he did he threw in chords that were indeed totally "false" (not just weird suppositions, I think, but actually chords that wouldn't fit the key of the tune at all) but he always made it work. I guess in some ways this group could be compared to Wayne Shorter's great quartet (which I've never seen live so far, alas), in how they walk the tightrope. Yes Shorter is younger and his chops and stamina are intact, so I somehow find Lee all the more impressive and daring!

Amazing concert last night! As usual with Lee, completely acoustic (except for a pickup and an amp hidden behind the curtain for the double bass), two hours without a break... (they announced it would last 90 minutes). Two or three tunes into the concert, Lee started to take requests, and all the time he was joking with the audience and the guys in the band... some terrific piano playing from this guy Florian Weber, and some very good drumming as well! Ziv Ravitz, the drummer, did one truly great solo on brushes, which sort of made me think of Fred Astaire at his most graceful... the drums really started to dance in my imagination! They did the usual old hat of tunes, Stella, Valentine, April, Body & Soul, but some of the requests were pretty cool: 'Round Midnight and Now's the Time, for instance, the later inspiring Lee to some weird, idiosyncratic yet clearly blues playing, the former leading to a whole new interpretation of the theme... which of course he always does... and Valentine... someone in the audience said "oh, that's a romantic one"... and the pianist mumbled - I sat in the front row so I could hear it all... - "yeah, I bet it is..." with a mean grin... and on they went doing a poised mid-up version, morphing into Softly As in a Morning Sunrise halfway through. Lee also did a fantastic duo with the drummer, on some old standard that I couldn't pin down but recognized... and to end things, they did an amazing take on "Cherokee" (and as in most themes, Lee just kind of touched the theme here and there, but did all of his own stuff all the way through). Even though his technique probably isn't what it was, it's truly amazing to see how he re-invents himself and this same bag of tunes again and again, after all these years, never playing the same thing twice! And having him play "Now's the Time" really made me think... this guy was around when Bird was around! And he's still doing his thing... now how great is that? A fantastic night!

According to what I can gather, it is not! For Duke at Carnegie in the 40s completists, there is also that 2CD on Vintage Jazz Classics from the November 13, 1948 concert It contains what is supposed to be the only performance of 'Lush Life' by the Ellington orchestra! If I recall correctly (I used to have it at the radio station where I worked) Billy comes on stage to accompany Kay Davis in a vocal version -- no orchestra, and no Duke. The Storyville "Duke Box" has the first half of the '43 concert on disc 5, and the remainder takes most of disc 6. So it IS there, thanks for confirming... I'm agonizing about the logica equina at this moment...

Just wanted to say thanks and put up a public - very fast delivery, discs in perfect shape! Happy customer here!

Thanks, Flurin, and (absolutely) ... no problem! Let's keep it rollin' here and elsewhere. Yup... somewhen next year I might get the Basie thing started again (with major help from you...?) - hopefully... my blog hasn't been updated in many months. Time is just too rare! We can still target the 110th b-day and 30th year of death in 2014, in any case...

Volkher, sorry to read this! And happy about the prognosticated outcome at the same time! I thought about you several times, probably should have written... sorry I didn't, but as I said, very glad to hear you're on the road up!

[...] too much muscle and rock beats [...] that didn't seem very organic with the rest of the band... I don't know his music at all though, so maybe if I stumble over that set again, I should reconsider... r.i.p. My problem, exactly. You nailed it. A lot of his varying output was simply too generic. So where to look to get familiar a bit? Are there some treasures hidden in the box that my quick sampling didn't unearth? Should I get it if the price is right? Or is there something else to look for?

I have those... and as others said, sound is less than good. It always takes me a few cuts to get over it and into the music, and then I just start from the beginning again (omitting God Save the Queen or whatever crappy chorale they have to start with) and all is fine... unless I read here that the new box is a major upgrade, I'll stick to what I have That one's part of Storyville's "Duke Box", I think, right? Don't have it at hand to check...

That box didn't sound so thrilling to me - to much muscle and rock beats that didn't seem very organic with the rest of the band... I don't know his music at all though, so maybe if I stumble over that set again, I should reconsider... r.i.p.

Chuck those two VMEs one should get in addition to the 10CD set? Any others that are decidedly better-sounding than what's in the box?

I should slow down, yes indeed... but then I still feel like exploring so much new stuff! This of course results in huge piles of discs I've played once or twice, but there's always the possible rationalization that this helps to keep the music fresh and unexpected (you know, after all jazz is about improvisation and surprise...)

... which seems to have worked! :excited: will take me two years I guess to digest all that's coming... crazy, but I'm always happy to know I have this or that and don't need to worry when it runs out and I'm short of dinero... (which is what I'll be after this ordering excess...) As for the Mobley - it's one of the finest among the Blue Note Mosaics, for sure! I really don't get why it hasn't sold out years ago. I've had it for many years, and the music sure is fine as hell! And definitely as good as his more famous 60s albums, including my own favourite "Soul Station"!

how 'bout Ninotchka?

Gee, I'm ruining myself again... ordered for 299$ (decided to throw in the Chu Berry as well to the planned order of Stitt, Chambers Select, and the singles by J.J. and Slide Hampton). Also trying to talk my parents into buying me the Ellington for my b-day...

Not a great fan maybe, but a fan I am! "Nothing But the Blues" is a wonderful session, and there's plenty of fine Ellis with Oscar Peterson, too! But I confess, I had no idea he was still around r.i.p.

But don't wait too long... our cat doesn't recognize her name

Very good, thanks! Guess I'll get the Haden as well... I think the "First Song" album with Pieranuzi on the Haden set is quite good, too, from what I've heard. From the Pieranunzi set I'd be most interested in "Deep Down" with Johnson/Baron.

Rod, can you actually read the back sides, and are the relevant info (line-ups, recording dates & locations) there? I have no SoulNote/BlackSaint vinyl, but on their CDs, the info is often frustratingly spread on the tray, the back of the booklet and somewhere in the booklet...)

Yup, good to see some activity there! There were also some re-printings of singles discs, I think (with clear trays and some silly bad design - as is part of the history of the label I guess, at least in the CD age - and some graphics beneath. It doesn't say when the discs were printed or if they were remastered or anything). Oh, and I hope the Giorgio Gaslini series will go on! (The final one of those 2CD sets came in that new clear-tray-design as well) Oh, and I just went for the Threadgill at that grooves site - for that price, it's a hell of a deal! Not sure about the Rava and Haden, and even less about the Pieranunzi. I think the Haden is the most likely other candidate so far. Oh, and a Trovesi box would be great, too!

Congratulations!

Interesting... might be a good one then! I still have far too little Braxton anyway! I do have the one with Roach though...ah no, that's the Hat Hut one I have, I think!

I thought they only found the original masters again before RVG did his version? The other complete set is still essential though, as it has a legit version of the great live broadcasts (I also have a Cicala LP of that one... but for daily digestion, CDs are more handy, methinks).

Very cool about Taylor! I have none of his SoulNotes/BlackSaints so far! Hemphill and Lacy would also be most welcome, not sure about Braxton, will have to look up what he did on that laben, I only have one or two of them, I think (Eugene comes to mind).

What, do you say that "Down to Earth" came out in the bluish Time series??? About the same mixture, but I only have three or four TOCJs (and recently sold the Reece "Star Bright"). I tend to keep Conns and in most cases McMs as well when I have them already. I'd still buy an RVG of "The Empty Foxhole", as all I have is the Conn LP and CDs do, after all, come in more handy for daily listening... I got all the RVGs of Monk and Bud - but kept the 4CD sets for the Five Spot and Roost sessions, respectively. Also got the RVGs of Miles, the one Jay Jay (the other I have in the Clifford Brown 4CD set, another one I won't replace). As for the usual smart-ass talk of those with big fat hi-fi sets that cost as much as a new tank, uhm, pardon, SUV... us normal earthlings with bad hi-fi sets (or with lo-fi sets) sometimes just do wonder what "sounds better", without the slightest regard to what set-up you use or how long you warm up your tubes and what kind of cold-pressed olive oil you use to greeze up your gear... So bear with us and allow us to get some general answers now and then!

You can get the PDF catalogue - no duplicate listings, but no smart order either... I'd love to have a list as well (w/availability & prices), as it is now it's impossible to have some kind of overview unless you're very familiar with the label (which I'm not).