king ubu

Braxton has a huge oeuvre - I guess everybody will find some stuff in there that s/he can't connect to... but I have a feeling he should be treated like a giant of contemporary music (not just jazz, music in general). Though how would I really know... Some of his stuff is just great fun to listen to (anything by his quartet with Crispell, for insance, or for a more recent example, the two volumes of duos with Andrew Cyrille on Intakt), but some can be rather hard to take in, such as his solo work (which is I guess "idiosyncratic"... for those inclined to think so, it will also contain ample "proof" that Mr. Braxton is technically inept as far as playing a saxophone goes...), and then there's stuff that most here (including me) just might never get around listening (his composed works for piano, to name an example). And yes, Mr. DB, I'll look into some early Kenny G. (but only if you invite me over and offer me a few beers along with your playing your early Kenny G. discs for me!)

Just got "Nearness of You" and gave it a first spin last night. Nice one, far from essential though... (but I think in my book Grappelli in general rates as "far from essential", so...)

Taylor a few years later really sounded good to me - like on those sessions from Europe (A Day in Copenhagen with Dexter/Slide Hampton from 1969 is a great example, just reissued), really hotter and more outgoing than in the 50s. I prefer PJJ on recordings from those years.

Happy Birthday! Sorry to be late, but I'll make up by spinning your disc again soon!

What about the Monk Riverside 2CD set? I never ever saw any K2 over here, so I have the Monk as part of the 15CD and that recent 2CD set (used to have the OJCCD as well). I must have missed that earlier discussion!

hm, I don't know... maybe Getz was just all crazy... it's frightening how he plays on those airchecks with Herman, considering his age!

Play some of his early stuff - the quartets with Haig and Silver on Roost for instance!

I have never gotten into Kenny G - need I be lobotomised maybe?

gee! Brubeck... ok ok... but he was an idol of early Cecil Taylor (along with Tristano, of course), AND he offered Paul Demond many a chance to blow outstanding solos (one that pops up immediately: the Audrey Hepburn dedication on one of the "Time" albums, but you really can't pick one... and it doesn't sound to me like Desmond was unhappy over the situation in the Brubeck quartet - he could have left earlier, too, if he'd wanted to).

I never got into Wynton though, but I've never felt an urge to try... anyway, I would find that a bit... well, disgusting, though

sorry, it's just you

They were all digipacks originally, and the "hors série" 2CD sets I've only seen as digipacks to this day, while (some of?) the single discs have turned up in jewel cases - I guess it was mainly those with a lot of demand (for instance the two Grappelli/Petersons) and re-pressing them with regular packing was way cheaper. The 2CD digipacks are beautifully made, the booklets have a few pages more than usual and include some photos and in the case of the Fohrenbach a picture of one of the original albums, too.

This is great news! And a note on this one: certainly you're aware of this smokin' live disc featuring Henderson: an excellent disc, all 'round!

hm, I thought it was Larance Marable, but of course you're right, it's Chambers and Philly Joe indeed - so it was right on topic! Yes, those were Jazz West and Transition dates. They're all on the Mosaic Select, but as I have all of the music on it on CDs and on that double LP, I haven't bought it yet... I know I will some day, though!

I've heard some Ra from their tour through Europe - interesting stuff of course, with some terrific moments. But in the end to get a full picture, you'd have to hear full shows (or did those shows only last an hour or a bit more really?). There's a DVD around (off TV, not commercially released I think, but I didn't check) that runs for an hour or so, from the jazz days in Berlin, there's some great stuff on it, but there's too much of the theatrical and whimsical stuff in it as well (or rather: in the end there's not that much meat on the bone, so to say... but the concert ran on when the tele-cast ended I think, so that's why I say one would have to hear complete shows...) That release, is that one of those advertised by Jazz Loft? Are those legit anyway? But it's off topic anyway, as there's no Chambers there... but allow me to put in a good word for another off-topic date without PJJ: that quartet date by Chambers/Coltrane, the one on the brown Blue Note 2LP set, I like that one very much!

That's a good read indeed - thanks for posting! The Moran from Banlieues Bleues was on French radio a few days ago but the announcer kept talking over the music, very annoying - certainly a great show to catch live! Somehow though I mostly started losing interest in Moran a few years ago... and that statement about "Modernistic" being the greatest piano solo recording of the past 20 years, I really don't know about that... there's plenty of Cecil Taylor (Willisau Concert stands out), and there's for instance Irene Schweizer's terrific "Chicago Piano Solo", but my pick might be this one (how fitting to post this after a post of our stride loving EKE BBB!):

wow, fantastic news!

I suggested a Dizzy Reece select back when the selects were announced... no idea if my suggestion had any influence, of course... I doubt it! Sent in some other suggestions, still hoping (like the Circle and early Corea stuff), but who knows... Great ideas about Peiffer, Ianci Körössy and Wilen, but I have a hunch the legal situation would be way too complicated for it to be worth it... too many fees and stuff for Mosaic to really bother. Unless they could find a body of work from one particular label (or in the case of Peiffer maybe directly from the family? They released a nice disc a while back from their vaults, it's available on CDBaby).

here's the discography from the mosaic box - compare yourself! and don't miss out on the two Capitol albums (also on a Freshsound twofer by now), the second of which is terrific!

Workin' was one of the first jazz albums I really loved - it was the only Miles the library had besides KoB, and for a long time I totally loved Wokin' while KoB sort of left me cold... can't say the later is still the case, but PJJ's presence on Workin' certainly had a big part in that first impression I got! Then "Cool Struttin'" was probably among the first 20 CDs I had, also "Blue Trane". "Dexter Calling" might not be the best of Dexter's Blue Notes (I think that would be, to my ears, the one with Hubbard and the Parlan trio, followed closely by "Our Man in Paris"), but the rhythm section there certainly makes a big difference (and I think Kenny Drew rarely sounded as good as here). By now, an absolute favourite of mine is the "Sonny Clark Trio" album. And the comments above will have me dig up the Chambers/Kelly VeeJay set soon...

I'd be interested in learning more about Lasha/Shaw, too! Just played the 1963 Dolphy sessions with them this weekend... That Griffin/Shaw gig from Cologne has the following setlist: OW! Just A Ballad For Woody A Night In Tunisia To Kill A Brick All The Things You Are Blue Monk What Is This Thing Called Love? With Just a Ballad and To Kill a Brick it's a wee bit more than just standards... but of course with Griffin and a rhythm section of John Hicks/Reggie Johnson/Alvin Queen it's more than ok! As for Gordon & Shaw, the latest boot I know if is from 1982 or so...

What are xrcds, and where's Clifford Jordan's first album, also where's the Brookmeyer/Bill Evans one? First those, please, then later audiophilocrapola...

so what do you play? hank's horn?

I dig this album, even if it underachieves at times. Cameron's on the far right. He's also on Bill Barron's Modern Windows. is it jaspar, wilen, chautemps, cameron? gee, except for Jaspar, they all could fly... nice but pretty short session, that one!

Universal has (had?) a deal with Mosaic that the sets containing music from Universal (Farlow, Eldridge, Nelson, Basie Clef/Verve, Peterson, Quincy Jones, etc) would be distributed by Universal directly in Europe, with a different number on the back of the box and no handwritten number in the book, but otherwise identical and also part of the limited total number of sets. Most of those turned up on Amazon Marketplace or elsewhere for attractive prizes.