king ubu

Let's start a thread for Tomasz Stanko! In my opinion, he's one of the most original trumpet players on today's scene, and a musician full of deep emotional feeling. I got acquainted with him when he released "Litania", his tribute to his former boss and polish jazz legend, Krzystof Komeda (famous for his Polanski soundtracks - the favourite of mine is "Knife in the Water"). This album features Bobo Stenson and great swedish tenor man Bernt Rosengren. One of my favourite european jazz albums lately. Last year, or the year before, I saw Stanko live in a club here in Zurich, performing with his quartet. Stanko has been playing with these young musicians for several years now, and they did really grow to be a band. I will have another chance to hear and see them next tuesday, at the same location. His first album made with his quartet is this one: A very good one! I have not yet heard his new album (it's been out for a couple of weeks): ubu

Well, as everybody knows about my buying stop... I might as well confess my first "sin"... I picked up yesterday used and for a very cheap prize Glenn Spearman's "Smoke House", Dennis Gonzalez' "Stefan" and Keith Tippett's "Mujician I/II". No time to listen to anything yet but the one track on the Gonzalez with Malachi Favors (a bonus to the CD). Anyone knows/has or loves/hates these? Comments? ubu

This is really a hard choice - almost impossible, for me! We had a friend over for dinner yesterday, and I played discs 1-3 of the Mosaic, and there are so many great things on them! Very consistent at a very high level, Mobley and his fellow musicians are. The quartet date is great, truly great. Then the album with Byrd and Morgan is very good, too (though I would not vote for that one), the All Stars with Bags is great, as is the quartet date with Art Farmer! Will have to listen to the other ones. I love the one with Shafi Hadi a lot, too. The one with Jenkins might be out of contest (Jenkins being the main reason). ubu

They are in stores here for 130 CHF (which would currently be between 90 and 95 US$) - !!! We swiss are the secret REAL japanese, it seems... ubu

One of the discs in my Capitol set had a minor error, a one second distortion, or something. I wrote them a mail about a year after I ordered it (that's how long it took me to get to that disc, 9 it was, I believe), and they sent me a replacement within a week, it went fast. But they did not even reply to my mail, just sent that disc. Marcus, you could always get a burn from one of us, in the worst case. ubu

Got an old LP of this one! Love it, some of the best Hawk, indeed! PDEE, welcome back, hope you stick around! ubu

I like him pretty well, too. I got the "Jacky Terrasson" disc, "Reach", and "Alive". The last one is my favorite, I think. Also I saw him live once (with Sean Smith and Leon Parker), and it was a great set he played. He ended with a tune that's one of the highlights, in my opinion, of "Alive": Love For Sale played on top of the bass-vamp of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. He can play lyrical, he can groove, and what stands out in his playing, I think, is his use of dynamics. I don't hear that in contemporary jazz too often. He's a really dramatic player, he can whisper and he can scream on that piano. ubu

I'm a big fan of Hawkins! Favourites include the Keynotes, the Hollywood dates with McGhee, the stuff on the Delmark/Apollo CD, then the encounter with Ben Webster, Alive, and his Impulse quartet date, as well as the great encounter with the Duke. I don't have any of his Prestige dates so far. ubu

Listening to this one again: I really like it! They cover a broad range - lyrical to power play, Monk to free improvisation, and both have incredible command of their instruments. ubu

I don't think it's Dato on the klezmer-influenced track. I'd say this is not a european but a US group. I'll stick to NY downtown. ubu

cool, thanks!

Tadd Dameron Monk (in the couw-boat as far as finding out the names of the tunes, though) Mingus

That's the big problem with these lousy LP-replicas. Lee Konitz' "Motion", while not edited, I think, had two and a half discs of bonus material in the VEE series, which might have been too much for some, but hey, they could have added one or two tracks, no? ubu

depends on how much money you want to spend... there's TWO sets available here (one for you, one for me?) If you have the dough to spend, I am willing to take one off your hands (as a gift of course)... Yeah, sure, I alread ordered both of them - moreso even as I'm in a buying freeze! ubu

Thanks for the on "Ulrichsberg"! I think that would be one I'd make an exception despite my famous buying freeze (which has barely started yet, anyway). However, I hate that cover! Intakt has come around in recent years to produce decent to good covers, but this one reminds me of their old releases, just plain ugly... ubu

read my signature, that's all I gotta say on this topic ubu

Lon, I only have the Savoy where Mobley is on half of the cuts, and the Prestige disc having both Prestige albums save one tune - but that stuff is great! Also, Tenor Conclave is a marvel! The Johnny Griffin album with Trane in, too, is another good one! ubu

Is this the one ubu was raving about way back when (up?)? I need to check some Schweizer stuff. Nope, it was a different one, in this post. Yeah, I was raving about "Chicago Piano Solo". "Ulrichsberg" had a lot of very positive press here. Schweizer did a whole series of duos with drummers for Intakt (Louis Moholo, Günter Sommer, Andrew Cyrille, Pierre Favre, Han Bennink - on Intakt 006-010) that all seem to be good at least (if the Penguin is to be believed at this, and I would tend to believe). With Pierre Favre, who, like her, is a mainstay of creative music in Switzerland, she has an on-and-off performing relationship for several decades, and it seems "Ulrichsberg" is a peak of their collaborative efforts. I'll have to get it, someday. But so far I have no Schweizer, except for the recent solo and a broadcast of a duo with Hamid Drake. I have not listened to that one in a long time, and cannot give any further information about how it is. Did they record together officially? ubu

Hope everything is well, Tony! See you later! ubu

@Lon: feel free to send me that spare copy hidden in your closet any time! @Claypone: I'm looking for this one for some time already, and @couw: now if you don't find one googling, we can all give up anyway, no ubu

Well, the Lateef should be "Number 7", the second track from "Live at Pep's". I'll try to read through the whole thread tomorrow. Thanks a lot Jim, for these enjoyable discs! ubu

First of all, let me apologize for taking that long to answer. I already thought I would not at all be able to jump into the discussion of this BFT. Things went almost too fast for me, the time between #7 and this one was rather short. Then, the ante-qua-non date somehow made me put the discs aside, and once the race was open, I had no time to listen. So finally? (as usual, this is exactly what I wrote while listening) CD1 1 - Great opener! Love the sound of the bass clarinet! What a great instrument. Sounds slightly monkish. Clarinet, vibes and electric bass sound good together! Good clarinet solo. No idea who this could be. Ray Anderson on trombone? The whole thing sounds a bit too cold, but it?s fun and I do like it. 2 - A perfect segue! Again slightly (but much less) monkish. Solid tenor, good sound, some Trane, some blues. Sounds a bit like Joe Henderson (on my very modest listening device, at least)? But I don?t really think it?s him. And if it is, it would be from one of all the records on my to buy list? Good piano, but again no idea. Very good one! 3 - Larry Young? From ?Unity?? Being far from my collection, and as it is several years since I last listened to that one, I cannot tell. Great tune! Very good tenor, good organ accompaniment, too! The trumpet solo is very lyrical. Nice sound, nice pass-over to the organ, too. Another very good one. 4 - I like the atmosphere on this one. The voice fits in very well. Like it. 5 - Great one! Love the deep saxes! And then the klezmer-like melody. Don?t think it?s Zorn himself, but this could be some NY downtown stuff. Zorn on alto? Maybe. Good solo, builds. Love the barisax/bass vamp underneath! Also the marching-band drumming. Uh, going form the ending, this is a bass sax, rather than a bari, no? 6 - Good opening, nice bass vamp, and when the drummer enters, things start to take off. Wow! The theme takes part in the rhythm section, mostly. Soprano has very nice sound, rather soft, full, not the nasal Coltrane type. The piano comping reminds me of McCoy, the drummer?s very good. Nice piano, and very good trumpet. Again the rhythm section (the drummer, mostly) almost steals the show. No idea who this could be, though I have a feeling I might know most of the musicians, though not this recording. Love the drum solo over the bass vamp. 7 - This seems very very familiar. In medias res! What?s this? I know this, I have it, I think! Great tenor, great it continues! The bass, wow! What the hell is this one? LOOOOVE the tenor!! Cat like, sly, slow, bluesy, those almost honking, almost but never cliché phrases. The great blues feeling. Uh, I found out!!! It?s Lateef! From the Pep?s albums, I guess (remember I?m far from my collection). WOW, one of my favourite tenors, one of my favourite albums! His sound is so big, so full, and he takes as much time as he wants, he has patience, ideas, deeply felt emotions? a great rhythm section on that date, too. Then, Richard Williams is, in my opinion, maybe THE underrated trumpet player of that era. At last the flute. One of the best of jazz? flute (and oboe) players ? not in a schooled manner, but felt. The piano that follows the flute/trumpet exchanges is great, too, the bass is very solid, good sound. Love the bass played in the deeper regions of its reach. 8 - Another good opening. Nice alto. Don?t know it. It?s not bad, but it?s hard to follow the last cut! Somehow, the recording, the sound, is not too much of my liking. I often have some slight problem with the sound of recordings from these years (I guess it?s between early to mid seventies and mid to late eighties), and I often find I do not return to CDs from that period as often as I should (this even applies to my Woody Shaw discs!). The alto solo, though is really good! And the piano has a nice touch, too. 9 - Very nice tune! No idea, though. 10 - Another one unknown to me. A good one, though not the kind of music I listen to all that often. 11 - ?Nature Boy?. A nice tune. Cool version, with the bass and flute in the foreground. No idea once again. Very cool arrangement! I like this one a lot. 12 - Another one I know but can?t identify. Not sure I know this version or only the tune. Good groove. Nice sax solo. No I don?t know this version. Yet I seem to know the tune. Cool flute once more. Seems to be a flute-lover here! Hell, I guess I really should be able to identify this tune! Too much red wine with dinner, I guess? A good ending for a great disc! Thanks a lot! Now BIG expectations for disc 2! CD2 1 - Wow! Hell, this is more the kind of stuff I love! Love how this one builds, love the bass vamp, love the open beginning, and how things start to grow together before the thematic material is stated. Great bass player here! Will post more once I have heard tracks 2-4. Hope it goes on that cool! ubu

Here's the other "russian" disc, the reeds plus violins european-cinematic etc one: ubu

Or Duke Ellington? That large red box has 24 alone... ubu

Miles or Coltrane. I guess Miles. ubu