king ubu

Wow Lawrence! This strikes me as a very good description of what the rhythm section on the quintet sides is about! They certainly have a laid-back feel, coupled with Flanagan's cool, maybe even slightly distached feel, this makes up for a perfect mix. Chiming in a little late, but only yesterday found the time to listen to parts of this album. Thanks to Dmitry for making such a fine choice! Some thoughts: All those Harden compositions sure are very fine. They fit in the hard bop style perfectly, yet they have something that makes them different - while I don't know what exactly it is, I sure appreciate that. Then Harden's lyricism is wonderful. I never actually liked him that much on that Coltrane session (also from 1957, on Prestige). He has a wonderful, warm style of playing (while there are parallels for sure, in this respect he seems to me quite far away from the cool stylings of Miles). Coltrane (of course) is mind-boggling! I find him great on all his recordings from that time (1957 being the year he probably recorded most). He is overwhelming, yet does not overpower the whole date - these are NO Coltrane dates! The opening track of the first CD is the first highlight of the set. The groove's so tight and the solos are cool, too, can't help liking it! Then the sextet dates (I have listened to the second only once, some weeks ago, so I'm only talking about the first one right now): first, there is a clear difference in the time the rhythm section sets up. They're less overtly laid-back, yet I like them almost as good (sure, the great GREAT foundation of Watkins is missed, but his replacement does no bad job either. And maybe it's the fate of Art Taylor that everybody knows his style inside-out because everybody own at least half a dozen mid-to-late fifties dates with him on the drum chair). Curtis Fuller's full sound is captured quite well on these tracks (despite the otherwise relatively muddy sound), and I love his playing here (I am not a huge fan of his, though I like the Mosaic quite well, also like the recordings he made with Blakey). Once In A While is the best track of that first sextet date. Wonderful solos by Harden and Fuller (he, too, plays overtly lyrical here), and Trane tearing things up. Then, what's the matter after the drum solo on Andedac? Is there an edit or do they lose it completely? Everything is upside-down, before the theme settles again in a slower tempo than before. Is this only a problem of my ears? Will report back after having listened to the second sextet date. ubu

Wow! Garth, thank you for sharing these memories! Cannot say "wish I was there" really (I did express my sort of scepticism above), but if it were for the music only, I'd sure wish! Your description of Kippie's style is very accurate! I hear that too (though I know very little about south african music other than jazz, just heard one or two old LPs my father - who stayed in ZA in the late 60ies - brought home from there). Kippie Moeketsi and Basil Coetzee are two really great saxophonists, in my opinion. And it's just those embellishments, and the slightly-out-of-tune horn settings which make me love this music that much. Did you see Bud Shank when he was in Johannesburg in '58? Or was that after you left? (Or were you not able to make it to Jo'burg then anyway?) You sure know that one track with him playing the pennywhistle, don't you? And please tell us that story about Masekela's trumpet! ubu

Just listening to the Teagarden. What wonderful music this is! Love those Willard Robinson tunes - never heard of him (except knowing "A Cottage For Sale" without knowing who wrote it). Wonderful singing and playing by T! (The only recording of his I have yet...) ubu

Thanks, Garth, so I will look for it! Sounds nice indeed. I only have one Proper so far (the Webster), and of many of them, I have too much already (and then they often do not contain complete sessions) to get them, but at their price, their unbeatable! ubu

Yes, this ought to be on CD! But Tender Moments, too, as well as Expansions! I just found Asante, had no chance to listen yet, but the Blue Notes by Tyner I know (Extensions, Real McCoy, Time For Tyner) are very good! These would make a very nice Mosaic (I'm sure the reasons why this won't (?) happen have been discussed here or elsewhere, but maybe someone knows more?) ubu

Garth, does it make sense to get the Proper if I have the Mosaic already? Is there much non-Clef/Norgran/Verve stuff included besides the Pasadena concert (which, I suppose, would also be available otherwise)? thanks, ubu

Jim, this is a very good description of my feelings while listening to later Pepper stuff! It has a terrifying quality to it (while being terrific, and somehow bare-nakedly outright emotional). I guess it's this self-control and self-containment which (actually holding back some more/other/stronger emotions) makes to the music so strong. ubu

EKE, hope you like them! Casa Forte is a nice addition to the other Gitanes discs. By the way, in those "Helen Merrill Presents" series, there were three reissues not by her, but by Tommy Flanagan (with one very fine bonus track featuring Ms Merrill), Al Haig and Roland Hanna (I could not locate the later two). That Flanagan disc is very good, too, in my opinion. ubu

Sounds cool! RCA could reissue that in their Bluebird First Editions series, no? (By the way, where's the first edition with these?) ubu

Now that must be a cool cat, Lon! If only you had such a nice fuzzy webcam as Mr Sangrey, you could show her to everybody here! ubu

Cool, Lon! Now you maybe could name your cat... That album with Teddy sure sounds interesting! ubu

I saw him live half a year ago. He was quite impressive! Beautiful and very strong sound, indeed. His playing Second Balcony Jump was great great fun! And then he had Rita Marcotulli on piano - I never heard her before, not even on CD, and she was quite a revelation for me, too! ubu

I have the Mosaic, and know Ventura only from those recordings. He sure is a master saxophonist. Those quartet dates are superb! And his bass sax playing is much more than a gimmick. ubu

I have not yet gotten all of them, but hell!, they're a very nice bunch of albums! I got the 3CD box (thinking along the well-known lines that the Columbia years were sort of uninteresting, nothing new etc etc) and fell in love with that stuff. Have the live ones (all of them), and started on the studio stuff. Got "Monk's Dream", "Straight No Chaser", and the 2CD Solo set (which, by the way, includes "Solo Monk"). I will sure get more of them as soon as I can afford (and have time to listen). "Monk's Dream", for one, is a tremendous disc (though I prefer the take of "Bye-Ya" that starts the box - and that, strangely (keepnews-y?) is not on the reissue of "Monk's Dream" in the same form). ubu

That's what I think about Art Forum, too. I'm someday going to have all the Blue Notes beginning with it. Have Further Ado, the very cool live quartet disc with Jason Moran, the recent one with strings and the date with Hall, Hill, Colley, Carrington and Thomas. And I like what I hear more and more. Those Osby albums show up in sales here every once and so often, so I'll wait with pickin' up the rest. I did not pay less than 11 or 12 $ for those I already have. Should we start an Osby-thread? ubu

Count me in as a big fan of Ms Merrill! The Brownie album and the three collaborations with Dick Katz are among my favorite vocal jazz albums. I like the settings, the surrounding musicians, arrangements very much. Some quite adventurous stuff there! And her husky beautiful voice... The Brownie tribute album, "Clear Out Of This World", "You And the Night and The Music", "Jelena Ana Miketic a.k.a. Helen Merrill", and "Music Makers" (trios with Gordon Beck and either Stéphane Grappelli or Steve Lacy added) are other very good albums. Seems to be a new one coming (it's listed already on amazon). Lon, what's that Teddy Wilson thing? And what's the story behind that picture? ubu

thanks, Rooster. Will look for it. There's some Blue Note sale here, so I picked up "Turbulent Flow" (along with Tyner's "Asante", "Extensions", Osby's "Art Forum" and some others) for 10 or 11$. But they only had the second of Shim's albums. But that Osby was one I was looking for for quite some time, so never give up hope on finding a CD... ubu

I got Mark Shim's "Turbulent Flow" today, just listened to it and am quite impressed! Thanks everybody! Only got it because you made him sound quite interesting, and that's at least what he turns out to be. His take of Joe Henderson's "Recorda Me" is quite impressive, Harris and Simon (completely unknown to me) turn in some good solos, too. The only slight drawback (upon first superficial hearing) is the sometimes a little too contemporaneous sound (alright, it's only rhodes, and I'm not opposed to electronics whatsoever, but the sound just sometimes bugged me a little). How is his first disc? Worth looking for? ubu

Up again with my question, then added details of the "Blues For A Hip King" CD in my post above (#2 of this thread). ubu

I saw it a couple of weeks ago and never bothered, because I thought it was a compilation culled from the VE cds. Well, I got it today (and got the Meade Lux Lewis today, too - as I'm one of those f**king completists...). I had no idea this was such a nice collection of rarities! Thanks, Aggie, Lon, for clearing this up for me! I think that Collector's Disc is going to get quite some spinning here! Another favorite of mine is the Modern Jazz Society Presents... disc. I look at it as a John Lewis album, actually. Very nice to hear Aaron Sachs in such stellar company! Then Luchy strikes as always he did, Getz, Scott and J.J. do some nice blowing, and then I like the arrangements very much. And those tunes are so nice! Can't get enough of any decent to gorgeous arrangement of "Django"... ubu

Why confess? That was truly a great series I think! Just as good as the Conns or whatever... Can you clear things with the Collector's disc? Does that have stuff from other (not VEE) dates? Stuff released on VMEs? Or rare takes? thanks, ubu

Aggie, thanks! But this is strange: La Rosita and Shine on Harvest Moon are from the Bean encounters Ben album, no? There, they play for at least double the time you gave!? And then, none of these tracks were on VEE discs! Will have to look for this disc. Think I saw it in a shop. And yes, the Dickerson is a good one, too! Some weird groovy stuff on this one! ubu

I have all of them except the Meade Lux Lewis, the Washington, the Schifrin (anyone has a copy left?) and the Collector's disc (has this one anything NOT reissued on other VEEs?) I like the series very much! Favorites include the Thigpen, Alan Shorter, Joneses, Edison, Konitz, Terry, Gillespie, Bauer, Cleveland, Jacquet, Lateef, Farmer, Jazztet, Brown discs. And the Joe Gordon album on the Blakey disc is cool, too! I knew none of that stuff before, so it held many pleasant surprises! ubu

I bet you have the Mosaic? Otherwise get it quick ubu

Yes, essential indeed! I have both the Paris and the Stockholm 4CD sets and like them very much! And Miles' playing harder, edgier, sort of compensating Trane's departure, that's something I hear in the autumn concerts, too. It's like with Trane, Miles was playing the softer counterpart, while later with Stitt taking the softer part, Miles plays more fiery, trying (and succeeding, in my opinion) to provide sort of an edge which went away with Trane. Then, I love Wynton Kelly on all these sets! Many great solos! An as an aside: there exists some story about Miles having given Trane his first ever soprano on the spring tour. ubu