Alexander Hawkins

Would definitely like to post on this one - just can't get to my copy just now! 'Warm Canto' I find quite a strange tune - it could almost be some turn of the (last) century piece of English pastoral music. I remember liking the compositional aspect of this album a lot - I guess that's something Waldron's quite into. The Dolphy/Ervin front line always strikes me as a peculiar idea, until I hear it (if you see what I mean). In fact, it takes a brave person to pair Dolphy with anyone in a front line, let alone another reed player. Although I never think of him as an aggressive player, I'd imagine that it's near impossible to follow him on the stand. I don't think anyone did it like Booker Little, for what it's worth, and he might have been interesting on this date. Dolphy really sears through the opener - I remeber that much. The same kind of incandescent playing as I hear on the Mingus at Antibes album. I also think that Waldron seems somewhat happier here than in the Five Spot recordings. Maybe I need to listen to those again, but sometimes I feel that he's really up against it with Ed Blackwell and Richard Davis, whereas Charlie Persip just lets him do his thing here (that's absolutely NOT to be read as a slur on Charlie Persip - I agree with everything that's been said about him! A fine player, from the (admittedly slight) amount I've heard).

Just got my first taste of Gene Ammons the other day - have now posted him in the 'just discovering' thread! I'm really enjoying 'Boss Tenor' - the blues lead-off is fantastic. The liner notes (I forget by whom - LeRoi Jones, perhaps?) make a really perceptive point, in my book - that he seems to sound like the impossible middle-ground (tonewise) between Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. Ammons, I think, doesn't need any borrowed glory, but purely descriptively, I think it's just about right!

Big tenor guys for me - Gene Ammons Johnny Griffin Lockjaw

I think sit tight is the thing to do - I've ordered from them for a while now, and customer service has never been anything less than exemplary!

Was just thinking the same thing when I realised the date today! Very cool tune.

Thanks for all this - sounds like this guy could really have gone places had he not OD'd so tragically.

I'm not sure about the Brown/Roach quintet. In one account (the recent-ish biography of Brown published by Oxford University Press, New York, neither of whose name nor author I can think of!), I read that Dolphy was friendly with Roach and would drop by the latter's house to play. I don't remember seeing any insinuation that Dolphy auditioned for the group at all...

Can anyone share anything with me about this pianist? I've heard him only twice, I think - once on a Chet Baker record a friend of mine played me, and once on the radio. He seems a pretty intriguing player, but I know nothing about him. AMG seems pretty brief on him. Has anyone else been interested by what they've heard?

Another Sonny Rollins kick for me. The improvisation is mind-boggling, always, and utterly compelling.

He's also on Ron Carter's 'Where?' as well, which I believe was Carter's first session as a leader?

Sal, I know what you mean to an extent about Mobley; I find that there are some artists I just draw a blank with (in the prevalent spirit of confession, the guy who leaves me cold is Miles Davis, but shhh! That's not a smart thing to say around here ) I find that I don't uniformly feel lukewarm about Mobley's playing: Workout, for example, I think is absolutely fantastic; and I also enjoy his playing on Hancock's 'My Point of View', and lots besides...But sometimes, I do react to him pretty indifferently. I guess it just shows that music is too deep to pin down by ideas such as tone (I like his tone), phrasing (I like that too), note choices (fine by me), and various other things..!

These are brilliant - thanks for the help!

Absolutely agree. He cranks up the tension round by round, and then when you think there's nothing left, takes it up again (sorry for the liberal use of cliche!). Blakey stokes the whole thing in unbelievable fashion. If I can ask a supplementary question, are there any performances similar to this in the Blakey canon? I find this sort of thing difficult to comment constructively about; solos like this are such an emotional enterprise that anything rational is very difficult to come up with. But yes, count me in as someone absolutely entranced by this playing!

Does 'Got a Good Thing Goin'' qualify for this thread?

I love the stuff with Clifford too! That 'Sonny Rollins + 4' date is wonderful.

Not particularly on topic, but rather spurred by the comment about Beethoven: ever since reading Gary Giddens' 'Visions of Jazz', I've thought how brilliant was his remark that Ornette Coleman 'played Einstein to Charlie Parker's Newton'.

Thanks for the input, Claude - I'll be sure to chase some of those up! I hadn't realised that 'Round Midnight had various 'concert' performances in it; sounds interesting.

Being just about to purchase my first DVD player, I wonder whether anyone would kindly share their favourite jazz DVDs? I'm curious about documentaries, and to a lesser extent, films (in the Clint Eastwood 'Bird' sense), but most of all, I'd love to here about DVDs with footage of actual performances! Thanks, as always, in advance! Red

Late, Thanks for the link to that Giddens conversation - really interesting read! I'm off to buy some more Rollins.

Thanks for taking the time to put that down, Jim - penetrating and insightful as ever. The physical frailty point is well taken. On the one occasion on which I was lucky enough to see Sonny live (a year-and-a-half ago), that contrast between the increasingly slight man, and his massive tone and physically involved presence was especially stark.

Tony, this is the thing, I reckon! He could play anything, any style, and it still always sounded like him. That guy on that deconstruction of 'Oleo' with Don Cherry is so obviously the same guy who starts out of the blocks on 'Strode Rode', is so obviously the same guy as on 'Sonny Side Up', is so obviously the same guy as on 'East Broadway Rundown', etc. However much the context and feel may differ, it's always absolutely instantly recognisable. A genuine personality on his horn.

I have to say, I'm quite surprised that Diz is winning out by so much. I'd have taken the punt that he'd top it, but by that much..? I'd have thought, perhaps, that Navarro would be higher as well. Oh well! It's interesting to hear what people have to say about Miles with Bird. I used not to be able to stand him; I am coming around to his playing, if slowly! The jury's still out for me, but music wouldn't be as much fun if we all had it 'figured' on the first listening!

'The Bridge' as well is another real favourite of mine, come to think of it. I love the Sound of Sonny, too! I know what you mean about that stuff going on with Roy Haynes.

I'd also be curious just to hear if anyone has favourite albums of his full-stop. I for one have Saxophone Colossus on pretty much non-stop at the moment!

Sonny Rollins is a genius. I'm more and more convinced the more I listen, and the more I listen, the more of his stuff I want to own! For me, he stands alongside Charlie Parker as possibly the greatest melodic improviser the music's produced. He's got one of the most astoundingly inventive minds around. I can't pin-down a single favourite period of mine; I love all of what I know, if sometimes in different ways. BUT, having lavished all this praise, I don't really own much after the Impulse! recordings. The way I love listening to the guy play, I suspect I'll probably want to pick up all of it, eventually. However, given my present cash-strapped state, could anyone recommend some good first purchases for the later-period stuff? Beyond that, though, just opening it up for some good old-fashioned hero worship.