Alexander Hawkins

The low clarinet in that looks much more like a bari than a tenor (because of that extra 'plumbing' in the neck)...as to which clarinet it actually is - I dunno, and no real reason to doubt that it is a variant of the contrabass, save that when I saw Braxton play contrabass 6 weeks ago, it was wound very differently...Mind you, maybe this is a manufacturers' thing, e.g. Selmer v Conn?

If we're talking money from gigs, rather than teaching/workshops/session work etc. - I'll bet you most of the players in the UK (don't know how it is in the US!) would jump all over even the last four figures. Sad!

Was listening to him on Hemphill's 'Flat-Out Jump Suite' earlier, and he's totally brilliant on that!

I've yet to check out that early 60s Parker.

Not sure which to recommend, but there are a number of Keith Tippett/Howard Riley albums in this format.

True enough - thinking of this though!

I think that rhythm section with Fred Hopkins and Ed Blackwell (e.g. with David Murray) is fantastic. [Although those two are going to make almost anyone sound phenomenal, right?!?]

I'd have to disagree (respectfully!) with the comment that she plays a little like Cecil Taylor on those albums! I think she's far, far more linear, far fewer clusters, totally dissimilar harmonically etc. etc. - altogether a different vocabulary IHMO

This was attached to The Mail on Sunday. A disgusting Tory rag of a paper. Peculiar choice for Prince/his people to put it out on!

Just got Prezens...pretty interesting stuff, although I think it will take a few listens to get into. Very heavy post-production from Torn, and I suspect I'd rather hear the 'raw material' (i.e. the band live), although I realise that might be missing the point of the thing...would have liked more Taborn, of course!

Again, not perhaps in this vein, but Alexander Von Schlippenbach is phenomenal, as is the great Irene Schweizer.

The greatest of the English 'straight-ahead' players - Stan Tracey. Possibly not in the vein of the other recommendations in this thread, but Keith Tippett is an exceedingly fine player, and Pat Thomas is a stone genius.

p.s. not in the slightest!

Guy - sorry for the slow reply! Not really sure on those Hancock features...I guess 'Watermelon Man' just strikes me as part of the general hardbop vogue, at least on the Dexter Gordon album...As for the others you mention, I don't really know: purely a qualitative judgement on my part that the language is more 'genuine' - more an emotional perception, than a musicologically verifiable fact! I agree - it's probably far too clumsy of me to talk of the 'Marsalises'. As it is, I was aiming at the 'narrower' of your two interpretations - that of musical conservatism. To be honest, I don't know what Jarrett makes of other styles of playing, and their validity. On the Pharoah/Shepp thing, someone made a very interesting post about this in another thread...I'll have a look and copy and paste it if I can find it! I guess there's a couple of things with e.g. Hank Jones. For one, I think I approach a player like that with different expectations...whereas Jarrett's appeal seems to be as the 'progressive', I appreciate Hank Jones as a master stylist in his chosen idiom (which, after, all, he helped to shape!). I suppose I don't think of Hank Jones in the glamorous, cutting edge light in which Jarrett is caste by the mainstream. So I guess when I say I hear him as safe, I mean that he may be playing in a technically more advanced language than Jones (although then we have all manner of questions about what is 'advancement'), but that his use of this language seems to be to be 'painting by number' - e.g. very mannered use of gospel inflections, egregious use of hip diminished stuff, etc. Again, must freely admit that this is only my perception of Jarrett's language - I don't believe that these are assertions which could be 'proven' in any way. Perhaps 'cutting edge'/'innovative' were not the correct terms for how I think Jarrett portrays himself; and for sure, it would be too unsubtle simply to criticise him for the image his label may try to put over. I think it's more the 'precious' nature of his performances, the fees he demands, and so forth (actually, I do think this is one area of 'critique', such as it is, where the issues of his stage manner and his music directly cross).

Corey Mwamba is a great young player in the UK playing mostly vibes and dulcimer. Check out his stuff!

Sorry! Came across more confrontational than I'd meant, but I'll have a go! I'd say Herbie's is a far less mannered approach to the idiom. With Jarrett, I get the impression he thinks 'right, I'm going to do my gospel thing now'; there then usually follows a IV-I heavy vamp piece. It seems to me that the influence is more subtle (real?) in Herbie's stuff. Even in relatively explicit contexts (e.g. 'Feelin' the Spirit'), the gospel language comes across as a more integral part of his own. [n.b. I am by no means a particular Hancock fan!] It's the second point where I came across especially clumsy. First, I'd have to come clean - I don't know his music at all well, I'm sure, compared with many. So I should have been clearer that I'm talking more about my perception. By conservatism, I think I'm getting at two things. First, the retrogressive career trajectory. I think Jarrett's 'standards' explorations seem qualitatively different to (say) Shepp or Pharoah taking a step back, idiom-wise. Second, the actual language of his playing - it's totally 'safe', and IMHO comes across as geared to making the listener think how hip he's being. I totally grant that this judgement is probably inextricably linked to my prejudice against my stage manner, but I find his playing totally disingenuous. I hear Jarrett, and the music is almost extraneous: I don't trust that he wouldn't just do whatever, musical or not, would have people fawning over him. When I said his conservatism was arguably more pernicious, I was getting at this fact that he sells his brand of music (commercial language deliberate!) as somehow cutting edge or innovative (playing not only on his 60s/70s credentials, but also on the reputations of Peacock and DeJohnette), whereas at least the Marsalis school of neo-conservatism calls a spade a spade... Again, apologies for the above comments - much 'cattier' than I'd meant, but hopefully that elaborates a little!

p.s. IMHO, good for the people at Umbria! About time people stood up to his extraodinary conceitedness.

Jarrett comes across to me as a complete pseud with his 'gospel' approach. His music reeks of the same conservatism as the Marsalises, and frankly, I hold it in the same contempt...except that his is arguably more pernicious, as he seeks to appeal the the more 'discerning' audience. Of course, I wish I had it in me to ignore him, but he's got my goat

I'm inclined to agree in this instance. What they played in the last 5 minutes was un-toppable. Fitting point to end it. I agree; goodness only knows what would have followed that ending, musically!

There's recently been a release of Oxley whilst he was in the Ronnie's band - I think a trio with Gordon Beck? Lots of funny stories around about fights on the bandstand about where the 'one' was. Of course, Oxley knew all along, but it wasn't straight 'ching-a-ching'. Others will know the details better, but he has a private schematic dividing the beat into a certain number of parts, a little as Elvin had divided it into triplets. I don't know how developed this was during his time at Ronnie's, however. Later on, I feel his swing could be a little 'strange' - listen to 'All the Things You Are' from Braxton's 'Seven Compositions 1989'... Agreed, we had some great drummers around then!

There's some great piano on the newish Pi release with Roscoe Mitchell and George Lewis, 'Streaming'. [Obviously ]

On a 'freer' tip, I would recommend 'Help Point', featuring the extraordinary Alex Ward on clarinet, with Luke Barlow on Rhodes. With Simon Fell and Steve Noble on bass and drums. On the Copepod label.

I just heard that apparently it was three basses last night...unbilled, Charnette Moffett on the gig too! Sounds fantastic!

My next question! I was on a gig, so didn't catch it, although am totally intrigued by the acoustic/electric twin bass team. I heard him last year at the Barbican with the two acoustics, and it was wonderful. I believe it wasn't Polar Bear but another of Seb Rochford's groups, Acoustic Ladyland, which was on Jools Holland's show. I agree - I was exceedingly disappointed by this. It totally beats me how these guys are the darling of so much of the jazz press A lot of the material strikes me as incredibly naive and obvious, the playing very correct and mannered. No 'fire' whatesover to it IMHO. [Although I'll freely admit my jealousy at the amount of work they get!] I have friends whose opinion I really value who say that Rochford is a very fine player, but I don't believe I've heard this in any of his projects. The guy on electronics was completely pointless, for me. There are some astonishingly good electronics guys in London, and this guy was so far short of them for me it was a real shame. Yeah - Braxton's soprano was really great, although of the smaller horns, it was the sopranino which really got me! I would guess Leo would be the obvious label for it. I don't understand the economics of these things in the slightest, but it would be wonderful if they were to stretch to a 2-CD set to document the whole thing (which of course Leo often does with Braxton sets), although I still would imagine just the single, quartet CD to be more likely, perhaps?

Thank you for the kind comments! Interesting thoughts about Polar Bear...I have to say, I really couldn't abide them But yes - that final section...in fact, from the Taylor solo home, it was utterly overwhelming in its intensity. FWIW - I suspect, although wasn't of course 'clock-watching' during the gig, so am not completely sure of timings - that something (perhaps the duos and Parker's solo?) might be cut for the broadcast, simply because 'Jazz on 3' is 1.5 hours long, and usually includes at least a little talk, and I'm fairly sure there was more than this hour and a half's music. My guess also is that any subsequent release (and please, please, someone make it happen!) would only include the quartet. p.s. Thinking about it, Braxton at the RFH has been responsible for two of my 'deepest' musical experiences ever - Quintet (London) 2004 was recorded live at the London Jazz Festival (although even that show, which featured Dixon/Taylor/Oxley in the second half, didn't quite scale these heights!). Peculiar how one can be so emotionally indebted to someone one's never even met; but I guess that's music!