Jump to content

Pim

Members
  • Posts

    2,259
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Donations

    0.00 USD 

Everything posted by Pim

  1. Time goes by so fast, even in a lockdown situation. Another weekly Waldron update from me. We are still in the early years of the '80's decade. Mal spent a lot of time in Japan during these years. It's a period where the quality of his output is a little mixed. The records reviewed this week: - Some collaborations with Japanese musicians. He worked with some highly talented one's but the records of this period do not really speak to me. The collaboration with Japanese alto saxophone player Kazutoki Umezu called 'Another Step' is nothing very special and I personally do not like his style. 'In Retrospect' sounds pretty uninspired and is a really dull record. And then there's 'With Mal' with Japanese singer Sumiko Yoseyama. I did not make it a secret I do not really like vocal jazz. But where I could easily listen to a creative voice like Jeanne Lee, this is really something else. I have serious doubts about her singing skills.... - Fortunately there are three great records with the Reggie Workman/Ed Blackwell trio. Best known is probably 'Breaking New Ground' where Mal experiments with both popular and classical music. Not every effort is as much as a succes but this is a pretty good record. The version of MASH is insanely good. There's also the 'Plays Eric Satie' which is a tribute to this great mininmalistic French classical composer. Fascinating stuff with excellent contributions by Blackwell and Reggie Workman. Their last album as a trio together called 'You And The Night And The Music' sounds a bit less creative but is still highly enjoyable. All three recommended albums. - My favorite for this week and absolutely one of my desert island discs: another duo session with Steve Lacy at the Bimhuis in 1982. It was only released some 15 years ago and it is at least just as good as the work at Dreher, maybe even a very little better. As a single disc it's also a pretty good introdcution to them as a duo. Every single composition played that night was pure magic. Still lots of records to go from here. Hope you enjoy reading and don't forget to comment here or on the blog. Thanks! https://snake-out.blogspot.com/ https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-in-chronological-order.html https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-by-rating.html
  2. Come on up with that blog HutchFan! Some of my selections would be: Mal Waldron/Steve Lacy - At the Bimhuis 1982 Old and New Dreams - Playing Harold Land - Xocia's Dance Pharoah Sanders - Heart Is a Melody Michel Petrucianni - Live At The Village Vanguard Abdullah Ibrahim - Water From an Ancient Well Mal Waldron - Seagulls of Kristiansund Cecil Taylor - Olu Iwa Joe Henderson - Mirror Mirror Sonny Fortune - Great Friends Mal Waldron - Crowd Scene
  3. RIP mr. Graves he surely will be missed!
  4. Rip Chick Corea. Glad to have seen him live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
  5. No you did not miss anything. I’ll review full albums as leader and co-leader first. Than his stuff as a sideman and at last his appearances on various artists albums.
  6. Well guys I’ve got a reply from NoBuisness to my question! My feeling was partly right. There will be two more volumes this year and: a 5 LP limited edition boxed set (300 copies). Now I like vinyl but that sounds like an incompletr set and will probably be expensive. So I’ll stick to the cd’s first. New order on the way. But not at those Bastards in Chicago
  7. Thanks for sharing all that great info @Onxidlib!
  8. Yeah there is definitely a link between the two. Wiessmueller is one of them. But the TUTU cd's do not mention ENJA as a parent label anywhere. But I read about their connection somewhere in the liner notes of on of Mal's first TUTU releases. Maybe someone else knows?
  9. Morning all! A new weekly update here. We are pretty much stuck in the early 80's as this was another very productive period in his career. Mal put out easily 5 or even more records a year in this decade. Not everyone is of equal interest but there are definitely some very good records to be found there. Even some masterpieces... This week started of the last official Mal Waldron release containing new music. The solo concert at Vancouver was brought out trough Bandcamp by Condition West. It's interesting to hear but not essential. There's also the excellent duo recording with South African bassist Johnny Dyani called 'Some Jive Ass Boer'. Mal and Dyani frequently worked together and are an excellent match. Speaking of duos... also this week there's the first recorded duet with Steve Lacy which is mind-blowing. It was brought out originally on different releases but I decided to review the complete works: Live At Dreher 1981. The essential 4cd set brought out by Hat Hut. There's also the very good and quite recently released Progressive compilation: News: Run About Mal & Mal '81. It's a great opportunity to hear Mal play standards with a solid trio consisting of George Mraz and Al Foster. It really is a more straight-ahead outing suited for when you just don't feel for 'difficult' music. I partly reviewed the Interpretations by Monk 4cd set. Only the Waldron set of course. With names like Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy, Richard Davis and Ed Blackwell I must admit that I expected a little more. It's pretty good nonetheless. This weekend's records were among his best known. What is Is remains a true favorite of my with some of the most fiery and intense blowing by Clifford Jordan that I have ever heard. One Entrance, Many Exits is one of Mal's highly rated albums on the internet but it still does not impress me very much. With such a line up including Joe Henderson, David Friesen and Billy Higgins I expected a little more. It's good but could have been great. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading again and do not hesitate to respond or discuss. Here on the board or on the blog https://snake-out.blogspot.com https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-in-chronological-order.html https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-by-rating.html
  10. Fantastic music and what a great reissue. Beautiful packaging and a great remaster, though the original distortion remains ( but that’s part of its charm). what surprised me the most was the quality of all the new material. It’s definitely essential stuff. Even the rehearsal and soundcheck takes. Really looking forward to more Survival reissues. Both the website and the sticker on my sealed LP suggested there was more to come. So.... what will be next
  11. it finally arrived! And so happy with it. This is fantastic music
  12. Thanks for talking me trough this music guys. This will ultimately get on my wishlist for sure. Though I’d probably have to explore some more Hemphill first I think.
  13. some Dutch IPA from the city of Haarlem and a little Mal. Have a great weekend guys!
  14. Well they don’t.... I don’t know what I am doing wrong but every label I ask a question does not respond maybe you could give it a try?
  15. Looks like I am going to save a lot of money. Already have most titles and the ones I have not are not really ones I am interested in. Hoped for a nice reissue of Bobby Hutcherson’s Patterns which is pretty hard to find in any format these days. for Curtis Amy I probably grab the mosaic select instead. Only one I’ll add to my wishlist is the Joe Pass LP
  16. Thanks for your kind words Adrian! That really keeps me going Mals Discography is huge and it took me quite a while to complete it. And of course pre 1964 I still miss quite a few records.
  17. Thanks a lot HutchFan, that is very nice to hear! Since my entrance here at the board I’ve noticed a similarity in taste. Your beloved Hutch is among my favorites too
  18. Thanks Niko for noticing. Don’t know why I stated Klaus Weiss is a saxophone player... I’ve got his two leader dates with Mal and I am aware he is the drummer. I’m probably getting old. About Kosuke: I don’t anything else by him. My writing was just a description of my feelings bout his playing on this very record of course. Thanks for commenting
  19. As another week passes by were leaving another decade! Bye bye seventies, hello eighties. And the 1980's were to become another very fruitful time with classic albums. More on those later on the blog. This week's additions: - Some of his very best records ever. Mostly on Enja. They are also among his better known works. 'One-Upmanship', 'Moods' and 'Hard Talk'. It's hard to decide which one is best. With band members like Steve Lacy, Manfred Schoof, Jimmy Woode and Terumasa Hino you just can't go wrong. Mal made some very, very good records in these years. It's also the introduction or revisiting of some of his classic compositions like Soul Eyes, Hurray for Herbie, Snake Out, Sieg Haile, A Case of Plus 4's and Seagulls of Kristiansund. All highly recommendable. - One of the biggest surprises for me: a legit Japanese CD-R with a registration of Mal's 1977 'Jazz at Middelheim' concert. 78 minutes of dazzling, hypnotizing freeform playing with his classic group including Steve Lacy. Though the sound quality could be better, this is one of my favorite records by Mal. It's almost impossible to find, but if you do ever see one grab it as soon as you can. - A pretty straightforward first reunion with old pal Jackie McLean. 'Like Old Times' is an enjoyable encounter but nothing that knocks you off your feet. - Two less interesting recordings. The Enja solo encounter 'Mingus Lives' which is ok but definitely one of his lesser solo albums. And an appereance as a co-leader with Roy Burrowes band where Mal sounds a bit out of place. Enjoy reading and have a great Sunday! Thanks guys. https://snake-out.blogspot.com https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-by-rating.html https://snake-out.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-reviews-in-chronological-order.html
  20. Even if the beer wasn't any good Hawes would have made up for it
×
×
  • Create New...