Milestones

RIP, Mr. Baker. I'm not that deeply into rock drumming (much more into jazz drumming), but he was a major figure. And it's cool that he had a major interest in jazz. I quite enjoy his two records with jazz heavyweights Bill Frisell and Charlie Haden.

Well, Lou Donaldson was in the Messengers back when Blakey and Silver were together. A little borrowing from Horace?

R.I.P., Uli.

That's a serious collaboration!

I have heard some nice work by Mr. Wyands on several Kenny Burrell albums.

Mjzee: "Once you recognize the tune, you will kick yourself." Yes, I'm quite sure I will. I know that I know this piece.

Wow, I was more certain of the Silver part. Guess I need to listen again.

Count me as among those really enjoying track #8, although I have no guesses. I had never heard (or heard of) Rufus Harley. I've since read that he is the ONLY jazz bagpipe player. Track #12 would someone from the British Invasion doing up this easy listening piece--and all the better for it. Track #15 is a Horace Silver tune. Herbie Mann? Track #16 is "Summertime." Weirdly reverberating solo guitar. No idea. Track #17...anyone not recognizing Elvin should be banned from this website.

Mostly quite obscure stuff to me, although the My Friend Louis album is in my collection.

I haven't been quite as much into Lovano since Cross Culture, the last of the Us Five records. There is some nice stuff on the second Sound Prints album, with Dave Douglas. But with his new home at ECM, I didn't much care for Trio Tapestry (by far the most low-key Lovano I have ever heard). There's a new record coming with Enrico Rava, or maybe it's already out.

I would say rock, pop, rap, etc. from about 1990 to the present is generally plain bad, no matter how you slice it. Hardly anything sticks out to me other than some of the work of very grizzled veterans such as Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and John Fogerty.

Count me among those enjoying #14. I like the groove and the soloists. It doesn't seem that far "out," and I would even say it is a bit in the vein of the Dave Holland groups--though if it were that, it would most likely be vibes in place of the pounding piano. Getting deeper in now,and the tenor is going pretty wild--more into David Murray territory. I'm not proposing any names for identification.

Willie may very well be a titan, though it took me a long time to realize it.

I like that original list a lot. I see that our interests cross a good deal. I favor most of these musicians (if not always the particular choice of record), the majority being veterans and some no longer with us. I would certainly add something by Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers or the Frisell-Carter-Motian disc. And Abercrombie, probably Class Trip.

Obviously Tom Brady never gave this a thought.

I had a listen to the title track, "Blue World," which bears inspiration from "Out of this World." It's probably the most intriguing track from the set and does sound quite good. But at this point you're not going to have any surprise factor from Trane, at least from the stuff recently unearthed.

The issue of royalties from the film and records is interesting too. I've never seen/heard Woodstock performances by BS&T or CCR. Maybe that too was a money issue. Actually, with all the talk of peace, love, etc--you'd think everyone would play for free.

Jimi and BS&T made our rather well, didn't they?

I have to say that "Angel" (The Jimi Hendrix song) is among the moving and effective closing tracks of a jazz album I have ever heard.

She was a great writer, and will be a long remembered--though there's not much respect for novelists anymore. I was close to Morrison a couple of times, first when she gave a stunning reading from Beloved at Cleveland Stat University (I was in the Master's program then) and later when she appeared at the Toni Morrison conference at Lorain County Community College, where I teach. But she was low-key there and I had no chance to talk to her or shake her hand. I have long taught The Bluest Eye, which is favored around here since it's the only one with a Lorain setting. A very good book, but not her best. I think everyone should read Sula, Song of Solomon, and Beloved. Among later novels, A Mercy is quite good.

OK, I definitely had a few of those Blue Note twofers (or brown bags), though not as many as the Prestige. The best one featured Randy Weston's Little Niles, the live set with Hawkins and Dorham, and some other stuff. By that time I had been seriously collecting Weston on CD for years, and I always wanted to hear Little Niles (given the reputation), on CD, vinyl, anything. Absolutely a great record.

Track 11...what is this? Some nice trumpet, a bit in the style of Miles circa early 80s--but he gets rather intense later. Nice singer. She can hold a note, among other things. Track 12...old-time feel with some fine playing. Maybe Ken Peplowski? Some members associated with Wynton? Track 13 has something of a smooth jazz feel, but certainly a couple of cuts above the usual stuff. No idea on the drummer. Grant Geissman or Chuck Loeb on guitar? Just guessing. Track 14, "St. James Infirmary," is pretty cool. Other than the edgy guitar, it sounds a bit in Ray Charles style, though certainly not Ray himself. No idea.

I can't recall something officially called the Brown Bag series. Was that printed right on the covers? The Prestige two-fers were a major focus in initially building my jazz collection, back in the pre-CD age. I do have quite a few of them still (especially Miles Davis), but I hardly ever play vinyl nowadays. I'm not an audiophile.

Track 1 is really nice. It sounds like old time jazz--maybe something by Fats Waller. But it's a modern, or relatively modern, player. Nice touch on the keys. Maybe Hank Jones? Track 2 also interesting--tenor/piano duo. It sound a bit like Jan Garbarek, including the shift from slow and breathy to rather overheated. I would not think he'd do a track so brief (3 minutes). Track 3 is another short one and another duo. This certainly has elements of Classical. Eddie Daniels?

Very obscure stuff to me, other than the Mingus composition. Even Woody Shaw, Louis Hayes, and Junior Cook (outside of the Silver Quintet) are poorly represented in my collection. Other stuff...not a clue!