pryan

Well, I have nowhere near the number of Conns that the previous poster does, but I will comment on five that I enjoy a lot: 1) Lee Morgan - TARU - A purely swinging session with all players in top form. Some great contributions from George Benson on guitar, both in his comping and soloing. Higgins is his usual self, with Workman playing some particularly fine/interesting lines. Two of Lee's finest ballad performances are also included in this album: 'Taru, What's Wrong with You', a Cal Massey composition, and 'Haeshen', penned by the leader. 2) Hank Mobley - STRAIGHT NO FILTER - This album was my introduction, of sorts, to Mobley and it sure did not disappoint. It made me want to seek out the other albums of this period in Hank's discography, of which many (NO ROOM FOR SQUARES, THE TURNAROUND, etc) are somehow 'related' to SNF. But it was the opening three tunes (which aren't 'related' to other albums of Mobley's) that made me scratch my head in wondering why an entire album's worth of tunes could not be culled from that session (only the musicians and Alfred Lion will know, I guess). The first three tunes are just burning, all the guys seem to have been particularly inspired that day. 3) Larry Young - INTO SOMETHIN' - The trio is really tight and there are some great tunes ('Paris Eyes', to name one), Rivers is a nice addition, playing changes but with some intensely original lines and phrase lenghts; Green shines too. 4) Freddie Redd - SHADES OF REDD - An extremely integrated quintet with an absolutely awesome front line. I've never heard stuff like what McLean and Brooks do, both in unison lines and in harmony. Oh yeah, Mr. PC's in the bass chair, need I say more? 5) Kenny Burrell - INTRODUCING KENNY BURRELL - My first KB album(s), three on two CDs. A nice mix of standards and originals, ballads, blues, and up-tempo excursions all with that patented golden Burrell sound and phrasing. Tough to choose just five, as a sixth I'd probably add Andrew Hill's LIFT EVERY VOICE.

Thanks for the helpful information (as usual), lads. This smells like a pre-order to me.

Do you recall any of the tunes/albums/musicians that Lee featured on his show? That sure would be interesting to hear the broadcast if it could be found somehow.

A great album by a great band. I spun this one again tonight and am pleased how each repeated listen reveals something new (and most times MANY new things). MEAT HOUSE and Quartet Out in general also seem to have really opened up my ears, almost, in a way, urging me to go out and explore the freer aspects of music as well as listening to other stuff in a more "open" way. Highly recommended!

Kenny Dorham's WHISTLE STOP is another album that was a Connoisseur and then, eventually, a RVG.

I've only actually heard one of these albums before, the Ornette one, but I chose SONNY MEETS HAWK because it's one I've eyed at stores many times but never 'pulled the trigger' on. Also, I have basically no Hawk in my collection , and this would be an excuse rectify that situation (I know, I know, I shouldn't need an excuse, but I'm really stuck on Pres at the moment). Plus, I recall Jim Sangrey had some interesting thoughts on this one back on the old board.

The only Gonsalves as a leader (well, co-leader anyway) that I have is his Impulse! date with Sonny Stitt entitled, SALT AND PEPPER. Nothing too earth-shattering but a nice date nonetheless with Hank Jones in the piano chair. 'Perdido' and 'Stardust' are the only tunes that I can recall at the moment. If you buy the 1997 re-issue (I think that's the year), you also get an added Stitt quartet session, NOW!, also with the aforementioned Jones. It's a nice bonus date.

Well, since cash is a bit tight at this point in time, I won't be going for the Bunny Berigan set (unfortunately) but am willing to "take the plunge" on the Weston set. There's been few comments on this set at AAJ, and I'd like to see a discussion regarding the material included on the set here (for those who are already familiar with it). Weston is another artist I'm almost totally unfamiliar with (other than hearing some of his tunes played by others), so feel free to elaborate on his musical conception - I've heard he's been influenced greatly by Monk as well as African music - and other areas surrounding his art. This set intrigued me initially because of the fact that Weston was yet ANOTHER artist I had shamefully neglected, but also because of the varied settings (trio, big band, quintet, etc) and 'big name' sidemen, Hawk, KD, and Freddie Hubbard, among many others. Anyways, all comments are readily welcome.

One to get(z)?

Man, you guys have really got me pumped for the upcoming batch of Conns (due to the probable prescence of MOTHER SHIP, of course). Really looking forward to October! By the way, that's an interesting theory Bertrand, I'd like to do a comparison for myself of those two tunes that you mention and the 'styles' or particular licks of the two trumpeters.

Cali- Notice in Rooster's quote it says after 1960. SOMETHIN' ELSE was recorded in 1958 (I think).

:rsmile:

You have to help the dog along--with your mouse button depressed. Didn't know that, thanks Christiern, I'll try your "trick".

Yeah, ya try to blow those people down and they just keep getting back up! Pretty cool page, though. p.s. - That dog has no 'hops', he doesn't come close to snaggin' that ball.

Very interesting article, recommended reading for those wishing to further their understanding on this album. BTW, here's what is said about the voices:

Wow, that's interesting. I was kinda wondering about the voices, and assumed that they WERE real, taken from a recording of an actual marketplace (maybe from Africa?). I guess my assumption just goes to show how well Zawinul was able to successfully manipulate the synthesizers, in order to obtain the desired effect (or maybe I'm just a little slow). As for the train sounds, those don't seem to be as "real", IMO, although they do convey the message of sounding LIKE a train.

I guess my ears didn't betray me; listened to the album again after posting earlier on and came a conclusion that mirrors your response, AfricaBrass. Thanks for confirming my thoughts, though.

Since I have the older re-issue of this album I didn't realize that Alphonso Johnson plays on the album (due to both a superficial knowledge of the differences between Alphonso and Jaco's playing, as well as there being no liner notes whatsoever, or even a notation of the musicians who play on the album; the only thing besides the cover image is a picture of the group behind a massive amount of food). Could someone tell me which bassist plays on each tune?

There's a great version on the Jazz Messengers disc MEET YOU AT THE JAZZ CORNER..., with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter up front. Kind of a strange cadenza by Morgan, where, in the middle of it, Blakey tells him to "Play your instrument!"

I agree with Lon. It's not like those folks who frequented the BNBB have suddenly stopped talking about Mosaics; indeed, many of them have landed here or on other jazz bulletin boards and are still discussing the new releases as well as the older sets. Also (as has been pointed out before), Mosaic has many customers who don't participate in online discussion forums and who rely solely on the catalogs or the website to hear about the upcoming releases.

Frank Wess

Whoops, I figured since it was already on your bookshelf that you were re-reading it. Yes, Lon, any thoughts on the book (as a preview/review) would be welcome.

I just put a hold on this book from the public library. What's it like, ghost?

I just gave this one a listen while preparing the dinner and I must say I dug it a lot more this time around. But I won't say anything more 'cuz it's not 'officially' the begining of the allotted time period for this AOTW. Definitely looking forward to some closer listenings.....

I just voted for LIFT EVERY VOICE. I think it's a very interesting album concept and would like to hear other people's thoughts on this one. There was a topic on the 'other' board about this album and the opinions were quite varied, to say the least. Plus, this one had the least votes, so I thought I'd further complicate the decision-making for Rooster.