xybert

Yeah... I have a lot of thoughts on Coltrane that i feel like thinking aloud but i feel like i won't be able to get the tone right in a forum post (hasn't stopped me before, but anyway). Coltrane has always come off as a bit humourless and po faced to me, and hey not everybody has to be Jokey McJoke Joke, there's definitely a place for humourless, po faced artists especially when they can back it up like, of all people, COLTRANE but... yeah... I love a lot of his music, i really do (nyaaaargh). I'm getting better and better at throwing out the extraneous crap... Zorn's Spy Vs. Spy greatly aided me in getting in to Ornette, by comparison i can't think of a single Coltrane tribute off the top of my head (and there's probably hundreds if not thousands) that has added to my enjoyment of Coltrane. If anything they slightly chip away at my enjoyment. And then there's the legions of imitators. There's a point in there somewhere. All the extraneous crap around Coltrane... I'm really, really looking forward to getting in to these Prestige albums. Just what i feel like at the moment and i feel like it's going to cast Coltrane in a new light for me. In hindsight not getting in to Coltrane's early years was a major oversight on my part. Will get to hear the foundation, before he was literally deified. Edit to try and fix the weird spacing, failed.

I know I held back on this material for many years because the word was 1) Coltrane here was early and unformed, "not really Coltrane"; 2) the material was too traditional and boring compared to the later, more revolutionary Coltrane; and 3) the only "true" Coltrane was found in his Impulse explorations (though everyone also loved The Gentle Side of JC). Obviously, actually hearing the Prestige material shows otherwise. Yeah, similar points to what mjzee is saying for me. I've definitely enjoyed Coltrane's music in the past but i never went crazy for him or other Tenor Sax Heroes like i did Monk, Mingus, Ellington etc and when it comes to sax i tend to gravitate towards alto players for whatever reason. I think only getting in to This Music in the last 8 years or so, it's arguable that Coltrane's impact on my ears was lessened by all the players who he's directly influenced, whereas by comparison to this day there is NO ONE that sounds like Monk, for example (and you can site Herbie Nichols, Andrew Hill, Don Pullen or whoever else until the cows come home but they all have their own thing to my ears, which is great!). I know that it's arguable that no one sounds quite like Coltrane, but he really is the sound of modern tenor sax; it's all pervasive. Anyway, that's my half baked, ass pulled reasoning; all bullshit aside although enjoyable i just never found Coltrane exciting in the same way as Monk, Ornette, Threadgill and on and on... So, i've enjoyed Coltrane but haven't gone crazy for him and therefore never felt a huge need to get in to the Prestige stuff, which i definitely perceived as being inessential. This thread has changed my mind. I don't have it anymore but i used to really enjoy the Burrell/Coltrane album. I probably don't need all the Prestige stuff at this stage, but as i literally have none of it in my collection, there'll be no double ups for me and it makes economic sense to get the boxed sets (if i just wanted to get 4 leader dates they would pretty much costs the same as a box set = may as well get the box set). I should have really checked here first whether it was a good idea rather than getting Fearless Leader but i went ahead and ordered this: Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Prestige-Albums-John-Coltrane/dp/B004XPM3LC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387690484&sr=8-1&keywords=coltrane+prestige+box Discogs http://www.discogs.com/John-Coltrane-His-Prestige-Albums/release/4739522 12 albums, just the leader dates, no bonus tracks, 12 CDs in 3 CD double jewel cases. It doesn't really make much difference but i like that each album is on it's own CD. I am really looking forward to chilling with this over the holiday season. Should keep me going for a while, and if i feel the need i'll follow it up with the Side Steps and Interplay boxes. Edit to fix picture.

I've been listening to a lot of Lloyd lately. There are things he does that remind me of Coltrane, but the flutter thing he does, in the way that he does it, is one of his signature things in my opinion. I'm no blindfold test expert but if i was listening to a Lloyd track and i wasn't sure who it was for some reason, the minute he did the flutter thing there would be no doubt in my mind that it's Lloyd. he does it almost, almost to the point of self parody. I need to check out Hagar's Song as i love Jason Moran. It's appearing in a lot of critics end of year lists but it seems like it's one of those safe/default picks.

Yes please. The fact that ECM is reissuing Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra gives me hope for more (an interesting turn as in recent times ECM has appeared to be reluctant to reissue single CDs that have never been on CD).

Non-jazz but i'm a reasonably big Dream Theater fan. The only band i know that can have an 'eagle screech' sample at the beginning of a song and be completely straight faced about it. At times they do what i can only perceive as being these wierd homages to horrible, completely un-hip bands like Slipknot, recent U2 and Muse... so it's almost like they are on this meta level of complete unhipness. Not a band i would recommend to anyone unless i thought they would be particularly inclined, but the stuff of there's that i love, i love (the epic cheesy prog stuff). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd3IzR6ch8A

Al Di Meola - Casino (love the first five Di Meola albums) Chick Corea - My Spanish Heart, The Mad Hatter (so much Corea i could pick but these are two standouts that i genuinely love. love the Elektric band) Claude Bolling - Suite for Flute & Jazz Piano Trio (actually not sure if this is regarded poorly but i presume it is) Duke Ellington - Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (see Claude Bolling) Jimmy Giuffre - Dragonfly, Quasar, Liquid Dancers (see Claude Bolling) Mike Stern - Jigsaw (pleasant weird nostalgia vertigo) Pat Metheny Group - We Live Here (see Mike Stern) Wayne Shorter - Atlantis, High Life (see Mike Stern but there is more to it than that... Shorter is a Genius) A lot of stuff i could pick but i tried to go for stuff that unequivocally has zero cred and that i genuinely love. For example i left out stuff like The Empty Foxhole, as though it cops a lot of hate you can get away with liking it. Funnily i couldn't actually pick out a particular Wynton album... he get's blanket hate but people don't tend to pick on particular albums... i guess i could go for the Monk album, but i don't actually love it myself. Was tempted list some Brubeck but it's note hated enough and i don't love it enough.

My taste is highly questionable, i have so, so many albums that i love that would fit this bill. So much Chick Corea. So much Pat Metheny. So much Wynton Marsalis. I'll try to think of some of the more note-worthy 'gems' and come back.

Day Month Year here, but at work we file stuff under Year Month Day too...

I've got the two CD version of Taylor Ho Bynum's Navigation. The cover image is subtley different, i don't have it in front of me but it says something like "Navigation Possibility Abstracts XII and XIII" rather than "The Complete Firehouse 12 Recordings." On the back of the CD digipak it notes that the package contains a complimentary download code for the complete edition, or words to that effect. My wife has put the CD aside to give me on christmas day, so i guess i'll find out (i inspected it before it was taken away to be wrapped and put under the tree ha ha). I see the download as more of a bonus thing, material that i wouldn't have heard otherwise but it will always be a bonus download of the material released on LP rather than something that's part of the complete CD package, if that makes sense.

Yes, there's really too much coming out to absorb or buy, but of course I'm not suggesting artists stop releasing their music. I made a conscious decision years ago to buy mostly new releases as opposed to reissues, but that only helps a little. So I don't know what the answer is, but it's an issue I've been thinking about lately. Yup. It really is a joy to be listening to this music continue to unfold in real time. I know there's a lot of people that scoff at thought of people getting that enthusiastic about contemporary artists, but man oh man i guess all i'll say is "if you have to ask..." Amazing album. As he's been such a prominent sideman over the years, it took me a few listens to stop listening to it in the light of Steve Coleman et al and just here it as it's own thing, which it most certainly is.

Thanks for the info. One day if it comes down to it i might shell out for an import or other copy of Song Of Singing... problem is i really want it but just not that badly... yet. The price of a normal, in print Blue Note CD would be just about right. Early Circle has fallen under the 'CDR On Demand' curse, although i'm sure if i put the effort in i could try to track down a non-CDR copy. Apologies if i'm coming off in a Gimme Gimme Gimme kind of way in this thread, i think i'll be backing away slowly now...

Two copies for sale on Discogs for $40 + shipping. Both in the US. Thanks! Of course now that i've ranted about it there's reasonable buying options galore (insert embarrassed emoticon here).

Yes. With all the stuff Impulse has put out over the years i can't understand why these haven't been released on CD. I wonder if this would fit on one of those Impulse twofers.

The fact that it was apparently considered by Mosaic makes it all the more frustrating. Sigh.

Just to put Scratching the Seventies lack of availability in to perspective, i've been looking for a few years now and any time i've looked on Amazon there hasn't been a single seller entry, not even something like a second hand copy going for $1000.00 or something ridiculous. Nada, zip, zilcho. It might pop up on ebay every now and again but i've found it to be non-existent online any time i've looked. Zero buying options. That is, coincidentally, until today when all of a sudden there is a second hand listing for $79.95. Funny thing is i know it went up today as I checked it this morning and there was nothing there as usual... now all of a sudden there is a listing... funny.

I wish that they'd reissue the Steve Lacy Scratching the Seventies box. Also, Chick Corea - The Song of Singing. In fact a Blue Note Corea box could be quite cool, could include Circulus and Circling In which i don't believe has ever been on CD. Dammit this just became something that i really want that will probably never happen.

I haven't got this set, but i do have about 15 of them, and i absolutely love them and champion them as great value, however i've definitely found them to be a mixed bag at times not so much of good and bad as essential and non-essential. Since these all bill themselves as remastered, I've been curious about the remastering and how good it happens to be. Is the remastering work subtle or pretty drastic, a big plus or not much of a factor? Opinions vary. I've had no issue with the sound myself, they're in line with what i'd usually expect from BS/SN. The few that i've bothered to do quick A/B tests on (when initially debating with myself whether to bother re-importing CDs i had already imported in to iTunes) i basically couldn't hear any difference between the 'remastered' version and the original CD. This lead me to believe that if they have indeed remastered them it's pretty subtle. Results may vary across the vast catalogue and YMMV.

I haven't got this set, but i do have about 15 of them, and i absolutely love them and champion them as great value, however i've definitely found them to be a mixed bag at times not so much of good and bad as essential and non-essential.

Pretty funny that things like this still happen. Mistaking Jarrett for someone else is one thing, with it being Corea i'm surprised that the universe didn't implode.

It's just impossible to keep up with everythig that's coming out, let alone afford it. Plus the never ending back catalogue stretching back decades to explore. I'm sure there will be 2013 albums that i missed that i subsequently pick up in years to come, but i've already got a pretty long list of stuff coming out in 2014 to occupy my funds, and the year hasn't even started yet.

Cool... would've been cool either way, just wasn't sure how to interpret that emoticon!

Well, for the sake of conversation, I've struggled a bit with this Wooley album. I'm really only just now getting to the point where i'm really enjoying it. It's done my head in because everything is in it's right place but i've just struggled to warm to it. It's like i'm listening to autism or something. It's been a real slow grower for an album that i thought would be a no brainer hit for me.

I'm still waiting for the new Ben Allison and the new Taylor Ho Bynum but i won't be getting either until Christmas day. Here's my top ten, just based on what i've genuinely gotten the most enjoyment from, not what i necessarily think is technically 'the best' or what will go down in history. Gary Burton - Guided Tour JD Allen - Grace Trio 3 + Jason Moran - Refraction, Breaking Glass Nicole Mitchell - Aquarius Jonathan Finlayson - Moment and the Message Mary Halvorson - Illusionary Sea Eri Yamamoto - Firefly Harris Eisenstadt - Golden State Wayne Shorter - Without a Net Peter Evans - Zebulon For the sake of context, the other 2013 new releases i have purchased and spent time with are: Antonio Sanchez - New Life Chick Corea - the Vigil The Claudia Quintet - September The Convergence Quartet - Slow and Steady Ethan Iverson - Costumes Are Mandatory Harris Eisenstadt - The Destructive Element John Hollenbeck - Songs I Like A Lot John Zorn - Dreamachines Made To Break - Provoke Marty Ehrlich - A Trumpet in the Morning Miles Davis - The Bootleg Series Vol 2 Nate Wooley - (Sit In) The Throne of Friendship Rob Mazurek - Skull Sessions SFJazz Collective - The Music of Chick Corea... Steve Coleman - Functional Arrythmias Most of these 'other' albums could easily be in my top ten. Another great year to my ears.

Ten years on.... Soooooooo, will be hunting them all down again, won't be hunting them all down again?