John B

Road trip!

Get the live album I, Eye, Aye next. That version of "Volunteered Slavery" blows the studio version out of the water. There is also a video release of this same show, which goes by a different name. I think it is called "The One Man Twins."

I was hoping you would post your thoughts soon. Based on what I've seen you list in the What are You Listening To? thread I thought you might dig this one. I'm glad you found some tracks you enjoyed!

Have you tried emailing Chuck Nessa? He distributes some Okka titles and might have a copy left in stock.

once this image "clicked" it was difficult to go back to seeing it the original way. ← I hope you're not joking. I keep looking at this and nothing happens. I take off my reading glasses and it just looks blurry. The Sun rises and sets a few times and still nothing. I have to do laundry.... ← No, not joking. The image switches to 3D, with several individual candies floating at different depths over a 2D background image.

once this image "clicked" it was difficult to go back to seeing it the original way. Monoceros is fantastic, but OOP. I would also recommend Dark Rags w/ Keith Rowe, The Snake Decides, for more solo goodness and Cecil Taylor's Nailed, for all out mayhem.

No, I went with Verge. The discs are slightly cheaper with the current exchange rate and shipping was quite a bit less expensive.

The discs I ordered on Bleu Regard are backordered. I'll post my thoughts when I finally have a chance to listen to them. In addition to Voyage from Jericho I also ordered Live in Europe: Jazz Festival UMEA and Folly Fun Music Magic.

Done. Thanks for the recommendation and thank you for the wonderful stories. I'm very much looking forward to hearing his music.

Would you recommend one of the in-print, on cd discs over the others as a starting point? I don't believe I've ever heard his work and would like to do so. I was eyeing the disc on Silkheart but the recent comments on his Bleu Regard discs, both reissue and otherwise, have me wondering if one of them would be a better point of entry.

I like the album but this seems a bit over the top to me.

The cover image looks like Will Ferrel imitating Jandek. I like Seth Tissue's comment: "Cover photo is really blurry and appears to depict Jandek on his last pilgrimage to Mecca. " Voice and bass? I'll wait for Dave's comments before adding this one to my next order of 20.

Steve, nice review. I really enjoy this disc. Too bad it has gone out of print. Hopefully Leo will reissue it before too long.

Let me know if you want Dennis Gonzalez' email address. He could most likely put you in touch or tell you if Charles had any interest in participating.

That is a shame. I wonder if Jim would be amenable to another fundraiser, following the Eric Kloss one at the top of this Forum. I can't imagine it would take too much money to get his horns back in playing shape. Maybe Dennis would be willing to coordinate on JC and with Charles? I emailed Dennis to ask him about this, as he seems to have the best sense of what it would take to get Charles back playing again.

1968 Rhythm X (Strata East) Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Charlie Haden Nineteen years go by... 1987 Bannar (Silkheart) Alvin Fielder, Malachi Favors, Dennis Gonzalez Worshippers Come Nigh (Silkheart) Attainment (Silkheart) Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins, Andrew Cyrille, Dennis Gonzalez and then....nothing. Four albums, three within the space of one year, and then no other albums as a leader in the last eighteen years. These are all top-notch albums, with fantastic tunes, great sidemen, and the highest level of writing and playing by all involved. I suppose these discs would be labelled as "free jazz," but these tunes have melody and lyricism and would appeal to anyone with a taste for good music who is able to appreciate jazz with an edge. What has Brackeen been up to for the last two decades? Does he still perform? Any chance he'll ever record as a leader again? Will Rhythm X ever be issued on cd? I'm just starting to explore his work as a sideman, primarily on the Dennis Gonzalez albums on Silkheart. The album Debenge-Debenge, recorded the year after Brackeen's Silkhearts, and featuring most of the same musicians, starts off with a 22 minute track called "the Masses" that was written by Brackeen. Any recommendations for other albums featuring Brackeen that are essential listening?

For today's work-time listening pleasure I brought in Ready for the House. If I had to choose one disc to be someone's initial exposure to Jandek this would be it. No co-conspirators, no possible exposure to hype, mythology or analysis that can affect ones impression of the later albums, this is pure, unadulterated Jandek. The essence of Jandek, if you will. The playing is incompetent, yet perfect. The lyrics are non-sensical yet deep. The mood is lonely, dark and disturbing yet, at least for me, inviting, with a glimmer of hope buried in the mix. Seriously, this disc is as "accesible" as any Jandek disc. If someone can't get their head around this disc and appreciate its beauties, there would be no point in exploring the catalog any further as Jandek is not for them. Essential.

have you heard JSngry's BFT #27? If not, read some of the discussion on disc #1, track #5. That might be what got the idea of "mocking" into my head.

I'm not sure if a tune with that many obvious flubs is toying with the listener, mocking the original tune, actually being flubbed, or some combination thereof.

I am amazed you wrote this before getting to disc #3. Their version of Brubeck's "Raggy Waltz" is horrible. I can't believe a track this awful, full of such obvious mistakes, is anything other than the result of a perverse sense of humor toying with the listener and mocking the tune being played.

I've been listening to (and enjoying) 23 Standards, but their version of Brubeck's "Raggy Waltz" is rough. Were they intentionally trying to butcher this tune? I have a hard time believing they included this track for any reason other than a perverse sense of humor.

Is there anyone here who speaks Hungarian and can tell if this label has distribution in the U.S.? I''d love to hear this one.

I'm not familiar with any of the artists in the most recent questions, so no help from me. I listened to the first disc of the Document: New Music From Russia - the '80's set on Leo today. Stylistically much more diverse than I expected. One very long track by a group called Dearly Departed, which synthesizes large amounts of eastern folk music, and three tracks by Volkov Guyvoronsky, which bring things back closer to what I think of as the traditional Leo sound. Thumbs up, for the first disc at least.

1. This has got to be Jimmy Smith or someone heavily influenced by him. Not sure who anyone else is. I’ll guess Kenny Burrell on guitar. I really dig this track. Just like a few tracks on disc #2 this one is taken at a breakneck pace and is a blast. I’m really looking forward to reading who this is. 2. Pops goes the weasel! I already posted a link to my guess for this track. A bit of throwaway fluff, to be sure, but such fun throwaway fluff. It would have been nice to have some more trumpet, but what are you going to do. 3. Nice! The baritone sax adds a really nice touch to this solid latin band. Other than that I don’t have anything to go on. No clue who this is, but I’m looking forward to finding out and exploring the rest of this album. What are they saying? It sounds like “oye mi fatso,” which can’t be right. 4. A live(?) recording of Sonny off of vinyl. This is as harsh as I’ve heard his tone. Other than that I couldn’t tell you anything about the track, other than I really enjoyed it. 5. Ok, now we’re back to more of the bizarre. Over-the-top canned applause, really noticeable flubs, a bass “solo” that seems to trail off and die. This has to be a joke, right? 6. No clue who this is. This isn’t an era I’m particularly well versed in. Very nice. Great sound and great energy. I’d like to find out who this is and hear more from this album. 7. I started off thinking I was going to hate this track, but that odd bass line caught my ear. Definitely not what I was expecting. I like the sax a lot, I like the sultry, almost woozy bass, but the backing track is too lush for my taste. This would have worked better as a quartet or quintet track in my opinion. This has got to be from the mid-1970’s. 8. The singer sounds like late Billie Holiday, no clue who she is. The tenor sounds familiar, but I’m not able to put a name with the tone right now. Not really my cup of tea, but interesting enough to make me curious about the rest of the album. 9. Not my cup of tea. The band is tight, they swing like hell, and the energy here is fantastic, but it is all too much. Too forced, perhaps. I guess my problem is with the arrangement. I would have liked to have heard the tenor stretch out, too. 10. See above. I like this one better than track 9. The soloists have more room to maneuver and the chart isn’t as “forced” to my ears. Still, NMCOT. 11. This one makes for a nice, mellow change of pace. No clue who this is, but I’d guess this is not a very recent recording. A little too short to really get a handle on. 12. I like this one quite a bit. This sounds like one of McCoy Tyner’s dates from the late ‘60’s / early ‘70’s. 13. Another bizarre track. The voice sounds familiar…is that Duke? Weird… Not much else to say about this one. I wouldn’t pull this out other than for its novelty value. 14. I’m not crazy about the concept of actually eating “mountain oysters,” but I love the tenor and the down and dirty r&b groove this tune has. This one makes you want to cringe and dance at the same time. 15. Nice, nice track. A real slow burner. I really like this one, but have no clue who it is. I want to hear the rest of this session. 16. I‘m not sure if this is really an add or just a really short track emulating an add. Not much else to say here. 17. Not my cup of tea at all. All in all a great BFT, Jim. As I said on the other discussion thread I really enjoyed listening to both discs, even the tracks labelled as NMCOT. I'll be following the discussion and answer thread avidly.

Out of the Supersilent discs 6 is very very good. 4 and 5 are not quite up to the same level, in my opinion. 1-3 is enjoyable, but formative. I've also heard the Deathpod box (which contains the single album Morals and Dogma) and really enjoy it. It is a lot more ambient than Supersilent. Deathprod (the name of one guy) is a member of Supersilent. Browsing the catalog I'd be most interested in hearing the Jazzkammer and Food discs. also, there is no real "ECM-connection" other than a now-discontinued distribution agreement. ECM used to distribute their discs. I don't really hear any similarites musically.