HutchFan

Ooof. I see that the cost of shipping across the Atlantic is more expensive than the book itself. Even so, this is one that I can't & won't resist. Maybe Santa Claus can put it under the tree for me come Christmastime. Another problem: As you've noted, @sidewinder, those other books look mighty enticing too. This could get expensive.

Excellent. Thanks so much to both of you! EDIT: I'm a tad surprised that Kenny Wheeler isn't one of Heining's chosen six. I realize that he's Canadian, but still. An honorary Brit, no? . . . Not a criticism or even a quibble. Just an observation.

Details, please! I just tried a Google search and came up empty. Do you have a URL?

More Mickey Newbury: Looks Like Rain (Mercury, 1969)

Now on my turntable: Mickey Newbury - Lovers (Elektra, 1975) Incredible music, as deep as a well and just as dark. Newbury is probably best known for 'Frisco Mabel Joy (Elektra, 1971) -- some listeners might remember "An American Trilogy" -- but I think this album is his best work. from wikipedia: As Thom Jurek notes in his AllMusic review of Newbury's 1975 LP Lovers, "As solid as Lovers is, it still failed to ignite on the chart level. It was greeted with indifference by radio and, hence, Elektra -- which had believed and invested in Newbury's creative vision and proven credibility as a songwriter -- let him go." Newbury biographer Joe Ziemer sums up the singer's dilemma in his book Crystal and Stone: "Though diversity derives from aptitude and ability, diversity was Newbury's problem with radio stations. One dominant characteristic of his music is eclecticism, and that's what made his albums unattractive to strict radio formats." Newbury had made several high profile appearances to promote Lovers, including on The Tonight Show, but began to sour on touring, telling Rich Wiseman of Rolling Stone in 1975, "I'll probably quit performing and just record on an album-to-album basis. I'm hating what I'm doing now." In 1977 he elaborated to the Omaha Review, "I worked a few concerts, mostly college concerts, just to prove to Elektra that it wouldn't help. They kept blaming the lack of sales on me." Ironically, Newbury's profile could not have been higher on the radio in 1977, albeit in a reverential way; in April outlaw country superstar Waylon Jennings released the #1 country smash "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)", which contains the lines "Between Hank Williams' pain songs, Newbury's train songs..." The song became an instant classic but most of the listeners who sang along with the tune likely had no idea who Newbury was. Although cited by Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, David Allan Coe, and several other country stars as a primary influence on their songwriting and albums, Newbury had little interest in cashing in on the outlaw country movement; according to Ziemer, Newbury was pressured by his record company to record an album called Newbury's Train Songs but Newbury turned them down: "They couldn't understand why I refused to do it. But I figured what little audience I did have would have immediately seen it for what it was: Jumping on the bandwagon when I didn't fit the mold."

Now streaming: Bobby Bare - The Mercury Years, Vol. 3 Music drawn from four LPs Bare made for Mercury, 1970-72. Terrific stuff, full of soul.

Now listening to Beethoven's piano sonatas, performed by Wilhelm Kempff, as heard on this 5-LP set: Starting with No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 "Pastorale"

Now spinning one of my favorite LPs by Art Pepper: The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3 (Galaxy, rec. 1981) What a cool artifact! I suppose that's the only one in the whole world. . . . And the music is astounding, of course. Yup. Mine also.

Yowza. What gorgeous hardware. There's almost something MAGICAL and ALTAR-like about it -- which seems entirely appropriate, given the fact that it's made to reproduce MUSIC. My Marantz solid state amp works very well, and it has for a long time. But it's just a black box compared that illuminated sorcery! JK. . . but also (sorta) not.

I've never owned a tube amp. About how long does it take for new tubes to break in?

Craft reissue Ooof. Tough. But that one's worth the Herculean strivings... and then some. One of Mingus' finest hours.

Ooooh. Nice. Wish I could come over to your place, listen to some tunes, and bask in the warm glow of your TUBE AMP.

NP: Oscar Peterson Jam: Montreux '77 (Pablo/OJC) Nice cover photo of OP

The Rhythmakers - 1932: The Complete Set - 26 Tracks (Retrieval) Wonderful stuff. Red Allen & Pee Wee Russell are featured soloists.

Yep. Konitz + Solal = extraordinary music

Now streaming: Baden Powell Quartet Vol. 2 (Barclay FR, 1971)

Again, I wasn't there. But my understanding is that McCoy was sort of in limbo after being dropped by Blue Note. So the success of Sahara was a big surprise, and it represented a turning point in his career. EDIT I'm trying to remember where I learned/read this, but I can't. Maybe an interview with McCoy? Maybe elsewhere on this forum? I dunno. . . . I think this just reinforces the notion (discussed earlier in this thread) that we need a Tyner biography. I wish I could just pull the book from the shelf and quote chapter-and-verse.

I wouldn't call it his "best" -- but Sahara was definitely Tyner's breakout album. In that regard, Sahara is arguably his most important. It's a sort of watershed point in his discography. Sahara also demonstrated that Tyner's "all-acoustic" group could compete with electric bands -- both jazz and rock -- in terms of sheer MAGNITUDE and FORCE. So there's some muscle-flexing involved that (to my ears) diminished as the 1970s progressed. This is a generality, of course; all of the albums weren't cranked to "11" -- but many were. (I think this is what @JSngry was talking about when he mentioned critics who described Tyner as a "pentatonic Oscar Peterson.") OTOH, I should note that this type of thinking is heresy to many McCoy fans, particularly those who heard this music in the early-70s as it was initially released. "Full blast" albums Sahara and Enlightenment are the PINNACLE for many people. However, I'm not old enough to have heard them in real-time as they were released. I've only heard the music retrospectively and out-of-sequence. And I've discovered that I prefer the stuff that has a bit more air in it, that breathes a little. For the most part*, the early stuff ain't that. * An exception that proves the rule: I think Sama Layuca (1974) is one of McCoy's best -- because it ebbs and flows. Bobby Hutcherson's soulful presence dials things back (a little); his voice adds some chill to the proceedings. Unlike Sahara (and other albums like Enlightenment or Atlantis), Sama Layuca strikes me as being musically balanced. It's not triple-fortissimo all the time.

I HOPE another constructor (or two or three) can narrow the gap and actually compete with RBR next year. What Verstappen is doing is damn impressive, but it doesn't make for especially interesting or exciting races. As for the "race" for the Driver & Constructor championships. . . there really isn't one. It was over when the season began. Now, the only question is whether Red Bull -- either Max (very likely) or Checo (less likely) -- will win every single race for the entire year. I wouldn't bet against it.

If I were focusing on Tyner's trios during his Milestone period, I'd grab these first: and Both were recorded at the same 1978 concert in Tokyo -- with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. I wish I could have seen McCoy back then. I saw him once -- about 15 years ago -- in a trio with Stanley Clarke and Eric Gravatt. It was great, but I would've loved to see/hear him with a larger ensemble.