HutchFan

Shifting gears a bit: Stanley Clarke - Journey to Love (Nemperor, 1975)

Just arrived in the mail: Gunter Hampel and His Galaxie Dream Band - Journey To The Song Within (Birth, 1974)

Can't say that I'm surprised. But that is a bummer.

It is strange that Max's Live in Tokyo isn't recognized as a "classic of the 1970s" on par with say, Mingus' Changes One and Changes Two. I'm sure that the fact that it was released on Denon didn't help. Even so, you'd think that, over time, jazz fans would get hip to it. I know that it's regarded as an all-time classic on this forum. But elsewhere no one seems to talk about it much. Of course, I'm coming at it from the perspective of someone who wasn't listening to jazz at the time it was released. (Since I was just a kid in the 70s, I only came to it retrospectively.) Did the record -- and Max's Quartet (in general) -- make a big splash at the time? Were they recognized as "important" relative to other bands? I know that Max was acknowledged as a bebop pioneer. But did folks talk about this band as something special? Yes!

Yeah, it's good stuff. I think these recordings from the Maiden Voyage Club in L.A. are some of Pepper's finest from any time in his career. He seems very relaxed -- even when the music is intense.

Peter Apfelbaum - Luminous Charms (Gramavision, 1996)

Now: Earlier: A special disc.

Yep. That's the good news. The bad news: It's out of print, and used copies on Discogs are fetching absurd prices. I'll just have to wait until they decide to re-reissue. But I probably shouldn't hold my breath. IIRC, Denon's catalog is now owned by the Concord Music Group.

Yeah!

Next up: with Louis Stewart (g) & Niels Henning Ørsted-Pedersen (b)

Fascinating Indo jazz.

Now spinning: Masahiko Satoh with Eddie Gomez - Chagall Blue (OpenSkye, 1980)

More Buddy De Franco: Originally released as Free Sail on Choice

Next up: Joe Zawinul - Zawinul (Atlantic, 1971) Each cut is a little tone poem. No "songs" in sight. Also, as close as you can get to a Weather Report album without being a Weather Report album.