HutchFan

I dig that photo of Thelonious above. He could make any hat work. Another hat on another head:

Rab, I have no idea what that title means, why it was chosen. I just took a quick look at Joel Dorn's introductory notes, and he doesn't say anything about it. Outstanding.

I mentioned this album yesterday. Thought I'd give it a spin today. John Lee & Gerry Brown - Bamboo Madness (Limetree/Keytone, rec. 06/1973) featuring Chris Hinze, Gary Bartz, and Jasper van't Hof

John Taylor - Pause, and Think Again (Turtle, 1971) as heard in this set:

One of my favorites from Kenny B.

Yusef Lateef - Hush 'N' Thunder (Atlantic, 1973) as heard on this 32 Jazz set:

Cal Tjader - Warm Wave (Verve, 1964) arranged & conducted by Claus Ogerman Picked up this LP in Toronto while I was visiting last summer. Despite the low jazz quotient -- it's more easy-listening/lounge oriented -- I dig it.

The Bill Perkins Quartet – Journey to the East (Contemporary, 1985) with Bill Perkins (ts, fl), Frank Strazzeri (p), Joel DiBartolo (b), and Peter Donald (d)

Next up: The MJQ - "Echoes" (Pablo, 1984)

Now on my turntable: David "Fathead" Newman - Concrete Jungle (Prestige, 1978) arrangements by William S. Fischer Outstanding late-70s soul jazz

Make no mistake: That bari is a lethal weapon.

Now: John McNeil - East Coast Cool (OmniTone, 2006) with Allan Chase (bari sax); John Hebert (b); Matt Wilson (d) This album is a tip of the cap to the Baker/Mulligan quartet; however, this band sounds much more contemporary. They're just using the Baker/Mulligan aesthetic as a jumping off point for doing their own thing.

The Chris Hinze Combination - Mission Suite (MPS, 1973) Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo Flute, Bamboo Flute, Arrangements – Chris Hinze Electric Piano – Rob van den Broeck Bass, Electric Bass – John Lee Drums – Gerry Brown Vocals, Percussion – Henny Vonk Guest, Guitar – Sigi Schwab Guest, Percussion – Wim van der Beek Guest, Percussion – Cees See This album is a sort of predecessor to John Lee & Gerry Brown's terrific Bamboo Madness (originally titled Infinite Jones), which came out in 1974 on Hinze's Keytone label. To my ears, Mission Suite isn't as compelling as Bamboo Madness -- but it's in the exact same neighborhood style-wise. Gary Bartz (and, to a lesser extent, Jasper van't Hof) bring a little extra "juice" to Bamboo Madness -- and that's what's missing on Mission Suite. As for Lee and Brown, they kick ass on both albums. Interesting bit of trivia: Michael Cuscuna wrote the original liner notes for both of these albums.

Sathima Bea Benjamin with Dollar Brand - African Songbird (The Sun, 1976) with Basil 'Mannenberg' Coetzee

The Singers Unlimited: and The Swingle Singers (uncredited): Stan Getz with Michel Legrand - Communications '72 (Verve) with Eddy Louiss (also uncredited)

Earlier this evening, I was listening to Cal Tjader's Guarabe (Fantasy, 1977), as heard on this CD: Along with the entirety of Guarabe, this CD compiles the music from Tjader's LP Here (Galaxy, 1978), less one cut. Now: Jack DeJohnette - Parallel Realities (MCA, 1990) with Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny Picked this album up recently for the second time. I had bought it on cassette when it originally came out. Not long after, my car's player "ate" the tape. So it's been fun re-hearing the music again, decades later.

Carla can be hit or miss for me too. But I think Fleur Carnivore hits the bullseye.

Three albums that I posted yesterday: - Jackie McLean Quintet featuring Rene McLean - Dynasty (Triloka, 1990) - Carla Bley - Fleur Carnivore (WATT/ECM, 1989) - Don Pullen - New Beginnings (Blue Note, 1989) - with Gary Peacock & Tony Williams Tony's drumming on the Pullen trio date is the bees knees. But all three have much to recommend them, IMO. What say you? My favorite Mehldau records are probably the two that he made with Pat Metheny.

So beautiful -- especially "The Queen's Suite." Excellent.

R.I.P. Sorry to hear this news. I always enjoyed hearing Cuber.

Judge is a great hitter -- by ANY definition. And if his achievement makes anyone happy, I'm all for it. Heaven knows that our world needs happy stories. OTOH, I will say that ESPN's coverage, as always, is so incredibly NYC-centric that -- as someone who doesn't live in the Northeast -- it's irritating as hell. I understand that this is solely about demographics -- and, by extension, dollars. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. But I also know that I'm not the only SEC football fan who was pissed off when ESPN choose to cut over to Judge's at-bats during football games. There's been plenty of ire across the web, so I won't rehash it, other than to say: "If I wanted to watch Aaron Judge, I'd be watching baseball, not football. Please don't interrupt my game." ... But my gripe with ESPN is not just about Aaron Judge. During the pennant race, everything was Mets, Mets, Mets, Mets. How does this affect the Mets? What does this mean for the Mets? Did the Mets make the right decisions at the trade deadline? Ugh. And enough already. And finally -- I want to spell out that the argument I'm making isn't just about my hometown, Atlanta. For example, ESPN practically ignored San Antonio when the Spurs were a dynasty. Mid-tier and smaller markets get short shrift... full-stop. It's a numbers game. As my wife who majored in journalism reminds me whenever I start spouting this stuff (and, yes, this is a recurrent rant): Unless you're watching PBS, the ONLY reason networks broadcast ANYTHING is to draw in eyeballs. More eyeballs equals more advertising dollars. It's the Great American Way!!! Well, phooey on that.