HutchFan

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Now playing: Woody Shaw & Steve Turre make a formidable front line. And the rhythm section -- Mulgrew Miller, Stafford James, and Tony Reedus -- ain't half-bad either.

Thanks for the feedback.

NP: Willis Jackson - Legends of Acid Jazz: Keep on a Blowin' (Prestige) Originally released as 2 LPs: Keep on a Blowin' (1960) and Thunderbird (1962) -- with Bill Jennings, Jack McDuff, Freddie Roach, a.o. I wasn't aware of this one. Are you enjoying it, Peter?

Sorry to hear this news. R.I.P.

Yep, both of them are excellent. The Manhattan Project is shockingly good. I'm very surprised that it has such a low profile because Wayne's playing (in particular) is amazing. (Folks who turn up their noses at keyboards won't like it -- but that doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I think they add some interesting color.) I'm less surprised that the Herwig disc isn't on most folks' radar. It was released on a Japan-only label and is now fairly difficult to find. But it's worth the search. I'm a Richie Beirach freak, so his presence caught my eye -- but the whole band burns. Outstanding playing and compositions. I would have included both of these albums in my 80s survey -- if I had heard them before finalizing my selections in November of last year. You'll see both on my "bonus list" at the end of the year when the jazzblog project ends -- 50 more albums that I would've included if I were re-compiling it today.

Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani, Stanley Clarke, et al - The Manhattan Project (Blue Note, 1990) and Conrad Herwig - New York Hardball (Ken, 1990)

Clifford Jordan - Magic in Munich (SteepleChase, 2 CDs, rec. 1975) Disc 2 - originally released as The Highest Mountain -- with "the Magic Triangle": Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins Unlike Ben's tiny trilby, Jordan's hat is big and floppy. Wide lapels, crazy prints, and BIG hats. It was the Seventies, man!

Magnificent Ben -- a desert-island disc!

dana, I think you'd enjoy it! Thanks, CJ.

Streaming now via YT: Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee & Lionel Pillay - Plum and Cherry (As Shams/The Sun, 1979) I wonder if We Are Busy Bodies is planning to reissue this LP. The music is from the same '79 session that produced the side-long title cut on Shrimp Boats. And it's got that same sort of loping, hypnotic feel.

Franco D'Andrea - Quartet Live / My Shuffle (Red, 2 LPs on 1 CD) with Tino Tracanna (ts, ss), Attilio Zanchi (b), and Gianni Cazzola (d) The two albums go together well because they were both drawn from the same concert, recorded in Montpellier, France in 1985. Outstanding.

John Lewis, Bill Perkins, a.o. - Grand Encounter: 2° East - 3° West (Pacific Jazz, 1956) Exquisite.

Mel Tormé and Friends: Recorded Live at Marty's, New York City (Finesse, 1981)

NP: Bud Shank & Bill Perkins - Serious Swingers (Contemporary, 1987) with Alan Broadbent (p), John Heard (b), and Sherman Ferguson (d)

Very cool. I'm SO jealous of folks who had the good fortune to see & hear Ellington's band in person.

Coincidentally, earlier today (before seeing either of these posts), I was listening to Ernie Wilkins' Almost Big Band too.

via YT: Zimbo Trio - Zimbo (RGE Brazil, 1976)

A double-shot of Carmen McRae with my morning coffee: Prime Carmen... plus Zoot sits in on a few cuts.

The Albert Mangelsdorff Quartet - Never Let It End (MPS, 1970) with Heinz Sauer (ts, as), Günter Lenz (b), and Ralf Hübner (d)