HutchFan

A new-to-me recording from 2015: Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord" / Thomas Hell (Piano Classics)

Discussion elsewhere on the board prompted me to queue up this: Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol. 1: The Complete Abashiri Concert (Widow's Taste) with George Cables, David Williams, and Carl Burnett

dana - It's just one of those records that works perfectly as an "album," a very satisfying listening experience. Back in the day, there were three LPs released from the Maiden Voyage sessions. Roadgame was the first, the only one issued while Pepper was still living. (It was also the first one that I heard.) Art Lives was the second, and APQ was the third. All three of them are excellent, IMO. And I love the band -- and it is a band -- with George Cables, David Williams, and Carl Burnett. I suppose it's odd that I'm most drawn to the third release. Most of the time, the earliest issues from a gig are the best. When I was making my selections for this project, I went back to the first two volumes to double-check my impressions. Listening again re-affirmed my initial choice. APQ is my favorite. Art Lives and APQ have never been issued on CD -- but the recordings are all available on the Galaxy box set, and Craft/Concord has issued "The Complete Maiden Voyage Sessions" as downloads. So folks can easily create a playlist if they don't spin vinyl. Even though Pepper died in June 1982, he made some really wonderful records the last 2.5 years of his life. I could have easily chosen several other releases. Laurie Pepper's releases on Widow's Taste are excellent -- especially the Ronnie Scott's gig with Milcho Leviev. Winter Moon. One September Afternoon. The duo records with George Cables. I dig it all. But, if I had to pick ONE... EDIT: If anyone would like to give it a listen, I just made an APQ: The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3 playlist on YouTube. I noticed that these cuts are longer than the versions released on LP. I assume that they were edited to accomodate LP time constraints. So this playlist is APQ "Uncut."

I don't have Claude Frank's Beethoven piano sonata set -- but I do have Frank's recordings of LvB's Violin Sonatas that he made with his daughter Pamela Frank. Wonderful.

Yep. On Thiele's Doctor Jazz label.

Charles Ives: Symphony No. 3; Ragtime Dances; Robert Browning Overture / Michael Stern, RSO Saarbrücken (Col Legno) My favorite version of Dvořák's Sixth -- assuming that's the same recording issued on the "Ančerl Gold" release.

Yes!!!

A 2-LP live album with (among others) Edy Martinez, Bernard Purdie, and Guillerme Franco. It has a "pre-A&M" vibe.

Here are my posts for the last two weeks: - Leandro "Gato" Barbieri - Gato... Para Los Amigos!! (Doctor Jazz/CBS Special Products, 1983) - Billy Bang Quintet - Rainbow Gladiator (Soul Note, 1981) - The Ballad Artistry of Buddy Tate featuring the Ed Bickert Trio (Sackville, 1982) - David Friedman - Of the Wind's Eye (Enja, 1981) - Art Pepper Quartet - APQ: The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3 (Galaxy, 1984) - Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan - Spirit Within (Elektra Musician, 1982) No commentary for any of these on the blog. ... Not enough gas in the tank in the tank lately. In a dry patch. Maybe I'll get 'round to them at some point.

John Lewis - Improvised Meditations & Excursions (Atlantic, 1959) with either George Duvivier or Percy Heath (b) and Connie Kay (d) One of John Lewis' best albums, IMO.

The Streets of San Francisco

Thanks for sharing those great memories, Gheorghe!

Two albums by Art Blakey's terrific, late-70s Messengers band with Bobby Watson and James Williams: and Ray Mantilla adds a bit of extra percussion sabor on this one.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Compilation drawn from Rawls' MGM albums (1971-73)

Dave Brubeck - Time In (Columbia, 1966) The classic DBQ with Desmond, Wright, and Morello

Thanks for confirming, Mike. I already have Shearing in Hi-Fi. I need to get A Shearing Caravan.

Now: James Moody Orchestra & Quartet - Moody and the Brass Figures (with Arrangements by Tom McIntosh) (Milestone, 1968) Includes a terrific "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" that rivals the Miles/Gil Evans version Yes!!! Yes!!!

I agree. I kept going back-and-forth between La Leyenda and Just Feelin' for my survey selection. You know what I mean, Jim. Live jazz is almost always more interesting than anything that we hear on record. Live jazz is in real-time. It's the difference between watching dancers in-person and watching them on a video. Not the same thing. Moving through time in-the-NOW with them. Or watching after the fact. Jazz is just the same. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE records. Because it's as close as I'm ever going to get to so many wonderful artists. But I'd pay a STEEP price to go back in time and see them perform live. Because there's something essential about being there. That's all I meant.

Many of the artists that I love have had little impact on jazz. They've never been influential. Or their influence was fleeting. That doesn't mean that their art wasn't important -- to me, at least! Well, that's nearly ALWAYS true. That's just what jazz is.

Hmm... Reading some of the responses to McCoy's output in the 80s, I feel like I should stick up for him. He may not have made any mind-blowing records during the decade, but I think he made some very strong records. Consider... along with my pick, La Leyenda de la Hora, McCoy released these albums during the 1980s: - 13th House (Milestone, 1981) - Dimensions (Elektra Musician, 1984) - Just Feelin' (Palo Alto, 1985) - Bon Voyage (Timeless, 1987) - Revelations (Blue Note, 1988) - Uptown/Downtown (Milestone, 1988) - Things Ain't What They Used to Be (Blue Note, 1989) From my perspective, every single one of these albums is at least "solid" -- and several of them are much better than that. I'm just sayin'!