HutchFan

Now listening to this under-recognized -- altho' maybe not so much here on the board -- gem from the early-70s: Buddy Terry - Pure Dynamite (Mainstream) Eric Dolphy on one side and Paul Gonsalves on the other? Yes please!

Can I ask why? Not judging. Just wondering. As a teen & young adult in the 80s, I never grooved to (most) popular music during that time -- but Prince always struck me as an interesting exception, a bright spot. Just my take.

Billy Hart - Oshumare (Gramavision) Gorgeous record.

More Pablo-era Basie: arranged by Sammy Nestico and arranged by Ernie Wilkins

MG -- Just like your first post of Earl Hines on those Black Lion LPs. Except this time it was Pablo being lazy.

Could be! You'll have to read the blog -- or this thread, since I'll share my weekly posts here too -- throughout 2022 to find out.

Count Basie - The Golden Years (Pablo, 4 CD compilation) Disc 3 - Big Band Recordings (studio)

Joanne Brackeen - Special Identity (Antilles, 1982) with Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette Oh yeah.

O.K. I'm not interested in debating. I'll stop now and stick to the albums. ... Besides, the particulars are always more interesting than the broad outlines. Incidentally, one of my 150 selections is a Wynton record. Does that mean I'll be "voted off the island," banished for life, and ultimately damned to everlasting torment? If so, I suppose I need to prepare for it.

You'll get no disagreement from me on that, Jim. I think what you're describing -- the "let's cash in on this!" impulse -- made quite a bit of the music from the 1980s boring as hell. ... Of course, there were plenty of dull-as-dishwater fusion records in the 70s too. Cashing in is cashing in, regardless of the decade, no? To paraphrase Duke, I want to focus on the good stuff -- regardless of where it may fall on the musical spectrum -- and ignore "the other kind." Of course, Duke's seemingly-tidy-but-difficult-to-apply-in-the-real-world dichotomy means each of us has to listen and make our own determinations ... I think that's the tricky part.

Rooster, Along the lines of what you describe above, I sorta expected to find the most interesting stuff in the early-80s. But the exact opposite occurred. The two years that have the most representation in my survey are 1988 and 1989. A full 33% of my selections are from those two years. (!) Of course, these numbers are skewed by the "rules" I describe above (and the fully subjective approach we're taking). I'm limited to choosing one (or possibly two) of each artist's records. I'm not sure how my numbers would look if I selected every recording I like by my favorite artists throughout the 80s -- instead of just one or two. I think it might be more consistent across the decade. Not sure though. As far as changes in the middle of the 80s... That's tough. Nothing jumped out at me like that. Again, this might just be a reflection of what I'm listening to. But, if I were to generalize, I think a bigger change happened in the latter half of the 70s, when it seems like many artists began a new rapprochement with the tradition. Of course, the traditionalists never stopped... but I think both middle-of-the-road guys and avant-gardists began to see more value in looking backwards -- and some were able to do it without being regressive. Taking a macro view, I think the familiar narrative of a the "return to Tradition" in the 80s, Reagan, and Wynton and all that is true -- especially with regards to "Neo-Conservativism" in jazz and record sales (the reissue boom!) -- and the wider culture in general. Obviously true, yes. But, on another level, this "new dialogue with the past" thing was already well under way before 1980. It started in the 70s. On the conservative end of the spectrum, think about Dexter's return to the US and VSOP in the late-70s. But it was happening in less conservative circles too. Some examples: Anthony Davis' nascent classicism (which came to full flower in the 80s) or Beaver Harris' 360° Music Experience or even Old and New Dreams. There are many other examples across the spectrum. All this stuff was underway before Reagan and Wynton. Naturally, some folks hoe their own row and ignore wider trends -- but, broadly speaking, I do think there was a general movement in this direction that contrasts with the first half of 70s. Steve Lacy talks about it in his book of interviews, a kind of re-consolidation in the latter half of the 70s that was needed (inevitable?) after the freedoms of the late-60s and early-70s -- how the pendulum swings back-and-forth, correction after correction, always responding to what came before it. So, if I were to speak of any general trend in the 1980s, it would be along these lines: Think of John Carter's brilliant "Roots and Folklore" series. It looks backwards and forwards at the same time. Everything all at once.

Yes!!! Now: Earlier: Max on drums.

On to Disc 10: Recordings made between December 1938 and March 1939

Now: Disc 9: Recordings made between April and September 1938

The Count Basie Story (Roulette/EMI) Classic "Old Testament" Basie tunes as interpreted by Basie's 1960 "New Testament" band.

Good stuff!

Lots of vinyl today.

Beginning in January, I'm kicking off another year-long jazz blog project. This time, I'm partnering with a friend of mine, Dan Robey, and we'll be exploring jazz recordings from the 1980s. Since this is a duo project, I won't have to do all the heavy lifting myself. For my 1970s jazz project, I selected 366 records, one for each day of the year. That was a lot of work, and I couldn't keep up. (It didn't help that the pandemic hit in early 2020, and my workload at the office went through the roof.) As a consequence, many of the entries in my 1970s blog are "bare-bones" -- with little or no commentary. For our upcoming project, each of us have selected fewer recordings. The plan is for each of us to post three recordings per week over the course of 50 weeks -- so by the end of the year we'll have a total 300 recordings in our survey (150 each). I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up this time. Dan and I are following the same "rules" that I devised for my 1970s blog project: The music must have been recorded between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989; the release date does not matter. We've only selected albums, no compilations or box sets. Each of us can select one recording per leader -- plus one more recording from the same artist as a co-leader. For example, I selected one recording by David Liebman (as a leader) and one recording by the band Liebman co-leads, Quest. (Please note that Dan can also select Liebman recordings as a leader & co-leader. Just because I selected them doesn't mean that he cannot.) A few more notes on the selection process: Dan and I compiled our lists separately. We wanted to explore and select our recordings independently. As a result, there are some albums that appear on both of our lists -- and, as you'd expect, many artists appear on both lists. However, as we were finalizing our choices, we began to compare notes. In a few cases, I deleted recordings when I saw that Dan would be covering them, freeing me up to add other recordings that I'd considered. Dan did the same. This allowed us to broaden the reach of our survey. Also, please note the important word, Favorites, which again appears in the blog title. Neither Dan nor I have approached this with any intention of selecting the "best" records or "most important" records or even the "most influential" records. Historical or musicological objectivity is not our goal. We'll leave it to others to write the history books. Our choices reflect the particularities of our tastes and predilections. Plus, you've got to factor in the fact each of us has selected 150 recordings from the decade -- unlike the 366 I chose last time -- so, if only from a numbers point of view, this project will have an even more personal slant than the other one. Finally, I hope this project will prompt some good discussion here on the forum! I'll post more details as Dan and I approach the launch date. EDIT The blog has now launched. To view it, go to https://jazzinthe80s.blogspot.com.

I like them. Now spinning: Tony Williams - Angel Street (Blue Note, 1988) I love the last cut on the LP's first side, "Dreamland": I think it would be interesting to hear this piece with a churning Hammond B-3 organ. Not sure why that came to mind. Maybe because I've been listening to Lifetime?

Now: with George Cables, Tony Dumas, and Billy Higgins Earlier: with Kenny Barron, Reggie Johnson, and Kenny Washington

Chico Hamilton - His Great Hits (ABC/Impulse!)

Now spinning: J.J. Johnson & His Big Bands - Say When (Bluebird) Compilation of Johnson's 1964-66 big band sides for RCA

Another LP that arrived in the mail today: The Dynamic Hampton Hawes (MPS, Netherlands) Reissue of Hamp's Piano (SABA/MPS, 1969). Superb music and audio fidelity.

Just arrived in the mail today: Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader - Palmieri & T'Jader (Tico) 1977 reissue; originally released as Bamboleate in 1967

Lots of listeners speak of April in Paris and Atomic Basie as THE New Testament Basie records. Since neither of them particularly caught my ear (especially at first), I assumed, "Well, I guess late Basie just isn't my cuppa joe." Turns out, there were/are many other New Testament Basie albums that I like much better than those two. ... Don't get me wrong: I like April in Paris and Atomic Basie -- especially after absorbing the New Testament Basie idiom via other records. But still I don't like them as much as the others I've discussed. Basie's just like any other artist with a large discography, I guess. You gotta make the investment, listen for yourself, and form your own judgments. That's the work, and that's the fun.