HutchFan

Gents -- Did y'all read the write-up about Horizon on my blog? Gives some insight into my choice. So, yes, Horizon is my favorite McCoy record of the decade. And, if I hadn't chosen Horizon, I probably would have gone with Sama Layuca. I realize that neither of these are particularly popular or well-known, relative to other McCoy records from the 70s. But they're the discs that I like best and play most frequently. Which McCoy album would you have picked?

You and me both, funkytonk! See my blog entry on Jack McDuff's The Heatin' System for more of my thoughts on the way soul jazz is regularly overlooked by many "tastemakers."

I agree 100%. I listen to the original album FAR more frequently than the 3-CD set. Those four side-long cuts are the crème de la crème.

Anthony Cox, as leader and sideman: Excellent! When I look at that photo, I always snicker a little b/c Andrew's giving us the middle finger.

All three of those are choice! I can't imagine you NOT enjoying them, Dan. Regarding Hank Jones: As I wrote on the blog, Jones is probably most associated with the Great Jazz Trio (particularly during the latter half of the 70s), but I think his albums with George Duvivier and Alan Dawson -- the two Black & Blue releases, Bluesette and Compassion -- are MUCH better records in terms of fit. (RC and Tony with Hank Jones just doesn't work for me. With McCoy or Herbie? Yes. With Hank Jones? No. YMMV, of course.)

I didn't post a recap last week, so here are the entries from the last two weeks. Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s Jerry Gonzalez – Ya Yo Me Curé (American Clavé/Pangea/Sunnyside, 1980) Hank Jones – Bluesette (Black & Blue, 1979) Joe Newman – I Love My Woman (Black & Blue, 1979) Buck Hill – Scope (SteepleChase, 1979) Gordon Beck – Sunbird (JMS, 1979) Jessica Williams – Orgonomic Music (Clean Cuts/CD Baby, 1981) Andrew Cyrille, Jeanne Lee, Jimmy Lyons – Nuba (Black Saint, 1979) Stephane Grappelli – Young Django (MPS, 1979) Miroslav Vitous – First Meeting (ECM, 1980) Richie Beirach – Elm (ECM, 1979) [Wadada] Leo Smith – Spirit Catcher (Nessa, 1979) Joanne Brackeen – Keyed In (Tappan Zee, 1979) McCoy Tyner - Horizon (Milestone, 1980) Jack DeJohnette – Special Edition (ECM, 1980) So much AMAZING music, all from 1979. Style-wise, the entries are all over the place -- from Hank Jones & Joe Newman to Wadada & Cyrille/Lee/Lyons. The glorious caravan of jazz! "Player of the Week" goes to Jack DeJohnette. The title of his Special Edition album is no lie! Also, he appears on Richie Beirach's Elm and Joanne Brackeen's Keyed In, two stinkin' fantastic piano trio LPs. ... Not to mention his work with Miles, Konitz, Abercrombie, Dave Holland, George Benson, Gary Peacock, Arthur Blythe, Kenny Wheeler, and on and on. If I'm playing my favorite music from the 1970s (and beyond), then there's a damn good chance I'm listening to Jack DeJohnette!

In my experience, it's a fairly common thing for critics/reviewers to disparage soul jazz and funky jazz as less worthy, "selling out," etc. It's not an attitude that I share. So I just ignore those sorts of reviews.

Lenny's NYPO Eroica is outstanding.

I'm not familiar with Mr. Shing-A-Ling -- but I love the record that preceded it, Alligator Bogaloo. So I bet I'd dig it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Yes! And the rhythm section is fantastic too! Not sure I've ever heard Alvin Queen play more powerfully than he does here. Plus, John Hicks and Reggie Workman are their normal wonderful selves.

The All Music Guide is a helpful resource, but its writers are not trustworthy when it comes to soul jazz and/or funky jazz. In this listener's opinion.

and

Ruby Braff - Buddy Tate - With the Newport All Stars (Black Lion, rec. 1967)

Buddy Tate - When I'm Blue (Black & Blue) Brilliant!

Stanley Turrentine - A Chip Off the Old Block (Blue Note, 1964)

More Lieb: Dave Liebman Group - Conversation (Sunnyside, 2003)

Dave Liebman Group - Voyage (Evidence, 1996)

Elvin Jones and Masabumi Kikuchi -- with Gene Perla on bass.

Yep. Since it's sold out on bandcamp, I was looking at resellers on discogs. Factoring in shipping, it would cost me north of 50 bucks. I'm too cheap to spend that much on one LP. So I guess it's streaming for me.

Streaming via bandcamp: Pharoah Sanders - Live In Paris (1975) (Transversales Disques)

Which CD?

I just spent a few hours looking through my collection, and here's a list of recordings from the 1990s that I would recommend without hesitation. It follows the same rules as my blog: one disc as a leader and one as a co-leader; all music recorded in the 90s. ******************************************************** John Abercrombie - November (ECM) Muhal Richard Abrams - Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint) Kei Akagi - Mirror Puzzle (AudioQuest) Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra - Desert Lady/Fantasy (Columbia) Ben Allison - Seven Arrows (Koch) Harold Ashby - On the Sunny Side of the Street (Timeless) Billy Bang - Big Bang Theory (Justin Time) Joey Baron - Down Home (Intuition) Ray Barretto and New World Spirit - Contact! (Blue Note) Kenny Barron - Lemuria-Seascape (Candid) Gary Bartz - Episode One: Children of Harlem (Challenge) Richie Beirach - Trust (Evidence) Anders Bergcrantz Quartet - C (Dragon) Tim Berne's Caos Totale - Pace Yourself (JMT/Winter & Winter) Peter Bernstein Quartet - Signs of Life (Criss Cross) Michael Blake - Kingdom of Champa (Intuition) Paul Bley, Gary Peacock - Partners (Owl) Jane Ira Bloom - The Red Quartets (Arabesque) Arthur Blythe - Hipmotism (Enja) Joanne Brackeen - Where Legends Dwell (Ken) - with Eddie Gomez & Jack DeJohnette Anthony Braxton - Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 (hat Art) Alan Broadbent Trio - Personal Standards (Concord) Bob Brookmeyer - New Works Celebration (Challenge) Kenny Burrell - Sunup to Sundown (Contemporary) Gary Burton - Like Minds (Concord) - with Corea, Metheny, Haynes & Holland Jaki Byard - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. Seventeen (Concord) Betty Carter - Feed the Fire (Verve) Marc Cary - Listen (Arabesque) Thomas Chapin Trio - Sky Piece (Knitting Factory) Billy Childs, Buster Williams, Carl Allen - Skim Coat ‎(Metropolitan) George Coleman - My Horns of Plenty (Birdology) Scott Colley - Subliminal... (Criss Cross) Anthony Cox - Dark Metals (Antilles) Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff - Road Tested (Milestone) Andrew Cyrille - X Man (Soul Note) Lars Danielsson - Far North (Curling Legs) Harold Danko - New Autumn (SteepleChase) Steve Davis Trio - Explorations and Impressions ‎(Double-Time) - with Richie Beirach Santi Debriano Group - Panamaniacs (Free Lance) Dave Douglas - Magic Triangle (Arabesque) Kenny Drew Jr. Trio - Winter Flower (Milestone) Paquito D'Rivera - Tropicana Nights (Chesky) Ray Drummond - Excursion (Arabesque) Marty Ehrlich - Side by Side (Enja) Art Farmer - Silk Road (Arabesque) Tommy Flanagan - Lady Be Good... For Ella (Verve) Ricky Ford Quartet - [balaena] (Jazz Friends) Sonny Fortune - A Better Understanding (Blue Note) Frank Foster - Leo Rising (Arabesque) Bill Frisell - Gone, Just Like a Train ‎(Nonesuch) Gateway - Homecoming (ECM) Stan Getz, Kenny Barron - People Time (Verve/Gitanes) Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Steve Swallow - Fly Away Little Bird (Owl) Larry Goldings Trio - Moonbird (Palmetto) Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band - Crossroads (Milestone) Jim Hall and Friends - Live at Town Hall, Volumes 1 & 2 (MusicMasters) Chico Hamilton Quintet - Reunion (Soul Note) Sir Roland Hanna - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Thirty-Two (Concord) Tom Harrell - Labyrinth (RCA Victor) Billy Harper - Somalia (Evidence) Stefon Harris - BlackActionFigure (Blue Note) Billy Hart - Amethyst (Arabesque) Mark Helias - Loopin' the Cool (Enja) Joe Henderson - Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Verve) John Hicks - Hicks Time: Solo Piano (Passin' Thru) Jay Hoggard - In the Spirit (Muse) Dave Holland Quartet - Dream of the Elders (ECM) Bobby Hutcherson - Skyline (Verve) Sherman Irby - Big Mama's Biscuits (Blue Note) Ahmad Jamal - The Essence Part 1 (Birdology) Keith Jarrett - La Scala (ECM) The Jazz Tribe [Ray Mantilla & Bobby Watson] - The Next Step ‎(Red) Marc Johnson's Right Brain Patrol - Magic Labyrinth (JMT/Verve) Stanley Jordan - Stolen Moments (Blue Note) Rodney Kendrick - Dance World Dance (Verve) Keystone Trio [Hicks, Mraz, Muhammad] - Newklear Music: The Songs of Sonny Rollins (Milestone) Frank Kimbrough - Quickening (OmniTone) Kenny Kirkland - Kenny Kirkland (GRP/Verve) Lee Konitz, Don Friedman & Attila Zoller - Thingin' (hat Art) Joachim Kühn, Daniel Humair, Jean-François Jenny-Clark - Usual Confusion ‎(Label Bleu) Steve Kuhn - The Best Things (Reservoir) Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron - Communiqué (Soul Note) John Lewis - Evolution (Atlantic) Dave Liebman Group - Voyage (Evidence) Abbey Lincoln featuring Stan Getz - You Gotta Pay the Band (Verve) Charles Lloyd - All My Relations (ECM) Joe Lovano - Sounds of Joy (Enja) Johnny Lytle - Possum Grease (Muse) Harold Mabern Trio - Lookin' on the Bright Side (DIW) Michael Marcus & The Jaki Byard Trio - Involution (Justin Time) Charlie Mariano, Jasper Van 't Hof - Innuendo (Lipstick) Rick Margitza - Hands of Time ‎(Challenge) Branford Marsalis - Crazy People Music (Columbia) Pat Martino - Mission Accomplished (32 Jazz) - originally Interchange (Muse) and Nightwings (Muse) Jackie McLean Quintet featuring René McLean - Rites of Passage (Triloka) Marian McPartland - Plays the Music of Mary Lou Williams (Concord) Medeski, Martin & Wood - It's a Jungle in Here (Gramavision) Paul Motian Trio - Sound of Love (Winter & Winter) George Mraz - My Foolish Heart ‎(Milestone) David Murray Octet - Hope Scope (Black Saint) Mike Nock, Marty Ehrlich - The Waiting Game (Naxos Jazz) Walter Norris - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Four (Concord) Chico O'Farrill - Heart of a Legend (Milestone) Oregon - Always, Never and Forever (Intuition) Greg Osby - Banned in New York (Blue Note) Eddie Palmieri - Palmas ‎(Nonesuch) - with Brian Lynch and Donald Harrison Leon Parker - Awakening (Columbia) Ralph Peterson - The Reclamation Project (Evidence) Michel Petrucciani - Au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Dreyfus) Enrico Pieranunzi, Marc Johnson, Paul Motian - Untold Story (IDA/EGEA) Odean Pope - Out for a Walk (Moers) Bobby Previte - Weather Clear, Track Fast ‎(Enja) Tito Puente - The Golden Latin Jazz All Stars: Live at The Village Gate ‎(TropiJazz) Don Pullen and the African-Brazilian Connection - Ode to Life (Blue Note) Quest [Liebman, Beirach, McClure, Hart] - Of One Mind (CMP) Enrico Rava, Enrico Pieranunzi - Nausicaa (EGEA) Dewey Redman - In London (Palmetto) Dianne Reeves - I Remember (Blue Note) Marcus Roberts Trio - In Honor of Duke (Columbia) Sonny Rollins - Global Warming (Milestone) Renee Rosnes - As We Are Now (Blue Note) Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Blessing (Somethin' Else) Hilton Ruiz - A Moment's Notice (Novus) Bobby Sanabria Big Band - Afro-Cuban Dream...Live & In Clave!!! (Arabesque) John Scofield - Meant to Be (Blue Note) Archie Shepp - Black Ballads (Timeless) Sonny Simmons - Ancient Ritual (Qwest) Martial Solal - Just Friends (Dreyfus) Bobo Stenson Trio - Reflections (ECM) Bill Stewart - Telepathy (Blue Note) John Surman Quartet - Stranger Than Fiction (ECM) Esbjörn Svensson Trio - From Gagarin's Point of View (ACT) Henri Texier - "Mad Nomad(s)" (Label Bleu) Gary Thomas - Exile's Gate (JMT/Winter & Winter) Henry Threadgill & Make a Move - Where's Your Cup? (Columbia) Trio Da Paz - Partido Out (Malandro) Gust William Tsilis Quartet - Possibilities (Ken) Mark Turner - Mark Turner (Warner Brothers) Steve Turre - Rhythm Within (Antilles) Stanley Turrentine - More Than a Mood (MusicMasters) McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson - Manhattan Moods (Blue Note) The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra - Plays the Music of Jim McNeely: Lickety Split ‎(New World) Mal Waldron Quintet - Crowd Scene (Soul Note) - with Sonny Fortune & Ricky Ford Bennie Wallace - The Talk of the Town (Enja) Jack Walrath and the Masters of Suspense - Out of the Tradition ‎(Muse) Cedar Walton - Manhattan Afternoon (Criss Cross) David S. Ware - Go See the World (Columbia) Bobby Watson & Horizon - Post Motown Bop (Blue Note) Kenny Werner Trio - Press Enter (Sunnyside) Randy Weston - The Spirits of Our Ancestors (Antilles/Verve) Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & John Taylor with The Maritime JO - Siren's Song (Justin Time) Jack Wilkins - Trioart (Arabesque) The James Williams Magical Trio - Awesome! (DIW) Tony Williams - The Story of Neptune (Blue Note) Larry Willis - Steal Away (AudioQuest) Matt Wilson - As Wave Follows Wave (Palmetto) - with Dewey Redman Norma Winstone, John Taylor - ...Like Song, Like Weather (Koch/Sunnyside) Mike Wofford - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Eighteen (Concord) Phil Woods Quintet - Souvenirs (Evidence) Sam Yahel ‎– In the Blink of an Eye (Naxos Jazz) I hope this is helpful.