HutchFan

Yes sir. Sometimes strange things happen. Your comment raises another topic that I'd love to discuss when we get to the end of the survey: Jazz producers in the 1970s.

I agree completely on that. I think think that Ross Tompkins LP is a stealth Xanadu LP, despite the fact that it's on Concord. It's more in line with those Xanadu records like Play It Now. ... It's late-70s (Xanadu) Cohn, not 1980s (Concord) Cohn.

No. Unlike those Jazztimes polls (and so many others), my survey is not a list of "best" records of the 1970s. No, no, no!!! You won't find "best" or "most important" or any of that anywhere on my blog! My site is called Playing Favorites. That gives me all sorts of wiggle room to be idiosyncratic and partial. Hell, that's what the title means. Ross Tompkins and Good Friends is a terrific LP. I'm comfortable with calling it one of my favorite records. So yeah.

Agreed. Blythe had a HEAVYWEIGHT run on Columbia! He was killin' it! I will put late-70s Al Cohn up against all comers. Like I said, it's a cheat because I picked it the Tompkins for Al Cohn, not for Tompkins. But it is a fantastic record. I know you're NOT a Concord guy, Jim. But you should listen. I think you'll understand WHY I picked it.

Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s Bunky Green – Places We've Never Been (Vanguard, 1979) Steve Lacy Five – The Way (hat Hut, 1980) Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis – The Heavy Hitter (Muse/32 Jazz/Savoy, 1979) Poncho Sanchez – Poncho (Discovery, 1979) Daniel Humair – Triple Hip Trip (Owl, 1979) Denny Zeitlin – Soundings (1750 Arch, 1978) Ross Tompkins – Ross Tompkins and Good Friends (Concord, 1978) More amazing saxmen: Bunky, Lacy, Lockjaw, and Al Cohn. (Cohn's magisterial sound is the reason you need to hear that Ross Tompkins LP.) The Daniel Humair is a somewhat unconventional trio with David Friedman (vib) and Harvie Swartz (b). Very cool. The Poncho Sanchez is his debut disc, and Clare Fischer plays a prominent role. If you like Fischer's Latin Jazz (as a leader or with Cal Tjader), it's well worth tracking down. "Morning"!!! The Denny Zeitlin is an exploratory and thoughtful solo piano outing. I dig it. Chronology-wise, we're now into 1979. In the home stretch, just a few more weeks to go. As always, I welcome your feedback.

Horace Tapscott Conducting the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - The Call (Nimbus) Wonderful.

Rhino version with bonus cuts.

and

John Lewis - Kansas City Breaks (Red Baron; originally released on Finesse) One of my favorite John Lewis records.

and

All of Barbieri's Flying Dutchman records are terrific.

More Ray Barretto! Ray Barretto and New World Spirit - Portraits in Jazz and Clave (RCA Victor, 1999) featuring Eddie Gomez, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, and Steve Turre

Tremendous. NP: Ray Barretto - The Other Road (Fania)

Absolutely. I really like how Beirach was able to convey both the positive and negative aspects of working with Eicher. And neither of those aspects were negligible! Eicher was tremendously helpful initially -- and tremendously closed-minded later. A HUGE ego, for better and worse. You tell how much it hurt Richie -- still! -- that Eicher couldn't hear "The Snow Leopard." He was emotional talking about it, even though it happened more than 40 years ago. That was a powerful moment.

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that, funkytonk!!!

Prompted by duaneiac's Jay Hoggard post:

I've never seen that one before. Looks interesting!

Speaking of Nat Adderley... Nat made two records for Theresa (later reissued on Evidence) in the early-80s -- On the Move and Blue Autumn. Both feature Nat's band with Larry Willis and Sonny Fortune, and both were recorded at the Keystone Korner. I only recently became aware of them, and I've never heard either one. I did find one cut on YT, "Blue Autumn," a gorgeous Larry Willis composition: Have any of you heard either of these records? If so, what do you think? BTW, I realize that these records fall outside topic of this thread. But I've been meaning to ask about them, so ... whatever.

I need to check that out! Thanks for the heads-up, sir!

I enjoy reading what Iverson writes, even if I don't agree with everything he writes. If you do too, that's fine. If you do not, that's fine too. With that, I'm letting this matter go.

O.K. I've not heard that one. I'll check it out.

O.K., O.K., I get it, Jim! I think we'd both agree that if we were creating a biographical sketch of Ira Sullivan, the fact that he was white and from Chicago would be facts worth mentioning. But -- based on the parallel construction that Iverson used -- you're saying that these facts are not THAT important. The race aspect is over-emphasized from your point of view. ... And I probably wouldn't have written that way either. But I don't need to agree with everything Iverson says. Or everything you say. Right!?!? Aren't we losing the forest for the trees?

Dan, I gotta say that I strongly disagree. I, for one, love the fact that Iverson is willing to offer his opinions -- because, after all, that's all anyone has to offer. Consider: Iverson doesn't groove to Martial Solal -- and Solal is one of my very favorite musicians -- but why in the world should that prevent me from enjoying other things that Iverson has written with which I COMPLETELY agree? For example, see his stuff about Cedar Walton. Seems like we're picking nits, trying to find points of contention. There's no one in the world whose idea of jazz is just like mine -- or yours -- or his. Our conceptions of what constitutes "good" or "interesting" jazz are like Venn diagrams. Some have more overlap than others, but NONE are the same. So why get wrapped around the axle when there are differences in points of view when the differences are absolutely inevitable and even essential? I guess I feel like the dialogue itself is more important than the particulars of the dialogue! Or at least that's how I like to think about it.