HutchFan

More Don Pullen. From solo piano to Mingus sideman:

If you're looking for a "classic" -- in the sense that practically everybody agrees that it's important milestone of the art -- then you're going to run into difficulties after Coltrane. Coltrane seems to be the end of consensus in jazz. Personally, I think many, many, many classics have been made since Coltrane's passing. But they haven't -- and couldn't -- have the same impact from a broader cultural perspective. They haven't gained the consensus -- or the entry into the canon that can only come with consensus. Some of the reasons why come from within jazz itself, and many come from factors outside of it. ... I'm not sure that's even addressing your question.

Don Pullen - Healing Force (Black Saint, 1976) Beautiful solo piano.

Patterson and Ervin together make powerful music. So feel free to go all Gleason-y. I'm right there with you. Nice roundup. I've been digging into some Lonnie Smith this evening.

Firebirds with Prince Lasha -- and Bobby Hutcherson, Buster Williams, and Charles Moffett. Fantastic.

Willis Jackson - In the Alley (Muse, 1977)

"Groove" Holmes - Shippin' Out (Muse, 1978) This record has been in heavy rotation at my house. ... I remember The Magnificent Goldberg recommending it highly. Good call!

Shirley Scott - Soul Song (Atlantic, 1969) I think this is Shirley's last LP with Stanley Turrentine, recorded just after Common Touch. Good one. One of the LPs compiled on the CD, Houston Express, is my favorite Person album. Very nice Horace Ott arrangements.

Freddie Hubbard - Outpost (Enja, 1981) Excellent. And the audio fidelity is outstanding too. IMO, lots of Enja LPs from right around this time sound really, really good. ... Along with Outpost, I'm thinking of records like Chet Baker's Peace and David Friedman's Of the Wind's Eye. A last gasp of all-analog, German-pressed vinyl before the digital revolution?

I've been listening to this over and over again lately, and it keeps growing in my estimation. I used to think that it was clearly an inferior record compared to Red Clay. Now... I'm not so sure.

Now: LOVE it! Earlier this evening: This prompted by the ECM thread elsewhere on the board. What's the story there, jcam?

I'm glad Eicher's done what he's done. He's facilitated the recording of a lot of wonderful music. The same could be said about all of the important producers in jazz! Especially the ones who run their own imprints and have a unique vision. Of course, we wouldn't be anywhere without the musicians. But the producers are like "midwives"; they're important too.

Yes!!!

Superb. I wish Mosaic would do something with Fischer's Revelation recordings. Talk about music that deserves a wider hearing! Mosaic scooped up Fischer's early Pacific Jazz releases, but his stuff on Revelation is on an entirely different level. It's likely not at all financially feasible. Oh well. I'll leave the bean counting to others and continue to hope.

I hope so too. I know that a long time is needed to recover from that injury.

I'm so disappointed that Mike Soroka is out for the year with a torn Achilles. What a freak accident! Ugh!!! The Braves' starting rotation was already shaky. With Soroka gone, the likelihood of us doing anything this year just took a very sharp nosedive. Such a bummer ...

Prompted by Jim's recent Pope-ploration: Odean is a badass.

NP: The master of subtle harmonic shifts that are like a delightful punch in the gut! I bet you a dollar that music is fantastic. I love Mickey Tucker -- even tho' I haven't heard that particular record. But I've got to say that cover image is really, really, really bad. Just awful.

Looking at the cover, you might expect the music to be a "righteous blast of full-on funk" à la Alphonse Mouzon -- but it isn't. Not at all. NP: On my short-list of favorite soul jazz records.