HutchFan

R.I.P.

It's feeling like a J.S. Bach day. And that's a good day, no? ... Can't go wrong with Milstein's Sonatas & Partitas:

J.S. Bach: The Art of the Fugue / Hermann Scherchen, Vienna State Opera Orch. (Millennium Classics) Originally released on Westminster in 1966

and

Junior Mance Trio - At The Village Vanguard (Jazzland, 1961) with Larry Gales (b) and Ben Riley (d) OJC pressing

Sides C & D - Originally released as Love Walked In! (Jazzland, 1961) with George Shearing & The Montgomery Brothers

Timeless All Stars - Timeless Heart (Timeless, 1983) Bobby Hutcherson (vib); Harold Land (ts); Curtis Fuller (tb); Cedar Walton (p); Buster Williams (b); Billy Higgins (d)

Oh no, no, NO! Ugggghhhh. Damn. This is a tough one. R.I.P.

Don Patterson - These Are Soulful Days (Muse, 1974)

Yes, Marion Brown does an incredible job evoking Georgia and the coastal Southeast. Amazing and vivid music. You can almost smell it. I can't think of anyone who does a better job of taking us on a magic carpet ride back to and in to that world. ... Not many jazz musicians have even tried to (re)create that rural, Southern thing. (O.K. There is John Carter and his album Fields. He sorta goes for the same thing with rural Texas.) But who else? Talking about his connection to New England and the music the place inspired in him, my man Charles Ives often said (in so many words) that the most particular is the most universal. True with Marion Brown too. ... No matter that you've never set foot in Georgia, mjazzg.

I didn't know that Abbey had been blacklisted. That's terrible and stupid. My one and only Abbey Lincoln story, and it's an oblique one b/c I never met her... But I did meet Tony Williams once. I was with a group -- 10 or 12 people -- hanging out with Tony before a concert here in Atlanta. (The Story of Neptune had just come out. He had his band with Wallace Roney, Ira Coleman, Mulgrew, and Billy Pierce.) Tony was talking about musicians that he loved, and he brought up Abbey. He LOVED her, talked about how Abbey's voice might not be the "instrument" that some other singers have -- but Abbey was so much more of a musician than almost any singer. He even favorably compared Abbey to Billie. At the time, I'd barely even heard of Abbey Lincoln. I remember standing there thinking to myself, "OK, I need to remember this. Time to check out Abbey Lincoln."

One day late... Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s 04/15/20 - Hampton Hawes – Live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Vol. 1 (Enja, 1981) and Vol. 2 (Enja, 1989) 04/15/20 - Terumasa Hino – Taro's Mood (Enja, 1973) 04/15/20 - Mike Gibbs & Gary Burton – "In the Common Interest" (Polydor, 1974) 04/11/20 - John Lee & Gerry Brown – Infinite Jones aka Bamboo Madness (Keytone/Limetree, 1974) 04/11/20 - Abbey Lincoln – People in Me (Philips Japan/Inner City/Verve, 1973) 04/11/20 - Marion Brown – Geechee Recollections (Impulse, 1973) and Sweet Earth Flying (Impulse, 1974) 04/11/20 - Clare Fischer – The State of His Art (Revelation, 1976) and Jazz Song (Revelation, 1979) The two Fischer LPs are (probably?) among the most obscure records that I'll include in my survey. But they are superb. I can't think of much that's so "off the beaten path" that I think deserves MUCH wider exposure. If you want to dip your toe in the pool of Fischer's solo piano work, Alone Together is much more readily available -- and nearly as good as these two Revelation LPs. Alone Together was originally released on MPS, and was subsequently reissued on a private label now run by Fischer's son. But, if you like that one, you owe it to yourself to find the Revelation LPs. They are worth the search and the $. Infinite Jones / Bamboo Madness is some kick-ass fusion. None of the plodding, "saurian" (Cook & Morton's word) aspects of the sub-genre here! Hampton Hawes with Cecil McBee and Roy Haynes. What's NOT to like? And so on... No write-ups this week. Will try to remedy that at some point -- after the work workload settles down a bit. In the meantime, it's gonna be a list with pix and links to YT videos. That's worth something -- even if it only prompts some discussion here. Thoughts on this week's selections?

Just be aware that it's not a "knock you over the head"-type impressive. It's subtle, finely-tuned, almost chamber jazz-ish. But I do LOVE it -- from the first note to the last.

I still hadn't pulled the trigger. Sounds like I might want to hold off. What a bummer. I had high expectations... Timeless Heart is still one of my all-time favorite LPs.

Continuing with ... and

This evening, so far: Disc 1

Some terrific "Hot Lips" Page on this 2-LP set.

And still more thumbs-up for the Pre-Rahsaan set too! A classic!

Earlier today:

NP: