HutchFan

I'm not sure whether this was Waldron's final recording, but it was made in the year that he died. And without a doubt there is a valedictory aspect to the music, right down to the title. INCREDIBLE performances.

Géza Anda - Troubadour of the Piano (DG, 5 CDs) Works by Robert Schumann: - Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6 - Kreisleriana, Op.16 - Fantasie in C, Op.17

I've never heard any of those albums, but when I think of Jamal's 20th Century Fox LPs, one album cover always comes to mind. And it makes me cringe more than just a little bit: It's always struck me as being "tone deaf" to some old racist stereotypes. Or am I reading too much into it?

Brahms

Brahms: Piano Works / Peter Rösel (Edel Classics, 5 CDs) Disc 5: Paganini Variations in A minor, Op. 35; Fantasias for piano, Op. 116; and Rhapsodies for Piano, Op. 79 Exquisite. IMO, Rösel's recordings of Brahms' solo piano work compare very favorably with any of the "big names" who have taken on this repertoire. Lupu, Kempff, Ohlsson, Gould, Serkin, Freire, Angelich, Katchen, Grimaud, et al. For this listener, Rösel's Brahms is a desert-island set.

Prime latter-day Sonny.

Sonny Stitt - Legends of Acid Jazz (Prestige) Originally released as two LPs: Turn It On (1971) and Black Vibrations (1972) and Stanley Turrentine with Shirley Scott - Never Let Me Go (Blue Note) This '63 session might be my single favorite Turrentine & Scott collaboration. Yep! People talk about good food being "made with love." Well, this is music "made with love." Easy to hear it.

The "friend" in the title is Bucky Pizzarelli. Lovely duets.

Bucky Pizzarelli with Bud Freeman - Buck & Bud (Flying Dutchman, 1976) Wonderful. R.I.P. Bucky Pizzarelli

Yes! I'm also partial to the Milt Jackson volume. Earlier: Buddy DeFranco - Free Sail (Choice, 1974) I enjoyed this LP so much I played it twice. NP: Bucky Pizzarelli - Nightwings (Flying Dutchman, 1975) Joe Venuti sits in on half the cuts R.I.P. Bucky Pizzarelli

I know that Nonesuch licensed & released Horenstein's recordings of Mahler's First and Third. There may have been more. His Mahler Sixth also? Horenstein's M3 may be his most famous recording, but I think his M1 is even better. EDIT: Just checked discogs. Nonesuch also released Horenstein's M6 with the Stockholm PO. I've never heard that one.

The Art of Hank Crawford: The Atlantic Years

Very sad news. R.I.P.

with Chris Potter, Renee Rosnes, and Billy Hart

Don Patterson, Booker Ervin, Houston Person - Legends of Acid Jazz: Just Friends (Prestige)

Tower of Power - "Soul Vaccination"

Prompted by some Kenton talk elsewhere on the board:

Jaws and Shirley! Yeah!!! Understood! Will crank it to ELEVEN!

A desert-island disc!

I considered including Live at Redlands University, along with a couple other Kenton recordings -- Live at BYU, Live in Europe. But Redlands University will have to be one that we discuss afterwards. It didn't quite make my "personal selection" cut, and I've already passed its 1970 recording date. I am looking forward to hearing it on my stereo in high-fidelity, instead of just streaming it via YT and hearing it on crappy computer speakers or headphones. I think all music benefits from improved sound fidelity. But some music needs excellent sound for it to be "fully realized." (An analogy -- 2001: A Space Odyssey isn't the same film on a television as it is on a movie screen. The large screen is required for the film to make it's "true" impact.) I'm thinking that Redlands University may be like that, in terms of sound. That's why I decided to order it. We'll see.