HutchFan

I agree with you 100% re: Salt Song. But not the other one. Yeah, I've read that Jackson resented the "constraints" he felt when playing with the MJQ. And that's what led to the group disbanding.

It's Tuesday, and I'm trying to resurrect my weekly recaps. So here goes: Weekly Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s Oliver Nelson – Stolen Moments (East Wind/Inner City, 1975) Art Farmer – To Duke with Love (East Wind/Inner City, 1975) Sonny Criss – Saturday Morning (Xanadu/Elemental, 1975) Oliver Lake – Heavy Spirits (Arista-Freedom/Black Lion, 1975) Horace Silver – Silver 'n Brass (Blue Note, 1975) Shirley Scott – One for Me (Strata-East, 1974) Billy Cobham – Crosswinds (Atlantic, 1974) I've already mentioned Crosswinds and One for Me. But whatever. I'm getting back on track. To anyone who's never heard it: DO NOT sleep on that Sonny Criss record.

I have Sunflower, and I've listened to it many times. I dig it. And I dig that you dig it. ... But it's not one of my faves. Glad that you brought that up though, because I wrestled with NOT including a Milt Jackson-as-a-leader record in my survey. I listened carefully to all the CTI and Pablo stuff. Some I was familiar with; some I hadn't heard before. It was after that exploration that I came to the realization that I like Bags best as a co-leader with the MJQ.

Oh that's interesting. I love Bags, but my reaction is just the opposite. I think he's at his best when he's with John Lewis. Of course, there are some exceptions like Plenty, Plenty Soul, the Savoy sides with Lucky Thompson, the Prestige sessions with Miles, etc. But if I had to pick one or the other -- Jackson with John Lewis or Jackson without John Lewis -- it would certainly be the former. Oh yeah. That LP may be "the exception that proves the rule"! Then again, it WAS the 1970s ...

Liszt: Harmonies poétiques et religieuses; Sonate en Si Mineur / François-Frédéric Guy (Zig-Zag Territories) Unwinding with this after a long, hard day at work. Otherworldly music.

Yeah. I guess I should never say never. What a remarkably consistent unit the MJQ was. They made excellent records from the beginning to the end. The Milt Jackson-John Lewis hook-up is one of the partnerships in jazz, I think. A collaboration that made both of them better. Right up there with Bird & Diz, Duke & Strayhorn, Mingus & Dannie, et al.

I like The Legendary Profile as well. But if I were to pick any single MJQ recording as a favorite -- from any period -- it would likely be The Complete Last Concert. In interviews, John Lewis has said that the group never played better than they did that night. I suppose I agree with him.

That's another excellent one, no doubt.

The band's performance seems inspired. What would your 70s MJQ choice be?

Deeply soulful, brilliant, uncategorizable music.

Sure thing. Diff strokes for diff folks. And that is A-O.K.

Disc 1 - A Sea Symphony (No. 1)

Tribalism.

More Prokofiev conducted by Rozhdestvensky on Angel-Melodiya:

Just ordered. Not Jazz, Classical. Two Russian composers. Solo piano. and Looking forward to hearing these.

Now spinning this Angel-Melodiya LP: Ashkenazy's Rachmaninov with the Concertgebouw is terrific!

Wonderful.

I've never heard that album -- but the Gregg Smith Singers' LPs of Charles Ives' music are treasures. They're the only vocal ensemble I've heard that makes Ives' choral music sound completely "Ivesian" -- with all the jostling and rough edges left intact. Especially as heard on this LP: NP: Just the download, for now. Haven't received the CD yet.

Looks like we're in agreement. I hadn't even seen your response when I replied to danasgoodstuff!

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Rabshekeh. I'm disappointed that I haven't had the energy or time to do more write-ups. But I'm committed to at least posting the "bare bones" through the end of the year. It's not Dialogue. You're right. But neither is Dialogue Cirrus. I don't think one is "better" than the other. They're different. Also, I have to admit that I sorta think of Dialogue as an Andrew Hill record as much as a Bobby Hutcherson record. Hill wrote four of the six compositions (on the CD version), and Joe Chambers composed the other two. Bobby didn't contribute any. As a Bobby Hutcherson fan, I LOVE Dialogue. But I feel that albums like Happenings or Stick-Up! are more "representative" of Bobby at his best in the 1960s. Also, if I were taking a handful of Hutch records to a desert-island, Cirrus would definitely be coming with me. Dialogue... probably not. Just my take, of course.

Disc 2 - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and A London Symphony (No. 2)

Outstanding.

Until tonight, I hadn't touched my blog for a month. Too much work. Too much stress. Too many apocalyptic distractions. But I've managed to "catch up" -- at least partially. There's little or no commentary. But the titles, personnel, and recording dates are finally out there. Album cover pix too. Anyhow, here's what I've got . . . Recap - PLAYING FAVORITES: Reflections on Jazz in the 1970s Shirley Scott – One for Me (Strata-East, 1974) Billy Cobham – Crosswinds (Atlantic, 1974) Irene Kral – Where Is Love? (Choice, 1975) Charles Mingus – Changes One (Atlantic, 1975) and Changes Two (Atlantic, 1975) Count Basie & Oscar Peterson – "Satch" and "Josh" (Pablo, 1975) Harold Vick – Don't Look Back (Strata-East, 1974) Joe Bonner – The Lifesaver (Muse, 1975) The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Complete Last Concert (Atlantic, 1975) Jackie McLean & the Cosmic Brotherhood – New York Calling (SteepleChase/Inner City, 1975) Bobby Vince Paunetto – Paunetto's Point (Pathfinder/RSVP, 1975) Dusko Goykovich – Slavic Mood (RCA Italy, 1975) Keith Jarrett – Death & the Flower / Backhand (Impulse, 1975) Lee Konitz – Satori (Milestone, 1975) Toots Thielemans – Captured Alive aka Images (Choice, 1974) Bobby Jones – Hill Country Suite (Enja, 1974) Randy Weston – Blues to Africa (Freedom/Arista-Freedom, 1975) Jimmy Raney – Momentum (MPS/PAUSA, 1975) Budd Johnson – Mr. Bechet (Black & Blue, 1974) Oregon – Winter Light (Vanguard, 1974) Eddie Harris – I Need Some Money (Atlantic/Collectables, 1975) Sonny Rollins – The Cutting Edge (Milestone, 1974) Jimmy Heath – The Time and the Place (Landmark, 1994) Kenny Drew Trio – Dark Beauty (SteepleChase/Inner City, 1974) Willis Jackson – Headed and Gutted (Muse, 1974) Bobby Hutcherson – Cirrus (Blue Note, 1974) Roswell Rudd – Flexible Flyer (Arista-Freedom/Black Lion, 1975) Bennie Maupin – The Jewel in the Lotus (ECM, 1974) Earl Hines – One for My Baby (Black Lion, 1978) and Master of Jazz, Vol. 2 (Storyville, 1984) Phineas Newborn, Jr. – Piano Solo (Atlantic/32 Jazz, 1975) Teddy Wilson – Striding After Fats (Black Lion, 1974) Coincidentally, every one of these recordings were made in 1974.