HutchFan

Supersax Plays Bird (Capitol) Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff - On the Blues Side (Milestone) Sphere - Four in One (Elektra Musician)

Miroslav Vitous Group - S/T (ECM) This is the second LP from Vitous' band with John Surman, Kenny Kirkland, and Jon Christensen. I'd always preferred First Meeting, the group's first recording, over this one. But suddenly it's as if someone flipped a switch, and what was opaque is now very clear. Not sure what I was missing before! Oh well. I'm glad to be hearing it & enjoying it now.

Hugh Masekela - Home Is Where the Music Is (Blue Thumb)

Completely understood. And NO disrespect intended. And besides, I'm sure that my way of thinking about this stuff is colored by the fact that I'm just a listener -- not a musician. I don't have to muckety-muck with the practicalities of music-making like you do!

Well, I think you're taking my point to its logical extreme. I'm not saying that all things are subjective in an absolute sense. That would be silly. Just because I believe in a largely subjectivist perspective in the arts doesn't mean that I don't believe in objectivity in other spheres. For example, everyone judges politicians based on non-subjective factors -- things like the rate of unemployment, the condition of the economy, their ability to pass legislation that betters the lives of the citizens that they represent. Similarly, we can easily argue about sports -- because sports are overflowing with statistics and data to prove (or disprove) our point. In both of these cases, there are readily agreed upon sets of data that constitute success or non-success. I would argue that art is different precisely because there are no pre-determined rules. There are conventions and traditions. But these are often overturned by revolutionary artists. Consider: the very things that we love about Van Gogh would never have been understood by the generations of artists who preceded him. They would have thought he was a charlatan or worse. The same could be said about Ives or Schoenberg or ... many, many artists. Another reason that I think that the world of art is different -- and requires a more subjective point of view -- is that art doesn't serve an external, secondary purpose. We can judge a doctor's actions by asking ourselves, "How well does this doctor heal patients?" We can judge an athlete's performance by how many wins she get, or a batting average, or how many tackles he makes. As I mentioned above, we judge politicians based on many objective criteria that measures their success in governance. But I think we have to evaluate art differently. By what secondary or external criteria do we judge a piece of music? Or a novel? Or a film? All of the objective stuff that we use is based on things within the world of art itself. There's no secondary or external result. The meaning of art comes from our experience of it; it's not the thing that matters, as much as our reaction to it. And this sort of meaning is -- by definition -- subjective. Having studied Charles Ives and his music, I hear one thing when I listen to his music. When my daughter hears the exact same music, she hears something very, very different -- much more dissonant, much more off-putting. Even though we're hearing the exact the same music, our fundamental experience of the music couldn't be more different. And it's factors inside my consciousness and inside her consciousness that make the experience of Ives' music so different for each of us. I know I'm running on and on -- but I think this is missed again and again when we talk about the music that we love so much. We speak as if music were like chess or sports or other things with pre-determined rules and external measures. But it isn't. So... to bring it all back around: For me, there's a HUGE difference between saying "Oscar Peterson's music is bad" and saying "Oscar Peterson's music doesn't do anything for me." Then again, others may think that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.

Regardless of what I think of Oscar Peterson's music personally, I am confident that Oscar played like Oscar wanted to play. We may not like it. We may even think that it's "bad art." But -- from my point of view at least -- trying to judge or rank any artist relative to any other artist -- in an objective sense -- is a nearly pointless exercise. On the other hand, talking about artists that we like or dislike from a subjective point of view is an entirely different kettle of fish. As long as we recognize that our preferences are really just that -- preferences. Nothing more, nothing less. My 2 cents.

David Friedman ‎- Of The Wind´s Eye (Enja) Miroslav Vitous Group - S/T (ECM)

Pepper Adams - Julian (Enja)

Silver Leaf Jazz Band - Jelly's Best Jam (Good Times Jazz)

More Freddie: Freddie Hubbard with Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, et al - Keystone Bop: Sunday Night (Prestige)

I wish I'd ordered that one. Never did, and I regret it.

Eddie Marshall - Dance of the Sun (Timeless) Marshall is the leader on this date -- but the personnel are (basically) Hutcherson's band. The music is excellent. You can tell that they're a working band, not a group assembled just to make a record. Freddie Hubbard - Outpost (Enja) Freddie sounds great riding with this Cadillac rhythm section. I listened to it twice in a row.

Ah. Understood. I've never seen him perform -- so I didn't realize that he "plays to the house" so much. . .

ubu - I'm curious: What is it about Joachim Kühn's playing that you find so distasteful? Do you think he overplays? Honest question. Just asking.

From Sweet to Matthew Sweet. . .

Along with the Ellington Centennial set that Mr. Mingus mentions in the first post, these boxes are at the top of my list: - Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) - John Coltrane - The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings - Warne Marsh & Lee Konitz - Two Not One (Storyville) - Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy - Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 (Hatology)

I was a kid when that show was being broadcast. I loved it. I have vivid memories about the shows dedicated to space aliens and the Loch Ness Monster. But I doubt I would think so highly of it now.

Good article. Thank you for sharing.

Dmitry - I'm with you on the Dynavector high-output MC cartridge. I have the 10X5, and I've enjoyed it more than any comparably-priced MM that I've heard -- at least on my Rega rig. Unfortunately for Scott's friend, the Dynavector 10X5 retails for about $650. So it would likely gobble up too much of his overall 'table budget -- unless he went for something used. That said, there are plenty of used Regas -- Planar 3s, P3s, RP3s -- out there... I'm just sayin'...

Scott, I have an old Rega Planar 3 fitted with Dynavector cartridge. I love it. I know that the new Planar 3 is not the same table -- but I've read nothing but good things about it. I think it's priced around $950 without a cartridge. It's one your friend could consider. One thing: I would not recommend the Rega Elys cartridge. It's not awful, by any means. I just think you'd do better with something else. I've heard good things about Rega's Exact, which I think is the next step up from the Elys. I'm sure there are plenty of other options too. Also, if your friend is open to used 'tables, that would open up all sorts of options.

FWIW, Gettin' Around is one of my favorite Dexter records. I prefer it over all of Dexter's Blue Notes -- except (maybe) for Go. Different strokes and all that. . .

Quest - Natural Selection (Pathfinder)

The Adam Kolker is excellent. After listening via YT, I decided to order this John Lewis solo-piano CD: Afternoon in Paris (Dreyfus) I also ordered Chet Baker's Peace on LP (Enja, German pressing!) from Dusty Groove: I went for this LP for David Friedman's contributions as much I did for Chet's. I've really been enjoying Friedman's music lately. Looking forward to spinning this on my 'table, hearing the improved sonics -- since I now only have it as an MP3 download.