HutchFan

Brilliant! I'd heard a bunch of Ellington -- but the stuff that made the EKE light bulb come on for me was the late-30s band. Particularly music from 1937: "Azure," "Solitude," "Caravan," and other cuts.

Now spinning: The Bruce Forman Quartet - Pardon Me! (Concord, 1989) with Billy Childs, Jeff Carney, and Eddie Marshall

More Art Pepper:

Speaking of Bernstein & Mahler . . .

I think Abbado's M5 is a tremendous performance. Two thumbs up! IIRC, this is the first of two recordings of the Fifth that Abbado made. I've never heard the second version. Bernstein's Mahler is definitely EXTREME. But I love it. Bernstein's VERY exaggerated Mahler Ninth (on DG, with the Concertgebouw) was my entry point into Mahler's music -- so I'll always have a soft spot for it. That said, I also love other ways of approaching Mahler too -- by conductors like Bruno Walter, Jascha Horenstein, Rafael Kubelik, and Bernard Haitink. (Just to name a few.) Each of them brings something unique to the table.

Now spinning this LP:

Ha!

R.I.P.

Now spinning: German pressing

Next up: Steve Davis Trio - Explorations and Impressions (Double-Time, 1997) with Richie Beirach & François Moutin

NP: Jack Wilkins - Windows (Mainstream, 1973) with Michael Moore (b) and Bill Goodwin (d)

NP: David "Fathead" Newman - Keep the Dream Alive (Prestige, 1978) with arrangements by William S. Fischer

Just finished: And just started the sequel:

Next up: John Carter - Fields (Gramavision, 1988)

Now spinning: Anthony Davis - Middle Passage (Gramavision, 1984) (mostly) solo piano