Late

This has been posted before on this board. I just watched it again this morning. So good.

Up, to go with the other (current) Simmons thread. Simmons and Donald, musically, were a dream team.

There was a Japanese mini-LP edition (compact disc) of The Cry that was available for about three seconds in the early 2000's. It's one of the best-sounding compact discs I own. Howard Holzer recorded the session (as Roy DuNann had recently left Contemporary, I think). We still need Rumasuma to come out on compact disc...or vinyl. I almost never purchase vinyl these days, but I'd jump on a copy of Rumasuma. C'mon Instagram hipsters, get it reissued! 😁 There aren't too many records from the 60's or 70's with Simmons and Barbara Donald together. Off the top of my head, I can only think of five. (Two ESP's, two on Contemporary, and one on Arhoolie.) Maybe there are more?

Very much agreed. I had to look up the difference between 15 ips (inches per second) and 7.5 ips. Here's what Google told me: "15 IPS (inches per second) is the professional standard, offering superior high-frequency response, lower noise, and less "wow and flutter" compared to 7.5 IPS, making it ideal for mastering and high-fidelity recording. 7.5 IPS offers good, "vintage" sound quality with better low-end, lower tape costs, and longer recording times, often preferred for home recording, or a warmer colored tone."

I adore this record. The compositions, at least to me, sound heavily influenced by Ornette, but they're still their own bag. Simmons' playing is fantastic (what the heck mouthpiece is he using on the cover, a Buscher? note too he's playing a plastic alto on the cover). And Lasha isn't playing a bass clarinet; it's almost certainly the Eb alto clarinet.

Listening to this (2024 packaging) again this evening. The sound is so much more present—Rollins' horn in particular. I first encountered this music on the two McMaster CDs from the late 80's, and got used to the sound there. This new package is a gift (I think) to listeners who are encountering the music for the very first time (though young/new listeners are probably listening to it through Spotify. 😉) At any rate, it's fun to go through the music all over again, as if for the first time. Yes, Uncle Don's not here, but other than that—as close as one can get to a definitive package, I'd say. And preserved for future generations!👍

Graettinger's "Thermopylae" makes me think of Sun Ra.

D'oh! Yes, I wasn't Remembering.

The original cover! This was my first Lock purchase. I need to spin more Lock...soon.

I listened to this album today, and it was like I was hearing it anew. Did Green make any other recordings without a keyboard or other chordal instrument? For contrast, I like playing this one back-to-back with Grant's First Stand. The old TOCJ's sound soooo good.

Souvenirs

"Of all the musicians, Bechet was to me the very epitome of jazz. He represented and executed everything that had to do with the beauty of it all, and everything he played in his whole was original. I honestly think he was the most unique man ever to be in this music—but don't ever try and compare because when you talk about Bechet you just don't talk about anyone else." —Duke Ellington

"He has the finest orchestra of its size I have ever heard. I have long been an admirer of his work." —Sergei Rachmaninoff, on Paul Whiteman 😮

These two were my introduction to Portal. 👍👍 Still catching up with later work!