Late

G-Man has always been a perplexing album to me. On some levels it's deeply flawed: • Cranshaw's out of tune and sometimes wildly off tempo. • Smith seems to overplay a lot. • Soskin and Anderson are ... expendable? And on another level it's an album of epic and heroic proportions: • Unyielding and repeatedly rewarding tenor saxophone solos. I can't enough of Rollins' solo on the title track. I can't even exactly explain why I think it's great, e.g. as far as musical devices or thematic content. It was a live gig, 1986. Rollins broke his heal jumping off the bandstand and kept going despite the pain. Fudge. Anyone here feel the same enthusiasm? If so, maybe you can explain what that something is about the album's monstrous tenor soloing. On the other hand, I suppose some might be unmoved by this record, and it'd be interesting to hear those thoughts too.

Whittington auditioned for Miles' group circa 1963 when Davis was in Hollywood. The gig went to Victor Feldman, but that's no slight against Whittington's abilities. The only Gordon I have is the date with Donald Byrd on Transition. I'll listen to pretty much anything with Kamuca, so the slab goes on the list.

How about 'Meets The Rhythm Section'? Can you rate that one? good, bad ...ugly?????? ......or the Kenny Drew Trio? Haven't heard the Drew, but Meets The Rhythm Section is pretty good. I haven't heard the K2 of that title, but would like to for comparison. For some reason, the DSD remaster of Meets sounds the best (to me) on the bonus track. The DSD Pepper-Marsh title I'd recommend without hesitation: doesn't sound scrubbed. I guess my main gripe with these new DSD remasters is that I don't always hear the "air" between the instruments as you often can on the K2s. One interesting thing, however, is that these DSD remasters appear to not be overly compressed. The volume level is actually quite low. Again, these statements are made only after listening to (and owning) seven of the titles.

Cool cover, but ultimately skippable. Scenario: Fresh Sounds Crew at the office ... "Hmmm, wonder what we should bootleg this week." "Well, what legitimate CDs do you have in your car?" "I dunno. They're all CDRs." "Hey, we can still burn those ... "

Bob Mover: The Night Bathers, with Paul Bley and John Abercrombie Mover worked for a period with Mingus in 1973.

Charlie Parker's step-father played the slide trumpet. He was dubbed "Ostrich," which perhaps explains in part why his career as a musician never took off.

Yes indeed. Here's what I have down so far for the rest of the year: 2-25-08 Media Dream 3-15-08 Live in Rome, 1980 3-15-08 Live at The Newport Jazz Festival, 1969 & Live at The Electric Circus, 1968 4-25-08 Sleeping Beauty 5-15-08 Live at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 1974 & Pacific Radio Interview, 1968 6-15-08 On Jupiter 8-15-08 Stars that Shine Darkly 12-15-08 Beyond the Purple Star Zone Information according to The Bards. Exact release dates are of course never set in stone. Can't wait to hear Media Dream for the first time. Here are some of my favorite Saturns that I wish Atavistic would/could see to reissue: 1. Discipline 27-II 2. The Antique Blacks 3. Omniverse 4. The Sound Mirror 5. Voice of the Eternal Tomorrow Though I love the early Saturns, something about the years 1974-1978 is especially magical. Trance-like at times.

Thanks guys. Keep the recs coming. I have a line on the Sudbin Scriabin, so I'll probably take the plunge. The Hamelin's at the local library, so I'll check it out too.

Hi All, I was wondering if you could list some recommended recordings of Scriabin's music. Would also like to hear some names that I might not know about — e.g. contemporaries of Scriabin, or composers whose music is in the same vein but lesser known. Thanks! L

Ah, thanks. So I've had it pretty much all along with the CD of the Lighthouse recording.

Been meaning to ask: Does anyone here have a scan of the cover art to Joe's If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Problem? I've scanned the internet without luck and have always wondered what this one looked like.

Buyer beware with these DSD remaster jobs. I've heard seven of them so far — some are just fine, but others (Art Pepper's Intensity for one) seem overly scrubbed and come with tape warble that I don't hear even on the OJC's. These weren't done by Tamaki Beck & Co., and, based only on the limited number I've heard, I'd still recommend the 20-bit K2's. One that does sound excellent: Art Farmer's When Farmer Met Gryce.

Not early Joe, but I've just been listening to "Vis-A-Vis" from Black is the Color. One of Henderson's finest studio tracks. Also, "Caribbean Fire Dance" from the Lighthouse gig. The poop for sure.

Two years ago (on this thread), Slightly Latin took something of a beating. Without diminishing the merits of any of his other albums, I'll go on record stating that this has always been my favorite Kirk record. I think it's too easy to be turned off by it on first listen (what with a Beatles cover, a Bacharach cover, and wordless vocals), but if you keep listening to what Kirk actually puts down as far as saxophone (and kazoo) playing ... damn! To start, check out his tenor/stritch solo on "Raouf" — that's some structure there, Jack. Then check out his baritone saxophone solo on "Juarez" — Pat Patrick watch out! And have you ever heard "Walk On By" ripped up that hard? Bacharach probably couldn't sit down for a month after that version was recorded. The Garnett Brown arrangements and Coleridge Perkinson vocal arrangements put Kirk at ease to have fun and swing hard. It seems to me Kirk's most natural element. Mañana!

When I go back to Strozier, I like what I hear, but am never fully knocked out ... until I play Fantastic Frank Strozier. That one always floors me. Something very special about that date; Strozier seems to push himself to the edge of his comfort zone. Right before Hank Mobley joined Miles' band, Strozier was the second horn for a brief stint. Too bad there's not recorded evidence of that group (to my knowledge).

That concert sounds like it was a bitch ... in the best of ways. Put me down as a Dixon fan, even if his trumpet playing still confuses me.

It's a good album, but Pharoah is fairly reined in. Don't expect too many fireworks.

Here's the text from jostber's link: "January 1978 was a fruitful month for Sun Ra. As well as days spent in the recording studios in Rome, Ra, along with John Gilmore, Michael Ray and Luqman Ali, played several gigs in Italy before flying back to the US. The magic music from one night in the Teatro Cilak, on 23/01/1978 in Milan, is preserved on Disco 3000. In the winter of 1977-8, philosopher, pianist and bandleader Sun Ra was to be found in Italy. He may have made two trips there, or made one extended stay: at this distance from these events it's difficult to be sure. (There's usually a mystery where Sun Ra is concerned.) Sun Ra's musical activity that winter is well attested: a CD from a piano concert in Venice in November 1977, two double albums cut in the studio for the Horo label in January 1978. The Italian tour also resulted in releases on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, although the records have long been out of print and all but impossible to find. With the re-release of DISCO 3000 and MEDIA DREAMS, two of these elusive Saturn albums, and arguably among the most important documents of Sun Ra's long musical career, are now once more available. They represent a real pinnacle of creativity, even for this prolific period of the late 1970s, when his record output hit a peak: 1977-8 saw some twenty Sun Ra albums, plus two video documents. DISCO 3000 and MEDIA DREAMS are pivotal: a unique chance to hear Sun Ra's music expounded in live performance by a quartet, rather than his full Arkestra. Sun Ra was joined in Italy by saxophonist John Gilmore, trumpeter Michael Ray and drummer Luqman Ali. Sun Ra himself played piano and electronic keyboards, including a Crumar Mainman. The sparse instrumentation is based on extraordinary and worthy contrasts. Luqman Ali played drums with Sun Ra around 1960, as Edward Skinner. This 1978 group represents his reappearance after an apparent absence of many years. The saxophone of John Gilmore, a soloist in Sun Ra aggregations since the early 1950s, is paired with the trumpet of relative newcomer Michael Ray. Ray's exposure as a soloist here is considerable - far greater than in his role in the Arkestra. The partnership of Gilmore and Ray, combined with the prominence and nature of Sun Ra's electronics, gives these albums their unique flavour. Sun Ra's keyboard work expands here to supply both bass lines (some pre-programmed) and electronic percussion. From this perspective it is interesting to compare this music to that on an earlier 'electronic' album of Sun Ra's, "My Brother The Wind" - Ra had developed a much wider group role for his electronics by this point." ===== "... arguably among the most important documents of Sun Ra's long musical career ..." That is arguable, but I'll probably be picking these up when they come out. Just for fun, I counted my Sun Ra CD/CDR collection today, and it totalled at a clean 50. I guess the above additions will make 52!

True, Holman's album is on Andex, but VSOP reissued it domestically (U.S.) on compact disc in 1987. That edition is showing its age, and I'm just hoping for an eventual Japanese edition ... Regardless of sound, it's a great album.

Argh!! Still no Bill Holman In a Jazz Orbit! I hope that title can find a way into this new series. I haven't picked any of these up, but I'd assume that they're straight LP playing-order reissues, so, yes, short times (around the half-hour mark for most) for these. Hopefully the remastering is better, though. Some domestic Mode/VSOP discs sound just fine, but others sound pretty boxed in. The Holman, unfortunately, is one of the latter. Has anyone here purchased any of these new Japanese Mode reissues? How's the sound/product?

Cal Tjader Plays Jazz, with Brew Moore, is a nice OJC that doesn't seem to get too much mentioning. It's a good one.

You got an advance copy? Atavistic's site says there are still 62 days until its street date. I have a vinyl rip, and I will say that this is one of my favorite Ra albums. How are the unissued solo tracks from 1964?

I like it too, but I think some people might not because of the fair chunk of doo-wop that's on it. BUT, the track "I'm Gonna Unmask The Batman" saves the day for me every time.

Listening to Jammin' in Hi-Fi with Gene Ammons right now, and I have to say this is one of my favorite Prestige jam sessions. Just look at the line-up: Idrees Sulieman Jackie McLean Gene Ammons Kenny Burrell Mal Waldron Paul Chambers Art Taylor Taylor's livelier on this session than on other similar dates for Prestige, and maybe this accounts for the spark that seems to go around solo-to-solo. Ammons is inspired rather than hiply laid back, and Sulieman rips out some crisply articulated lines for his solos. Only Burrell seems not to get much room to shine. Overall, a big for an enjoyable listening experience. Other fans here of the Ammons jam sessions? Do you have a particular favorite, or do you just "like them all"?

Should be a great Select, though I think I might be even more excited about the Quincy Jones (regular) Mosaic. Mosaic loves Woody Herman. He must really sell. How many Herman sets have they put out? I'm gonna have to wait a while before I pick these sets up — perhaps a year or so. Current buying freeze, and I haven't even opened up some of the discs from the latest Ellington Mosaic.