Late

Nice insight — I'd agree. Man, who wouldn't want to be in a band that plays "23 Red." I never get bored of that track. Bill Chase (I assume that's Chase with the first solo) — all a guy can say is either or :bwallace2: . That is some bad ass Cheese-its. A couple of years ago, on this board, I think I said something like: You haven't lived if you haven't heard Bill Chase on "23 Red." It's true. You haven't lived if you haven't heard this track. Don't you want to live?

Joe Romano is really good on that session. I first encountered his tenor playing on a Gus Mancuso record that Fantasy reissued on compact disc back in the 90's. His sound then seemed to be under a heavy Rollins influence, but on Act One you can tell he's listened to Coltrane. Still, he manages to be himself. Noto's sound is gorgeous on that record.

It's available on compact disc here. Voila! A lot of Nathan Davis albums have seen reissue in the last few years. Davis's Rules of Freedom is stellar, and should be picked up by anyone with even a passing interest in this saxophonist.

Noto, to my ears, sounds like an unusual hybrid of Conte Candoli (bop-inflected) with Woody Shaw or Blue Mitchell (with "modern" inclinations — though no "fourthy" intervals for Noto). A trumpet sound that's very flugelhorn-like at times. Pretty. Worth checking out if you have the chance.

Has anyone checked these out? The full batch is: • Wild is the Wind • Pastel Blues • Nina Simone in Concert • Broadway - Blues - Ballads • High Priestess of Soul • Let it All Out • I Put a Spell on You These were remastered by one Jeff Willens at Universal, and the one I have (I Put a Spell on You) sounds great. Anyone care to comment or recommend the others?

That reminds me: I've yet to check out Farrell's Skateboard Park. Need to do that soon.

This is simply some of the best jazz from the 70's ... or any decade. One of the tracks here even has a tenor/drums duet that, for Cohn, begins to flirt with Coltraneology. Engaging stuff. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the music here, however, is Cohn's amazing sound and confident phrasing. It's perfect music for driving, perfect music for cooking ... and perfect music for uninterrupted, undistracted listening. Many s. (Notice that Barry signed all the albums above!)

Two years later ...

Any words on Frank Butler's Xanadu work? I'll be checking it out next month at eMusic, but also have a line on some original vinyl. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite labels. Why isn't Sam Noto better known? Such a gifted trumpet player.

I listened again, and that track is definitely not "What is There to Say." It's a major blues, and it's tasty! Still — it's a weird shift to go from the ballad "I Should Care" to Cuber belting it out. (Listens again.) OK. Crap. This track is all effed up. After Cuber ends his blues, there's a pause, then a fade-in: Noto finishing his solo on "I Should Care." AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! eMusic is dogging me.

Shane — per your tip, I contacted eMusic (with the "defective track" e-mail option). We'll see what they say. And, lo and behold, this same glitch is on a Xanadu Sam Noto track too (from Act One). Argh! This one is stranger though. Noto's not even on the track! It starts off with Barry Harris playing "I Should Care." Then right around 1:53 there's an edit, Barry starts swinging all of a sudden, and ... here comes Ronnie Cuber again. The track, however, is listed as "I Should Care/What is There to Say" — but Cuber's not on the album, and I don't think he's actually playing "What is There to Say." Do you think this track should be reported too? Would anyone mind checking this track from Act One if you've downloaded it from eMusic? What the heck is going on? The playing is great, but Ronnie keeps jumping into albums that he wasn't on!

Thanks jazzshrink! Luke — if you've already scanned the cover and feel like sharing it here, that would be great.

If anyone knows where a CD copy of this album can be purchased (*), or is selling one, please PM! I'm aching to hear this record. * If buying it directly from ECM in Munich for (approximately) $30 is the only route — well, I guess that's what I'll have to do. When it was available domestically (U.S.), it was around $13.

Thanks for the tip, Shane. Is your "Ladybird" screwed up? When you have a chance to listen to it, I'd be interested in knowing. Maybe when eMusic updated (years back) their Xanadu listings to variable bit rate, something happened? Oh — the mystery continues (forgot to mention this): After I downloaded this title, my download count never went down. Am I missing something? I logged out, logged back in, and it was as if I'd never downloaded the album. More

I've been on a huge Xanadu binge this week — really listening closely to the albums I have on this label (not many), and just enjoying the hell out of them. One thing, and this may already be obvious to some here — if you've tended to think that Al Cohn and Barry Harris are merely "excellent" musicians, listen to their Xanadu records. The Xanadus are by far my favorite Cohn on record, and Harris's touch on these records has a sensitivity to it that doesn't seem to surface as much on earlier recordings. In my opinion, both Cohn and Harris are examples of musicians who improved by a considerable margin with age — as opposed to just hitting a comfortable plateau and staying there. Their work in the 70's (what I've heard, and I want to hear more) just knocks me out. I have nearly all of Cohn's RCA work, but for me it pales, and by a lot, in comparison with his Xanadu work. Before I forget, here's a pretty good Barry Harris discography, with cover scans included. Would anyone mind posting some Xanadu cover scans here? I'm looking for three in particular: Ronnie Cuber: Eleventh Day of Aquarius Sam Noto: Notes to You Various: Late Flight to Dakar

I recently downloaded Dexter Gordon/Al Cohn's True Blue on Xanadu, and something odd is going on. First of all, when you d/l this album, you get four tracks — even though eMusic advertises only three. You get two versions of "Ladybird," which are actually the same version, except that one is extended for two additional minutes. Now, here's where it gets strange: The track "Ladybird" starts off great — two tenors, two trumpets, and rhythm section. Dexter gets the first solo, and he cooks. Then, right at 1:30, there's a severe edit, and all of a sudden ... Ronnie Cuber is playing "All The Things You Are"! What the hell? Does anyone know what I'm talking about here? Is this on the original vinyl, or is eMusic f--king with us? I'm fairly sure it's Cuber, but I suppose it could be Cohn on baritone. Still, this goes way beyond even a crazy Dick Bock edit. If anyone has the original vinyl, can you chime in? At least right now, this a bizarre mystery. Then, almost as if to make things like: "Hey, that didn't really happen" — right after Cuber's solo finishes ... "Ladybird" comes back (ensemble), and the tune ends. Any eMusic experts here want to tell me what's going on? Have I been sucked into The Xanadu/eMusic vortex?

Fuck. I wasn't even five months old.

Isn't Walter Booker the bassist on Andrew Hill's quartet recording with Sam Rivers (to be reissued next year as Change)? He is a monster on that recording — blew me away when I heard it for the first time. He's also great on Rollins' On Impulse. Sad news indeed, but it looks like he left a fine legacy for us all to enjoy. What other notable sessions did Booker grace?

I've been waiting for the Tyner for some time. It'll be nice to hear, one session after another. (I sold off my single sessions so long ago that some of the music will be like I'm hearing it for the first time!) The Herman, of which I've only heard part of, should be excellent as well. The track "23 Red" is fairly amazing.

Hey ... how come Norah's new album (to be released December 5th) is entitled Not Too Late? I mean, she came over once, we had some decaf, I played all my Cecil Taylor records ... I don't get it.

Financial matters aside, here's how I'd prioritize acquiring Bix: 1. The Mosaic 2. The JSP (there are enough instrumental-only takes to make the set more than worthwhile) 3. Retrieval 79040: Bix Beiderbecke with Jean Goldkette's Orchestra, 1924-1927 (excellent single disc) 4. The two Columbia discs (remastering involves some no-noising, but the sound is still OK) If you just want one disc, I'd say go for the first volume of the Columbia. I have the JSP and really like it — J.R.T. Davies did the remastering on that one. You're in for a huge treat either way!

I don't 'do' chesse, but otherwise, this sounds fantastic. Could you express mail some to El Salvador? Oh, and no butter in/on those croissants. I know, picky, picky. The recipe can be done without cheese — although, out here in crazy vegetarian land some of the tofu cheeses are fairly good — but I've never heard of a croissant made without butter! Bebop, you're vegan? Easy, or difficult to do in El Salvador?

To my knowledge (and I think this was commented on earlier), the Cox will be one disc, with everything fitting in. (Now watch, a guy risks sharing some information he gets in an e-mail from Cuscuna ... the information is somewhat premature ... and I'm banned. )

Right — my mistake. I was thinking "east" of Germany, and typed "East Germany." There is certainly a difference.

No word that I've heard. The only two that have been given the go-ahead (as far as I know) are Andrew Hill's Change (with Sam Rivers), and Kenny Cox's Introducing-Multidirection. I'll be getting both for sure. That leaves four more titles ...