Late

Yes, in full (with moniker) it's: Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto. He has that chocolate-y tone similar to what Newk has on With the Contemporary Leaders. The album won't make anyone do a back-flip, but if you're a hardcore Newk fan from his "golden period," it's definitely worth checking out. It's not a disc that I'll simply file away after a spin or two. It'll get into the rotation for a while.

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly ... or, sometimes, If I'm Really Calm (just kidding on the last phrase)

Did anyone else pick this one up from Dusty Groove recently? The Bards describe this album as reminiscent of Hank Mobley's Soul Station, and I thought I'd give it a chance. Were The Bards correct? Um, no! Even better (for my ears at least), Matsumoto is straight out of the Sonny Rollins bag, circa 1957. Few tenor players are able to convincingly get Newk's phrasing, let alone his actual sound. Matsumoto does both — not so much slavishly, but rather in loving homage (as I hear it). Despite the strong influence, he is a fine and capable player on his own. Recorded in 1960, Modern Jazz is a quartet/quintet setting and is beautifully recorded. A guitarist (I can't read the liners, which are in Japanese) appears on a few tracks, and sounds amazingly similar to Barney Kessel. There are even some trio features where the pianist drops out, as well as one track that is entirely acapella tenor saxophone. Warmly recommended, especially if you sometimes have a jones for that "lost" Newk album from the mid-50's.

Mark, did you ever find a copy? I'm looking for a listening copy these days ... Fuller's work on the James Moody New Sounds disc that's shared with Art Blakey is something else.

Dig. I hope (trust) that at least all interested parties here have it, or purchase it very soon. The set does not disappoint. Even if you're not a big J.J. fan, but are a big Max Roach fan ... you'll want this one. I remember wavering on the Andrew Hill set way back when (because I already had about half the set in different forms) ... and didn't buy it. Needless to say, that was one of the dumberer moves I've made. As a result, I pre-ordered the Mosaic Select about .02 seconds after it was made available for pre-order. Easily my favorite Select.

As I type this, The Kerry Dancers and Jazz Studio Party are en route to my doorstep. Johnny Griffin continues to add joy to my days.

Guy — nice score! Tell us what you think of Nuff when you get it. (I dig it.)

Absolutely. I guess I was just naively thinking: "The music's so good, and if it's out-of-print, people will pay anything for it!" (Insert optional dork laugh.)

I'd think that the Johnson Mosaic, when it finally does time out, will eventually be one of those sets that fetches absurd* prices on eBay. * or ridiculous, insane, inflated ... you name it

Ordered four Black Saint titles — they came to $11.55 a pop (shipping included)! Didn't have David Murray's Home, and always wanted to pick it up. For some reason, Cadence doesn't carry that title.

Up from the depths. The recent Brubeck/Columbia thread got me thinking about Columbia reissues in general. We get Connoisseurs from Blue Note at least once a year ... but how long does it take Columbia to reissue individual titles from their vaults? Since this thread was originally started, we have seen, among many others, Woody Shaw's Stepping Stones and Mulligan's Jeru. Yeah! But what is still lurking in the vaults? I see that Fresh Sounds has gotten around to Something New, Something Blue as well as to some of Teo Macero's 50's work. I would much rather purchase these titles as a Columbia product ... but am getting tempted by Mr. Pujol's offerings.

This thread had me get out my Brubecks on Columbia last night. The box set For All Time, I'd say, is an essential purchase. I also like Impressions of Japan. I don't have any of those Japan-only discs listed above, but my appetite is whetted!

Thanks for the heads-up, Al. I was going to "resist" using either of those codes ... until I learned of the additional 20% off. Some box sets start to become awfully attractive ...

Tower has some Black Saint (and Soul Note) titles in stock for $13.59 right now — including Billy Harper's Black Saint! Add a coupon code from the current Tower thread, and the price goes down even further. Carpe diem!

BFrank — if you like The Leaders (great band ... why was all the press given over to Courtney Pine in those years?), definitely check out Unforseen Blessings. (Tower online actually has it in stock!)

Good on purchases made April 24-30: • Enter F4T32NY for 15% off orders $40 or more. • Enter 2FV3T4E for $5 off orders $30 or more. Orders over $20 ship for free. Not the greatest savings, but allright if you poke around long enough online.

... and dig Chico's appearances on the Black Saint label. Some very fine playing there.

Yes, Daddy Von is justifiably revered, but what about Chico the Son? (Now I'm going to use a colloquialism I can't stand ... ) — where are "the props" for Chico?

I'm in full agreement with you there — and I wouldn't say that your description is an overstatement! I've always had a soft spot for Brownie's Paris recordings. In fact, I happen to like them quite a bit more than his polished work for EmArcy. Brownie's playing on "I Can Dream, Can't I?" — it's one of the few times where I actually want to listen to the master take immediately followed by the alternate takes ... on repeat! To my ears, it's rawer Clifford Brown, while still beautiful and (yes) innocent. This is such important music (I'm thinking of 1953 Paris recordings) — it should really be honored by at least a Mosaic Select. Strange that these recordings were originally released by Vogue, then licensed by Blue Note, then licensed by Prestige, and now are under the BMG umbrella ... and still don't have a permanent home in the U.S. market!

I haven't, but the title will go down on the list — thanks! Right now, I'm trying to track down some out-of-print William Bronk (before I fold and just go for the "Collected" ... which really won't be a bad alternative).

Up Popped the Two Lips is a fine record. I'd say, even though it's a later recording, it would make a good entry point into Threadgill's work. Nuff is great, too.

A cross-reference heads-up double-post twin-whammy: CDUniverse still has all three editions of the Vogue/BMG Clifford Brown in Paris digipacks! (Clickable Smilie of Celebratory Ben Wallace)

I've been trying to locate BVCJ 3730. Hiroshi couldn't find it for me, and I thought I'd ask here for any possible leads ... By the way, while the three volumes (Vogue/BMG digipacks) of Brownie's 1953 Paris recordings are technically out-of-print, CDUniverse has all of them — in stock — currently for $9.59 each. A heads-up, so somebody here can snag them!

Lo and behold, that Vogue 10" LP made its way onto compact disc in 1999! It's a Japanese mini-LP (BVCJ 37027), containing the track, sans Brownie, entitled "Le Rose Noire." A nice one! Let's see if I can attach a picture of the cover ...

Thanks D.D. — I'll make a note of all those. I've been checking out sound samples online (Amazon seems to have a lot), and totally passed over some titles that are now on "the list." I added: • Charles Gayle: "Consecration" • Pullen, Freeman, Hopkins, Battle: "Warriors" • Joseph Jarman: "Earth Passage" I listened to "Milano Strut," but can't say I was immediately taken by it — still, with a sound sample you don't get much. Nevertheless, I am a Don Pullen fan, and some titles take time to grow on you. Damn, there's so much good music on these labels. I thought I had a fair amount ... but was (fortunately or unfortunately) mistaken! I wish I had jumped more squarely on the cybermusicsurplus wagon when it rode through town. I only scampered alongside it for a few blocks ...