Late

All I really know about Carisi is that he composed "Israel." Here's Yanow's bio: Johnny Carisi is destined to be chiefly remembered for composing "Israel," a complex blues that was recorded by Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool nonet. Otherwise his career was primarily spent in obscurity. Carisi, who was mostly self-taught on trumpet, played early on with little-known groups although he had a stint in 1943 with Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band. Starting in the mid-40's, Carisi's writing was sophisticated and advanced enough for him to contribute arrangements to the books of Ray McKinley, Charlie Barnet and Claude Thornhill. Never a major soloist, Carisi played trumpet with Claude Thornhill's Orchestra a bit during 1949-50. Although he worked fairly steadily as a writer, Johnny Carisi recorded only a few albums under his own name. He had an opportunity to remake "Israel" in 1956 for a Bluebird set not released until the CD era, and he utilized a "Guitar Choir" in an unusual reworking of the music from Showboat (playing trumpet on "Nobody Else But Me"). In 1961, Carisi shared an Impulse Lp (Into The Hot) with Cecil Taylor, and in 1968 he wrote the arrangements for trumpeter Marvin Stamm's Machinations album. Otherwise, Johnny Carisi wrote for the studios, was involved part-time with classical music, and was a music educator. Can anyone here add a little more? Is that Bluebird disc still around anywhere?

Get it. OK.

OK, after listening to Three Phasis yesterday, I'm ready for this one. Especially interested in hearing the duos.

Opinions/impressions of this one? Have never heard Doyle.

Just one — David Baker's "Le Miroir Noir." One, two, one-two-three-four ... (And then your saxophone instructor says, "You started on a +4?")

You're right, and then when I get my credit card statement ... "... what happened to that guy? Oh, he had to take some time off from the board."

Up, to go with the current Discography thread on Dixon ...

Would be great to have a "tree" started for that first Dixon/Shepp Savoy session, as it seems that we won't be seeing it on compact disc ... ever? Anyone have it dubbed to CD-R? PM me, and I'll pay for cost and shipping!

I've never heard this one, so it'll be nice to have the hatology option. Opinions/recommendations as to a favorite recording by this particular unit? I have the New World stuff, but that's it.

I just got an e-mail from Hiroshi on Tuesday stating that he couldn't find this one for me. Did Hoffman ever take a crack at remastering this one?

Though I'm currently weaning myself of a case of upgrade-itis, this is one title I'd like to hear a fresher remastering of — though, truth be told, the OJC doesn't sound all that bad. Opinions on favorite editions? (Probably won't be doing vinyl, just as a note. Would like to, though.)

Fairly sure it's Mr. Aebersold. The track I heard had his count-off sampled, and it would enter in, stop-time, like some sort of backbeat rap track. If memory serves, Rufus Reid was on bass, Dan Haerle on piano, and Adam Nussbaum on drums. Or, at least those guys are on some of the Aebersold play-along's. Jamey came to North Texas in 1989 when I was there. He was a great guy, and played the hell out of the alto. More impressive than I had expected. Some of the Aebersold play-along tracks can be found on various compilations, like this one ...

Some word processing programs' Spell Check software actually gives the word "defiantly" as the first choice when "definitely" is spelled with the letter A. I see this all the time in student papers. It can get pretty funny: "Elizabeth Bishop's poem The Fish defiantly describes an epiphany ... " Ouch.

Out once again ...

Two weekends ago I was in a Banana Republic with my wife. While she was trying on some pants, I walked aimlessly around the store. Then, all of a sudden, I heard that voice: "One, two, one-two-three-four" It was one of the Jamey Aebersold "fusion" play-along tracks.

Received this one in the mail just yesterday. What a great show, with Cherry in especially fine form. The biggest surprise for me, however, was/is Don Moore and J.C. Moses — they're swinging hard on this set. A big , and another opportunity to hear Tchicai from the 60's.

There's just something not right about Wal-Mart selling Sun Ra cd's ... ugh.

... just tell us how the Hawkins K-2 is (I love that session) in the K-2 thread, and you'll be forgiven.

If you want to hear Woody in an altogether different setting than what you'd normally expect, check out Pharoah Sanders' Summun, Bukmun, Umyun on Impulse! Though Sanders is on soprano rather than his standard choice of tenor, this session is just as good as Black Unity.

Here are Brian Priestley’s 1994 notes on “Picasso” from the 3-disc Jazz Scene set: From many points of view, the pièce de résistance of the original Jazz Scene was “Picasso.” As it turns out, Coleman Hawkins had already recorded an unaccompanied solo a couple of years earlier (“Hawk Variations” was done for a tiny label run by the Selmer saxophone company). But “Picasso” was the one that became famous and eventually inspired lots of follow-ups, from Sonny Rollins to Anthony Braxton. It also benefited from considerable preparation, according to Granz: “When we recorded this side, Hawkins sat down and for two hours worked it all out on the piano. He then recorded it on the tenor for another two hours. Always the perfectionist, he still wasn’t satisfied; so a month later we recorded the piece again, and finally, after another four-hour session, got the take we wanted.” Needless to say, none of these other tenor takes survive — otherwise they would be here. As to what Hawk was so painstaking about, there are two schools of thought. The piece is, according to Gunther Schuller (in The Swing Era), “a free-form, free-association continuity” consisting of phrases, according to John Chilton (in The Song of the Hawk), “unconnected by harmonic progression or tempo.” Even nonmusicians, however, have often compared it to “Body and Soul,” for the simple reason that the implied chordal background of “Picasso” is a chorus and a half of the 1931 song “Prisoner of Love” (itself very similar to “Body and Soul” but with a different key-change for the channel). Any doubt about this explanation will be dispelled by listening to Hawk’s 1957 version of “Prisoner of Love” for Verve, which is — by no coincidence — in the same key and at roughly the same speed as his performance here. Indeed, although it begins out of tempo, you can snap your fingers to most of “Picasso,” at about seventy-eight beats per minute, in order to feel the underlying tempo and appreciate the soloist’s rhapsodic departures from it.

Joe McPhee: Nation Time Time to pick this one up from Moe & The Poets. On sale, not a cut-out.

Two-disc set (cut-out) on Veejay/Koch currently on sale for $6.99 from Moe & The Poets (a.k.a Dusty Groove).

Ever since the election, Pharoah Sanders' music has been especially cathartic, and in heavy rotation. Albums receiving the most air time: • Black Unity • Thembi • Izipho Zam From the latter album, Leon Thomas' "Prince of Peace" — listening to it in 2004 — has a curiously ironic cast. But, the following track, "Balance," steps in and shreds all doubt. And ... if Cecil McBee's solo track "Love" from Thembi isn't one of the most beautiful bass solos ever ...

Way Ahead is currently out on disc through the Italian Sunspots label, in a gatefold mini-LP jacket. Haven't heard it, but I've read Brandon's AMG review!

Right, good to know. I guess I was thinking of the reissues, but didn't clarify in my post above. Looks like a fair portion of the catalog has seen compact disc reissue, which is good. Interesting that the Kuhn's haven't been out, though.