Late

Just landed a copy of 'Coon Bid'ness on disc this afternoon (-- didn't know it was originally produced by Michael Cuscuna!). I've had this dubbed on cassette for some time, but never come across the cd. Before I spin it, I thought I'd start a Hemphill thread. He seems one of the more important figures of creative improvised music since the early 70's, and also seems to be under-remarked. What do you think of Hemphill's playing? Which albums are favorites? I actually don't have all that many Hemphill albums, but my favorite of them is certainly Blue Boyé, a two-disc set that I wouldn't hesitate to pin with a "crown." Now it's time to go listen for a while ...

Also, the name Muggsy Spanier always conjures this image in my head.

Just had the name Sharky Bonano jump into my head. Hope I spelled that right.

Sorry, John. Maybe I should have added a ? So, lemme get this straight ... Are you suggesting that Jurek's reviled because he's moonlighting at Dusty Groove? I thought I recognized a similarity! You have to respect, however, that he contained himself — there's no utterance, in the above review, of "Cool Beans!"

Joe's adaptability to virtually any setting was indeed one of his strong suits. His pairing with Kenny Dorham is still one of my favorite front lines. Interesting, too, that he was on both of Blue Note's chart-topping singles back in the day: "The Sidewinder" and "Song for My Father." Chrome, if you don't have it already, you'll want to check out Alice Coltrane's Ptah, the El Daoud to hear Henderson in yet another setting ... and excelling. A great record (despite the weird cover).

I like 52nd Street Themes. Something comfortable, even cozy, about it. Lovano, in places, reminds me of Sonny Rollins, circa 1963 with his intentional stumbling-type phrasing. Love that. I like the Penguin, too. For some reason, the 3rd edition is my favorite. Keeps in a lot of their better reviews, in my opinion. Poor Thom. Why is he so reviled? He glistens with excitement!

Perhaps my favorite singular performance of Mat Maneri's (though I certainly haven't heard all his recorded work) is his unaccompanied viola solo "Lattice" from his Trinity disc on ECM. I have to admit, on the other hand, that his duo hat disc with Matthew Shipp left me cold, and I ended up giving it away. Maybe shouldn't have, but ... did it. Nate, the way you feel about Morris is kind of the way I feel about Derek Bailey. I'm still trying to access that guy's music (which of course is much different than Morris's, at least to my ears). I can appreciate Bailey more than enjoy him, and this always disturbs me. Oh well. Rudy (he used to go by Rudy) Mahanthappa used to have a great (or maybe just funny) impression of Albert Ayler when he was at North Texas. I'd yell "Ghosts!" as I walked past his dorm room door, and he'd go into it. Once we drank too much Ernest and Julio Gallo, and played "Feel So Good" walking down the hall. Then he got a lot better and transferred to Berklee, and I pretty much gave up the horn.

Dig the Pollock, Hans. (I'm assuming that's Pollock.) (How about a Lee Krasner next?)

Damn, I'm a big fan of Brown's. But, that's what makes for a diverse audience. Wouldn't have it any other way. Brown's Scratching the Surface on CIMP (161) with Assif Tsahar takes up, in some ways, where Ornette's quartet with Dewey Redman left off. Another Brown-esque alto player that I admire is Ori Kaplan. That guy is one to watch. So, too, is Rudresh Mahanthappa, actually an old college buddy. Both have fine chops and an abudance of ideas flowing out of the horn.

D.D., if you haven't already, you might try Illuminate on Leo. Morris with Rob Brown, bass and drums. It's the recording that opened up my ears to Morris, and how, in some ways, he's coming out of a Jim Hall conception, albeit with heavy alterations (though without distortion of sound). Worth investigating at least.

Up for refreshed reading, and wondering what you all thought of these recordings:

What, no love for Morris?

Herman P. Blount

Received a letter (actual pen on paper!) from Cuscuna stating that Here to Stay and The Big Beat would eventually make it out as RVG's. 2005, maybe? McCoy Tyner's Expansions is another title in dire need of a sonic upgrade. Oh, but this is the Connoisseur thread ... Add my vote for Contours, too. My favorite Rivers session, and the Mosaic remastering is brittle.

Truth!

I think I like Mat Maneri best in Joe Morris's quartet. Violin (or viola) and guitar have come some distance since Stephane and Django. Both duos are brilliant.

Dis, while I can't help you with a website, try this this search. You'll have to sort through quite a few Mancini and show tune albums, but there are still good albums to be had. If you like Rogers' music, I strongly recommend Dick Collins on trumpet, and his RCA album entitled King Richard the Swinghearted. Also, if you can find it, Collins' Dick Collins and the Runaway Herd is even better. Collins sounds a lot like Chet Baker, and even before Baker sounded like Baker!

Brownie, I agree. I think a duo album (Bley/Peacock) would have been brilliant. But, I think the album came to fruition because it was Koglmann's idea to play an all-Annette track list! For a few more photos of Annette, and Bley's recordings of her compositions, check out this site.

Have you guys checked out Franz Koglmann's Between the Lines label? Some very interesting music there. A number of these are available here. These babies generally sell for $17, but through the 9th (at Tower, and perhaps not much help for our EU friends) are $12.74. Also'd like to know what you all think of Koglmann in general, Thom Jurek's remarks notwithstanding. Also, though I'm sure many here at The Comical Rodent Thread have visited this site before, don't forget to check out The European Free Improvisation Homepage. Updated every so often, it's an invaluable resource for this thread's type of cheese-eater. (I think I'll take a cambozola.)

... also, if you like L'Heure Bleue, make sure to check out Make Believe and An Affair with Strauss here. Some absolutely gorgeous playing on both discs.

I know what you mean about the finger, Tony. Here's what The Penguin Guide says about those same four notes: "The guitarist's four-note encodement of the opening 'Leopard Lady' is the most obvious insight yet into Koglmann's method." Wait a minute. Obvious? What's obvious about that? I can't figure it out (except for it still being annoying). It does contain the same interval progression as the melody for the television show "Jeopardy," however. Maybe Koglmann's a fan of Alex Trebek? Maybe we have a sly, inside joke reference to Americana? Hmmm, I might like it more if that's the case.

Gary, did you ever end up picking up this title? I just now finished listening to this album, thought about starting a thread on Koglmann ... but thought I'd better do a search first. And, voila! One Koglmann thread already in action, albeit from June. This is a fine album, and I'd recommend it easily, with only one reservation. Burkhard Stangl's guitar solos drive me insane. I've always had a difficult time warming to the electric guitar, and these solos (though there aren't many) are nearly the epitome of what I dislike in guitar playing (e.g. rock-ish distortion that moves wildly out of a song's original context). That said, Stangl's accompaniment is another horse — fine, fine playing there. I do like forward-looking guitar playing (Joe Morris, Nels Cline), but Stangl just seems on the outside of this album's character. Koglmann's playing, on the other hand, is simply gorgeous, as is Tony Coe's and Misha Mengelberg's. The duos (Koglmann/Mengelberg) cast Koglmann in a very Chet Baker-esque light on flugelhorn. If you're not bothered by the kind of guitar playing that I described above, you're likely to love this disc. As a matter of fact, I'm sure I'll gradually get over my initial hang-up with Stangl on this, and be calling this album "a classic" in a couple of months. Also, for anyone in the U.S. who has their eyes on this disc, purchase the original version (hatART 6093) from Cadence. It's cheaper ($11, as opposed to $16), and has the same remastering as the newer version. Only the packaging is different (different cover art, and in a jewel case instead of a paper sleeve). What other Koglmann titles do you guys like? I'm thinking about picking up A White Line next. Bring on the recommendations!

A heads-up: Hat just recently updated their site. No new titles in their "pending" section, but the last and final batch of their mid-price series has been posted. Time to jump on the Braxton Dortmund set (and Bley's Annette) if you haven't already! Just received 9 hats in the mail this week. Time to brew more coffee and soak them in. (Spun Taylor's Garden, Part Two first. Beautiful — at times even more moving than Silent Tongues.)

... can't wait until April. I actually never thought I'd have a chance to hear Wayne live. I wonder how touring wears on him (if at all, apparently) at his age now.