Late

Now all he has to do is explain that avatar.

Tell it, Ayers!

Good point, Temple, and I agree with what you're saying. I think it's difficult not to compare musicians with certain other musicians, however. It seems a natural (and not necessarily critical) process. And for that reason, I'd say that my own "assessment" of Mobley is in alignment with Sal's. But ... I still dig Mobley. His 50's work, in my opinion, is most essential from his output. The Mosaic is going to be sorely missed by new fans when it goes out of print. His sessions with: (1) Curtis Porter and Bill Hardman, and (2) Donald Byrd and John Jenkins, are two of my favorite I-want-something-hip-but-not-too-demanding Blue Notes to have a nice, strong cup of coffee by. Mobley, as simplistic as it sounds, makes me feel good. I don't think I've ever really gotten excited by one of his solos, but I do nod my head, and sometimes even find myself saying aloud: yeah. Check out his work on Julius Watkins' Blue Note effort, too. Tonally, it's some of the best Hank, in my opinion. His 60's work, I must admit, does begin to lose my interest. (Though I would list Dippin' as a notable exception.) I often wish (and this will sound like a slam — it's not supposed to be) that Blue Note would have offered more recording dates to other tenors of the period. I'd "trade" The Turnaround for another John Gilmore session, for instance. Or Straight, No Filter for a Clifford Jordan Blue Note project of the time. And I especially wish Porter (Shafi Hadi) would have had a chance to make a Blue Note record under his own name.

How were (are) these years for you? Do you look back on them fondly? Do you not look back at them? What were you doing? I was deeply entrenched in the food service, and trying to get the hell out of college (only to then go back at 26). I lived in a basement the size of jewel case. Occasionally a kleptomaniac French woman came over (usually with stolen red wine) and that was allright. or ?

I'll second the plug for the Carmell Jones Mosaic Select. I like some of Land's solos here better than on some of his own sessions of the time. Harold in the Land of Jazz is another fine session from the OJC catalog. Very nice Carl Perkins on that one, too.

I got this for my mother, my grandmother, and three aunts when it first came out. They all love it. I hear it sometimes when I visit my parents' place, but it never tempts me enough to want to own it. I also heard "Come Away With Me" at Staples yesterday, so, as it's practically in the air we breathe, I'm afforded the luxury of not having to purchase it again. I think it's a nice enough album, and one that seems unprententious as well. It's certainly, to me, one of the more musical efforts in the easy listening genre. I hope Ms. Jones can handle the wild exposure that's been heaped on her. What is she, 24 now?

Congrats, Julius. I hope all goes well! Just watched Miranda give birth on Sex and The City last night. (4th season; I'm way behind.)

Well, I probably shouldn't be posting (at least yet) because I haven't heard any of the sessions you guys mention (except for Ezz-Thetic) — but I wanted to put a plug in for Dolphy's work with Oliver Nelson. It's certainly not as obscure as the stuff mentioned above, but it does make for good listening. I love that Nelson loved Dolphy's playing. Here's a guy (Nelson) that damn near plays classical saxophone at times (e.g. his opening statement on "Mama Lou" from Straight Ahead ... is that Rousseau?), but is openly attracted to the very un-classical playing of Dolphy ... and also has to (or tries to) restrain himself from playing Dolphy-like! A wonderful odd couple — that works. Tony, I think one of the reasons that Dolphy would pop up on a Lewis session such as the one you mention, is that, from all accounts I've heard and read, Dolphy was an excellent sight-reader. Session chops and solo chops!

Mike, I think I will have to stay away from the performance you mention. I only got to see (hear) Blakey live once, and it was a fine show. (The edition was Blanchard, Harrison, Toussant, Miller, Plaxico.) His playing then ('84) was still full of vitality, but you could hear some recycling of favorite ideas (i.e. quarter note triplets on the crash cymbal; eighth-triplet-eigth figures between toms against a 2/4 hi-hat). Not that this was necessarily a bad thing — because it swung like hell — but it makes me think now that Free For All stands somewhat outside the general pantheon of Blakey-led sessions. I know this thread was started on Wayne's solo, and, to connect the above paragraph to the thread's topic, I wonder if the energy so evident on wax here is due at least in part to Wayne's imminent departure from this band. In other words (if I'm correct in believing that Wayne had given notice, or at least had talked to Blakey about giving notice *), was Blakey wanting to take this particular edition of the Messengers out in grand fashion, and somewhat outside their comfort zone? I've never heard Blakey himself play quite like this — or, for that matter, so loud! I'm hearing his bass drum figures more prominently, and more aggressively, than in other recordings (compare the contemporaneous Mosaic), and some of his favorite riffs are absolutely obliterated here. And (again, as I hear this track) this seems a direct response to the opening solo. The studio must have been shaking. What a day this must have been for Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff. And Rudy, bless him, how the hell was he supposed to balance the input with Blakey's drums like that? * I'm sure someone here can straighten me out on the Blakey chronology and sessionography. I can't now remember if Indestructible, which to me is a much tamer while also fine recording, came after Free For All. I know that one has Lee on it, so maybe it was Hubbard's departure that contributed to the spark that lit the fire. Ah, theories!

Troof!

Inspired by this thread, I just listened to Love for Sale. What a great record. I wish Taylor would have further explored this mode — essentially meaning, single note lines (with the occasional cluster) against a swinging backdrop. While I certainly like later Taylor too (q.v. Willisau), I have a particular soft spot for the music on Jazz Advance and Love for Sale. It seems there are countless pianists heavily influenced by Taylor from about 1970 on, but I've never heard a pianist take up and extend the materials that Taylor explored in the late 50's.

For whatever reasons, I think Bruce Weber is holding back the release of Let's Get Lost on DVD. This is pure speculation, however — no basis in any information. It should be on DVD. I've watched it about 40 times since it initially came out on VHS. It's one of my favorite (what would you call it) "jazz movies." I couldn't faithfully call it a documentary, because to me it's always seemed just as much about Bruce Weber as it is about Chet Baker. In a way, it's a sort of love letter put to film — and dolled up in noirish black and white, to boot. One caveat though: Flea is thoroughly annoying in every scene he's present. Why Weber let him in on this ... Jesus. And the opening scene too? Never has scat singing been so unforgivingly handled. Like a Calvin Klein ad gone terribly, terribly wrong. Really — it's the stuff of nightmares. (And, later, fast forward to: "Hey Chet, did Lee really get shot on the bandstand?" ... followed by, noticeably minus Chet, laughter.)

A Joe Maini avatar! You dog, you. Check Julius Irving, PhD's post on the Jeffrey thread. J in dem Haus.

Vitus, you're a saint! Thanks for the list. MJQ fans must have loved this series. Some curious picks. No Rogers? Ah well. It does seem strange, however, that there wouldn't be The Avant Garde (Coltrane-Cherry), or at least Change of the Century included. Hans — Hiroshi couldn't find Shape for you? Say it ain't so!

Does anyone have a list of these AMCY titles? I'd like to pick up The Shape of Jazz to Come, and I'm guessing Hiroshi Tanno is probably the best stop for this; if anyone can recommend another venue, please tell! I know that Roland Kirk's The Inflated Tear was part of this series, as well as the Marsh-Konitz Atlantic (though I think Koch's HDCD is sufficient, and sounds superb), and I think the Messengers/Monk collaboration was also part of this series. I'd like to know if any Shorty Rogers made it in. Whereas other Japanese series seem to get a fair amount of exposure (relatively speaking) here in the States, I don't remember ever really being aware of this particular series. I stumbled upon them, and tried to pick up what was affordable and available. (In the days of friendlier coupons at Tower, they could be had at a price not too painful on the eyes.)

Ditto that. I have six of the mini-LP AMCY 11xx titles of Coltrane's, and they're all brilliant to my ears. Most significantly, I think this particular series has the best-sounding version of Giant Steps to date. Far better than the Rhino remaster, better than the gold disc by MSFL, and even better than my (not original pressing) vinyl. The only thing, of course, is that you don't get bonus tracks. I can actually live without a lot of the alternates from this period, but it would be nice, say, on Coltrane's Sound to have "26-2" in the package. (Accordingly, Olé Coltrane doesn't contain "To Her Ladyship.") This series also reissued the eponymous Warne Marsh album on Atlantic — great cover, very very fine sound. I never could find any Ornette Coleman's, and only one Mingus, from this series, and always wondered what was made available. If NBC released this series, it would be a Thursday night "must-hear CD" series. (Why did I just say that?)

• Jackie McLean: Demon's Dance • Tyrone Washington: Natural Essence • Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: Free For All — See separate thread! • Charlie Ventura: Complete Verve 1951-52 Quartet & Quintets • Jay Jay Johson: 1946-1949

When you have the time, re-listen to Wayne Shorter's solo on "Free for All," from the Messengers album of this same title on Blue Note. Then, if you're inclined, post your thoughts here. In my opinion, this has got to be one of the most inspired jazz solos ever. After a development of its materials, this solo reaches certain ecstatic highs that, instead of suddenly ending or fading back into the ensemble, push themselves again into even higher levels of intensity. (I believe it's Blakey who you can audibly hear, at least twice during this solo, cry out extended Whoo's.) I find it utterly exhausting and renewing. When I need an adrenaline rush, or something to reaffirm my faith in the world, I often turn just to this solo. (Not that Fuller's or Hubbard's or Blakey's following solos are forgettable, mind you. I just think that Wayne reaches an altogether different plateau on this particular track.) Even though I've just chatted this solo up to be a slice of nirvana, I'd be interested to hear your own thoughts — positive, negative, indifferent, decaf, caf, what-have-you. Does it reach you?

Good to hear that this series is still active. It's well-priced, sounds good, and often has excellent music. I picked up 14 titles from this series about two months ago in a buying binge, and haven't been disappointed with one. The "Jazz et Cinema" mini-series within this line is a favorite of mine. my wallet my ears

The Jazz Casual series is excellent. The Coltrane performance is especially nice. Coltrane lets go on "Impressions," and it's quite a ride. There's also a Sonny Rollins performance in this series, which is also nice, but probably not quite as inspired as Coltrane's performance. In my book Straight, No Chaser is indispensable. Perhaps the finest documentary on jazz (in part because of its generous amount of footage). I'd put that one on the tip-top of your list, followed closely by Triumph of the Underdog. The Jazz Scene U.S.A. series is also a good place to explore jazz on DVD. The sound isn't always the greatest, but visually this series is top-notch. I like the Teddy Edwards session (which is coupled with a Cannonball Adderley set) best of all. Next, I dig the Shelly Manne performance (which comes with a Shorty Rogers set), which highlights the comfortable-sweater tenor of Richie Kamuca. I don't know if Last Date is on DVD, but if it is, that's one to get too.

Nixon masks are out. Burns masks are in.

The third one does come with a certificate for a gallon of grape ice cream, however.

Also ... we need whoever was milesdavis back. Wasn't it him that had those great translations of Aric's posts into quasi-Middle English? (And did anyone save those Effron Blue Note Covers?) I miss the humor.

Lon, you can send my best sentiments to Joe to stop by here in your invite! B) I miss his contributions too. Besides, he has a cool Kenny Dorham avatar that needs to be here! I also wonder if some posters from the BNBB are here now but with different handles. Is Indestructible someone else here? Some other posters from the BNBB appear to be here, but also appear to be lurkers (not meant in a negative context) rather than posters. I'd like to see more posts from Vic, Swingin' Swede, Jim R., two posters from Australia that I can't remember the handles of (argh!), and two posters from L.A. that I also can't remember the handles of (Adam was one?). This is why I needed that location information! Oh yeah: Jones — if you're reading this, post up mang.

I haven't heard this one. But I like the little Roney I've heard for the same reasons you seem to. Without trying to hijack the direction of this thread, have you heard the date Roney recorded the day Miles died? Seth Air is a nice one, with a young Jacky Terrasson on board.