Late

Claude — What are the bonus tracks from Our Man in Jazz? Are they from the Village Gate gig, or are they the (previously issued) studio tracks with Cherry? More of the Village Gate gig would be ... amazing!

That's the story I've heard too — re. RCA wanting to present a more "commercial" Rollins. The original liner notes to The Standard Sonny Rollins even allude to this. Here's an excerpt of what George Avakian, who penned the liners, had to say: "In a field given to long, spun-out improvisations, some of the performances are surprisingly short. This is in part because Sonny was seeking compactness and brevity of statement in much of the album, and in part because we felt, in editing the performances, that some of the brief bursts of fantastic improvisation (as in "Night and Day," "Three Little Words," and "I'll Be Seeing You") would be best set off it they were presented in this way." Hmmm ... who is the "we" here? And if Sonny really were "seeking compactness," wouldn't he have been able to complete whole tunes — a la The Sound of Sonny — in a short space? I have to say, I'm a little dubious of Avakian's claim here. It's not out of the question, but I think an alternate angle might be that Avakian simply said: Blow, let yourself relax, and we'll keep the best parts. Thank goodness the 14 minute "alternate" take of "Now's the Time" didn't meet this fate. There are some moments on this track where Rollins' improvisation begins to meander, and with not a lot of interest, but then, just when you think you're really not interested, he turns it around and grooves, via some wonderful syncopated figures, the shit out of that song. Another statement by Avakian's liners that seems again to suggest his concern about the public's acceptance of Rollins' work is: "Can the neophyte listener follow all of Sonny's flights of fancy? Many of them seem extraordinarily removed from the original melodies and harmonies." He then goes on, however, to encourage this "neophyte" with: "But it is not as hard as one might feel at first. Try, for example, humming the melody of 'Three Little Words' as Sonny takes off ... You should be able to do it ... [and] quickly learn why jazz improvisation becomes more meaningful when one can relate the source to the improvisation." (The elided parts of the quote simply describe Rollins' playing ... e.g. "rare abandon") I wonder how history would have played out if — when the "secret" balloting went on for Rollins' new contract after his return to recording — Alfred Lion or Bob Thiele had landed some extra dough (well, a lot of extra dough) to "win" the bid for Rollins' contract. In some ways, though I love Rollins' RCA period, I think that Avakian never really knew how to handle Sonny Rollins the artist. It's sensitive terrain, surely, and it would be intriguing to have the opportunity to "revise" history and see how Rollins on Blue Note, or Rollins on Impulse!, for the years 1962-65, would have sounded like. Hell, I haven't even considered how Sonny would have sounded under Teo Macero's production!

Sorry I can't be of help, but I felt like adding that this is a wonderful album. I don't know if it's out-of-print yet, but any here with just a passing interest in Redman would do well to pick up this reissue. I think, the Coltrane sides notwithstanding, it's my favorite from the short-lived "New Thing" reissue series of five years back.

Only 13 right. I guess I should have known Dolphy's favorite sammich.

Red, count me in as a fan of Rollins' RCA work as well. The standards from that box that I'm most attracted to are some of the shortest tracks — "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Autumn Nocturne" come immediately to mind. You just know that there's extra tape (Please don't fade it out Mr. Avakian!) somewhere from some of those tracks. When I first heard Rollins' RCA work (junior in college), I happened to have been dating a 6' tall, quiet, studious, and lovely blonde woman. Hearing this music now, I sometimes get nostalgic. I gave her a postcard of Sonny Rollins ("My idol," I said), and she taped it right above the door to her room.

Ghost — no additional Twardzik tracks on the latest Japanese edition. You're also right about the duplicated master/alternate take of "A Crutch for the Crab" from the original domestic cd. (So, only one version, because there is only one version, appears in this Japanese edition.) One thing that this latest Japanese edition does offer is a reconstructed intro from a "A Crutch for the Crab" — so we have the piece in its entirety without tape stretch damage. The new edition sews on an undamaged version from a vinyl copy, then shifts into digital shortly thereafter. Actually sounds pretty darn good. Ron McMaster did this one, and it may be one of his best efforts around. All said, I think this version (TOCJ 9347) may be the most definitive version we're likely to see ... at least for some time.

Whoa, that is great news! Any other titles of interest in that reissue list? I think I may have missed the last Hans/Hiroshi post.

Jim, do you have Moving Out?

The Japanese edition of this disc has 13 bonus tracks! Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), these are all Freeman tracks — which is certainly not a bad thing. But it would have been great to get a few unissued Twardzik sides.

Ubu, Yes, a Mosaic Select would be grand! It would give more people a chance to hear the scant appearance of Jean-Louis Chautemps on tenor from these sessions. I know that Chautemps matured into a player with a greater mastery of the horn after these recordings, but the February 1956 date catches him at an awkward, but nevertheless intriguing, angle — loping eighth notes, a dusty tone. I actually quite like it. Dig the short (2:29) "Anticipated Blues" — perfect for putting on one's answering machine, or at the end of a mixed tape. The original 1988 Polygram France cd's of these recordings have always sounded good to me. Has anyone A/B'ed the '88 Volume 1 with this latest edition?

Very cool that the original cover for this session is finally being used. Too bad that a Complete Chet Baker Barclay Recordings package couldn't be put together. Volumes 3 and 4 from this series are exceedingly rare.

John — for what it's worth, I have the JRVG of Volume One, and the text is vertical. I used to have a vinyl copy, and its text was horizontal, however. I actually prefer the veritcal text ... if given a choice. At any rate, I think Moving Out may be one of Rollins' most under-recognized sessions from his so-called "golden period" of 1951-58. On the surface, it seems like any other blowing session (up-tempo meters, bop changes, some bop clichés in the solos), but Rollins is in such good form that his solos — paradoxically — seem to stand outside bop cliché right when he's got his foot in the middle of, say, "Sailor's Hornpipe." Hard to explain, but it's almost as if Rollins was born to play using this language, it comes so naturally out of his horn. Then, when we get to "Silk 'n Satin" — it must have made Coleman Hawkins smile to hear that. The speaking eighth notes that Hawkins plays ... all right here, and with Newk's personalized inflection. The notes can be transcribed, but that feeling is un-transcribable. Just beautiful. If you have this disc, spin it tonight or tomorrow (or whenever), and let me know what you think. And I didn't even get to the fact that Blakey doesn't have his hi-hat (which I actually really like) for this recording, or that Elmo Hope may have been the perfect choice for this session. Or that Kenny Dorham is in a most lovely Diz-like frame of mind. Or ... I could go on!

You might want to check out this one. Information here.

It's true.

Rats! I just checked. The Hicks is available, though.

Noj, check out this thread. Hopefully those albums are still available!

Damn! Now I want to hear both (or either) of these sessions, unedited or edited! I listened to Hall just yesterday on Grand Encounter — deceptively simple, and beautiful, stuff. I wonder how far down these sessions are on Cuscuna's list.

I've always wanted to hear this one. Have never seen it in the used bins, and don't know that I could afford it if I did. Maybe Universal Japan will get to it ... some day? Share your story on your impressions, brother!

(Sound of Horseshack laughing.)

This was the one I had: When the gutters used to ice over, I used the poor thing as a bowling ball. It could slide about a third of a block. My brother had a Roadrunner box, but never subjected his to such lunacy. Bev — The Complete Buddy DeFranco Verve Sessions ... brought to you by The Human Torch, The Thing, Mr. Fantastic ... you get the picture. All Verve would have to do is slap some instruments onto their torsos. The question is — who would Sonny Clark be? And how would the thermos be used? Maybe the liners would be rolled up and stuffed there — the ancient Ira Gitler Scrolls!

Me too. I never tire of this session.

Yeah, I'd love to see Rudy remaster sessions from the first half of this page. Goodness!

Involution is a great Andrew Hill session. In fact, when there was a poll (one of the zillion, ) on "What is your favorite Andrew Hill session?" I think I was the only one who voted for this recording. Both Hill and Rivers are in top form, but it's the rhythm section that really makes it for me. Walter Booker sounds unusually serpentine, and J.C. Moses mixes it up unlike any other drummers did when working with/for Hill. Something in me is also attracted to the tune titles — simple, yet poignant. Hell, Mike Weil has already created cover art for this one ... let's see its reissue as a single disc! (Standard note: It was part of the Mosaic, blah blah blah.)

Wondering if anyone has this one, and what they think. On paper, the session looks great. Any opportunity to hear more Harold Vick seems a good opportunity.