Late

Ah, the ferocious poetic license and non sequitir work of that fine tribe of bards, the inspired writing staff at Dusty Groove ... • A description of Caliman's Celebration — " ... Caliman's tunes and playing have a lightly magical feel to them -- a sadness behind the sun, done at a complicated level that we appreciate more and more over the years." • And a description of Projecting — "Soaring spiritual magic from Hadley Caliman ... hitting those angular reed notes he laid out so well on so many Fantasy sessions during the 70s, and which shine even more brightly under his own light of leadership!" What sayest thou, sweet cringe meter? Begone that sadness behind the sun! Let soar your spiritual magic, your own lusty light of leadership!

Tangential (but semi-related) reference: I had a chance, in '89, to attend a seminar on improvisation and jazz drumming led by Charli Persip. He actually seemed a little shy at first, but warmed up during the two hours, and was very open to any and all questions. The weird thing (at least to me at the time) was that his kit, and the way he set it up, looked quite like a "rock" set-up: the cymbals relatively high up and nearly vertical, and the bass drum and toms larger than a typical "jazz" kit. All of this didn't make a whit of difference, though, because as soon as he hit the ride cymbal, it was luscious, in-the-idiom, jazz. (It just looked like something Tommy Lee might play.) Just wanted to add that tidbit of reminiscence.

Thanks Shrugs. I'm guessing those are your vinyl copies? Very nice.

Anyone heard the Costanzo? That one (at least initially) seems most interesting to me. I don't know if he plays bongos on this one, but that guy can make bongos sing!

Another trumpet player that seems to fit into the group being discussed (Ferrara, Sherman, Eardley, et al.) is yet another Don: Don Fagerquist. Granted, Fagerquist is usually recognized as a "West Coast" trumpet player, but his melodic sense fits the boppish to cool sensibility. His own VSOP session is superb, and his work with Dave Pell is just as remarkable. One of the purest tones around, with meticulous articulation to boot. Come to think of it, Dick Collins seems to fit this mold too. His RCA sessions (particularly Horn of Plenty) are beautiful. And the bands that are on them ... pity that those discs aren't in wider circulation.

Did Underground debut "Boo Boo's Birthday," or did that track appear somewhere else first? It's always been one of my favorite Monk compositions.

Also dig these: And these:

Congrats, Temple! I hope that work finds you, and you it, in the near near future. Music teachers are an indispensable part of a child's education.

This one and the Mulligan/Hodges reissue (and, can't forget, the Giuffre reissue) are giving me high hopes for Verve. Will these be in the mini-LP format, or digipack?

I was wondering if anyone here has this album, and what they think of it. It looks good on paper. Here's the AMG review.

Here's to a speedy recovery, Ghost! A helmet convert indeed! Vital stuff. (I was in a scooter accident about 16 years ago; I was wearing a helmet, but if I hadn't been, I wouldn't now have a right ear. Skidded for about 10-15 feet down the street on my side, the asphalt whirring under me about an inch away from my cheek.)

Roundsound — Gerry Mulligan is one saxophonist of note that was working without a piano several years (around five, I think) before Sonny Rollins, albeit usually in a quartet format. I think Cranshaw actually plays the electric bass because of injuries sustained in a car accident some time ago that limited his left hand/arm movement — at least I recall reading this on a bulletin board (can't remember which one) about a year ago.

Love this tune. And I'm secretly glad that Ray Copeland missed the gig! (Julius Watkins is the biscotti to Rollins' espresso. OK, bad analogy.)

The Japanese version of Trios (Freeman/Twardzik) sounds amazing. A lot of love went into its remastering, including a surgical restoration of the intro from "A Crutch for the Crab," which I'm pretty sure is not included on the long out-of-print domestic version. The intro (for the Japanese version) was dubbed from an LP, and then seamlessly sewn on to the rest of track (remastered from tape). This one (in mini-LP) is still around, and well worth some important $. And ... you get 13 bonus tracks of Freeman material! Yes, I still want to know about Bob Zieff too! Those compositions have a magnetic quality to them. They stick in your brain synapses, and fire all day long. Another plug for Chaloff's The Fable of Mabel as well. It's one of the few instances where I really appreciate hearing alternates stacked up on top of each other. The LP on Storyville gives a sketch of "Mabel" in its liner notes that the Mosaic doesn't offer: "In this legend, Mabel is depicted as a woman who loves men, music, and her silver saxophone that played counterpoint (her own invention which proved impractical). The work is divided into three movements: (1) New Orleans, (2) Classical?, and (3) Not Too Sad an Ending. The soulful baritone solo by Serge Chaloff traces Mabel's humble beginning working railroad cars in New Orleans to her emergence as a practicing crusader for the cause of jazz. During her Paris days on the Jazz Houseboat, her struggle for self-expression is symbolized by an unusual saxophone duet by Charlie Mariano and Vardi Haritounian. Mabel always said that she wanted to go out blowing. She did." ("Mabel" looks somewhat like Audrey Hepburn, in black dance gear, out of Funny Face. On the cover, multiple images of her dance over a baritone saxophone.)

Potato, isn't that Hank snuck in there in the background of your avatar? That session stands out to me as representative of Hank's generosity. Not only does it feature the Blue Note debuts of three artists (Porter, Hardman, Clark), but Hank also lets Porter take some writing honors. (So why didn't Alfred give Porter at least a single-album contract after this set? It makes perfect sense to me!) John, I have Far Away Lands on cassette too! I do find this one quite a lot of fun. This thread has seemed to bring out the eloquence in the board. Nice reading! (Especially nice after reading something like: "Lorraine Hansberry wrote Raisins in Sun. It is a complex play. There are levels of complexity that you don't see the deeper meaning of until you look at them.")

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!