Late

The 1982 Art Blakey gig (at "Seventh Avenue South") that was filmed for VHS—with Messengers Wynton, Branford, Bill Pierce, Donald Brown, and Charles Fambrough—contains Branford solos (on alto) that really show (in my interpretation) he'd been listening to the Plugged Nickel recordings. A Wayne influence in Branford's playing here? Agree or disagree! 😁 Walter Davis was in the audience!

Is it conventional wisdom that Haydn is the progenitor of the string quartet? I know both Mozart and Beethoven admired his writing for quartet. I have scattered recordings of Haydn's string quartets: the Amadeus, Quatuor Mosaïques, Tokyo String Quartet, Keller, and maybe a few others. What recordings are you fond of? I'm particularly interested in checking out Haydn's (seemingly neglected) Op. 50 quartets, which include the quartet nicknamed "The Frog." (I also love the "Seven Last Words" arrangement for quartet.) I don't care whether the instruments are HIP or modern. Recommend away!

I bought this box set a few days before Christmas in 1999. As a result, I weirdly associate the Plugged Nickel recordings with the holiday season. I need to get it out again and re-listen. There's always something new to discover. When I met Branford Marsalis (once after a concert) in 1991, he mentioned that these recordings contained his favorite Wayne Shorter.

Agreed. You can really hear when they're responding to what the other is playing. I'll have to keep an eye out for Vol. 2.

I dig this photo of Beirach looking with admiration at Bill Evans.

I just read through the liner notes, and there's no designated listing of personnel. That said, certain players are mentioned. They are: Richard Evans: arranger Cleveland Eaton: cello (!) Dorothy Ashby: harp Phil Upchurch: guitar Bobby Christian: vibes Lenard Druss: flute, English horn Ron Steele: sitar "Uncredited": drums & conga (Note: Druss does spell his first name "Lenard" as opposed to the more common "Leonard.") Full album Claude Thornhill's "Snowfall" is covered.👌 Me too (from those I've heard). My favorite track was Jack Jones on "This Is That Time of The Year," which (if I'm not mistaken) was written expressly for the Firestone release.

👌👍 Very swinging

Thanks! I'm listening to Summer Night, with Mraz and Billy Hart, right now (on YouTube). Their cover of "Solar" is excellent.

I've slept on Beirach's music far too long. Looking for recommendations of trio work (piano-bass-drums) in particular. I've heard Elm, and it was really good. Elm

Spun this last night and had to stop what I was doing and just listen. I used to think I wasn't a fan of their duo work, but thankfully I was mistaken. This is a really good session. I still haven't heard Volume 2 of this set.

WHOA. I'm in.

Listen to Mullennium. When this CD came out in 1998, I'm guessing it was the first issue to the public? Meaning, there was never a vinyl issue? Or was there...🧐 There was probably a vinyl issue, but I'm not sure if it was under Mulligan's name. I don't own the CD, but the music (listening on YouTube) is excellent.

Ditto and agreed!👏

Too bad Mulligan's Stringtime was never released as an official LP. (Or would it have been an album with Vinnie Burke as co-leader?) The contents (nine tracks total, I think) are available across the Mosaic Select and The Gerry Mulligan Songbook. Gerry Mulligan: baritone saxophone Paul Palmieri: guitar Dick Wetmore: violin Calo Scott: cello Vinnie Burke: bass Dave Bailey: drums recorded December 5, 1957 1. May-Reh 2. The Preacher 3. Good Bait 4. Bags' Groove 5. Lullaby In Rhythm 6. Body And Soul 7. Out of Nowhere 8. I'll Remember April 9. I Can't Get Started It's probably been discussed here (somewhere?), but what's the story about why this recording date never saw the light of day on vinyl? It's not at all a throwaway session. Mulligan plays really well; Wetmore a little less so. Time for a Tone Poets release! 😁

Listened to this set twice today, then I remembered this thread. When Stitt's on, as he is on these Hi-Hat recordings, he never stumbles, not for a second. Such fluency with—and utter command of—the bop lexicon.

The Blue Potato And Other Outrages I wonder why this album never saw a digital release. And yet...it's on YouTube in what appears to not be a vinyl rip. Check out "Garvey's Ghost" from this album. 👌

Mine too! It kinda goes with this one:

Nice! I've never seen that cover before. I much prefer it over the American cover.👍

George Coleman: tenor saxophone Hilton Ruiz: piano Sam Jones: bass Billy Higgins: drums recorded December 29, 1978, NYC Is this Coleman's masterwork? While probably best known for his contributions to Maiden Voyage, Miles Davis records circa 1964, and the Eastern Rebellion collective, this record made for Timeless shows off Coleman's command of the horn in a way that his sideman appearances don't always do. What do you think?

👍 The cover art, for some reason, always confuses me. 🙃 Instead of "Top Brass," it looks like it should be a "Sonny Stitt Plays For Lovers" album. The out-of-focus listener also kind of looks like Dodo Greene.

Another addition: July 16, 1962 • Atlantic Perri Lee on organ on half the album.

A few years back, Real Gone Music had a Christmas album reissue campaign (think Andre Kostelanetz, George Melachrino, Jack Jones)—mainly albums from the 50's and 60's—that brought back vintage holiday music from the Lp days onto compact disc. I've noticed that some of these titles are now out-of-print and going for absurdly high prices on the used market. What Christmas albums from the 50's and 60's did you listen to back in the day, and what do you recommend? I always liked the Firestone holiday albums, even if some tracks were fairly tepid. I think my family had 2 or 3 of the volumes.

Yes!!

One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums. Dorothy Ashby is such a badass.

Spun this one today. I like Stitt with Patterson best, but this record is no slouch. The title track is a good groove.