Late

December 11, 2019 - 1390¥ • CDSOL 46501 - Charlie Parker: The Happy Bird • CDSOL 46502 - Lester Young: Pres Is Blue • CDSOL 46503 - Joe Carroll: Man With A Happy Sound • CDSOL 46504 - Cecil Payne: The Connection • CDSOL 46505 - Duke Jordan & Sadik Hakim: East And West Jazz • CDSOL 46506 - Yusef Lateef: Lost In Sound • CDSOL 46507 - Pete Jolly: The Sensational Pete Jolly Gasses Everybody • CDSOL 46508 - Barney Kessel with Harold Land: El Tigre • CDSOL 46509 - Barry Miles: Miles of Genius • CDSOL 46510 - Charlie Parker: Birdology • CDSOL 46511 - Alice Darr: I Only Know How To Cry • CDSOL 46512 - Charlie Parker & Lester Young: At The Summit • CDSOL 46513 - Mundell Lowe: Satan In High Heels • CDSOL 46514 - Jerri Winters: Winters Again • CDSOL 46515 - Charlier Parker: Bird At The Apollo Apparently this is "Phase One" of a new reissue campaign of the Charlie Parker Records label. CDSOL is the prefix used by the Ultravybe label.

It appears that the original cover is being used. A description of Hamba Khale! from Our Friends: " ... dark and angular, but also filled with small flowers of hope, flowering in the spontaneous presence of these two great minds ... " It's nice to have records filled with small flowers.

Agreed. Probably somewhere between the two.

I think this is probably the case. The transfers are variable, but they're no worse than what you'd expect from historical recordings on labels like Document or Yazoo. The Johnny Rodriguez pictured above is one of the better transfers. I've only been stung a few times, where the transfer really got in the way of enjoyment of the music. For historical recordings of Cuban music, I'd confidently recommend the label. Generally speaking, the smaller the band (there are a lot of trio records), the better the transfer. Sound samples can be found on Allmusic, but you have to Google the disc's precise title + Allmusic to get to the actual page with 30 second sound files. (Or at least I did.) Searching for the label on Amazon or eBay can also prove difficult, but the list up above should help a lot. Here's what Amazon shows, with a lot of non-related titles in the mix. The Trio Matamoros discs are good; the Antonio Machin titles are also very good. (I would NOT buy Carlos Gardel titles on Harlequin; for Gardel, get the discs on the Nimbus label.) If you get into the music, and some surface noise doesn't bother you, there's a lot of exploring fun to be had. Weirdly, some of the oldest music on the label (1910's) has the best transfers.

Bam.

A mid-70's occasion where Sonny Fortune is soaring. (There used to be a longer version of this on YouTube, but I couldn't find it.)

On The Cellar Door set, when Miles plays, Keith defers to him. When Bartz plays, Keith ramps it up (so DeJohnette does too), and they tend to swallow the alto sound. My impression at least. Not wanting to bash Bartz, the guy can play, but that band could sense tentativeness.

I know this is a Discography thread, but what the heck (hope you don't mind). This one is great: Anyone else collect this label?

Then you must own this, if you don't already. This 4-CD set might seem like overkill at first, but with each session Buckner gets progressively ... weirder? This, rest assured, is a good thing. I picture Jimmy Smith, Big John, Shirley, and Johnny Hammond all over at Shirley's house in the summer of 1973 for vegetarian lasagna and piña coladas. They put on some of these records and start cracking up — not because they're laughing at Milt, but because they're laughing with Milt. That should've been the title of one of Milt's records: Laughing With Milt. The guy exuded optimism, sly humor, and swagger in equal doses. Perfect music for pool parties (as Shirley well knew).

I think I hear what you're saying. Maybe it's not a case of the saxophonists losing their individuality, but rather that Miles' bands from that period had less and less a saxophone-focused sound. After Coltrane, after Wayne, keyboards and guitars (generally speaking) become the dominant sound, with Miles on top and Michael Henderson moving a bass line much differently than Dave Holland. David Liebman often cites the story about not feeling relevant in Miles' band, and asking Miles why he should stay. And Miles replies: people like to see your fingers move fast. While perhaps too reductionist, that does seem to sum up the role of the saxophonist — even despite killer solos in Agharta and Pangaea, among others — in the post Bitches Brew era. I owned the post Bitches Brew stuff a long time before I became familiar with it. I always wanted "to get to it," and then didn't — for years. When I finally got to it — listening, say, to the On The Corner sessions for three months straight, at home and in the car — I finally understood the hype. Wasn't hype. Just amazing music. Oops — this is a Billy Harper thread!

Elvin Jones, 1968-1972, is killer stuff. For organ grooves, I'd go with Big John first. Lee Morgan's last album is important too.

I'd purchase that Mosaic too, but I think the chances are slim. The work on Moers is fantastic. I bet Cuscuna would even be enthusiastic, but I don't think Mosaic's direction is headed that way. There aren't enough Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, or Woody Herman Mosaics yet.

Miles should've hired Billy for the Cellar Door gig. 1970.

I really like this label. HQCD 90, Orquesta Tipica Victor: 1926-1931, is one of my favorites. A great label for tango and Cuban music. Last year around December, for whatever reasons, Amazon had a number of Harlequin titles priced at $2.99 and $3.99 with free shipping over $25. I purchased about seven titles.

I'd start with other albums first. The Haarlem tracks are relatively long, but Bley's playing is always full of surprise. I'd suggest: 1. Closer (ESP) — for me, the perfect "start here" with Bley; if you like it, you'll want to keep going; also, for ESP, it's well-recorded 2. Footloose (Savoy) — chronologically before the ESP session, but excellent playing; the original recording doesn't sound that great; try to find the "complete" sessions as the original LP left off quite a few tracks 3. With Gary Peacock (ECM) — this album doesn't sound like an "ECM" album; great playing, and Bley has already solidly established his sound If those three records resonate with you, then there's a ton more to explore. His earlier (1954?) record for Mercury is quite good.

These will be reissues that last only for a small handful of months on the Japanese market. I wish Ric Colbeck's The Sun Is Coming Up would have been included in the list. It was at one time (a few years ago) and then was cancelled. That, and Marion Brown's Le Temps Fou (also cancelled). I've pre-ordered the Brown and Barbieri/Brand from CD Japan, who have them up on their site.

A great record, though I find Simmons' own contributions somewhat restrained next to Barbara Donald, possibly because of the presence of piano in the rhythm section. I think Rumasuma was Donald's shining hour. It gives me the impression of what Booker Little might have sounded like had he lived into the late 60's. I agree that all the Mosaic box set suggestions here are probably largely fantasy, but hey — that's what boards like this are for! I do think, however, that smaller boutique labels like No Business (out of Lithuania) might be the perfect candidate to reissue a recording on the Moers label to attract new listeners. That solo Carter record on Moers (actually out on compact disc at one time) is absolutely crushing. Easily up there with Braxton's For Alto or Evan Parker's solo records. I think, ultimately, it's gonna take someone like Jonathan Horwich to reissue these type of records. Mosaic has some catching up to do with Armstrong, Basie, and Herman sets, so they're occupied.

Yes. Bill Barron isn't an artist still living today, but his ghost is. The Mosaic could be: THE COMPLETE BILL BARRON 1961-1972 SESSIONS The set wouldn't be too large (4 discs? 5?) and would draw from only four labels: Savoy, Dauntless, Diplomat, and Dragon. (There are more recordings circa 1966 from Sweden, however, and perhaps they could be unearthed. Radio broadcasts?) And if you wanted to go past 1972, you'd hop straight to 1978 and start with the Muse label. That said, I'd very happily purchase a Billy Harper set. Even if it were, say, nine discs.

November 22, 2019: • Marion Brown: Porto Novo (original UK cover) • Paul Bley: In Haarlem • Gato Barbieri & Dollar Brand: Hamba Khale! December 11, 2019 • Julius Hemphill: Dogon AD (original MBARI cover) • Human Arts Ensemble: Under the Sun (original pink Universal Justice Records cover) • Oliver Lake: NTU - Point From Which Creation Begins (Arista cover) All in mini-LP format on the Taiwanese MUZAK label. Some information here. Hamba Khale has been slotted for reissue many, many times. I hope this Muzak edition becomes a reality. Killer album. I also hope the original Togetherness cover gets used:

Picked up March of The Tadpoles (SICJ 30013) and Long Yellow Road (SICJ 30010). Have listened to the former, and — wow — this new transfer is good; really open, and with distinct placement of sections on the soundstage. I think I might already prefer this new transfer to the transfer on the Mosaic Select. That said, if you already have the Select, I wouldn't say you "need" these new editions, especially if you're not a fan of the mini-LP. (I went a little "collector" crazy, and am a fan of the mini-LP.)

Same. Thanks, mjzee. (Your handle auto-corrects to "maze." )

The whole set should really be released again. Maybe in a simpler clam-shell box, and ideally without those terrible envelope (minus top flap) sleeve holders. Classical labels in the last 3-5 years have been reissuing tons of fairly rare music from the vaults in clam-shell boxes. They're affordable and no-nonsense sets, where the music takes center stage. I wish Sony would do the same with all the Miles Davis box sets of the past. Those fold-out digipack sets (think the Fillmore set) are a drag.

That is the best-sounding version of this album (in my opinion). Better than the Malcolm Addey transfer (which is excellent in its own right), and better than the Japanese RVG (too boomy for my taste). Buell Neidlinger's bass sound in particular shines. TOCJ 5888 pops up on eBay from time to time.

Dreamt last night that I was in Japan and stumbled upon a sushi bar that only played Cecil Taylor's music — particularly unreleased broadcasts of the trio with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray. I was so enthused that when I tried to pay for my bill I kept dropping dollar bills on the floor. (Shoulda used plastic.) Thinking about it now, I don't know how pleasant an experience that would be. But in the dream it was magic.

Fourteen years (!) later ... and this is probably my favorite Miles box set. Keith Jarrett just kills it throughout. And Jack DeJohnette keeps up with him through every twisted beat — in fact, they almost seem to be sparring. Miles must have loved it. It's the funkiest boxing I've ever heard. Gary Bartz, as much as I appreciate his playing, seems the least at ease, even stiff at times. (If only Wayne had stayed in the band a few months longer!) Anyone else feel that way about Bartz's playing? I wonder what Joe Henderson would have done in that band ...