Nate Dorward

Marc Ribot?

Aha--I was wondering why on earth Garner's representation on CD was kind of spotty; hadn't known of the estate issues. -- I'm still baffled why there seems to be no recent remastering of Concert by the Sea (it'll never sound GOOD but I'm sure more could be done with it nowadays).

Getting back to this (will post here rather than backdating my earlier post)-- 4: hm, no idea who any of the players are. The big surprise is the over-the-top return of the alto, which initially sounds like a wailing harmonica. I like some of the pianist's moves. But on the whole, I'm not getting too excited about this. 5: I forget the name of this oddly-structured tune--"Falling in Love with Love" I think. The most familiar player is the drummer--a reined-in Roy Haynes? Can't put my finger on the other players. The tenor player isn't really my cup of tea--I guess I find his phrasing an over-stuffed mix of swing tenor & postbop. 6: Nice track that reminded me of albums like Very Saxy, though the recorded sound suggests it's fairly contemporary. Not really grabbing me, but then I'm not really plugged in to this genre of music enough to make fine distinctions between examples of it. 10: Uh, Warne Marsh in an atypical context.... ?!? Dated but enjoyable! A really interesting arrangement, especially that horn pileup at the end. A websearch suggests it could be a Clare Fischer big band disc. Pity about the poor sound. 11: Not sure I'm taken by the saxophonist's tone, but he makes purposeful use of polytonality rather than just as a rote gimmick, & the solo cadenza is commanding. 12: Lovely stuff--I guess it's got a polished nostalgic glow, but I like this style of music too & they do it justice. 13: Nice tenor, but not getting me too excited. 14: Not too up to date on my Birdophile altos--I'll guess maybe Frank Morgan just because it would (obviously) be timely. Maybe Lou Levy on piano. It's OK, but I guess it lacks that central calm & assurance that attracts me to classic bop. 15: "El Gaucho" in a multipiano version. I never understand the point of these things, sorry--sounds like a mess. I think this format only works with stride piano (where there's a very firm groove to ride) or avantgarde settings *where players can work independently)--with the more idiosyncratic rhythmic sensibilities of postbop players, the result is just a lot of clashing ideas. This is surely the Danko/Lightsey duet album--I don't know either player well but recognize Danko from his duets with Konitz. * Thanks for the music SJ!

OK, just got it & am spinning now. Scattershot comments for now, more detailed later on. * 1: Hawkins obviously, maybe Thad Jones too? I see the Penguin guide lists a 1960 date with them both + Eddie Costa, that sounds right. 2: Soprano-led big band with Dexter Gordon & I think Phil Woods in the band. 3: nice male voice + vocal take on "It's All Right With Me", the arrangement holds no great surprises, but it's OK. Alto is a 1950s West Coaster, probably Pepper? & yeah, it sounds like a Paich arrangement. A peek at Straight Life indicates it's a singer I've never heard of before, Jesse Belvin. ... 7: a variant on "Woodyn' You", probably under the leadership of the tenor, surely Clifford Jordan, not sure about the other players. I like the tune & arrangement, even if it is overlong & repetitious, & CJ's playing; pity it's let down by the other players, whose solos are kinda bumpy. 8: well, this is a familiar enough track--SC's last album as a leader, with a rare non-Monk appearance by Rouse in this period. Rhythm section is familiar from Dexter Gordon & Jackie McLean's Blue Notes of the period. 9: Classy reading of this Dameron tune, probably players I should know. The pianist is fascinating & idiosyncratic, with those spare solemn chords.

Just got it--spinning it now. Spotted a few familiar faces already. Sounds nice!

Just a quick note to say that I finally got the discs this Monday--will try to give them a spin soon.

Pretty stunning! I played recorder for years, though I stuck to Telemann & Bach..... no Coltrane!

That's very sad to hear. A fascinating, underrated pianist.

Just curious: what makes one commonplace phrase acceptable & another not? Why these phrases rather than others? (Take a look at the Language Log site for similar queries about why certain usages get condemned arbitrarily by self-appointed usage "experts".) There are particular turns of phrase & words I avoid, but in general it seems to me the real problem is people who write without thinking or listening, & simply excising some cliche'd phrases isn't really going to address this problem. (One can write terribly while using entirely original turns of phrase, & write very well using no words out of the ordinary.) If someone wants to recommend a disc I'd rather they simply say "Recommended." rather than trying to work out some tortuous evasion of the word.

The best! I thought this was overrated though there were some classic sequences. Guy It's a great film if you forget about the first half hour or so, which is VERY slow in setting up the basic premise. What is an action film exactly? I'm seeing lots of things listed in this thread which I'd classify as "thriller", "suspense", "adventure", "heist film", "western" &c, rather than action film per se (which, to my way of thinking, needs to make a specific point of stressing kinetic, highly visual forms of violence & thrills). Rififi is a great film, but it's not an action film at all--it's about tension, not release.

Thanks for the comments--I'll see about getting hold of Letzbor. Aside from issues of interpretation (& tone in the case of Holloway), I simply think I'd like to hear the pieces with a fuller & more varied accompaniment. I don't really buy Manze's insistence on avoiding extra instruments in the name of textual or historical accuracy. Only other person I've heard play this material is Barry Guy's wife, the violinist Maya Homburger--the solo "Passacaglia" is included on their album Dakryon. Haven't relistened to it lately but I remember it as being more leisurely & pure-soundish than Manze's more sharp-focus version.

Have fun--their Boxholder set is lovely stuff.

Biber's mystery/rosary sonatas cropped up on the Vandermark thread because I picked up on clem's passing reference to John Holloway's recordings. Anyway, the version I have is the Andrew Manze set; Larry recommended Gunar Letzbor over either of them, whom I'd not come across before. Anyway, thought I'd start this thread, in part because I was curious about the differences between these versions--any thoughts? Manze in his liners is pretty skeptical of recordings that emphasize the sonatas as "program music" or as numerological exercises. His version also largely avoids extra instruments--it's just violin + keyboard. & any thoughts on Biber's other works (for chamber instrumentation or the choral works)?

Hm, lots of names to me that are just names.... Though, yes, Polar Bear is overrated, judging by the one disc I've heard (courtesy of Mwanji Ezana) & Jason Yarde is excellent, judging by a concert I caught some years back (a freeish blow led by Louis Moholo-Moholo). Is the Wellins/Tracey disc a duet, or with a rhythm section? I love Stan but my impression of his son's drumming was none too positive, so I tend to stay clear of his recent work....

Some linguists weighing in (follow the link too): Rock syncopation: stress shifts or polyrhythms? & a related post.

I was recently sent a CD by a 9-year-old in Israel named Ariel (is he linked to above? I'm at work & can't surf that site). Includes a curious version of "Giant Steps" (where his solo is mostly one note!). Despite that, clearly he's got some serious chops & imagination for a 9-yr-old.....!

Whenever I feel bad about writing a pan, I only have to use google for a little relief: I have NEVER encountered a CD yet, no matter how bad, that hasn't attracted a few glowing writeups. Especially on AAJ, where they cluster as thickly as grapes.

As long as there's jazz feeling there I'm happy!--as my reviewing (I hope) shows I try to have an ear to just about any of jazz's various tributaries....

Oh god, Daniel Smith--I was sent one of his discs for review, & it went into my special folder for unintentionally funny discs. (I toss out most bad CDs, but sometimes one feels like hanging on to the memorably awful ones.) One of the worst albums I've ever heard, in any genre. I hope Paul Hanson's NOTHING like Smith.

Hm, wonder if the duos with Poole were recorded.... I gather Poole did record most of his performances.

Didn't catch the show, but anyway, nice to hear he's been featured. A great drummer...! -- My favourite work of his may still be that sequence of discs with Yosuke Yamashita..... -- Has he recorded much as a leader? The only disc of his I have is that one with Sonny Sharrock & John Stubblefield.

Yes, you can get it through the Foghorn site; probably DMG or Cadence could get it for you in the States, too--both of them have stocked previous Foghorn titles. It's a really nice label--I've liked nearly everything I've heard on it (the only disc I'd say give a pass on is the Matthew Bourne solo piano disc--weird, good in spots, but terribly uneven & it requires a strong tolerance for bathroom humour). Aside from this disc, the three albums by Bruise are excellent--the newest one, We Packed Are Bags, was one of the best things I heard in 2007. The quartet album with Jeb Bishop is worth getting hold of, too.

Speaking of which, the only Pepper footage that seems to be on YouTube is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNqHz4-WG8...feature=related I take it this is from his troubled mid-1960s phase where he was tackling Coltrane head-on..... I really don't like it at all but it's still fascinating.

Thanks for that posting of the Pepper videos--jesus, I've got to get that album (the only one from that period of Pepper's I'm missing, I think). Not sure I'm hearing "planes" there, exactly! but know what you mean about the contrast with Desmond. Oddly enough, listening to "I Surrender Dear" in this version, more uptempo than the ones I've usually heard (e.g. Monk's), it makes me think Art's moving it in the direction of a Cole Porter tune--that kind of use of chromatics & unexpectedly wide intervals to give it a kind of elegant but urgent drama & melancholy. (Maybe it's the tail-end of the A section, which in Pepper's phrasing sounds like "I Get a Kick Out of You" that's contributing to this sense.) Sorry, but Brubeck's solos on both those tracks just make me go Agh!

OK: thought I'd ask the wiser folks here about an odd problem I've experienced playing DVDs of music concerts & the like (but not DVDs of feature films). I get a lot of crackly distortion (peaking?), usually on the lead horn mostly. Any possible explanation for this? The DVDs I've had trouble with include: all the Delmark DVDs I've encountered--the Deep Blue Organ Trio, Chicago Underground Trio, Khail el'Zabar & the Ritual Trio the Arbuckle short on Dave Douglas's Keystone the recent Jazz Icons Chet Baker DVD On the other hand, I've had no trouble with the Misha Mengelberg documentary on Data. The DVD player is a relatively inexpensive model (NOVA brand). The TV is an elderly Sony (once top-of-the-line), about 15-20 years old.