Nate Dorward

Not to mention the fact that I haven't come across a single review of Elliott Sharp's Monk album on Clean Feed that notices that two tracks are in the wrong order (you'd think people could tell "Epistrophy" apart from a blues......).

Yeah, the tracks with Young are mediocre. A pity. The Poindexter album is worthwhile, though (but don't expect a lot of solo room for Ervin--IIRC he gets only two solos). The CD has a screwup in the listings incidentally, miscrediting a Larry Young tune to Poindexter.

Well, there was that moment circa From the Soul.... Lovano seemed pretty interesting then. But his willingness to crumble in the face of Blue Note's increasingly loopy back-to-the-past concepts (Caruso?) has kind of made me place question marks next to his entire canon. The collab with Gunther Schuller, too, was worthwhile. Minus (as always) the spots for Judi Silvano (agh!).

Haven't got a copy myself! But did see it on the newsstands. Already regretting some omissions.... in particular Elliott Sharp & Charlotte Hug's pi:k (my only excuse being that Emanem is so prolific of first-rate records that it's hard to keep up sometimes!)

Happy birthday Clifford!

Thanks, folks....! -- I don't know if I'm any wiser, but I'm certainly starting to feel older....

Check out The Real Quietstorm also--probably the finest moment with the Taborn/Shahid/Tabbal rhythm section. Haven't really liked much I've heard by Carter since then, actually.

Re: the initial posting--I'm actually pretty dubious about the way some reviewers throw half-digested musical terminology around in reviews. There's one I know in Toronto who has never played an instrument in his life & yet everything he writes comes out like someone playing Mad Libs with the Grove Encyclopedia. Unless the terminology is actually needed to make a larger point in a review (rather than just trying to sound like you are "an expert") it shouldn't be there. -- On the other hand, the experience of actually trying to play an instrument at whatever level & get some music theory under your belt is always a good thing. Other than that: honesty, lots of practice, reading other writers' work for inspiration/stylistic models/ideas; & a willingness to edit one's own prose.

Give me another few years, I'll mellow. Thanks, folks!

Thanks for the answers--a fair number of familiar players but not always in contexts I'd expect (like the Zappa cover for 2 pianos!). The one new name to me is the organist on the first track--anything to add about her?

Thanks for the comments--yes, the closing moments of the performance do find Abrams bringing it full circle by returning to the opening motif. I find this one a tough go, really: it does have that stuck-in-the-same-place feel to it often!

There is no WAY that that is Monk circa 1950--it would have to be a pre-bop recording.

It's a much older tune of hers; I think it's originally on Dinner Music.

The duo album w/ Bud Shank on Sinatra-associated tunes, Lost in the Stars, is worth searching out. I have one of the Fresh Sound reissues, I think just called The Lou Levy Trio--caveat emptor, it's only 26 minutes long!

Hm... if the oud track has him as leader it's got to be either Rabih Abou-Khalil or Anouar Brahem. If you like Astronotes do check out Bite the Gnatze too! Some of the same players there. They have a new album just out; got it in the mail but haven't spun it yet.

11) some Frisellian backwards-guitar FX here, though I'm not sure it's guitar actually--probably Koch/Schuetz/Studer. I can imagine Miles Davis incorporating this into the fabric of On the Corner quite happily (in fact I'm pretty sure these guys have Miles's fusion-period exotica/percussion tracks in mind, the drummer especially). 12) nice avant-hambone groove, with a neo-Blackwell style drummer. Good stuff. I think it's younger guys referencing an earlier New Thing style of jazz. 13) Oh, this is a familiar track, forget the source though. It's Dutch. I think it's from Joost Buis's Astronotes, one of the best things from that scene in recent years. That'd be Paul Pallesen on guitar then. I'd actually mostly listened to the Ellingtonian/Sun Ra tracks on this disc but this more "outside" track is great too. 14) Nice freebop, a little weirdly recorded. Somehow not really getting under my skin though, a little too nervy for my taste; I did like it when they finally all piled in at the end. 15) I'm DEFINITELY not going to guess about this one.

Finally getting back to this compilation.... let's see... 4) Hm, clarinet, tuba, accordion, oud, drums. The clarinet made me think of Don Byron, but it sounded too in control to be him; & too tasteful to be Krakauer. Suppose it could be Darriau, I think he plays clarinet. Maybe Takeishi on drums. Whatever, it's a fine track that merges a variety of musical traditions, & the soloists actually construct nicely shaped solos rather than pushing for effect or exotica. 5) Hard to tell where this one's going--gospel? free? It turns out that where it's going is a drum solo by a player who actually sounds pretty familiar though I can't place him. I wonder if this made more sense in the context of the original album. Could be akLaff on the drums, just maybe. A bit too much for me. 6) Older track, I'm not going to be able to place it; it has that European-meets-African jazz vibe. Maybe Mangelsdorff in there on the trombones. A great head of steam built up on this one, kind of monotonous but almost hypnotically so! 7) Seems to be evoking the more adventurous 1960s Blue Note dates. I don't think the rhythm section is hooking up very well at the start, though maybe it's the rather squishy recording quality that gives that impression (boosting the volume helps). The Joe Hendersonish tenor is the best soloist, & when he plays it's the passage that I really feel the whole thing comes together. 8) I think I've heard this track (maybe in concert?) but can't place it. Vaguely Monkish tune, though not actually by Monk, & there's a Lacy influence here too. A lineup with clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, bass drums--probably wouldn't be hard to track this down! I think they overdo it a bit with the galumphing feel to the track. 9) More to my taste--a really nifty little track, with the sound of all four players very distinctive & in many ways as important as any actualy notes/tune. 10) Roll over Steve Reich & tell Gene Harris the news

Yeah, Bruise is marvellous--I wish they were better known here in North America, but the fact that their 3 releases are on a small UK label (Tony Bevan's Foghorn) has meant that they're not getting a lot of press here. We Packed Are Bags was my pick for Exclaim! magazine's best-of-year writeup for this year. I find it very hard to pick out where Ashley Wales's contributions begin & end, they're so closely integrated into the music's fabric. (That's not the case on the debut album, which makes more obvious use of loops & samples.) I found Streaming mostly perplexing & didn't initially like it at all; after a few spins I thought better of it & wrote it up for Paris Transatlantic in a more or less positive if rather cagey review, but haven't gone back to it since then. I was more taken with Lewis's trombone work on the album than either of you, I think. Incidentally, anyone have an opinion on the new Abrams solo disc on Pi?

Derek Taylor's list for Dusted is worth a look--Derek listens to (& writes up) more jazz albums than just about anyone I know, so he's got a better perspective on the year's jazz than most folks. (I get the impression, looking at many year-end lists, that some critics receive/listen to a very narrow range of promos.) -- Can't say I share his enthusiasm for the Z. Nasser (it's got its good points, but his tone & intonation are so off that I can't stand it), but it's nice to see the MOPDTK album there & the Rutherford, in particular. One of the year's best is actually by a group containing a member of this board: the Convergence Quartet's Live in Oxford, which has Alex Hawkins (= Red) on the keys.

I believe the ref. to Kenton & Basie is part of the score of De Staat--at least, Brian Morton's book on contemporary music quotes the phrase "like Count Basie and Stan Kenton" in his discussion of De Staat.

Well, yes, it's definitely not a judgment I'd agree with, but that has little to do with the writing, & I thought that was what Kalo was pointing to (& certainly was what was wrong with the 2nd quote). Re: the original article: I'm unclear why the copyright issue would be substantially more problematic for these recordings than for any other unofficial recordings of deceased artists. Is the problem that one would have to clear the release with ALL estates, since no-one was paid as a "sideman"? (I know of one instance of this about a large ensemble; their previously issued recordings can be reissued easily enough, as there was a formal contract, but there's a trove of unissued recordings that cannot be released because one ensemble member is gumming up the works.)

Well, the second quote misuses the word, yes, but the first seems entirely comprehensible (if debatable)--why "huh?"

Aha, there's the rest of the answers. Many thanks for putting this compilation together!

And?

I'd certainly consider going--been a while since I've visited Chicago. It'd be dependent on whether I could get off work, though (Jan-April is busy season, I think May is OK).