Nate Dorward

My main suggestion is: make sure the plates are warmed. Otherwise when your nice slice of rare leg of lamb hits the plate it instantly goes cold...! The recipe looks fine, fairly close to the one I use.

Sad news indeed. Thanks for passing it on, Ted.

But Zappa is definitely dead.

Happy birthday! Was just listening to Night Lights as it happens (the Avant-Garde plays the G.A.S.).

Yeah... I mean, it's not as if Parker lived into his 80s, necessitating multiple volumes.

Yes, but see the film! Can't say I get much out of the endless shots of walking-woman cutouts, but the footage of the band, esp. the closeup shots (Gary Peacock with a "get the f*** away from me" scowl, Sunny Murray completely spacey), is great.

I have this one on LP--a favourite. The sound's acceptable though the bass is virtually inaudible, I recall. The playing's great, though!

Ed's account is pretty much on the mark. I think I'd only add that I actually slightly prefer The Hilversum Sessions to Vibrations, in part because the recording is a bit better on HS, in part because some of the solos & statements of heads are a little stronger. But basically if you have one you'll want the other--& despite the similarities of repertoire the differences between versions are sometimes quite pronounced!

The ESPs are still the place to start. I'm also fond of The Hilversum Session on Coppens for the quartet with Don Cherry; & the album of spirituals, Going Home, is still a killer (the opening duet with Cobbs in particular).

Also you might try Roscoe Mitchell's new disc on RogueArt, No Side Effects.

Geof Bradfield's Rule of Three & Thomas Chapin's Ride are two excellent recent releases.

On a different beat, I've been greatly enjoying Misha Mengelberg's Afijn (a 70-minute documentary + another hour of concert footage). The Jazz Casuals I've seen have been terrific.

Aha, a fellow Fargo-hater. Good.

Free Fall's quite the quantum leap beyond the first two albums -- I'm not sure I "like" it (I certainly don't put it on the stereo as often) but it's still a jaw-dropping accomplishment, so totally unlike anything else in jazz then & far in advance of the European improv scene. But do get hold of the Hatology twofer of Emphasis and Flight--on balance, maybe my favourite recordings by this band from this period (never really warmed to the 1980s/1990s reunion discs).

Are you sure? AFAIK it's previously unreleased material. There is a slightly later solo session you probably have in mind.

This one dropped out of the mail today. I'd not actually heard Albany's music before, though I know something of his personal history of course.... Anyway, this one's a real pleasure: private solo recordings from Albany's home in 1976 (on the feast of Epiphany, hence the title), apparently the first of two planned volumes. A couple Parker blues lines, an original called "Old, Old Friends" & an original "Slow Blues in F", and a clutch of standards. The session (assuming it's in the same order as the tape) seems to get looser & more rhapsodic/rubato & more intense in its dialogue between hyperromantic harmonies & deep blues feeling as it goes on: indeed it's very passionate music, and the ear is little short of amazing. "Sweet and Lovely", at the end of the session, is virtually remade whole. At the end you hear Albany's message: "This I did on the day--what's the date? January 6, in Hollywood, '76. I think I'm getting into it, little bit. So when you hear these tapes, I'll be sharing my enthusiasm. Enough for me anyway, I'm encouraged." Anyway, it's on Blue Jack Jazz Records, & a very enjoyable release. Thought I'd draw it to the attention of the Albany fans on the board.

Got roundly spanked/lukewarmed in Downbeat I see (one of their four-in-one reviews at the front part of the section).

Actually I'm glad to see that comment from Liebman, because that particular performance really really rubs me the wrong way. Never liked that album much. Of the sax quartets from that period the one I follow is ROVA--some of it's a tough nut, but they can be astounding. The recent disc Totally Spinning was a treat because it was so untypical: it was downright funky & dionysian, with only a couple of more abstract pieces. -- Talked to Larry Ochs a few months back at Guelph & he told me that one of the main inspirations for the formation of ROVA was a Steve Lacy album from the 1970s with a saxophone-heavy lineup--I don't remember the title, does anyone know the one he's referring to?

Aha, I was wondering if that was Kropinski.... been years since I saw him play but he's pretty unmistakable. -- You a fan of Helmut "Joe" Sachse, the other guitarist in Doppelmoppel? I remember him as been terrific too. He has a few discs on FMP but I've never checked them out....

Updated my response at the top (with the last few tracks).

Blues & Ballads on Elektra Nonesuch is quite nice.

No, AFAIK Howard Hawks was the first director to make extensive use of the technique. I'm very saddened to hear of Altman's death. A one-of-a-kind director.

Thought I'd pull this thread up again to mention that Gokhan Ertug (gnhrtg on this board) is doing a survey concerning free-jazz musicians and record labels as part of his thesis. This is not a musicology thesis but one in "Organizational Behavior"--i.e. statistics. Which might sound dry but I've corresponded a bit with him about the thesis & it seems like a very interesting endeavour to find models for the internal dynamics of the free-jazz scene. Anyway, he needs people to participate in the survey--it can be done online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=363962808493 and (in my experience) takes about 45 minutes to complete.

Yeah, I'm told those are probably the best of his later records. Haven't heard them. My doubts about latterday Russell mostly have to do with the immediately succeeding period (I've heard the two Blue Notes, the London Concert & 80th Birthday Concert, which mostly just chew over the same material repeatedly). I should say that for anyone who's curious about The African Game at least the new disc includes it, which is useful as the Blue Note has been o/p for ages. Alas, no electric pencil sharpeners on the new version.

Just updated the responses. Got one more track (not a surprise, it's a well-known one by a certain late trombonist). Now I have to work back to the last few tracks on #1.....