Nate Dorward

He gave an outstanding performance in Guelph last week as part of the FAB trio and (especially) his duet with Xu Fengxia. Yeah, a great player! (haven't met him but can believe he's a great guy too).

Nope! I think she has a CIMP date out there too?

Connor's 2LP (now 2CD) set of Gershwin for Atlantic is a great album--small groups, though not usually pared back to just a trio or quartet (there are usually saxes & trombones & flutes in various combinations filling out the front line). Her last album for Bethelem with JJ & Kai is excellent too, though only 29 minutes!

OK here goes-- 1) first time listening to this one in the bus station on headphones I got little out of it; this time round on a decent stereo I like it a lot more, especially that pianist (the tenor player on the other hand....). 2) Tribute to Hawk's "B&S" by four(?) tenors (pretty sure it's four, one for each 8-bar segment). No guesses to who it is. I know it's a bit gimmicky, & with all the horns working to include Hawkisms in the solos it's hard to figure out their "usual" style, but I liked this one a lot anyway. 3) Prez tune, I think "Blue Lester". Getzian tenor (not him though, surely? not interesting enough), I liked the guitarist. Good, not great. 4) Uh, is this a joke? There are some things best left on vinyl, of which this version of "Au Privave" is one. Nice harmolodic guitars -- Aha, did that guy say "Hey Bird" or "Hey Big Bird"? 5) Love that opening solo, Bird given some twists! -- Hm, the question I had was how many musicians were on this. I'm guessing just two, though they play more than one instrument, since the fiddling for instance doesn't sound like that's the person's main axe, & it's pretty clear the tenor player is the same as the alto at the start. I guess I would have liked more straightforward flow here, rather than the gamesplaying with alternate solos, but there are plenty of impressive things here nonetheless. I'll be curious to see who this is, as I haven't a clue. 6) 7) Boringly predictable chart, but the soprano has charm. Could be Lucky Thomson I suppose, judging by the little of his soprano I've heard. The chart is awful, though. 8) "San Antonio Rose"--nice to hear (I'm a big fan of Western Swing). Is this one of those BFT tracks where we've got to i.d. some jazz players in unfamiliar contexts? Truthfully I find the more homemade styles of country fiddle a bit hard to take, & this is no exception.... & the pianist is a little accident-prone too. It's an OK track.... hm, the final chord is definitely a "jazz chord"..! 9) A really nice Joe Lovano trio track drifting around the chords of "What Is This Thing" that's scuppered after 2 minutes by... what the hell IS it?? Guitar I guess. Did he ever record with Tisiji Munoz? Anyway, a really horrible waste of 3 excellent players--I wonder if this is a joke or something. Eventually it kind of drifts into "Speak Low" for some reason. 10) Uh, this is a little too peppy for me--can't stand to hear Prez turned into this kind of glib choo-choo train. Sorry. 11) "Round Midnight" referencing Dolphy's version with George Russell (though I believe Dolphy took that on alto actually). The obvious guy for this one is Rudi Mahall but I'm pretty sure it's not him--RM's carved out his own style that's further from Dolphy. So, no idea who it is. I'm left feeling the same thing here that I did about the Hawkins tribute earlier on this BFT: I mroe or less liked it but mostly because it reminded me of something I already liked. The guy's one addition to Dolphy's style is that little multiphonic growl, which is nice but pulled out a tad too often. 12) Sounds like something from about 1969 (in fact if I didn't already have the albums I'd assume this was from Larry Young's unreissued Blue Notes). Liked the sax a lot, not the wimpy guitar, the organ's fine. The feeling is nice & the tune's good. Yeah, this is a good track. 13) Pretty sure I know this tune from some novelty-guitar context or something, but can't place it--maybe if I pulled out my Eddie Lang stuff &c. Not exactly swinging during the solo, but I'm not sure that's what this guy was aiming for. S'OK, I liked the "composed" bits but not the improv really. 14) Well, from note one it's obvious it's Ornette, both the tune & the sax. But with clarinet? New one on me. No idea who the clarinettist is but he's good. Is there really an album of Ornnete + clarinet duets out there, or is this a one-off track? Anyway, lovely stuff, & the acoustic suggests it's fairly recent. 15) One of those I-am-stricken-to-the-heart piano things that I don't like much. Are there two bassists here, or more likely a fiddle or cello + bass. Basically, this is well done but leaves me cold. 16) "Pent Up House", Phil Woods obviously. It's OK but too short--aiming at jukeboxes or something? My favourite solo's actually the bass--whozzat? 17) This piece seems to be designed to suggest that Thelonious Monk got many of his signature riffs by listening to skipping record albums!

Yeah--interesting disc, though I find it hard to listen to because of the volume problems (without EQing, the quadruple overdubs mean that each track ends 4 times as loud as it begins!), but the long solo "blues" is amazing. OK, just spinning vol 2 now-- 1) more of a "contemporary" style than much on disc 1. One of those tracks where I like the feel/sound without any of the (brief) solos actually standing out for me. 2) "Star Eyes" in Bird's arrangement taken in Traneish directions. Hm, just listening to the playing of the head this alto player ain't doing it for me... & neither does the solo. I dunno, could be Kenny Garrett except I'd except this to be, uh, a lot better. Sounds like a Criss Cross or Steeplechase session of the 1980s. I guess I just don't find this flows very nicely--too many loose ends & in general a half-baked feel. 3) No idea what/who this is! But I liked it--"smooth" in the non-pejorative sense, with some interesting touches & good playing. A mood piece. 4) Ugh, this is so frigging cute I can't take it, even at two minutes. Someone like Wallington or Duke Jordan on a really short tether? Early Shearing?? I really don't know. Anyway, obviously an early chapter in the conversion of bebop to something more easily digestible/popular. 5) A cool-schooler experimenting in the studio, as mentioned above. John Butcher move over! 6) Probably Dutch guys, say Ab Baars & Misha Mengelberg (not Bennink on drums, I think). Note the Herbie Nichols + early Cecil Taylor touches in the piano for instance (+ the Monk quote). It's OK though a pretty so-so example of New Dutch Swing (the tenor seems kind of lame for instance). 7) Jeez, this needs to have a 20-minute blowout after the head.... what's the point of just stopping there? 8) Strange tune in that it reminds me of a Duke/Strays tune but ISN'T one.... I think it's "Melancholia" I have in mind. S'OK tune, not exceptional, with a really unusual vibrato on the tenor...... hm, the jump into free-jazz yelling at the end makes me wonder if this is someone like Avram Fefer. A "plays it straight" track from someone who may be more of an outside character. 9) My first thought was "Zorn doing an organ date"--actually he's on a Patton album (John not Mike, I mean), isn't he? Nope, the alto solo ain't JZ, it's too coherent/straightforward in a Jackie/Trane bag. Nice stuff, if somehow not really getting as exciting as I'd expected.... it just kind of ambles on from chorus to chorus, solo to solo, without really gaining a lot of steam. Still, I liked this one. 10) "Song X" by tenor + rhythm. A very "inside" rendition, but it's done very nicely! Would have traded the drum solo for more tenor, though. No idea who anyone is here. Is the tune rendered correctly, though (it's a tricky line)? Some of the notes seem off to me (just checking with the original recording). Doesn't really matter, anyway. 11) This one surprised me because it starts with one of those cute tricksy bouncy post-Bird blues lines which I generally hate, but the rest of the performance is excellent. Great rhythmic feel here with the phrasing during the solos really nicely picked up on/rounded off by all the other players, & after having heard a lot of contemporary albums where the drummers really get all over the place this one is refreshing for the dead-on economy of the drumming. No idea who this is, but they're ace. 12) OK, Monkish opening, then in turn I think of "When Sunny Gets Blue" & "Peace".... The rolling ensemble comes in as a surprise. South African jazz feeling, but I don't think it's Ibrahim.... a younger player? Mseleku or however you spell it? Rough-edged, & I'm not sure I could take too much of the alto player, but I liked this one, right down to the squalling ending. 13) Hm, futher South African feel here though the tenor has a Gonsalves feel! Neat drumming, the rest is fine though the endless vamp's not doing it for me--if they're going to keep it unchanged why don't they try pushing it into some real intensity? I can't date this one--perhaps the 1970s, as it's hard to think of too many recent tenors cultivating a sound like that. 14) Probably European. Lots of fun here in the tenor/trombone back & forth, though it's not doing a lot for me. I'm willing to bet this was placed as the last track of the album--has that cheerful-farewell mood &, yep, sure enough it fades out. 15) Hm, European stuff again? It does have some of that playful vibe to some of the ARFI records I've heard. Anyway, this is as fun as the last track but offers far more to chew on in the arrangement. I could have used more room for soloists & a less repetitious arrangement (when a theme comes back, couldn't it be varied or extended?), but when it finally gets to the solos, especially that nifty baritone section & the surprise bit of handclaps (sometiems it's a gimmick, but it works beautifully here), it's worth the wait. By the end I'm less sure it's European--that R&B feel is a little too authentically American.... Again that carefree-farewell mood which I guess is what recommended this track as a sign-off for the BFT. -- Anyway, a strong finish to this compilation.

Just got back from the Guelph fest--listened to both discs on the way there, just pulling them out again. Spotted Lovano on disc 1, & on this one there's a track I actually own, the little overdubbed bit of abstraction..... link here (track 7). Will get to the rest later on once I've got the Guelph writeup done--mostly enjoyed both discs quite a bit.

Love peanut butter (the au naturel kind, not the stuff with piles of shortening & sugar added--bleeeah) but I agree about the scent of microwave popcorn, with that phony butter topping. Ick. Right up there with the faintly vomity smell of cheap commercial chocolate (e.g. Hershey's Kisses).

Only have The Loved Music--a real scorcher of an album, though. Any word on the new solo Flaherty disc?

Incidentally re: Piper's "androgynous voice"--despite the male name, as far as I know Piper's a woman (& the voice is unmistakably a woman's). Yeah the album sounds better (or, to be more honest, "less offputting") the more you spin it. I like some tracks, like the final solo piece, quite a bit. Still, it does seem lightweight & bitty to me (compare, say, something like Simon Nabatov's A Few Incidences, which makes brilliant use of a recording of a Russian actor reading a children's poem in the last track).

Any of the Adam Lane releases is choice: the new trio with Golia & Anderson is a stunner, for instance. & the sound's fine too on those ones.

Aha, so that's what the cover looks like. I have one of those crap packagingless advance copies. -- The disc is a mix of quartet performances (Bandwagon + Sewell on guitar) & solo stuff & (most notably) a sextet performance called "RAIN" with Ralph Alessi & Abdou Mboup. Mixed feelings about the album -- it jumps around a lot from track to track & I wished Moran had made something that felt more satisfying as a whole -- but it's worth hearing.

p. 137 of Forces in Motion: L: Why was the first In the Tradition LP dedicated to Roche Pharmaceuticals? B: The makers of Valium. I lived on Valium for about five years, I was taking 100 milligrams a day. L: Why? B: Because...I was living in severe poverty, and...oh, every time I picked up a music journal, somebody was attacking me as if I'd done something personal to them. My life was very difficult, there was a lot of stress, and the Roche Pharmaceutical Company--because of their technology I would be able not to jump out of my skin.

Just been spinning the recent Kip Hanrahan 2-CD of Ishmael Reed material, Conjure/Bad Mouth. I barely know Reed's work--just some of the poetry. So thought I'd ask what people thought of it, books they'd recommend, &c.

Yes--PM sent.

Yep, the bonus tracks are worth getting--including some nifty standards.

Aha, that track listing suggest it's not quite the same deal as the Turn Out the Stars box--some tunes there that are definitely not on it.

I'm sure it's just one of those deals where Mosaic does the vinyl version....? I have the Turn out the Stars set. Supercharged (coked-up) late Evans, even the ballads tend to turn fast & loud; good stuff even if it's way too much for this listener (umpteen versions of each tune); recording quality is very good.

Lately been enjoying the bits of Ralph Alessi I've heard--don't have any albums of his as a leader but he pops up all over the place as a sideman. Kris Tiner from the younger crew--I've heard him mostly in a freebop context. Ron Miles sounds terrific on the new Fred Hess disc How 'Bout Now--took me a little by surprise as I'd not warmed to earlier records of his.

I think the Marion Brown duo is a one-off. It's a fascinating disc, though I can imagine that it would drive some people nuts (incredibly slow & dark, & Brown's intonation is pretty quirky).

Yep, I have that one too. Why so little Warleigh on record?

Iverson's last disc with Billy Hart, The Minor Passions, is pretty terrific. There's more to the guy than the Bad Plus!

Yeah Stanko's great but I wish he was still doing stuff with Stenson, Jormin, & Oxley--or that great band that did From the Green Hill (with a fantastic violinist I'd never heard of before, plus an unusually forceful Surman). Liked The Soul of Things but it's his most "inside" group by far.

Thanks Mike. Incidentally, did you hear that Jerry Granelli just fell off a cliff? (& survived).

I've never had much trouble with reviews running in Cadence out of order of submission; but I have had them take an incredibly long time to appear, as in 6 months on occasion. But I've been less productive lately & in fact the current issue (August) brings them almost up to date with what I've sent. -- This all seemed like a dream though compared to Coda, which until the recent change of editorship could (under both the Norris/Smith editorship & Stuart Broomer) take over a year to publish a review. I think my record was a year & a half for two Simon Fell discs. -- The current editor on the other hand has made a point of assembling the contents from scratch for each issue, with no holdovers. This means reviews take a max of 2 months to appear. Advertising certainly affects editorial content a lot. At one mag my pitch to cover the Toronto jazz fest was turned down because the TO fest hadn't purchased any adverts in the past two or three years.

The pre-echo only mattered a lot on the bass features on Side A, since it was very audible in the silences between each outcrop of activity.