Nate Dorward

Ep1.: here's one take on the first two Parker EAP discs, by Walter Horn: http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine...eb_text.html#13 & Richard Hutchinson on the 3rd disc: http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine...sep_text.html#9 I have only heard the 1st disc, Toward the Margins; I liked it, though somehow it doesn't come out for spins very often. Seemed rather tame compared to the very loud & dense performance at Victo I caught (Jon was there too I believe) with Sainkho Namchylak guesting.

Yeah, the engineering on the more recent albums has a little more oomph than the first few CIMPs -- e.g. the Adam Lane discs are pretty powerful-sounding. I was terribly disappointed by vol 1 of the Rudd/Nichols, got rid of it a while ago & that's that. The dull solo stuff at the end of the disc was the clincher.

1: Big brass sting... and that's surely Art Pepper on the alto. Not the kind of big band arrangement I like really. Maybe this is one of those Contemporary dates with Ben Webster visiting on the west coast? Solos are fine, but far too little of them & too much of the hard brass hits. 2: Sounds like Stuff Smith on violin but what's he doing in this context?? Curiosity value if nothing else. 3: "Stormy Weather". It's one of those weird instruments Roland Kirk played, but sounds too straight for Kirk -- George Braith? I don't know Braith's music at all. No idea who the tenor is. Hm, there is a weird moment at 3 minutes with something of Kirk's multiple-horn stuff but it's very brief & I'm still pretty sure this isn't Kirk. Truthfully even though this is only 4 & 1/2 minutes long I found it overstayed its welcome by quite a bit. 4: "Exactly Like You" by a piano trio, & the pianist sounds terribly familiar but can't place it.... It's OK, not getting me too excited though. 5: I was all primed from the first notes to say this was Jackie McLean but, no, it isn't. I was a little disappointed that after the discombobulating opener this turned into a straight uptempo bop number, but that's fine too. Nice trumpet! Hm, maybe a Max Roach side? 6: Ouch, that's loud.... OK, now it's adjusted. Effectively blunt version of this tune, no idea who it is. 7: I kept expecting a band to kick in. I know that I'll earn the opprobrium of the vibes fans here, but I found this a bit like listening to a music box..... 8: I forget the name of the tune but it's an AEOC tune, & yeah it sounds like Bowie on the trumpet (my favourite solo of the bunch). 9: This one's fun stuff, which make me bump the volume back up after #6. Jaws? It's one of those players on Very Saxy, so either him or Arnett Cobb (not Tate, not Hawkins).... Keeps the frenzy going for quite some time....! Yeah! 10: Nice vibe; not sure I have anything much to say, & no idea who it is, but it's a nice 15 minutes. 11: Ugh, what IS this? Is this one of those weird things from the soundtrack of Bird? Sounds like a Charlie Parker solo with modern rhythm section & a horribly loud dubbed-in crowd. Something smells fishy here, anyway. It does have that play-along-with-the-record feel as the saxophonist takes chorus after chorus... 12: Hm, Billy Harper? Phew, that's some trombone solo--Knepper? 13: RRK.

Plenty of singers who do!

Try Left Alone '86 where on one tune (I think it was "Cat Walk") they play in unison at the return of the head--or rather, a quarter-tone apart!

Monk.

Terrible news. I can think of few saxophonists whose music's meant as much to me over the years.

Thanks for the news of the Foghorn release; I have Bruised, which is the same band without Bailey, & it was a favourite form last year. I guess Bailey must be playing fingerstyle on the new one, as I gather he was forced to do in his final months? -- Worth tracking down the lo-fi CDR In Tracey's Room, a duo with Bailey & Bevan, by the way, which I think Tony's still got copies of.

It's Ken Waxman's site, reprinting reviews he's done for various sites & mags, plus running jazz-related headlines from other web sources. Email's at the bottom of this page: http://www.onefinalnote.com/staff/

The Taylor/Lyons duo (actually there's a little percussion too I recall) that takes up the end of the 2nd track on Winged Serpents... is, IIRC, one of the most moving things either musician recorded. One of CT's best discs. The BBC posthumous feature on Bailey included that entirety of "Miles' Mode"--interesting to hear, though I'm glad I didn't fork out for the CD. There is an unreleased tape of Joseph Holbrooke accompanying Lee Konitz from the same period; I'm told that it's not "really" a JH performance in that they simply play conventional jazz accompaniment behind Lee. I've heard conflicting stories about who now possesses the tape (Bryars maybe?), & I don't think there are any plans to release it for now.

I really love that Joseph Holbrooke reunion album on Incus, so I suspect the Cortical Foundation sessions will be really fine. I have the Minasi; listened to the first few tracks, didn't get much out of them & flipped it off when his wife started singing, but, given the very tasty lineup, I should give it another try I suppose. I keep wanting to like Minasi, because he's got a really interesting personal story (the weird sojourn at Blue Note in the 1970s &c), but so far just haven't connected with the music.

There was certainly some splicing on classic Blue Notes--the obvious instance being Blue Trane (the edits being unpicked on the most recent reissue).

Yes, I thought it was definitely two people--or, actually, it sounded like it was probably overdubbed (I didn't hear two distinct styles/touches). Definitely the strangest track on the whole disc (stranger than the vocals!).

Hm, thinking about the Waldron track, probably it's off the RCA Victor album Soul Eyes, which I've never seen/heard (you'd think with that lineup & label it'd be easy to find.....). Joe Henderson, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille. The saxophonist had sounded to me like he had a Henderson influence but not really like Joe himself, though, so I'm still not quite positive... but I guess it was late in the day for Joe.

Nice BFT brownie. My hit/miss ratio is getting worse with every test but, well, here goes... 1: A lovely opening with the trumpet & the tympani rolling around there. Film music for opening credits, maybe? Seems about the right length. 2: No prizes for guessing the pianist on this one. "The Git-Go". No idea, really, about the rest of the band, though the bassist sounds like a classic Waldron bassist (i.e. really dark, very free in approach). I'm just consulting my version on My Colline's a Tresure & quite possibly it's the same bassist (Leonard Jones). -- MW's solo here is, for him, quite brief & almost jaunty, when this is the kind of bare, trancelike tune he could spin out for the length of an LP side, so I'm wondering if this is from an album led or co-led by the saxophonist despite the authorship of the tune. No ideas about who the saxophonist is, though, even after a couple listens. 3: Almost too nice ... Don't recognize the tune or the players. Very good though not, for me, especially memorable. The emphasis here seems to be on the tune rather than improv -- maybe from a songbook album or something? 4: This one was odd to me because the tart alto saxophonist & the opening bars of the arrangement reminded me of Sun Ra but clearly this is something more mainstream & more contemporary than Mr Ra. The pianist maybe not my cup of tea -- that Kind of Blue quote drops in JUST when I knew it would -- but he's fine; the alto saxophonist though is the wild card & the one I find myself listening to. Whozzat? No idea, though like Dolphy or Spaulding he seems determined to cut through even the thickest ensemble thickets with some off-the-wall ideas (& a few too many wiggly runs maybe but, OK, that's fine). No idea who anyone is here. The recording sounds like it was very recent. 5: OK old-school stuff, nice to hear after the more contemporary sound of the last few tracks. Hm, that's an interesting tenor player, I can't tell where any of the lines are going to go, or how long. The trumpet's on more familiar territory/licks, grabs me much less. 1950s I guess, no idea who this is, perhaps west coast attempt at hard bop idioms? 6: "My Romance": odd studio sound & separation between the horns that kind of buries the tenor at times, though I think of the two sax players I like the tenor better. I don't know, it's a good track but not getting me too excited. Surely old-time guys, though recorded recently. 7: That guitar marks a change of pace! Hm, some US expats with a European band? Webster on tenor? The sound/mood of this track appeals a lot to me. 8: The tenor sounds extremely familiar but I can't nail it at the moment. Maybe it'll click later. I liked this one -- wish I recognized the tune. 9: Well either the alto saxophonist is Jackie McLean or trying very hard to sound like him (I think the latter). As the rest, well, I dunno! 10: HyperCorean/Monkish piano with the tenor taking the opposite tack, quite pared down. Hm, maybe two pianists or overdubs are involved halfway through? The introduction of the trombones near the end was a complete surprise. I really don't know what to make of the track -- not sure why these particular elements are combined here. 11: OK, back in time a bit, probably mid-1950s "experimental" stuff, reminds me of Bill Evans' early work with George Russell though it's not them. I should recognize all these players I'm sure, they all sound very familiar, the trombonist the most striking, the tenor the one edging closest to the tip of the tongue. 12: Very good reading of this not particularly frequently covered standard. Nope, no idea who it is singing or the band. Somehow the way he handles the end of the B section both times reminds me of Helen Merrill though it's of course not Merrill. 13: This one's a little odd because of the mix of "light" tenor and "Sidewinder"ish tune which keeps going on for several choruses past when I expected a solo, with odd little harmonic detours & reharmonizations, before you get to the tenor solo. No idea who this is, not really grabbing me but it's OK, with the arrangement keeping me guessing. 14: OK, moving back in time (1950s surely). Nifty tune, & the feel on this is really nice (smile on my face when the olde-style organ comes in). I dunno, could be Mobley on (first) tenor (the slow solo, not the lightningfast one), but I don't think I really know anyone here. 15: 1940s or 1950s, evidently not a professional recording. Lacklustre not-going-anywhere trumpet solo, the lithe alto sax solo is more my speed, & I take it the real reason for the inclusion of this track. Oops, unless there's something wrong with my CDR there's what sounds like an ugly edit which cuts out the piano & bass solos, drat. 16: opening reminiscent of Mingus's "Reincarnation of a Lovebird" but then it cuts out. Uhoh here's our French sprechstimmer again... Is this really a live disc, or is the crowd noise overdubbed? Sounds a little canned to me. Hm, another good Birdlike alto sax player but surely not the same one as before? Anyway, nice way to end the BFT.

Just got mine. Don't recognize the opening but of course the pianist on (& composer of) track #2 is familiar (though I don't know this version). Thanks for the BFT.

I should add a mention of Rhodri Davies--not jazz, mostly very far-out-there improv, though he's also a fine "straight" harp player too. The solo disc Trem is remarkable stuff, most of it not sounding like harp at all.

Carol Emanuel's work with John Zorn was always really cool -- snippets on the first Filmworks, Cobra (with Zeena Parkins--yes, two harpists on the same album) & especially Spillane (she is also responsible for the woman's scream at the start). She also had a solo album on Koch though I haven't heard it. No idea what she's up to nowadays. I remember Dorothy Ashby's Savoy recordings as being pretty good. You can hear one of the harpists on Cobra quote from one of Ashby's tunes at one point.

I have the Blake, not the Gayle. It's a pretty "typical" Blake disc--no big surprises in terms of mood or repertoire--which is also to say: it's excellent. Good recording too, which hasn't always been the case with Blake discs. There are (very positive) reviews of both discs by Dan Warburton in the new Paris Transatlantic (www.paristransatlantic.com).

Just tossed you my address--hope that arrived!

I don't know the disc in question but basically anything by George Wallington is worth hearing. He was a fine composer & sparkling bebop pianist.

Hey brownie--I sent a message, but I see I'm not on the list so far--did it go astray?

I have this one, & it doesn't have Chapin on it. It does have Sonny Sharrock & John Stubblefield, though, & is well worth a listen.

Yes... except I dunno about "It's Magic". But "Tenderly" is one of the greatest things Dolphy ever recorded.

"dumb down"? You mean you hate that stuff, of course, but I don't see why the blanket smear is needed against the honesty & intelligence of those trying to experiment a bit.