montg

Some random thoughts after reading the introductory chapter and skipping ahead to some later chapters. First, it's hard to believe that writing this perceptive and thoughtful ever graced the pages of downbeat. The magazine is apparently a shadow of its former self...to quote a quote from the first chapter: "The question it frames in all but words/Is what to make of a diminished thing." Fortunately, message boards like this, characterized by intelligence, spontaniety, and community (like jazz itself), have filled the void. Expression in jazz is autobiographical, but not self-centered (or exhibitionist)... I like this distinction in the first chapter--"self-enactment should not be confused with self-exposure". I really don't want to hear jazz where the only goal seems to be for the 'artist' to provoke me to admire his technical skill. OTH, the avant garde strikes me as exhibitionistic in this sense. It occurs to me while reading this introductory chapter that avant garde is parasitic upon the mainstream because to violate linguistic rules (as the avant garde does, as a rule) presupposes the presence of a set of rules (the mainstream).... violate grammatical rules and what you get is an exhibition--"Bill bed sara's angrily in slept" where the end is simply 'look at me, i'm saying something new by going beyond any sense of linguistic order'. Honor the rules, "Bill slept angrily in Sara's bed" and you have the beginning of a story-a story or a drama. I think a lot of contemporary players are capable of telling compelling stories using the language, linguistic rules, developed in the first 50 years of jazz.

I think the sound is pretty good too. Eldridge's session with Hamp wasn't recorded at the Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood (instead it's at an unamed studio in New York) and that presumably accoutns for the decline in fidelity. But it's not a major drop off, imo. I'm very pleased with the music on this. The histrionics are largely subordinate to the musicality--and it's good to hear these swing veterans in a setting where there's a lot of fire and drive.

Maybe a better point of entry would be some stuff recorded by pre-swing greats in the50s/60s...you get the best of both worlds: hi fi and great music by some folks around at the dawning of jazz. ANything from Kid Ory recored for Good Time Jazz or the New Orleans Living Legends series for Riverside (produced, incidentally by Chris Albertson) would be good places to start.

Welcome aboard, PMF. The 'Dinah Jams' CD which has Ferguson and CLifford Brown side by side is pretty instructive, imo. Of course, not many trumpeters are going to cut Clifford Brown.

There's also a ton of great soul jazz in this catalog--it's hard to know how much of that will remain in print once Concord settles in. Brother Jack McDuff's 'Live" cd is one of my favorites in that genre. Brother Jack meets the boss (w/Gene Ammons) is pretty fun too. and then there's all the Pablo stuff pablo recs

LK's book received a very nice review in the Jazz Record Mart's catalog: "The Neo-Con Game is particularly interesting and a breath of fresh air..." "interesting and provocative"... "This book is VERY highly recommended" I expect to find this book under the Christmas tree--looking forward to it.

When placing an order fairly recently, I asked Scott about an upcoming set that hadn't yet been announced. He told me about it and asked me how I knew it was forthcoming...I mentioned this board and he replied with a knowing 'ahhh yesss...' So, although I don't know how frequently they lurk here, my impression is that they are familiar, at least, with the board. So, MC or SW, if you're listening..'thank you thank you thank you thank you for the Columbia Small group set!!!

I'm going to divide this into new releases and reissues...new releases are more 'hit and miss' and I'm curious to hear what some of the new 'hits' are from others as well. New releases: Bobby Watson --Horizon Reassembled (Palmetto) Ben Allison --Buzz (Palmetto) Buster Williams --Girot Liberte (HighNote) A good year for bassists. Reissues: I've been into mid 60s jazz more than ever--long live Bobby Hutcherson!: Mode for Joe--Joe Henderson Schizophrenia -- Wayne Shorter Stick-Up --Bobby Hutcherson And, in the centennial of Basie, I was fortunate eenough to pick up half of the oop Mosaic Live set (thanks to a board member) Basie (Mosaic) Discs 1-4: "Live Roulette sessions" Sorry, Rooster, I bent the rules just a bit.

My entry point into the Collective was Nuclear Tiger. I just took a chance based on a couple of reviews and was pleasantly surprised. Some Mingus and Ellington elements, but thoroughly contemporary and fresh. I dug Michael Blake's playing on the Tiger album, so from there it was on to 'Elevation' and 'Kingdom of Champa'--both are excellent. I think Blake's a wonderful writer--his compositions on Allison's albums always stand out to me. I don't know why Palmetto or some other label hasn't signed him. If I owned a label he'd be the second person I'd sign (after Billy Harper). Anyway, after the Tiger album I also picked up Allison's next two releases (Peace Pipe and Buzz)--both are top notch. In the old days, I imagine, some of these compositions from JCC would already have the qualities of 'standards' in that other jazz musicians would be playing and recording them. It seems, unfortunately, that everyone wants to be a composer and there seems to be a reluctance sometimes to record something by a contemporary. imo btw, Ghost I recently listened to your Moncur program, which was excellent. Looking forwrd to going back into the archives again, this time for the Nichols project. Thanks!

I only have it in two speaker sound too and I agree it sounds excellent in that format. I like SH a lot better on this recording than on his own CD also released this year ('Evolution'--the Blackout band). I wanted to like that CD, I really did, and the first two cuts were pretty good, but the cheesy synthesizer noises got old quickly for me.

Thanks for the feedback..I'll probably get them all at some point, but the Amy sounds really good. I had forgotten that a lot of the sessions feature vibes (Hutcherson and Ayers) which is a big plus for me. And I like the organ/tenor combo..so it looks like Curtis Amy's going to be under the old Christmas tree this year.

Gave this one a quick spin today and a big Some nice compositions, interesting chords underneath from George Colligan (the ubiquitous Colligan--he seems to be a sideman on a lot of new releases). Stefon Harris and Lenny White round out the quartet. This has a real poetic feel---the imagery of some of the titles gives an idea of it's about. Steller sound from RVG. ANother winner from Joe Fields' HighNote label. Griot Liberte (Hybr) [HYBRID SACD] 1. Nomads 2. Related to One 3. Triumphant Dance of the Butterfly 4. Wind of an Immortal Soul 5. Every Time We Say Goodbye 6. Joined at the Hip 7. Concierto de Aranjuez 8. After the Ninth Wave

A second chance! This is one of the Elites that I regret not picking up when I had the opportunity.

The Ed Thigpen date is available from a seller at Amazon for a mere $2,019.16 Priced to sell! amazon

Thanks for pointing this out. I much prefer this system to the BMG one--in fact, I canceled my BMG account and opened one with yourmusic. Put Monk and Montgomery K2s in the queue and started out with Red Clay (I know Red Clay's not such a steal as it can be picked up for 8 bucks at other places, but it's a CD I've been wanting to nab for some time). Anyway, thanks.

For me, it's 'OK, I'll order a couple of Dr. Seuss books on amazon for the kiddos--oh, look, I'm about 9 bucks short of the 25.00 free shipping deal..guess I better add an RVG to the order'.

Palmetto records has some good downloads: palmetto-records.com Telarc has some jazz offerings also

Has anyone heard this latest from Matt Wilson (on Palmetto)? I heard a cut on KCSM a few weeks ago that sounded good--one of those things where you catch a tune in the middle and keep hoping the announcer will ID it when it's over. And I noticed this CD is at the top of the Jaz radio charts (for whatever that's worth, probably not a lot these days). And Matt Wilson gets a lot of love in the most recent Penguin. I don't have anything from Matt Wilson-- I'll probably go ahead and pick this up...does anybody have any thoughts about this CD? Or any other stuff from him?

It's time to get my Christmas list in order--I'm thinking the Granz jam session for the box set (a break for tradition with me as I usually go for a Mosaic box). I'll supplement the Granz set with a Select--in choosing among these three Selects I'm wondering if one stands out from the other two....The Amy, Chambers, or Reece? Any recommendations?

P.S. If you've been ready the board for a few months, you'll know that that's just Chuck's way of saying 'welcome aboard'.

I looked at your list of trumpeters...given who you're listening to, you might really enjoy Roy Eldridge. He's truly one of the greats--as a trumpeter you'll appreciate his incredible range and control. He's one of the most purely exciting trumpters in jazz history. 'Sketches' doesn't do much for me either. I've always felt it was overly pretentious. Nothing pretentious about Eldridge, on the other hand.

I love the music I've purchased so far in this series..Hawk on the Thompson reissue, Edmond Hall and Vic Dickenson on the Dickenson compilation.. on and on. Buck Clayton sounds great! Although this CD is not part of the recent series, it's most of the Clayton cuts for Vanguard: 1. S'Wonderful 2. Claytonia 3. Kandee 4. Squeeze Me 5. I Can't Get Started 6. Buck Huckles 7. Cool Too 8. Love Is Just Around The Corner 9. Blues Blase 10. It's Been So Long 11. Ballin' The Jack 12. Good Morning Blues 13. Just A Groove 14. The Queen's

I picked up an oop Conn (Mobley's 'Slice of the top') used at Vintage Vinyl last summer--so those types of deals are certainly possible there though, as noted, the jazz selection overall is small. And it's on Delmar which is a fun place to be. But if you're looking strictly for the place with the most jazz, then Euclid records is the place to go. If I had to prioritize, I'd say Euclid first. I know I'm just restating what others have said, but I LOVE visiting St. Louis, so I want to feel like I'm a part of this thread, even though I've got nothing new to contribute.

I picked this up a few weeks ago and I'm totally amazed at how wonderful this set is. Art Farmer cooks throughout--based on my limited knowledge, I always assumed he was pretty mellow (maybe it was the flugelhorn and its connotations)...anyway, he's a true hard bopper--a lot of heat. Golson's arrangements And...top notch sound from Malcolm Addey (Addey's remastering of 'Here and Now', for instance, easily bests the Verve Elite edition from a few years ago). I'm only through the first three discs, so plenty more to look forward to.

I believe they're high end remasterings of some of the fantasy catalog. Here's a list of some. I don't have any myself, but their reputation is impeccable. vicj