montg

Richard Cook reviewed it this month in Jazz Review. Your review makes some of the same points he makes--maybe it's time to start your own Penguin guide Some quotes: "As Wynton projects go, this one is surprisingly low-key, without frills or lofty aspirations...he's having fun" The title track: "strange, 13 minute title track, which consists of a series of skimpily-linked episodes where Wynton actually sounds like Lester Bowie some of the time"

Aspects is a big band date from 1958. Pete Candoli, Shelly Manne, Joe Gordon and others...has kind of a west coast vibe I think. It's been a while since I listened to it. No Jimmy Rowles

Man, that sounds great! I'll definitiely be looking for it. Thanks!

apologies for going off topic for a moment, but the NJCO smokes on their last CD on Fresh Sounds--hope another is in works.

David Margolick's small book "Strange Fruit" covers the Cafe Society scene pretty well.

My advice would be to skip Payton and go directly to anything by Jeremy Pelt--try his album "Insight" on Criss Cross. I had a couple of Payton's Verve CDs, never really got into them, and sold them. Go for Pelt!

What I find perplexing is that sets like this are so readily available in the US. They're openly sold here--is thel aw being broken everytime they're bought and sold in the US?

Sorry, LV, just saw your message. I clicked on the Windows option I think.

It's sounding good--thanks for the heads up. Man, Ellington was a genuis...there can't be enough written and said about him. Cool version of Joe Turner singing 'Rocks in my Bed'

Although I haven't picked up this disc yet, I like what I've of heard of Ron Horton in Ben Allison's projects. BTW, a new Ben Allison with Medicine Wheel release is scheduled for May--I assume Horton will be on it too.

Thanks for the suggestions. lots to think about.

In this context I think Jeremy Pelt's comments on Dave douglas are worth repeating. This quote is taken from AAJ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave has got some interesting ideas, none of which I think are groundbreaking to say the least. Personally, I think to have so many bands is confusing both to the listener and to some degree Dave. I mean if you're into that omni-directional way of thinking, then it's cool, but I like to see development (think how cohesive Miles' and Trane's band got over the years) That's what marks progress to me. I remember there was a time that I got fed up of hearing and seeing his name all over the place, to a point where I finally picked up a CD of his (which is exactly what the media and all involved was banking on) it was the one where he formed his new quintet with Chris Potter, Uri Caine, Clarence Penn, and James Genus. They said "exciting new music !" Man... that sounded just like Filles di Kilamanjaro ! Everybody sounded like they were playing a role ! And I thought to myself, I know I can sound like Miles and I've got tunes that are in that vain, but never has my music really gotten that close to a sound-a-like (in terms each cat playing a role) I say that to say that there was some big money thrown behind him to blow him up! And now, they're attempting to make him into some sort of genius ! That's the media though, I've spoken to Dave a couple of times, and I dont think that he thinks that of himself, so thats cool. That's the thing that you have to watch out for is cats that believe their hype. As an artist you cant trust the media. All you can do is continue to challenge yourself and find something new. To answer your question: I like some of Dave's music, but I dont think that it's anything necessarily new. ------------------------------------------------------

Other than Eric Alexander, I don't have anything from any of the tenor sax players who have come up in the last 10 years or so. There's a bunch of names that I've come across (a few I've also heard as sidemen): Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Jesse Davis, Mark Shim, J. D. Allen, J. Redman, James Carter, Javon Jackson, Chris Potter, Marcus Strickland, Tim Warfield (I'm sure I'm overlooking some)... Where to start? Do any recordings/players stand out from the pack?

The Condon material tends to have a looser feel. Some tunes run for over 10 minutes in jam session fashion. And, with folks like Wild Bill Davison and Pee Wee it's a little less polished. Glorious stuff. As is the Capitol material.

Pee Wee's never been at the top of my list. I understand that the squeaks and the shakiness are part of his "thing". I appreciate what he's doing, it just doesn't move me much. Edmond Hall's collaborations with Vic Dickenson, on Blue Note and later on Vanguard, are at the pinnacle of jazz, for me.

I'm a big fan of both Condon sets. In addition to Peanuts and Pee Wee, don't forget Edmond Hall! For me, he's the best of the three. Always interesting, with a sharp attack coupled with a slightly rough-edged sound, seems to fit in perfectly with the Condon idiom. And then there's a lot of Matty Matlock, whose clarinet playing is very different from Edmond's--smoother, melodic, very pretty. Nice contrast. In addition to the all star clarinetists, there are so many others who stand out--two of my favorites, Bobby Hackett & Tea, are both here as well. In fact, for me, Bobby Hackett's quartet sessions, and his session with Lee Wiley, are the highest points of this box. And then there's Abe Lincoln who, with the mute, sounds like he's speaking Chinese on the trombone on Chinatown, my Chinatown... I could go on and on. If you have any interest in this music at all, I'd save the pennies and grab it. I believe very little has been on CD prior to this box (the Lee Wiley sessions are about it, I believe). And Sony, like Verve and the other "majors" have really shown very little interest in the Chicago/Condon type of jazz so once the Mosaic goes, it could be a long wait.

My sentiments too.

I'm curious how far away most people sit from their speakers when listening (talking about stereo system here as opposed to computer speakers etc.) My back wall is about 12 ft. I have the speakers placed about 4 ft. apart and 3 ft. in front of the wall. As a general rule, the distance between listener and speakers should be similar to the distance betwen the speakers. Right now I sit about 10 ft. away from the speakers. If I negotiate with the wife and move furniture around I could get move to about 5 or 6 ft. from the speakers. That seems kind of close to me---is that the norm?

Thanks for the virtual tour! This thread has inspired me to give a spin to the JSP Hot 5s/7s. I enjoyed Gary Giddins' book "Satchmo" a lot.

Philly, Thanks for the information. I e-mailed them--hopefully they'll honor the coupon.

My 10% off coupon didn't work either. But a Jazz at Preservation Hall Sampler is included, so with 25% off and free shipping, not a bad deal. I picked up Vic Dickenson (Mainstream) and Ralph Peterson (Art of War). Both are 'Low Stock' which, I've found in the past, could mean anything from 'we don't have it and won't be getting it' to ;it's in the mail next day.

One other thing, 2004 is Basie's centennial. I hope Verve has something more in the works than simply this. They own all of the Deccas and, of course, the Verves. Since Columbia has apparently given us all we're going to get, it's up to Verve to do right by Basie.

I was going to say the same thing. For me, this is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in jazz...no hyperbole, I mean it.

Actually, those parts of "Side by SIde" without Ellington at the piano are included. Apparently, Verve wouldn't lease the rights to anything with Ellington for the Hodges set. Typical Verve.

The only formula, really, is that this set is centered firmly, deeply, in the blues. JH sounds so at home and happy in this format, anyway, so my guess is that some similarities that recur across the sessions are more out of love for the blues than anything else. For my $, it's a winner.