JSngry

Ok, on to Disc 2 TRACK ONE - Not really relevant to my lifestyle but....yeah. that's interesting. Can't tell if it's from an old recording session or if it's a new one made to sound old. But I'm laughing my ass of either way, and that's always a good thing. And it really is a nifty chart played quite well. All told, I'm leaning towards it being an old recording, and whover came across outtakes like these gets my thanks. And no matter how old it is, that tuba player's kicking ass! TRACK TWO - Again, not really relevant to my lifestyle, but hey, there's some serious playing going on. Always happy to hear that. I'd really like to see a hula dancer get it on with this one! TRACK THREE - "Sweet Sue", in that HCOF basic bag. Very nice, and I'll not even attempt to guess who it is. Django would be too obvious. Everybody and everything sounds totally of its time, and I mean that as a compliment. TRACK FOUR - "Running Wild". More fine playing, but too much of this good thing is, for me, too much. And this coming after the two previous cuts, is too much. Sorry. TRACK FIVE - "Day Dream", a beautiful tune. Sounds like JJ or somebody out of his bag, maybe Curtis. Definitely one of the top-tier players in that bag. Guitar, I'm not sure about. Possibly Burrell, judging by the accompaniment, but I'm not sure. Lovely cut, and perhaps a more recnet recording than I had first thought. TRACK SIX - Again, no idea. Nice tune, and nice playing, but the end result is a little too "comfortable" for my taste. "Relaxed", "mellow", etc, are all fine with me, but "comfortable" is just one step beyond that. Sometimes I'm ok with it, sometimes not. Right now I'm not. But hell, it's a beautiful tune marvellously played, so it's 100% my problem, not theirs. And the altoist sounds really familiar... TRACK SEVEN - "Walking Shoes". At first, I was sure I was going to hate this. The tune itself is one of my favorite Mulligan things, and it skirts the line between "cute" & "clever" as closely (and successfully) as anything can in my book. So I hear a vocalist, and I'm thinking, "UH-oh!" But it actually turned out quite nicely. The bari player seems to have a little bit (or more) of mocking in his playing that I appreciate. And the vocal playing Chet's part works. Like I said, probably one singlemost favorite Mulligan piece, and they made it work in a way that was simultaneoulsy affectionate and mocking. Works for me. TRACK EIGHT - Interesting tune. Pianist's time sounds rushed in the solo, and there's no breath in the lines. Trumpet is more poised, but sounds like he/she's not really deep into the tune yet. Same for the alto, although there's a bit more probing going on. Sounds like the whole affair could have used more seasoning, but realistically, that's not always possible. Oh well. TRACK NINE - See #4 TRACK TEN - See #4 again, except that the lyrics on this one really bug me. This whole retro-romantic glamor thing bugs the piss out of me. It's supposed to be "classy" or "charming" or something like that, but as far as I'm concerned it's pure bullshit. Frankly, it makes me want to puke and/or take a .45 to the perps' groins before they can reproduce. Nothing personal, sorry. TRACK ELEVEN - Pleasant, maybe "comfortable", but coming on the heels of #10, it's impossible to offer an objective evalation. Pianist's touch seems a little "stiff", which is merely an obervation, nothing more. Might well be a matter of indigenous phraseology. TRACK TWELVE - Dude, you're mellowing me to death! I guess it's ok, but again, after that thing on #10, I'm really needing a slap in the face to get over it, and so far it hasn't come. But this is certainly not bad on its own terms. Kinda 70s ECM-ish, altough I don't think it is that. TRACK THIRTEEN - Zoot/Al? Definitely Zoot, probably not Al, although there was just one moan that says yes it is. Don't know this particlar cut, but yeah. This is "corny but cool" if you know what I mean. Really, you could put Gene Krupa from "Sing Sing Sing" underneath it, put everybody in zoot suits, and it would be a hit on the Neo-Swing circuit. But this is not at all contrived. These are just two guys being who they are. So good for them, and thanks for including it. I enjoyed it. TRACK FOURTEEN - Very dry humor here. Or so I hope. Not as much here that I enjoyed as much as the material on Disc 1, but enough to leave me feeling that it was neverhteless time well spent. Thanks!

Sorry to be so late to the party. Things have been busy here. The usual thanks and disclaimers apply. TRACK ONE - Interesting. At first I didn't think I was going to like it, as it had an air of "cuteness" to it that never really left. I really don't like cuteness. But as the solos went on, it got better for me and cute turned into fun, which I do like. The tenorist seems to be caught between Warnedom & someplace else, but the altoist speaks confidently all the way through. Pianist's comping is ok to listen to, but I'd hate to have him playing behind me. Too much "direction", but maybe it's his group, in which case he's entitled. One thing I really like is the recording quality, very live and natural sounding, with a sense of getting the sound from all angles of the room instead of just the ones in front. A live recording should have that quality, but not all of 'em do. TRACK TWO - What the drummer is playing at the beginning is the type of thing that's now being done in the more "advanced" forms of dance music of today, as is, to a lesser extent, the main melody of the piece. So that caught my ear right away. The piece as a whole, though, seems to be a third or fourth generation "Now He Sings..." type thing, and as such, hey, it's been done, and done quite well. But everybody plays well and sounds sincere. I just can't get excited about it, but that's my problem. TRACK THREE - Geez, I think I have this one. Sure sounds familiar. Either a latter-day Blakey thing or one of the various knockoffs/spinoffs. Of course, the changes are those of "Lazy Bird", some really fine changes to hear, and some really tough ones to blow on. It's good, but again, it's all been done, and with more immediacy. But as a display of honest craftsmanship, this is as good as anything. I kinda like the pianist, he seems to be telling a story more than do the horn players. TRACK FOUR - "Time after Time", one of my favorite standards. Sounds like it might be Chet, but I'll not commit to that. Guitarist is playing! Nice, but a little short to make too much of a really impactful statement. Pleasant enough, though, and the type of thing you like to hear on the radis. TRACK FIVE - What a nice tune! Sounds like a Los Angeles altoist, based on tone & articulation, but I can't make any guesses. Frank Strozier also comes to mind, but the tone's a little too broad for him. Nice, even if they get deeper into the mechanics of the tune than the emotions of it. That's understandable enough when a tune is this nice. TRACK SIX - These players sound really familiar. Leo Wright on alto? Drummer's really copped his Blakey. Don't at all like how the altoist is pulled back in the mix relative to the rhythm section. Sounds like it might be the same pianist as on the previous cut, that florid, two-handed approach. Again, pleasant. TRACK SEVEN - No clue, but I like the idea of it! TRACK EIGHT - Vintage, I'm sure, not a revisitation. Sounds like a Horace trio cut. Definitely somebody influenced by Horace, and in the same time period. There's nuances in this that guys who come along years later just can't do, because one is an original expression and the other's "playing a style". My preference is for the former, and this cut works for me just fine. TRACK NINE - "Rhythm-a-ning". Too much cuteness (and "smart" cuteness at that) in there for me. Sorry. TRACK TEN - "Cheryl", one of my favorite Bird blues heads. Hell, the head itself is enough to digest at a single sitting! Pianist is deep into the bebop vernacular. Altoist again suggest Leo Wright, at least in tone. Fine playing by all concerned. TRACK ELEVEN - Ok, this one I know. Don Ellis at the Filmore. Don't remember the tile of the composition, though. I think there might be more to get out of Ellis' music than he himself always got out it. I'd like to hear what he would do in the environment of today's underground dance music, because in this cut (and many others), I hear ideas about the function & distribution of rhythm that are being used today in that scen. Of course, that shit's all in 4/4... But this one flows naturally, and yeah, I think you could, maybe even should, dance to it. That was the thing about Ellis' best bands, they had played the shit long enough to where the "odd meters" came naturally to them, and they could get past the level of just making sure they played the charts right. Much love for that from me, and these days I really like the notion of rhythm being something to viscerally feel, something you gotta confront and not just sit down, lay back, and take for granted. TRACK TWELVE - It's not a "thing"! Sounds like that Thad/Mel quartet thing recorded at an airport lounge in Florida. Yeah, Thad was a motherfucker as a player. That's still not as widely recognized as it shoud be, imo. And Mel, what a driver he was! But wait, you don't say thank you in German in Florida, at least not as a rule... So hell, I don't know. Maybe it's not Thad. The more I liste, it's probably not. Oh well. But it's a keeper whoever it is, my favorite of this disc. And Thad was a motherfucker as a player. TRACK THIRTEEN - Ok, that's Lee doing "Cherokee" w/Haden & Mehldau on BN. Those two sides were both gems, especially the ballads. Lee don't play licks (well, he does, but you know what I mean - his playing is not based on them), Lee plays music. Sometimes it works better than others, but them's the risks you take to be real. Like I said, I like the ballads from these albums the best, but this is still love-Lee! TRACK FOURTEEN - Oh my! If they want to be happy, I can only wonder what condition they're in now... Much thanks to Durium for a collection that provided little of familiarity and much of quailty!

It's always complicated.

Elvin bashed Baker in a DB BFT, Baker took offense in public & called Elvin out, which resulted in a drum battle in, I think, London. Everybody kissed & made up after the concert and lived happily ever after.

fwiw, ConAgra is accepting lids for refunds, as are local grocers.

Woody should have called him "Ernie Kovacs"...

Go for it with all you got, and then some.

Anybody remember Ginger Baker & Elvin getting into it?

I love the album myself, but I love the Evans/Konitz duets even more. Gil on piano is always good.

Let's take it to the streets y'all...

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070216/D8NAIFKO0.html We had an unopened jar waiting to be opened. Yikes!

Hell, hearing "I Feel Love" in its day is more than good enough a memory for me. That one really made an impression.

Is there anything on the CD that wasn't on the Trip LP from back when?

fwiw, I know more than a few "jazz musicians" who fit Copeland's description of neurotic, vain, anti-social, sexually insecure creatures whose music serves as a vehicle to express their sociopathy. Then again, I know more than a few who aren't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PTi-9oqwSo

Sage? Isn't that what they use to season turkeys?

Skagly is definitely worth that price. It's funky but in more of a jammish way.

Gotta admit, I've been slow/behind/hopelesslyinlove/allthatgoodstuff lately, so I've not yet checked out the show. What did I do?

Actually, they don't, if I understand things correctly. Those are counted as "promotional" items and don't count as "regular" sales.

Chu Berry was a bad motherfucker. I'll be getting this one as soon as $$$ allow. No self-respecting tenor geek should let this one go.

Very nice read. Recommended.

Baby Face has a son living in Milwaukee? Wow...