JSngry

Just got into Optimista, and if there's been a more purely delirious album of Brazillian/Latin/Jazz-Pop made in the last 20 or so years, I've yet to hear it. Monday Michiru is rocking my world.

As if eating the soul wasn't already enough...

Gorgeous George Blue Serge El DeBarge

Like him a lot. Flayva.

Fred Flintsone Barney Rubble George Slate

I guess the lesson is that there's a difference between style and substance, and that the latter can turn up damn near anywhere if you're not blinded by considerations of the former.

Nah, you're just a lot younger than I am. You kids go for that kinda thing.

No doubt. Damn straight. Especially from 1940... Not so sure that that's not Prez' working band of the time, or at least parts of it.

I'm thinkng that that "still-anonymous Philadelphia musician" might be Jimmy Oliver? Hey - you want to talk about "extended techniques" on the saxophone, specifically the use of alternate (aka "false") fingerings to either color the tone or make a harmonic, you go back to Lester Young and then, to the best of my knowledge, stop. Lester was the source of the honkers as well as the "Brothers".

Don't have it, but I've heard it more than a few times and I like it just fine.

Waymon Reed Fred Wesley Wayne Henderson

Sal Nistico was a player.

Sandler & Young Jones-Smith, Inc. The Groove Merchant

All we can do is let people know. This place is as good as any.

Love at first sight here too. Literally. I was playing with a "show band" in Albuquerque, December 1980. Already had a girl in that port, but when LTB came up to me out of the blue at the end of the night and invited me back to her place, there was a look in her eyes that told me right then and there (and I do mean instantly) "no more calls please, we have a winner", that this was it. It was, and it still is.

I do. If you already have some solo Hill I don't suggest this is a priority. Put it this way - you'll know if you need to have this. That said, I see it goes for reasonable prices. I'd caution against a sealed copy, as the rice paper inner sleeve which these AH LPs came in has a tendency to stick to the LP if stored under pressure. But if you're into "collecting" (and we all are to some extent or the other), don't get a used copy unless it's got the booklet with it. Nothing really "essential", but it does have two lead sheets and a nice interview.

Somewhere in the world today, there's a copy of this album that somebody bought from the Longview, Tx Treasure City cutout bins ca. 1972. Sorry to say, but it wasn't me. It was going to be, but somebody beat me to it. I've yet to hear it, but I think I know exactly what you mean, and I thank you for the respect you've shown me.

Remember The Last Poets? Jayne Cortez? Gil Scott-Heron? Well, that spirit of no-nonsense, no-holds barred social commentary that is as intellegent as it is "militant" is alive and quite well today with Philadelphian Ursula Rucker. Unlike those artists, though, Rucker delivers her messages with a decidedly understated delivery, a sexy whisper actually, over electronica/acid-jazz backgrounds that are deserving of attention in and of themselves. She's very much the proverbial "iron fist in a velvet glove". Plus, unlike the aforementioned, I never get the impression that Rucker would "hate" me, a middle-aged white male, upon first meeting. She definitely hates what my "type" has done and is doing now, but she seems to be hip enough to recognize that a lot of "us" hate what "we" are doing just as much as she does. I like to think of this as The New Militancy and I'm all for it. Rucker has three CDs out on the German K7 label. All are inprint and available for reasonable prices. All three are highly recommended, but for the sheer brillaince of the musical backings, I'd suggest starting with Silver or Lead. People who dimiss all "electronica", "acid jazz", "techno", or whatever as musically uninteresting repetitive machine music need to hear this. There are more than a few passages that are breathtakingly beautiful, truly startling, and supremely musical. This is true of all three of her albums, but Silver or Lead is above-and-beyond. For Rucker's poetry, though, all three are strong outings. The languance is blunt, often graphic, and the messages pull no punches, but never is there any sense of it being "over the top". The shit she talks about is totally real, and so is her take on it. You either gotta deal with it or ignore it. Ain't no in-between. And tell you what - "Untitled Flow" (from Silver or Lead) deals with the same issues as the recent Kenny Drew Jr. "what's wrong with Black Music today" screed with what is, afaic, 1000% (at least) more credibility. Over the last year or so, most (not all, but most) of the truly uplifting new music I've heard has been made under the leadership of women - Jill Scott, Monday Michiru, Geri Allen (that Zodiac Suite thing is DEEP), Carla Bley (ditto for the last LMO album) and now, Ursula Rucker. We live in a time of "masculinity" gone wrong in so many ways (and not just the convinient "White Male" way - 50 Cent & George W. BushCo both have a special place in hell reserved for them, to say nothing of the freaks running Iran and Al Queda and thelistgoeson...). Make of that what you will, but these women and the music they're making are, for me, key ingredients of the current "best hope" for the world to get back on track. The Dead Jazz Men are certainly worthy of our respect and love, but that stuff will only get you so far once you leave the house and the CD player behind. These women are doing it now. Ignore them if you choose, but don't say nobody ever told you about them.

When was the last time you came across one of those wartime steel pennies?

What I like about the ESP side is how it documents the process of a player "working it out" in a way that few srudio albums do. Pharoah plays long solos on this one, and there's moments when the inspiration lags. But he keeps playing through them until it returns. Then it leaves again and he goes through the same process, playing until it comes back. It's what goes on in casual jam sessions all the time, but seldom do you get to hear it on a record.

Other than the opening introduction, all those edited out announcements are by Daley his ownself.

The only American distribution outlet so far, and just for the newest stuff: http://www.artistshare.com/artist_project_...tID=20&langID=1

A little late to the party (misplaced mail - thanks kids! - and the week from hell), but the usual thanks and disclaimers are still firmly in place. TRACK ONE - Maybe it's all the Monday Michiru I've been listening to lately, but a cut like this is almost enough to make me wish that men should not be allowed to make music for public consumption w/o first receiving a permit from a certified board of really hip women. I mean, really, it's a slight (to be kind) melody in the first place, and everybody gangbangs it like it's some hot juicy trollop. Why? What's the point? Poor Ben. TRACK TWO - Ah, charanga! Love charanga! Bassist, pianist, and violinist kinda sound like ringers, especially the bassist, whos attacks/sustains his notes more like a jazz player, but it might be somebody like Andy Gonzalez or John Benitez, more "Americanized" players who are truly multi-culturally musically literate. No matter, the playing is fine. Like I said, I really dig the whole charanga bag, especially when it's more jam-oriented like this cut. The "society" style gets tired pretty quick, but this ain't that, and all is well. TRACK THREE - MULTIPLE CHOICE (25 Points) A. Sounds familiar, but I can't place the players. B. Are the sax players twins? C. Oh, little town of Bethlehem? D. With the benefit of hindsight, could anything be more ironic? Beautiful cut, man. Beautiful. TRACK FOUR - Exactly Like Who? Oscar, Red? Wynton (the good one)? Pretty sure that's Ray Brown with somebody. Pianist is derivitive, but is right where he/she wants to be, it sounds like, so hey. And Ray, well, this IS the Ray Brown bag, so extra hey! Sounds like everybody was doing pretty much exactly what they wanted to do, so supersize hey!!! That drummer's kinda corny on his fours, though, and otherwise generic to the point of being unfortunate. But hey. TRACK FIVE - Nice. Very nice. Bassist scuffles w/the tempo here and there, but not enough to notice. I really dig the altoist's lines, how he mostly stays away from licks and develops melodic ideas. At this tempo, that's a bitch. I should know this cat. Sonny Red? Not Ernie Henry, although both of those guys share someaht similar unique tones and phraseologies that are deeply rooted in Bird but still go off into something deeply personal. Everybody sounds familiar, but I can't really pinpoint anybody, much to my chagrin. But this is some happenin' shit. TRACK SIX - No idea. Kinda nice, kinda lightweight. Nice concept though. TRACK SEVEN - "Chega de Saudge" or however you spell it. No More Blues. Burton? And? Or? It's ok. TRACK EIGHT - Sounds like some neo-CaptiolCannonball, but not nearly as hot in temperature, although I hear the potential. Would like to hear this group live, in front of an into-it audience. Tenorist sounds like Harold Land if Harold was strokified like latter-day Floyd the Barber. Is that Michael Ray on trumpet? Incredible chops, he has, and an uninhibited spirit to go with it. NASTY splice just before the bass solo. Bassist is into it, though, big time. sounds great. Good players all, and probably not the best representation of what they could all do. TRACK NINE - Sure sounds like Jacquet. If it's not Jacquet, I'd go with Red Prysock or Rusty Bryant. Don't think it's Arnett. Sure sounds fine. Sure sounds live. In every way. Gotta love it. You can tell the guys that do this "honking" thing who can really play from the guys who are limited just by their tone. Hell, you can pretty much tell everyting by tone. But this guy can really, really play. Yeah, it's obvious here, but I bet he mighta made some records where it was less obvious. Sounds like Illinois' voice at the end. Yeah. Illinois Jacquet and his bad self getting over and not minding one bit. Much love. TRACK TEN - Being late to the party, I'm assuming that this tune's mis-titling on the album has already been noted. Didn't know this cut or album before, but a little AMG research pulled it up. You know, it's a great, great tune, really is, and totally underplayed even today, but after two classic, concise versions (the orinal by King Curtis and a remake by Willie Mitchell in the late 60s(, the bar's been set awfully high for what you need to do to put this tune over. I dig the way he played the head, but the solo just wasn't paced in enough of a "story-telling" manner to reach me. the sentences were all there, but they were kinda out of order and didn't necessarily have full overall coherence. But that's just me. And I don't dig the drummer on this. Sounds like a very fine player, but he also sounds like he's not taking the tune/groove seriously, treating it like a generic "soul" tune and not a specific story to be told. Same holds true for the rest of the group, although the pianist(!) gets a lot of slack form me just because he is who he is. But overall, there could have been more drama, more pacing, and less "playing". But again,.that's just me. I'm picky about this kind of thing and this kind of tune. On a last set in a club or at a really casual session, yeah, cool. but on a record? I dunno... TRACK ELEVEN - Bird & John Guerin. Only in America! Funny, if you didn't know any better, you'd think that this was some weird remix project w/a varitoned altoist and some musicque concrete looped all through it. Heard like that, it's really a trip! But Bird, man, Bird was as big of a trip as the world has the potential to offer. Not even Clint Eastwood and/or Lennie Niehaus can change that. Bird was the shit, and still is. Only a handfull have done as much (or even almost as much), and nobody's done more. Different, yes, but Bird... Bird is the shit. 'Nuff said. TRACK TWELVE - Well, yeah. If we can get two more people to do the otehr two tracks, this will be the first album completely covered by BFTS. GO FOR IT! Nothing but unconditional love here for George, Jimmy, & Dannie. Those cats... they lived it. And you can hear the life. You can feel the life. Nothing but life in this shit. Hell yeah, and Amen to and for George, Jimmy, & Dannie. TRACK THIRTEEN - Indeed! Much thanks for a BFT that touched a few nerves, pro and con, along the way. Gotta go read the other responses, because I know somebody's gotten some shit that I'm already kicking myself for not knowing!

That's Monday?