JSngry

The ESP side is kinda like the Ultimate Blindfold Test Material. Lots of musique concrete mixed w/free jazz.

Well, it's not really a master tape unless it comes from the Dutch radio outfit that actually recorded the concert, is it?

Has the Fuller/Moody PJ side been similarly reissued? The Gillespie/Fuller side is one of the first jazz albums I ever bought, back in the very early 70s. Found it in the legenday (to me, anyway...) Treasure City cutout bins for 99 cents or some such as part of the massive Liberty Catalog Purge of a few years earlier (still not sure if that was a contributing factor or not, but there were PJ, BN, WP, etc. sides out the wazoo in this joint, many of them for under a buck). It's good and all, but I'll still take the "vintage" collaborations in a heartbeat or less.

Bummer. That shit was funny.

Yep. ← Uh...I got mine from Dusty Groove and it's in a jewelbox. It did say "UK Edition" on the site, though, and the CD itself says "Made In Austria".

Not true - Michael Cuscuna took him on at Muse and released a series of fine, if more "traditional" albums. The cover photos, though, were disturbing at the ime, and have become moreso now that the reality has become better known. Also, although I'm not looking to "blame the victim", far from it, but Woody didn't do himself any favors either in his "personal habits". He was, from everything I hear (and a very little bit I saw firsthand), a very complicated guy whose "indulgences" went beyond recreational, and which no doubt created more problems for him than they allieviated. His "natural" mental state didn't need any more amping up, dig? The Woody Shaw story is one of jazz' greatest tragedies, imo, but like all epic tragedies, the final tragedy lies in how the protagonist handled the cumulative adversity. And again, I'm in no way seeking to "blame" him, or to downplay the very real impact that the CBS bullshit had on his psyche. Nobody gets off the hook for their role in that fiasco. But I am, however, left with the distinct impression that Woody Shaw was in many ways, some of them profound, a "tragedy waiting to happen", if you know what I mean. I guess the lesson to be learned is that even the mightiest (and Woody at his personal and musical peak certainly qualifies as one of the mightiest, imo) have weaknesses, weaknesses which under the right combination of external circumstances and internal turmoil can prove fatal. Save them while they can be saved, if they'll let you.

Try the first two Heath Brothers albums on Columbia. Not every cut, mind you, but I bet you'll find several things to your liking. BTW - what you call "funk" and waht some of the rest of us call "funk" may not be the same thing. You seem to go for a more "urban" type of thing, less raw, more "slick" than the classic "funk", but still with that groove thing to it. Stuff you can dance to in a suit and tie, dig? That's cool, just know that terminologies, like mileages, may vary wildly!

I was just listenting to that album the other day. He makes a significant contribution there, and Yusef (or Bob Theile) let him finish the album with a very nice solo version of "Ain't Misbehavin'". RIP indeed.

Indeed!

Hey - I'm looking at the AMG credits for Lucky Seven, and the drummers are Steve Gadd, Andy Newmark, and Idris Muhammed. Those guys (especially the latter two) could give The Moms snd Dads a little bit o'stank.

Yeah, One has "Feel Like Making Love" and "Night On Bald Mountain", both of which "garnered favor" on the local jazz radio at the time.

OK, I've got the AMG sample of "Look-Alike" playing right now, and I STILL like it! I'm a goner! Just hope I don't go out and try to break a beautiful woman's neck!

Why does he want to kill this beautiful woman?

You ever watch Taxi. the TV show? That's your man's most famous work. Honestly, I was around at the time, and viewed him then as a "step down" from Don Sebesky for CTI. Given that I was no fan of Sebesky's work for the label in the first place... But time moves on, and yeah, ok, now I can hear that stuff with the ear of somebody who's had to perform much similar music over the years, and yeah, he did what he did really well, all things considered. His Rhodes sound is an archetype of 70s pop-jazz, and he always had good players in the rhythm section to give the stuff a groove. It was schlock for the most part (just my opinion, nothing personal), but it was schlock with a groove, and considering how much schlock there was from the time without a groove, hey... And I must say, for no good reason (or any other kind of reason for that matter), I've always dug the tune "Look-Alike" off of Lucky Seven. Check that one out. I guess we all have our weaknesses.

It's interesting (maybe) to note how many of Sarah Vaughn's accompanists of the 60s went into "other areas" of jazz. Bob James, Chick Corea, Jan Hammer, Karl Schroeder, who else? What did she do to them?

As did Max.

Thanks for the info and the pictures. Sounds like this guy really got around to be such a relative unknown. A "musician's musician", as they used to say...

First you boil them until they're al dente. From there, the only limits are your imagination, your budget, and/or the availabilty of ingredients in your specific locale (freshness being essential). Enjoy! A whole new world of pleasure awaits!

I was just listening to an Eddie Chamblee Mercury date w/Fip Ricard on trumpet, and I was struck by how he could step up and play a perfectly fine solo and then turn right around (figuratively, unless there was some really wack miking going on...) and play equally perfectly fine lead on the same tune. Not an exceptionally rare skill, but not exactly a common one either. So I go looking for some background on him, and find little other than that he seems to have spent a lot of time in Chicago, and that he did stints w/Hampton & Basie. Any fleshing out of this skeleton would be welcome. Cats like this, solid musicians who can fill any role with competency and authenticity, too often get lost in the shuffle. Some call them "journeymen", and yes, they are. But they're also professionals, and all that that implies - well-rounded skills, and a high degree of comptence all the way around. Gotta respect that. At least I do. Anyway (and as always), thanks in advance.

We can still use some rain. Nary a drop off of this damn thing. Rita sucked.

Pretty nifty stuff. Grounded yet nebulous. Yusef's got that TONE on all his instruments, and the tone is what tells the story, especially on tenor. This cat understands how the tenor works. And this is the first time I've really "heard" James Black. NOW I get it. How many leaders finish an album by letting their pianist have a solo spot?

You mean they weren't the same guy?

How 'bout some Johnnie Ray instead? He kinda looks like Speedy anyway...

No Thad, no ostenutos. Union rules.

You're welcome! Expiration date is 9-26, so carpe diem...