JSngry

Sonny is just nonstop on this one. The full impact is blunted because it sounds like they hadn't yet figured out how to get a mix between room sound and his clip on mike. He's such a physical player that he inhabits the entire space, and this mix diminishes that, perhaps even negates it. But for most of this record, it's like when the RECORD light came on, Sonny started playing and didn't stop until they told him to. Overall, a bit of a stealth Sonny Rollins record, one to be listened to with a visual picture of this big guy walking around playing his tenor with ease and aplomb and an imaginary aural picture of being inside that entire room, not just inside the microphone. Who the hell is that? Are those quarter notes or sperms?

Benny Tendeaux - Switchin'!!!

!!! Caroline Shaw is making some interesting music these days.

They Quincy/Byers thing was mostly done during the Mercuy years, and credit of some sort ws usually included in the fine print somehere. At least from what I've seen. As for Walking In Space, the only other arrangement (credited) is Bob James!

That's Herman Melville

Way back in the day...

So he debuts tonight in the late innings, still in his Pirates gear! But - Yes. This. Framing like a mo!

Walking In Space was such a big hit, and I totally get why, but from a "jazz" perspective...this one is better?

Pivoting to the type of "jazz singer" that gladly exists outside of/away from just "standards"... Abbey Lincoln for starters. The latter, in particular...that IS a jazz singer and that IS jazz. As long as the must be such things, what else could it be. Same for this. Branford falls down the proverbial elevator shaft but then comes back a few years later and is ready. That too is jazz. But who needs Branford?

fwiw:

Poor guy!!!!!!

Wick Graunder - Hustler's Holiday!!!

Not really my thing, but isn't "Ground Zero" for all this supposed to be Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band?

Does he? Seems to me that he leads with the words and let's the melody follow along. It's quite effective for him, imo.

That "melody" per se is not their primary concern

Willie and Bob Dylan are the same "type" of singer, imo. "Melodies" are only as useful as the lyrics they carry. It often works, and when it does, it's inimitable.

The Price albums are kinda "samey". If you get into the vibe, you'll stay in it. But if not... For me, Price's voice and Buddy Emmons steel are the whole story, start to finish, and a vivid story it is.

Two concept albums from the 1960s - Night Life & The Other Woman. Ray Price.

Are you into Ray Price at all?

That's the one.

Short game tonight and a good ending, so let's do this thing now! TRACK ONE - Mingusian, but not Mingus. He never really got that much rehearsal time. And then it goes somewhere else anyway. Well played, but lacking the type of spark teased by the intro.Very cleanly played, though! Written like Duke, played like Kenton. TRACK TWO - HAWK! But from what, I can't peg right away. Sounds like a RVG joint, and pre when the latter-day self-destruction began, so...late 50s? Hawk gets nothing but the highest love here, always, no questions asked. TRACK THREE - If that's not Bags, the vibist should be shot for plagiarism. And that's not Bags. TRACK FOUR - I could have liked it. Did like it at first. But then it lost its charm for me. Not enough movement to be engaging and not enough resolouteness to be scary. Just...that one thing. Like a film cue. It might have worked better if I could see the film? TRACK FIVE - The perennial Joe Newman classic "Midgets"! My guess will be a Last Testament Basie jam ? , a Pablo record, Eric Dixon on flute? Oops, that not Basie, definitely not! A bit generic before it's over. But nice in a generic kind of way. Everybody's on the same page. TRACK SIX - Needs some Bob Fosse choreography! It's got a good pocket, and yes you CAN dance to it. You SHOULD dance to it! Maybe just a teense gimmicky with the standalone tuba and boombaps, but hardly fatally so, even a dance band's gotta eat! TRACK SEVEN - Two tenors, playing, appropriately, "Alone Together", and following all the rules. Christ, you're ALONG TOGETHER, screw the rules! That first tenor sounds a bit like James Carter. Ok, that's James Carter. James Carter sounds better when he's less concerned with following the rules. Nothing wrong, but nothing right. That's what rules are for, and that's why you break them, just to see what happens. Something is better than nothing! ARRGH - that piano player is following all the rules for breaking the rules. THOSE GD YOUNG LIONS!!!! TRACK EIGHT - More Bob Fosse music, this time for a drug scene? Very Burton-ish, and this time no shooting suggested because....I think it IS Burton, one of those immediate pre-Quartet RCA records, a couple of those were pretty good, and this sounds like one of them. But if it's NOT Burton....get the blindfold!!!! TRACK NINE - Liked it until the tenor came in. Don't dig the tone. A lot of that going around, has been for decades now. Otherwise...how about another round, or y'all still fine? TRACK TEN - That's a Duke song, name escapes me (there are so many!). Piano is fine, but again, the tenor tone bugs me. The intonation is not consistent. "Out of tune" is ok, but it needs to be consistent within itself. Otherwise, fine piano playing and of course, tune. TRACK ELEVEN - "Blood Count". Another tenor tone that bugs me. at least at first. It gets good for me pretty soon, good! The attack suggests more of a "street" player and that's what works for me. Practiced, but still with some street underneath. Actually, I am liking this tone more as it goes on, not least because of the player's time, and also because they are not making to sound the high notes sounds like they're not high notes. Some guys are so even no matter what the register...I mean, thast's extremely admirable, but not always the best feel for every type of music. Ok, now it's getting into some meat. I like this. John Tchchai? He's got some GREAT tenor chops, not just alto. TRACK TWELVE - "Peace". That's pretty! TRACK THIRTEEN - JEEZUSKHRIST SHUT THE FUCK UP PHIL!!!!! I mean, really! What went wrong with this guy, I mean, I know America is a dark and evil place (but not just that), but c'mon. you already knew that when you came back, DEFINITELY after you got back. As did Griff, but you don't hear him doing all that silly shit non-stop like that. I think that Phil expected better and let it depress him into aggression, and Griff just always knew what the deal was and built his own parallel universe. It's not as much what he does as it is how he does it, just...no thank you, not like that. Anyway, I bought this record hoping that Griff's esthetic might have the upper hand, but OOPS! No such luck. Fun head, though! Nice set, and thanks for being here on Day One of the month!

Ok, here it is. From an interview with John McCowen, found in the recently released bookmagmagbook Sound American No. 29:: JMC: Would you say your religion is music? RM:I don't know. I mean, that's kind of a narrow statement. JMC: Yeah. Religion can be a narrow thing. RM: Well, yeah. Well, people use it for their own purposes for sure. Even beyond this particular level of existence.To me, this is probably just one layer of what some of the possibilities are. JMC: What are some of those possibilities? RM: I don't know them on this plane! [laughter] It might get revealed on the next plane, ya' know? I think you have to work hard on this one to even get to the next one! JMC: But you said you like to think about those possibilities. Are you just sitting there going "Well, I don't know what this is."? RM: Well I thiink you can.There are messages that you get. Like, if you think about the universe...there's a strong message out there. There are many things.Most of them are totally different! [laughter] So there's many things, but there's a message in that.Certainly this planet has many, many possibilities you don't even know! Not to mention things that are out there in the universe! So, I enjoy being in that realm, and I don't mind working hard to get to the next level of it. JMC: Do you feel like you've ever gotten hints of a message in a performance that might suggest another realm? RM: Abso;utely! There are nights when you can't do any wrong. [laughter] I mean, you wake up from that right away when it's over. And you go back and it might not be there.But at least you know internally that it does exist. JMC: And that keeps you going? RMM: Absolutely.

Burl Penn - Lockin' It Down!!!

You know the honky-tonk record he made with Ray Price, right? The best stuff on there might as well be jazz, I mean, it's just a trip next door, and the neighbors don't lock their doors .