JSngry

Paul, I have responded.

How's about that "Guitar Album", the live thing with that absolutely insane, hardcore blindfold test material, Tiny Grimes stuff?

Marchel Ivery took the gig around 1980, 1981, somewhere in there, stayed a few months, and then left to come home. He didn't dig the road. The late 60s were apparently difficult times for Blakey to keep a working band together, too, from what I can gather. His music was considered "old fashioned" by many of the younger players, and a lot of the older guys either couldn't make the committment or else didn't want to work for the bread being offered.

SILVER CITY is the thing to get to get your feet wet in the Milestone output. Although they left a few things out that I'd have included (and vice-versa), it's a darn fine rebuttal to the argument that the Milestone years have produced nothing but epemera. It only SEEMS that way because far too often there's only been one cut per album, if that, that is worthy of the Rollins legacy. Why that is has been a matter of much discussion, and frankly, by now I've givien up trying to figure it out myself. I just buy the albums and see how they turn out. Often enough, they get better with repeated listenings, but Late's suggestion to explore the "grey market" (ie - commercially released bootlegs) issues is a good one. The most recent that I know of is a thing on Jazz Door called JUST ONCE that is more than worth getting over any moral compunctions you might have about purchasing such material. Steal it if it'll make you feel any better. For sure though, NEXT ALBUM is pretty much a universally acclaimed "classic" and has been since the proverbial DAY ONE (although in true Rollins/Milestone fashion, you have to sit through a seemingly interminable plodding funk tune before you get to the rest of the album), and I myself find that repeated listenings to DON'T ASK, G-MAN, DANCING IN THE DARK, and FALLING IN LOVE WITH JAZZ have been beneficial. Of his most recent albums, +3 gets a lot of raves that I'm not sure I'd unanimously agree with, but it's home of the previously (and justly) lauded "Cabin In The Sky" and the rest of it is really, REALLY good, the only drag being a 12 minute version of "I've Never Been In Love Before" that features everybody at length EXCEPT Sonny, in pretty botring solos at that, and what kind of a way is THAT to end an otherwise top-shelf album? But I'll go ahead and say that this is one to have on its own too, that little caveat notwithstanding. I've also really, REALLY been digging GLOBAL WARMING & THIS IS WHAT I DO lately. These are the albums where Sonny's age begins to show in his tone, and confronting the reality that someday we won't have Sonny rollins to kick around anymore is a sobering proposition, and no doubt for Sonny as well, as he improvises on the albums with an imaginative sobriety that is unlike anything else he's ever recorded even if the usual maddening production issues occur yet again. At least that's how I hear it - there are those who will tell you that Sonny Rollins has stagnated as a player and has cranked out variation after variation of the same tired record for 30 years now. I'll agree that the records have often been frustrating (to say the least), but to imply that there has been no growth or evolution in the man's playing is something that I just do not hear. I can hear at least 4 distinct stages through the Milestone years, and this most recent phase might be one of his most significant - Sonny's into his 70s now, and how many players of his generation AND his caliber have remained fully functional and probing this far into the game? It's an incredibly PHYSICAL manner in which Rollins plays, and a man his age HAS to pace himself. If he was to play all out all night, he'd likely be dead by the end of a tour (I'm not exaggerating either. Trust me, the physical energy required to produce a tone like Sonny's of the last 15-20 years is not something to underestimate at all. A bigger, FULLER sound has probably never been produced on the instrument, and that's all about physical effort. Factor in the mental/spiritual/etc things involved in anybody's improvisation, especially Sonny's, and the charges of him "picking his spots" can be seen as much as a of survival as anything else, and Sonny has ALWAYS been about the survival. Probably a bad career move, though...) Anyway, the playing on both GW and TIWID is verry craggy, full of odd trhythmic twists and note choices that nobody but Rollins could/would make, all of it delivered with a dry wariness that is not dissimilar to the "there-but-not-there" quality of ON IMPULSE, but with the raised stakes of it coming from a man who sounds like he's confronting his mortality on more than just a conceptual basis, if you know what I mean. How else could you explain something like "Did You See Harold Vick"? This is a Rollins improvisation that is as "out" as ANYTHING he's recorded, but the deadly serious mischief of earlier years is all gone - this is an OLD MAN playing, telling us a story, and like a lot of old folks, he sounds like he doesn't really give a rat's ass any more WHAT you think of him, if you like him or not, so he's just going to tell it like he sees it, without any more facades of "niceness". It's an improvisation that is simultaneously grotesque, fascinatingly intricate, and stark harsh beauty in the way that so many thngs are when they've been stripped of the artrifice that social consensus deems appropriate. It's another chapter in the ongoing saga of Sonny Rollins, and possibly the beginning of the final chapter. If Rollins' is a saga of immense frustration for the fan, there is also much to be learned about how to stay alive and sane in a world that today, perhaps more than ever, seems set up to destroy the spirit that has always been at the core of Sonny Rollins' music. One of those lessons might indeed be that you play your cards close to your vest and just let out what you REALLY know in bits and pieces because although most of us claim to want the "truth", can we really, REALLY handle it on a constant, sustained basis? Could Sonny Rollins have had a viable career by playing everything he knows everytime out and on every record? That kind shit went out of style a long time ago, in case you haven't noticed! Besides, look at the physical implications - Trane did it, and look at what it did to him... Is Sonny Rollins somehow a coward or a copout because he has consistently chosen to pull back from the edge when the edge was one of no return? Because he has chosen for the last several decades to wear the mantle of "The World's Greatest Living Improvisor" in an ofen mocking manner, knowing full well that if he were to play everything he knew all the time that he'd clear the house in under an hour (I'm serious about this!)? Because he has chosen a life for himself rather than for his "fans"? I guess the answer depends on if you're Sonny Rollins or not. I'm not, so all I can say with certainty is that I'll be following the story as long as it lasts. I long ago gave up hope of there being another unfettered masterpiece from Rollins - those days are gone, and in more ways than one. MANY more ways, and not all of them Rollins' doing. But I still hear enough in enough of the records (and the live stuff I can get a hold of) to know that Sonny Rollins KNOWS in a way that very, VERY few artists do, and that if the only way to get a taste of what he knows is to get it in drips and drabs, then I'll take it. It's not his job to answer all the questions for everybody who wants to know - just giving some well-placed pointers, some, this-is-what-I-do, science-dropping "let those who have ears, hear", is enough. ESPECIALLY these global warming times slimes days. Some questions you got to answer yourself. Did you see Harold Vick?

I'm not sure I understand the criteria for being "overrated". The "classic" Lion/Wolff BNs now exist as both vital music for now and as historical documents. How one responds to them as the former is purely a subjective matter, but theor place as the latter is pretty much a matter of record - some of the records were hugely influential (either immediately or over time, and some still maintain that influence today) and others just sorta exist as documents of their time. Either way, you can look around the jazz scene of the last 40-50 years and pretty much tell which are which. OUT TO LUNCH, for instance, might not appeal to some, but there's no denying that it was/is a record that had a lot of influence on certain circles of musicians. So is it "overrated" in a historical sense, or is it just not to some folks' liking? Either way, it's 40 years old. What happened as a result of it happened (and will probably continue to happen). For me, "overrated" would be claiming a bit of historical importance that does not exist, like saying that EVOLUTION shook the world and caused a redirection of an entire school of jazz. It didn't. I think it's safe to say that it is an accurate, well produced and executed document of a player/composer that obviously intrigued some pretty "important" musicians. captured their imaginations at some point(s) in time, and dealt with some musical ideas that were not in general use in jazz at the time. Tha, I think, is an objective appraisal. Beyond that, it's mostly a matter of personal taste. Denying the historical "importance" of the music makes no more sense to me than overinflating it. Face it folks - the music captured on all the Lion/Wolff BN albums is HISTORY now. It's no longer the sound of today, and although certain items in the catalog continue and will continue to be influential to jazz, they do so the same way that, for example, Beethoven does - as a "past standard" of excellence and triumph, an inspiration in both technique and spirit. How one feels about any particular item or items is a totally personal matter, as it should be. We have ABSOLUTELY no obligation to "like" something jsut because it's supposed to be "important". But denying or inflating something's place in history is another matter entirely, something that seems to me to require a willful disregard of what has already happened. revisionist history, if you like. That's something I'm just not into.

I think the reverb's more noticable on the atudio album than the on the Vanguard one. Both are KILLER albums though, and the fact that one of them is still sealed and going for only $9 is kinda hard to believe (if in fact it hasn't already been sold). You know, having grown up in the record (as opposed to CD/tape) era, there's an element of nostalgia in stuff like this, but there's also a bit of "archaeology" as well - this is how these albums were originally released, and having the tactile sensation of seeing the records & their jackets, full size and in their ACTUAL colors (something rarely catured on reissues of any sort, but especially CDs) just adds a bit of historical resonance to my personal perception appreciation of the music. It's the same reason I did seeing 10" LP jackets and hearing decent condition 78s. The current CD format is obviously superior for portability, durability, and sound (SOMETIMES ), but it's still a replica (or a historical repackaging/recontextualization) when it comes to older stuff like this. Something to be said for at least having an awareness of the way things were in their day, I think. Or maybe I'm just a geek...

Marvin Gaye.

Well, in the old days, this one and Spike Jones Is Murdering the Classics were the one you got, since they were all that were readily available: But judging from the contents, this one would probably be the one to have if you're only having one: But I'm really, REALLY curious about this one...

HURRY!

FROM DUSTY GROOVE: One of the hippest albums ever cut by Lionel Hampton -- a badass batch of 70s funk tunes, recorded with arrangements from the Chicago powerhouse team at Brunswick Records! Lionel's vibes are mixed with tight drums, sweet bass, and some very soulful arrangements that make even the mellower tracks feel like they've been lifted from some lost blacksploitation soundtrack. Includes great versions of 2 Willie Henderson tunes -- "Off Into A Black Thing" and "Funky Chicken", both of which sound even better than the originals with the vibes in place -- plus the tracks "Easy", "Shut Your Mouth", "I Found Sunshine", and "One Man Band". I very much like the Sonny Lester produced Hampton things that go off into a funky groove, and wonder how these compare.

You mean to tell me that Rudy's studio wasn't black & white? Who knew!

BARCAELONA for $6.98!!!!

Nothing negative about more Ernie Henry!

http://www2.bitstream.net/~tgg/tgg/

Maybe I need to watch Sesame Street some more...

Sorry dude. I'd like to find a Thesaurus, but that exrtinction thing is a bear...

Now that the avatar's changed, I feel a lot better saying, "Here's looking at'cha!" A LOT better... Happy Birthday.

Norah's country is America, as is her mother's. Her father's country was India, and still in fact is! Did you know that even though he is from India, Ravi Shankar is not Norah's mother's father, nor is he related to Jewel?

Indeed. The thing that has always moved me about this album is just how fully realized and MATURE, to echo Lon's first reaction, a musical statement this is. Art of this caliber, of this degree of perfection, is rare in ANY medium, I think. If we can take as implicit that one of the major motivators in playing jazz, perhaps THE major motivator for some, is the discovery and subsequent assertion of one's unique "self-self", then it is not at all an unreasonable yardstick to use when measuring the "success" of any endeavor just how much of yourself you've found and just how confident you are in asserting it. In this album, we have what surely must be the Gold Standard. Armstrong here is so TOTALLY himself, so TOTALLY in command of every aspect of this performance - not just the technical details, but the intangible elements like vibe and such. The man fully inhabits every element of this music in a way that is as natural as it is absolute, and you know how I know (as opposed to "feel")? Timing. Timing is everything. Timing is what ultimately differentiates between FEELING confident and BEING confident. Timing can destroy even the best people if it's even a microsecond off, if the situation is critical enough. And believe it or not, the stakes in Louis' game ARE that critical. It's a given among musicians that it's harder to play slow than it is fast, REALLY play, and that the same holds true for playing less than more. The reason is simple, really - the slower and simpler anything is, the more room there is for a misfire in timing, and a mistake that at a faster/more busy pace could be glossed over by musician and listener alike suddenly becomes EXTREMELY obvious, unsettling even, because it has no place to hide, nothing forthcoming to immediately cover it with. When listening to this album, I'm constantly struck, no, AWEstruck, at how absolutely freakin' PERFECT Pops' timing is, in both his playing and his singing. It's not just in the placement of the notes either, it's in the falloffs and upwards glisses, it's in the attacks and the cutoffs, it's in the vibrato, it's in the constant shifting of vocal tone (technical term unknown to me), it's so omnipresent as to be the defining factor of this music and this artist. But such a miracle does not come about as a matter of strictly mechanical indoctrination. Practice will only get you so far down this road. After that, it comes down to what you find when you get to yourself - what and who you REALLY are. Well, the revelation that Louis Armstrong was one of the purest, most wholly-formed spirits of this or any other time should come as nothing but a world-class DUH!!! to most jazz folks, but we take that as a given at the risk of glossing over it, of not fully understanding EXACTLY how profound what the man accomplished was in purely HUMAN terms. Music is just the surface - what counts, REALLY counts for me is how one man could be SO self-aware and SO confidently joyous at the same time. There is no cheapness in Armstrong's music. Over the years, there was often a veneer of cheapness in the setting, the material, and/or the presentation, all there as a commercial necessity. The veneer often obscured the essence for many, and probably still does today. But there is none of that on Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy, and we can see the man revealed for the triumph of the human spirit that he truly was, no filters or blockage in place. A pure, unalloyed triumph. This is more than great music - this is a benchmark for humanity. That might be prose of the purple variety, probably is, but I stand behind the sentiment. Once again, genius and its power are rare in this world, but they cannot be denied or glossed over when one is confronted with them if one has any hope at all of living a truly honest life. This album contains just such genius. Just my opinion, of course.

"Blow me some Trane, Brother", calls The Godfather. Robert McCollough is not up to THAT task, but what he delivers instead sets the standard for this kind of thing in my opinion. Reissued on and if you don't have it, well...

Why not be a friend and give her some Ellington overview thing? That's a band that between Bigard, Hamilton, & Procope has enough distinctive varied clarinet stylings to capture the imagination. And there's so, SO very much more. Nobody's recommended Eddie Daniels? COOL! :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile: Of course, if you want the kid to be a total failure as a clarinet student but have an awareness of just how heavy a personal expression MUSIC can be, there's the version of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from this album: But you can say that about MOST jazz clarinet. I was required to take two years of clarinet in college, since saxophone was my first instrument, and every, EVERY teadher I had would rag endlessly about jazz clarinetists. This was before Daniels made the transition from ultra-hip Joe Henderson wannabe tenorist to godawfully squeaky clean jazz clarinet technician supreme. Even Goodman got dissed for being, "Better than most, but still sloppy". His cllassical recordings were regarded as a noble joke by these cats. So tell her to switch to tenor befire it's too late.

In the spirit of "family first", I gotta put in a plug for the Nessa catalog - not "obscure" in terms of GLOBAL recognition or reputation, but not on nearly as many shelves as the music warrants. If Roscoe ain't to your liking, perhaps Von is, or Warne will be. If none of THOSE 3 do anything for you, what the hell are you doing HERE? :D

Very good, very solid. Nowhere near as radical as the Freeman or as miraculous as the Edwards, but mighty fine playing by all concerned. I could live happily enough without it, but will live happier with it. Fathead's ALWAYS a gas for me. Why? Just because. Just my opinion.

Looks like he took his McDonalds jingle literally...