T.D.

https://www.discogs.com/master/402589-Chicago-Night-Day-Big-Band Recorded 1995. I never heard it. Though I will soon listen to some of it on Youtube... [Added: First impressions not positive, gave up.]

Average White Band probably doesn't qualify (smallish group with just 2 saxophones), but they were from Scotland iirc and Pick up the pieces was a monster hit around 1974-5. Cut the Cake was a follow-up hit, but I think they soon faded away. Oh good grief, I forgot about Vehicle! I heard that innumerable times on the radio back in the day, but the band (Ides of March) never stuck in my mind.

Or Blood, Sweat and Tears or Tower of Power or even Average White Band? I don't know either... Not meaning to say the above are big bands, but I read Jim's post as suggesting that "Top 40 horn bands" might have gotten people interested in big band sound.

Thanks (or maybe no thanks ) for mentioning this. I'm close to ordering, but still on the fence. Have listened on bandcamp.

I've recently seen an awful lot of grey market Hat reissues on the Dusty Groove site. Not that many Blue Notes, but they're starting to plunder the Impulse! (e.g. Archie Shepp) and Riverside (e.g. George Russell) catalogs. YMMV, but this also rubs me the wrong way and I find it highly disappointing. Have purchased a lot of Hats over the years but may stop.

Weird...I vividly recall the Friends of Distinction rendition, and even hear it occasionally to this day. But I never heard the Masakela version of the tune.

For sure!

The tune Killer Joe by the Jazztet (written by Benny Golson) might qualify in the latter category. I recall it got really big in the '70s, perhaps late '60s.

Keytu doesn't look like a Swahili word to me (don't speak the language, but lived in Kenya for a couple of years). Kitu is a more likely spelling, but "thing" or "object" perhaps an odd nickname.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply anything. I never know who was behind Other Music, but it clearly had nothing to do with any corporate chain.

And there was the Annex behind the main shop...Other Music, which sold a lot of weird/avant-garde stuff, was almost right across E. 4th St. from the Annex iirc. At the peak of the CD brick and mortar shop craze, Tower also had a massive branch near Lincoln Center (which was particularly strong on classical). J&R Music World on Park Row had a good selection of jazz CDs in those bygone days.

Could be several things (I could look it up, but am too lazy). Might have gone to some kind of prep school to be groomed for a football scholarship. Likely was redshirted for a year. Plus the COVID year. That'd be as many as three extra years. It's not that unusual for such players to have received diplomas and play out their final year of eligibility as grad students.

I'm no less dated than the OP, but back in the day I used to visit Academy Records on W. 18th St. for classical CDs. They're still around, added a vinyl branch (and have an annex in Brooklyn), I've made some online purchases but don't know anything about the current physical shops.

Simon Nabatov also released a CD of Nichols tunes on solo piano. The "Herbie Nichols Project" recorded 3 CDs between 1996 and 2001. But these (esp. the latter) may be in the realm of what Jim termed "projects".

, agreed on both counts.

This is funny...I got a copy of Stopping Time via interlibrary loan (Upstate NY, "Four County Library System"), just finished the book. There was one copy in the system, I expected it to come from a library in the Binghamton area (site of "the best" SUNY college), whence I've received some esoterica, e.g. Sites's Sun Ra's Chicago. To my surprise, it was from the Cherry Valley Library, a small but picturesque town I've visited a couple of times. Of course, reading the later chapters I then learned that Bley and Carol Goss lived in Cherry Valley from approx. 1980 on.

I've already preordered from Dusty Groove. If I got picky about crappy-sounding pianos, my collection would be seriously thinned out.

Thanks, nice article but one thing is not completely clear to me. Is this a list of (a) Your personal top five BNs, or (b) Your top 5 BN recommendations for someone just getting into jazz? I'm inclined to think (b).

The concert was a "celebration" of that release. Michael Bisio (event was held in his apartment complex) has been featured in so many recent recordings that it's difficult to keep up...

Earlier today, Kirk Knuffke Trio w. M. Shipp, M. Bisio.

Thanks for the warning. I've bought several Modern Harmonic Ra reissues with good results. But the sound quality on my recent Omniverse purchase was not up to the standard of the others.

I agree Prayer for Peace is outstanding. Thanks for the tip, the Ogun releases are the main Amalgam recordings I'm lacking. [Added] Wow, I even found Closer to You & Cynosure in stock at a reputable US dealer (Downtown Music Gallery). Ordered.

Thanks. I listened to the whole Lowther release on bandcamp and it's indeed good. I like Amalgam and have almost all their recordings, so am likely to pick up the Watts, but only one of the three tracks was available for audition on bandcamp.

Damn, I was pondering that track and can't believe I didn't guess it. Trouble is, I have the OJC recording of Last Chorus, and this tune is only on the Fresh Sounds Last Sessions, which has extra tracks.