DrJ

I'm glad you pointed this out, Brownian Motion...it's true this Dickenson date has a feel very similar to the Buck Clayton CBS jam sessions (the stuff in the Mosaic box), even the studio sound is very similar - kind of cavernous for this kind of music, with a sense of huge "space" not just around each instrument but around the whole group, but also warm and full in its own way. I have a note inside the CD tray that lists the two tracks on the Japanese 2 CD edition that are not available on THE ESSENTIAL compilation, but the discs are out in my car right now...I'll look that up and post it for everyone later.

Pryan, I think you'll really enjoy the whole Chambers box - I have all that stuff, but with old U.S. editions of BASS ON TOP and the Coltrane etc stuff, I'll probably still take the plunge. Great music, and my personal favorite after the sublime BASS ON TOP is the QUINTET date that was out as a Conn a few years back.

I find the sound on the Dial/Savoy set to be far superior to the old Dial 4 CD box (I "traded up") and the packaging is far less "amateur" looking. The Denon comparison - can't say, I only had some of the older American Savoy reissues. The other Denon Savoy "mini LP" discs I have (all non-Parker) sound superb, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were "the stuff" purely from a sonics standpoint. Still, the Dial/Savoy box is heaven, to have all that stuff in one place, in good sound, and with the bonus Norvo et al session thrown in too.

Vic Dickenson - The Essential Vic Dickenson (click here to buy) A classic (OK, oddly classic) cover for a great recording. I am looking forward to revisiting this one over the week. This is the only format for this music currently available in America. FWIW, those who can find it might be more interested in a slightly expanded version, a Japanese 2 CD set called THE VIC DICKENSON SHOWCASE that has two extra, longish tracks. I'll wait a few days before chiming in with my own comments.

OK someone got in with a last VD vote under the wire, so THE ESSENTIAL VIC DICKENSON it is! I'll post this on a separate thread of course.

Well, no need for embarrassment on any counts...there's so much music out there, I routinely feel I may have heard something only to learn that I own the CD and have listened to it on numerous occasions! I'm sure my turn is coming...

Well not being an organist myself, I sincerely appreciate the analysis and education, Jim...my relatively untrained ear does hear a pretty major difference in the way Louiss plays compared with organists from the States, so maybe this helps account for it.

Remember also that Michael Cuscuna is still embroiled with trying to get licensing to do a Complete Keynote CD box for Mosaic...a risky bet, undoubtedly, to wait for it though since it may never come to pass. But if it did...probably your LP set would still hold some value since vinyl lovers are vinyl lovers, but it may not be worth as much as you paid for it if this came to pass.

Geez, I am going to have to commit to not buying anything other than Mosaic releases for the next few months just to BEGIN to get caught up! VERY positive sign to see so many new releases from "the masters of the reissue."

Well obviously I'm WAY behind on many AotW entries...just took the plunge on the 24-bit Japanese paper sleeve edition of SIGNIFYIN' yesterday at my local Tower (one of the few imports in the entire jazz section, sadly). Funny, I had passed on this one many times because I hadn't read this discussion, and on picking it up at the store to look at the lineup, the OBI covered up most of the personnel. All I could see was Donaldson, Ben Dixon, the guitarist, and "Tommy." Couldn't even see that there was an organist! So finally yesterday it dawned on me that this was from the Dixon/Patton era, and that "Tommy" was probably Turrentine. A quick beeline to the cash register later, and it was mine. THEN I remembered it had been an AotW, and that gets us all current... Highly enjoyable stuff. I've been having to "train" my ear to NOT expect to hear Grant Green in the guitarist role, but actually I enjoy this guy's playing more than a litte. It ain't very fluid or legit from a jazz perspective, but coming from an R&B bag he's not bad, and more creative than many. Patton and Dixon are FIRMLY in the pocket (and on this remastering I have to say that the original recording was mighty fine, especially the detail captured on Dixon's drum kit), and Donaldson has that sweet singing tone going. Turrentine has frankly played better - I agree with some of the criticisms, he fluffs more than a few times and sounds tentative. Bad health? Bad decisions? Bad karma? Or just a bad day? Whatever. Not unlistenable by any means, but he's much stronger on NATURAL SOUL. This sits quite nicely alongside the BNs of the era and with MUSTY RUSTY (which I received as a CD-R some time ago) as far as I'm concerned; another great soul jazz workout.

Yes, another reason I hesitated is that I have the Verve JATP boxed set, and I believe it has all of the JATP material that's in the Parker box too. I'm getting really excited about hearing the stuff I don't have, though...and everyone's comments are stoking the fires!

My sincere condolences. Jazz suffers another huge loss.

Yes, yes, and yes.

This is sad indeed, although certainly not unexpected. I've heard at least two features on the making of this album recently, both on NPR, and they were quite moving. I defy anyone to listen, with knowledge of the full context, to the fine cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" on this new album and not be profoundly moved. To be honest, I always hated that song, primarily because of the legion of crappy, arena-rock mentality covers, but boy does this rendition get to the heart of the matter. In lesser hands it could have sounded like a sick joke. I'll miss Zevon's wit (that last one-liner in the obit above, about nobody doing his chores so he can go upstairs and jam with Branford, is just priceless) and off-center perspective, rock needed it.

Well folks, it's getting interesting - so let me extend the voting for just today, and I'll plan to wrap it up and make a choice by sometime this evening. If the numbers are fairly even between Ford and Dickenson then, I'll reserve final right to make the selection. Will get the final word out tonite.

I gave CDBaby my e-mail so they can notify me when there are more in and I can snag that puppy...looking forward to hearing it!

OK folks, without further ado, here's the "answer key" and some of my comments for the first Organissimo Blindfold Test. Read 'em and weep - but then please chime in with more comments and discussion! Thanks again to Dan Gould for taking care of the logistics that made this happen, and to Organissimo for hosting this great bulletin board! ********** General comments: The very loose theme here was picked up by Jim Sangrey - at least one musician on each track was not from the U.S., and in many cases the whole band was from elsewhere. My aim with this theme was simple: expose more people to some not just good but GREAT music from other parts of the world and get people to question some of the pervasive “America-centric” view of jazz. The guesses on most of the music that “stumped” people at first pretty much confirm that we tend to think first of artists from the U.S. and then only after that broaden our view. And for a track like #7, it’s interesting that NOBODY even considered going to Eastern Europe or beyond for possibilities. Some of the musicians from other countries represented here obviously play well within the mainstream “American” style (and can hang with “the big boys” on any day), but others have their own thing going entirely, emphasizing that these are not all “imitators” by any means. 1) Oscar Aleman – “Nobody’s Sweetheart” (Kahn/Erman/Meyers/Schoebel) 2:18 Swing Guitar Masterpieces, 1938-57 (Acoustic Disc) Oscar Aleman – guitar. December 5, 1938 I included this because I suspect few have heard Argentinian guitarist Aleman play although more have heard about him. This is an outstanding disc (produced by Dave Grisman), with most of the music actually in small-group swing format, much of it in Quintet of Hot Club of France configuration (clarinet, two guitars, violin, bass, and drums). “Nobody’s Sweetheart” is one of two unaccompanied performances Aleman made at a single session that Charles Delaunay called “masterpieces of pre-war jazz.” What I find most intriguing about this particular performance is the off-kilter rhythm…it’s not quite ragtime, not quite traditional New Orleans jazz, not quite “American” style swing, and not quite American swing through the prism of a Belgian gypsy either, but very much its own thing, undoubtedly the local Argentinian influence. Incidentally, Aleman played a National metal-bodied guitar, very unusual for jazz, because it projected better than other acoustic instruments in the pre-amplification era. 2) J.J. Johnson – “Overdrive” (J.J. Johnson) 3:22 The Complete Columbia J.J. Johnson Small Group Sessions (Mosaic) J.J. Johnson – trombone, Bobby Jaspar – tenor sax, Hank Jones – piano, Percy Heath – bass, Elvin Jones – drums. July 24, 1956 I figured a lot more people would get this one. Everyone is in fine form. I’m knocked out by the composition - a simple line, but with some really artful little twists (especially in the closing passages, with that little variation on the main melody). The tight unison playing of JJ and Jaspar is also remarkable - sounds like one, extra fat trombone at times rather than trombone and sax. Jaspar’s work with JJ is wonderful, I think he fit with JJ’s conception just about perfectly and I actually prefer him with JJ over more ostensibly “forceful” saxophonists. I can hear the Getz parallel some heard, but the tone is huskier, less pretty. 3) Barney Wilen – “Swingin’ Parisian Rhythm (Jazz sur Seine)”(Barney Wilen) 4:27 Jazz sur Seine (Universal France) Barney Wilen – tenor sax, Milt Jackson – piano, Percy Heath – bass, Kenny Clarke – drums. February 13 or 14, 1958. Fun to stump folks for a while on this one! Wilen has a HUGE tone for such a little skinny guy, and he’s in great form throughout this disc. Jackson’s piano playing was a surprise to me as for many, more fluid here than on some tracks where he actually sounds to be using his fingers the way he would use vibe mallets! And Clarke sounds like the giant he was (a great pleasure getting to hear him on so many fine European recordings). Another great one from Universal’s JAZZ IN PARIS series. 4) Michel Legrand – “The Jitterbug Waltz” (Thomas “Fats” Waller) 5:15 Legrand Jazz (Philips) Michel Legrand – arrangement, Herbie Mann – flute, Betty Glamann – harp, Barry Galbraith – guitar, Miles Davis – trumpet, John Coltrane – tenor sax, Phil Woods – alto sax, Jerome Richardson – baritone sax & clarinet, Eddie Costa – vibes, Bill Evans – piano, Paul Chambers – bass, Kenny Dennis – drums. June 25, 1958 I’ve always thought I’d figure a way to work this in to a blindfold test if I got to pick the selections, an ideal stumper. More people picked up on the players than I thought, but then again this is a fairly well-known recording. Interesting that some thought the alto player was Cannon, now that I listen I can hear the parallel. I think Legrand really did something quite wonderful with this recording and was wholly successful in mixing scored with improvised passages. 5) Tubby Hayes – “You For Me” (B. Haymes) 4:38 The New York Sessions (Columbia/Legacy) Tubby Hayes – tenor sax, Horace Parlan – piano, George Duvivier – bass, Dave Bailey – drums. October 3, 1961 The lack of breathing others picked up on does mean that he can get a little wearying at long stretches of listening, but Tubby also generates a ton of old fashioned excitement. If you enjoy this CD you’d also enjoy two that were available not too long ago as UK imports: LATE SPOT AT SCOTT’S and DOWN IN THE VILLAGE (Emarcy UK). 6) Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand) – “Kippi” (Dollar Brand) 4:00 Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio (Warner) Dollar Brand – piano, Johnny Gertze – bass, Makaya Ntshoko – drums. 1964 I’m a huge Ibrahim fan, and while his scope and arrangements often grew larger over the years, he sounds to me just about fully formed way back at this debut American recording. A simply gorgeous, almost spiritual song, that doesn’t suffer at all from lack of traditional “solos.” These old Warner recordings sound great, too. 7) Zbigniew Namyslowski – “Piekna Lola, Kwiat Polnocy (Beautiful Lola, Flower of the North)”(Namyslowski) 6:37 Lola (Decca) Zbigniew Namyslowski – alto sax, Wlodzimierz Gulgowski – piano, Tadeusz Wojcik – bass, Czeslaw Bartowski – drums. August 1964 I was thrilled that a) this one stumped so many people and b ) that just about everyone really loved it! Simply put, Namyslowksi was BAD!!! This CD has seldom left the multichanger since I found it at Dusty Groove a few months back. It’s all this good, there’s even a tongue-in-cheek yet simultaneously compelling take on the blues. Distinctive tone and phrasing, definite Eastern European overtones to the music, creative writing, and a killer trio backing him. You owe it to yourself to hear him on two other great recordings: WINOBRANIE (Power Bros), an early 70’s date where he’s more aggressive and slightly more “out,” playing with somewhat stronger Polish folk music overtones; and Kryzstof Komeda’s landmark ASTIGMATIC (Power Bros) recording from right around the same time as LOLA. Both can be had from Cadence, and LOLA is still at Dusty Groove. 8) Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith – “How High the Moon” (Hamilton/Lewis) 4:59 Stuff and Steff (Universal France) Stuff Smith – violin, Stephane Grappelli – violin, Rene Urtreger – piano, Michel Gaudry – bass, Michel Delaporte – drums. June 22, 1965 This is just old fashioned fun to me, joyous music. Smith plays first, and you can pick him out right away - far more bluesy, and with a less “legit” approach including a gut-bucket tone, and some (I think forgivable) problems with less than perfect pitch. Grappelli sounds subdued on his take, maybe being deferential to a “guest” as this was recorded in France. Urtreger’s playing opened my eyes a lot, he sounds incredibly swinging and uses space to his advantage. This is a delightful album in the excellent JAZZ IN PARIS series from Universal. 9) Eddy Louiss – “Blue Tempo” (Rene Thomas) 8:04 Eddy Louiss Trio (Dreyfus Jazz) Eddy Louiss – organ, Rene Thomas - guitar, Kenny Clarke – drums. 1968 Louiss can make some very strong claims to “king of the jazz organ” these days, as far as I’m concerned, with Jimmy Smith ailing, Larry Young long gone, and John Patton more recently so. This album absolutely smokes from start to finish, with “Blue Tempo” forming something of a high point. Yeah, the recording isn’t great and makes it sound a bit dated, but listen to the playing - very modern stuff. Rene Thomas is to my ears a lot more aggressive than he was on many recordings…check out MEETING MR. THOMAS (another Universal JAZZ IN PARIS disc) for more. I was surprised some didn’t like Clarke’s drumming here - this was later than many of the recordings he’s known for, and in a more “exposed” format, but I think he’s the one who really stokes the fires here. I think the lack of pedals the Organissimo trio noted may reflect the poor recording...it's muddy at the bottom so maybe he IS hitting the pedals and we just can't hear it! 10) Toshiko Akiyoshi / Lou Tabackin Big Band – “Long Yellow Road” (Akiyoshi) 6:27 Long Yellow Road (RCA) Personnel includes Toshiko Akiyoshi – piano, Bobby Shew – trumpet, Don Rader – trumpet, Britt Woodman – trombone, Gary Foster – alto sax, soprano sax, & flute, Lew Tabackin – tenor sax, flute, & piccolo, Bill Perkins – baritone sax, alto flute, & bass clarinet, Peter Donald – drums, Gene Cherico – bass. April 4, 1974 Not much more to say that hasn’t been said in the discussion. This is a gorgeous tune and arrangement, flawlessly executed. The whole album is this great, in fact all of her RCA recordings from this period are this great. Get it, and please help me in reminding Mosaic about what a great boxed set this would make at every opportunity! 11) Valery Ponomarev – “I Was Afraid You’d Never Call Me” (Ponomarev) 6:51 Profile (Reservoir) Valery Ponomarev – trumpet, Joe Henderson – tenor sax, Kenny Barron – piano, Essiet Essiet – bass, Victor Jones – drums. May 2, 1991 I knew many would get Joe and then be stumped by the trumpet. This is the only Ponomarev in my collection, and I hope to get a lot more based on this one. This recording is definitely one of those in the “playing well within the American main stream” category, I personally don’t really hear much of an Eastern influence at all. 12) Giorgio Gaslini – “Pulsazioni Incrociate (Crossed Pulsations): Movement II from Lampi (Lightenings) – Suite in 5 Movements” (Gaslini) 6:47 Lampi (Soul Note) Giorgio Gaslini – piano, Daniele DiGregorio – vibes, marimba, & percussion, Roberto Bonati – bass, Giampiero Prina – drums. January 1994 Another I was glad to see stumped people, meaning that Gaslini is new to them. He's done a whole bunch of interesting albums (AYLER'S WINGS, for example) and has hands in a lot of kinds of music including "classical." This is actually just an excerpt from a longer suite (LAMPI), but it was too long for the blindfold test, it would have dominated the CD. This may account for why some felt it sounded a little lacking or unresolved. I like the music itself, and Gaslini’s piano, but it’s DiGregorio’s vibes that blew me away most. An intriguing CD, which also has a tribute piece to Herbie Nichols. This music will grow on you seriously over time and haunt your brain. It deserves to be heard within the context of the whole suite. 13) John Abercrombie, Marc Johnson & Peter Erskine w/ John Surman – “Ogeda” (John Surman) 4:36 November (ECM) John Surman – soprano sax, John Abercrombie – guitar, Marc Johnson – bass, Peter Erskine – drums. November 1992 It was kind of sneaky to put in Surman playing soprano rather than baritone. I think some of the negative comments are actually pretty on target, but while his soprano tone is not as nice as his baritone playing, I still like the feel of this piece, ECM-ish though it is. And I’m surprised more people didn’t get Abercrombie (as pointed out by the Organissimo guys!), really I find his tone on electric is very distinctive. This is a nice record that again grows on one with repeated listenings. 14) Esbjorn Svensson Trio (EST) – “Little Rootie Tootie” (Thelonious Monk) 4:06 EST Plays Monk (ACT) Esbjorn Svensson – piano, Dan Berglund – bass, Magnus Ostrom – drums. January 1996 I’m not 100% sure where I stand on this one, personally - it’s by turns technically amazing, overly precious, gutsy, derivative, and novel, depending on which time I listen to it. Interesting if nothing else. I do think they are still musically “young” and haven’t found a way to both get inside and expand on Monk’s work (there are actually better tracks on this CD, I was running out of time on my CD-R and had to choose a short track). I expected to see a lot of people guess Brad Mehldau Trio or Stephen Scott, and even thought I'd see a few Keith Jarrett guesses (EST has been dogged by some for sounding way too much like the Jarrett Trio - can't say I agree), but none were logged. I think EST at this point has far greater potential than what they’ve actually shown on record so far, but I will say I thoroughly enjoy this CD when in the right mood - again, my reaction to it on a day to day basis seems to reflect my inner state more than with a lot of music. ********** But (to cop a favorite line from Marti DiBergi, Spinal Tap documenteur): enough of my yackin’! Let the discussion begin anew!

OK folks - absolutely GREAT discussion to this point, and for those just logging in to play, make sure you keep your eyes only on this thread for now and NOT on the one I'm going to post in a few minutes with the "answers" until you are ready. Feel free to keep this discussion going simultaneously, I'm sure there's more than 1 person playing who hasn't yet had a chance to log in with their comments.

Oh yeah, definitely! Very cool site, with tons of hard to find recordings (including their own label, CIMP), but they're mainly known for the excellent CADENCE monthly they've published for...well, I don't know exactly, probably 30 years or more I'd guess. Check out their site: www.cadencebuilding.com

Finally broke down and after years ordered this, got a decent deal at half.com ($74 including shipping for used set). It's on the way. I was a little concerned about the remastering being pretty old now, but it looks like Verve will not for a long time (if ever) get everything out in other formats, and everything I've read said sound quality was excellent for the time and I'm not fanatical about it. I have heard much of the music, but the strings, south of the border stuff, and much else I haven't...so what do others think about this set?

I PM'd this AM. Can't wait!

I think this is an interesting idea, and should be left to the option of the person doing the particular blindfold disc in question. For example, I'm not really into doing this because I fear it might actually steer people away from participating who otherwise have a lot to offer...I've noticed so many people saying things like "I'll feel really stupid when it's revealed" etc and I find that kind of surprising - it's supposed to be fun, you know, and there are an infinite number of recordings our there so OF COURSE you're not going to get most of them (even the pros often look really lame in the DOWNBEAT blindfold test). So I wouldn't really be into doing this for my particular CD. Others might be, though, which is cool (and actually, I personally would have no problem posting my guesses this way and getting creamed - I have pretty thick skin! ). I'm also OK with it if someone else wants to steward this type of thread concerning my CD, but I don't have the time or inclination to do it myself.

Daniel A- the "answers" and further discussion will be posted on a separate, clearly labeled thread (I'll be doing this on Monday Sept 8). I don't want to post them on the same thread as the initial discussion in case someone wants to review it without seeing the answers. I think there will be enough folks at all stages of thinking about the music that both threads will have action.

Actually Jim, I'm with you on Wes...I was kind of thinking aloud as I wrote my post, and as I mentioned there, upon reflection I realized more and more that his sound was "dirtier" than I'd at first believed. Why it at first "seemed" cleaner, until I thought about it, is not fully clear to me, except that I think probably his fluidity probably in a sense tricks the ear into hearing things as cleaner than they were. Regardless, you're right on target.

Well I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Castle Anthrax is involved somehow...