Joe M

Yes, indeed, the Golson album is music "inspired by" the film.

Yeah, that reminds me of some of those classical cds Telarc has issued where they have the warning label on the cover advising you that they aren't liable for any damage to your stereo system when the cannons in the 1812 Overture go off... This cd should have one of those too.

Back stage about four or five years ago at a concert in Fresno California, the band was Billy Higgins, John Hicks, David Williams and Peter Leitch. They were all in the dressing room before the concert and were going over the tunes. I think one of them had just arrived, (the group never worked together in that format before) and Billy got his brushes and pulled up a plastic folding chair, and they started to play. John was playing this old out of tune upright piano, David had his bass, Peter was playing unamplified on guitar - and they started to play Lotus Blossom and Warm Valley - so beautiful and moving.

It sounds to me like a mic issue. Look on the back cover of the record and see how they've got all the blankets on the lid of the piano? I know what they're trying to do, but it's not working! Then again, this is the first record that I know of recorded at Cecils, so it might take a while to work out how best to record in that room. It really is an art.

Now that the full length is out - any further thoughts? Isn't it ironic that on this cd where she's supposedly going in a new "non-jazz" direction, that's there's a lot more serious jazz going on that her last two studio albums? Yes, Anthony Wilson is great, and adds a lot to this record. Can't wait till his next cd! Check out "Our Gang" if you haven't. (a trio with organist Joe Bagg and drummer Mark Ferber on Groove Note Records)

No discussion on this cd yet??? I think the key thing about Charlap is he's working in a style that is supposedly finished, played out, over, and he's carved out a very unique sound and approach, without resorting to gimicks, etc. You can hear him, and he's Charlap without a doubt, which is not something you can say about a lot of other younger mainstream pianists. Also, he's sooooo subtle. Everything he does, the deeper you look, the more you find.

Yes, Curtis does seem to be in pretty good form for this album, better than I expected. He's not the same player he was in 1957, but I've heard him several times in recent years, and this is really good, and compares well with anything he's done in a long time. We're not talking about someone in the sort of sad state that Freddie Hubbard is in today. Curtis can still play and this is a fine mainstream session.

I really don't see this as being that much of a departure from his other albums, just some silly electronic sounds thrown in here and there. It's ok, but if he's going to do an "electronic" project, maybe he should take the idea and run with it a little more. I guess the title of the album tells the story though. Not bad, but I don't think it's close to great.

Winard's last couple of records on Savant don't sound so "major label neo-bop" as the Harper Brothers cds did. One thing that bugs me about this new live one is the piano sound. Does anyone else hear that? I see that Don Braden is listed as the engineer. Maybe someone can give him some tips for microphone placement, as it really sounds, well, not awful, but at times it's pretty bad. Good music though.

I'm not a big James Carter fan, but this record has some nice points. You're right about really getting the feel for the club - I've never been there, but after listening to this record, I have a very vivid picture of the place! Good on location sound too - this is what a small club recording should sound like if you ask me. Too bad about what got left off. Not enough Johnny Griffin also. Also, too bad Warner Brothers isn't promoting it!

Hank Jones is simply class, the epitome of the word. It's good to see that he's getting some serious attention and appreciation from the rest of the jazz community right now (with this and several other recent projects), especially with so few of the masters left. This is simply an excellent JAZZ session. No gimmicks, concepts (other than slow to medium tempos!), tributes, special guest vocalists, electronic effects, radiohead covers, etc. Just the real thing. Dig Lovano's take on Body and Soul (retitled here "I'm All For You" - get it?). I'm not sure if Motian would have been my choice for drums on this session (Billy Higgins would have been great with this band ) - but he certainly adds something unique to the session, and gives it a little edge. It's good to know that a major label will still release a record like this is in 2004, especially with Blue Note branching off in so many "new" directions. Good stuff.

Wow, this is really good stuff. Jeremy Pelt sounds great as always, and the cd has some of that edge that a lot of mainstream recordings seem to lack, yet it still swings. All originals, except for Four By Five, You Leave Me Breathless and All God's Children Got Rhythm. EJ Strickland and Richie Goods really light the fire on this one. I think it's got to be Vincent's strongest to date. And of course, Mr. Pelt continues to amaze. If he had come on the scene 12-15 years ago, he'd be a huge star on a major label. When it comes to thinking of alto players out today, Herring isn't the first name to come to mind, but I think his playing on this one is really strong - maybe not as intense as Kenny Garrett, but intensity isn't everything. Some of the tunes on this one also sound like they could be Kenny's for that matter.

Am I the only one who simply doesn't dig his arrangements? Maybe they're too clever, too busy, too something - but whatever it is, he's not doing it for me. His work on two new cds by Janis Siegel and Karrin Allyson just left me underwhelmed. It's not that he's not original - I suppose he is, it's just there's something in his writing that consistently rubs me the wrong way. Anyone else out there with thoughts on Gil's work? Prove me wrong!

Check out Luciana Souza. North and South is excellent, with some standards (done in a very personal manner, but NOT like the others you mentioned), plus some excellent originals, and some great Brazilian numbers. I haven't heard her Neruda album yet, but I've heard from others that it's excellent. Luciana Souza

I don't know. The MP3's don't sound bad, but maybe that's not the best way to judge his playing. All I know is, jazz journalists like to use a little hyperbole now and then, it makes for a more interesting story than "another young trumpeter is on the scene, playing post bop jazz..."

I noticed the same thing! I don't think he's confusing the two, since he was talking about electronics, etc, and Terence despite the Fender Rhodes on Bounce, is still pretty straight ahead. I wouldn't be shocked to learn that Roy was signed to BN. Verve has been dropping horn players like flies, and Roy on BN with his crossover appeal might be a good fit, plus they might finally get him to cut a live record with his 5tet!!!

Yeah, I was more than a little worried after hearing the last track on the live in paris CD, sort of a NAC thing, wasn't it a Billy Joel tune or something the recorded for some movie and they put it on the album as a "bonus track"? It didn't do anything for me, sounded like a typical record company tactic of "let's try to sell this to a different audience" approach. This is very different from that, and the straight ahead tunes mix well with the Costello/Krall material, plus the covers. I wish she had a little more chance to stretch out on the piano, check out her two choruses on Black Crow, that's the best piano playing I've heard from her yet.

Mr. Kaplan does not know of what he speaks. "The Feeling of Jazz" that Wynton plays is an ORIGINAL composition, not a cover of Ellington's tune. Of course, a critic with some knowledge of the music might pick up on that, but instead it's much easier for them to write about the man, and the hype, than the music itself. Even if you dislike Wynton, and think his playing is a tired cliché, his reviewers are far more guilty of the very things they rip him for doing! Has Mr. Kaplan provided us with any new insights into the music? No. Instead he passes off a superficial discussion of the actual cd for a tired, cliché ridden, been there, done that, "I like to hear the sound of my own prose read aloud" review. BTW, The Magic Hour seems to be a hit with the listeners of our station - it sure as hell gets a lot more calls and positive feedback from people who want to know "what's this playing right now" than Dave Douglas ever has. I think you can find some things to criticize on this new cd, but I think there's a lot of fine playing on it too. And it's FAR from the worst thing he's ever done, I'd say it's among the best (and I agree that some of his albums are pretty bad!)

Wow, I'm very impressed with this. The full length just arrived here. I was expecting to be underwhelmed. It works. After hearing about her "new direction" with this new album, well, you know what record companies, producers can do. Not only will this appeal to her base, and new younger listeners, but I think some jaded jazz fans who have been bored with some of her other work might find something in this one as well. One word of note, at times Krall's voice takes on a different character, almost forced at times. Still, much better than I had expected. Some good piano playing on it too, and of course the band is great!

Gary Burton has apparently "discovered" another young talented guitarist, his name is Julian Lage, and he's featured on Gary's new cd Generations (along w/ Mokoto Ozone, James Genus and Clarence Penn). Oh, and he's only a sophomore in high school!

Brad has sounded better, both on studio and live dates, Jorge sounds great though, far better than the drummer w/ the "Bad Plus". Brad's next record is supposed to come from the same session that produced this one, all originals next time though. It's not that it's a bad record, just lacking that extra "something", and I've heard better versions of a lot of these standards by a lot of other piano players. I was also a little disap. by his cover of Everything In Its Right Place, which could have been a lot better, though like I said, Jorge is great. The Bad Plus, well, I'm NOT a fan. They're the flavor of the month right now, but take away all the noise and there's not a lot going on, at least not anything that I want to hear. It's a lot like the worst parts of Stan Kenton's output, loud, ugly, "classically" influenced, but with funny outfits and rock rhythms. The novelty wears off pretty quick, and then all you're left with is a really loud boring "power trio". Not my thing, I'd much rather listen to Brad, or even E.S.T.

I know it's not going to win over any of his detractors, but while I haven't cared much for the big "productions" he's done, I like this one, it's a fun cd. I think it's the kind of album he should be making at this point, and should have been making for a long time, but, like I said, Wynton haters aren't going to be won over by anything.

Yeah, these are three incredible reissues. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the Masterpieces disc, I figured it was just "another" recording of the classics, etc, but this is really something special, and excellent sound for the early 50's, heck, even for today. Festival Session is great too, I'd never heard anything about this disc before, and can't figure out why it's been so obscure and OOP for so long. You're right Jimmy Hamilton has some of his best moments on record on this cd. And Gonsalves on Copout is so full of energy and swing - wow!

Ghost - has your station thought about making this program available in some way to other public radio outlets? Joe Moore KFSR FM

Only for the use of bad grammar...