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One last thought. How is it that we neglected to mention the recordings Shaw did with Eric Dolphy and Bobby Hutcherson, Iron Man and Conversations. Excellent recordings and highly recommended to fans of any of these artists. These predate Dolphy's Out To Lunch and I can't help but wonder how that Blue Note album (which is an indisputable classic) would have sounded with Shaw instead of Freddie Hubbard.

This thread motivated me to pull out something from my unheard music box featuring Shaw that I had been meaning to get to for a while. I was only able to give it one listen so far, but Buddy Terry's Pure Dynamite on the Mainstream label has some good solos by Shaw. The recording as a whole is pretty much of its time, but it is fairly enjoyable. Another one to check out is Chick Corea's 1966 Atlantic date, Inner Space. Good early Shaw teamed up with Joe Farrell in the front line. Chick Corea - Inner Space Finally, did anyone mention Carlos Ward's Lito? Great pianoless quartet, which is a format that I do not think Shaw recorded in often, if at all and you can really hear him stretch. Carlos Ward - Lito

I don't have the other date with Jansa and therefore can not compare. In My Own Sweet Way is also one of my favorites. Shaw's tone on this recording is particularly exceptional. An essential recording IMO.

Don't think this one has been mentioned. It features excellent playing by Shaw. Tone Jansa Quartet featuring Woody Shaw - Dr. Chi

Another recording featuring Eskelin that I highly recommend is Gerry Hemingway's latest, Devils Paradise. It is a great quartet date with Hemingway, Eskelin, Ray Anderson and Mark Dresser. Very good compositions and fantastic playing by all.

I think it is referring to Stepping Stones, which has yet to be released on CD.

YES!

Shaw is also my favorite trumpet player and others have already posted quite eloquently about some of his better recordings. I will not repeat anything already said, but a sideman appearance by Shaw that I have been praying to be reissued someday is Gary Bartz' Home on Milestone. Its a 1969 live date from Bartz hometown of Baltimore that catches him in full acoustic fire before he entered into his Ntu-Troop phase. Bartz and Shaw sound great, Shaw plays wonderfully as always and why people are not tearing down the walls to get this one reissued I do not understand. I have also been fortunate to hear some unissued live performances by Shaw, including one with Bartz that reaffirm each and every time how wonderful a musician Shaw was. One of those musicians that I regret never being able to experience live.

He just did Central Park two weeks ago. I think that is it for the year.

Well I no longer live in NYC, but I am still close enough that I will make every effort to catch this show. Saw Tolliver this past March with Stanley Cowell, Cecil McBee and Billy Drummond and it was a special performance. Looking forward to this one. INCREDIBLE PERSONNEL!!!

Scott plays with Rollins on This is What I Do and Global Warming. I do not remember if he also plays on +3. Below is the link to the AMG list of Scott sideman appearances. Stephen Scott Appearances

Thanks for the clarification.

European (France).

Another great recording that features Waldron and Henderson playing together is Soul Eyes. Henderson only plays on a couple of tracks, but they are magical. The entire recording is special - featuring a rhythm section of Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille and on alternating tracks Henderson, Steve Coleman, Jeanne Lee and Abby Lincoln. Unfortunately, this 1997 BMG title was never released in the U.S. and now will be incredibly difficult to locate. If you see it, grab it!

My most recent purchases in the past couple of weeks, with others orders that I have yet to receive not included. Great Jazz Trio At The Village Vanguard 1977 Inner City McLean, Jackie w/ The Great Jazz Trio New Wine In Old Bottles 1978 Inner City Coleman, Steve – Five Elements The Ascension to Light 1999 BMG/RCA Victor Hope, Elmo Sounds From Rikers Island 1963 Fresh Sound Coleman, Steve – Five Elements Alternate Dimension Series I 2002 Freedom Art Quartet Spirits Awake 2003 Freedom Art Records Gonzalez, Dennis – New Southern Quintet Old Time Revival 2002 Entropy Stereo Konitz, Lee Live at the Half Note 1959 Verve Watson, Bobby The Year of the Rabbit 1987 Evidence Solal, Martial NY-1 Live At The Village Vanguard 2001 Blue Note Jackson, Javon Easy Does It 2002 Palmetto Murray, David & Gwo-Ka Masters Yonn-Dé 2000 Justin Time Kirk, Rahsaan Roland Volunteered Slavery 1969 Atlantic Kirk, Rahsaan Roland Here Comes The Whistleman 1967 Atlantic Freeman, Von Live at the Dakota 1996 Premonition Carroll, Baikida Marionettes On A High Wire 2000 OmniTone Peterson, Ralph Triangular 1988 Blue Note Shipp, Matthew The Multiplication Table 1997 hatOLOGY Mengelberg, Misha Two Days In Chicago 1998 hatOLOGY Stafford, Terell New Beginnings 2003 Maxjazz Mayhew, Virginia Phantoms 2002 Renma

This is an interesting disc that I have had the opportunity to listen to a couple of times in the past two days. The Freedom Art Quartet is Abraham Burton (ts), Omar Kabir (tp, flh), Jaribu Shahid (bass), Lloyd Haber (d) and on a couple of selections Douglas Yates (as). The recording, on the Freedom Art Records label is produced by Shahid and Haber and all the songs are by Haber. Despite the inferences that may be drawn from the title of the group and the instrumentation, this is not a free jazz outing. To my ears Haber's compositions are not incrediby complex or developed, but they effectively set the general mood of each piece and provide a structure from which the soloists can create. Most of the tunes are relatively short (the longest is only 7:37 with most between 5-6 minutes) and the soloists do a good job of making concise statements that actually say something. Burton sounds particularly confident and displays a nice big sound. Yates, who I was unfamiliar with makes the best of his three appearances with a Dolphy influenced approach that really grabs your attention, especially his solo on the tune Kimbunga. Kabir contributes several relaxed solos. Shahid and Haber do not draw too much attention to themselves, but instead provide steady support and keep the rhythm moving. Overall, a good recording that gives reason to hope these musicians continue to develop together.

Here is a question that just came to me. Are compilers limited to commercial recordings, or is it okay to include selections from unreleased material? Participants obviously would not be able to identify specific recordings, but they can still identify artists and comment about their response to the music. I only ask because I have a decent collection of unreleased live performances (most from radio broadcasts) and very often our favorite musicians perform live with artists that they are unable to record with for whatever reason. As an example I have some radio broadcasts from a tour Greg Osby and Mark Turner did a couple of years ago with Jason Moran that makes me salivate at the idea of these wonderful musicians recording together.

I enjoyed Brown Sugar. Other than Young's Unity, did Joe Henderson play on any other organ dates?

This year I was fortunate to see McBee appear in what will definately be two of my favorite live performances of the year. The first was a Music Inc reunion performance with Tolliver. Stanley Cowell and Billy Drummond filling the drums chair. Truly a historic concert and McBee played wonderfully. In the past month I also caught him playing with Sonny Fortune in a quartet that also included John Hicks. Another very good show. McBee is a master.

I spent the day on Saturday under the tent at the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, CT. During the ten hours I spent shielded from the threatening rain I heard six performances. There was not a dud in the bunch. The day started with pianist David Berkman in a quartet that also featured saxophone player Dick Oats, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and the very musical drummer Bill Stewart. Solid set featuring interesting compositions by Berkman and very good contributions from all the musicians. Next was Jane Bunnett & the Spirits of Havana. Prior to yesterday I had not heard any of Bunnett's music and this was a pleasant introduction. The group played an infectious brand of Afro-Cuban jazz that in the end made me wonder whether I had just participated in a Yoruba ceremony. It was also obvious that Bunnett has taken the time to investigate this music and create something of substance. For the most part I did not pay attention to the individual contributions of the musicians, but Bunnett did have a couple of interesting solos on soprano. The third group was one of the highlights of the day for me - Mulgrew Miller & Wingspan. Joining Miller were Steve Nelson on vibes, trumpeter Duane Eubanks, Antonio Hart on alto and soprano saxophone and a bassist and drummer that were unfamiliar to me. The group featured pieces from Miller's latest recording on Maxjazz, The Sequel. Miller has the ability to write some gorgeous melodies that provide excellent backdrops for the soloists. On Saturday Hart and Nelson were the stars to me, but everyone played very well. Hart continues to impress me in sideman appearances that I have heard him in and Nelson is simply a genius on the vibes. Great set! Next came Vanessa Rubin with special guest James Spaulding. Rubin has a good voice and sang some interesting songs (although I am not sure how I feel about her rendition of the classic R&B tune "With You I'm Born Again"), but the energy level of her set skyrocketed when James Spaulding came on stage. He first played two tunes with Rubin's trio - Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" and Joe Henderson's "Recorda Me" - and then played a couple of numbers backing up Rubin. He is a terrific musician and its a shame more people are not listening to him. After the set I spoke to him briefly and he was very gracious. When I told him that I went to college with his daughter and that I had purchased his self produced recent CD on his own Speetones label several months ago he was even just a tad bit more friendly to me. After what I presumed to be the dinner break the evening performances started with the Heath Brothers - featuring all three Percy, Jimmy and Tootie along with Jeb Patton on piano. Very enjoyable set by three masters of the music. They have basically been playing the same songs for a long time ("A Sight For Sore Ears" and "Gingerbread Boy" to name a couple), but what made this performance special in addition to their superb musicianship was the joy they exhibited while playing. Every now and then it is a pleasure to witness someone who really enjoys what they are doing to draw you into the performance. And by the way, Jimmy has a potential career as a standup comic if he ever decides to put his horn down. The final act of the day was the Wayne Shorter quartet with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. The one or two times I heard this group's Verve Release Footprints Live I honestly was not feeling them. Shorter did not seem to be playing much sax and I found it difficult to get into the overall sound. In person this group presents a completely different experience. In the beginning of their performance I had my concerns - there did not seem to be any easily recognizable form to the music and Shorter still did not seem to be playing much of his horn - but as I listened further I found myself mesmerized by their performance. This truly is a group. For the most part no one person was featured and I am not sure whether anyone ever really soloed. Instead they listened closely to each other and just played - feeding and reacting off one another in a nearly telephathic manner. At times it seemed that Perez played something on piano that altered the direction of the music, Shorter picked it up and commented, Patitucci would play a thumping bass vamp to compliment and then all of a sudden Blade would come crashing down on the drums with a thunder that shook the tent. By the way, I have heard Blade live a number of times with Joshua Redman and never took much notice. I realized last night that he is a demon on the drums. I am definately going to have to pay closer attention to him. Overall the level of interplay and creativity of Shorter's group was captivating. When they stopped playing the audience let out a roar releasing the tension that had been building while hypnotized by the intense performance. Wow! A great day of live jazz!

I forgot to mention in my original post that I would love to participate. Like several people mentioned in earlier posts, it is wonderful to learn how people respond to music when the preconceived prejudices associated with knowledge of the musicians are removed. It truly forces you to simply listen.

I recently experimented with a blindfold test on another board. That other board is much smaller than organissimo, so the task of copying and mailing the blindfold test disc to the participants was not very burdensome. In any event the experiment was a huge success. We got some very interesting responses and I think it generated decent discussion. This is not an attempt to promote another board, but if anyone is interested in learning how the test went on a much smaller scale than contemplated here, the link to the thread for the first blindfold test is at http://www.52ndstreet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=432. We recently completed a second blindfold test compiled by another board member and today I am mailing out the discs for Blindfold Test #3. Its great fun and I think you all will enjoy it.

It will be worth your investment. It is one of the best jazz biographies I have read and the discography in the back has been an invaluable reference tool. It also provides an enlightening glimpse into the Tristano inner circle. Hope you enjoy.

I will check the discography in the Marsh bio, An Unsung Cat later and see if it has any info. In any event, have you listened to it yet? If so, what is the personnel and more importantly, how is it?

Picked this one up based solely on the recommendation of a friend and gave it an initial listen. Impressed with my introduction to Mayhew's artistry. The disc features Mayhew on tenor and soprano saxophone, Ingrid Jensen trumpet and flugelhorn, Harvie S - bass and Allison Miller - drums and percussion. The disc has a nice mix of standards and originals with an overall contemplative mood. Despite the introspective nature of much of the disc there is enough variety so that the disc does not get bogged down in its own seriousness. There are fresh arrangements of the standard material that hold your interest and put a personal stamp on the interpretations. Comparisions to the sound of the Ornette Coleman quartet are not far flung, but this is by no means an avant garde recording. It does not sound like Coleman's classic quartet, but there is a subtle Ornette type vibe, or edge that appealed to me. The musicians play controlled, logical solos throughout. Mayhew has a full and smooth sound on the tenor. Jensen is very impressive and Miller's rhythmic patterns are dancelike at any tempo. Harvey S. has a deep bass sound and anchors the rhythm well. All in all a very pleasant initial contact and I am looking forward to investigating this disc further.