Joe

It's a crime that the Newport in NY material remains out of general circulation. Thanks for inspiring me to spin some 70s Sonny again!

Late to this party, but what a party it is! Tracks 1 and 2 are a good reminder of how jam sessions can go right (making me suspect Bob Weinstock was not involved [JK]). I'm most impressed here by the trumpet player who solos first on both tracks. The tenor player is just so in the pocket on that slow blues. Nice tone, too; not too heavy or syrupy. That bass player could be only one bass player. The ideas, the technique, the swing, the tone, the tuning... that has to be Mingus. I think I know what this is from context clues. (Spoiler below.) If I'm right, I've got to do some more homework to track down recordings featuring this trumpet player. I'm also going to have to go back and listen almost exclusively to the rhythm section. Track 3: Sonny Rollins sounding gruff, even a bit hoarse. I guess some listeners get turned off by this choice — it's more R&B than "jazz" strictly speaking, I suppose — but I hear it as just another color in his paintbox. It also reminds me a bit of how Lee Konitz roughened up his tone as he explored other avenues of free playing. His solo here does seem oddly unresolved; truncated, even. Probably better to say it sticks a landing in an unexpected spot. And to enjoy how he makes a meal (as the actors like to say) out of every note he sustains. Spoiler: Newport in New York '72, the tracks with Milt Buckner, Mingus, Alan Dawson, Jimmy Owens (!!!), Buddy Tate, Charles McPherson, Cat Anderson, and Roland Hanna

Count me in, please. Thanks!

Details here: https://www.discogs.com/release/7551540-Django-Reinhardt-The-Great-Artistry-Of-Django-Reinhardt

Maybe some day Fagen wil authorize the re-release of this pre-COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY single.

The difference between me and Walter Becker is that reading NAKED LUNCH made my hair curl.

Agree. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, do so. It' both unusual and excellent... kind of like its subject matter.

💯

Underrated, IMO

to name just 3 from the 70s

Highly enjoyable set of music. Some new names here for me. I look forward to investigating further. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing that! I recently discovered this recording by David Angel and have enjoyed it very much. https://vsoprecords.bandcamp.com/album/v-s-o-p-127-cd-the-david-angel-big-band-camshafts-and-butterflies Arthur Lee didn't often help himself, but he also got a pretty raw deal on that "third strike" offense that sent him to prison for almost 6 years. But he got his flowers at last not long after.

Probably the first record I remember putting on repeat. Well, asking my parents to put on repeat... I was 4 or 5 at the time. Bought a gold label copy for 4 bucks at a DFW record show based on something I'd read about it. Hearing it and falling in love with became the thing that decisively separated my musical tastes from my siblings', particualrly my older brother: child #1, so he typically controlled the radio and TV. I'd been "investigating" jazz up until the point I auditioned this. (It must have been a used CD I came across.) I knew Joe Henderson from Tyner's THE REAL MCCOY and Richard Davis from OUT TO LUNCH. Hill I knew nothing about, not Haynes really. This is when I became obsessed with Blue Note and following all the threads between leaders, sidemen, etc. Which obsession soon spilled over to the other great independent labels of that era (Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary).

My eyes say "he did," but my ears say "not so fast." What's Bill Connors up to these days?

Thank you!

I am guessing said recordings are not available for general consumption? Agree about the importance of the Guild and her role in it.

True, true, true.

Sigh. A person of incredible talent and integrity. She will be missed. But what a wonderful bunch of compositions she left us.