Joe

Took me some time to learn to appreciate Bird. I think this has largely to do with my having heard too many Bird-derived players before I ever got back to the source. Hence I initially heard what sounded -- but could not be taken to be -- cliches in his playing. Also, i sometimes found it difficult to hear him as an integral part of his ensembles, i.e., as anything other than a virtuoso soloist who habitually left his accompanists in the dust. So, other players ruined Bird somewhat for me. At first. I wonder -- have others here had this kind of experience with Parker or other widely imitated players?

Eric Kloss and Herb Geller

Chosen by Fred Kaplan. Interesting to see (yet another) list like this in a "non-specialist" publication... http://www.slate.com/id/2111310/

Short but sweet... Alos features what are, without question, the GREATEST LINER NOTES EVER !!!

I wondered what the heck Fred Ho was up to these days...

THE PRISON I have the faintest of memories of, and at that mostly of the packaging / libretto. All I know is I also would never be without a copy of AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN' and PRETTY MUCH YOUR STANDARD RANCH STASH. Especially the former.

... and then the trio was transformed to Giuffre, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers. Curious, and interesting, connection. Really? I never knew that. Wonder what they sounded like: Giuffre and Joe Chambers... the mind fairly boggles (in a good way). BTW, the producer listed for METAMORPHOSIS is Cal Lampley.

A great record not many people know about. Also good for Tejas drivin'... Mike Nesmith's First National Band stuff John Carter, FIELDS Ry Cooder's BOOMER'S STORY Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks, WHERE'S THE MONEY Transona 5, MELATONIN BULLET and THREE-WAY GLIDER

I've always wondered what the "back story" on METAMORPHOSIS was. I believe that this group was, with the exception of Zoller, a studio creation. And, IIRC, Giuffre trio at this time consisted of Jimmy, Friedman, and bassist Barre Phillips, who appears on Zoller's THE HORIZON BEYOND (superb date, BTW).

Is it just me, or do you all detect a strong M-Base flavor to this music? There are also times when Mahanthappa's playing in particular calls to mind konakkol, sort of the Carnatic tradition's version of solfeggio; konakkol however being much more about rhythm than scale (melody).

Apologies if I missed a Don Friedman recommendation earlier in this thread, but I do happen to think his entire Riverside / Prestige output is worth owning: If asked to be very selective, I would single out CIRCLE WALTZ and METAMORPHOSIS in this group. Though I would hate to be without any of them, especially the standards on DREAMS AND EXPLORATIONS.

Dig what Tree Wave are up to...

You ain't just whistling Dixie. Think about Dallas in the teens, 20's and 30's of last century: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson and Leadbelly playing on street-corners; Robert Johnson recording in a Dallas hotel room; Hot Lips Page, Budd Johnson and Buster Smith roaming around town; T-Bone Walker tearing it up in Oak Cliff... [sigh.]

Banhart works best for me in small doses. Ditto Joanna Newsom. I think the Vetiver release, of all the 2004 discs by that nexus of artists, still holds up best as a coherent artistic statement. My preference also has to do with presonal associations I have with this music: country drives and all that. FWIW, I also really liked that Ramon Sender disc that Locust put out this year (WORLD FOOD[?]).

Today, as I spin MINGUS AT THE BOHEMIA (His first masterpiece, IMHO), I'm thinking -- "Buy all the Mingus on Fantasy that you can -- especially those DEBUT RARITIES discs..."

Charalambides, JOY SHAPES (Kranky) BROKENHEARTED DRAGONFLIES: INSECT ELECTRONICA FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA (Sublime Frequencies) VETIVER (DiCristina)

Two. Horace Silver, THE UNITED STATES OF MIND I may be in the minority here, but I happen to think that this set contains some of Silver's most personal music. Not just because of the lyrics, which I know are just oo full of New Age-y self-actualization for some tastes, but due also of the sharpnessof the melodies and the sheer depth of the improvsing, especially from the leader. Its as if Horace re-discovered harmony on these dates, and he makes the most of his new knowledge. Also, for sheer historical importance: for answering in the digital age the question, "What was one of the most important and influential post-War jazz artists doing at the beginning of the ME Decade?" Jeff Parker and Scott Fields, SONG SONGS SONG I happen to think Parker is the real deal, a guitarist with a wide range of interests -- you may have heard him in Tortoise, or with Fred Anderson, or elsewhere -- but a supremely solid grounding in jazz and contemporary improv. Scott Fields is an intriguing figure in his own right, with AACM connections and several ambitious projects on his vita. The music they make together is nerve-wracking -- in the best sense, i.e., in the way that Cecil Taylor's best music can be nerve-wracking -- but never abrasive. Parker's peices are, in fact, dowright gorgeous ("LK 92"). Maybe the most original recording to make use of guitar feedback since, geez, I don't know, My Bloody Valentine's LOVELESS.

Why? Well... Raised in Oklahoma and west Texas, Jimmy Webb launched a celebrated songwriting career while still in his teens (his “Up, Up And Away” topped the charts for The Fifth Dimension in 1967). During the Flower Power era, his lush, romantic pop songs -- “MacArthur Park” for Richard Harris and “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” for Glen Campbell, to name a couple -- represented everything creatively vital about a Tin Pan Alley that was fast being overshadowed by songwriting performers like Dylan and The Beatles. Success or no, Webb quickly saw the writing on the wall. “One thing I always knew was that once they know who you are, you’re dead,” he explains in Ben Edmonds’ liner notes to this release. “I saw that I was rapidly pigeonholed, strapped into an electric chair called ‘middle of the road songwriter.’ I couldn’t let that happen.” In 1969 Webb embarked on a performance career noted for its studio innovation, large-scale ambition, and delicate song craft. While his 1970 debut, Words And Music, was tailored to the rock audience, Webb subsequently re-consolidated his orchestral gains, culminating in the back-to-back extravagance of Land’s End (1974) and El Mirage (1977), the latter produced by George Martin. Webb consistently impressed critics though he sold few records. But his peers have always recognized his genius, bestowing prestigious songwriting awards as well as Grammys for music, lyrics, and orchestration (Webb remains the only artist to be awarded in all three categories). This five-disc limited-edition boxed set contains the albums Words And Music (1970), And So: On (1971), Letters (1972), Land’s End (1974), and El Mirage (1977), as well as never-before-available live performances from 1972 and a disc’s worth of previously unreleased outtakes. The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb In The Seventies will be available on 12/14/2004 for $79.98 in an individually numbered limited edition of 2,500 copies. Pre-order it at: http://www.rhinohandmade.com/browse/Produc...sso?Number=7820 Long been interested in hearing Webb perform his own music -- what can I say, I'm a sucker for "Wichita Lineman" -- but this set is NOT cheap, so any caveat emptors or "hell yeah"'s (or anything in between) would be most welcome. Much grass, Joe

Downtown Dallas is now effectively a ghost town.

I recall being underwhelemed by the Mclean / Jenkins meeting, but, then again, there isn;t much Jenkins on record, so... The FOUR ALTOS date, though -- there is some frou-frou on it, courtesy Woods and, to a lesser extent, Quill. But Sahib Shihab's solos are totally hell-bent for leather (sorry, could not help the Judas Priest reference here) and make it worth hearing. FOUR ALTOS is also one of the Prestige dates arranged by Mal Waldron / produced by Teddy Charles (IIRC). Seems like both "staggers" and "Pedal Eyes" on here are Waldron compositions. So it's got that going for it too, IMHO. All I know about BIRD FEATHERS is that the McKusick material is also appended to the CD reissue of his TRIPLE EXPOSURE.

Keep the positivity flowing my friend.

Whoa, like, DUDE...

In my collection of de-torrented materials, I have a Slint live show from Club Dreamerz, Chicago, August '89. On this evidence, they were certainly a bit more lugibrous in performance than on record, but I'd still love to see them.

Creeping up into the sky. Stopping, at the top and, starting down. The girl grabbed my hand, I clutched it tight. I said good-bye to the ground.

My first pick would be Hawk Eyes, followed by Soul. My picks as well, though I would through in a rec. too for the meeting with Lockjaw Davis (NIGHT HAWK) and the date with Vic Dickenson and Joe Thomas.