Joe

Go for the collaborations with Waldron first, then fill in with the other dates. Of individual albums, I have a soft spot myself for LONG DRINK OF THE BLUES, as it features that priceless "breakdown" take of the title performance. You also get to hear Jackie on tenor sax, which is pretty darn interesting...

Thanks all. Mr. Brooks' obituary, from AllAboutJazz: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=1302

I'm not sure how I missed noticing this, but Tina Brooks older (?) brother recorded two albums for the TCB label before his passing in 2002. SMOOTH SAILING (1998), with Kenny Drew, Jr., Peter Bernstein, Peter washington, and Kenny Washington 1. Cotton Tail (Ellington) - 5:00 2. Stella by Starlight (Washington/Young) - 6:27 3. Pennies from Heaven (Burke/Johnston) - 5:59 4. Old Folks (Hill/Robison) - 5:06 5. Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington/Gordon/Mills) - 5:28 6. In a Mellow Tone (Ellington/Gabler) - 7:33 7. Billie's Bounce (Parker) - 5:37 8. Stardust (Carmichael/Parish) - 4:15 9. Smooth Sailing (Cobb) - 4:55 POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS (2002), with Jack Walrath, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Charli[e] Persip 1. Blue and Sentimental (Basie/David/Livingston) - 4:56 2. Perpetual Motion (Garner) - 10:49 3. Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me) (Ellington/Gaines) - 8:37 4. Dutch Kitchen Bounce (Cobb/Woods) - 9:25 5. Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Burke/VanHeusen) - 7:30 6. Lonnie's Blues (Smith) - 7:14 7. A Ghost of a Chance (Young) - 5:53 8. Things Ain't What They Used to Be (Ellington/Persons) - 4:08 9. Don't Blame Me (Fields/McHugh) - 8:04 Worth hearing at all? I would not want Bubba to really sound at all like his baby brother, but I would love to think that his playing might shine a little more light on Tina's. Thanks in advance.

From what I remember... I was in detention quite a bit.

A few less well-known, but, IMHO, superb sessions that fit within the "small-band swing" parameters.

I am a huge fan of WITCHDOCTOR'S SON.

I like Monk Montgomery's pioneering work on electric bass...

Advance order-ed the second June batch of Verve LPR's -- Griffin, Jacquet / Burrell, Stitt, Moody, Kirk...

Alan -- I would pick Guston as well... Also, B. Newman and E. Kelly.

Studio or live dates? Have picked up the recent FROM BREMEN TO BRIDGEWATER 2-disc set, but, to my embarrassment, have not had a chance to listen to it yet. I have to say that TRAVELLING SOMEWHERE was something of a disappointment for me. The BoB revelled in raggedness, but I found those 1973 performances a little slack. If it is just more Mongezi you want -- and who wouldn't? -- you might try to track down copies of: Dudu Pukwana / Diamond Express (Arista Freedom), aka Ubagile (Jazz Colour) Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (RCA / Neon) -- I believe DustyGroove has been stocking this... The Blue Notes / Legacy: Live in South Africa 1964 (Ogun)

Larry -- once tried to write fiction centered around Sonny Rollins, his sabbatical in the early 60's, and the "problem of influence". That may be the last book I ever write, and I lifted it myself... Having lived through a thoroughly post-modern education, I share your reservations about the word. But sometimes it is just the hammer you need. It is interesting that Wayne's compositions have entered the canon, but you don't typically see transcritpions of his solos as you do those of Trane, Henderson, and others. I wonder how different Wayne's career would have been, too, if both ET CETERA and THE SOOTHSAYER, probably his "harshest" 60's sessions, had not sat in the vaults for so long. Did Wayne himself have a hand in keeping them out of ciruclation?

Larry -- thanks so much for that preview. I would agree regarding the subversive, broad humor of Shorter's early solos; an aspect of his work not commonly discussed. I hear Shorter's quest a little bit differently, as more of a struggle with the changing same -- with a series of reversals or even personal apostasies (SUPER NOVA, an album I love) along the way -- than a protracted fade into stasis. (Not that you suggest as much, of course.) I suppose one could read the Shorter's increasing interest in orchestration a number of ways: as a deliberate repudiation of the jazz soloist as historical construct; as an extension of his interest in composing; as an exploration of new methods of camouflage; i.e., the ensemble surrounds Shorter but is not dependent upon him; conversely, as a means of expanding his musical Self, by creating "permanent" structures for other improvisers that are nevertheless already completely overgrown with elements of his own style. All of which makes me think not just about what Shorter plays, has played, will play... but also the impact of his music in terms of influence. Isn't Shorter's situation, like that of Rollins, slightly absurd? Maybe more like absurdity on top of absurdity, both having flirted with absurd content in their own work. Multiply this by those myriad refractions of their Selves audible in the work of subsequent saxophonists. "The problem of influence", it seems to me, cannot be isloated within the influenced. And, certainly, if you're trying to dodge yourself, it becomes very difficult as aspects of that Self proliferate in the surrounding culture. Maybe it is Shorter's reaction to this, the compositional and improvisational choices he has made as well as avoided over the course of his career, which anticipates post-modernism. Anyway, however it does touch upon post-modern thought, and I think it does, SHorter's music does so in an extremely subtle manner.

EARLY BIRD on Sunnyside is rather nice. More Steve Nelson, some fine kinky playing by Donald Harrison, and Bill Mobley (lovely tone). Anyone, how is the date with Alan Dawson on Evidence?

One of those names I'd never expect to see pop up here! There's room for him here, surely. His work has been influential on a number of contemporary improvising musicians -- or so it seems to me. Not to say I've liked everything I've heard by him, BTW.

FWIW, I was so glad to see this Davis piece, and so glad to see Larry Kart quoted at length. As I've written elsewhere regarding the "egoless" comment... Somewhat remarkable comments for their time, but even more pertinent today than they ever were. Except that now, these observations could be applied not just to single recording, but to an entire "genre" of music. No bashing intended, really. But this passage does cause me to wonder about the perhaps still not fully comprehended pervasiveness of Shorter's influence on the world of improvisation, and, by extension, to pause again over the idea that there is more "jazz" in "eai" [electro-acoustic improvisation] / whatever than maybe meets the ear. To wit… taking their cue from John Cage, many contemporary musicians cite Zen concepts in (partial) explanation of their own working methods, or, like Bernhard Günter, claim to be adherents of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. (Interestingly, reverence of the quintessentially Western concept of the clinamen – thank you Lucretius – appears to be much more rare.) I have little doubt that Kart was making at least oblique reference to Shorter's Buddhist faith here, however, not in order to exploit it for the purposes of his argument, but rather in order to delineate just how the very culture of the music was changing. Here we are standing at the other end of that change, I would argue, and now its time to return to the question that I feel is implicit in Kart's analysis, expressed as it is, and only could best be expressed, in a tone of slight resignation. "[T]o renounce the notion of the improvising musician as the purveyor of a competitive, flamboyant ego"... is improvisation as a practice even suited to this pursuit?

I rather like it, but it has been ages since I spun it...

I never really warmed to BLUE SPIRITS, but there's some fine Hank Mobley to be heard there.

FANTA products are big internationally, especially in South Asia. Look for this one the next time you're near an Indo-Pak Mart:

Can a reissue of THE LONG MARCH be not far behind???

Dare I mention Theo Bleckmann? (His collaborations with guitarist Ben Monder are qite fine.) Lisa Sokolov?

I am just swelling with local pride on this one... maybe I can convince you all that Denton is actually in Oklahoma...

It's about time BN got around to documenting the fertile Minneapolis jazz scene...

I must be totally clueless, as I had no idea until I checked the AMG blurb on this that she is married to Elvis Costello.

The Charles Prestige dates from the early 50's indeed anticipate several developments in jazz that would not be accepted, if they ever were, in the mainstream until the end of the decade and into the 60's. For instance, COLLABORATION WEST has some early "modal" structures on it -- "Margo" is a lovely ballad -- and either "Further Out" or "Etudiez le Cahier" is a serial composition. The important figure in the background of this record is California composer / educator Wesley La Violette, whose other pupils included Jimmy Giuffre and Martin Denny. Charles could also flat-out blow, as the Bethlehem date or the date with the two Bookers (Ervin and LIttle) proves. Check him out, too, on this session (with Sonny Clark, Frank Morgan, and Larance Marable):

Also did some production work for Prestige in the 50's -- if I remember correctly, Trane's DAKAR was a Charles date.