Joe

You may know it as: But here's a new cover for it under it's original title:

RIP, Big Guy...

Feelin' elegaic this morning... Besides, this session was something of a tribute to the classic "Blue Note", "hard bop" sound.

Either: or:

But he left behind so many fine recordings. I'll miss him.

Very late 70's, Muse-y, Jim!!! But be careful. You can take this whole revisionism thing TOO far. I mean, what if Guidi Tri-Arts continued to design the covers for Contemporary Records into the late 1960's?

A session we'll never hear...

Alan is indeed on vacation. You can also reach him via: http://bagatellen.com

As requested. Kind of a combo of Reid Miles' classic typography, the mid-60's BN approach to cover art utilizing color photos, and the LT series "minimalism" Jim Sangrey digs so much... With apologies to Ron Carter!

THE COMPLETE ROULETTE RECORDINGS OF JOHN HANDY THE COMPLETE ROULETTE / ROOST RECORDINGS OF EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS OF PAUL KNOPF THE COMPLETE IMPULSE RECORDINGS OF SHIRLEY SCOTT AND STANLEY TURRENTINE THE COMPLETE STANLEY DANCE-PRODUCED FELSTED SESSIONS

Of Lloyd's Atlantics, I prefer the live dates -- FOREST FLOWER, LOVE-IN, and LIVE IN THE SOVIET UNION in particular. Of the ECM's, I actually like NOTES FROM BIG SUR quite a bit -- having Ralph Peterson at the kit means its a little more, uhh, "dynamic" than some of Lloyd's post-"comeback" sessions. Oh, and don't fail to check out the veriosn of the Costello / Bachrach "God Give Me Strength" on VOICE IN THE NIGHT... It would also be nice to have Lloyd's Columbia dates back in wider circulation.

Ebay pics, so save 'em while you can... June's daughter on the far right, BTW...

Looks interesting. Ake Persson is always worth hearing, IMO.

If only David Rosenthal were still alive...

Probably so, but the irony is that he had just the opposite effect on generations after him. Or at least on many segments of those generations. Go figure. EXACTLY!!!

Is it me or did Coltrane perhaps have the strongest and most positive influence on sax players of his own and even slightly earlier generations? Art Pepper, Harold Land, Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, even Charlie Rouse -- all these individuals were "tested" in some way by Trane, and emerged as more individual improvisors as a result. I would add Criss to this list on the basis of this record. Whatever the case, Criss' playing on this album is almost too intense, too excoriating for words. He sounds like a man finally liberated from... SOMETHING. (Remember how Teddy Edwards described the man, as "a closet full of coats with the shoes underneath".)

There’s a single, or singular, maybe, reason I love this record – Johnny Coles’ TONE. Yes, “warm” as the title of his first session as a leader (Epic, 1961) described it in near space-age bachelor pad terms, but with a cool center. Breathy, slightly hoarse. Maybe its better to say his timbre is singed at the edges. Whatever – the Coles’ sound is a mixture of oppositional elements, the difficulty of adequate description of which also calls to mind the late David Rosenthal’s description of Art Farmer’s sound – “tart”. Sour, but... sour cream. Now, usually, I don;t dig flugelhorn all that much. Its a little too roly-poly for my taste, and its mechanics can make even the most fleet player sound logy. But listen to how Coles exploits the fullness of the instrument’s qualities on this record. “Johnny Coles... in PANAVISION!” Couple this tone with Coles super-hip articulation, and you have a rare brass player who somehow bridges the gap (which may anyway exist only in my mind) that separates Rex Stewart from Chet Baker. Maybe this is why Gil Evans showcased Coles in the 60’s whenever the arranger wasn’t re-negotiating with Miles and Teo Macero. I almost don’t have even to listen to Coles’ solos on this record. I could just listen to him play the unusually lyrical theme to saxophonist Charles Davis’ “Super 80”, hit the stop button, and be happy. But my curiosity invariably gets the best of me, and I let the track play. Listen to how involved he gets in the harmonies during his solo. In some ways, the solo on “Super 80” is a jazz improvisation that spins out so many arabesques and penetrates so deep that it is nearly “out”. And speaking of “out” – isn’t the title track something else? A modal, Spanish-tinged construct that really keeps your interest and doesn’t just see-saw back and forth from major to minor. This is the track, I feel, on which Coles’ esteemed accompanists really out-do themselves, from Billy Hart’s quasi-AEC opening gong to the oft-kilter, killer groove that the Parlan / Johnson / Hart trio sets up. It seems to me, in listening to this disc yet again, that, much as I feel that Coles, and not Miles, was the trumpet player born to bring life to Gil Evans’ scores, that the association with Gil may have hurt Coles’ career in the long run. Not only did it force him somewhat into Miles’ shadow, make him Miles’s understudy for many fans, but – oh, irony – it deflected attention away from his considerable abilities as a soloist onto his talents as a musical colorist. (I know some have complained that Coles is habitually out of tune. I can’t tell.) And there’s no question that Coles could shade like few other players could. Perhaps more than his other few leader dates, really shows off Coles could do. that the opportunity came so late in his career seems both a shame and a blessing.

Some Billy Higgins you may otherwise miss... "Blend"

Leave us not forget his fine work with Horace Silver...

And check out the track "Tech Ritter and the Megabytes" on this brand new release... So hip it hurts! PI RECORDINGS

This one? Very early Blue on BN: And some prime early 70's Blue:

I can recommend the sides collected on this CD: Includes a version of "Our Miss Brooks", which BN listeners should remember from STEPPIN' OUT...

Yes, I listen to both "jazz" and "blues", though I must admit the so-called "folk blues" (acoustic) often speaks to me more than "electric" or "post-war" blues. As to what Jim is saying, I think this comment from saxophonist Tim Berne is somewhat along those same lines... http://bagatellen.com/berne.html