Joe

It seems to me that, in order to have his music most fully relaized, Monk -- like Ellington and, less so, like Mingus -- required players like Rouse who, while identifiable and often unique -- especially in terms of TONE -- were not great individual "thinkers" as he was. I mean, Rollins and Trane and Griffin all apprenticed with Monk after a fashion. When we hear those players with Monk, we hear them on their way to something grander -- on their way to themselves, you could say. Think about this, though... what if Lucky Thompson, who plays so knowlingly and so creatively on Monk's final Blue Note session (1952?), had remained a regualr member of Monk's band? If Rouse was most like another other tenor player that had worked with Monk, it was Thompson, who, like Rouse, crafted his instrumental voice from equal parts bebop and "swing".

Anyone have any more info on the Bechet?

An incredibly fleet player. Patterson for me is the most convincing expoenent of Powell-inspired bebop on organ. And, in support of this claim I refer to you all... With Pat Martino, Howard McGhee, Charles McPherson, and Billy James. I just wonder how differently Patterson might be thought of today had he recorded for Blue Note and not Prestige.

I still have never quite warmed all the way up to 2 discs that are generally considered indisputable BN classics: Wayne Shorter, SPEAK NO EVIL Herbie Hancock, MAIDEN VOYAGE These two have just never engaged me as much as, say, EMPYREAN ISLES and THE SOOTHSAYER or ETCETERA. Discs I admire, but do not *love*. Not even the new RVG masterings have helped my appreciation of these discs. MAIDEN VOYAGE in particular still sounds cloudy and slightly pallid to me. I have the same feeling about Bobby Hutcherson's OBLIQUE and HAPPENINGS, but I'm slowly coming around to them. Hmmmm, Herbie Hancock seems the common denominator here. I'm not sure my MY POINT OF VIEW was given the RVG treatment. An album that for me never quite gels, depsite the presence of some great players. I think it's let down by Herbie material. Yet I love his work on Tony Williams' SPRING, MOncur's SOME OTHER STUFF, Green's FEELIN' THE SPIRIT and Donald Byrd's ROYAL FLUSH, among other BN sessions.

Andrew Cyrille pretty much salvaged the recent Shepp / Rudd / Moncur reunion disc on Verve for this listener. Not to mention the many fine dates his led under his own name... The man needs a thread (but not necessarily some threads) of his own!

Me too. Also "The Griots" from ANDREW!!!

And Young did begin his musical career as a pianist. Time for me to revisit Woody Shaw's CASSANDRANITE and Nathan Davis' HAPPY GIRL, which probably feature the best documentary evidence of what he sounded like as a piano player during this period. I have to say Young does not sound all that Jimmy Smith-like to me. Maybe a little bit on TESTIFYIN', but certainly not on YOUNG BLUES. I'm thinking speicifically of the version of "Nica's Dream" on that record, which has led me to believe that Young had listened quite a bit to another pianist / organist... Shirley Scott.

The session I kept thinking of was Sonny Criss's SONNY'S DREAM: BIRTH OF THE NEW COOL, with arrangements by Horace Tapscott. Partly this is due to similarities in Hill's and Tapscott's use of bass clef instruments, partly to some similar rhythmic devices. That said, Hill's scores are much more active and asymmetrical than Tapscott's... Another interesting thing to consider is that this session was recorded right on the cusp of the 1970's, and that several of the musicians involved -- Farrell, White, Priester, Johnson, even Shaw to a certain extent -- would go on to have important careers in "fusion". So far, I like PASSING SHIPS OK, but I'm not ready to proclaim it much more than "intriguing" at this point.

A much more reasonable review of this disc, IMHO: http://bagatellen.com/archives/reviews/000156.html

I would have to agree with this assessment. And that is also why BLACK FIRE is sitll my favorite Hill session. I don't think Roy Haynes conribution to that record has ever been appreciated to the extent it should.

On the new Water reissue of Eddie Gale's BLACK RHYTHM HAPPENING, there is a credit for one "Jamie Lyons -- Alto Sax". Is this really an error? Jimmy Lyons, perhaps? Is this how the credit reads on the original vinyl issue?

Herman Chittison, anyone?

What's a Milazzo, you say?

Was pianist King Fleming part of the Muhal rehearsal band / pre-AACM circle? I seem to recall reading something about this somewherer (Davis' OUTCATS), but my memory could be faulty. In any event, Fleming's Argo date MISTY NIGHT is certainly interesting, and I love to have more information on him. Ditto the post-Mingus Clarence "Gene" Shaw.

The Denon Japan Savoy CD re-issues from the early and mid-90's (purplish-blue inlay cards) are a veritable cornucopia of such gaffes and mis-translations, especially in the realm of composer credits. I wish I could think of some specific examples right off the top of my head, but, dang, it seems like every re-issue was screwed-up in some way, I can hardly pick JUST one...

Obviously, I need a much cooler handle... or new sexual proclivities... Hey, the prerequisites for celebrity NEVER change, do they?

With those forearms, he looks more like Popeye!

Plus, we can always turn off our TVs, turn on our stereos, close our eyes, and just LISTEN to the music.

And, BTW, is all you want are performances, you might care to check out these 2 DVDs... http://www.reelinintheyears.com/afbf/

Yep, the Wenders film was a little goofy, a little gushy -- a fan film, no question about it. But I'll watch ANYTHING with live footage of Skip James in it. Spell-binding. I would have liked more of Blind Willie Johnson, a figure of extreme personal importance to me (to think he walked the same streets of Dallas that I have...), but I suppose that's OK, I have the records, which are majestic despite the limitations of the medium. However, I do think the J.B. Lenoir sections were superb, and a more than fitting tribute to an artist who certainly deserves to be better known. Jimmy Reed with a social conscience... The best contemporary interpretations for me were turned out by Cassandra Wilson, Los Lobos, the Blood Ulmer / Vernon Reid / Eagle Eye thing (would like to have heard more from that gathering), Garland Jeffreys, and Lou Reed, who sounded like shit but got the spirit right. But its hard to say when all you get are bits and bites of performances. Its just too bad Sonny Sharrock isn't still alive; I'd much rather have heard him pay tribute to Bind Wille than Marc Ribot.

An important piece of the puzzle indeed...

Damn, I've been waiting FOREVER for that Bud Freeman session. Finally!

Well, having watched episode 1, I think it would be a mistake to judge this series too harshly. Scorsese's "piece" is not a documentary per se; its just a non-fiction, non-narrative film. Yes, it was slightly disjointed, but I do feel that it was at least an honest expression of the various participants' experience of the music. And, as good as the Johnny Shinces footage was, I most enjoyed watching Son House. Damn!

Yes, a complicated figure. Not necessarily an admirable man, but what a powerful film-maker. Brownie -- I'm also a big fan of WILD RIVER. Best acting of Lee Remick's career, IMHO.