mhatta

I agree with you. Also I am kinda surprised that the audience in some jazz joint actually seems to appreciate their music. They had really good ears!

Sadao Watanabe has been very popular in Japan and a kind of "Boss Man" in the Japanese Jazz world (he was also the one who introduced the Berklee Method) , but even he tackled Fusion, Bossa Nova, African and other "world music", his style remains basically bop and did not change much from the orthodoxy (unlike Masahiko Togashi or Masayuki Takayanagi who went free). Perhaps his most adventurous work is Round Trip (with Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš, Jack DeJohnette), but not much else; some 1969 quartet stuff (e.g. Live at the Junk with Yoshiaki Masuo) are not bad, but his brother drummer Fumio Watanabe is nowhere near as good. At Montreux Jazz Festival is also superb but a bit dated. On a solo basis rather than an album basis, Watanabe's solo on Logical Mystery in Terumasa Hino Live In Concert, a commemorative concert live recording when Hino went to the US, is tremendous. I think that is the best of Watanabe. Recordings with The Great Jazz Trio (Hank Jones, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams) was also okay. I think that his more recent, withering works are more desirable. Watanabe is well over 80 years old, but not too bad. I think Plays Bach usually doesn't work so well for most of jazzmen, but Watanabe's rendition is pretty good. So many Watanabe's stuff are on Spotify, so you can try.

I'm not really familiar with Ben Sidran's oeuvre, but this one is pretty cool...JG's blowing too. I don't remember where, but I read somewhere that Sidran asked about Sidran/Nardis to Miles himself and Miles was quite surprised and amused (but obviously it's just a coincidence).

My favorite is Woody Shaw with Tone Jansa Quartet. It has a slight, distinctive (eastern European?) flavor we can't find in any other Woody's works. And Woody's trumpet shines as always.

Yeah, for example the so-called 1972 "On The Corner" band's only official live recording, In Concert , is IMHO the most uninspired...there are several crazy, chaotic, but tremendously powerful live bootlegs from this particular period e.g. From Paul's Mall, Boston, Sep. 14, 1972.

Yes, and Moon's Double Image is quite incomplete. Here's a still incomplete, but almost complete version:

Masahiko Sato's Palladium is a piano trio masterpiece. It is also a rare occasion Masahiko Togashi could play a full drum set (he become paraplegic soon after). Yousuke Yamashita's Montreux Afterglow and Hot Menu are also his career-defining works. Kazunori Takeda might be little known outside Japan, but his Gentle November is a deep ballad album. Yamashita played the piano.

I kinda like So Near, So Far, but I think the sound of Scofield works better in Porgy & Bess. Also, I think Scofield shines when he plays the acoustic guitar.

Seems to be UK-based. https://www.discogs.com/ja/label/599879-Sounds-Of-Yester-Year BTW, "Gunslinging Bird" from 1959 and "Pithecanthropus Erectus" from 1971 Newport are the very best renditions of these tunes (better than studio recordings). I hope someday they are released officially...

Wikipedia suggests that OP gained wider public attention after the 1943 recording of "The Man I Love" with Hawk. Young OP (21 year old?) 's hard breathing solo is surely incredible . Overall, it sounds very modern -- might strictly not be bebop, but almost proto-bop.

I recently realized that this was more valuable than I thought. Jackie McLean's "Hipnosis", which I love very much, is only available on CD here after all.

My very narrow-minded definition of "Neo-bop" or "Young Lions" is. * Recorded during the 80s - 90s * By young blacks of the time (born in the 1960s or 70s, got high musical education, generation who "learned" jazz) * Conservative but highly sophisticated playing (based on hard bop, somewhat "cold", employs very complex rhythm) * Supposed to "purify" jazz (moving away from fusion) And I still listen to: * Marsalis Standard Time Vol. 1 (1987): I think it's a typical "neo bop". Wynton Marsalis was born in 1961. * African Exchange Student (1990): Kenny Garrett was born in 1960. * Children Of The Light (1996) : I think it's a good example of Young Lion's "interpretation" of old tunes. Rodney Whitaker was born in 1968. * V (1988): Ralph Peterson was born in 1962. There are many Young Lion stuff on Blue Note/Somethin' Else at that time.

SteepleChase's "Dexter in Radioland" series continues after "Billie's Bounce". AFAIK: Vol. 8 Wee Dot (SCCD-36031) Jun. 10, 1965 Vol. 9 Loose Walk (SCCD-36032) Jun. 24, 1965 Vol. 10 Misty (SCCD-36033) Jul. 8, 1965 Vol. 11 Heartaches (SCCD-36034) Aug. 5, 1965 Vol. 12 Ladybird (SCCD-36035) Aug. 19, 1965 Vol. 13 Stella By Starlight (SCCD-36036) Jan. 6, 1966 Vol. 14 Satin Doll (SCCD-36038) Jun. 29, 1967 There are some non-SteepleChase releases from Cafe Montmartre such as the recent "Montmartre 1964" (Storyville).

They really should release "The Bootleg Series Vol. X: Live in Japan 1973 & 1975". There are at least 4 shows from 1973 and 6 shows (including Agharta/Pangaea) from 1975 survived in some way. I guess it makes a really good 10 CD box or such. The sound quality of most of them are pretty good and the quality of music is mind-boggling.

My favorite Dave Burns on Vanguard is "Warming Up!". I hope Fresh Sound would reissue it someday...(well, it's already available on Spotify, but anyway)

I'm too young for being there in person, but I guess Dex was popular in Japan in the 70s since he was a spearhead of "Hardbop Revival". His fame was revived with the "'Round Midnight" movie and his last visit to Japan was 1988. The capacity of the Youbin Chokin Hall is 1600 people or such, so I guess Dex was still quite popular at the time. And his playing is still quite good (well, a bit feeble on uptempo tunes, I should say).

What I find interesting about recent trends is that people (especially young people) seem to be actively avoiding "exciting" music. I listen to jazz because there is an exciting, adventurous, challenging musicality somewhere in there that is a slap in the face, and that is what makes it appealing for me, but lately (or has it always been?) it seems to me that there is a need for music that is smooth and as resistless as possible. Snarky Puppy is a good music I think, but not really "exciting" for me.

I think one of Sonny Stitt's problems was that he couldn't record a single (or several) masterpiece(s) that could be used as a business card. Dexter Gordon was able to make "Go", "Our Man In Paris", etc. Everybody knows them. Of course Sonny made so many (or possibly too many) great records like "Tune Up!", but almost all of them don't get iconic status and are on small labels like Muse... Art Pepper may not have had one, but he had many enthusiastic fans in Japan. After his comeback, he was no more "white washed-up" (I think it is his own words) and an artist. He got a standing ovation almost every time he played in Japan. I think it had a big impact on stabilizing his unstable ego. I think Art Pepper was happy in the last five years of his life.

I always think it's a shame that Art Taylor didn't live a few more years longer, because the last band he led, the revived Wailers, was a very good young development band. Like the Messengers, I think there is always a need for a band like that to pass the torch. In that sense, Tony Williams also died too early.

Third Stream'ish With Strings music is "'Way 'Way Out" only. Other tunes in "The Complete United Artists Sessions" are more straight ahead jazz, but still very good.

I firmly believe Miles Davis was most creative between 1973-1975. His quintets in the 50s or 60s are of course great, but the music (w/ Pete Cosey) from this period are something else. (I think) Charles Lloyd once described some kind of music performances as "Other". I didn't understand what he really meant at that time, but now I think what Miles done this period is the prime examples of "Other". Even Miles (or Cosey) himself couldn't reproduce this level of intensity after that. I think these are essential recordings to understand Miles. Unfortunately all of them are not issued properly except some bootlegs (the sound quality of most of them are pretty good). I hope Sony releases them as a part of The Bootleg Series someday... June 19, 1973, in Tokyo (AKA "Black Satin" or "Unreachable Station") May 28, 1974, in Sao Paulo January 22, 1975, in Tokyo (AKA "Another Unity", even better than Agharta/Pangaea)

My honest opinion is, I think McCoy Tyner made some good records in the 80s while he made some great records in the 60/70s. I should also mention that he was really great when I saw him in person in Tokyo in the late 90/early 00s. BTW, McCoy's 80s albums produced by Japanese labels tend to be overlooked. Love & Peace (1982) is one of them, which records McCoy's reunion with Elvin & Richard Davis (and Pharoah Sanders & Jean-Paul Bourelly). Double Trios (1986) is also an interesting outing -- one trio is Avery Sharpe & Louis Hayes, another is Marcus Miller & Jeff "Tain" Watts. Might sound a bit dated, but it is worth listening to "Sudan".

Melvin Jackson is a possibility, but Louis Satterfield or Phil Upchurch is more likely?

I hear some congas, so Master Henry Gibson might be involved. Also some female vocals.

I found his own explanation: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/james-spaulding-60s-sideman-extraordinaire-james-spaulding-by-clifford-allen AAJ: You made so many appearances as a sideman on Blue Note. Did they ever ask you to do a record as a leader during that time? JS: Well, Alfred Lion took me out to dinner and he asked me if I would like to record for Blue Note, if I would like a contract. I said sure, and he said [Spaulding does his best German accent] "well, you know you have a family (I had just had my first daughter) and you want to write some music for the jukebox!" He said "you want to write some 'Watermelon Man.'?" At the time he wanted something like Lou Donaldson's "Alligator Boogaloo," and as I was eating I said "okay Alfred, I'll be talking to you later." I never got back with him; I had all this stuff I'd written up, and that just killed all of that.