mhatta

Hank Jones toured Japan in 1979. As far as I know, this is the only time Hank worked with George Duvivier and Shelly Manne. There was one live album (originally titled Live in Japan) at the time, and now there is another album of the remaining recordings, both of which are very good. I think they are more imaginative than the famous Great Jazz Trio with Tony Williams and Ron Carter.

Wow, I didn't know about this one (and seems it has not been reissued as CD or on streaming yet...). Very good. I love Ernie Watts' works on Charlie Haden's Quartet West. Also a kind of novelty thing, Ernie dueled with one Bruce Eskovitz on Tenor Madness. It's one of my favorites, very swinging and really fun.

I could get Dodo Marmarosa 2CDs, but missed Chubby Jackson and BIllie Holiday live ones. Both can be obtained as Amazon MP3s, but all I want is their booklets...

It is a pity that Dr. Billy Tylor's works as a Jazz pianist tend to be overlooked since he was well known for his works on Jazz education and broadcasting. He could be a very gutsy pianist. His version of "Sunny" is still my favorite one. .

I love Jazz with wordless vocal choruses in 70's -- well, I love 50/60's stuff too, but 70's ones sounds to me more sophisticated and adventurous. One example that comes to my mind is Communications '72 by Stan Getz & Michel Legrand. Another example is Love Songs by Mike Westbrook Concert Band. And the Singers Unlimited is, of course, very good...

I don't know so much about Swedish jazz scene of 60's, but Bengt Hallberg is one of my favorite pianists. He also played with Stan Getz:

One interesting figure from Japanese modern/progressive Jazz scene after the WWII is Masayuki Takayanagi (1932-1991). He was an extremely versatile guitarist, studied the music of Tristano/Konitz deeply, and even played bossa nova/tango a la Piazzolla. His conventional works remind me of Rene Thomas. However, he became more interested in free improvisation in the late 60's. April is the Cruellest Month is a free form masterpiece, originally planned to be released on ESP, but ESP went out of business...Also, his solo guitar works remind me of Mary Halvorson. I guess you might know Takayanagi through works with Kaoru Abe. My personal favorite is La Grima from 1971. It was played live before angry left-wing (and snobby) college students, and the group was not really welcomed. They delivered stunning performance anyway, but somehow greeted with chants "Ka-e-re! (go home! go home!)" You can hear that at the last moment. I think this is a minor miracle.

Seems Mr. King is a retired engineer & jazz enthusiast or something, and I enjoyed it. It reminds me of JazzWax. His personal recollection on Frank Morgan is most interesting.

I think all of Wallington's outputs in 50's are excellent. It's pity that he retired early. He had a phenomenal technique, but for me he had some problem to adapt complex rhythms. I guess that was one of the reason he decided to retire. There is an another CD called " The Pleasure Of A Jazz Inspiration" recorded after his "comeback" (and I guess it was released posthumously). It's little known, but I think this is the best of the bunch. On alternate takes of "At Cafe Bohemia", they are certainly nice additions, but for me they are not up to the original ones. The original takes are small miracles.

I heard that at some point in early 70's, some Japanese record company (Teichiku?) tried to reissue "At Cafe Bohemia" in Japan and contacted Gus Grant (aka Gus Statiras). Gus sent them a master tape, but somehow it contained alternates, not original takes. So there is a version of "At Cafe Bohemia" LP, a 1976 Japanese pressing with a wine red jacket (I suppose the original was purple), features alternate takes.

I'm interested in your opinions on Miles Davis' "Sorcerer". As you might know, this is basically a instrumental album, but for some reason it contains a tune called "Nothing Like You" sung by Bob Dorough. Almost all of my friends hate it -- yes, it is completely out of sync by any means. But I secretly admire its presence. For me, it is a nice change of pace for mostly abstract, experimental (as of 1967) music. How do you think?

Yeah, I heartily agree that there are several goodies from this period. Especially your mentioned "Essen Jazz Festival" (features one of the best rendition of "All The Things You Are"). But I tend to think Bud's technical facility was never recovered back to the level of his younger days (like the days of "Tempus Fugit" or "Un Poco Loco"). Oftentimes his playing is still inspired, but pianistic execution is muddy at best and sometimes he didn't even remember the chord progression of his own compositions. I love deep, melancholic Bud of later years, but I can't say it's comparable with his brilliant earlier works. However, for some reason, sometimes, his technique is largely back in 1962. Not perfect, but still very good execution and the coherent flow of brilliant ideas. Like this:

Nice article. I am glad it mentioned "The Free Slave" as well as "Understanding" -- I think it is an unsung masterpiece. I hope "Understanding" would regenerate the interest on other Brooks' works.

I have 2 reissues of "The Hub of Hubbard", one is a Japanese CD from early 90's and the another is from 2009. The latter has "Muses" as a bonus track. It's the same tune Dolphy recorded, and this time played as trumpet/bass duo by Hubbard and Davis. I suspect it's the same take issued in Davis' own MPS album (recorded on the same day), but I'm not sure. Not bad, but very subdued and a bit boring. "The Hub of Hubbard" is a lively album, but I always think something wrong with Louis Hayes then. His time keeping was messed up. "Without a Song: Live In Europe 1969" features the same band and I think it's better. Or w.r.t Hubbard's MPS output, "Rollin'" is a little known gem.

That one has been a favorite of Japanese Jazz fans for ages. Thinly disguised "Jay Mac's Crib" is nice, but I really like very boppish theme of "Sweet Blanche". I hope somebody covers it.

Herbie Steward recorded 2 discs for the Marshmallow label in his closing years. Both are good -- one with Gene DiNovi, another with Sir Charles Thompson (and recorded on live!).

I remember "Rifftide" had a small dropout in the beginning. I hope they could find a way to fix it (or find a better tape). Bud in 1962 has been an enigma for me. Bud was in a generally miserable state 1959-1961, but somehow "recovered" this year and played VERY well. Even close to his prime (1947-1953), I can say. What happened to him? Live recordings from Lausanne, Geneva, or studio one with NHOP can confirm that. I have not listened it yet, so not really "confirmed", but I'm pretty sure it's from the same source.

I'm aware of their existence, but forgot to update jazzdisco. I don't have much free time lately, but hopefully this summer vacation...

I really have no idea what the heck "Kattobi Broadcasting Station" was, but "Kattobi (かっ飛び)" is actually a Japanese (a bit dated) slang which means "blazing fast".

I ordered physical discs, but I listened via Spotify anyway...(so I haven't read liner notes). Some thoughts: 1. The sound quality is very good. Obviously from master tapes. Where have those tapes been? I thought they are burnt out in 1978... 2. Jon Faddis played not only on the jam session but also the previously unreleased materials. He was a phenomenal (and a bit too loud) trumpet player, but I always think his phrasing goes nowhere. 3. "Big Alice" is rarely played live (I think the only other occasion was in 1973), and had really nice second line groove. And I should say, I love the vitality and boldness of this music. It's rarely seen anymore. I heard that "Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert" (Feb. 4, 1972 at Philharmonic Hall) originally planned to feature Rollins, but Rollins declined and Gene Ammons called in.

Worthwhile Konitz is little known, but I think it is really worthwhile. My favorite Lee.

I always wonder why RCA(or its right holder) doesn't release Swingin' With Bud with one existing unissued tune -- "Lullaby To A Believer". It's a nice children song well worth unearthing. It was somehow issued as a track in a compilation CD in Japan long ago.

I think something like this can be said as a borderline effort, a wild collision between the Sidewinders and free jazz aesthetics. There is also a terrific Archie Shepp rendition of this tune.

I got my copy yesterday. I like it -- may not be a ground-breaking work, but still a welcome addition to Jazz. Interestingly, I feel it's getting better every time I listen. To my ears, the sound is not that awful. I expected it much worse since I heard it is based on a copy of an acetate disc. The bass sounds especially fat and warm. Hasaan's piano playing reminds me of Elmo Hope, Herbie Nichols, Andrew Hill, and somehow Jaki Byard. Compared with Joe Farrell when he played with Jaki, the young Odean Pope lacks some adventurous impulse. But who can blame him? I guess playing with Hasaan must be a tough job. Hasaan is also fortunate that he could get very responsive rhythm section -- especially Art Davis, I think his bass work here is phenomenal. Kalil Madi also shines. This quartet is very tight as a unit. And now, the compositions...I really love "Viceroy". It's based on "Mean To Me", but Hasaan pours a lot of idiosyncrasy into it. I'm glad that we now have 7 more of his tunes.

AFAIK that CD is not that rare in Japan...I think it was reissued some years ago (limited copies of 300?) and I can still see several new/used CDs on record shops, auction sites, etc.