Guy Berger

I think both of these are inevitable in any community. Guy

I own, and am very pleased with, the Quartetto Italiano. Guy

You can also hear Stinson playing with the Miles Davis quintet on the April 7, 1967 Berkeley concert. Guy

I saw a bunch of copies at the Campbell, CA Tower Records today. Guy

Yeah, I spoke with him briefly after a trio gig w/Dennis Irwin and Andrew Cyrille and he was a very nice guy. Guy

Got this from yourmusic recently. A solid disc, like most of Lloyd's ECMs, but I haven't made up my mind about it yet. Geri Allen's playing is superb and I like Lloyd's alto playing. Listening to his post-Voice in the Night ensemble albums, I got the feeling that he was sort of coasting with his playing; there isn't any of that here. Instead I get the feeling that he showed up to play on this date. More thoughts: 1) Some of the shorter pieces in the middle of the album are kinda "eh" and drag the whole thing down a bit. 2) "Sweet Georgia Bright" + intro is the highlight of the album for me. Allen's restatement of the theme (reharmonized? sorry, not a musician) at the end of her solo is awesome. 3) Lloyd's alto playing reminds me a little of Jackie McLean. 4) Allen quotes Duke Ellington's "Chinoiserie" on "Jumping the Creek", I think. Guy

I just picked up Rush Hour. Haven't quite listened to it with the depth it deserves, but it sounds like I'm in for hours of great listening. Guy

I like this album a lot. "Valley of Life" injects a completely necessary dose of breathing room that is maybe a little lacking in some of the later McCoy Milestones I've heard. There could be an interesting music degree thesis in comparing the sidelong "suites" recorded by various keyboardist/pianist-led jazz ensembles in the early 70s -- McCoy, Chick, Herbie, Keith, and anyone else I'm missing. Guy

I didn't like Always Let Me Go that much. (Haven't heard Inside Out.) Out of the albums I've heard, my favorites are the Blue Note box and The Cure. The parts of Up for It that I've heard are excellent. Guy

I actually thought the Crouch piece included in this thread was a good one in discussing the ambiguities presented by Pryor's humor. Guy

I assume this is the same unit featured on his upcoming ECM CD, ie the Electric Bebop Band. Guy

Finally got my hands on this. Great music, though IMHO the "Meditations" on Town Hall Concert is better than this one. OTOH this concert gives a much better sense of the group's M.O. than the NYC recording. Any favorite performances from the tour? Also, why does Mingus keep stopping and laughing during the pre-"Meditations" monologue? Guy

Not much to say. We lost to a much better team by a hair. Guy

Here's a link. A question for those more knowledgeable about Crimson -- I have the May 11, 1971 concert with Fripp, Collins, Burrell and Wallace at Plymouth Guildhall. Did this predate the recording of Islands? Answer: According to the press clippings in the 30th anniversary reissue of Islands, recording for the album was completed in September or October of 1971. The album was issued in December. Guy

Judging by the jazz names these guys are dropping, they had some pretty hip music collections. (How many people were listening to John McLaughlin before 1970?) I think that JMcL was a session musican before becoming known as a Jazz musican. Lots of people would have heard him on the radio and if you into Jazz in London in the late '60s, you would have known who he was. McLaughlin played in the Graham Bond Orgainzation in '63with Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Dick Heckstall-Smith, and recorded 'Things We Like' with Jack Bruce. He also had worked with Alexis Korner,a nd recorded with John Surman prior to this time. So he was pretty well known in musical circles in England already, and certainly Fripp would have been well aware of him. Nevertheless, JMcL was very much a "musician's musician" at this point, even in Britain. Guy

Happy b-day, GoM. Guy

To add to our discussion of King Crimson's (obvious) jazz roots, I was looking through the Epitaph booklet and found the little bios EG* (KC's management) wrote for the band members back in 1969, presumably for promotional purposes. Judging by the jazz names these guys are dropping, they had some pretty hip music collections. (How many people were listening to John McLaughlin before 1970?) McDonald's choice of Handy and Dolphy is somewhat suggestive given the Mingus connection. Guy

Yup. One of my best CD acquisitions of the past year. Guy

$@%#!

I stopped paying attention after the Construkction of Kcrap. Guy

I don't think Crimson became a decent song-writing band (with a few exceptions) until Adrian Belew joined. As far as the Islands band -- I have a few of their live CDs and will give them a spin next week. My recollection is that they sounded better live than in the studio. "Sailor's Tale" is awesome. Out of the three early 70s "orphan" albums I think Lizard is the best, and quite underrated. Guy

At least it's a tune I'm familiar with. Hm...I never made the connection. Interesting thought though. Not an original thought, though -- I think Ed Macan brings it up briefly and offhandedly in Rocking the Classics. Guy

It may be one of the earliest examples of heavy metal. Mingus? How? That R&Bish riffing over a fast 6/8 rhythm reminds me a lot of "Better Git It in Your Soul", though once it moves to the solo section it's more Trane+Elvin. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. I should have phrased it as "an unusual case of Mingus directly influencing a rock song". Guy

I've been listening to In the Court of the Crimson King a lot since yesterday; I feel like my appreciation for this album grows with each listen. One of the (flawed) masterpieces of the late 60s. Probably Greg Lake's best performance on vocals, and he offers some very nice bass playing. Ian McDonald's flute playing is quite nice. Michael Giles's drumming is incredible. Fripp's guitar playing is nice though not quite as distinctive as it would be 3 or 4 years later. As far as the songs -- it's easy to understand why it turned so many heads 36 years ago, because the music is really powerful. "21st Century Schizoid Man" is just a terrific merger of free jazz and heavy metal -- also, an unusual case of Mingus's clear influence on rock'n'roll. "I Talk to the Wind" -- beautiful flute, very nice vocals by Lake, takes the Moody Blues thing and adds a lot of depth. "Epitaph" is powerful, particularly when it builds up to that mellotron crescendo at the end of the verse. Side 2 is weaker -- as I've listened to more and more jazz, my comprehension of the lengthy collective improvisation on "Moonchild" has improved but it's still pretty weak to these ears. "In the Court of the Crimson King" is quite powerful, but far too long and repetitive. (Nice interludes, though.) Guy

Whoops did not know that... I must have confused him with Billy Drewes, who must've been the mystery 5th member of that 2001 quintet. Guy