Guy Berger

So Yes had silly lyrics. It's rock music, for goodness sakes! You made a lengthy list of bands which included Caravan, Egg and Camel. What poetic lyrics did these bands come up with? I don't see what the problem with "bombast" is as long as it's put to good use, whether by Bob Dylan or Yes. I can only speak for myself, not for "people like me". I've heard two albums by Nucleus and own the first five Soft Machine albums along with some live recordings. Again, what evidence can you offer that Miles listened to *any* of the British jazz-rock artists? This kind of pseudo-psychology is usually as meaningful as horse manure, but so what if he cringes? It's outstanding music. Guy

This is, of course, utter nonsense. Yes, Genesis and (on the first few albums) ELP are only formulaic insofar as they *invented* the formula. Their best albums are among the finest recorded by any rock band at the time. As far as the bombast, it's been in rock'n'roll from the very beginning. By the mid-late 70s you could say that the ratio of empty bombast to good music was increasing in the music of most of these bands (earlier in ELP, sometime in '74-'77 for Yes). This was a general trend in rock'n'roll music. How many of the more obscure bands below were active and making their best music by the late 70s? Intentionally or not, you are confusing what Yes and ELP are doing today with what they did 30 years ago. They are obviously not a vital part of progressive rock today (not sure what is), but that hardly undermines the value of their recorded legacy from the early 70s. You could write similar questions for most of the big-name prog bands as well. Mahavishnu was no more shallow than Soft Machine or Nucleus. If you can't recognize that the Inner Mounting Flame was a major achievement in this style, I am sorry. By the way, what makes you think that "Miles was clearly listening to - and influenced by" the artists you mention? I have never heard any evidence that supports this. Guy

I am listening to Cannonball's "74 Miles Away" right now, which fits both categories -- it's in 7/4, and there's a healthy dose of avant-gardisms in both Cannonball and Nat's solos. Then Zawinul does that tambourine-on-piano thing, which sounds pretty weird. And it grooves like crazy. (The crowd seems to think so too.) This is the kind of stuff that makes me completely understand why Zawinul thinks Cannonball never got his due. In fact, I would love it if Joe dropped the electricity for a while and put together a group to play some of this material. Maybe with a front-line of Gary Bartz (who seems to be a logical next step from Cannonball's playing during this period) and maybe Tom Harrell. And I'm not sure who should play in the rhythm section, but they've got to swing and groove at the same time. Guy

Back in September of last year I adopted two rules: purchase no more than 5 CDs a month, and listen to no more than 8 CDs a month (2 a week). I've broken the first quite a few times, but together they've kept my new acquisitions at a manageable scale. It allows me to give each pair of CDs a week to digest before moving on to the next pair. I'm trying to cut down the listening a bit further, but with a couple of burns coming in this month, it might not happen for a while. Whoever suggested just *stopping* for a month or two -- I haven't tried it yet but it is a great idea. Occasionally I get the feeling that I "must acquire this recording immediately". I try to sit on this thought for a couple of days, maybe a week, and usually this feeling wears off. I think it's also a good idea to avoid completist binges. It's very easy to pick up a bunch of CDs by one artist you are temporarily "high" on and then, a few weeks later, regret that you didn't diversify your spending a bit. I find that even with the best musicians, diminishing returns can hit pretty quickly. Try to buy no more than 2 CDs by the same artist in a month. If that doesn't sate your appetite, you can always get more the following month. Finally, *in general* avoid medium (5-8) and large (9+) box sets. There are many, many exceptions, but these are the kinds of things that create overwhelming backlogs. They are also a quick path to acquiring recordings that you wouldn't otherwise bother with -- this is not a good way of allocating your money & listening time. When I listen to these for the first time, I try to spread them out to only a few CDs a month rather than taking it all in at once (hard thing to resist). Intersperse it with other new music if you can, it will keep the box set material fresh.

I'd have to give Ptah the El Daoud the nod over Journey to Howthehelldoyouspellit simply for the presence of Joe Henderson. The latter is in general a mellower session. When I first heard Ptah, I was really surprised by how conservative it was in comparison to the stuff she and Pharoah were doing with Trane just three years earlier. Guy

I always got the impression that Leonard Feather was a wanker from his liner notes. He also liked to gratuitously show off his knowledge of music theory. Ira Gitler gets slammed a lot and his liner notes can get pretty goofy, but his enthusiasm is pretty infectious and I look forward to reading something by him. Guy

Dammit, I wish I could go to this thing. It sounds like fun. Guy

Nah, it's not that bad. 3 stars, maybe 2.5 if you're being harsh. Guy

It's better. Guy

My favorite stuff with Herbie as a sideman is the stuff he did with Miles. His accompaniment on those sessions is unreal. And his solo on "Circle" is my favorite Herbie solo. Guy

This is going to be a dinky list compared to some of the other ones, but I've only been listening to jazz for a couple of years: Wayne the Heath brothers James Spaulding David S Ware Henry Grimes Ornette Coleman Charlie Haden McCoy Tyner Jackie McLean Herbie Nichols Project Dave Brubeck Cedar Walton Charles Lloyd Gateway trio Dave Holland Quintet Lou Donaldson Greg Osby Jason Moran w/Sam Rivers

One out of two. That shipping charge really sucks, but I'm also getting the Chico Hamilton mosaic this month and am trying to cut down on CD purchases. Guy

Richard Davis, Connie Kay, and a few others on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.

No Wayne????

I've been reading a little about this guy and must say that the descriptions (as well as the free MP3s on Amazon) intrigue me! I was initially tempted to pick up an individual album, but the box set seems like a terrific value, but it is ridiculously overpriced at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Is it still in print? Guy

My favorite albums by Traffic are the first two. Perhaps they are less jazz-oriented than later material but the songwriting is generally tighter, especially on the self-titled album. Guy

I saw him at the Iridium in May. He was great. Guy

He does a cool version of "Giant Steps"! Guy

How do the Ellington releases on Classics covering the Webster-Blanton years compare to the recent Never No Lament issue in terms of sound? Guy

He played fairly well; nothing earth shattering, but that might have been because it was not (I assume) a working group. As for his composure, he looked a little uncomfortable, to tell you the truth. It's not surprising, considering the circumstances. I wonder what will happen with him once the current hubbub calms down and he's no longer "the recently rediscovered Henry Grimes". Finally, the reception. It didn't seem like a lot of people at the Iridium knew who he was, plus the music was not especially accessible. There was applause after his sets, but not as much as after Ware's performances. Guy

I was at Thursday evening's Ware/Grimes double bill. I was a little apprehensive because it was the first free jazz gig I'd ever attended. Anyway... Grimes's group (which was the first performance of each set) consisted of him, a pianist (don't remember the name), altoist Rob Brown, trumpeter Roy Campbell, and and drummer Michael Thompson. The first set consisted of two collective improvs of the kind that you'd hear on a 60s ESP session. This kind of energy music is hit and miss with me -- if the soloists generate enough heat, it can be exciting, but otherwise it falls flat. I thought their first set was pretty disappointing and was not especially impressed with either Brown or Campbell. Ware's first set, on the other hand, was outstanding. I have a couple of Ware CDs, nothing more recent than Dao, and I like them, but the group sounds pretty unrelenting on those records. It seems like group has achieved a much better dynamic balance since then while maintained the high level of intensity. Shipp and Parker are phenomenal players, in total command of the instruments and the music. And Ware was great, though he seemed a little grumpy during the first set. Guillermo Brown didn't do much for me -- he did his job but was completely overshadowed by the other three. Apparently the Ware performance energized Grimes's quintet, because they were much, much better for the second set. They started with a slow, modal number which made me completely re-evaluate Campbell's playing. Afterwards they launched into a collective improv that started with a great Campbell solo, then a Rob Brown solo which was really freakin' intense (with Grimes and Thompson absolutely terrific in support), and then finally reminded us that "this one goes to 11" when Campbell joined in for a few minutes of high energy screaming. Whew.... it was awesome. I noticed that a couple of people had their fingers in their ears during this part -- I wonder whether it was because they were surprised at the uncompromising music (just happened to walk into the Iridium to catch some late evening jazz) or simply because the group was so loud!* Ware closed the evening with another great set. It seemed like he was a bit more upbeat, though it's hard to tell. These performances have convinced me to expand my Ware collection. What should I get next? *The crowd was interesting. Typical Iridium, with more indie types than usual. I was surprised at how many guys brought their girlfriends/wives to the performance -- hopefully this won't result in too many break-ups.

Wasn't his debut on Kenny Dorham's Una Mas? Anyway, I like Joe a lot as well. His contributions as sideman were usually excellent -- and he ascends to deity level on The Real McCoy and on Larry Young's Unity. ZOLTAN. It's also nice to hear him with Pharoah Sanders on Alice Coltrane's Ptah the El Daoud; it seems that this one is always overlooked when people talk about Joe.] As for the dates as a leader, the BNs from the 60s are all good. My faves are Our Thing (w/Kenny, Andrew, & Pete LaRoca) and Inner Urge (w/McCoy, Elvin, and Bob Cranshaw). My favorite of the Milestones is Power to the People -- some of the most tasteful use of electric piano on a jazz (rather than fusion) album that I've heard. Joe Henderson in Japan is also really good, though here the e-piano gets a little annoying.