Guy Berger

Depends on what you call straight-ahead. You're right - there isn't a lot of hard-core avant-garde stuff on there. But there also isn't a lot of stuff that would have been considered "mainstream" in pre-1960 jazz.

You guys are amazing. Thank you.

About 20-25 years ago, people were having 100% this same debate about Medeski Martin Wood. Their music had genuine and obvious links to the jazz tradition (including some relatively adventurous strands) but was perceived by many hardcore jazz fans as being watered down. They definitely reached out to non-jazz audiences which was viewed as a mixed blessing. What do people think of their albums now that the controversy has melted away? When I revisit their albums I find them very enjoyable; I think they stand the test of time as very good music. It's hard to fairly assess KW's albums right now because of the hype, especially for hardcore fans. That said, I think long run assessments will probably be positive.

If you go back and read the history of media/propaganda/news... this is a recurring feature of human existence. Technologies facilitate misinformation and fuck up our ability to discern the truth, then we eventually "evolve" to filter through it. (Though at the cost of tens of millions of lives during the 20th century...)

Are Coleman's Label Bleu albums available anywhere? I love RESISTANCE IS FUTILE but am also interested in the other 3 (LUCIDARIUM, WEAVING SYMBOLICS, ON THE RISING OF THE 64 PATHS).

Hi all, I'm interested in recommendations on this insanely prolific label. I know it's been discussed in the Funny Rat threads but those are challenging to wade through. So far I've picked up: Tim Berne, INSOMNIA And I am definitely planning to pick up the two Chris Lightcap records (DELUXE, EPICENTER) and the Sclavis/Taborn/Rainey album. Any other recommendations?

I'd say the substance of Monk's style was pretty much there by the first BN recordings. What happened after that is distillation, a process that continued into the 60s. How much you like that distillation is probably directly correlated with how much you like the post-Riverside albums. re Rouse, I do think he adds value to the Monk albums he's on. Not necessarily a LOT of value but the recordings are better than they would be if there was no tenor saxophonist. I'm also not sure whether Monk could have worked long-term with a really distinctive, individual stylist.

One thing I've noticed about southern Florida - 5 or 6 years ago, winters used to be pretty pleasant. Lots of highs in the upper 60s and low 70s. Now temps are routinely in the mid-80s, hot and humid. Not my kind of place.

I'm in line with the modal (haha) opinion here - prefer the tenor to soprano (for Trane, Wayne, and more generally), but not so lopsidedly that the existing recorded output seems out of whack to me. I'm glad we have the soprano recordings we do. I do think it's interesting that he abandoned the horn in the studio after "Living Space". (Which is one of my fave Trane-on-soprano tunes - and not a waltz!) Interesting to ponder whether, had he survived, he would have re-evaluated that decision. (Also, tangential, but Wayne's soprano solo on McCoy Tyner's "Message from the Nile" is my fave soprano solo by anyone.)

So yeah, good track. But if we’re talking 3 Faces of Chico, the rest isn’t at that level.

So I love hearing Dolphy on this, but the music itself is... eh. Not nearly as good as either the original quartet w/Collette or the later ensemble w/Lloyd.

Steve has a new album with the Five Elements coming out on Pi in August - Live at the Village Vanguard Volume 1 (Embedded Sets). I'm pretty excited!

QQ regarding bandcamp - do musicians make more money off purchases here than they do off, say, Amazon?

Finally listened to SEEKING - so great. Next up - FLIGHT FOR FOUR and SELF DETERMINATION MUSIC.

that would be amazing

“Common Mama” and “There Is a Road (God’s River)” are among the best things KJ recorded in his entire career bar none but... I think overall TREASURE ISLAND is a more focused sequel that covers the same based.

Also, as this book describes in detail, improvisation on the quintet's studio recordings were almost universally form-based. So the claim that the quintet was discarding tunes on albums like MILES SMILES, SORCERER, and NEFERTITI isn't a matter of taste - it's *factually incorrect*.

I like recordings around 45 min, and beyond 60 min it's pushing it. BUT... It's an unfair presumption that artists releasing a collection of music (album, EP, playlist, whatever) expect listeners to absorb it all in one sitting.

To each his own, obv, but that track is one of my favorite by DG.

It's actually the opposite - Beethoven-era performance speeds were generally faster than 20th performances, so would have fit easily into a 79 min (or whatever) disc.

I've been revisiting this recently. A great set that has aged very well. "Oleo" is magnificent; I am hit-and-miss on Mehldau, but Motian pushes him deliciously on that track. Wasn't this one of Paul's final recordings? So sad that he and Charlie are gone.

I thought AB's Arista albums were already available on Spotify? I've listened to Fall 1974 on there.

I was thinking of soloists, actually - folks like Pharoah Sanders who were uber-radical in the mid-60s but were already mellowing out by the late 60s and are now comfortably ensconced as straight-ahead players. I realize that might not be a great analogy.

Love this thread. Thank you.

I wish I'd discovered CoC in college, when I was really into prog rock. by the time I first heard it my prog rock days were in the rear view mirror and the music didn't really resonate. but I imagine I might re-evaluate in the coming decades. YELLOW FIELDS and SILENT FEET are brilliant, however, and LITTLE MOVEMENT also has its charms.