Guy Berger

Interesting interview (though much of this is identical to what DH has said in other interviews). That said, the interviewer's lack of interest in DH's avant-garde sideman period really detracts from the interview.

Bev, I hear where you're coming from. I like plenty of catchy, "light and easy" finales from that period. But I do feel like the minuet is probably the last segment of the 4-movement structure to break out of the routine.

I was at a concert of Mozart's final three symphonies - all masterpieces, of course - and each time we hit one of the minuets, thought, this is kind of predictable, routine, and dare I say cheesy (something I wouldn't say about the other 3 movements in each piece). Obviously Haydn started to move things in a different direction, and by the time Beethoven got going it became a non-issue, but any thoughts from other listeners?

Any opinions on the SC album "Invisible Paths: First Scattering" (Tzadik)? I like SC a lot and was considering picking it up, but am kind of wary of a solo saxophone album by him.

I saw this group at Birdland on Thursday. Excellent. Some of the music was more abstract like the ECM album, some was more straightahead (like, I'm guessing, the Half Note album - I haven't heard it). They apparently have another album coming out in the spring of 2014.

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Charles Lloyd's album Acoustic Masters I. One of the best post-comeback Lloyd albums and Cedar plays great on it. I have to say that despite belonging to a genre of pianists I am fairly lukewarm on, I always really liked CW. Maybe the best of his style.

I think you are downplaying Nichols and Monk's BN recordings too much, but in general I agree with your argument. Hill may not be the #1 BN composer but you can make a very strong case for membership in the Top 5.

Agreed, there's nothing wrong with new discussion. That said, there's also nothing wrong with using the OLD discussion as a foundation for the new one. There's something fairly presumptuous and egotistical about your insistence on starting a new thread every single time. I realize this comes off as harsh, but since you are a relatively new member of this community I encourage you to exercise some mild deference for what existed here before you arrived.

Hey guys, I have a question about the Charlie Parker sextet session @ the Pershing Hotel included in the Complete Savoy Recordings 4CD box (disc 4). The box claims this is from the October 1950 Pershing date. However, Pete Losin's sessionography, which I am inclined to trust more, throws cold water on this date and says the recording is from a later date at the Pershing (February 1951). Are my instincts to trust Losin sound? http://www.plosin.com/MilesAhead/BirdSessions.aspx?s=510211 "These six items have usually been dated October 23, 1950, but the correct date is apparently February 11, 1951. Parker, booked with his Strings ar Johnny Brown's Club in Pittsburgh, has the night off and flies in to play a dance at the Pershing Ballroom."

I'm a big fan of the duo with Gary Peacock. Memoirs with Haden and Motian is definitely worth hearing. Fun.

I have a question - have any of these boxes gone out of print?

So I've been making my way through the 45 sessions - have listened to the the first two sets, from 1959 and 1960. They are MAGNIFICENT. Wow. Highly recommended.

If you have the Impulse 1973-74 box, there's a snippet of him giving a lecture to a Village Vanguard audience not to clap. He's been eccentric for a long time. It predates the Koln Concert, when he became the jazz equivalent of a "celebrity".

No. The opposite is probably true, this is a minority opinion. Hmm... there's the great Bohemia recording of the original Messengers, there's Birdland with Brownie - at least those are staples. Then I'm very fond of the hippsippy chicken 'n dumplins double set with a returning Mobley, there's the other Birdland double set w/Shorter, which by comparison both to that band's studio sets and the other live sets I never really warmed to that much ... then there's Three Blind Mice (United Artists, right?), and next the fine Limelight one with Frank Mitchell, and by 1968 another label caught the band with Billy Harper ... plenty to choose from, really. But no desert island material except for the first two. My essential Blakey would be a mix of studio and live - first I'd pick the Bohemia material, next Free for All ... and that band, at that point in time, would be my big wish for a live recording to turn up. The boldfaced passage written by Ubu is a more elegant way of rejecting the "live records on BN = main legacy" assertion than my own. For what it's worth, I don't think Moanin' would make my Blakey top 10 discs list.

I think he treats his fans awfully, but since they still give him the money he's never had to change his behavior.

No. The opposite is probably true, this is a minority opinion.

Thanks guys! I'm getting on in years!

OK, I finally listened to this for the first time! (Gradually working my way through a huge backlog.) Wow, this is fantastic!!! Highly recommended.

I saw Magma at a ProgFest festival in the mid-90s. I remember that this was quite an event among progheads - they hadn't played in the US for a long time, maybe ever. I also had (have?) a few of their albums. I remember thinking they were OK. The mythology/vocals were a little too silly for my tastes. Haven't heard any of the other zeuhl bands except for Happy Family (the self-titled album): http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/happyfamily.html . Fun thrashy first track, the rest of the album is eh.

I thought shake shack was pretty average, though I suppose compared to McDonald's it's a delicacy.

I guess I missed this thread the first time around, but I think BBF is a good one. It was actually a little more straight-ahead then I expected - closer to freebop than skronkfest.

:o :o This is something you should rectify quickly! I like this one too.

Yup. "The Voyage" is classic. His experimentation definitely lifted the band's albums beyond the routine, though I'd also add that he wasn't the band's best songwriter and perhaps a more Pinder-dominated band would have been more boring.

Lee Konitz + Brad Mehldau Trio - Brad Mehdau

Herbie Hancock did in the early 70s (you can hear it on Crossings, Sextant and Jewel in the Lotus), as has John Medeski.