six string

That's the one MG! There's a John Hicks Trio album on Theresa that I highly recomend if you ever see it, assuming you don't already have it.

I saw this tour last week. I got lucky and scored fourth row/center seats two days before the show. Chris Potter was excellent but then so was the whole ensemble and I'd seen Potter with Dave Holland on several occasions so Ambrose A. was who I enjoyed the most because I hadn't heard him play before. Not to take away anything from Potter. He's amazing and to think he's barely forty years old which means he was thirty when I first saw him with Holland.

Even though the name changed to Polygram, I believe the Polydor icon was still on the covers unless those are the pre-WB pressings. I have a Dave Holland album that came out in 1985 so it looks like I can start to narrow it down to either 1986 or 1987 for the switch from WB to Polygram. Of course I try to buy German ECM pressing when I can. That brings me to another question. With all the resurgence of vinyl going on, ECM doesn't seem to want to really get in that game for some reason. I find it a bit puzzling but they've succeeded so far so they must be doing something right.

Yes this is about distribution and/or manufacturing. What I've noticed is that the Warner Bros. issued ECM lps had smooth edges and they sometimes feel like they've got just a little bit more weight though that could be my imagination. The WB records just look like more care was put into the mfgr process. I guess I've never noticed or was sure that a Polydor ECM album might be an earlier pressing than a WB designated. My main reason for wanting the information is to try and date a recording as far as first press, second press, etc.

Fifteen Saxophones - Dickie Landie (recent reissue from Unseen Worlds) He played with Phillip Glass among others and you can hear the influence. Very Eno-ish.

Yesteday I went to Berkeley and found a nice pile of wax. One of them was a live one from Pharoah Sanders on the Theresa label recorded in L.A. and Santa Cruz w/John Hicks, Walter Booker and Idris Muhammad. I've only had a chance to listen to side one so far but so far so good. I've found a few Theresa albums lately and they've all been good and priced to move. I guess since it's not Prestige or Blue Note it's not considered very marketable.

I just bought the John Coltrane album "Coltran" from the same series and it is indeed an excellent pressing. The Flannigan album is definitely on my short list of others to get in that series. I'm glad that it's cut at 33 1/3 instead of 45 rpm too.

Can anyone shed light on this point in time? I can't find anything definitive anywhere on the internet.

I've seen Jessica play with Joe Gilman who is currently been playing with Bobby Hutcherson quite a bit. They have known each other a long time because Jessica lived in Sacramento for several years which is where Joe is from too and he's currently a professor and head of a music dept. in a local college. They played together on one piano and it was a joy to experience. Joe is pretty great pianist himself and Jessica has a lot of respect for him. If I had the money I'd do everything I could to put togethr a Haden-Williams duo album.

This isn't exactly a cheap bargain but I never thought I'd own one. I found a Mosaic Complete BN Monk lp set for $100. The box has some minor wear but the construction has no defects and the lps look like they haven't been played. The story is that the owner recorded them on a reel to reel tape and filed it away so it didn't get much if any play time. Ok by me. I'm thrilled to have a copy of the first Mosaic box.

Yes that's the one.

On a related note, I recently found a dvd of a Sun Ra performance on French TV from January 1971 shot in B&W. The company that put it out is Transparency so I don't know if they are legit or not. I will say that the quality is very high. It's not a dub of a vhs tape as far as I can tell. The images and the music are very crisp and clear. I've never seen it before until now so I decided to get it and check it out. As expected, it's pretty wild with costumed dancers featured.

The Complete Blue NOte Recordings of Thelonious Monk. (lps) I just picked up a near mint copy for $100 which isn't a steal exactly but I've never had the opportunity to buy one in any condition so I jumped on it even though I have most of it on those RVG remasters. It sounds better to my ears too though I'd chalk that up to my turntable vs. my cd player.

Tomorrow night (Friday) I'm going to see the traveling Monterey Jazz band which is Benny Green, Ambrose Akinmusire, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash and Chris Potter and a bonus of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Pretty great lineup if you ask me and I was able to score fourth row, near center seats. Sweet!

I'm a big fan as well and I've been slowly acquring his albums as I come across them. i discovered them through a jazz blog Orgy In Rhythm several years ago so some of my copies are 320kbps mp3 versions but I'm replacing them with originals when I find them. I bought his eponymous album on New Jazz which didn't get mentioned here and I think it's pretty great too. There's a pianist on some of his early albums that I've never heard of or seen around except for Walt's albums, Austin Crowe. Did Crowe ever record on his own? I found his playing with Dickerson to be very good, both soloing and comping. He had a nice touch. Another one I really dig and for different reasons is Divine Gemini w/Richard Davis on Steeplechase. Some might call it soporific which is why I frequently have it loaded up in my Sony Dream Machine so that can go to sleep and wake up to it. It's very easy on the head at the end of the day. My top three would be in no particular order Patch Of Blue, Jazz Impressions of Lawrence of Arabia and either To My Queen or Relativity, I can't decide and the eponymous album is a close fourth or fifth.

I'm a big fan and have been for a very long time. Yes her discography is massive yet I have almost everything including a lot of cassettes from the mid to late 80s. She is one of my all time favorite pianists and I'm including everyone on that list. One of the things that has changed in her playing in the last ten years is her touch. It is much more delicate overall than it used to be and she's slowed her playing down and not because she can't do it. It seems to me that she no longer feels a need to prove she's got it and puts more emphasis on that touch thing. I think she's a better pianist now because of that. Her albums keep gettting better and better and while I have my favorites there really aren't very many I wouldn't recomend. I would love to hear her play/record a duet with Charlie Haden. He's recorded albums with many of my favorite pianists except her. If you're going to buy her music I hope you will go to her website at jessicawilliams.com to make your purchases. It's the only way she really gets any income from her cds. The amount paid by I-tunes, et. al. is very poor. As always, the music business rarely takes care of the artists which is why she started her own label and now that d/l are more popular she's selling fewer cds which means she's making less money and she needs it now more than ever with this back surgery thing. Her website is very high tech with audio and video samples to check out before you buy and service is quick.

I recommend the live version of "Funkallero" done by Evans' trio with Getz as guest artist performed at Laren in '74. The CD is titled BUT BEAUTIFUL (Milestone MCD-9249-2) released under Evans' name. If you're going to hear those two together, this live set is the way to do it.

Oregon was on the label too but I suppose that is worse than "middle jazz" here. I have one with Elvin Jones playing with them that is more robust than their usual.

That's a very interesting album. NP Stan The Man - Stanley Turrentine (Time Records) I knew about Tommy Turrentine's album on the label but I didn't know Stanley had one too. That is until Friday. All killer no filler.

Great player. Another good one has done gone. RIP.

I have a few of his albums although I haven't bought anything by him in a very long time. The album Dancing In the Dark was my introduction to him and I still really like that albums a lot. I saw him perform solo about five years ago and I really enjoyed his playing. My only thing I really don't care for much is his interpretation of Monk. He shaves off the bits that make the Monk tunes sound like Monk tunes. They are too polite or bland to me. At the same time, those properties in his playing that do that sound fine with his own songs or even other composer's music. His style gravitates towards a more cerebral style and less of the earth if that makes sense. So it works for me if I'm in that mood but otherwise it can sound a little sterile to me.

You're right about that Martini. There will never be another man/musician like John.

A local record store owner told me he had recently got an original lp of his for sale but he wanted over $50 for it so I told him I'd pass since I haven't heard any of his music yet outside of a couple of video bits. I'd like to see the movie sometime.

Nice post and you pretty much hit the nail on the head with your description of John's demeanor. He was a beautiful, beautiful person. I lived near him when he met Mark Oi who lived in the same town (Davis) as John while he was teaching at the university. John played many a concert here from art galleries to clubs to coffee houses, any place that would have him. Mark was an integral part of John's musical life during that time. As you know Mark is an exceptional guitarist and I enjoyed watching Mark's playing grow as he spent more time with John. I'm not surprised to hear that John was Mark's biggest mentor as it really showed. Having just heard the news of his passing myself I'm in a bit of a shock over it but I'm going to be spinning my Tchicai collection throughout the day. I'm so glad I don't live in an apartment. I'll be able to play it loud and proud, hoping John can hear it where ever he is. RIP John. edit: now listening to Afrodisiaca on cd. It's nice to hear John's voice in the spoken word bits. I'm feeling closer to him for some strange reason.

I'd love to have a copy of the one album Carl Perkins (pianist) made (on vinyl).