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Gene Ammons, Twistin' The Jug (Prestige mono), and Arnett Cobb, Smooth Sailing (Status mono).

There is, it turns out, one vinyl pressing plant in Dallas, and the owners of my favorite local record store have purchased it. http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/with-purchase-of-ar-vinyl-pressing-plant-josey-records-isnt-just-a-record-store-anymore.html/

Red Garland with Eddie Lockjaw Davis, The Red Blues (Status/Moodsville No. 1)

Sonny Criss, I'll Catch the Sun (Prestige), and Kai Winding and Brew Moore/Red Rodney, Broadway (Status/New Jazz)

Julian Lage=MF. I had not heard their recent duo album, but it was a quite excellent concert. Very clear sound, and a quite nice venue (refurbished historic movie theater), with a nearly full house.

Last night, duo guitar with Nels Cline and Julian Lage at the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff.

Tonight: AEG LIVE Presents Nels Cline + Julian LageNels Cline, Julian Lage $25.00 +fee BUY Thursday29OCT 6:00pm Bar Opens7:00pm Theater Doors Open8:00pm ShowtimeAll Ages WHEREThe Kessler1230 W. Davis St.Dallas, TX 75208 AEG LIVE Presents Nels Cline + Julian LageNels Cline is a major force as a guitarist and improviser, ever since he debuted on record in 1978 and as a leader in 1988. Named by Rolling Stone as one of 20 “new guitar gods” and one of the top 100 guitarists of all time, Cline has gained his widest fame as a member of acclaimed rock band Wilco since 2004. He’s known for a certain cranked-up experimental mayhem, the kind sometimes heard from his extraordinary trio the Nels Cline Singers, which released the well-received MACROSCOPE on Mack Avenue earlier in 2014. But throughout his career, Cline has undertaken projects, sometimes acoustic or semi-acoustic duos, highlighting an intimate and reflective approach that’s just as central to his artistry. With ROOM, Cline returns to Mack Avenue, creating a world of melodic beauty but also hard sonic edges and technical brilliance in the company of Julian Lage. At just 26, Lage has taken the world of jazz guitar by storm. The New York Times hails the “disarming spirit of generosity” in Lage’s music and notes the young guitarist’s “roots tangled up in jazz, folk, classical and country music.” In addition to his work with Mark O’Connor, the late Jim Hall, Anthony Wilson and a great many others, Lage leads his own groundbreaking groups as documented on the albums Gladwell and Sounding Point (the latter earning Lage a Grammy nomination). In a 2013 Q&A with JazzTimes, Lage described the Cline-Lage duo sound as “200 percent power,” and that’s exactly what comes through on ROOM: an inspired collection of originals and collaborative pieces that run the full range from intricately composed and complex to free and spontaneous. Cline builds on the strength of his previous duo work with the likes of Vinny Golia, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, Thurston Moore, Carla Bozulich, Marc Ribot and not least of all the late West Coast bassist Eric Von Essen, to which the gorgeous dual-acoustic showcase “Whispers from Eve” is dedicated. Lage, for his part, has worked in duo settings with David Grisman, Martin Taylor, John Abercrombie, Taylor Eigsti and others. Cline and Lage remain on acoustic guitars to end ROOM with “Calder,” a reference to the visionary sculptor Alexander Calder. “I have a Calder mobile that my mom sent me years ago when I moved back east,” Lage says. “It hangs in my apartment and I just love it. So though I wrote the tune first and the title came later, I felt like the presence of the mobile fit the mode of the piece well.” On ROOM one hears two guitar masters who span the generations, comfortable in every conceivable role, meeting the daunting challenges of these compositions while giving themselves over to the moment. In the JazzTimes Q&A, Cline credited the duo for revitalizing his playing overall: “I was burned out on touring, burned out on myself…. And when Julian and I started playing together it kicked my ass hard. At the same time it inspired me and refreshed my soul.” Lage replied, “Likewise.” Presented by AEG LIVE

November 7, 2015: Mamadou Diabate, Gourisankar, Inrajdt Banerjee, Indradeep Ghosh, Northwest Hills Church, Austin November 7, 2015: Robert Cray, Carver Center, San Antonio November 8, 2015: Robert Cray, One World Theater, Austin November 9, 2015: Robert Cray, Dosey Doe, Houston November 14, 2015: Rebirth Brass Band, Granada Theater, Dallas November 19, 2015: Tutu Jones, Nate's, Addison November 20, 2015: Shelley Carrol, Free Man, Dallas November 21, 2015: Anat Cohen Quartet, Walton Center, Fayetteville November 27, 2015: Bnois King, Babb Bros., Dallas December 4, 2015: Pat Martino Trio, Walton Center, Fayetteville December 4, 2015: Woody Witt with Randy Brecker, Cezanne, Houston December 5, 2015: Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio, Cullen Theater, Houston December 11, 2015: Freddie King Tribute Band and Zac Harmon, Eisemann Center, Richardson December 13, 2016: Christian Scott, Tobin Center, San Antonio January 2, 2016: Tutu Jones, Mother Truckers, Dallas January 17, 2016: Edmar Castaneda, San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio January 22, 2016: Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Don Byron, McCullough Theater, Austin January 23, 2016: Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders), Carver Center, San Antonio February 3, 2016: Branford Marsalis, One World Theater, Austin February 10, 2016: Charles Lloyd, Paramount Theater, Austin February 12, 2016: Charles Lloyd, Laurie Auditorium, Trinity University, San Antonio February 20, 2016: Eldar Djangirov Trio, Walton Center, Fayetteville February 26, 2016: Danilo Perez, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma March 3, 2016: Danilo Perez, Murchison Performing Arts Center, Denton March 5, 2016: Romero Guitar Quartet, University of Texas at Dallas March 12, 2016: Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, Dosey Doe, Houston March 18-19, 2016: Joey DeFrancesco, TCU Jazz Festival, Fort Worth March 19, 2016: Guillermo Klein Y Los Guachos, Cullen Theater, Houston March 19, 2016: Rashesh Chaurasia, Jones Hall, University of St. Thomas, Houston April 2, 2016: Joey DeFrancesco, University of Texas at Dallas April 2, 2016: Abhishek Kahin and Subrata Bhattacharya, Allen Public Library April 9, 2016: Terell Stafford, Bates Recital Hall, Austin April 7-10, 2016, French Quarter Festival, New Orleans April 12, 2016: Branford Marsalis, Walton Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas April 16, 2016, SF Jazz Collective, Cullen Theater, Houston April 21, 2016: Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, Bass Hall, Austin April 20-24, 2016: Festival Internationale de Louisiane, Lafayette April 22-May1, 2016: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 29, 2016: Arturo O'Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Octet, Walton Center, Fayetteville April 30, 2016: Kunal Gunjal, Jones Hall, University of St. Thomas, Houston May 13, 2016: Alfredo Rodriguez Trio, Carver Center, San Antonio May 28, 2016: Savion Glover and Jack DeJohnette, Carver Center, San Antonio June 3-4, 2016: Eric Gales, T Bone Walker Blues Festival, Longview July 23, 2016: Tutu Jones, Liberty Hall, Tyler

John Coltrane, Black Pearls (Prestige, mono)

Attending a three day seminar in New York; that plus the weekend means five evenings to hear live music. Starting out last Tuesday with Caroline Davis at the Bar Next Door for a set of Lee Konitz associated material. Next, to the 55 Bar for two sets of Leni Stern and her fusion of jazz and African music--with George Brooks on tenor sax, James Genus on bass guitar, and Alione Faye on percussion. Excellent music, very light attendance. Wednesday night, starting at the Why Not Cafe to hear Israeli guitarist Yosi Levy on solo acoustic guitar. A new name to me, I attended based on reading Dave Liebman's rave recommendation, and the concert proved him to be correct. The repertoire was a mixture of jazz standards, Israeli folk songs, and Beatles songs. Next, more guitar, in the form of a short walk down Christopher Street back to the 55 Bar, this night to hear the Mike Stern Trio. And a mighty trio it proved to be, with Francois Moutin on acoustic bass and Kim Thompson on drums, both sets were blazing, and the room was packed. Thursday night, to Jazz Standard to hear two sets by the Charles McPherson Quintet, with Brian Lynch, Jeb Patton, Ray Drummond and Billy Drummond. Mr. McPherson sounds good still--the highlights of the first set being Lush Life and Nature Boy, but overall the group was a bit restrained in the first set. The second set proved to be superior--especially the final succession of songs, an original (Nightfall), then Off Minor, Anthropology and Parker's Mood (the best performance of the night from the leader) as an encore. Friday night, to Community Church of New York for one of the 50th Anniversary AACM concerts. A two part concert, first up was Steve and Iqua Colson, with Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and Marlene Rice (violin). I wasn't familiar with Iqua Colson, but she turned out to sing okay, and the band sounded wonderful. Next up was a bold percussion composition entitled Calder by George Lewis. This proved to be a very compelling piece, featuring George Lewis on trombone and percussion, Thurman Barker on vibes and percussion, Tyshawn Sorey on vibes, percussion, piano and trombone, and Eli Fountain on percussion. It was still early, so next up was Petros Klampanis at the Corneila Street Cafe, with a quintet featuring Gilad Hekselman on guitar. I enjoyed this group and wished I heard more than one set. Finally, Saturday night, to the rarefied realm of Dizzy's. Normally, I prefer humbler settings, but this was advertised as a 50th Anniversary reunion of the group that John Handy led at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival. As I love that record and group, I was excited at the prospect, mixed with trepidation at the ages of the group members (Handy is 82). It proved to be a kind of bait and switch on the club's part, as on the day of the appearance the website posted different personnel (David Hazeltine on piano, Rufus Reid and Victor Lewis). Nonetheless, having only seen John Handy once many years ago, I decided to attend (Rufus Reid and Victor Lewis are hardly a group to complain about), and was very pleased to find John Handy in very lively and virtuosic form. In fact, he seemed fully in possession of the skills displayed on his own recordings and his sideman appearances with Mingus--he even still has the ultra-high range on alto. So the set proved to be quite pleasing, except perhaps for an inexplicable diversion in the form of a guest vocalist for two songs. The highlights were assuredly a raga based composition that Handy had performed with Ali Akbar Khan, in this case featuring extended beautiful bass from Rufus Reid. And finally, as the last song, in a nod to the supposed anniversary, Handy actually played Spanish Lady, and, he was not merely going through the motions, as this version was friggin' great. I perhaps should have stopped there, but it was still fairly early, so after exiting the shopping mall in which Jazz at Lincoln Center is located, I trekked to Smalls and heard a set by the Duane Eubanks Quintet, with Abraham Burton, David Bryant, Gerald Cannon and Byron Landham. Another time, I would have enjoyed this more, so I called it a night/trip after one set.

SCHOOL OF INDIAN PERCUSSION & MUSICpresentsWORLD MUSIC UNLEASHED - 2015 Featuring :Grammy-Winning artist - Mamadou Diabete on the KoraGourisankar (Tabla)Indrajit Banerjee (Sitar)Indradeep Ghosh (Violin)Abou Sylla and Troupe Bramaya (West African Percussion & Dance) When: Saturday, November 7th at 7:30 pmWhere: Northwest Hills Church, 7050 Village Center Drive, Austin, TX 78731Buy Tkts: www.austinsipm.org ($40, $25, $15-student)

Brother Jack McDuff, Down Home Style (Blue Note/Liberty). Randy Weston, Blue Moses (CTI). Sarah Vaughn, In the Land of Hi-Fi (Emarcy).

Earl Hines, At Home (Delmark/Esquire).

Cannonball Adderley, Accent on Africa (Capitol), a strange mis-fire of an album, and Donald Byrd, Fuego (Blue Note), a later Liberty pressing but still sounds good.

Friday New York Times listing: ★ An Evening of Talent Deserving Wider Recognition (Sunday) Allen Lowe, a saxophonist, composer, music historian and outsider-sage, rallies a range of collaborators for this concert. Stretching seven hours, it features just as many groups, each with a different angle of attack. (One will consist of Mr. Lowe, the clarinetist Ken Peplowski, the pianist Ursula Oppens and the bassist Kevin Ray.) The music is all Mr. Lowe’s, including a grand finale for large ensemble, tentatively titled “The Five Stages of Grief/Meditations on Disintegration.” Starting at 3 p.m., IBeam, 168 Seventh Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn, ibeambrooklyn.com. (Chinen)

The Art of Improvisation (Verve), and Jerry Hahn, Moses (Fantasy)

It's very good, a favorite Sonny Sharrock recording.

Sunnyside Releases Recordings from the Archives of Joe Castro (Nov. 20th)! It is the chance events that occur over a lifetime that make life worth living. For some, the choice to pursue certain paths leads them on unpredictable journeys. Sometimes these paths are incredible. Pianist, bandleader and composer Joseph Armand Castro led an extraordinary life. He was a son of first generation Mexican-Americans, born in an Arizona mining town, who happened to be raised in surroundings where jazz music became his greatest inspiration, the highly trafficked Bay Area of California. As a teenager, Castro was able to learn the rudiments of the genre from attending many concerts, jamming regularly, and constant practice. Against the odds, Castro was able to co-lead a successful combo - 3 Bees and a Queen - that played a mixture of jazz and popular tunes. It was on the group’s first tour of Hawaii that Castro met and subsequently fell in love with the richest woman in the world, Doris Duke. Castro and Duke’s romantic relationship had its ups and downs, but it provided many opportunities that the pianist wouldn’t have been able to gain on his own, though there were some disadvantages, like Castro being constantly underrated, envied and thought to have everything and, therefore, in need of nothing. Castro was able to travel the world, lived in wonderful homes that were furnished with performance spaces where he and his musician friends would jam and record and, finally, Duke financed a recording label put under Castro’s control, Clover Records. The legacy of Joe Castro was passed down in hours of invaluable recordings of interviews and his music, including jam sessions with some of the leading musicians of his generation and long lost, never released recordings from Clover. Sunnyside Records has collaborated with the Castro estate to have the musical recordings mastered and compiled for release on the new boxset Lush Life – A Musical Journey. The recordings provide an intriguing view of Castro’s eclectic musical world and that of the musicians he befriended along the way. Listeners will hear the tremendous contributions of legendary musicians, like Stan Getz, Chico Hamilton, Teddy Edwards, Zoot Sims, Oscar Pettiford, Lucky Thompson, Leroy Vinnegar, Paul Motian and Billy Higgins. There are recordings of casual jam sessions that were held at either of Doris Duke’s residences, Falcon Lair in Beverly Hills, California or Duke Farms in New Jersey. There are also studio sessions from small groups and large ensembles led by Castro and Teddy Edwards that were initially recorded for release on Clover. The project was taken on under the lead of Castro himself from his Nevada home. After he passed in 2009, researcher Daniel Richard and Castro’s son James worked closely together to find photos, gather reminiscences and mix the audio material, mostly left on analog tape. Further in depth research by Richard at Duke Libraries at Duke University and regular trips to New York and Nevada have uncovered a remarkable treasure trove of unique and unheard material, most presented here for the first time. This box set is Sunnyside’s initial release of material from Joe Castro’s discography. Included are six discs of diverse musical settings from different periods in Castro’s life. There will be subsequent releases with more gems from his catalog to look forward to. There is also an interactive website that contains a full biography and discography, expertly researched by Daniel Richard and James Castro. It can be found at www.joecastrojazz.com. Disc 1: Joe Castro’s Jam Sessions: Abstract Candy – Jam sessions recorded at Duke’s Falcon Lair home which feature trumpeter John Anderson, woodwind expert Buddy Collette, drummer Chico Hamilton and bassists Buddy Woodson and Bob Bertaux. Disc 2: Joe Castro’s Friends: Falcon Blues – Teddy Wilson’s Jam Sessions – Three sessions, two from July 1955 and one from January 1956 at Falcon Lair, that feature the great Teddy Wilson on piano and feature saxophonists Stan Getz and Zoot Sims. Disc 3: Joe Castro’s Jam Sessions: Just Joe – Two sessions from February 1956 provide a look at Castro’s own playing with the illustrious lineup of trombonist Sonny Truitt, saxophonists Zoot Sims and Lucky Thompson, bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Ron Jefferson. Disc 4: Joe Castro: Feeling the Blues – The Quartet Sessions – Castro leads his tremendous working quartet of saxophonist Teddy Edwards, bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Billy Higgins at Falcon Lair in January 1959. Disc 5: Joe Castro Big Band – Reflection – Initially recorded for Castro’s own Clover label but never released, the Joe Castro Big Band’s music was the leader’s most ambitious project. The Band performs pieces by Castro and friends Leroy Vinnegar and Teddy Edwards with aplomb and features some of the West Coast’s most legendary musicians, including Al Porcino, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Bob Cooper and Stan Levey. Disc 6: Teddy Edwards Tentet – Angel City – Another project that went unreleased on Clover sees the great saxophonist Teddy Edwards leading his own midsized ensemble of Los Angeles based greats.

John Handy, Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival (Columbia, two eyes mono)

Dustygroove also has a bunch of Wounded Bird titles for $3.99.

Yes. It was fantastic. That's great; the various times I heard James Blood Ulmer at the Caravan of Dreams were also pretty fantastic, but that was long ago.

Paul Desmond, Easy Living (RCA)

John Handy Quintet, The Second John Handy Album (Columbia), Brother Jack McDuff, Live at Jazz Workshop (Prestige), John Handy Concert Ensemble, Projections (Columbia) and Coltrane Plays the Blues (Atlantic).

Kenny Burrell, Guitar Forms (Verve mono), and Miriam Makeba, The Voice of Africa (RCA mono).

So did anyone go to Austin last night to see The Thing with James Blood Ulmer?