kh1958

I have no opinion, as I've never listened to him. Kevin Hayes was selling this CD at the Kitano, but I opted for a trio recording. did you get his Live At Smalls recording? if so, i'd say money very well spent. totally awesome recording... I already had Live at Smalls (it's the reason I went to this concert). I picked up one called What Survives.

I have no opinion, as I've never listened to him. Kevin Hayes was selling this CD at the Kitano, but I opted for a trio recording.

I think I would skip that one.

He's good; I saw him (Kevin Hays) in a trio at the Kitano last Friday. That sure is a nice little club. A recording was being made.

Last Thursday night, Rob Garcia 4 (Noah Preminger, John Hebert and Dan Tepfer) at the Cornela Street Cafe. Friday night, first the Kevin Hays Trio at the Kitano for two sets, then the Steve Kuhn Trio (Buster Williams and Billy Drummond) at the Jazz Standard for their final set of the night. Saturday, the terrible weather disrupted my plans, so I opted for the relatively close by Jazz Standard again for another set of Steve Kuhn. Finally, later I went to the Zinc Bar to hear a Brazilian vocalist named Mirianni. She was just okay, but her band was terrific. And the highlight proved to be a guest artist for the second set, a young woman who was fantastic on violin--Frederika Krier.

Tuesday night: I was going to see Kenny Barron at the Vanguard, but the first set was sold out, so Plan B was to see Leni Stern at the 55 Bar. I've never listened to her before, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Her band was fabulous, with an incredible bass guitarist from Senegal, and five African percussionists (well, one of them was from New Jersey). I enjoyed her guitar playing very much, the blending of jazz and African music, and her occasional vocals were fine as well. Both sets were stellar. Wednesday night: I traveled to the 92Y Tribeca for a double bill (broadcast on a New Jersey public radio station). Aaron Parks was up first, in a quartet featuring a synthesizer player, bass and drums. This was their first public performance as a grouup, and the band seemed to get stronger as the set progressed. I did have some reservations about the blend of the sound of piano and synthesizer (it was kind of brittle and hard on my ears), but by the last two songs, I was liking the band pretty well, more like what I was expecting based on Aaron Park's Invisible Cinema CD. Next up was the the Derrick Hodge group, a quartet featuring Jamire Williams on drums, Dante Winslow on trumpet, and Chris (?) (introduced as a Thelonious Monk award winner) on keyboards. I didn't have any reservations about this group, they were terrific the entire set. The trumpeter was fiery and impressive, the drummer (recently with Lonnie Smith and as a leader of his own groupn Erimaje) very strong, and the leader an outstanding bass guitarist. I really enjoyed this set.

I continued my lucky Blue Note streak by finding a copy of Ornettte Coleman At the Golden Circle Volume 2 (NY USA).

A couple of recent favorites from Soundway: Black Goddess--a very enjoyable film soundtrack from the 1970s, not rock or funk oriented, but rather African jazz. Terrific saxophone playing on this one. "Soundway Records are proud to present the original soundtrack to Ola Balogun's legendary movie ‘Black Goddess’ from 1978. The film was written and directed by Balogun (recognized as one of Nigeria's most renowned directors) but shot and cast in Brazil. The soundtrack, Soundway’s deepest venture into experimental afro-jazz, was composed and produced by one of Nigeria's most successful and original musicians Remi Kabaka (who has played with Steve Winwood, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and Ginger Baker amongst others). The record was originally issued in both Nigeria and Brazil, but recorded in Lagos, using four of the Nigerian music scene's most innovative players: Remi Kabaka himself, alongside Biddy Wright, saxophonist Dele Okonkwo and Mono Mono frontman Joni Haastrup. The resulting soundtrack created by these prestigious musicians is a truly unique and experimental afro-jazz recording that has been out of print for many years, until now." Of the three recent MonoMono related releases--Give the Beggar a Chance is an excellent afro-rock recording. This is the one to get of the three reissues. Their second album, The Dawn of Awareness, is also pretty good. I would recommend skipping, Joni Haastrup's Wake Up Your Mind.

Hazel Scott's Late Show (Capitol ten inch) Ornette Coleman at the Golden Circle, volume 2 (Blue Note, NY USA)

Capitol Live George Shearing, disc 3.

Last night, Guitar Shorty at Pearl at Commerce.

Coming in the mail the last two days, Von Freeman, Have No Fear (Nessa), and Harry Whitaker, Thoughts (Past and Present) (Smalls).

I didn't like it.

I believe this is the fellow I saw at the Village Vanguard with Paul Motian. It was more in the nature of growling, like he was pretending he was a wolf or an angry dog. I found it very strange and unbearable in that intimate context; I liked his playing but not enough to overcome his peculiar sounds and facial expressions.

This box set sounds fantastic.

No information is provided as to the group or nature of the performance (with the Dallas Symphony?). At the Meyerson Symphony Hall: October 31 An Evening with Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his artistic explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while maintaining his unmistakable voice. In addition to being recognized as a legendary pianist and composer, his illustrious career includes an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score and 14 Grammy Awards, including 2008's Album of the Year.

Pretty much Ditto, except I made the mistake of listening to Doo-Bop--the slightest recording of his career.

No, not as of Monday's mail.

I would buy a CD; if it is only mp3/flac, I probably will not.

Perhaps Donald Brown, the gentleman who was at the Massey Hall Concert?

Who here saw Sonny Stitt live? How was it?

For B.B.'s guitar, Live in Japan is a pretty nice one.

yes, he's using oxygen all the time now. he's still got his chops though. aside from his health problems, he was dealt a very heavy blow recently with the passing of Eddie Marshall. Dumb question of the day: who is/was Eddie Marshall? An excellent drummer. http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_18858967

Yes, I try not to get too excited when I see something good, as most of the time the vinyl has been abused. One point to note is that one need not waste one's time at the HPB in Plano, as I've always found that one to be stripped clean, as if invaded by the jazz equivalent of African army ants. I wonder why (ha ha)?

I go through long periods of finding very little. I also think there is probably less competition for jazz records in Dallas than in Austin (an Ornette Coleman concert in Dallas would probably be half empty) but probably also a greater potential supply, given that Austin was a pretty small town in the '50s-'60s. This is somewhat unprecedented for me, in that in the last few weeks, I've found five original Blue Notes in good shape for a total of $110--the only pricier one being a Jimmy Smith for $50, but it is in perfect condition.