freeform83

I don't think such a disclaimer should be necessary, because anyone who listens to it should already posess some understanding that racial attitudes were different at the time. If someone really needs to be told that before listening to older music, then there is probably no hope for them. But again, they wouldn't be listening to the music in the first place if they were completely ignorant of American history. I never agree with censorship for political correctness reasons (and usually not with disclaimers, apologies, ect.) because I think it serves to make Americans even more culturally retarded than they already are. Then again, I completly abhor the censorship of Charlie Chan movies, Speedy Gonzales cartoons, ect. I think more good could come from people seeing those things than from not seeing them, in that they will be in a better position to understand where we have come from as a country. Furthermore, in this case, I'm not sure what possible harm could come from listening to this song. Once you remove this from the Mosaic, you'll have to remove Louis Armstrong singing "Shine" from whatever CDs it's on, and so on down the line. It is much harder to draw the line on what constitutes "offensiveness" than to simply let people hear the music and trust them to reach a halfway-intelligent conclusion. This is just the brief watered-down version of my feelings on this issue, as I feel very strongly about it and don't want to burden organissimo with a 20-page memo.

I enjoy Hubert Laws' version, but really can't help but feel that it was something of a missed opportunity. For one thing, it is too polite for its own good. I wonder how a darker or a more avant-garde improvization that uses Stravinsky as its point of departure would come across (perhaps if Laws had been more in the spirit of his playing on Chick Corea's Is)? I know that Paul Desmond quotes Stravinsky on Dave Brubeck's Jazz at Oberlin -- Rite of Spring to open his solo on "How High the Moon," and Petrushka elsewhere. What other examples of this do you know?

I really like this album! It completely lived up to my expectation of what a Joe Henderson "Latin" album on Milestone would sound like. In fact, if I were to make a mix CD of my favorite Joe Henderson, "Tres Palabras" would be on there without a doubt. It's wonderfully orchestrated and cool how different it sounds from the other stuff he was doing at the time. "Las Palmas" is just as good and the spacy electronic introduction is unexpected and cool. And "All Things Considered" (I believe that's the one) features a Latin percussion workout that also sounds unlike any other Henderson I have heard. By the time I get to this track, I end up wishing that this type of percussion had featured more prominently on the album up to that point. So the bottom line is, I really like this album and I actually think it compliments the other Milestones quite well by adding to the diversity of the catalogue.

"We're the Same" from 100% Fun is a better song than "Sick of Myself." Therefore, his assertion is flawed.

I never would have imagined Albert Ayler playing golf... It just doesn't fit with my image of him. I will listen to "Masonic Inborn Pt.1" (one of my all-time favorite tracks) tonight in honor of him.

I know. That last image.... Is there a better final shot in any film? Well, maybe The Third Man. The last image of The Searchers left a huge impression on me.

After the English group the Planets released a track called "A One Minute Silence," they were sued by Cage's estate for copyright infringement. The group's leader, Mike Batt, defended the piece by saying, “Mine is a much better silent piece anyway. I was able to say in one minute what took Cage four minutes and 33 seconds.”

Tom Waits -- "Lucinda" But I don't mind, as the lyrics are amazing.

"Cannon" is so much more than "incidental noise"...

Well, yes. But clearly I lack your musical sophistication. I bow to your superior intelligence.

A lot of the Trio improvizations, and maybe the second and third in particular, suggest Stravinsky to my ears. Admittedly, I am not particularly versed in classical music, but Rite of Spring is one of my favorite pieces, and I have others in my collection as well. I am interested to know if others feel the same way.

That's why she's my new avatar.

I know you're less interested in bass clarinet-electric piano combinations, but I think there are actually more of these thanks to Bennie Maupin. The common reference point for this sound is probably Bitches Brew, but you might also want to check out Woody Shaw's Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary, 70), the Mwandishi albums of Herbie Hancock, or Maupin's own Jewel in the Lotus (ECM, 74) for some combinations.

I don't know how to recommend this except to say that it belongs in the collection any connoisseur of the strange, the bizarre, the unexpected -- plus it's a fantastic record in its own right. No amount of listening to Hermeto's contributions to Live-Evil can prepare you for this melange of fusion, vocal flute sounds, Brazillian folk influences, pig squeals, random sped-up vocals, and atonal piano (and I think I even heard an organ-flute combination in there at one point). Sometimes it sounds like Latin jazz, other times you hear the imprint of early 70s Miles, but mostly the album just heads into completely unclassifiable directions. "Cannon," in particular, is one of my new favorite tracks, and I honestly do not know what genre it represents. Post any thoughts on Hermeto here. And if you know of anything else that sounds like "Cannon," please recommend it.

Great, thanks for clarifying.

Did I violate some unwritten rule by writing about Donovan? Unwritten rule, no... OK, I guess I'm missing something?

Did I violate some unwritten rule by writing about Donovan? Back to the original subject: "My Funny Valentine" -- Jack McDuff and Yusef Lateef on Grant Green's Grantstand -- on the more soulful side of things "Air" -- Herbie Hancock and James Spaulding on Bobby Hutcherson's Components -- on the avant-garde side, and Herbie is using the organ more for coloration than anything else "The Call of the Wild" -- David Newman and Lonnie Smith on Think! -- again, this really only applies to the atmospheric opening and closing sections, but I really like this track and it reminds me of later sample-based tracks for some reason

Any other opinions on Juba-Lee?

Harold McNair played on several Donovan records in the 60s. It seems worth mentioning that Donovan was the first musician I was ever heavily, obsessively into -- around the time I was in 8th grade -- and I still consider him very underrated to this day. Most people associate him with "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow" without realizing that those songs represent only a small part of his sound: On his best albums (e.g. Hurdy Gurdy Man) he mixed Celtic folk with world sounds and an experimental edge, for something that really holds up surprisingly well. Anyway, I know I connected with some of McNair's contributions at the time, and now that I think about it, my interest in this organ-flute sound combination actually dates back to Donovan (and the Incredible String Band)! I would love to hear The Fence, thanks for the rec.

I consider Jewel in the Lotus to be Maupin's high water mark -- at least in comparison to everything I have heard. There is no other album quite like it. And it must be the last time we get to hear Hancock playing in that sparse, acoustic free style like on the Tony Williams Blue Notes or Ron Carter's Uptown Conversation. The album feels like an outlet for all of the HeadHunters avant-garde tendencies. I really, really, really want to hear Juba-Lee. Maupin, Moncur, and Alan Shorter all in the same line-up sounds almost too good to be true. Also, I noticed there was no mention here of Lee Morgan's Taru (Blue Note, 68), another one I am quite keen on obtaining, although I'm sure the general sound is more inside.

That's OK... I guess no one is really with me on these albums.

My wishes for RVGs (or Conns, or whatever): New Faces, New Sounds - Wynton Kelly Julius Watkins Sextet Vol. 1 and 2 The Opener - Curtis Fuller Look Out - Stanley Turrentine Plays Fats Waller - Jimmy Smith Steppin' Out - Harold Vick Wahoo - Duke Pearson Bring It Home To Me - Blue Mitchell The Empty Foxhole - Ornette Coleman Contrasts - Larry Young Heads Up - Blue Mitchell Natural Essence - Tyrone Washington Introducing/Now Hear This - Duke Pearson's Big Band Grass Roots - Andrew Hill Extensions - McCoy Tyner Wayfaring Stranger - Jeremy Steig Odyssey of Iska - Wayne Shorter Chant - Donald Byrd A long list, for sure, but I'm just barely scratching the surface. Excellent list... Can I just throw in Heaven on Earth -- Larry Young.

"Funk Underneath" -- Jack McDuff and Roland Kirk from Kirk's Work -- in a soulful context "Chitlins con Carne" -- John Patton and Harold Alexander from Understanding "B&J (Two Sisters)" -- John Patton and Harold Alexander from Boogaloo "Falaq" -- James Spaulding and Larry Young from Of Love and Peace -- a beautiful and Zen-like moment of grace amidst an otherwise tumultuous track, surprised it hasn't been sampled by someone like DJ Krush Just for the record, I love the combination of the organ's "heaviness" with the delicate sounds of the flute, a tricky juxtaposition that I wish were explored on more organ records.

"Brilliant Corners"

I love his marimba solos! I think his playing on that instrument changed somewhat from 1964-66 to the late 60s/early 70s. On tracks like "Memory" (from Tony Williams' Lifetime), "Dialogue," "Movement," "Air," and "The Omen," he is playing in a more restrained, detached style and the notes have more percussive, disconnected feel (sort of like the other side of the coin from the vibes), whereas by the time of "Pompeian" and "Many Thousands Gone," he is doing something faster and more flowing, but also darker and more aggressive. But still, he only switches to marimba on certain types of tracks, and it's interesting that he stays off the instrument for entire albums like Oblique. And I wish I had named myself Mr. Free.