Rabshakeh

Bought 20% in a sale.

The Brecker Brothers – Return Of The Brecker Brothers (GRP, 1992) It's an excellent record.

This sort of stuff is so far away from George Howard and Grover Washington that it is really a different genre. Treacly Disney jazz for sale at the supermarket.

Michel Portal · Léon Francioli · Pierre Favre – Arrivederci Le Chouartse (Hat, 1981)

Interested to know what those who know this era better than I regard as the key recordings, where there by Mitchell or by his peers.

The George Shearing Quintet And Orchestra – White Satin (Capitol, 1960)

Ed Summerlin / Roger Ortmayer – Liturgical Jazz: A Musical Setting For An Order Of Morning Prayer (Ecclesia, 1959) Just streaming this. I expected it would be some hyper-serious 60s oratorio thing, but exactly it has some good writing and solos. I know nothing about Ed Summerlin but on the basis of this taster I'd be interested in more. Elysian Spring – Glass Flowers (Despa, 1969)

Just finished: Not my favourite of his, but lots of good bits. Now switching it down a bit:

I like this one a lot. Very smokey stuff.

Bu Pleasant – Ms. Bu (Muse, 1974)

Serge Ermoll's Free Kata – The New Language Of Music, Vol. 1 (Free Kata, 1976)

Muriel Grossmann – Reverence (2019)

Brother Jack McDuff And David Newman – Double Barrelled Soul (Atlantic, 1968)

Big Bill Broonzy – Last Session Part 2 Found in a box of vinyl which belonged to my father in law, along with a ton of very average classical, trad jazz and, for some reason, about 16 copies of Missa Luba. What a record this is. All the tunes are very well known, often in forms that, to my ears, appear to have been clearly copped off this record. I'm sure I've heard all of these tunes ten times when seeing live blues. Presumably it was just one of those records that you could buy in Britain in the mid sixties, so if you wanted to play blues it was one of the records you had to copy. Anyway. What a collection. Beautiful. The vinyl is old and deep and crackly too.

What are these? Archival live recordings or reissues with new sleeves? "Formed by Roscoe Mitchell and students at Michigan State University and then carried back to fruition by Detroit guitarist A Spencer Barefield and his wife Photographer Barbara Barefield, The Creative Arts Collective continued a pattern of musical ingenuity and experimentation in the Motor City that held its ground with any movement the city had spawned. The CAC was grass roots, community created and self-published. Musicians on a regular basis included Faruq Z Bey, Tani Tabal, Jaribu Shahid, Anthony Holland, Richard Davis, Roy Brooks, Sun Ra, Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Arthur Blythe, Andrew Cyrille, Oliver Lake, George Lewis and legions more. The CAC was one of the most important gathering points for music in America’s Jazz History while remaining entirely obscure to the greater story." I know of a record by a group called Griot Galaxy "Kins" that has quite a lot of these guys on. It's a great record, and from 1982, so presumably connected. The truth is that, even for Mitchell, whose music has a really special place for me, the Sound Ensemble / Note Factory era is probably the part of the story about which I know the least.

I thought there would be some Detroit based knowledge! It's interesting that the book points to Barefield rather than Mitchell as the founder of the CAC. I only really know him from Mitchell's records. I'm aware of a record called Transdimensional Space Window but I've never heard it. Presumably other Detroit based musicians like Tani Tabbal and Jaribu Shahid were also members.

John Carter – Dance Of The Love Ghosts (Gramavision, 1987)

Definitely agree!

Classique.

Bluiett & The Baritone Nation – Blueblack (Justin Time, 2002) It's a great record! I had a lot of fun with it. I love Buckner's stuff where you can hear him muttering.

Milt Buckner Trio with Jo Jones – Play Chords (SABA, 1966) Something about young and spruce Milt Buckner's pose on the cover really reminds me of George Costanza from Seinfeld.

Wikipedia's entry for Roscoe Mitchell says: "Mitchell and the others returned to the States in 1971. After having been back in Chicago for three years, Mitchell then established the Creative Arts Collective (CAC) in 1974 that had a similar musical aesthetic to the AACM. The group was based in East Lansing, Michigan and frequently performed in auditoriums at Michigan State University. Mitchell also formed the Sound Ensemble in the early 1970s, an "outgrowth of the CAC" in his words, that consisted mainly of Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, and Spencer Barefield." I have seen other references to the Creative Arts Collective around. Other than the Sound Ensemble, what sort of existence did CAC have? Were there other affiliated musicians and groups, similar to e.g. CMIF, or was it really just Mitchell and his group? Did any records result? I reckon that some of the members here will have some insight!

Urs Leimgruber, Joëlle Léandre, Fritz Hauser – No Try No Fail (Hat, 1997) An absolute personal fav from my younger days (it coincided with my first interest in jazz and improv). I spent a lot of time listening to it in Summer 2020, and it was a kind of soundtrack for when my daughter was first born (headphones only, with all respect to my wife). Always good to return to it.

I'd post in a thread like that.

Byard Lancaster – Exodus (Philly Jazz, 1977)