Rabshakeh

The Brand New Heavies (1990)

Klaus Weiss – The Git Go (MPS, 1975) Ah. The nineteen seventies. Note the thrillingly clever Velazquezian touch to the cover art.

Thanks.

I think I've heard Carl Allen on a few thinks, and Kikoshi on fewer, but I don't think they're names that I see regularly.

Is this good? I enjoy all the horn players on here, but I don't know the others.

I have always thought that Mitchell was a great player with a really interesting and personal sound on her flute, but I think that some of her earlier records sometimes adopted ensemble approaches that, whilst good, perhaps didn't show off how unique her playing is. I first fell really in love with Mitchell's music when I listened to the solo record I posted above. I could listen to that record all day. This was similarly excellent, with the piano opening up new possibilities for the flute. It reminded me a lot of Hemphill, Newton and very late Debussy, whilst still being it's own thing. Two players who work beautifully together. I would love to hear a duo album. Sadly, OTO was not full last night either, although it did have a quite intense and studious small audience feel, which was nice.

I did, with Alexander Hawkins of this parish. I really enjoyed it. Very moving. Edit: I should add, and not just because one of the duo might be reading this, that I thought that the combination of Mitchell and Hawkins really worked well for both, and brought out something really magical.

Nicole Mitchell – Engraved In The Wind (RogueArt, 2013) These can't go on Bandcamp soon enough, in my view.

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – Sing A Song Of Basie (ABC Paramount, 1958)

Eric Dolphy – At The Five Spot Volume 2 (Prestige) The three Five Spot records are up there in my top ten. I'd put them right up there in the starter pack for someone trying to get into the free-er end of midcentury jazz, alongside the first two Ornette Atlantics and A Love Supreme. I think they're far more accessible than the his much more famous Blue Note record (particularly with it's rather conceptual first side).

Keith Tippett - The Unlonely Raindancer

Wayne Shorter – High Life (Verve, 1995) I find it very hard to un-hear smooth jazz all over this record. The compositions are extremely complex in some cases, and there is a 30 strong orchestra, but it's there. Not just in Marcus Miller's production, but very much in Shorter's soprano style. It's not something that I hear on his later records, or on the ones previous to this (although he occupies such a diminished place in late Weather Report that it isn't necessarily clear.

Grover Washington, Jr. – A Secret Place

The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet – Change Is (Columbia, 1969)

Archie Shepp – Phat Jam In Milano (2009)

Nice to see

Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet Plus Two – Broken English (Okka, 2002)

McCoy Tyner – 4 X 4 (Milestone, 1980)

A real picker upper

Can I recommend trying it streamed or on CD (whichever is available, but not YouTube)? I think that the CD mix is far better. Sharrock is very noticeable but he's really turned down on any vinyl version I've heard.

Love this record. How does yours sound? I've had two copies on vinyl and I've always been disappointed at how buried Sharrock is in the vinyl mix.

I mean, Miles Davis in his autobiography describes his own children as being a great disappointment to him. Sanders seems to get off lightly in that context.

So many Mehldaus to get through first.

I really like it. A good mix between expansive post bop and the strings. Plus the writing is really good.

Michael Stuart – The Blessing (Unity, 1989)