Rabshakeh

Barry Altschul, Paul Bley, Gary Peacock – Virtuosi

Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – Jungle Fire (Prestige, 1969)

That's a shame. I'm a big fan of his record with Barry Guy Sensology.

Sonny Stitt – Jazz At The Hi-Hat (Roost, 1954)

David Liebman Quintet – If They Only Knew (Timeless, 1980)

Yer mate Dan's put up some interesting looking ones this week. There's a Johnny Dyani that I hadn't heard of which looks really interesting.

How's this one? Looks quite interesting. How do you find it? Good? Bad? Solid? Indifferent?

Mal Waldron / Marion Brown – Songs Of Love And Regret (Freelance, 1987) There's been a Mal drought on these pages for a while.

It's the same artist. Mati Klarwein. What is the story about the Woody Shaw record?

This thing sounds like it's present in the pre-RCAs too, though. It's what we all love about Rollins. The RCAs don't seem as playful to my ears, although there's obviously humour in many tunes. But they do have something that the earlier records don't have, which is the supposedly "Coltraneish" aspect that isn't actually very Coltraneish. I don't really know what it is though. Do you think Rollins experienced a deepening of understanding of aspects of music at this point that wasn't there before?

I guess the question is what is the thing? The Jazz 101 version says he lost his individuality and began chasing Coltrane. Clearly, to my dumb ears, Meets Hawk is not just attempting to catch up with Coltrane. But I have a harder time figuring out what those records are.

Thank you, both. For these great answers.

A random question: For those who really rate Rollins' RCA records, do you think that, for the period, he still represented one of the absolute giants of jazz? I like them an awful lot, particularly the Hawkins/Bley one, but I am wondering whether I see them as the product of a leader, as I do with the earlier records, or more just as personal favourites. Silly subjective question, I know, but please give me your sensible subjective answers.

Terri Lyne Carrington – Real Life Story (Verve, 1989) Jazz pop injection in my afternoon. It sounds better with time and distance I think.

None of it makes sense.

Milt Buckner – Green Onions (Black and Blue, 1975) "Gnyeh!"

Johnny Letman – A Funky Day In Paris (Black and Blue, 1968) Impossibly greasy.

Woody Shaw With Tone Jansa Quartet (Timeless, 1985) An excellent recent recommendation from this board.

Alexander Hawkins Mirror Canon – Break A Vase (Intakt, 2022)

I didn’t do nothing. I was put up to it, it was a set up.

Johnny Dyani Quartet – Angolian Cry (Steeplechase, 1985)

George Freeman ‎– Franticdiagnosis (Bam-Boo, 1972) Strange that "The Bump" remains unsampled. You'd think it is just waiting there.

After doing a lot of listening, I think that my personal pick might be (I, Eye, Aye) - Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland 1972, from the same year as the Brotherland set.

Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith ‎– A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM, 2016)

I toyed with comparing him to Phil Woods in my initial post, but I thought that I would get yelled at if I did, so steered clear. His playing seems very much in Woods' style. Perhaps honed for the tastes and support of the more conservative mid-70s / early 80s jazz kids who were getting tired of the current trends, only to get chucked out and forgotten when the mid 80s hit with an actual commercially driven conservative jazz revival. I think my imagination was piqued by Keeper of the Flame, which seems like a funny little manifesto, with its on the nose title, mocking of free jazz, and weird cover photograph. That record is pretty enjoyable, even if it is not ever going to make it to any human being's desert island.