Rabshakeh

Very sad. RIP.

I don't know the follow up but will definitely check it out.

Bobby Paunetto - Paunetto's Point (Timeless, 1975) Excellent afro Cuban post bop record from the mid-70s, with everyone from Ronnie Cuber to Jerry Gonzalez on it.

Jaki Byard - Solo Piano

Kenny Barron and the Brazilian Knights (Sunnyside, 2013) What a blast this record is.

Currently on Taking Care of Business by Oliver Nelson, featuring Johnny Hammond Smith and jazz cop Lem Winchester.

I inherited this one from my father in law.

James Moody - Never Again! (Muse, 1972) I think this was a @HutchFan recommendation, for which thank you.

I deny all responsibility.

That's good to hear. I'm definitely interested and will see it when it comes out in London.

I’m enjoying him on Big John Patton’s Got A Good Thing Goin’ On right now. I don’t want to exaggerate, but it just might be the greatest human artistic endeavour of all time.

I feel like there's an infinite pool of great Grant Green albums.

Lee Konitz - Zounds (Soul Note, 1990) Just when I think I've heard every angle of Lee Konitz' music.

David Binney - South (ACT, 2003) Enjoying this one a lot on first listen. In a forward-thinking modern jazz vein, with Binney and Potter on the front line.

I agree. I think they are a strong partnership. Boyd is a Very Good Thing for the London scene in my opinion. Golding's style is a little pastichey, I think, but I enjoy what he does. It's particularly good here because the bass and percussionist get to push him around with a bit of freedom, which draws him out. I agree on that leader date, although for me it is partly down to the cover photo, which does agree with me.

Binker Golding - Moon Day (2021) I always think of Golding as a young up and coming talent, but he's not much younger than me.

Why no bop revival for Mr. McLean? (* Disclaimer: I may be overstating the extent to which there really was a sales uptick and/or the market was actually juiced for a McLean comeback. Perhaps Monuments looked like it might sell, or help him reconnect with the "kids". Maybe he was just really into slick lifeless disco or it was a comedy bit, or something. I'd take all that if it was Ayler or Harris, but harder to believe it with McLean).

Although having now scrolled down, I see that there was indeed a connection. A Woolworths-type scenario.

Mtume - Rebirth Cycle (1974) Again. I didn't know this. I assumed they were the same company.

I like Carter a fair bit. Certainly a lot more than his peers. It's nice that he tried something that was a bit different. The Django thing sounds worth checking out at least.

Definitely, and even more so Don Pullen, who gets the Saturday Night / Sunday morning feel exactly.

Ah hah! Thank you for being so polite. I hadn’t realised they were different labels.

What was it like before that?

I definitely agree on the honker heritage. With the above set, there is also something a bit different though - Polished mass market pop music from the African American tradition, as opposed to the grittier stuff like McNeely or the "greasier" stuff (I'm never sure whether that term is okay, but I don't know an alternative), both of which are for a slightly more selective adult audience. I think Shepp probably drew on it all, whilst keeping the distinctions between source material, where Kirk and Byard in particular seem to be coming out of that precise point in the tradition and commenting on it. Not that Ray Charles isn't one of the greatest soul screamers of history, but he was also a smooth big band pop star too. Showing influence from that latter side (or the tradition from which it emanates) feels like quite a statement. The only other artist who comes to mind is Bowie, who did something similar but two decades advanced in style with Brass Fantasy - a twist on a pop big band.

Kenny Clarke & Others - Pieces of Time (Soul Note, 1984) Thanks. It has a strange edge to it. It might be a clever bite effect that he worked out.