Rabshakeh

I don't think it was mentioned above, but an excellent website with discographical details for the early British Bebop scene is Henry Bebop: http://henrybebop.co.uk/bebop.htm

Lee Konitz and Rich Perry - RichLee (Steeplechase, 1998) I'm interested whether anyone can think of a better deployment of a shellsuit in jazz than here? Konitz demolishes his sparring partner in polyester terms, giving him a crucial psychological edge when it comes to the secondary issue of the saxophone.

This record is really something. I've just finished spinning the reissue of Black Unity Trio's Al Fatihah (1968)

YouTube's algorithm has been pushing this one on me heavily for a few months now. I haven't jumped yet.

Happy to step up. God knows a mythical cylinder will still be better than the real life recordings of cockney music hall my late step granddad had.

Hard to think back to that time, when even Sun Ra was obscure. The level of information scarcity back then was unimaginable. In these days of content churn listicles and reissue specialist labels (neither a bad thing), I find those old lists of obscure, near legendary recommendations have a real aura to them.

So, where was Dr. Butler in this? Just taking care of what was left of the "Real Blue Note" whilst eying his own next move, and not overly interested of what's going on in the vaults?

Lester Bowie - The Great Pretender (ECM, 1981). "Hey kids, what time is it?!"

The main purpose of the past is to gross out the present.

Thanks. This is interesting. It's a shame there's never going to be a book covering what happened to the jazz indies as a group, from a position that is neither discological nor just a hagiography for one particular label. It's an interesting story that contains a lot of the actual facts that lie behind the more visible events that were going on at the time. At a certain point, probably late 80s, it felt like the Blue Note legacy became marketable. There were suddenly all sorts of hip hop tie ins and coffee table books. I presume that wasn't a natural organic development, and it reflected a concerted but quite far sighted marketing campaign (at least, that's how I saw it as a 14 year old in the mid-90s). But it is still hard for me to imagine a time before Blue Note has its current "aura", and was just another name on a list of past acquisitions that had proved not to have long term prospects.

Even worse

Yes! That's exactly it. Grim.

This is great. Thank you. I love the write ups too.

Anything with vibrant dancing stick men or naive cartoons.

Tony Scott - Golden Moments (Muse, 1982)

What would inoculations have been like then? I imagine the needles were just big glass straws. And it was before germ theory, so one can only hope they at least wiped them down in between jabs.

Anyway, can we all agree at least that the Verve reissue series in the 1990s was the absolute pits? Everything looks designed to be sold over the counter at Starbucks, in the 90s.

HutchFan, you’ve been listening to a lot of Moody recently, and I remember him showing on your Playing Favorites blog too. If you had to take three James Moody albums to your desert island, which would they be? I’m a big flute fan, but I don’t really know his work. I’ve spent a while in the last few days trying to track them down but to no avail. I a vintage record collector’s list (@rostasi mentioned the Nurse With Wound one earlier in the week; the slightly queasy Thurston Moore one is another). I see that the EFI Sheffield page used to link to it, but the link’s now down.

My biggest takeaway from this thread is that 90s/00s Blue Note needed to get a better graphics team. I could do a better impression of Reid Miles cover artwork using the filters on my phone. My other takeaway is why on earth is there not already a “Blue Note” filter on my phone? It would give my family snaps of the kids eating fish fingers and granddad sleeping on the beach that ineffable look of mid century cool. Come on guys, it’s licensing/tie in time. Get monetising. Finally, a question that probably answers itself: why don’t other corporate legacy rights owners take the same approach? Prestige, Contemporary, Pacific and Argo all had their unique own looks too, even if Argo’s was just ‘Men in a room play some jazz’. Obviously, they don’t have the archives, and, unlike Blue Note, there’s no brand awareness and no one gives a single solitary, but it would still be entertaining.

I’m a great fan of San Francisco. It’s one of the records I listen to most. Linger Lane much less so.

Mario Schiano - De Dé (Splasch)

Thanks

LT was all about just trying to get out alive before the bloodhounds got the scent and the bullets started flying. What are these comments a reference to? Not asking to be arch. I genuinely don't know the history.

Sounds like Verve is reissuing Alan Shorter's Orgasm, on gold vinyl for some reason.

Flightily?