Rabshakeh

Nice idea. This is going on now.

Why was that? I know very little about Sanders as a person but always assumed, almost certainly wrongly, that he would have been quite mellow.

Kwanza's a very happy album. I'd like to own it so this is pretty tempting.

Mine too! Very excited.

The Jazz Times Readers’ Best of the 80s List is even drearier....

John Tchicai / Irene Schweizer Group - Willi the Pig (Willisau Live, 1975)

Sabu - Palo Congo (Blue Note, 1957) And then several levels up in the afrocuban stakes, with this gem.

Steven Bernstein - Diaspora Soul (Tzadik, 1999) Nice and swampy / sleazy. I like the mix of electric piano with subdued afrocuban percussion.

Thanks everyone. Smooth jazz is serious stuff. I feel better already.

Glenn Spearman - Free Worlds (Black Saint, 1999) Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano - Complete Recordings (Definitive, various)

Solo Guitar Vol 1 is the definitive early solo Bailey in my eyes. It’s my favourite of his solo pieces along with the later Aida. I am also interested in any recommendations on the Companys.

They've got a couple in. Its hard to get normally.

A last pre-lockdown treat: A copy of the LP reissue of Horace Tapscott's The Call and the book Free Jazz In Japan: A Personal History by Teruto Soejima, from Cafe OTO's new books wall.

Double thumbs up on this one.

I was asked for a post 80s McPhee recommendation by a friend today, who loves Nation Time, and who had come with me to see him play semi-recently off the back of that record and enjoyed the gig. The friend is a jazz fan but chary of the more abrasive stuff typically. I can think of around ten recommendations, but doubt there's that bandwidth in practice. I'd be interested to know which album (one album only) people would recommend.

Thanks everyone!

This is the kind of glowing endorsement that I was looking for.

For no apparent reason, today (3 November 2020, GMT timezone) I woke up with a pressing desire to listen to something smooth, calming and entirely without edges. I can't identify the reason; it must be something in the air. So, what are your top three records from the universally beloved smooth jazz format? I have kept it to three, because I am not 100% sure that even existential dread will persuade me to listen to more than three back to back. Bonus points for actual "jazz" content (presence of improvisation, etc.).

I have sometimes wondered, in my idler moments, who the girl on the front cover of Snurdy McGurdy is. Is it a granddaughter?

I think probably Waves or the first Duo with Holland, although hard to ignore Crystals too.

Was he playing on the album or is it his compositions?

Just in case the message needs to come cross again, these are really highly recommended. I love them.

I'm slightly surprised at the choice of Rivers from a decade that saw him in his pomp. It's a good album, but a long way from what I'd consider his best from the decade. Perhaps I need to reconsider.

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core - The Neon Truth (2001, Black Saint)

A great album.