Rabshakeh

Got kicked out of the office for a fire drill so went to the market. It was nice to be there early for once before the good stuff had gone. I bought a copy of Mr. Hands by Mr. Hancock and a Snooks Eaglin comp.

I know those records and have a soft spot for them. Not necessarily because of Shank, but the package as a whole. Retrospectively they look less like a cash in and more like a desperate survival technique. Even more so because of the presence of a broken, toothless Chet Baker on a couple of them.

Bud Shank Quartet If find it interesting that lots of descriptions of Shank's playing at the time highlight cliches of Californian sun, but when you listen to his earlier records, he actually has quite an aggressive and fast punching concept, albeit he never sounds worked up or angry. This is one of my favourite early Shank records, saving the bossa albums which I really do like. I never did entirely like Shank's sound though, for some reason. I don't play saxophone so I don't know what it is, but maybe there is too much loose air flying around. It sounds like balsa wood to me.

I think Edwards deserves credit for range and rate. He is so experienced in improvising that he can play whatever is needed. Arguably that is faint praise (like when older rock fans praise a "session musician"), but it is what I see as his key skill. He is an asset in any performance.

I haven't really been checking this thread (work and family chaos are eating into Organissimo time) but I have recently been enjoying some of Celia Cruz's Santeria records. They're enjoyably cross genre, with a mix of vocal work outs and trombone heavy salsa.

That's right, although here I think it was Steve Noble rather than Sanders, which is probably among the things that elevated it. Nothing wrong with Sanders, but Noble has an added rhythmic sense that keeps things from being too languid and improv-ey.

I saw Darius Jones recently at OTO with the usual OTO rhythm section. It was enjoyably aggressive, with enough to keep the interest going, but not necessarily that subtle or 'new'. Those earlier records are still really good, I think.

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis-Johnny Griffin Quintet – Blues Up And Down A particularly enjoyable match up. Who is pianist Lloyd Mayer's?

It's Bob Florence. An early stereosploitation record. But a really good one. Very exciting and creative within the constraints of a ridiculous and compromised genre.

Different vibe, but worth trying an earlier record too: Band Bongos, Reeds, Brass. One of the best "studio" big band records.

Lee Konitz & The Gerry Mulligan Quartet – Konitz Meets Mulligan

As you say, the bigger issue with making Machine Gun today would be that it would be drowned out by everything else.

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

Do you know The Mysterious Corona? Another excellent one from the same period and in a similar vein.

Trio Pim Jacobs featuring Ruud Brink – Just Friends

Chameleon - Chameleon

Is Christian Vander the Magma guy?

T. K. Ramamoorthy – Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic-Jazz

I do wonder whether in 30 years time we are all going to be telling people the same thing about Najee and Kirk Whalum.

Roy Harte & Milt Holland – Perfect Percussion: The 44 Instruments Of Roy Harte And Milt Holland

What do you mean by the coding bit? I'm familiar with "coded" as in "rock is white-coded" or "XYZ political position is [right / left] coded. But not this usage.

I sort of agree. The truth is that the process of forgetting and remembering isn’t natural. But it is rarely the outcome of a single factor, as these books often make out. UnIike you, I am a nineties kid. I did not experience anything firsthand. I grew into jazz during the great age of CD reissues. Questions of who was remembered and who was forgotten dictated who I liked for the first fifteen years of being a fan of this music. It took me over a decade to even hear the names of the A listers who ended up on the wrong side of the culture industry. Names like Ramsey Lewis, Lee Konitz, Gene Ammons, Eddie Harris and Roscoe Mitchell. But it is not some great conspiracy. Just changing tastes and, more than anything, the luck of being on the label that retrospectively promotes its legacy artists, rather than the ones that don’t. Jazz in the current era is a minority pursuit. Unlike rock or hip hop there isn’t a mass of older fans and friendly uncles to ensure that awareness of major artists survives their period of fame. So questions of retrospective visibility are important.

Creed Taylor Orchestra – Shock Music In Hi-Fi Superb. I'm going to spin this tonight. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cecil Taylor - Garden

Lesiman – Here And Now Vol. 1