Rabshakeh

Chicago - III Uri Caine - Gustav Mahler: Dark Flame

Inherited that one from my late father in law.

What is this one? Looks fun. Why is Zappa I American?

This one is good. As I said above, I do like Joel Ross. What I really don't like is that feeling that I am going to a jazz gig to learn and improve myself: Straight faced and studious players, opening with a speech about the importance of the music, and total silence solemn from the audience. That last factor has become a particular bugbear for me. I went to an Evan Parker show recently at OTO and accidentally fell over someone on my way to the loo. I tried to apologise (quietly) and the person I'd squashed actually shushed me. Fingers on the lips, like I was a schoolchild. I think it is a great thing for a musician to play the music that he or she loves, and hard bop and post bop is music that I love to hear. The tradition to which these musicians have decided to dedicate themselves is a raucous one where the music was played to be enjoyed. Quality wise I think that these modern Blue Note records can be hit and miss, but I do make sure to check them out, because they're rarely rubbish and some are good. I think that the hit rate is probably higher than the likes of International Anthem or Clean Feed. That doesn't mean that they're all great but current output is pretty good.

I think Jazzbo is right in his description. It is modern post bop and studious with it. I personally found it very boring. Whilst it certainly is "intellectual" I found it perhaps not creative or very fresh. Everything is in the mix and played with slick facility but my feeling was that the songs aren't great and excitement doesn't even seem to be a goal. However, that is just my idiot opinion. I am at any point in time slightly agnostic about these players (I quite like Ross and Wilkins), so if you normally like these musicians a lot it is worth probably following Jazzbo's tastes over mine. In any case, it is streamable, so there's the opportunity to give it a go and see who is right.

Johnathan Blake – Passage Amazing to think that jazz used to be a disreputable party music. Listening to this record is like being stuck in a stuffy lecture theatre.

I don't really know either of them. What are some good records either side of the transformations? I am also fascinated by those changes but more by now overwhelming those zeitgeist shifts must have been between 1965 and 1980. We are all by now getting bored of the talk of the "vibe shift" by now, but imagine if the Kamasi Washington was suddenly playing back to playing jazz school bebop. Kriegel I know. And a very good shout. Great record. Amazing to see all those names and then hear them playing in that style.

Oh cool. Thanks. A nice looking resource. Edit: Just looked closer, and this is basically exactly it. Not European but currently listening to the Quebecois band Sloche's J'Un Oeil, which is very close to the mold.

Now this is very much it. Bonus points all round. I'll be the hippest kid on Instagram. Jazz Q Praha is one of the few Czech jazz rock groups that I know of, from their album Watchtower and also a split that they did with Modry Efekt.

I'm down one of my periodic rabbit holes. This time it is that particular style of European jazz rock and fusion music that flourished in the 1970s: lots of bands coming out of various hyper-local regional scenes, influenced by electric Miles and Mahavishnu Orchestra, and often with strong overlap with the more adventurous art rock scenes (like Canterbury, Krautrock, RIO, Zeuhl, Zappa, etc), often lasting for only one album. I don't think that we have a discussion on this topic (I had assumed that I had started one, but apparently I haven't, or if I have I can't locate it). The biggest names in the genre seem to be the British ones, particularly Nucleus, Brian Auger, Colosseum, Bruford, Brand X and Soft Machine. But there are hundreds, from largeish bands like the German Embryo, Czech Modry Efekt or French groups like Gong (post-Aellen), Cortex and Magma (pre-MDK), to one-off records by bands like the Algerian/French Rahmann. It's a fascinating genre. A lot of it does sound really quite similar. But there's a fun heavily electric sound to it that has never really been replicated. Any recommendations or thoughts welcome. (Obviously, this being the era of the internet, there are bonus points to be had if the band or album recommended is Czech or from the former Yugoslavia.)

Christopher Hollyday – Christopher Hollyday

Barry Guy - Irvin's Comet

Not entirely.

Rodrigo Amado and Chris Corsano - No Place To Fall

Big Bill Broonzy - Last Session Part 2

Thanks

That's where I heard about this one. It is streamable. A very nice record. Similar to e.g. News from the Shed, it is from before the point at which Butcher's concept had coalesced and his playing is different to how it would become. I really enjoy that. Nice to hear him from that early stage. I love to see Butcher and feel spoilt by how often he plays in Hackney.

Chris Burn and John Butcher – Fonetiks

Is this a comp?

Ha! That was my guess too. Seems like a rock town.

Are there any good second hand record shops in Dublin? I'll be there this weekend.

Actually, I see that I have him on some Sheik Cola and Captain John Handy records, all of which I really like, so interested to follow up this thread.

Thank you!

Brilliant record.

I quite like their records but I wish Jeter Thompson would have chilled out a bit. Ramsey Lewis knew not to play too many notes.