ghost of miles

Double-LP and immersive mix version on the way, plus a roundup of some reviews: Patois Records and the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra together announce the release of a premium Dolby Atmos immersive mix version of the critically acclaimed The Gennett Suite on September 1, 2023 through Apple Music. This will be followed by a double LP vinyl version of the recording later this fall. Celebrating the full circle of recording technology from the inception of the legendary Gennett Records in the early 1900s to the present, both versions of the recording will be available along with artwork chronicling the history of how early jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bix Beiderbecke created their music on the Gennett label. “The immersive mixes will make you feel like the orchestra is playing a private concert just for you as you sit amongst the ensemble hearing the 13 horns clearly and separately surrounding you in 360 degrees. It allows you to experience the complex and detailed harmonies and the beautiful tones of each of the musicians. Many immersive mixes utilize the format for tricks and gimmicks, but Jazz is a natural fit for this relatively new way to experience music.” – Mixing Engineer Jacob Belser “The Gennett Suite is a reaffirmation of jazz and how its living spirit continues to inspire us.” – Wayne Wallace, Patois Records The Gennett Suite will be available to stream in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music with compatible equipment. See https://www.dolby.com/experience/music/#gref for details on how to listen. The album, featuring the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra and released on CD/digital June 9, 2023 via Patois Records, has earned broad critical acclaim: ★★★★★ “A brilliant tribute to a founding studio of 1920s jazz… What stands out immediately on first listen, is the sophistication and arrangements of the classic tunes of this period. I would compare the quality to early Duke Ellington… Much like Duke, Brent writes to the strengths of his soloists. Recorded in August, 2022, in Bloomington, Indiana, in pristine acoustics, this is early jazz music to treasure.” —Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition ★★★★1/2 “This ambitious piece is named for Gennett Records, who played a crucial role in jazz history 100 years ago. With the highest production values in every stage, this one is a must for devotees of contemporary big band jazz. — Duck Baker, Absolute Sound ★★★★★ “…the music has the feel of America, the twenty-first century reaching back and shaking hands with the early-twentieth, taking the artists’ relatively primitive recordings—state of the art for their times—and inviting them into the present, with gorgeous harmonies and luxuriant arrangements. The Gennett Suite: a distinctly American masterpiece.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz ★★★★ “The Gennett Suite by the Buselli/Wallarab Orchestra, in which Brent Wallarab reimagines century-old themes like “Tin Roof Blues”, “Riverboat Shuffle”, “Davenport Blues” and six others into a contemporary suite. Like Gil Evans and Henry Threadgill before him, he intends neither an earnest repertory-style duplicate nor a cartoonish, cut-and-paste mockery of 1920s pop culture. Using a stylish modernism, he dresses them in a 21st-century context so we can hear them played with care for fresh ears in today’s terms. For those who’ve let their homework slide on the early jazz songbook, there’s a richly appointed 68-page booklet to provide a scrim of antiquity. — John McDonough, DownBeat ★★★★ “Mark Buselli and Brent Wallarab have taken this important music and refashioned it for their sumptuous big band….Vivid arrangements and stunning soloists swingingly submerge the listener in the seismic 1920s, making them seem as fresh as the 2020s — fresher, perhaps…. Let this lovely album clean out your 21st- century ears, then blow the dust off the originals and play them too.” – Chris Pearson, The Times, London

I’ve spent some time this evening paging through my newly-arrived copy… you’ve done God’s work here, Rick. Puts me in mind of the Coltrane Reference and our own Dan Gould’s site for Percy France. Thank you for your labors.

How did I never get around to watching this till now? Mitchum’s killing it as Marlowe.

The album/CD reissue that hooked me on Jackie Mac, way back when I was a wee jazz lad in the mid-1990s.

For those interested in Jazzman's ongoing series: Spiritual Jazz V. 14: Private

Finally getting around to watching this one tonight:

Ordering after seeing Rick’s post in the “What jazz book are you reading” thread. Excited to page through this!

Disc 2:

One more go-around this past week for Mob-lee: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan.

One of my faves from Sony’s Dylan Bootleg series:

Listening to the first album right now, with the second and the Basement Tapes w/Dylan lined up for later. As a kid I think I heard their influence on subsequent bands before I ever heard them directly; now at an older age, I appreciate the music they created and what they helped inspire even more. Would have loved to have been around to hear those early albums when they first came out.

Ah! I hadn’t scrolled back that far yet… much appreciation.

Oh hell yeah, Lon! John Edward Hasse and I wrote the booklet essays… thanks for listening and posting! Right now:

Sorry about last night, but at least we got it done for you today. Always happy to defeat Houston, whatever the cause! Yeah, it’s just the latest lapse with this organization in recent years, and certainly one of the worst. Joshua Diemert, one of Pinstripe Alley’s best writers, and no generator of hot takes, has a good post up about l’affaire de Rizzo: Anthony Rizzo’s concussion situation is malpractice

Disc 5, Singles Session + Blues in the Night. Sounding particularly good at one in the morning:

Hold on to your hats, fellow ‘Mats fans—a box set edition of their classic 1985 album Tim is on the way, featuring a new mix (the original was infamously cloudy), the entirety of the Alex Chilton-produced sessions, and a smokin’ live 1986 show at Chicago’s Metro. Rhino’s prior three Replacements expanded-album sets have been uniformly excellent, and I’m in on this one as well: The Replacements: Tim box set

A 2004 concert recording, out from Storyville later this month, and one that I’ll be picking up: Mulgrew Miller: Solo in Barcelona

Early-80s Elvin with Pat La Barbera, Kenny Kirkland, and Reggie Workman:

A brief but positive, four-star review in the September issue of DownBeat, getting top marks in their round-up of new big-band releases. … and All About Jazz’s review from earlier this summer.

Panicking man receives notification this his first out of three free articles on JazzTimes.com

Fortunate to live about an hour's drive from one of the 19 IMAX theaters here in the U.S., at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. They just extended their sold-out run of Oppenheimer showings for another week, enabling me to pick up August 11 tickets for my brother and me. I've already seen it at a standard theater here in Bloomington and have been raving about it to friends ever since; can't wait to see it at the IMAX. Yes it is!

Apparently the Astros are in talks with the Mets regarding Verlander. What's cooking for your favorite team as the trade deadline approaches?