ghost of miles

Bad news

Excellent!

Hey, thanks for the elaboration, UC--beat me to it before I could PM you. I don't find Mitchell's sound "thrilling" so much as "promising," at least on the records with Morgan. (Also, the Trane/Mobley a reference to influence rather than a similar level of greatness.) Or maybe I just have a sweet tooth for late 1960s hardbop that's letting a bit of avant-garde slur-and-cry into its approach. My big disappointment with 'S MAKE IT is the lack of John Gilmore solo space (though I seem to recall a previous discussion that JG's solos might have been excised out of the release).

Funny thing is, I'd rather have (and do have) the CD reissue of THE JAZZ SCENE than the 1950 edition. There's more music on it, the CDs are more durable than the 78s, and just about all of the original "packaging" in the way of liners & photos is there, along with Brian Priestley's historical overview.

You mean I'm gonna have to download it?

Can't we just get back to beating up on poor Late for his inadvertent link?

No year given, and the story's not sourced, either. Perchard posts here from time to time, so I'll try to PM him & see if he can elaborate at all. My between-the-lines sense of how it's placed in the Morgan bio makes me think we're talking early 1970s. BTW one of his compositions, "Extemporaneous," is included on THE SIXTH SENSE cd reissue.

Cute pup! Sonny Berman

Here's the reference from Tom Perchard's Lee Morgan bio: No info on whether or not Mitchell was a Newark-ite. I'd still like to hear that Blakey record--Mr. Tanno is going to try to track down a copy. Brought along GRASS ROOTS to work today so that I can listen to the Mitchell session that's included with it.

Well, you know, Jim, it's the fault of you and me and thee... according to that very ticklish fellow Greg Maltz.

That's a combination I've noticed in a fair amount of "local" tenor player of a certain age/environment over the years. It's really a "school" of its own. Was Mitchell a Newark-ite? Seems like there was a scene in Newark around thatt time that favored that approach. If you've ever heard the Buddy Terry Prestige material w/Woody Shaw, Larry Young, & Eddie Gladden, that's a good example. I haven't, Jim, but I'll check it out--thanks for the tip. I'd also like to track down that Blakey album; Cuscuna says it was the group that included Keith Jarrett and Chuck Mangione. Pretty sure there's mention of FM in that Morgan bio, but it's at the station, so I'll have to check it when I go to work tomorrow.

He sounds like a cross between Coltrane (tone) and Mobley (rhythm/ideas, but edgier) to me, but with something unique in his voice/style that I can't quite place; I particularly like his work on "Mickey's Tune" from the bonus tracks added to THE SIXTH SENSE. I haven't heard the album he did with Blakey that Cuscuna alludes to in the liner notes.

Been revisiting some 1960s Lee Morgan for an upcoming show, and in doing so once again encountered the work of tenor saxophonist Frank Mitchell, who also pops up on some Andrew Hill dates. What ever happened to him? I seem to recall his being mentioned in the recent Lee Morgan bio--another East River casualty, like Ayler?

Ironically enough, Dan, I was just about to post on that very subject--not looking good, eh? I don't hold out high hopes for this season, primarily for that very reason. At least A-Rod's off to a good start--though I seem to recall he had a very good April last year as well:

I think you're right, jazzbo--that's how the Music Man likes to operate. But I'll be the grizzled old guy holed up in his study with a big bunch of CDs!

Another point: given the erratic durability of CD-Rs, are we really going to be storing hundreds or even thousands of jazz albums in download form on our home computers? Again, technology may bring us to that point of capability... but I couldn't do it right now on my three-year-old Dell (and have a functioning computer, anyway).

(1) Looks like CD-Rs are still not a safe bet (though this may well change). (2) I doubt that downloads will cost $7.95 and $2.95 for the artwork. Once the industry has gotten folks used to buying this way, I think you'll see $9.99 or more for the download, $5 for the artwork and booklet (and I'm not one to disparage what's been done with CD booklets in the past few years--I have a # of them that have far more extensive notes than many old LPs). Basically, you'll end up paying about the same, or more, for the album + booklet... except that you'll be assembling it yourself. And quite probably printing out a PDF file for the booklet, rather than getting one nicely made in the mail. Now, God knows I'm inclined to be a lazy SOB, but frankly, I don't want to pay $15 for what will inevitably be, to some extent, a crude homemade product... or spending a great deal of time making it look like a professional reissue. (3) We haven't really addressed the audio side of things much, but Clem has made good points elsewhere about what the industry could be offering, as opposed to what it is. The music matters more than anything else, and I (like many others here) have a large number of OOP things on CD-R, often with Xeroxed liner notes, color reproductions of the covers, etc. I'm just not willing to shell out 15 bucks to the Music Man for a similar product at this point. As he's always done, he'll inevitably force us to play this way (remember the "no-returns" policy on vinyl in the late 1980s?).. but until then I'm not going to bargain.

One of my alltime favorite Organissimo exchanges--posts #5 and #6 in this thread. I've got it taped up on the LP shelf beside my cubicle. Chewy, if JG did indeed record 40 Capitol LPs, I doubt that even Bear Family would go near it as a "complete" set. How many are Hackett on? Even if you broke it out in such a manner--"Complete JG w/Bobby Hackett" or some such--I can't really see Mosaic taking it on. I have a two-CD "best of" JG that I picked up used a few years ago, but in terms of marketing, it would be a tough sell; too much of the orignal audience has died off, and the lounge/exotica fad has definitely seen its high point (not to say it won't come round again, but...)

When's the next $2.99 OJC blowout sale? I'm there... have already gotten most of the titles I want, but there's a good 100-200 or so to go. I have little faith that Concord will maintain the catalogue for much longer; there won't be a "Saturday night massacre," IMO, but many, many of the lesser-selling titles (and it's those in which I'm interested) will drop out of inventory each year. Myth or fact: factory-manufactured CDs have a longer audio life than CD-Rs? Even if they do, I guess it doesn't matter if you store the download on your computer. I'm with Matthew at this point--the whole download, DIY game is one I don't think I'll be playing until I'm forced to. I've downloaded two tracks so far, and both times because they were pieces I needed for a show, and were otherwise unavailable.

They're on CORNBREAD, too--going to listen to both that & CHARISMA today. It's a real pleasure to revisit some of these old Lee records; haven't listened to them in years.

Over the past several years, I almost always cite Infinity as my all-time-favorite Lee Morgan leader date. Burns like a MF, top to bottom. Jackie's a BIG part of the reason why. Lee Morgan - Infinity (Blue Note LT 1091) Lee Morgan (tp) Jackie McLean (as) Larry Willis (p) Reggie Workman (b) Billy Higgins (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 16, 1965 1682 tk.1 Infinity 1683 tk.5 Growing Pains 1684 tk.17 Miss Nettie B. 1685 tk.25 Portrait of Doll (aka My Lady) 1686 tk.26 Zip Code I've started working on a Jackie-and-Lee Night Lights show and pulled this one out as a result... I remember that when it came out in 1998 I played it a good eight or nine times before I finally put it on the shelf. Listened to it again tonight, loved it just as much, and did a search to see if anybody else here had mentioned it as a particular favorite. It & CONSEQUENCE will anchor the program (which I'd intended to do last May, but then Jackie died & I did a tribute instead).

Thomas Merton, LEARNING TO LOVE: V. 6 OF THE JOURNALS, 1966-67

Wish I could've seen him in the 1960s OR the 1970s... but I'd surely go see him now if he ever came anywhere near this region. How does LIVE AT MONTREUX stack up against your memories of live Hutch in those days? I think the studio dates on the Mosaic are pretty strong, but just my humble opinion and all that.

Recorded in 1964? Bainbridge has reissued it on CD (different label, I realize).

I think I have that one--with Albam's big band, featuring guys like Jerry Dodgion, Frank Wess, Pepper Adams, Joe Newman, Garnett Brown, Bill Watrous (billed as "Billy")--hell of a band! It's called CONGRATULATIONS TO SOMEONE, and I picked it up for $4.99 in a budget bin. Really strong record (reissued by Lester Recording Catalogue).