DTMX

Nielsen's 5th Symphony is a very powerful and dynamic work. Lotsa percussion in the first movement (I think it's the first). His concertos are good too.

Yeah, Naxos has already released Piston's 2nd, 4th, and 6th Symphonies (probably from the Delos recordings). I can recommend Piston's Chamber Works and Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 also on Naxos. And while not orchestral, I've really been enjoying Naxos' recording of the piano trios of Lalo Schifrin, Gunther Schuller, and Gerald Mark Shapiro. Probably due to the walking bassline in the Schuller piece.

Naxos seems to have recently acquired the distribution rights to some of Delos Records catalog. Delos put out a number of recordings of symphonies and whatnot by American composers, usually performed by the Seattle Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz. So for a small amount of money you can get a large amount of music - which works great if you're just sampling. David Diamond's symphonies (any of them) are worth hearing. As well as his Violin Concerto and Kaddish for Cello and Orchestra (kind of defeating the "voice getting too dominant" concept). Post-Romantic modern music, generally written in the 1940's - 60's, and not harsh on sensitive ears. A few of these works are available on Naxos. Alan Hovhaness is greatly represented on a variety of labels. Although American, he incorporated many different elements reflecting his Armenian heritage and Asian studies into his music. A lot of his works are based on mountains and other natural entities and have a kind of beauty-of-nature feel to them. His symphonies (all 60 or so), concertos, Prelude and Quadruple Fugue, and And God Created Great Whales for orchestra and humpback whales are my favorite examples of his work. Quoting composer Bernard Rogers, "Hovhaness comes from a small planet where it is always Christmas and where there are no bad sounds."

I've always been a big fan of "Caravan" but I'd rather hear no version than a mediocre version of it. The most exciting version of "Caravan" that I've ever heard is on Brubeck's "Back Home" recording where Jerry Bergonzi rips through a completely berserk tenor solo. I played the recording for my sax teacher and he just looked at the ground and said, "Man, I gotta start practicing more."

D'oh! I forgot Steve Lacy's The Rent.

DKV Trio: Live in Wels & Chicago and Trigonometry Fred Anderson: Live at the Velvet Lounge with Peter Kowald/Hamid Drake and On the Run: Live at the Velvet Lounge with Hamid Drake/Tatsu Aoki Julius Hemphill: Raw Materials and Residuals and Live From the New Music Cafe (although Abdul Wadud is playing a cello rather than a bass)

The Line Between by Bob Kaufman/Bruce Gertz/Jerry Bergonzi Loose Cannon by Michael Formanek/Tim Berne/Jeff Hirshfield Any of the Open, Loose trio stuff with Mark Helias/Tom Rainey/Tony Malaby Night Bird Song by Thomas Chapin/Mario Pavone/Michael Sarin. And I completely agree with Pariah's Pariah.

A band that has played in Atlanta a great deal: Dick Delicious and the Tasty Testicles. A band I saw listed in a Dallas newspaper: Three Men and a Baby Jesus. And who could forget ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead?

I saw Berne's Bloodcount in Atlanta a few years ago and the second song of the set had this funky baritone-anchored groove - at least until the song mutated into something else. It turned out to be "Screwgun", which popped up on the "Saturation Point" CD. Berne's best riffs seem to always show up on baritone - like "Bro'ball" on "Unwound" or "Eye Are Us" on the "Discretion" CD. It was those performances that sent me to the music store to pick up a baritone for myself.

Previous to "Invocation", Harding recorded the aptly named "Freeflow" CD for CIMP also using a bari/bass/drum trio. And he steals the show on Ahmed Abdullah's "Actual Proof", also on CIMP. A very soulful free-jazzer.

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone mentioned the Three Baritone Saxophone Band (Cuber, Brignola & Smulyan with bassist Andy McKee and drummer Joe Farnsworth) and their recording "Plays Mulligan"? Great stuff - especially the title song from the noir classic, "I Want To Live".

Tonight I'm going to see Ravi and Anoushka Shankar perform at Emory University. That should be enough sitar to hold me for awhile. I hope they play my favorite raga - the long droning one. Then tomorrow night it's Jason Moran with Sam Rivers.