papsrus

...I'm speechless. ... The two suites you mentioned are both wonderful. The Far East Suite is a magnificent work period -- among the best stuff I have heard under Duke's name, from ANY period. Afro-Eurasian Eclipse isn't as consistently brilliant, but it does include some stuff that is just fantastic. Highly recommended. The Latin American Suite I like as well, but it is somewhat monochromatic. Guy I'm listening now to "The Latin American Suite." It's new to me (I should put that phrase on a save-get key), and I think I know what you're saying -- there is a certain sameness to the music from one track to the next with those steady latin beats. But I'm finding it very rich melodically. Spicy good. And Ellington's understated playing throughout the album is brilliant. When his piano pops into the foreground, he really is a commanding voice. You can't not listen to what he has to say. "The Sleeping Lady & the Giant Who Watches over Her" is one of the standout tracks for me, and a great example of the beautiful melody on this album. It's a joy to listen to a band this rock solid. A live performance must have been a spine-tingling experience. ("Far East" I love ... as with "Latin American," I'm still getting acquainted with "Afro-Eurasian").

My copy of volume 4 inexplicably came with volume 3 inside. Now after many years of procrastination, I find that volume 4 is hard to find. Is the person who has volume 3, with volume 4 inside out there somewhere? Not hard. Try here. (How's volume three?)

I like the fact that they offer the consumer a choice. Very nice web site.

Along these lines, Dave Douglas' Greenleaf site is going to be offering downloads in FLAC format. And I think this means that those who've already purchased and downloaded the Jazz Standard stuff will be able to download it again in FLAC, if they want. Getting stuff in this lossless format should result in pretty close to CD quality sound. That's a huge plus, IMO. Douglas seems to be out front on these download issues, so hopefully this format will become more widely available.

Personally, I think papsrus is a punk ass bitch. Oh, wait . . . . . . sorry, I got mixed up. It's Sangrey who I think is a punk ass bitch. Aw man ... and I was gettin' all warm and fuzzy there for a second. Damn. ...

Mike, not to throw a monkey wrench into your decision-making process, but I just got the Hodges set and am now 5/6 of the way through it, and have found it to be much more enjoyable than the sound samples would have suggested (at least to me). There's lots of wonderful music--of both the bluesy and swinging variety--with terrific playing by the likes of Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Herb Ellis, etc., not to mention the opportunity to hear lots of playing by Billy Strayhorn and, of course, Jeep/Rabbit himself. From what I know of your musical preferences, I think you'd really enjoy this set, also. Of course, if it turned out that you didn't, you could easily trade or sell this one, especially since it will soon be OOP. I've been moseying my way through this one all week as well and agree with you completely. I was prepared for a fairly uniform set of music, but one of the things that strikes me is the great variety in this one. And I agree that these sets can be viewed as investments. If you don't like this one Mikelz777, you will almost surely be able to sell it at a profit in a year or so, I'd think. ... But the music is just excellent.

Veering back to the topic at hand, I think my listening experience is somewhat unique. To flesh things out with a little more detail, I had some interest in jazz and blues, folk rock and mainstream rock (Van Morrison, Clapton) in my teens and early 20s back in the '70s. Then I went for a very long period of time without really listening to anything. No real interest in music at all. A few years ago I heard Coltrane's "One Down, One Up -- Live at the Half Note" and it grabbed hold of the listening part of my brain and shook it awake. Without knowing at all what I was doing, I stumbled through dozens of Coltrane albums with wide-eyed fascination. Once I realized there was more going on than just Coltrane, it was on to Miles, Monk, Mingus, Dolphy and on into 60s avant and more contemporary stuff, with serious detours into Braxton and some of the NY downtown guys and gals -- Dave Douglas, Zorn, Berne. So, with that as a background sketch, today my listening has me bouncing back and forth among Ellington, Basie, and earlier-period music, to musicians more associated with contemporary creative improvisation (for lack of a better term), such as the aforementioned Melford and Dennis Gonzalez, some of Vandermark's stuff, Schlippenbach Trio and a wonderful alto player I've recently been listening to -- Matana Roberts, an AACM alum. So generally, I'm mixing the old with the new, and finding it all quite rewarding. But unlike many of you, I'm very much on the upside of discovering all this. One of the problems I've noticed (if you can call it a problem) is that, much like with Coltrane, I'll become fascinated with a particular artist and the thirst is almost unquenchable for a period. But once that's led me along to something new again, I become so consumed by the next great thing that I fail to return to past favorites very much at all. There are probably only two or three Coltrane discs that I reach for now.

Both of these sound intriguing, the Vol 5 of the Private Collection especially. Thanks for bringing these up. The Vol. 5 Private Collection is now on order.

...I'm speechless. ... The two suites you mentioned are both wonderful.

Yeah, I didn't mean to stir up a hornet's nest. I expect the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But I don't see Wald's comments as incompatible with your own statement to the effect that we confer authenticity on music because we like the music. How much have we romanticized the blues? Commercial success drove the music in the early part of the last century, you'd agree. And I don't think this is surprising or controversial at all. But I'd defer to you and others on how much of an oversimplification that might be. Odum's "The Negro and His Songs," btw, is quite expensive over at amazon, at least. This is a title you'd recommend?

That is a fascinating article Seeline. Thanks for posting the link here. This is the comment from the interview that I was thinking of in my earlier post: The interview makes clear that blacks in the South played the blues because it was a popular music, not necessarily because it came from their life experiences. It was a style also, according to Wald, somewhat dictated by the record companies. Blacks would play the blues, whites would play country music. ... So as far as "authenticity" goes, one is left to wonder. Certainly there seems to have been a commercial component to how the blues emerged, and that it played no small part.

This is an interesting point of discussion. I hope seeline, Bev, MG and others have some thoughts here. The discussion of "authenticity," how the blues emerged in various parts of the United States, how it was marketed to various audiences, etc., in the first part of the last century, all tell a story about how it weaved its way into our collective consciousness. How it influenced jazz and other creative musics as well. It's relevance (or non-relevance) to musics from other parts of the world that jazz or jazz musicians have brushed up against (salsa, African musics, Middle Eastern, etc.) I'm trying to learn about all this, really, and can't pretend to add much. I would be interested to hear more of your thoughts on Melford -- or any other musicians -- after you've had a chance to listen again. What influences you hear in her playing, etc.

Kind words, JSngry. Thank you. I think all folks really need to do is recognize that people are different. They are going to have different points of view. That's often an opportunity to learn something, IMO. So, you know, a little humility can't hurt. My experience here is that that's how most members operate. That, and humor is not off limits, which ... thank God! I really do sense a difference in the cultures of the two boards -- one is often quite serious, and it's not uncommon for members to offer their opinions with a super-sized portion of gravitas. The other more freewheeling and self-confident, I think. ... Just my view.

I haven't heard Ghetto Calypso (or Heart Mountain, come to that!), but I think Myra's explorations into other styles (Indian classical being one) have given her music a new focus, intensity and - maybe - sense of purpose. (Not being her, or knowing her, I'm not about to presume to know what she's actually thinking. ) I think that's true for most folks who want to take their music to a new place - that your ears need to be open, as well as your mind and heart. Just my .02-worth on the matter.... Yes, as we've noted before, out there on the edges, jazz or creative music absorbs so many influences -- the term jazz refers as much to a method of approaching various musics (with improvisation in mind, swing perhaps, blues inflections maybe, etc.) as it does to the common lineage we all perceive. Jazz = curiosity, to an extent. In my mind anyways. Having come to things through late-period Coltrane and beyond, then bouncing around different periods, the jazz of the early part of the last century is, to me, a totally "new" music. It's wonderful that way. As to Melford -- incredibly intuitive player, I think. Consistently fascinating to listen to, technically brilliant, and really elevates everyone around her, it seems.

Interesting. I've not been listening as long as some of you, but I can say my appetite for new music and new sounds is what drives my interest. This has had me bouncing around from free to contemporary, to ECM, to the 50s and 60s, to now Ellington and Basie and the beginnings of jazz. I thought the Kamiya article was thought-provoking to an extent, but didn't delve deeply enough into the similarities or differences between the two musics. Nor did it, of course, expand the discussion into other musics. The nature of improvised music being what it is, I'm constantly searching for unfamiliar terrain. As for shorter free improv, Melford-Kalmanovitch "Heart Mountain," is worth investigating. Classically tinged, short improvisations. Or "Ghetto Calypso" by Marco Eneidi, Damon Smith, Peter Kowald. 17 short pieces of wonderful free improv.

Received the Hodges box the other day. Enjoying exploring this one at a somewhat leisurely pace. Disc 2 this morning.

The Decca seems more vibrant to me, but to be fair, the later stuff on the Columbia is excellent quality. Either way it's not a big concern. Both are perfectly acceptable, IMO.

Thanks for posting this. Related thread here. Contributions here.

OK, I received the Columbia "America's No. 1 Band" the other day in the mail and spent much of the day today listening. Fantastic. I initially thought the Columbia had better sound quality than the Decca. Now I'm listening to the Decca tonight and I was wrong on that count. Decca is superior. Nonetheless, the Columbia is a real gem with a great variety of music. I also have been getting my feet wet with some of his small band output -- Kansas City 6, and Kansas City 7, along with Basie Jam. All of this smaller group stuff is just right in the sweet spot for me. Relaxed and swingin' so smooth.

my baby (3 1/2) always asks me to put on some jazz music! As the father of a 13-year-old, trust me: that will end. Indeed, when they want listen to "Metallica" or "Motorhead" on you cd player... and this is only a very short time, after you tried in vain to teach them who were the Led Zeppelin, they will move towards Techno and DUB... a lost battle. On the positive side consider that you'll not have a bunch of drunked teenagers handling your records. It just occurred to me, I have only just received my third Mosaic. ... I have a full and wonderful life still ahead of me. ... . Oh happy day!!

Oh yeah. A very friendly place, this is. Here's the thing, and it goes to the essential difference between the two boards, IMO. ... Don't take it so seriously. The 'join or get lost' comment (I paraphrase) was kinda funny, really. There's a whole lot of deconstructionist navel gazing that you can easily get sucked into elsewhere, and you end up in a battle royal over the nature of blues, if you know what I mean. It's all so draining. So, you know ............ Edit to correct the spelling of navel ... damnit!

In four years you have purchased 43 Mosaic box sets and all the Selects?! ... This is a tremendous record of achievement. Bravo!

Well said, Chuck! And - just to confuse matters - "...a jazz album that pays tribute to a rock icon..." If we're so hooked on labeling music as part of this or part of that, how is Joni Mitchell in any way, shape or form a "rock icon?" Well, yeah ... I felt a little queezy typing that. She's not a rock musician, except in the broadest sense, which sort of destroys the whole premise of the article. Folk-rock? I agree that labeling music is an exercise in futility, and I very much like kenny weir's thought that some of the most interesting music takes place on the fringes. ... Ultimately, the article fails, beyond offering some of the author's musings about growing up. But hey, at least Hancock's award has people talking about jazz a bit, which I like.

The Hodges box arrived today. (fast service!) ... With white gloves on, I'm now preparing to dive in.

Maybe rock, paper, scissors would have been a better thread idea.