JohnS

Ken Vandermark's School days at London's Purcell Room last Saturday

Tonym, Did you get to see School Days in Leeds. They were fine in London coming over better than on either of the two cds. Vandermark played as much baritone as he did tenor, Jeb Bishop probably took solo honours but it was a close thing. The London concert was recorded by the BBC but no broadcast date yet. Anyone get to the Birmingham gig?

I've gone for Shafi Hadi too. For such an individual player there is so little by him.

It's been a while since I've played a record by Griffin as leader though the Monk Five Spots have had a spin. That's the great thing about AOTW, it makes me dig into the collection and replay some overlooked gems. This is a really nice date, although I'm listening on lp, so maybe i'm not hearing it in the best sound(Penguin Guide says so). Griffin romps through "Cherokee" in fine style but the rest of the album is made up of somewhat slower tempos. I particularly liked the bluesy "Terry's Tune" but all the tracks are equally interesting. Griffin works in some neat quotes here and there which I find nice touches. The rhythm section is very tasty maybe one or two of the bass solos are a bit pedestrian but Kenny Drew is fine,Philly Joe too, but sounds a bit recessed on the vinyl. Excellent record then, well worth pulling out.

I'll own up to liking it too. It always brings a smile to my face.

Mosaic for Christmas, I wish. Cds for Christmas are not allowed in my home. "I've got enough" I'm told. Alas, no-one understands me. But I'll be treating myself to the Curtis Amy box-but don't tell anyone.

The AAJ review just about sums it up for me.

Another interesting Braxton read is MIXTERY, a festchrift for Anthony Braxton edited by Graham Lock. It's a very readable collection of essays from 56 contributors, musicians and writers, to celebrate Braxton's 50th birthday. If anyone is interested I could be persuaded to part with it.

Valerie is a regular at London jazz gigs. I've not seen her with a camera lately though.

I don't know. Am I buying an "upgrade" or a stand alone product at a discounted price as I put my money up front and supported the product.

I browse the topics with new posts and pick on any thread that looks interesting, new posts or not.

Lord 4.4 is due out end of November. As a buyer of 3.3 I think I'll take advantage of the half price offer and the early purchase discount. The new edition features cut and paste, something badly lacking from 3.3. Any takers for my old one !

I keep basic information on MSExcel, artist, title, label, notes + comments. I don't believe I could find the time or the energy to get into more detail like couw. Might be fun to try a favourite artist though.

Sorry ubu, I never cared much for this one either. I always treat Jimmy Jones with extreme caution now.

Stanley Dance's Felsted series was largely responsible for the mainstream revival of the late 50s. There are some very recordings, Buddy Tate, Dicky Wells, Johnny Hodges come to mind. They have been out on cd but I've not come across them lately. Bob Weinstock followed with the fine Swingsville series. A favourite of mine here is Tiny Grimes "Callin' The Blues". I guess a lot of these have appeared on OJC releases. One of the offshoots of the revival were tours by bands like "Jazz From A Swinging Era". It was good to see players like Buck Clayton, Dickie Wells, Earle Warren, Buddy Tate etc while still near the top of their game.

My guess is you'll be suffering from jazz starvation before too long. How are you shipping your stuff home?

That was my problem. The phono stage of my amp sucked too. The pre-amp solved the problem. It's connected up to one of the aux. inputs. The Musical Fidelity X-LP is a nice little unit, small enough be tucked out the way and forgotten.

Rega P3/Elys turntable/cartridge, Technics amp with Musical Fidelity phono pre-amp, Technics cd player, Sony minidisc, Yamaha cassette deck, a very old Fisher tuner and Acoustic Energy speakers. Nothing high end or esoteric. The best buy was the phono pre-amp, it really makes up for the shortcomings of the Technics phono input.

This afternoon Horace Silver Trio (RVG) Larry Goldings, Big Stuff The Jazztet, At Birdhouse Marty Ehrlich, Line on Love

I had several attempts at selling the 2lp set on ebay. It went eventually. The cds of course, contain an awful lot of extra material. Though I think you have to like this band, some of the stuff goes on too long and wears out it's welcome.

I've had this for a few days and been able to give it a couple of spins. It's a solid enough date but I think I expected just a little more from it. Maybe I've just overloaded on Lovano! Rubalcaba is not a pianist I've particularly enjoyed in the past but he sounds more restrained here and fits in well.

John, Great stuff, I'll be using them. Thanks

I've not got a lot to say about this wonderful record. If Rivers never made another album his reputation would be assured. Byard adds so much to the success of the album, a touch of early Cecil Taylor here, a spot of stride there. The alternates are a real bonus, especially the blues. It's a shame these fade, it sounds like Rivers doesn't want to stop. A dream rhythm team too. What more could you want. Five stars.

David Murray with Fred Hopkins and Andrew Cyrille. Ken Vandermark, Nate McBride and Hamid Drake. Or in a more Rollins mode-Pee Wee Ellis with Dwayne Dolphin and Bruce Cox

Jimmy Ponder's Guitar Christmas on High Note is pleasant listen and is unlikely to frighten anyone. Has Don Braden, John Hicks, Dwayne Dolphin amd Cecil Brooks.