AfricaBrass

Well, I must admit I'm beginning to agree with you. The song Here Am I, which I adored, really doesn't hold up that well to repeated listenings. I still like the baritone a lot more than you do, but... I'll have to give it a rest for a bit (and start concentrating on "Wahne"!), but I think I'll give it another listen Friday and see what I think. I'll do the same thing. Maybe, I'll like it more. I agree with you that Pepper is the glue of the session. I appreciate his phrasing on this album, and his ensemble work is great. :rsmile:

Here's my review. I've been playing this pretty consistently for the last few days. It's been great having a reason to really listen to an album over and over. I look forward to the future albums of the week. If I was to give this cd a letter grade it would probably be a B or B+. I hate to admit this, but I’ve been listening to this a lot and I’m finding that the baritone is getting on my nerves a little. Adams’ playing is fine, but as a lead instrument, it’s just a little caustic. It’s great in the ensemble passages. Track by track: 1) Witchcraft – This gets the album off to a mellow start. This has never been a favorite song of mine, but I really like this once they get into the solos. Byrd’s playing is nice. This has a nice jam session feel, everybody gets a chance to add to the pot. I do like Walter Davis Jr’s solo. In Rouse’s solo, he tries to pick up the mood. It is nice to hear him away from Monk. This is a pretty low-key track. 2) Here Am I – I think this is my favorite track on the album. It’s a very simple melody, but I like the ensemble playing here. It’s a very “Blue Note” type of track. Byrd plays with a low intensity. Rouse picks things up with his solo. After Rouse’s solo, I enjoyed the ensemble bit before Adams solo. Pepper tries to pick it up in his solo. I enjoy his phrasing quite a bit. Very angular. Next, Davis plays a low key piano solo. Byrd finishes the song with the theme and a little solo. Nice track! 3) Devil Whip – Time to wake up. This song makes me feel like I’m in Times’ Square in one of those Cassavettes films. First solo is Byrd. He’s awake and playing well. Next is Pepper. He’s playing the heck out of that baritone. I like Davis’ piano solo. After the piano solo, Rouse enters with a searching solo. Rouse is my favorite player on this album. Nice ending by the ensemble. 4) Bronze Dance – I like the melody of this song. It starts of exotically in a sort of “Nature Boy” way. This track features quite a bit of ensemble playing. Byrd’s first solo sticks close to the melody. Many of solos on the cd so far have been that way. Both Rouse and Adams seem to be the ones trying to take the music to another level. Davis’ piano solo on this track is the most passionate yet. I hear some Monk in it. 5) Clarion Calls – As this begins, a sense of sameness is starting to creep in for me. The ensemble playing is the best part for me during Byrd’s first solo. Once again, Adams kicks into overdrive during his solo. Byrd comes in after Pepper. He’s more awake this time, nice. Rouse’s solo is interesting. It sounds like he’s having fun. You can really see how playing with Monk has made him a creative player. I like Davis’ piano solo. He seems to be opening up as the albums goes on. After the piano solo, Byrd states the theme for a while. I’m really listening to Rouse and Adams during this section. They’re what do it for me. 6) The Injuns – I’m kind of tired of this track. I don’t love the melody. It’s the most grating track for me. Byrd’s solo has him playing up and down runs before he opens up. It’s one of his more interesting ones. I’d say this is my favorite solo of his on this album. It sounds like he’s finally in gear with Adams and Rouse. Adams solo is similar to Byrds’ in that they both played a lot of notes. Davis’ solo sort of reminds me of Art Tatum. I can just see the fingers flying. After the piano, back to the ensemble. This track has my least favorite ensemble passages because I don’t really love the injuns melody. I do like Art Taylor’s war drums under the ensemble. Pretty creative. After this listening, I think I’ll give the album a B. It’s a good record, but I just find it a little tiresome after repeated listenings. Rouse is my favorite on the album. I respect Adam’s playing here, but the baritone gets a little tiresome for me. Walter Davis Jr. does a nice job. Byrd to me, is very competent, but a little boring here. I’d say this is a medium flame album overall. Just my opinion. :rsmile: :rsmile:

Thanks Jim!

And now they're tampering with the classics.

Your wish....

That would be cool. I'd make jazzicons.

And there will be new roboticons soon. Right On!!!!!! :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile:

Congratulations! I listened to the mp3s on the site. I really dug them, I'm ordering the cd today. :rsmile: :rsmile:

couw, You kill me!!! ROTFLMAO

It don't think it should be priced higher with the 5 song ep. I thought all the initial copies had the ep. The extra tracks were okay. Most were live versions. I'd maybe pay a dollar or two extra for it, but I don't think you should have too. I just checked amazon.com and they have Pig Lib with the bonus cd having a list price of $16.98. I keep mentioning this site, but if you want more live Stephen Malkmus, check out furthurnet.org - it's a file sharing program for live shows. they only allow trading of artists who allow it. They have a website with a forum and all the info you need. Furthurnet :rsmile:

These are great reissues. Attica Blues is pretty powerful album. I really didn't know what to think at first, but I really respect the passion and the sentiment behind it. I'm listening to it as I type. :rsmile:

Thanks for the suggestion, blake! Welcome to the forum! :rsmile: :rsmile:

Maybe they were making room for Wynton BN's slippery slope will lead to one thing. Wynton's bad, but who's worse?

I wouldn't be surprised if they're paying attention to us a little. I would. I'm sure Tom will be busy when the new board opens up in May. I can just picture the new Questionsfortomatbluenote thread ...... (It might be like this example) "I really like Norah Jones record, so I bought another cd from your label. It was by someone named Booby Hutcherson. It was horrible! Just noise. It was like animals dying. It made my ears bleed. I can't believe you'd put out product like that...." and so on......

Life was simpler then, but I really like it here. This is such a great board. I prefer the board software in every way to the BNBB. I think the most difficult task we face here is getting the word out about the Organissimo forum. Just as BN had a built in way of getting new people to their board, AAJ will continue to attract new board members. I tried to spread the word over at AAJ, but I realized that I was only posting over there to tell people about this board. So I stopped doing it. I just hope this board will grow and grow and..... :rsmile: :rsmile:

I agree! Those Fantasy twofers are a great deal. I'm glad they're continuing that type of reissue. It would be really great if they did what Collectables has been doing and put the full size (cd size) cover image in the booklet. I have to admit, I haven't purchased very many Fantasy cds in the last couple years. Since they put their stuff on emusic, I've been downloading their albums instead. It's a shame, though, because the their mp3s don't sound that great. I think having the mp3s available made me think the cds were less valuable. I spent the majority of my money on BN and their reissues. I am so grateful that BN acted the way they did. It has made me open my wallet up for other labels. :rsmile: :rsmile:

Verve put out a cd of Coleman Hawkins and Chu Berry called Tenor Giants a couple years ago. This cd features material recorded for Commodore records. I would pick this one up if you don't already have it.

I was never a huge fan of the covers either. It was a cool series, though. One of my favorites in this series is the Red Holloway title. Overall, I've been happy with all the cds that I've heard in this series (about 12 so far). :rsmile:

Thanks Soul Stream! Like Jim, I consider this board home too. I just think it's going to get better and better. It's nice that we have a place to share our feelings in this difficult time. I think this is the perfect home for the BNBB refuges. AAJ was already settled when we arrived, this board was created just for us. I hope everyone who's lurking or just checking this board out, will jump in the pool with us. This board is what WE make of it, good or bad. I can't thank B3-er and Use3d enough for all their hard work on our behalf. :rsmile: :rsmile: :rsmile: And we've got roboticons here!

It was a hoot watching the Oscars. I enjoyed watching everybody try to hold back. You could see how much pain they were in not getting to say anything. When I saw Michael Moore win, I knew it was going to be good. I bet the academy was squirming all night knowing that he was going to get a chance to get up there. I was just waiting for the big hook to come out.

Thanks impossible! I still haven't picked up anything yet. I haven't forgot. I think I'll start with the newer stuff. I love harmonies and more instruments. :rsmile:

Thanks Noj!

That's funny shit. There's a Yusef Lateef song called "Destination Paradise" that has this really slow bass line intro and upon hearing it a friend of mine asked, "What is this heroin music we're listening to?" I love slow mellow stuff just as much as I love fast stuff, but I could see what he was saying. I need to track down that Yusef Lateef song. What really makes the Shepp song weird for me is the rhodes with the tremelo on it mixed with those crazy Charles Ive's-like strings. Then the singing starts. I don't have a chance. At least the next song is upbeat. It has a nice groove. I do like this album. I'm glad I picked it up.

Right now: Archie Shepp's Attica Blues - track 5: Steam Part 2 This album really makes me feel like I'm on drugs when I listen to it. The strings on this track have a narcotic quality to them. I respect the sentiments they're trying to convey here, but it's a weird album. Not really jazz. :rsmile: :rsmile:

When I started listening to jazz, Mingus Ah Um was the third jazz album I bought. It's weird that we don't talk about Mingus more. If I was a newbie, I might might miss out on this powerful music. To me, he is a giant. The music on Mingus Ah Um is so alive. That's one thing I love about Mingus, you feel the music in your bones. One of my favorite Mingus albums is Oh Yeah on Atlantic with our friend Booker and Roland Kirk. I used to listen to that all the time. :rsmile: