Д.Д.

Tony, I have this disc, and I think it is excellent - one of my favorite solo bass records. I think the CD is officially OOP, so if you are interested (check the samples out at CD Baby and one full track from Pax website), get it asap. Morgan Guberman also has a solo bass-guitar release on lIMItEd SEdItION called "Passador-Jomel" - this is even more sick shit than the acoutstic disc: mp3 sample. "Passador-Jomel" is an edition of 79 copies. Still available, five years after release. Multi-million worldwide improv music fan base should be collectively embarassed.

I assume Eric would be interested in swapping for a set of complete Cold Blue label releases.

And man, is this a beautiful record!

Welcome, Aurora! She's gorgeous! No doubt, but may I suggest that you also check out her music - Cruxes on balancepointacoustics (availble dorectly from Aurora, I assume) is excellent.

It looks good and sounds very good. Rivers challenged Don Pullen much more than Pullen's usual tenor associates at the time (George Adams and Chico Freeman in particular). A thoroughly 'out' session which reaches just shade of the Rivers-Cecil Taylor duets. This was one of the very first releases from Black Saint! Well, I'd beg to differ. I thought it was pretty weak (listening to it now - to re-confirm). It is a very simplistic work with first track having a lot of extremely predictable tenor wailing, and then a couple of tracks with Rivers doing these up-and-down nasal soprano runs (and a bit of unspectacular flute) - one of the tracks being silly rock-ish tune. Pullen is doing his regular thing which sound spectacular when you hear it for the first time (I was thrilled first timee I heard Pullen), but gets extremely predictable very soon. Drummer (Bobby Battle) is nothing special either. I do not really hear anybody challenging each other (or themselves)here - very lazy music, IMO. Tony, as Jon mentioned, Bhob Rainey's music is highly recommended. I enjoy immensely those few discs of his I have, pareticularly "Crawlspace / Universal Noir" on now-defunct Tautology label (should be still possible to find), and his solo "Inc." on Sachimay. I think trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum is also from Boston. Paul Flaherty occupies the fire-breathing spectrum of the Boston (and world) music, I guess, and he is very effective (and sincere, IMO) in this. He has a good, even admirable for stamina and determination, but somewhat limited in approach solo CD called "Voices" (on Wet Paint label), and a really excellent recently-released scream-fest Cold Bleak Heat: "It's magnificent, but it isn't war" (on Family Wineyard - also Boston-based label?) with Greg Kelley (!), excellent drummer Chris Corsano and Matt Heyner on bass. ------------------------ Meanwhile, Pullen/Rivers is over, and goes directly to the exile bin. If somebody wants to receive it one day, let me know. I'll actually listen to some Paul Flaherty now. ------------------------ Looks like Lotte Anker's "Six Row Barley" (Utech; edition of 100) is not available anymore - I would urge you to get this one - Anker is an excellent and original alto-saxophonist, and on this disc her partner is non other than Paal Nilssen-Love, and they do some miracles together (there is actually also some electronics guy who is providing some occasional unnecessery, but not too annoying, humming noisy fan background.

I have another Jang's Soul Note disc ("Immigration Suite" it's called, I think), and it has a lot of extremely boring spoken word segments. Otherwise, I have Jang on a couple more CDs as a sideman (with Max Roach's Beijing Trio and with Francis Wong - both on Asian Improv label) and he is quite interesting, particularly when he incorporates Chinese elements into his playing. Yes! Of those, I actually have only "For Olim", and it is one of the must-have Cecil's solo recordings - and one of the more (most?) subdued and varied ones. Beautiful piano sound as well. Of what I've heard, I particularly liked the "Duets & Solos" (Black Saint) with Muhal Richard Abrams - beautiful, beutiful playing by both. Thinking about it, this might be the only Roscoe Mitchell non-AEoC disc I really like. Fennesz' solo work (which I believe you are referencing) differs quite a bit from his collaborative work. I saw a live show of Rowe solo / Fennesz solo / Rowe and Fennesz duo not too long after Live at the LU was released. I prefered the live show and still don't love Live at the LU, although I enjoy listening to it on occasion. For melodic collaboration check out Polwechsel / Fennesz - Wrapped Islands. My recommendations for best places to start for Fennesz collaborations are Four Gentleman of the Guitar, with Keith Rowe, Toshimaru Nakamura and Oren Ambarchi, ErstLive 004 with Sachiko M, Otomo Yoshihide and Peter Rehberg and the orange disc on Charizma, with Werner Dafeldecker,Christof Kurzmann, Jim O'Rourke and Kevin Drumm. I also didn't find "Live at the LU" that interesting - but Polweschel/Fennesz "Wrapped Islands" is beautiful, and Fennesz solo "Hotel Paral.lel" (Mego) is excellent as well (even if I listened to it only once and don't remember much of it now ). I'll be on a look out for this one. My pleasure. I'm just happy no one beat you to it. Of the 25 or so Bailey discs I've heard I think Aida is my favorite. I have purchased a few Bailey discs recently (including Aida).. but... well, I still cannot fully appreciate what he is doing. So far I really like Duos & Trios (Universal Japan) - I might appreciate it more thanks to great recording quality and Kaoru Abe's insane playing. I also like, with certain reservations, No Waiting (Potlatch) with most wonderful Joelle Leandre - with reservations due to Bailey seemingly refusing to communicate here. The rest has left me cold so far.

John, I'd argue this is also a money-saving thread. Here is an example: Tetuzi Akiyama - "Striking Another Match" (Utech). Sucks big deal. Do not buy it. I would not want to delve into nagativity here, but I could expand if you wish. ---------------------------- I bought the Shipp disc at cdconnection.com for $12.XX. If you are willing to wait a couple of months, it might become available at alldirect.com for even less than that. A steal.

Today.

Tony my friend, check out the amazon samples. Listening right now. Certainly sounds good. Not at all what I'd expect to hear released on Thirsty Ear. Very odd. Sure is full of drama, eh? Sure, but not overdone. I am listening to it for the second time now. This is a short disc, btw - 40 minutes. Graceful music. I would make parrallel with Cecil only in terms of exceptional preciseness of execution and clarity of thought. My impression of Shipp so far was that he is specifically "not precise" - there is this blurred, smeared stream of notes with hardly discernible flow of thought (McCoy Tyner school, IMO - and the review you quote seems also to draw this parallel). But not here. On this disc everythign is exactly where it should be - not rambling, no chatter, no excesses.

Tony my friend, check out the amazon samples. Indeed. And I thought vocals, and particularly drummer's work were very tasteful. There is so much great stuff released these days.

I don't know Degruttola, but I have one release of Ashley Adams (in trio with Philip Greenlief, on Evander), which I though was not too interesting. Adams is a fine bassist, but the music on the disc is a sort of audio commentary to a theatre play or something, and it has a somewhat fragmented feel, with some short, banal and studied themes (that were supposed to illustrate somehting, I guess) and not enough stretching.

I have two Bennett CDs (released on Pax), and I thought they were excellent (and quite different from each other). Bennett is an excellent saxophonist, and even better composer. I plugges these releases already, but I guess it would not hurt mentioning one more time - samples and buying at CDBaby. Not sure how Bennett would fit with Butcher, though. ------------------------- Friends, I am finishing the first listen to Matthew Shipp's recent solo release "One" (Thirsty Ear), and I am very impressed. I have not been a big fan of Shipp, and his hatoLOGY works, while decent (except for this horrendous duo with Joe Morris), always left something to be desired. Well, this one is it. Beautiful, somewhat classical-sounding (Skryabin and Shostakovich-influenced, IMO) pensive, dark work. Bley is here as well, definitely. Deep, captivating stuff. Mature. I will return to this one often. Samples at amazon.

Tony, did you get "Cruxes" as well?

Gentlemen, Damon Smith is selling four Balance Point Acoustics releases on e-bay for some insignificant amount of $$. No need to start bidding wars, he has enough copies of each of those. I just got all four and he is throwing something additionally for free. As mentioned, the latest Balance Point Acoustics release "Cruxes" is excellent.

D.D. -- have you heard any of the European dates from the fall of 1969? They're even more free (in the jazz sense) than the Fillmore dates, though with less electronic mayhem. Guy I have not checked any Miles' boots out yet.

My favorites are: 1. "At Fillmore East: Live at Fillmore East" (if only we had a full-concert versions) 2. "It's About Time" These two have the most wild Miles playing - and limitless experimentation. I don't think Miles was as free ever - neither before not after. 3. And well, you can't get away from it, "Kind of Blue".

David, that's a great deal. Thanks.

I have a few Billy Bang CDs, and I enjoy all of them, even if Mr. Bang tends to be a bit overly melodramatic at times. His best playing is on his duo with Denis Charles on hatOLOGY called Bangception, IMO. John Lindberg surely is a fine musician. I remeber being quite a bit underwhelemed by his solo work on Musi & Arts (with some enormously tedious bombastic poem in the middle), though. His Catbird Sings is a kick-ass free-bop stuff (with might Larry Ochs, iirc). David Murray I have heard on a few CDs, and as I mentioned before, I think he is a good example of a fake "jazz" musician, not any better than Wynton. All clichées, a lot of chops, no substance. Of BS/SN discs of his I have "Ming", and it did not change my opinion of him. Julius Hemphill I appreciate very selectively. I thought his duo with Wadud on Red label (forgot the title) was phenomenal. So was "Coon Bidness" (on Freedom / Black Lion). The rest (and I have a lot, including Black Saints), I definitely have to spend more time with, but first impressions very not too positive.

25-minute track by Doug Theriault. I like it. --------------- Check out the Charhizma label mp3s. Good stuff. Erstwhile carries Charhizma CDs for $14. I'll be placing an order soon (beofre Erst sale is over).

Leo records now provides downloads of the releases of the Russian Long Arms and DOM records: http://www.leorecords.com/lr/w/music/rec/L...1140779278PTtX/

My favorities on Black Saint / Soul Note: "THE FLAM" FRANK LOWE - Frank Lowe is hero tenor blower, and this is the best Frank Lowe I've heard (together with his duo with Rashied Ali, I guess) - some very powerful free-bop playing (nice compositions as well). Lowe is very intense, but very focused, and there is a really mad bassist (Alex Blake, iirc), who just rips the bass to pieces. "HOLDING TOGETHER" OLIVER LAKE - ths is early Lake, quite a bit more adventurous than he is now. The music is quite abstract with a few meandering moments, bt on the whole is quite orgiginal and powerful. "THE NEW VILLAGE ON THE LEFT" MARCELLO MELIS - this is a recent edition, bought based on brownie's recommendation, and it is excellent. Melis is a bassist and composer, and the band includes Roswell Rudd, Enrico Rava and Don Moye. There is also a Sardenian folk mail vocal quartet! Sardenian vocal music is really uniue in its polyphony, some of the most complicated polyphonic singning in the world (together with Georgian, baka pygmies and Tahitian singing), with a use of overtone ("throat") singing (a bit like Tuvan). The harmonies that are created are just mesmerizing. I've heard some Sardeninan folk muisc before and was interested to hear how it was integrated in Melis' disc - and it is integrated perfectly. The compositions are based on folk themes (and I started understanding it only well into the middle of the disc after the vocal guys kikced in); vocal segements are breathtaking (beter than everythng I've heard of Sardenian music before, I just wish there would be more of them on this disc); the blowing is excellent (Rava is really fiery here). There is a beautiful track of Rudd playing over the vocal quarttet - now I am not the biggest fan of Rudd (I think he often lacks subtlety and is a bit of a one-trick pony), but here he plays beautifully complementing perfectly what the quartet is creating (which I think is where most of the "world music fusion" (including Rudd himself on his "Malicool" disc) fails - to add something of value to the folk music - in most cases it either subtracts from the folk music effect, or merely co-exists). And the main (of many) highlight for me is Don Moye. I think Moye is one of the greatest jazz drummers, and IMO his best plying is documented outside of AEoC, and this might be one of such records. He is extremly inventive, with a great expresive range, and just makes everybody sound better (there is also a segemnt where he plays with Sardenians, responding to what they are singing - sublime!). Ths might be my favorite Black Saint / Soul Note disc now. "THE FIFTH POWER" LESTER BOWIE - remember liking it a lot - buzt that's all I remember about it. "BIRTH AND REBIRTH" MAX ROACH-ANTHONY BRAXTON - good one, even if Roach is not listening too much, IMO. "NIGHT FIRE" THE JOHN CARTER QUINTET - John Carter is the meanist clarinet player out there "DAUWHE" THE JOHN CARTER OCTET - this is essential both for great compositions and equally great playing. "Some Order, Long Understood" - Wayne Horvitz / Butch Morris / William Parker - I thiught this was quite a unique, dark brooding record. Parker's playing is not too bad here "BLUES FOREVER" - MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS BAND - also fgreat composiitons for a large band, and excellent playing. "SIX MONK'S COMPOSITIONS" - 1987 ANTHONY BRAXTON. I thought this one was a very good interpretation of Monk, with hilarious first track played at breakneck tempo. shit... they have a huge catalog - I'll continue some time later... As for Butcher's ties to tradition (whatever it is), I saw Butcher live at TMM - first in duo with Gio RObair, which was very good, and then in trio with drummer Fabrizio Sperra and bassist Lisle Ellis, which left a very mbiguous impression. Sperra is an excellent, very gentle and musical drummer and he complimented Butcher well, but Ellis was doing all this really traditional fast walking bass lines (and also played with some electronic gear, which was a disaster - he had to stop what he as playing, tweak this box attached to the bass for several seconds, extract some ugly (and seemingly random) distorted bass sound, again stop for several seconds, tweak the box again, ang go back to his acoustic playing - all this destroying the flow and logics of music comletely). So Butcher was trying to interact with this somehow, and then at some point, visually annoyed, went into some jazzy free macho tenor blowing, very uncharacteristic for him. The blowing was really good, but he was obviously unsatisfied that he was pushed to do it and halted it rather fast. I htink I read some semi-scientific article discribing that recording, however perfect, is not able to catch all the acoustic nuances of a musical (or any) sound, and its perception live or on record by defualt will be different. Totally agree. Great list, Jon - and I am actually quite surprised about it largely overlapping with what I'd consider best albums for these artists. Those are very good dates, as are the duets with Tony Oxley. I've not heard much "bad" Dixon, though there are some less interesting titles for sure. Odyssey is a motherfucker, though! You heard "Papirus Vol. 1"? - I thought it sucked big deal - Oxley being great, but Dixon plain annoying wiht all these farting sounds. . I have a few records with him, and all of them are with Geisser - and I thin I like them mostly for Geisser's plying.

For the American rats: Jazzloft.com has a sale on all Black Saint / Soul Note CDs - $15 per piece. Does not make much sense for us in Europe (there are a could pof good sources for these releases here9, but I assume this is the best price you can get itn the US. I will post a list of some of my favorite BS/SN discs later.

I thought this one sounded quite interesting: Andy Moor and Kaffe Matthews: "Locks". I'll get it with my next CDBaby order - John B, are you with me?

Noticed that Anthony Braxton. Solo (Koln) 1978 (Leo) went OOP. This is a really good one.

I got this one and gave it a couple of listens - it is simly great. Cooper-Moore is the only pianist who approaches the healthy eclectism of Jaki Byard (who is probably my all-time favorite pianist), seemlessly going through the whole history of the piano playing - form boogie to cecilesque to some brekneck tempo minimalist-type of passges. He is in a truly exuberant mood at this concert and often interrupts his playing with some stories (the guy loves to talk), which are (just as his music) jumping from one thing to another in a blink of an eye, but are really heartfelt and entertaining. The man is the music whether he talks or plays. Excellent sound, as John notes. I wish he recorded more solo. I got COoper-Moore's recent trio disc (on AUM) but haven't listened to it yet - but I can't imagine him doing all these wonders in a trio format.