Д.Д.

Did you find a way to avoid paying Spanish VAT?

Extremely sad to hear this. We are in debt to Mr Davidson for his unwavering commitment to documenting British free improvisation. I wonder what will happen with the Emanem (and psi) catalog now. Below is a note from the Emanem website. I wonder who the CD stock would be transferred to. There are not that many outlets who would be willing / able to distribute the stuff. This web site is no longer accepting new orders. We are sorry to inform you that Martin passed away in early December 2023. We are doing our best to contact anyone with outstanding orders and either post or refund them. We hope to transfer the CD stock so it is available again, but this will take time to organise. If you knew Martin, or the records and CDs he helped put out, please celebrate his life and love of music. He will be missed greatly.

This one is great. How did you like it? I thought it was very dour, I missed the lightness. After trying dozens of versions my go-to one is by Ophelie Gaillard:

Just released in Japan. https://www.discogs.com/release/29077600-Pharoah-Sanders-John-Hicks-Duo-Concert-In-Frankfurt-1986-Vol1 Apparently, there will be a Vol. 2 as well.

Coincidentally, I just learned about Weprik this week (here is how one gets to Weprik: we have a modern music festival in Vienna with Sarah Nemtsov as one of the featured composers, I was reading about her and it was mentioned that her husband is Jascha Nemtsov who specializes on Jewish composers of the 20th century. I decided I'd check who these could be, and among familiar names (Schulhoff, Weinberg, Klein) there was a new one for me, Weprik), and listend to his orchestral works yesterday: It's solid stuff. Was listening to Jenő Jandó's excellent performances of Scarlatti sonatas today and decided to check what Jandó is up to these days just to learn than he died a few months ago. Sad to hear this, he was a stupendous piano player. I don't even like Scarlatti on piano, but Jandó's performances sound just right to me (even if the piano itself does not sound great), I have been enjoying them for years. edit: I was writing how unknown Jandó was but then saw that he has more than a million listens per month on Spotify. Not that unknown after all, I guess.

It is streamable indeed: - and I agree, it's not that great.

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Too late, I bought it for grand €5 at bandcamp already, and listening to it now. Sounds great! I love Laswell in jazz context.

Will buy it then!

Sorry to hear this. A true original.

Does not sound like a needle-drop.

These are the ones I like, going chronologically. I don't list any classical stuff, too much of it. Thelonious Monk - Piano Solo (Vogue) Charles Mingus - Mingus Plays Piano Muhal Richard Abrams – Young At Heart / Wise In Time Thelonious Monk - The London Collection Volume 1 Earl Hines - Tour de Force Cecil Taylor - Indent Randy Weston - Blues to Africa Martial Solal - Nothing But the Piano Andrew Hill - Solo (Mosaic) Anthony Davis - Lady of the Mirrors Cecil Taylor - Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Jaki Byard - To Them - To Us Masahiko Satoh - "apostrophe" Johnny Guarnieri - Echoes Of Ellington Sakis Papadimitriou - Piano Cellules Roger Kellaway - Live At Maybeck Recital Hall Bheki Mseleku - Meditations Georg Gräwe - Gedächtnisspuren. San Francisco 1995 John Wolf Brennan - The Well-Prepared Clavier John Law - The Hours Oskar Aichinger - Poemia Matthew Goodheart - Songs From the Time of Great Questioning Stephan Oliva - Jazz 'n (E)Motion. Films Steve Kuhn - Jazz 'n (E)Motion. Films Larry Karush - Art of the Improviser Misha Mengelberg - Solo Irène Schweizer - chicago piano solo Burton Greene - Live at Grasland Antoine Hervé - Inside. Piano Solo. John Taylor - Insight Irène Schweizer - First Choice - Piano Solo Kkl Luzern Rob van den Broeck - Latinesque Paul Bley - About Time Martial Solal - Live At The Village Vanguard Cor Fuhler - MP Renato Sellani - Glad There Is You Enrico Pieranunzi – Autour De Martinu - Live At The Bird's Eye Agustí Fernández – Mnemosyne's Labyrinth (from the River Tiger Fire 4-CD set) Thollem - Obstacle Illusion

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Just released: a new remastered reissue of Togashi - Takahashi - Lacy "Hall Egg Farm 2000": https://www.discogs.com/release/28669684-富樫雅彦-Steve-Lacy-高橋悠治-富樫雅彦-Steve-Lacy-高橋悠治

It's great to see there are young musicians playing this music. It's such a tough way to make a living (not a way at all nowadays, I guess), and still there are a lot of talented musicians in every next generation willing to dedicate themselves to the art form.

This one is just excellent, thanks for the recommendation.

I don't like Sandell's always-on-the-high-notes semi-random plink-plank style (I dislike Van Hove for the same reason). His vocalizing is annoying too. I am sure this clarifies it. I like Gustafsson on tenor, he can play gorgeously - like on this release, for example: https://www.discogs.com/release/2008024-Boots-Brown-Boots-Brown . But his baritone or (God forbid) flutophone ... I mean it surely is entertaining for a couple of minutes (Mats getting all red like he's about to explode adds additional comic value) and even awe-inspiring volume-wise - but becomes annoying very fast (IMHO, of course).

I think I have most of Gush CDs, and the only one I really liked was a somewhat uncharacteristic one - Gushwachs with Phil Wachsmann. I love Strid, but sort of indifferent to Gustafsson and really dislike Sandell. This NotTwo set has some interesting Gushguests - I am particularly intrigued by Christine Abdelnour / Philipp Wachsmann combo, but it's still most likely a pass for me. Talking of Strid (aren't we always?), he has a bandcamp page where he posts some good stuff: https://raymondstrid.bandcamp.com/

Fundacja Sluhaj is releasing some really good stuff.

New release - The Milwaukee Tapes, Vol. 2

I know only this album: https://www.discogs.com/release/16259122-Hidehiko-Matsumoto-Quartet-Sleepy . I like it. It's with Motohiko Hino on drums, whom I really enjoy.

This gentleman too: Hidehiko Matsumoto . Same age as Miles and Coltrane. I don't know his '50s-'60s recordings but heard his '70s stuff - solid mainstream. Also George Kawaguchi, "Japanese Art Blakey", no less: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1803197-George-Kawaguchi?type=Credits&filter_anv=0 A good drummer.

Would this one count? https://www.discogs.com/release/12919347-Toshiko-Akiyoshi-Toshiko-Meets-Her-Old-Pals-トシコ旧友に会う- Recorded in 1961 with all-Japanese band (yes, with Akira Mizayawa on tenor). It's good stuff.

Ultra-Vybe has a website for this series: http://www.ultra-vybe.co.jp/sugojazz/

Joe, thanks a lot for the BFT and for the insightful write-up here. Unfortunately, I did not find the time for attentive listening last month, and even with cursory listening got as far as track 7 only (Messrs. Jarrett and Motian breaking my will), but will still listen to it soon. Loved that Buddy Terry's solo, never heard (of) him. I actually thought this was Sam Rivers at his less frustrated (to my ears Rivers sounds quite neurotic). I believe Haynes plays cornet on that Blackwell Project track, not trumpet. I love these Blackwell recordings too, and I think it comes down to excellent tunes and simply fantastic playing by Haynes. As you mentioned, Blackwell's playing is solid (in best sense of the word), but not spectacular here.