clifford_thornton

I think you mean the acting version of "musician's musician." So, "actor's actor." RIP.

Jaki Liebezeit is another story - he was a jazz drummer in Cologne in the '60s and worked in Manfred Schoof's quintet (until Sven-Åke Johansson took over) among other groups. He could really cook and was very inventive. And if anyone wants to sell me some mint Can LPs, get in touch... Guru Guru's rhythm section (Uli Trepte, bass and Mani Neumeier, drums) were part of pianist Irène Schweizer's trio in the mid-60s as well, before Krautrock took over, though at least at the outset Guru Guru were more of a "free rock" band, so the connection seems more logical. Christian Burchard, while less of a powerhouse than the above players, also worked with Mal Waldron, Charlie Mariano and other modern jazz greats, both in Embryo and in other contexts.

See, that's why I think it's a fallacy to put Ginger Baker down for not being what he isn't, rather than digging him for what he is. Rare is the musician who can "do it all," more interesting to me the musician who can do what they do without equal.

is anyone good still writing for them? I can't remember if Broomer is still there or not.

Right; I love Cream and Blind Faith aren't too shabby, but I wouldn't put the propulsion in those bands in the same league as, say, The Jazz Messengers! Pot, meet spoon. Never listened to the trio disc w/ Frisell and Haden, but that's because a record with those two made at this point in time is of little interest.

Ginger Baker was perfect for the contexts he was in. Same with Charlie Watts. Sunny Murray wasn't the drummer for Jackie McLean, but he certainly was for Albert Ayler. The right combination of players for the moment is what's crucial.

is he still alive?

The Russell is great too. I have the old Chief CD but will surely buy the new version w/ extra moosic.

MEH? NAH. This is a good one.

Never listened to Loueke.

The French saxophonist, visual artist, and scholar Gilles Laheurte has passed on after a long illness, according to family and friends (via FB). Not just a "true disciple" of Steve Lacy, he was also quite an original. I first heard of his work through Joe Giardullo, another one trying to extend the Lacy lineage. May he rest in peace.

I didn't get the fuss upon hearing him, but it wouldn't be the first time. There just wasn't enough "there" there for me.

Looking especially forward to hearing the Sullivan. I had an LP of it but my copy was a faulty pressing, so I feel like I've never heard it as intended.

Flaherty is real nice. I hope to spend some time interviewing him this fall. His visual art is wonderful, too. Excellent player. Though I know he hasn't always come across as such, especially to those who've struggled with/inadvertently encountered his moralizing verbiage, my experience with Charles Gayle has been that he's a super friendly guy, very humble and kind.

Very nice! I paid a few limbs for a stone mint copy of this some years ago and do not regret it at all... Mine is pretty clean but the pressing is far from dead silent. It's a real strong document of the period, even if part of me wishes that Bill had been able to commercially release more of his own work (rather than producing his students' sessions) during those years.

Marzette Watts - Ensemble - (Savoy)

That Trio Hurricane is a corker. Someone should buy it. Glenn Spearman was a helluva player.

Thanks. I sorta guessed the first one, but I like your second guess. Now: Coltrane - Selflessness - (Impulse red/black)

What do we think of "usual" for Horace Silver? I'm genuinely asking because I am far from an expert on his music, and was really blown away by some of the late 60s small group live performances up on YouTube. Far "tougher" and more dissonant from what I expected, but then I began digging into BN studio dates from the '59-'61 period and they carried far more "heft" than I remember.

I found parts of the Spellman book online, found some relevant passages from Cecil's section (on pp. 62-63), and took screenshots of them. The resulting image takes up too much space to post in this thread, but here's a link to it (from my Flickr account): http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2921/14274998340_86b0d12256_o.jpg In Firefox, one can just click on the image to magnify it to a nice legible size, but that should be easy with any browser. (Don't mind me; I like to look things up.) Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing and yes, that was basically the passage I was thinking of.

Is it pronounced "Low-fee" or "Low-Fie" ?

I dunno, how much time have you spent with Extrapolation or Experiments with Pops? His phrasing is incredible on those records, deep and bluesy with an equal measure of micro-gestural approaches. The hard staccato minimalism of his later work isn't nearly as evident and his range seems broader.

Yes, Cecil did cite him as an influence. I believe - though I'm not positive & the book is not in front of me - that he's quoted as such in the Spellman book. It is strange that I didn't listen to him as much as I did some of his brethren over the years. Though obviously his compositions were recorded by many people I spent more time with, clearly some rectification needs to happen.

That Armonicord LP is great. Jouk Minor is on fire.

Still want to hear those tapes with Gunter Hampel.