clifford_thornton

The Singer/Gilson LP was on Le Chant Du Monde, the Lancaster was on Palm/Vendemiaire. The Ernie Bostic material on that McPhee set is particularly good, by the way.

Good point on Dudu. Unfortunately, there are quite a few clinkers in Byard's catalog. I'd even say his Vortex leader-debut is pretty lame. Live at Macalester is great but not really "funky" in the Nation Time sense of things. I think he had more sympathetic groups with the Palm recordings (that trio Us w/ Sylvain Marc & Steve McCall is hot) and some of the stuff with Doug Hammond is all right. Oh, and I almost forgot Byron Morris & Unity. Blow Thru Your Mind is awesome, and with Jay Clayton in full-on Reich mode it gets pretty uniquely intense. Byron & Gerald: Unity also has Lancaster and Eric Gravatt, much more on a rugged free-jazz trip and kind of meandering, but still interesting. You might find some things you like on the Aboriginal Music Society box on Eremite (I think it's great), but it's an inve$tment.

Oh yeah, Curlew was/is cool.

Luther Thomas - Funky Donkey - (Creative Consciousness) Kind of reminds me of an Afro-rock LP in some ways, at least on the title track, and presages some of James White's work with the Contortions in Downtown NY a few years later. Guitarist Marvin Horne is awesome. The Solidarity Unit - Red, Black & Green - (Universal Justice) a little freer than Nation Time, but still the right vibe, especially the stuff with guitarist Richard Martin. Steve Reid - pretty much all of the Mustevic LPs reissued by Universal Sound, but I bet you'd really dig the Master Brotherhood stuff. Hans Dulfer & Ritmo-Natural - Candy Clouds, El Saxofon, The Morning After The Third - (Catfish/EMI) Series of great Afro-Latin Dutch free jazz LPs put out in the early 1970s and reissued on a Hans Dulfer box on EMI. You get a lot of dross with the box, but the early stuff is priceless. Robin Kenyatta - The Free State Band - (America) Byard Lancaster - Funny Funky Rib Grib - (Palm) Related vibe across these two, both including Lafayette Afro-Rock band members Keino Speller (RIP) and Francois Nyombo. Emergency - Homage to Peace - (America) Okay, a little more free, but definitely an important cross-national document of early 1970s Afro-free-spiritual jazz, featuring a plugged-in and wily Boulou Ferre!

Wow. RIP.

Wow - cool!

dimly remember reading about someone trying to reissue that one and not getting past either wadud or phillips who was against a reissue for some reason or other... (Ubu?) (clips on youtube sound pretty great to me though... on page 60 here is more on this band Yeah, that's a killer LP. It's not earth-shattering in the broad sense, but as far as intense free jazz records go, it's mighty fine.

IDK, I tend to not review stuff that I hate because to me, it's a waste of time/energy. I'd rather review stuff I either like, is fine, respectable/interesting, or is great. Believe me, my shelves are full as is my schedule so if it doesn't move or intrigue me in some way, the review should be left to someone for whom the music works.

Yes, thanks Allen.

Huh. I've seen Kidd in a variety of settings and playing at a variety of levels. Always really enjoy him. FWIW, "On Fire" (on Engine) is a really nice trio with Harrison Bankhead and Warren Smith that shows a pretty good range of Kidd's playing.

I rated it 4.5 and they notched it down a half. Pissed me off. It's a great album.

The Braxton Tri-Centric festival at Roulette. Braxton, Laubrock, Schoenbeck + harp and violin performing Braxton's "Falling River Music."

Yeah, I like it a lot as well. My review.

Considering how frequently I see trashed copies of Sunny Murray, AEC and Alan Silva records, I'd say that being "art music" or "jazz" or whatever doesn't preclude an album from being poorly taken care of.

Yeah, she's a really cool lady and has some fascinating concepts. Saw her with Braxton late last year and I hope more comes from that collaboration. Her tone is really something - so concentrated and yet so open, it's like being given a hard push out into the air.

Terrible news. He was great.

Werner Dafeldecker just has his own thing - not silly, just specific. Some of the Polwechsel records have moved me more than others.

Maarten Altena Quartet - Rondedans - (Claxon)

Hey, I was at that gig! Hopper tried in vain to find an acoustic bass. A woman ran a mile or two to her apartment to get her acoustic guitar for him to borrow. Heard excellent reports about that show from those who were there.

I would have liked to see that Tom Rainey trio live, despite my reservations about the recent Intakt CD. Ingrid's Anti-House band w/ Kris Davis (Halvorson, Rainey & Hebert - just to bring things full circle) has a lot of fine push to it, as does the excellent trio Sleepthief.

I like Ms. Laubrock's playing a lot. Now there's a highjack!

Yeah, I regret it a little but you kind of have to walk on eggshells out here, everyone is a little touchy and it's easy to get in trouble and get a reputation for being...I don't know....a dick I guess..... Well, the NYCJR edits more for length than for content, so had you submitted that part it probably would've stayed. Besides, I think more people would agree with you than not, though perhaps that is me being naive out in the hinterlands.

That's not hijacking - that's informative.

Variety of piano styles, and alto? Joachim Kuhn also comes to mind.