clifford_thornton

Right you are. I think you have to separate Mosaic's intent on presentation from the artist's programmatic intent. With the New Music (and with Ellington, Hill, and a few others in the Mosaic catalog), that becomes more of an issue and it's interesting to consider. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine that Mobley, Morgan, or McLean were as concerned with how an album was assembled vis-a-vis track order. If they did a Bill Dixon or a (later) Cecil Taylor set, they'd have to consider the structuring of a disc as a complete performance or closely-related performances in a way that is not often done on boxed sets.

I knew of his boating career only vaguely - seems as though he was a big deal in the seafaring world.

While not all of the FD catalog is essential, there are some real gems including the three West Coast Hot LPs. The cover art on them is superb. Another favorite FD title of mine is Coryell's Barefoot Boy...

He was great. This really sucks. RIP, and thanks Teddy.

Oh shit. This sucks. I wasn't aware things were transitional.

Well, that's the info I got a while ago. Maybe I was misinformed - so who does own FD? I thought someone, maybe JLH, posted last year that Thiele's daughters owned the rights to the catalog. Furthermore they didn't want to license the FD recordings out piecemeal because they felt they would get more money for the recordings if they sold them all together. The info I got was that they had sold FD. Maybe the answer is somewhere earlier in this thread, but I don't have time to re-read it. Well it looks like Jonathan has the rights to 'em, so...

Courtesy our own Brandon Burke. I think he also has a shot of the Grant & Green street sign in SF somewhere (from Street of Dreams).

I haven't read the book, but I should check it out.

Sound on the Mosaic set is good. Not RVG or DuNann, obviously, but I feel like some of the corners were brightened.

Great post ep1. A friend of mine gave (!) me the Tapscott LP years ago and it's incredible indeed. I generally like most of the Nimbus stuff too, but it doesn't quite have the same go-for-broke ruggedness that the Dutchman LP has.

Expanding this topic a little, can folks here explain this to me? I frequently see posts by people who already have all the material in a newly-issued box set, but still buy the box set. I'm not being judgmental, just curious. Since it's something I wouldn't do, I don't quite understand it. As a reviewer, I didn't pony up as much dough for it as I would have otherwise (would gladly have paid full price for it if I "needed" to). However, for me, it was a chance to evaluate the material as a whole rather than as individual releases heard and experienced over time. Though to somewhat different ends, I think the Mosaic consumer who has the material already might want to experience it differently, in addition to the collecting impulse. I'm sure there will be disagreement over this, but it's a thought. Braxton's notes would have been great to have as well, though he's moved on in terms of his process from where he was in the mid- to late-70s.

I have all the LPs and the Mosaic box, and am happy to have both. I don't think the booklet is all that essential. The essay isn't one of my favorites. I like all the records quite a bit.

Yeah, CvsD has done some nice stuff. I believe that JC has severed ties with Atavistic and will be doing stuff this way now.

The Tapscott is a favorite, too. Glad to see that one might be reissued. Much love for the Carter-Bradford Dutchmans as well.

Siegfried Kessler/Barre Phillips/Steve McCall - Live at the Gill's Club - (Futura)

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.