clifford_thornton

Invaluable resources. Thanks for keeping these going, Rick.

Drove around Houston all day last Friday with Alvin and Kidd listening to Have No Fear. Fun times, great stories and an interesting comparison to Don Wilkerson arose (via Kidd) through Von's playing. More words to come.

Of course, I like Togashi's albums with Steve Lacy, but in some ways, this record (without Lacy) is the ultimate Togashi album. I have about 10 Togashi LPs and though they're all excellent, this one flat out slays. It's so damn colorful. Story of Wind Behind Left is also a killer.

That is a GREAT idea.

Togashi Masahiko - Spiritual Nature - (East Wind)

Togashi Masahiko - Speed & Space - (Union)

Abe Katsuji is pretty cool.

Basically they broke up one long track into two tracks and combined two shorter tracks into one long one. Strange indeed.

I don't know the Anderza - will have to seek it out. The Amy is great.

Yeah, it is ESP but they are not really doing much with the website.

Agreed.

Hope they fixed the error on the Watts CDs of yore. I wrote the notes for the Lowe and it's a burner. I've been wanting to hear the Wright/Blood Ulmer/Ali stuff for a long time, too.

One of the last Bley albums that I really warm to. I think it's partially that 'theatre' influence (a strong Weill/Brecht feel)- along with the influences/musicians from the free scene - that makes her earlier music so distinctive. Towards the end of the 70s her music, to my ears, starts to sound much more in the American tradition. The quirkiness sounds more mannered. I more or less agree with you both. When I listened to the album recently, I was struck by how fine the musicians were, and how good the music was ---when Carla was not larding in theatrical cliches. I think hearing it as "theatre" music is perfectly legitimate. I found her theatricisms (?) contrived, and more to the point, in the way of the larger boy of music. I think this tendency got much worse as Carla went on, but there is enough here to make the performances problematic. This era of her music (and probably most of the rest) could not have existed without the musical outline via Kurt Weill. Yes, there is definitely some Weill. I also pick up on some old style British vaudeville, and even a bit of circus music. None of this is bad (quite the opposite), just that I think what bothers me is the same thing that bothers me when every other saxophonist seemingly was quoting that "pop goes the weasel" riff. In a few instances it works, in most other instances, it comes off as unneeded, uninspired interpolation. Maybe I'm too hard on Carla. She is courageous enough to find her own way forward, and there is fine music to be garnered. But some of her mannerisms wear thin pretty quick. I really like that LP in particular, moreso than some other Bley/Mantler/Watt LPs from the period. Just a related thought: I wish she and Robert Wyatt would have collaborated more.

I really like The Sharp Edge a lot. Thanks, Chris.

Local radio was doing a Johnny Otis special this morning. Great stuff that I was only passingly aware of.

Beautiful!

From the second interview with a musician that I ever did (I was pretty green but did not want to call Murray out on embellishments):

Posting this for a friend. I wish I could be there but hopefully some of of you are able, interested, and can spread the word.

Feliz Cumpleanos!

What an amazing time you must have had, Gheorghe. Sounds great. I like the "European avant-garde" stuff as well as bop and hardbop (but sometimes the mood strikes for one or the other). Kleinschuster's sextet was pretty fine IMO, but definitely "of its time."

Tastefully inspired, I would say.

Nice score for Jim.

Worrell dropped out of the music in the late 1960s, from what I understand, though he later resumed playing and I believe he's still with us. Really fine player. He's not on the Rivers disc.

Great choice! Love this record.

Haven't seen you in a while MG! Welcome back!