clifford_thornton

Yeah, I don't know who that kid was. Tyner sounded great, Harrison was awesome, Alexander was surprisingly boring/off-mike and Gravatt took some of the dumbest drum solos I've heard in a while. Still enjoyable, though.

An assortment of Japanese pressings, including an original issue of Mal Waldron's Spanish Bitch, which is not here yet but I eagerly await!

eBay grading is usually dubious. I only buy from reputable off-eBay dealers or eBay sellers I've dealt with before. I mean, accidents happen, but more often with eBay. I did luck out on a few pricey items recently that were actually clean, but with big-ticket pieces, I tend to buy from my "guys."

Dunno about Schwartz (haven't heard the date), but Koch is a great player.

I'd always been under the impression that it was slated for Savoy but unfinished. My bad if this is not the case. It's an amazing document; I find myself referring to it fairly often, as Dixon isn't the only point of reference. I'd say it's worth it, but it might be source-able from Amazon or someone for less than the $75 list.

Not quite!

I sort of see what you mean, but the Ornette comparison doesn't really fit with my impression of the LP, though it has been a while since I spun it. "The Mechanical Answering Service of Chris and Marta White" is a pretty cool little tune, especially considering the fact that it's based on the vocal cadences in an answering service message! The Curran is really nice, having a lot in common with a post-Ornette bag as well as reminding me a little of Sonny Simmons (tone-wise, not group-wise). Interestingly, the bassist is Japanese, though I haven't seen him on anything else: Kyoshi Tokunaga. Wonder what his story was? If you crack the Dixonia book, you'll see a lot of references to some of these Savoy characters, and lots of "could-have-been" Dixon-related sessions that went unreleased. Definitely a broader picture of the NYC '60s underground than you'd get from listening only to ESPs and Impulse! sides.

? I know it is now, but I recall the Manhattan CD being OOP for several years. Whatever.

Wait a minute. Are you saying that they used the same tracks on both albums or that they recorded different versions of two of the songs??? "Ole Negro" (Black Ark) = "Viva La Black" (Space Dimension) "Mount Fuji" (Black Ark) = "Oriental Mood" (Uhuru) I'll have to listen to the closing ballad on Black Ark again for comparison, but I believe you. The name escapes me at the moment... so that's three out of four tracks from the Freedom that duplicate tracks on the Americas. Interesting.

Good point. I've never even seen Motivation offered (think it's from '72?) - it hurts my feelings, for sure! The Valdo is "difficult," but I'm not sure it's "unsuccessful." The fact that he was playing that way, or in a comparable vein, in the '40s and '50s lends credence to the idea that he was/is an original. Sort of like a Hasaan/early Cecil hybrid, if you ask me. Zwerin's also in fine form on Shepp's Magic of JuJu, from around the same time. The Pozar is a very good record; understated, but a sleeper hit with me. His drumming is wonderful overall, though the shit he throws down on the Dixon RCA is fucking retarded... The Levin is one of the best underground NY LPs of the period. Period. C

Right-o. I'm 29 and on my second round of grad school. I think that whatever it is that I am into, and whoever it is that I think I am, will be more nuanced and solidified as I hit my 40s (hence, I look forward to that decade - specifically around 45). That's all that one can hope for, really, and that's good enough for me.

Lots of wonderful records there. The Dixon productions are limited to the Pozar, the Levin, the Curran and the Watts, aside from his own dates. The story is that Savoy wanted him to do more records, but due to some embouchre problems and the dissolution of his group with Shepp, he decided to use "his" dates to produce some of his students. Good move. Excellent records. I have all of the Dixon-related but the Watts, though I have heard that one and can speak for its strength and beauty. The Valdo is sick, the Moffett is peerless, the Scianni is decent (though pressed poorly), and the Barron (as with all his dates) has some great jams. Haven't heard the Brokensha, Vince Hill or the Doug Carn, though the latter has (maybe mistakenly) intrigued me. The Jeffrey is more of a greasy date than his work on the Moffett, as I understand it. The Bley is nice, though I wish Savoy had issued the quartet with Gilmore - though part of it was eventually on Turning Point.

I dunno, 'round here the sludge doesn't flow too freely, sad to say...

Yeah, the joke would be funny except that I don't find this funny at all. Sad is what it is. And I have been around a number of models (and non-models) enough to know the pressures (my old girlfriend was a fashion designer). It's a fucked-up world.

Ditto for me too. Just couldn't get into/hold onto the Soul Notes, Contact (think that was the label - a Swedish concert from '70 or so) and Dutchman dates.

Husker Du - "Eight Miles High" b/w "Masochism World" (SST original single) Jeeezus...

AMAZING LP, that Illumination! ... this should be an AOTW, if it hasn't already.

Where's Chuck with one of his "size" jokes?

Well, since the ultimate point of the thread is to impress everyone with the vastness of your collection, I won! It is a slightly sarcastic comment on the nature of a thread like this. I got it. I'll take my two Heavy Soul Music (label) LPs over any of my BNs any day, however.

Well, I suppose if you counted ALL the flatted fifths...

I'm guessing LPs vs. CDs.

I think I'm at about 125 last time I checked. Kenny Cox - Multidirection is the newest BN addition; I've lately begun to appreciate a lot of the upper 4200s and lower 4300s. For some reason, though it's certainly by no means his best recording, the J.R. Monterose gets under my skin a little bit. I also pull out Blues in Trinity quite often, also True Blue and of course tear into the Jackie McLeans a lot too. I need more Horace Parlan, that is for sure... Apologies, but I'm going to have to include Japanese and '70s pressings, as they fill out the catalog in a way that otherwise I couldn't participate. I do have a lot of NY originals, too, but I'm not as picky about BN pressings as I am about other labels.

I thought about sending one to Savoy once, just to see what would happen...