clifford_thornton

John Fahey - The Yellow Princess - (Vanguard original) the best non-Takoma Fahey? I dunno, but it's a classic either way...

As one who writes about the music, it is sort of embarrassing to see how many holes I actually have. But then again, to write well one has to be more focused than broad... at least some of the time. That is, unless you're Borges.

The Uptown neighborhood, south of the Walker Art Center on either Lyndale or Hennepin, provides a lot of interesting little shops and eateries as well - always good for a walk or something. I don't know how the weather is right now, but by the time you're there in May it should have cleared up. Take a walk around the Lake of the Isles (in the Uptown area), it's the prettiest of the South Minneapolis lake parks. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is nice too, though I think they're undergoing major renovations right now. If you like Thai food, try King and I Thai, which is downtown off Loring Park. A little spendy, but worth it, and their Manhattans will knock you down. Their beef massaman curry absolutely kills!

Barre Phillips - For All It Is - (Japo) great quintet of four basses and drums, one of my favorite records of all time! Phillips, Jenny-Clarke, Barry Guy, Palle Danielsson and Stu Martin...

Thelonious Atmosphere? Great record!

I always forget that I have Money Jungle buried somewhere, so I guess that's my one stab at Ellington. Really hurting on the pre-50s stuff, or pre-bebop material. 'Course, if I thought it was that much of an issue, it would've been rectified by now...

Giorgio Gaslini - Nuovi Sentimenti - (EMI 70s reissue) great European-American ensemble date from '66 with Lacy, Cherry, Rava, Barbieri, Jenny-Clarke, Kent Carter, Gianni Bedori, Aldo Romano and Franco Tonani. Despite being a tentet, it's not a blowout - very good stuff!

Ran Blake - The Blue Potato and Other Outrages - (Milestone) another great '60s side by Ran... and bought for a mere $1 on a lark many years ago!

That haircut looks pretty damn lopsided if you ask me...

Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, the list is sadly quite long... I used to have a few Basie and Ellington sides, but not anymore. The others have never been represented at all.

My original of that sounds clean - the recording itself isn't well-balanced, but that's no fault of the pressing.

I didn't think that ever came out. Guess I was wrong! Thanks!

What's next? Taxidermy or soup?

Actually, that record IS pretty good, even though I wouldn't call myself a fan of his music (or his hair) by any stretch.

He lost a LOT of tapes in a fire in the '70s.

Marty Krystall is absolutely fantastic - Big Drum is a really heavy date that might fall a bit closer to "outside," but you can feel that he has real roots in his tenor playing. He's not too commonly mentioned, at least around these parts, so I'll second that recommendation of his work, especially with Buell. Buell is a total character - ya gotta love him!

They're both great, but what about this one?

It would be really something to hear recordings of Holbrooke from the '60s. Too bad none exist...

I've always wanted to check that one out. Right now: Archie Shepp - The Magic of Juju - (Impulse original) one of my favorite '60s Shepp sides, although they are all great!

That is a cool motherfuckin' band...

I'll have to check the two of them. Dig that Mantel-Piece record quite a bit.

Spedding is really great on that Frank Ricotti CBS record, Our Point of View. I really like that one.

Juma was one of the instigators of the 212 Artists' Colony in Woodstock, NY, and played with pretty much everybody in the "loft" scene (Hamiet Bluiett and Noah Howard to add to the list). He also played contrabass with Sonny Simmons among others, and led a group called the Aboriginal Music Society which, as far as I know, never recorded anything (too bad!). I have Juma's name on a number of records, so he's not too badly represented...

Ash Ra Tempel - s/t - [spalax reissue of Ohr original] great first record by Klaus Schulze's group, a classic of heavy instrumental psych...

Had and sold all their LPs up to Aluminum Tunes, always liked Peng and Emperor Tomato Ketchup a fair bit but they ended up getting passed on...