clifford_thornton

I _must_ find it!

That record is GREAT... I fell in love with her voice on hearing George Russell's "The Outer View," which you should _definitely_ pick up if you like her early work. Only on one track, but it's a doozy!

Too bad I dumped my TFUL records about five years ago. Held onto the Lips, though. I hear you re: Mercury Rev; I guess it's no coincidence that Dave Fridman (rather than, say, Don Friedman) produced some of the Lips' records. I still say they were one of the greatest -- and most fucked-up -- cover bands in existence. I'd pay for a bootleg of them doing REM wrong any day: I bet it'd be fucking hilarious... Heads were scratched 'round the world when they appeared on 90210 doing "She Don't Use Jelly," one of the first of their tunes to make me say, well, 'wait a goddam minute, this is asinine.'

OK, listening to a borrowed copy of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," and yes, it is in its way a brilliant album. But to me, it's not the Flaming Lips. I was weaned on albums like "Oh My Gawd!!!", "In a Priest Driven Ambulance" and "Hear it Is," a noisier, spunkier, but still psyched out band. Granted, ideas change and people get older, and I liked their albums for Warner Bros. in the first half of the nineties as well ("Hit to Death" is a motherfucker), but they began losing me after "Clouds Taste Metallic". I just think of them as a youthfully exuberant, throw-shit-at-the-wall, unclassifiable (but punk) band. What do y'all think? New or old? Both? Neither? I've been debating this a lot.

I've been getting those lately too, as well as some from "PayPal." Kinda freaky, if you ask me... C

Teddy Charles, Mingus and Mal Waldron Or, let's say Grimes didn't disappear to California and instead went to the UK and continued playing: Grimes, Alan Skidmore and John Stevens (ca. 1969)

I'll second that one. How about Homer reading/singing the Iliad to hand drums and Greek lute?

Me (I play 'cello), Patty Waters and Becky Friend. 'Course, wouldn't hurt that they were/are sixties free jazz goddesses...

Hmm... that does look interesting too. I guess it's worth picking up that "Drums of Passion" LP; the price and interest sound matched. Nice story, Rimshot. Thanks.

Talk to Brandon Burke about donating some of your collection (especially things they don't already have) to the KU Jazz Library. I've already willed my stuff to them (and I'm only 27!)... That way, it won't be picked over (it's appointment only) and will be guaranteed proper care by jazz fans, musicologists, and students.

OK, maybe this should be in the "Vinyl Frontier," but here goes... I should know this by now, but how is this LP? I saw one sitting in a local shop, cover in good shape with the LP (original DG mono) still sealed in its plastic baggie for $15. Is this one of those 'exotica'-marketed slabs or is it a record worthy of merit outside the party scenario? I know he and Coltrane were tight, so...

The two Oxley CBS records are very different from one another; "Baptised Traveller" is the most 'straight' Oxley recording I know of (not counting the Ronnie Scott and Gordon Beck dates). You might like early Spontaneous Music Ensemble records like "Challenge" (reissued on Emanem), or the Howard Riley CBS records. The first couple of Ray Russell albums ("Turn Circle" and "Dragon Hill") might hit the spot for that reflective-yet-tough freebop sound. Tenorist Alan Skidmore's "TCB," on Philips and recently cut to CD, might also be of interest. But as for Oxley, I'd give "Four Compositions" another listen, as well as his later dates for RCA-Victor, Incus and other labels. The process of his composition is interesting, especially since he revisits some of the tunes later in different contexts. Enjoy.

I just read a post on another board that the wonderful drummer Walter "MJT" Perkins had just passed. If so, that's truly sad. He'd gone from playing soul-jazz to free, a truly all-encompassing career. He'll be missed. May he rest in peace. Any thoughts on Walter from the peanut gallery?

That is some mighty good yoghurt, I must say. I like the vanilla, personally. Some granola sprinkled on top... Not to stray too much from the subject at hand, of course...

...unless, of course, augmented by Braxton's contrabass clarinet.

Word on that... No Potts for Late? There's a really fine and very tough solo that he takes on Francois Tusques' Shandar LP, "Intercommunal Music." It steals the show, and takes up a considerable amount of the LP's first side. Worth hearing. I think his off-kilter rhythmic approach meshes well with Lacy (and with the Tusques-Murray juggernaut), but indeed, it's not as 'precise' as Lacy's. He should stick to alto, though.

Wait, didn't I see you do that to the Curtis Fuller LP you just sold?

I completely agree. GOLDMINE lists a mono copy of Jackie McLean Destination Out at all of $30 so we can conclude that they're way off. Yeah but Brandon, you know you were glad that Love Garden used it!

I dunno, I waaaay prefer "Ghetto Music" over "Black Rhythm Happening." The former is harder, and that transition from the plaintive folk melody to the ensemble playing on "The Rain" kills me every time. $.02 anyway.

Not that it's really 'jazz' per se, but all those turntables and laptop computers in modern 'improv' really annoy the shit out of me... ugh! I can imagine Maneri and Cecil would suck, if only 'cos Mat Maneri sucks. Last time I saw him he just sat on stage with a Heineken and a ciggie while Rob Brown and Whit Dickey went at it... what a poser.

I played the crap out of "Change of the Century" (Ornette) and "Four for Trane" (Shepp)... the classics always get jammed the most.

I've always had a soft spot for Grachan Moncur III, but Peter & Pepi Lemer are pretty great too... Of course, we can't forget the mysterious one-named percussionists: Robidoo Groentje (pronounced "Grain-chee") Djibrill Sahumba (AKA Raleigh Sahumba, but Sahumba for short) Adeyeme and: Ostaine Blue Warner (another mysterious percussionist)

Fuck this shit; I was watching the halftime show and didn't even notice anything. I guess I'm desensitized to portrayals of skin by half-baked pop stars, but really, that cartoon posted earlier hits the nail on the head... Don't I have a Michel Portal record on CBS? My, how things have changed!

While Hutcherson is the obvious choice (his importance in the instrument's history) and Dickerson is a great player as well, I picked Teddy Charles. He's a great bandleader and arranger, and his quirky phrasing has more warmth than Walt's. He's an unsung hero of the instrument whose recordings with the PJQ, the Tentet and his "Jazz in the Garden" should not be missed. Whither Karl Berger? His first recording, albeit on piano, was in '64 I believe, and his dates with Don Cherry and as a leader for ESP and Milestone are great advances in the freebop tradition. Nice to see mention of Naughton and Hoggard, two very interesting players of the '70s. OTIC on... Al Francis and Earl Griffiths each made scant recordings as sidemen, but showed great direction on the vibes early in the decade. Lest we forget the great showing of Charles Moffett on the vibes for his own Savoy date ('68)? He's not often thought of as a vibist, but he was really something.

A buddy of mine has the Chris McGregor "Brotherhood of Breath" on Neon 8-track. Needless to say, it hurts my feelings...