clifford_thornton

Cannibal and Miles - "Somethin' Else" (Blue Note W63Rd, DG Mono)... still one of the most enjoyable of BN's greatest hits!

Yeah, I think that's a great disc, and Faulk is very strong. It eclipses the first volume too, IMO. I was lucky enough to talk to James and write the liners for the session, and he's a wonderful and interesting character. So yes, please spread the word on Spaulding's recordings!

Ever listen to Art Taylor play with Frank Wright?

Thanks for posting that, Brownie. It has seemed like, despite all the recognition, the band has always had the short end of the stick fiscally. Seems to still be the case. I'll be a shameless hijacker and provide a link to an interview with Marshall that I did last year, for AAJ: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15024 Marshall is a great figure, and one learns a lot speaking with him. Despite the hardships, he's a funny guy and laughs pretty much constantly. Much love to Marshall Allen!

Yeah, it's interesting how free music can open players up that otherwise might have limitations. Is it a matter of thinking, or of practical technique? I can't do math, but I'm good at Logic, so go figure.

Uh, then how come he was able to buy gas at the same station? Did they take a different currency for gasoline? ← Good question - I'd assume that he was not the one buying the gas in the first place. Knowing him, he probably only had a credit card.

Icy and odd LP.. Naughton doesn't get enough mention, and he's an interesting figure. My uncle was in the CMIF with him, and has a lot of interesting stories about that guy. Apparently was really, really into homemade explosives.

Must be, because I've heard both!

Yeah, it ain't sweater weather. I always think it's funny when Milford and Sunny try to play straight 4/4 - they can't do it either, but more than likely it's a result of being so used to playing in an expanded way that it's just the direction they'd rather take it, conscious or not (chicken or egg?). I'll give Hemingway this credit as well.

RIP. Too young, indeed... Admittedly not a follower, but his voice was always affecting.

Herbie Mann "At the Village Gate" (Atlantic, maroon deepgroove mono). Forgot how freakin' good this record was. Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Rudy Collins, Ben Tucker, Chief Bey...

In talking to Bernard, he told me that he was under the impression that "Mephistopheles" was a Wayne Shorter tune, so he asked to use a track from another session that Brown recorded. This was "Exhibition." The problem was resolved later and they used the master for the November 1965 session for subsequent material, but neglected to change the title. The masters for both sessions are safe, and ESP will be reissuing all of it later this summer, apparently with both "Mephistopheles" and "Exhibition." Cheers, CT

Funny you mention this.. I always forget to mention when I write a review or an article that people here might be interested in - I'm a lousy self-promoter. I'm in AAJ, Paris Transatlantic and Bagatellen, if anyone wants to look those up on the web. See, still lousy at it.

I was just listening to Live in Verona this morning... Finally coming around on that quartet. I've enjoyed him live, but somehow when I put a record of his on it just hasn't grabbed me until recently.

I've got a nice mono of that, which coincidentally I spun on MY Music Hall MMF-5, which my parents got me for my birthday one year.

A friend of mine was in Belgium in the mid-'90s on a road trip, and was getting gas at a gas station. This gas station happened to have a small book-and-record shelf in it, and in the rack he found the Alan Silva solo LP on Center of the World. Unfortunately, he didn't have any Belgian currency and couldn't buy it - it would have amounted to like $5 US at the time. Bizarre, to say the least.

The times I've seen him play, I've noticed that he's a very competitive musician on the stand. It seems like he has, on these occasions, tried to push the music rather than let it just happen. Some recordings I've heard - the AOTW included - do not really give off this vibe, but in a live setting it is noticeable and sort of distracting. So, with respect to his "turning the beat around," it could have been part of that competitive seed coming to bear on the situation.

I don't care for Blue Train, and its ubiquity has only soured it further for me. It's just the most overrated, safest Trane out there - even in the context of the period it was recorded. I'd take Sonny's Crib any day over that one... Wayne is usually better on other people's records, IMO.

The band is bitchin'; I can't wait to get this recording. Jeff Clyne is one of my favorite bassists of the Britjazz renaissance, and Tubbs just goes without saying.

I've got a couple things on hold from the Bastards: the Japanese LP pressings of the Plugged Nickel Miles, 2 volumes. Fairly cheap, too.

Herbie on those BN sides circa '65, yeah, very interesting. Sometimes McCoy, though I always think he's a little cloying.

Mal Waldron, or Cecil Taylor. I also like Stanley Cowell's playing in the '60s for this reason (partly), but haven't listened to enough recent stuff to comment.

JRR in Colorado will never cease to astound me in both what he/it has and how it's presented. I remember the first time I went it was in an old strip mall west of Denver (it has since moved) and was just a longshot. You walked in and were surrounded by comic books and a bunch of records in old wooden bins - not much to write home about, but as I was grabbing some Shepp records, Tom (Burns, the owner) said "I've got more jazz records in the back." He led me to the tucked-away part of the store and I about shit my pants... Floor-to-ceiling heavy jazz, prog, folk and avant-garde records. Have been going back every couple of years since.