sidewinder

Bobby Hutcherson 'Happenings' (BN NY USA) and 'Eric Dolphy & Booker Little Memorial Album' (Stateside). To be followed up with Don Wilkerson 'Elder Don' (BN NY USA).

It often goes for around the $800 mark in the CD format so this is about the right ball-park, I guess..

This LP was issued on the same 'Japan only' series from King ('GX' series) that also resulted in 'Oblique'. Pretty well equally hard to find as 'Oblique', I'm sad to say.. I've never, ever, seen a copy of 'Inner Glow'. The Holy Grail perhaps?

Up for air..

Yes, they seem to be all over the place at the moment here in the UK. The retail chain 'Fop' stocks them.

I want everything on the list including the Miles vinyl. My case is beyond hope.....

Magnifico ! That 'Right Now' is just great

GIven the major feat of detective work by Cuscuna and co. in digging this stuff out from the depths of Smithfield Market, I think we owe it to Mosaic to but this set. Its on my (ever increasing) list.. B-)

Donald Byrd 'Byrd In Flight' Blue Note 47 W 63rd mono pressing. Some lovely Mobe on this one and the playing of Byrd and Mclean is pretty excellent too. Highly recommended! To be followed up with two UK 'Stateside' pressings of 'Eric Dolphy/Booker Little Memorial Album' and Charles McPherson 'Bebop Revisited !' The Stateside LPs were pressed by EMI in the mid-60s and invariably sound better than their US Prestige counterparts..

This one's on a roll.... Hard to believe that it could be in mint, especially as there's no pictures to back up the claim.. Roll Call Deep Groove

Miles Davis 'On The Corner' (CBS). Just had to give this one a spin after hearing Paul Buckmaster's interview and recollections of the making of the album on the Miles Isle of Wight video. Hugely under-rated Miles session, this one.

Just picked up a 2CD set by Tubby Hayes called 'The Tempo Years' on Jasmine. It has some interesting live amateur recording 1969 Tubby big band material in addition to the classic Tempo material (even if some dork does shout 'hello mum' down the mike in the middle of one of Tubby's solos.... ).

Gave it another watch this morning Gary - you won't be disappointed.. By the way I think Amazon UK's price for this is about £14.

I wonder what will happen to his incredible collection of vinyl and CDs? There was a rumour that the National Sound Archives might pick up a fair chunk of it.

Gary - I picked this one up from my local HMV yesterday (it must be just in), titled 'Miles Electric - A different kind of blue'. Released on Eagle Vision. The bottom line is, this is a fantastic DVD which will have electric Miles fans drooling. Runs for 123 minutes with 38 minutes of IoW performance and an hour or so of documentary with extensive interviewing of the band members (Holland, DeJohnette, Bartz, Airto etc) plus Miles sidemen of the period (Liebman, Mtume - heck even Pete Cosey is interviewed plus quite a few comments from contemporaries such as Carlos Santana and Joni Mitchell). The sound is absolutely terrific, in Dolby/surround sound. Theres also a half hour or so of additional interview material which adds significant insight into Miles' ability to forge bands and get the best out of them. Ech musician does an ad-lib tribute to Miles. Particular highlight being Airto's (he covers the whole shebang of a Miles group performance). The coverage of the IoW Festival music is just wonderful. Miles is in absolutely A1 form a la Bitches Brew period, hardly puts a foot wrong and very incisive. The band are full of good stuff, Jarrett in raptures, Dave Holland and DeJohnette putting down a great groove and Bartz interjecting to add the contrast to Miles. Very much a jam through the Miles material of the time - called 'Call It Anythin' (love it ! ) but segues through 'Directions', 'Bitches Brew', 'Sanctuary' and a few other familiar themes into a pretty coherent whole. After 38 minutes Miles leaves the bandstand fairly abbruptly to let the sidemen wind it down. Then the reaction of the 600,000 audience kicks in. In the supporting material there's also a little feature on Betty Mabry/Davis and her influence on Miles of the time. Including a shot of that infamous 'Nasty Gal' LP cover and a snippet from 'He Was A Big Freak' (way cool). Also a few dissenting opinions thrown in by Stanley Crouch (doesn't he like anything? ). Incredible stuff. Buy without hesitation ! Quick revision to your Xmas list is now in order.. Price at HMV is £17.99

The King pressings from Japan are great and well worth getting hold of. For BN sessions I find that they are only surpassed by originals in good condition, which tend to have more depth, especially if from the earlier (47W63, NY USA and earlier Liberty) vintage. For the Pcific Jazz sessions, they compare pretty damn well with the originals. Kings are usually a very sound purchase. Great dynamic as you say. I have some nice PJ sessions on King from that 'West Coast Classic' series (the Sheldon, Shank/Cooper 'Blowin Country' and the Bill Perkins) and will have to dig them out today. All are magnificent.

Just wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions as to the current valuation of a Mint (-) Mosaic Basie Roulette Live LP set (12LPs)? Thanks in advance..

'Shades of Love' - Walt Dickerson, direct cut Steeplechase LP

I grew up with his late night radio 1 show back in the 1970s with its lineup of obscure punk bands and regular interludes of 'dub'. On occasions the music on the Peel show could really suprise - such as the time I heard him play a great Miles/Coltrane Prestige track (from 'Cookin', or one of the other albums in that sequence) after something like the Smiths...

Very true. I recommend Harrison's 'A Jazz Retrospect', issued back in the mid 70s (long out of print but worth scanning the second-hand books stores). Some very perceptive essays in this one on the likes of David Mack and Serial Jazz, Hal McKusick, Tad Dameron's 'Fontainebleau', Gil Evans and Lennie Niehaus. Much of Harrison's best work can be found in the pages of the old Jazz Monthly mag from the 1960s. Also big thumbs up for the Vol 2 of that 'Essential Jazz Records' book. If anything I prefer the earlier 'Modern Jazz - the Essential Records 1945-70' which for me was a revelation when it came out and has Harrison, Alun Morgan and Michael James in the author lineup. The most frustrating thing about that one at the time it was issued was that so few of the LPs could be obtained in mid-70s UK (other than as difficult to obtain US imports). We live in more bountiful jazz times now and much of the content is now in print.

For me this was an easy one. I'm a huge fan of JJ - a class act all round as bone player, arranger and major modern jazz role figure. Time to dig out that lovely Mosaic set.. Melba Liston always struck me as very under-rated. A very fine arranger for the Gillespie big band and a most consistent soloist. She was at a Gillespie Reunion Big Band gig some years ago but by then was already wheel-chair bound; she was able to sit through the gig with the trombone section as a non-player. Sadly she passed away not too long afterwards..

I've been playing a vinyl of this one with great enjoyment over the past week. I agree that it's long overdue for reissue on CD.

Big thumbs up for 'Jazz Impressions of Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Shades of Love', a wonderfully recorded (direct master) solo set that was put out for Steeplechase.

Cannonball Adderley 'African Waltz', blue label Riverside