sidewinder

I saw Miles at his 1982 gig at Hammersmith Odeon, London. His first concert at Hamersmith since 1967 with Shorter and co. so expectations were high amongst the London crowd (this was the second night of a two or three night engagement I think). An atmosphere of major expectation that night. Memories are a bit hazy after all these years but the fraility of his appearance left a striking impression. He hobbled onto the stage with support of a stick (must have had a recurrence of the old hip problem), was a bit tentative at first but towards the end some of the old strength came back. Don't remember 'Ife' being played but it could well have been. What I do remember is 'My Man's Gone Now' and the inevitable 'Jean-Pierre' as the closer. The band, as I recall, featured Mike Stern pretty heavily and also Bill Evans. Al Foster I think was on drums. Sounded nothing like the 'Agharta' band, by the way.. The next time I saw him was at the RFH in 1985. By that time Bob Berg was on sax and John Scofield was in the lineup. Al Foster I think had left by then (that gig must have been just before the 'Aura' recording). Miles played a bit of organ/synth on this one, with Robert Irving II also on board. He was looking in significantly better shape at this concert. The best performance I saw from Miles though was in Toronto in 1990 at the Massey Hall. A fantastic performance, it was uncanny the way that he almost mezmerised the audience. I was right up front at this concert and it was fascinating the way that Miles directed the band members - almost like choreography.

Gotta have this super-rare Chet Baker CD.. Baker Mega Rarity

The Mosaic Studio LPs have just gone into heavy rotation by way of celebrating this great anniversary. Happy B-day to the one and only Count !

Have been giving a listen to the 47 W 63rd deep groove of 'Byrd In Flight' over the past few days and I'm stunned at the big sound and presence. Probably the finest sounding BN original that I have heard. Lex Humphries' drum sound is just spectacular on 'Ghana'.

A copy of the 'New Directions' LP by the David Mack orchestra. Mid-60s UK experimental session put out on UK Columbia with Shake Keane and Coleridge Goode. Never even seen a copy of this one before, looking forward to hearing it.

Sam Rivers Walt Dickerson Marshall Allen Louis Smith Bud Shank Herb Geller Lennie Niehaus Bill Holman

I'll second that. A very good album !

With both this set and the Teddy Wilson breathing down my neck, this is going to be yet another expensive Mosaic month..

Thanks for this - looks like its getting perilously close to 'last calls' on this set.

The recent freak floods in Cornwall, England, do seem to indicate that something is badly amiss with our climate.

This morning - Grassella Oliphant 'The Grass Is Greener' (Atlantic, a Big John Patton/Grant Green album in disguise) and James Moody 'Don't Look Away Now' (Prestige).

I strongly recommend this Oliver Nelson classic on Impulse as a starter album !

Paris Jazz Corner would be worth a visit I think (I've never visited the shop but just know it from the website, www.parisjazzcorner.com). Their address is 5 rue de Navarre, 75005 Paris (I believe the nearest metro is Place Monge or Jussieu, at least according to their flyer). Very much a top vinyl specialist.

Those Impulse Red/Black labels of the late 60s sound pretty nice ! I have a couple of Pharoah Sanders on that imprint..

On the deck at the moment is 'Jazz Is Universal' on Atlantic (red/purple label) by the inimitable Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band. To follow that will be 'Rise and Fall of the Third Stream' by Joe Zawinul on Vortex.

Great stuff Marcus! This BFT is still getting lots of airplay in my car, it hangs together really well as a collection. Just love that Meirelles track !

Stanley Turrentine 'Up at Mintons Vol 1'. NY USA on side 1, 47 W 63rd on side 2. Sound is so good that you are almost in the audience at Mintons.. I have the day off work today so time to catch up on some serious vinyl contemplation and open up a couple of Mosaics !

That's a nice tribute on there from Woody III. Thanks for the link !

That was me who picked this one up. Shipping within the UK will be £5, making a grand total of £73.66 for this set. I'm pretty damn chuffed, to say the least..

Closely followed by Miles Davis 'Bitches Brew' (CBS quadraphonic) - inspired by another thread !

Just checking out my Impulses in the rack right now. The other one I have from that US/UK release batch is 'Africa Brass'. As you say, the vinyl is super quiet, hardly a crackle, just an awesome LP. The second batch of these I recall actually had UK sleeves (they were not so substantial ) but the vinyl quality was again excellent. I have 'Coltrane', 'Out of the Cool' and 'Mingus Mingus Mingus..' from this batch. The worst problem I've had has been with those double LP 'Dedication Series' sets. Some wonderful music on these but the vinyl sucks...

Steve Lacy 'Evidence' with Don Cherry on New Jazz. Nice !

Clunky - I can tell you exectly when these came out. Summer of 1976. I remember picking up a bundle with some of my very hard earned Summer job cash. The jackets were from the US and a bit worn, even as new. The vinyl was pristine - in fact the version of 'Love Supreme' I have from this vintage is about the best I've ever heard. From that first batch I also picked up 'Blues and the Abstract Truth'. At the time they were a source of major excitement, as Impulses were pretty thin on the ground here in the UK (I believe that the originals were issued here in the UK on the HMV label with dog logo - I have an Archie Shepp LP with this). The one Impulse pressing that I thoroughly hate are those mid-70s flimsy green pressings. Every time I look at them they just reek of 70s oil price escalation and third-hand inferior vinyl. And they are always invariably warped..

I chose 'Miles Runs the Voodoo Down' in the quadraphonic version (mindblowing ) but I've always had a huge fondness for the version of 'Sanctuary' on this album. This was the first Miles Davis I ever bought (the Mati Klarwein design on the cover sucked me in) and one which still throws up great riches even now. I recall with amusement my 'what the XXXX is this' reaction on hearing 'Pharoah's Dance' for the first time all those years ago. The start of a long and fascinating journey into the Milesian universe...

Horace Silver 'Serenade to a Soul Sister' Liberty pressing. To be followed by Mike Westbrook Concert Band 'Release' (Deram) and Kenny Burrell 'Freedom' (King BN).