sidewinder

Great thread - a good excuse to give the Larry Young Mosaic set a well deserved airing. I can't find any mention of Larry in the 'Chaisin' the Trane' book but on page 2 of the Mosaic booklet is the following: ...He struck up an acquaintance with Coltrane, who was fascinated by Larry's conversion to the Suni Muslim faith (Larry would later use his Muslim name Khalid Yasim on some occasions). Never one to go for dogma or unyeilding doctrine, Larry drew from religion a deep spirituality and unity which is sadly lost on those who 'follow' rather than 'think' in any sect. Coltrane connected with this way of thinking, and a strong friendship developed to the point that their families would often gather at Coltrane's Huntington, Long Island home in '65 and '66 where he and Larry would play duets for hours. Unfortunately, no documentation of those musical encounters exists....' I think this paragraph explains a key factor underlying much of Larry's inspired work from the mid-60s onwards.

The Teddy Wilson vinyl set must be coming up for retirement soon too ...

Yes, it's a nice session. Worth hearing for the work by Coleman and Priester. That kickoff track by George Coleman (I forget what it's titled) seems to played quite a lot by George in his various quartets over the years. It has a nice, challenging and fast chord sequence that he usually tears apart.

Can anyone comment on how the sound on the new Conn compares with that on the Mosaic please ? (Hearing about all these fantastic new Conns is getting unbearable for us Euro-dwellers, who have to wait a while before getting our mits on them, especially with all of the rave reviews I'm seeing for 'Passing Ships' )

That must be 'Cedar Walton Plays Cedar Walton', which was put out on OJC and is one of my favorite albums ever, and not only just by Cedar. It has some of the best tracks from 'Cedar!', 'Spectrum' and 'The Electric Boogaloo Song' and the sessions are graced with wonderful work by Billy Higgins and fine trumpet from Kenny Dorham and Blue Mitchell. As a compilation it works a treat, a great listen from end to end .... an uplifting experience. 'Soul Cycle' is one that gets mixed reviews (Penguin Guide likes it, AMG hates it) but I would tend to side with the Penguin Guide. It's more commercial but again it's an extremely amiable album and although Cedar's on an inferior electric piano throughout, it's well worth giving a spin. The Penguin Guide is correct in remarking on the very happy, agreeable groove of this disk. :rsmile:

Blakey's 'A Night at Birdland Vols 1 and 2'. Pretty stunning sound on these, rendering my old Liberty LPs obsolete..

Agreed :- however, the number sequence is usually a very good initial indication to go by and any deviations from this (such as the Rivers) have been fairly well publicised. Now I think about it, I do recall at least one NYC copy of this up on ebay.

Not on ebay but I picked up an LP in London by Al Grey and Jimmy Forrest called 'Out 'Dere' on their short-lived 'Greyforrest' label. The front is very nicely autographed in charcoal by Al with wording 'This is the last and best of Jimmy Forrest .... Al Grey, Dec 3rd 1980'. There were two copies of this in the store. The one with autograph £4, another one without for the princely sum of £3.

It exists between 'Compulsion' and 'The All Seeing Eye' in the numbering sequence, both of which I can vouch as originally issued in Blue/White NYC USA release form. I've yet to come across a NYC pressing of this one though.

Yes, totally agree. There's occasions that you just can't put on your copy of 'Out to Lunch', 'Transition', 'Free For All' etc without risking possibility of a mass exodus so these compilations then come in useful (along with some of the 'lighter fare' BN releases from Duke Pearson, Jack Wilson etc). Not sure about programming a listen to this one after the likes of 'Basra', 'Gigolo' and 'Indestructable' though.

I noticed Fordham's review too. Very complementary, not too many of his reviews get the 5 stars. The latest copy of 'Jazzwise' also has a feature on Vitous and a positive writeup of the album. Interesting info also on Vitous' early years listening to Willis Connover on the radio in Prague (jamming didn't work ) and his move to the US, with early approaches by Herbie Mann, Miles and Zawinul. Interesting read !

Not a term of endearment I'm afraid ! The noun 'a p*nce' roughly translates to either (a one who lives off a prostitute's earnings ie pimp or (b one who moves about somewhat effeminately. Description (a fits the bill for Caine's character in 'Alfie'. Hence description as 'p*ncified'. Very much a 60s Michael Caine type of expression. :rsmile:

Monk Vogue Set Promo Copy Looks like e-bay Mosaic extortion is alive and well. Check out the 'buy it now' price. I wasn't aware that promos merited a premium for these ..

Just recently picked up a Blue Note/Capitol compilation by French DJ/Sampler 'Booster' called 'Chips and Cheers'. This one comes on CD or audiophile vinyl 2LP, which is the one I went for. Mainly a late-60s/early 70s compilation, a bit commercial at times (marketed with the 'Ibiza Chill-Out' market in mind I guess ) but good for that late-nite/laid back groove. The audiophile version sounds pretty stunning too ! Line up includes the 3 Sounds (from 'Vibrations'), Gene Harris, Duke Pearson, Jack McDuff, Elvin Jones ('Pollen'), Eddie Henderson, Donald Byrd, Buddy Rich ( ) Jeremy Steig and Bobbi Humphrey. I've always given Humphrey's BN work a bit of a wide berth in the past but in this context it fits well. There's also another Booster compilation out there called 'Scotch and Sofa' which is even better, with good stuff on there from Lee Morgan, Duke Pearson ('The Phantom') and Electric Byrd again. Both good compilation sets to bring out and try on the 'uninitiated'. Anyone out there on the Board have opinions on these sets and have they made it across the Atlantic for release in the US?

I'm a Grant Green fanatic - especially for the stuff recorded with Larry Young - but I voted Pat Martino to redress the balance a bit. The interplay with Trudy Pitts on 'El Hombre' hits the all-time high note for me and Pat's albums are ALWAYS a class act. :rsmile:

Looks like the guy with the tasteful t-shirt has pulled a coven !

The Bishop 'Coral Keys' also has the huge plus of having Woody Shaw on half of the tracks.

He played alto horn along with the trumpet at high school.

Ouch! I'm a little burnt on AfricaBrass myself. I've played it too many times. I have an RVG CD, NYC blue/white vinyl and DMM Marconi vinyl of it so it's been just a teeny-weeny bit over-exposed, fine album though it is ...

Lee Morgan's 'The Sidewinder'

'Electric Bath' is a superb record - you won't be disappointed ! I've got quite a few of them on vinyl, really need to give them a spin. 'Live at the Fillmore' is pretty wild, very much of its time, must have been great to see live. 'Autumn' as Jim S says above, is also very good - quite experimental in parts, with Ellis featuring his 4-valve trumpet extensively on 'Variations for Trumpet'. Good one . I also need to give 'Essence' a bit more of a spin; my copy of this is on Dutch Fontana :rsmile:

Congratulations and the very best of luck !

Yes, its true. On another occasion a colleague of mine picked up a mint copy of Billy Bauer 'Plectrist' for about the same amount . First impressions of the Johnny Smith are that it's an absolute peach - wonderful interplay with Hank Jones and superb remastered sound. I normally opt for vinyl if I can but the sound on this one is more than acceptable and the sleeve notes are great. A good haul of stuff in that particular store. Good condition Prestige Bergenfield vinyl of Booker Ervin 'Blues Book' and 'Heavy!' plus a nice copy of Booker's 'Structurally Sound' on Pac Jazz. Also a nice 'Fletcher Henderson A Study In Frustration' box set and a Carla Bley 'Escalator' LP box (with the weird runout groove on disc 6 ) for about a tenner each. Good haul o' booty !

Just found a mint second-hand copy of the 'Johnny Smith' for sale over in London this weekend. This was one of the ones that was outstanding to complete the set, never ever seen it in the racks before. Grand total of £7 secured it !