sidewinder

There is an exhibition of her photos taking place in a North London gallery this month. I am in London one day next week and tempted to check it out, if I have enough time.

George Wallington Quintet 'Jazz At Hotchkiss' (aka 'Dance of the Infidels'). CBS/Sony pressing from 1974, another from today's batch. Donald Byrd and Phil Woods on good form on this one.

I already had a copy of 'Plectrist' but that nice letter meant I had to pick this up. Sucker for stuff like that.

Today's purchase, Japanese Edition. Came with a nice letter from Billy intending to explain the music - presumably to one of his students. Unexpected find ! A bit of a punt in today's haul.

I've given this 'new batch' Cornbread a listen with volume cranked up and it sounds lovely to me. Very clear and punchy. No obvious warbling on 'Ceora' that I can hear. Maybe they have re-done the mastering? At some stage I will run a check against my NY mono copy.

I've held off shipping until the whole batch is complete too. Perhaps they have had another problem with the booklet for the latest CD, requiring a reprint?

I have an original and it is definitely blue !

I never saw Supersax (although enjoyed their LPs in my younger days) but did get to see Med Flory over several days of performances in 1999 along with Bill Perkins, Conte Candoli and others. He was excellent both as leader and soloist.

Thanks for those thoughts, David. It was indeed a really nice night and the standing ovation well earned for a band which, as you say, is pretty special. Yes, the guy doing the intro mentioned the 6am bit. Sounds like one heck of a day to get to the gig - respect and thanks to you all. Hope you come back over here to tour again soon. Hopefully also beyond London !

That's a nice set in the Tone Poet series.

Just to mention that London Jazz News today has some comments about this performance - in-house sound being compromised and Billy Hart's volume set too loud. I was in the 3rd row and expected a bit of a loud, muddy sound so this didn't register too much. The article makes special mention of Cecil McBee and Eddie Henderson's playing, which aligns with my impressions on the night.

Not had any trouble playing any of them on my deck. Don't have this version of the Carmell Jones though. I will give Cornbread a spin for a 'warble check' tonight.

I recall mention of a 6am start so not surprising really. Given that and the ages of most of the band members, I thought they did brilliantly.

Yeah, that rings a bell. It did seem a bit strange that Billy wasn't named at that intro but things quickly moved on. Maybe fellow board member and Lead Cooker David W. might comment but there was mention at the start of the concert that the band had had a very long day.

That's correct, it's sessions not previously released under Music Matters (these are covered under the Classics series). Possibly then prioritised by Joe Harley preferences and/or wish lists.

There was a point in the performance where Billy was introduced as 'the drummer' on a feature for him, after someone in the audience shouted 'what about the drummer?' after the intros at the end of a previous tune. My perception at the time is that it was a simple slip up taken in good spirit. There didn't seem to be any obvious tension that I could see. Billy played pretty loud from the start but I thought that this well suited the performance.

I must be going blind as I didn't even notice that ! The obvious question for Tony Higgins is - when is the next batch of the 'British Jazz Explosion' coming out, or has it gone the way of the Norwegian Blue? Presumably as a 'Rare Groove' back in the 90s.

Ha ! I guess the space to be vacated by the Blue Note pop-up could be available..

Yes, I think 'Action' is in the Mosaic. And Stanley T. ! Some awesome deals have been offered Stateside. That Halloween deal was almost a giveaway and sent the Hoffman Board into raptures. Sadly, across the Atlantic we only get Tone Poet scraps.

You could always go the Ed Dipple of Mole Jazz route and rent a lock-up..

So far the only ones which jump out and say 'buy me' are possibly 'Medina' and 'Action'. I would be interested in 'Iska' too. Most of the rest I will be happy to live with originals and/or Japanese reissues.

Yep, I picked up a copy of Cedar Walton 'First Set' on Steeplechase in the S/H section. There was some nice second hand vinyl offerings in there plus decent selection of Tone Poets etc. Jazz books too. It's nice that Kings Cross now has a decent jazz outlet to finally take over the baton left by Mole (all trace of which now seems to have been obliterated). Re: Charles. Last time I saw him was at Cheltenham Town Hall I think but I've also seen him at Carnegie Hall back in the 90s. I still can't believe it was him !

Ron's just finished his first set at Cadogan Hall and his trademark glissandos were much in evidence, along with his 'walking' style. Made it all look so effortless. He dedicated the first set to the late Richard Davis, with some nice words in tribute. I saw Buster with his quartet on one occasion - and to my delight they did 'Firewater'.

There were only 5 or 6 people in the store when Charles was in there so to say it was a stealth visit would be an understatement ! The concert tomorrow should be good.

Just also to add that the guy in the store confirmed that they had several boxes of Tone Poets brought in specially from the US with Tone Poets otherwise currently unavailable here. 'Cornbread' is in that category. Honest Jon's also just opposite, which is nice.