sidewinder

Tone Poet version. Trounces the old French DMM copy and also the (better) Toshiba CD by some distance. Lovely issue. Fine as the ‘Classic’ series is, the Tone Poets are worth the extra. One can also hear the fine arranging hand of Cal Massey in both sessions.

Picked up today in order to try out the ‘Classic’ series. Wow - can’t recall ever having heard a better version. Will be buying some more of these. Leaves my Liberty cassette copy for dust.

Next up in the lovely Mosaic box.. Just realised that I have photos with Inter-Rail friends taken at pretty well that exact Paris spot with one of us holding the Eifel Tower in the palm of the hand.

From the Mosaic Mobley 60s box.

Agreed - both are excellent. Sonny Greenwich a great addition on ‘Third Season’. Great set, this one from Mosaic. I remember buying ‘Slice..’on LP at the time of original issue (on a UK UA ‘Jazz File’ series offering) and being absolutely gobsmacked at just how good it was, music and arrangements. ‘Third Season’ I picked up years later, ironically in Greenwich’s home territory of Canada, not an easy find in the UK as a US import.

‘Slice of the Top’ on CD4 - never sounded better.

Has anyone bought any of the MPS/SABA EPs that Wallen Bink put out last year and have any opinion on them? Some interesting stuff - Nathan Davis, Wolfgang Dauner, Fats Sadi.

The ‘78 Herd I remember seeing had Lyle Mays and Frank Tiberi in the lineup as I recall it, also strongly featuring trumpeter Alan Vizutti. A group of us got to go backstage after the concert and I remember being struck by just how short Woody was in the flesh. I don’t recall Nick Brignola that night. The lineup I saw at Ronnie’s several years later was actually filmed live for a national broadcast slot that night. To this day, I’ve never seen that film nor do I know if it has survived (30 minute broadcast before the regular club sets). By that stage the major tax fraud thing (by his accountant?) had hit and Woody would have struggled to put anything together I guess. Tragic.

The Henry Lowther 2CD set is particularly good, guitarist Phil Lee is prominent. This was a group that I don’t think recorded commercially but it did appear on radio. I saw Trevor Watts about a month ago (excellent) so the CD under his name should be an interesting listen and comparison. The Neil Ardley bio should be out ‘before the end of the year’, apparently. Too bad that vinyl releases are still in quagmire.

I have that one on DVD. From my recollection Melle is filmed surrounded by some of his vintage car collection.

Good to be reminded of this set. Need to dig out again plus I have no problem spinning 45rpm EPs without faff these days !

From what I could see, there were Jimmy Heath tracks on one of the CDs which are not on the 3 double LPs. I think Wallen Bink’s Facebook page also mentions at least one track on these LPs which were not on the CDs. My LPs arrived from London today. First impressions are very positive - well recorded and re-mastered for vinyl. Level of quality/presentation is up to Tone Poet standards (without any worries about wow/flutter that is!)

Sadly, not an option today. First impressions of the Henderson are very positive. Very nice pressings and cover quality.

My bundle of these doubles has just arrived in the mail - amazingly fast. Will be spinning once the working day is over.

I know him from the Art Farmer ‘Gentle Eyes’ on Mainstream. In fact, ‘Soulsides’ from that session is also included in a new version on the double album with Art Farmer. Those CDs weren’t cheap when they came out and I only ever saw one the once over here. Now pretty well impossible to get - I’ve kept searching. Problem solved now though !

The tracks there were previously issued on a couple of GermanAustrian CDs which are difficult to get hold of (and which have been the subject of discussion on this board). Radio material from ORF but of a very good quality and well recorded. Wallen Bink were offering these 3 sets as a ‘discounted’ bundle. Updated to say just put in my order too as I had my eye on these. The ‘bundle’ purchase option (in fact all purchase options ) have for some reason suddenly disappeared from the WB site. May be a glitch, a temporary restock/repress or WB on holiday perhaps but not taking any chances so HJ via Royal Mail it is. Those SABA singles they have put out look pretty cool too.

Yes that’s right, it was ‘76 to ‘78 when things picked up, at least as I remember it. The Blakey album I remember from that time over here getting airplay was ‘Gypsy Folk Tales’ on Pye. Prior to that the previous release I recall domestically was that ‘Bop Session’ and ‘In Walked Sonny’ on Sonet, not with the Messengers - more low profile. Those Dex Columbia releases (‘Homecoming plus the one with the larger group, ‘Sophisticated Giant’) were also well received and indicative of the positive momentum. Also on the plus side around that time there were more jazz vinyl specialist stores opening up here, especially London. Odd, as the economy sucked !

A good prompt to get that set out and give it an overdue ‘airing’. That was a good time, when the likes of Beehive and Xanadu were putting out all those modern/mainstream releases after the drought of years before.

Tone Poet - love Kenny Dorham’s Playing on this one - there again, when did he never deliver the goods? Another winner from messrs Harley and Gray.

Cuneiform CD

Personally, I miss the old print edition Jazz Journal with the decent covering of more mainstream styles and less pandering to the ‘latest and greatest’. Sadly, that critical contingent (Alun Morgan, Max Harrison, Barry Macrae et al) has mostly left us now and those days won’t be back. ’Jazzwise’ does have some decent articles by the likes of Stuart Nicholson but it is very much padded out with advertising, I find. I recall him reviewing one of Chris Albertson’s ‘Gay Jazz’ compilation releases back in the 70s (not sure of the label, Stash maybe) and it kicked off one heck of a rumpus in the letter column for the next few months. Graham Collier wrote in with a cutting letter of objection. I have those issues in a bound folder - will have to check them out.

Could well be. I think there were only 25 or so in that series, maybe that’s all that survived in recoverable condition? Sad, in any case as this was a fine label endeavour by Schlitten. At least Rowles’ ‘Heavy Love’ with Al Cohn got a CD reissue in that Master Edition.

Yes, it is good. I wonder if this is one of the ones where the tape was damaged by the hurricane?

If my memory is right, it was left of the stage at the end, on one of those ‘steps’. Pretty close to Art though ! It was the band with Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison, early 1983.

I can confirm that Ronnie’s was packed out with ‘believers’ of all ages in those comeback appearances late 70s/early 80s (remember having to sit on the floor on one of them). The reputation was, as Mark says, largely from the 50s and 60s work.