sidewinder

Ah - Cornet Studios I guess. Thanks ! (Not sure why I thought there was a French connection to this one..)

Yep, a good one. Almost a prototype of the later sessions with the bigger lineups. Karl Drevo on tenor sax. Wasn't that one recorded by Pathe?

'Nakatini Suite' from 'Leeway' being played by them during the early morning hours.

"The CD concludes with a whimsical take of “When I’m Sixty-Four,” Aw - I was really looking forward to that one !

Indeed. Nice light bulb !

'Agharta' and 'Pangaea' !

Thanks - Just checking this out. Some great shows on this list, how did I miss them?

I remember seeing one of these polls in MM around 1976/77ish so they ran until the mid-70s at least. Don't recall them later than that though. In the 70s the MM could be an excellent jazz resource. I recall articles by Steve Lake and Richard Williams discussing the likes of Miles Davis 'Dark Magus'/'Pangaea' Japanese Imports (unknown entity at the time), the sonic experiments of Basil Kirchin and discussions of rare Sun Ra on Saturn. Pretty damn cool ! There were also very nice cartoon-style illustrations of British Jazz musicians of the time (by Mal Dean, I think).

'Destination Out' Conn CD about 10 times.

I do have a copy of Inner Glow on tape...it's an interesting record. Some good stuff, but Harold I think only gets one solo on the whole album. I do hope Mosaic releases it though! A Lazy Afternoon is fantastic. Wow, you saw him live. Sadly I started getting into his music just shortly before he passed away, so I never had the pleasure of seeing him. Tim It was a memorable open-air concert in California. After the gig I got chance to chat to Harold for 5 minutes or so. I was hoping that he'd do a tour of the UK but sadly there were no plans and it never happened. It must have been many years since he played over here and I got the impression it must have been Ronnie Scotts decades ago. Very nice cat !

I've spent pretty much of the day here enjoying some of Jackie's greatest Blue Note albums and if anything the brilliance and pinnache of these recordings only becomes even more apparent. What a truly great body of work this is - and that's before I even think about the Prestige/New Jazz's. It is astonishing that not one major news site has announced this sad news in a tribute. Appalling..

It's probably 'Super Bone Meets The Bad Man' from Maynard's 'Chameleon' which has triggered off this thought - thinking of 'Astrorama' in particularly. I think/hope Jim will like the 'Off Limits' recording. Just listening to the Rearward LP and it's stunning.

Thanks, but could you clarify some more, please? The DG review makes it sound as if it's an album that flirts w/"free", and you're saying that it reminds you of Maynard's early 70s work. Is it a little bit of both? I remember when "free" and "jazz/rock" were actually somewhat compatible, so I'd welcome it if such was the case! Yep, it flirts with both styles. Not a 'free' recording by any stretch of the imagination - the main influence in this area is in the free-ish collective improvisations incorporated into some of the tracks (e.g. 'Astrorama). In terms of sound it has all of the usual CBBB hall-marks of dynamics and impecabble section work but also adventurous charts by Boland from tunes by Surman, Mangelsdorff and Jean Luc Ponty. Boland also plays electric piano on this LP. Check out the sound samples on the Schema site !

Not sure if I can add much more to the review other than agree with it and comment that some of the sounds on this LP remind me of contemporary big bands of this era who were stretching out into the jazz-rock domain such as Maynard Ferguson. Emphasis is very much on a big brass sound - good example being 'Astrorama'. Loud, brash and very enjoyable. Reissue of this one is available on CD and LP from Rearward. Rearward Reissues

Anyone know if Rearward/Schema have any more CBBB new releases/reissues up their sleeves?

Thanks evan - I'll do my spring housekeeping and send you the address !

I've always been disappointed with the sound on that live Laserlight/RTE (not sure which) double CD. Doesn't really do the band justice, although any CBBB is worth having. 'At Her Majesty's Pleasure' is a really good one. All of the tracks named after famous UK prisons/penitentiaries. I think one of the band (Griffin?) was having UK tax problems at the time and detect the wit of Ronnie Scott behind this one. Magnificent feature for Tony Coe on one of the tracks ('Holloway', I think - very fitting title), I don't think he's ever done anything better. Wish I'd had the chance to see these guys during one of their seasons at Ronnie's.

This was a fantastic big band - one of the very first I heard on recordings (the 'More Smiles' album) and a match in my view for Thad and Mel, which is saying something. Fantastic pool of the best players from mainland Europe and Uk with some US 'ringers' thrown in. I think I've got all of the LPs apart from the Gitte and half of the 'Folk Bag'. All are rewarding - worth adding also the 'Golden Eight' recorded for Blue Note and the later Boland albums ('White Heat', 'Red Hot' and 'Blue Flame') for MPs. I'm also a huge fan of those Rearward compilations - beautifully put together and available from Schema. Yes, I think the story was that Humble's sad passing, combined with that of Ake Persson, took away much of the 'heart' of the band and led to its demise. Fortunately they recorded a fair bit and much of it was very well captured by the SABA engineers.

Another fine unsung Land album (and one not too difficult to get hold of) is 'Mapenzi', recorded with Blue Mitchell for Concord Jazz. A good example of his later work.

Count me in also as a very big Harold Land fan, there are quite a few threads on his work on this site which delve into the various recordings. Of the obscurities of note it's worth mentioning Bobby Hutcherson's 'Inner Glow' (King Blue Note, hopefully to be reissued by Mosaic as part of a Mosaic Select) and that lovely laid-back session with strings 'A Lazy Afternoon'. What amazed me was that as recent as 1999 when I caught his band at a gig he was still playing in that exploratory style he used on the Land/Hutcherson albums. Obviously influenced by Coltrane but with his own somewhat angular/sour tone adding an intriguing edge and element of unpredictability. A wonderfully individual tenor stylist - always instantly recognisable.

Strange timing for this AOW in light of the recent very sad news.. Have been giving the Conn of this one a spin today, in between the Jackie McLean Blue Note vinyl. Very fine. What touches me is not only the passion and fire but the superbly balanced programme which mixes the forward looking ('Love and Hate'/'Esoteric') with the final track 'Riff Raff' where Jackie seems to be reaching back to some of the sounds and groove from 'Bluesnik'. Great album. Roy Haynes on drums is also a major factor for me behind the success of this one. Fits in like a glove !

And all I can say, part way into this stack, is that 'Jackie Lives !'

Thanks Tjobbe ! I think those 'Story' boxes are in the small-box format. That will be awesome if the Coltrane arrives in the big box format.

Are these new boxes (the Coltrane, Tatum etc) still in the big-box format or the previous mini-box?

Splendid choice ! Have been groovin' along to this fine set all week, some electrifying (sorry about that) stuff in this set.