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Mark Stryker
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Posts posted by Mark Stryker
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10 minutes ago, Eric said:
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The four I listen to regularly:
Volume 1 (Blue Note)
Now’s The Time (RCA)
Standard Sonny Rollins (RCA)
Silver City (best of Milestone comp)
I checked out the two RCA’s based on Mark Stryker’s list on the board. I have come to adore them. Same adoration for Volume 1. Also spend a lot of time with +3.
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1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:Here is my list of Favorite Sonny Rollins records.
As you can readily see, my preference is strongly for Rollins early period.
1. Saxophone Colossus - Prestige
2. Newk's Time - Blue Note
3. Vol.2 - Blue Note
4. Worktime - Prestige
5. Live at The Village Vanguard - Blue Note
6. Way Out West - Contemporary
7. Vol.1 - Blue Note
8. On Impulse - Impulse
9. The Sound of Sonny - Riverside
10. Alfi - Impulse
11. Sonny Boy - Prestige
12. Moving Out - Prestige
👍All great of course.
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1 hour ago, dougcrates said:
Pulled out my Workshop Jazz LPs this morning.
#JazzFromDetroit!!
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17 minutes ago, JSngry said:
That's a great track. I like the whole record quite a bit. This one has always been a favorite.
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Sonny Rollins: A Personal Top 10 and Bonus Tracks. Official releases, unreleased material, and bootleg live
performances. The order of a couple of these could shift but titles probably not, though I am still trying to figure out how to squeeze "G-Man" into my bonus tracks. The center of gravity is weighted decisively toward the 1960s.Top 10
1. A Night at the Village Vanguard, 1957 (Blue Note)
2. Paris concert, 11/4/65
3. The Standard Sonny Rollins, 1964 (RCA)
4. Alfie, 1966 (Impulse)
5. Newk’s Time, 1957 (Blue Note)
6. The Sound of Sonny, 1957 (Riverside)
7. Now’s The Time, 1964 (RCA)
8. Saxophone Colossus, 1956 (Prestige)
9. Newport Jazz Festival, 7/7/63
10. Falling in Love with Jazz, 1989. (Milestone)
Bonus Tracks in chronological order
1. There’s No Business Like Show Business (Worktime), 1955 (Prestige)
2. Misterioso (Sonny Rollins Vol. 2), 1957 (Blue Note)
3. Freedom Suite (Freedom Suite), 1958 (Riverside)
4. If Ever I Would Leave You (What’s New), 1962 (RCA)
5. Lover, Village Gate, 7/28/62
6. Oleo, Paris, 10/31/65
7. Three Little Words, Copenhagen concert, 9/6/68
8. First Moves (The Cutting Edge), 1974 (Milestone)
9. Best Wishes (Road Shows Vol. 1), 1986 (Milestone)
10. Darn that Dream (Old Flames), 1993 (Milestone)Break Down by Decade:
1950s: 4 LPs, 3 bonus tracks
1960s: 3 LPs, 2 complete bootleg performances, 4 bonus tracks
1970s: 0 LPs, 1 bonus track
1980s: 1 CD, 1 bonus track
1990s: 0 CDs, 1 bonus track
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On 9/17/2022 at 5:59 PM, JSngry said:
That would seem like bad production then. You book the time, you book the players, you should have an expectation about what you're going to have.
Maybe there were complications the day of the date, but still... Maybe it was Elvin's call. But it just seems weird
Closing the circle on this: Per Liebman's liner notes to the Elvin set on Mosaic, Perla had a third composition ready to go on the date that was part of planned trilogy with his other two pieces, but for some reason the producer cut the date short -- Liebman doesn't name him but it was George Butler. Definitely odd and mars what is otherwise a very rewarding record.
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6 hours ago, Gheorghe said:
Yesterday I saw that concert "Music for Wayne", Mr. Lightsey with Paul Zauner tb, Wolfram Derschmidt (b) and my favourite drummer Dusan Novakov.
There was also a very very fine alto saxophonist, but his name was not advertised so maybe he was a last minute add for unknown reasons.A part of the repertory was songs written by Wayne or dedicated to him. I remember "Fee - Fo-Fum" which Lightey had recorded in 1983, then the wonderful "Infant Eyes" and McCoy Tyners "Contemplation", but there was also other songs and some blues in Bb.
One of the finest moments towards the end was the drum solo by the wonderful drummer Dusan Novakov
After the concert I met Mr. Lightsey to talk with him, just a wonderful gentleman, and I had the LP from 1983 with me (the one on which Chet Baker is sittin in for two tunes), which also has some Wayne Shorter songs (among them "Fee-Fo-Fum" ). and got it signed.
It was a wonderful evening I enjoyed very much.
KIrk Lightsey -- #JazzFromDetroit
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I loved "Maestro" and would encourage anyone to see it. It is not a traditional biopic and that is a strength, not a weakness. Yes, it focuses on Bernstein's personal life -- it is a character study -- particularly his relationship with his wife, Felicia, and children and how he navigated this territory as a gay or bisexual man, born teacher, and an artist of the first order; and in some ways the film is as much about Felicia as it is about Lenny. You do get a real sense of Bernstein as an artist, as a vessel for music, and for the way he was pulled in many directions and that being so good at so many things was not always helpful to his psyche. The film is melancholy. There is a TON of great music throughout the picture but it is not a music history lesson. The film is not perfect but it is very good, sometimes great, often inventive.
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36 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:
what did Ellis do? Also, I would suggest you avoid University presses like the plague. I have made a decent amount off of my books, all self published. U presses don't pay, even royalties, and you cannot trust small presses who never do an honest accounting.
Interjecting here to say that while I certainly cannot speak for all university presses or Allen's experiences, the University of Michigan Press paid me a modest advance for Jazz from Detroit -- half upon signing the contract, half upon delivery of the manuscript -- and I have received royalties annually since publication. Now, it is an exceedingly small return, particularly given the years of work involved and my own dollars that went into it -- I had to pay for the indexing and some of the photo acquisitions. I have no doubt that Allen's self-published books have netted him a higher return per title than my book did through a university press. But it has not been nothing.
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Glenn Gould's only recording on organ to my knowledge. 1962 release.
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Folks are sleeping on one of the greatest solo piano records in the canon -- "Have You Met Hank Jones" (Savoy), recorded in 1956. It also was reissued on LP as as "Solo Piano" in the 1970s. It's peerless -- the best of Hank's solo records and I'd put it up against anything by anyone.
Coda: Was glad to see Roland Hanna mentioned by way of "Free Spirit" -- he was truly a profound solo pianist, more compelling in the idiom that any of his contemporaries. I would note that "Free Spirit,} which you sometimes see titled as "Solo Piano," is a double CD reissue and star of the show is the 1979 LP "Swing Me No Waltzes" that makes up half the set -- Roland's best record. Also, I find the CD sound disappointing. Thin and tinny and not faithful to Roland's fulsome sound and the better sonics of the original LPs.
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4 hours ago, Gheorghe said:
Oh, I love that ballad, I know it from the famous Billy Eckstine recording from "Mr.B and the Band" and always wanted to perform it. Such a wonderful ballad, but not many horn players have it "ad hoc" in their repertory and since I usually have to play what is told to me just before the gig starts, there won´t be so many occasions for performing it.
And that "rhythm section" might be the best you can imagine. Would be nice to hear it. What album is it ?
The LP was titled "Love Is The Thing" (Red Records) but, ironically, that song wasn't included. This is my favorite track.
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On 12/8/2023 at 8:05 PM, AllenLowe said:
I know Grossman is a complicated figure, and the conventional wisdom, based, AFAIK, on recordings, is that after his early years he took up with the style of Sonny Rollins and lost his way. Mark in particular has written well about Grossman's stylistic wanderings, which jibed with what I had heard of his playing - and then - and then - I found a series of live footage on Youtube of him playing "Live on Tokyo" and I would venture to say that now, at least to me, all bets are off. Yes, he has backed off a lot from his Coltrane-ish attitude, and assumed more of a post-bop thing, but on these videos he has gathered it all together and turned it into some of the most comprehensively inventive sorta-bebop playing I have ever heard - but it's really much more. His sound, technique, harmonic grasp, makes these performances some of the best saxophone playing extant after, I would say, 1980 - gone is any real hint of Sonny Rollins mimicking, though of course that influence is still there. Listen to this, just one of several things floating around Youtube from this incredible performance:
where's that guy who said I never like anything? Out torturing flies?
Sorry the delay in responding. I was locked out of the site for a while. This is great stuff. I've heard some other Grossman from around this same period --1986 -- that is fantastic and related to his playing on "Love Is The Thing" from the same period with Walton, Williams, Higgins --easily Grossman's best post-1980 record. There was a moment when he seemed to be synthesizing his earlier "Trane" inspiration with his later "Rollins" inspiration and reach a whole new level. I think this was relatively short lived but when he was on, it was FANTASTIC. I need to spend more time with the live tapes from the 1980s, 90s and beyond to continue to hone my thoughts -- not necessarily to overall my entire thesis but to account for the greatness that never entirely left him.
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I saw the Detroit production referenced here. There are still some issues with the libretto but the whole makes an impact. Not a perfect opera, but a powerful one, especially in terms of music and stagecraft.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/arts/music/malcolm-x-opera-met.html
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Cover story in the latest issue of the Nation.
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This quest has vexed me too -- to find quality LP versions of this material in good sound with smart curation that includes correct and/or superior takes.
My first Charlie Parker record as a kid, c. 1975 was "Byrd Symbols" on Charlie Parker Records. I still think it's the best single LP selection of Dial material, but the version I had was obviously simulated stereo and as I got older, I grew to dislike it sonically. So, question: Are there earlier mono or reissued mono versions of this record that anyone can vouch for?
Have always wondered what the sound quality of the Joker LPs. Anybody got an opinion on this?
I got the 2LP Warner Brothers set up on release but was always disappointed in that, as I recall, several tracks are inferior alternate takes rather than the masters (and didn't match my Bird Symbols LP) and all the ballads are frontloaded on Side 1. (Side 2 of Bird Symbols is mostly ballads, but "Scrapple" is there to break up the monotony of tempo. The sound is good but the pressing quality is dubious, and many copies I've heard have been flawed. Caveat Emptor. That said, the packaging is aces, including the insert with reproductions of a half dozen Parker-themed paintings by significant artists inspired by Bird -- those inserts are VERY scarce now.
I've not heard the 2-LP Spotlight compilation but I can see from photos that it has a problem that, in my view, plagues MANY compilations of this material, especially the CD collections. The first take of "Embraceable You" is one of the greatest (and most frequently analyzed) ballad performances in jazz history, but far too often it gets left out of compilations in favor of the second take (which is good but not nearly as fine as take 1) because of the general principal that the master take is the final take that the band did in the studio. Whether or not that's generally true, this is one case where the smart choice for reissue producers to go with take 1 (which, by the way, is the one on "Bird Symbols" and the Warner Bros twofer.) I am curious which take of "Embraceable You" was actually the one that was first released on Dial on 78. Anyone know?
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50 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:
Oddly underwhelming obits. I don't know what I was expecting, but I had wrongly assumed her life would be widely celebrated. She seems to have far less recognition than other recent jazz deaths.
Alternatively, maybe there is just a lot going on.
I don't understand the complaint. Are you referring to the reaction among board member or attention in the wider media landscape? The NYT had a substantial obit posted quickly that had obviously been pre-written -- a sign of the respect with which she was held. Here's a list of obits via Google. Not all are in depth but it's a different media environment than 25 years ago.
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The downside to the '70s domestic Genius of Charlie Parker LPs on Verve was that they are simulated stereo. The Japanese LP versions from the '80s are an improvement for sure but not ideal either in that the drums/cymbals are disappointingly low in the mix. Clean copies of the older domestic Verve issues from the '50s and '60s, whether in the Charlie Parker Story series (three volume, yes?) or the Genius of Charlie Parker series or various individual LP releases not in any series -- or even the three Bird twofers from the '70s -- almost always sound better to me than the Japanese reissues of this material.
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17 minutes ago, JSngry said:
That's an amazing record. Truly amazing .
So full session tapes exist?
Put me down for that, please!
Here's an index to part of the Avakian archives at the New York Public Library. Use the guide on the left and click on the Series IV: Audio and Video Recordings. Scroll down to see recordings from the sessions he produced that are available to anyone for study. He probably took these home as reference recordings and/or editing. https://archives.nypl.org/mus/22589?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#detailed
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Lewis Porter gives us a previously unreleased "Three Little Words" from the Sonny Meets Hawk session. Incredible stuff, especially from Hawkins, who comes at Sonny on the younger man's turf. Point made.
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39 minutes ago, jazzbo said:
The Julius Watkins Sextet “Vols. 1 & 2” Blue Note cd
Happy birthday, Julius Watkins, born in Detroit on October 10, 1921. #JazzFromDetroit
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On 9/7/2023 at 12:03 AM, ghost of miles said:
Starting this one—looks promising. Anybody on the board cracked it yet?
Yes. Valuable book, especially the insightful, close readings of individual films, and draws out themes and connect the dots between films and generations.
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FWIW, I wrote this a few years ago about my favorite Charlie Parker live recordings. It's been post on the forum in Jazz in Print threads, but seems like this is a good place and time to post it again. Had a lot of fun putting this together.
https://ethaniverson.com/live-bird-is-the-best-bird-by-mark-stryker/
The Worst Masterpiece: "Rhapsody in Blue" at 100, by Ethan Iverson
in Classical Discussion
Posted
Moderators -- cutting and pasting an entire article, as Teasing has done -- even with a link included -- is copyright infringement. It's stealing, adding one more nail into the coffin of the media and putting folks like me and my colleagues out of work. Please remedy.