SEK

Kenny Dorham - "Afrocuban", "Una Mas" Von Freeman - "Have No Fear (+1)" Dennis González New Southern Quintet - "Old Time Revival" Chucho Valdés - "Bele Bele en La Habana"

John McLaughlin - "Inner Mounting Flame" Miles Davis - "A Tribute to Jack Johnson", "Big Fun" Pete La Roca - "Basra"

The beauty in music is subjectively perceived. A beauty of music (and of all human expressions, creative and otherwise) arises from the virtually infinite variations that are possible. Among all that variety, Big Al, "Out To Lunch" is apparently not "your cup of tea," and I can't argue against your contention that "any music that needs explaining isn't 'music' to me". But doesn't that fly in the face of, at least, some of the rationale behind your choosing "Out To Lunch" for AOTW? Enough has been discussed and written about this recording over the years so that if you're looking for words that will persuade or support you, one way or another, about this record, it should be easy to find them. At this late/early hour, I can share a few personal impressions: Dolphy (and Mingus), two hometown heroes to me, were two of my main bridges into jazz. As I got into their records, I checked out other records with/by the musicians I heard with Dolphy and Mingus, and branched out from there, mostly into jazz but also, from Dolphy, a little into 20th century European concert music and Japanese shakuhachi music. I've been enjoying "Out To Lunch" for almost 35 years now. At first, it was strange and quite compelling, getting to similar areas in my developing senses that Monk did. I could always hear Monk in "Hat and Beard", and I think I soon also got "Last Date" with Dolphy's marvelous interpretation of "Epistrophy". After a while, it became much more compelling, but any strangeness that I first heard in Dolphy was displaced by a shared sense of melody, soul, rhythm, and fun(k), kind of like Bird at Massey Hall but years later... Another thing that drew me closer to Dolphy's playing was how he incorporated the sounds of "nature" into his music. Growing up in L. A., we both must have heard those same birds that you can hear in his playing, especially on flute. I can also often hear the cars, car horns, airplanes, ... In better times, I used to exercise to this record. Dolphy, Bobby, Richard Davis, and Tony really cook! Freddie is in fine form. I'd be doing a funky, skipping workout on the treadmill. The time would fly by! Oliver Lake has been a long-time champion of Dolphy's music. I find most of his own music and his interpretations of Dolphy compositions interesting in their own right, but they also deepen my appreciation for the singularity of Dolphy himself... If "Out To Lunch" doesn't grab you now, perhaps it will in the future, or perhaps it never will. That's life

Lee Morgan - "Search for the New Land" Wayne Shorter - "Juju" Sam Rivers - his Mosaic Box straight through Eric Dolphy - "Out to Lunch" Eric Dolphy - "Out to Lunch" :tup Eric Dolphy - "Out to Lunch" Oliver Nelson (with Eric Dolphy) - "Straight Ahead"

Reminds me of a One Stop where I worked briefly over 30 years ago (CDs weren't invented yet). Everyone who worked there had an encyclopedic knowledge of LP catalogs. For my own collection of CDs and LPs, I favor a mostly alphabetical arrangement by artist or composer and chronologically within that. I could use the Dewey decimal system, go by color, or do as they did at that record distributor long ago, but the recordings would be much more difficult for me and my wife to access...

Roland Kirk - "Domino" Johnny Griffin - "Way Out!" Yusef Lateef - "Morning" Fred Anderson - "The Missing Link"

My thoughts exactly...

Trevor Watts - "A Wider Embrace", "Innovation" Baikida Carroll - "Orange Fish Tears" Oliver Lake - "Heavy Spirits", "Edge-ing" Billy Harper - "Soran Bushi" Markus Stockhausen - "Karta"

Zane Massey's "Brass Knuckles" gets my vote too.

Hal Russell - "The Hal Russell Story" Thelonious Monk - "Monk's Music", "Brilliant Corners" Steve Lacy/ Roswell Rudd Quartet - "School Days" 8 Bold Souls - "8 Bold Souls", "Last Option" Henry Threadgill Sextet - "You Know the Number", "Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket" Susanne Abbuehl - "April" "The Original Mambo Kings" (compilation) Cubanismo - "Malembe" Tito Puente - "Cuban Carnival"

On the day that I was born (March 6, 1954), Miles Davis recorded a quartet session for Blue Note with Horace Silver that appears on "Miles Davis Vol. 2". I had enjoyed that record for many years before I noticed.

Mine too! There's also a nice version on Donald Byrd's "First Flight" with Yusef Lateef and Barry Harris. I've also heard memorable versions of "Parisian Thoroughfare" played by a Ronnie Mathews trio and by Stanley Cowell (solo).

I had to go with Shafi Hadi, because I've always been a sucker for those Mingus dates that he's on. I remember how "Nouroog" first affected me; I had to play it over and over again, and Shafi Hadi helped make "Tijuana Moods" a true classic. All the other specific alternatives had more exposure and left us more moments to treasure.

I hate Starbucks. It tastes like burnt I-don't-know-what to me. The varietal qualities and differences that they describe among their varieties are virtually carbonized away... I somehow drank Peets more aromatic but almost as charcoal-broiled coffee (I didn't know any better) when they just had a few places around Berkeley back in the '70s. Their Ethiopian was special. They've taken a real nosedive from that dubious quality level since then, especially during the past dozen years or so. Now the only coffee that I drink are the rich, short espressos (Lavazza and the occasional Illy) that I make at home in my Saeco machine; Northern Italian coffee is where it's at for me. Zingerman's in Ann Arbor also makes decent, concentrated espresso if you ask for it (but with inferior beans).

I bought "Reefer Songs" when it first came out. It started my interest in Cab Calloway. I still have the Charlie Parker Dial recordings ("Legendary Dial Masters", vols. 1 and 2) on Stash.

RANDY WESTON - "African Cookbook" (Atlantic) and, recorded off of Billy Taylor's old NPR radio show, Jazz Alive!, a Randy Weston trio (with Richard Davis and Don Moye) in a NYC club and a fabulous recording of Weston's septet at the 1981 Spoleto Festival (USA) Miles Davis - "ESP", "Big Fun", "Bitches Brew", "Milestones" Sam Rivers - played the entire Mosaic set straight through Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd et al - "School Days", "Regeneration" Clifford Jordan - "In the World", "Glass Bead Games" Wayne Shorter - "Night Dreamer" Lee Morgan - "Search for the New Land", "Gigolo" Don Pullen - "Live...Again", "Evidence Of Things Unseen"

I like it: NAD C541i CD player NAD C370 integrated amp. Vandersteen 1C speakers ACI Titan II LE subwoofer Carver TX-2 tuner Pioneer PDR-609 CD recorder Panasonic DVD-S35 DVD player Sony TC-KA1ESA cassette deck cables-shmables: DH Labs T-14 speaker cables various DH Labs, Acoustic Research, and OEM ICs I rarely play my Bang and Olufsen RX2 turntable anymore (through a NAD integrated amp of similar late-'80s vintage)... I've copied my LPs and cassettes onto CDRs.

School Days!! I've had it since it appeared on LP and can sing most of it. It's my favorite pianoless Monk. Grooves from the beginning to the end.

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal made a couple of recordings on SteepleChase in the '80s that I enjoy, "Dark Warrior" and "The Traveller". Both include bassist Johnny Dyani. I prefer "Dark Warrior", because it features saxophonist Charles Tyler.

Chris McGregor et al - "The Serpent's Kindly Eye, Parts 1 & 2" from Free Jazz Meeting, Baden-Baden '71 Air - "Air Time" Abdullah Ibrahim - "African Dawn"

I think you may be right.

Thanks to this thread, yesterday I was able to catch the review in progress. Kevin Whitehead has hipped me to a few great recordings, via the radio and in print, over the years.

You are referring to Clifford Jordan's excellent "In the World". I also dig Charles Brackeen's very Ornette-ish "Rhythm X".

Sounds like I'll have to check out 'Round About A Midsummer's Dream'.

Don Cherry - "Complete Communion", "Symphony for Improvisers" Markus Stockhausen - "Karta" Terje Rypdal - "Works" Jimi Hendrix - "Electric Ladyland", "Axis Bold as Love"