DMP

The first Rudolph Johnson Black Jazz album - "Spring Rain" - is also excellent. This was also out at one time and I picked it up from their site. So, what IS his story??

His "Argo" album "Touch of Pepper" was out in Japan in that "mini-LP" format. I picked it up pretty cheaply in one of those "Red Trumpet" weekend sales. Nice, solid trio date.

One of my favorite "Mosaic's." Of course, "Catch Me" and "For Django" are musts, but I enjoy it for the Les McCann sessions, which would probably never have seen the light of reissue day if not for this set. (The "Soul Hits" album, with material like "Back at the Chicken Shack," is one of those LP's that completely slipped under the radar screen at the time of its release.) And the "live" "Donte's" session has lots of extra material. Like many of the "Mosaic" boxes, it's probably best to listen to it a little at a time, but, if you like jazz guitar, what's not to like?

Cannonball Adderley & Ernie Andrews, "Live Session!" (I avoided this for 40 years, and I sort of wish I'd avoided it today.)

Her performance on the Johnny Otiis show Monterey Jazz Festival set is teriffic! A stand-out in a high-powered lineup. (It's a two album set on one CD, at a bargain price, on Sony - think it's often overlooked.)

This new edition of "The Great..." is made in the EU, for what it's worth. (You really have to hunt to find that information on the packaging.) So, my earlier CD version of the album - the one with 14 tracks - wasn't a duplicate of the original album. (It added "Genius After Hours"). I better hold on to it. (You'd think that the Charles Atlantic jazz material would deserve a proper reissue. And it would obviously have some appeal beyond the usual jazz audience.) By the way - this new concert DVD of a live Charles performance... Tina Brooks??

I looked at my earlier issue - Atlantic 81731-2 (1987) - and it has 14 tracks (compared to the newer version with only 8), including "Black Coffee" AND "Ain't Misbehavin'." Unfortunately, I don't have the cover (someone broke into my car this summer and made off with what they thought were CD's - but they only got the jewel boxes, the actual CD's were in the changer) (hope those kids are enjoying the notes to Red Garland's "Rediscovered Masters"), but, as I recall, the discographical information was confusing and didn't make complete sense. Now I'm even MORE confused. Is there a good Charles discography somewhere? I'm not much help here.

Just got this in the mail yesterday - same as yours, no "Black Coffee!" Ha! Nice package, too, better than the original, which I also have. I'll check that one out, but, as I recall, it does have the correct songs.

Off the subject , but the "Columbia" Jeremy Steig was listed for release on "Collectables" about a year ago, but apparently never made it. It's a good one, too - more traditional than his later stuff, Denny Zeitlin on piano, they do mostly jazz standards, like "Blue 7."

I've always found the Penguin Guides to be a lot of fun. Great bathroom reading - you can open it anywhere and find something worth reading. Always enjoy that put-down of Gene Lees in the Bill Evans section. Plus they give the top rating to that over-looked classic, "Shelly Manne at the Blackhawk."

I also put those sextet albums at the top of the list. That was a great group. The later configuration with Charles Lloyd (which is intriquing) isn't very well represented on CD - their best album (the live session at Shelly Manne's, on"Capitol") seems to have gotten lost in the reissue shuffle.

I agree, "All Blues" is Carter's best, at least of his "CTI" sessions. (Maybe his best, period.) If you like Joe Farrell, his Contemporary session is available. The Muhammad is lousy, a real period piece, maybe a step above David Mathews' "Shoogie Wanna Boogie" (or whatever the title was), but in the running for the worst Kudo album. The question of the organ player on the extra "Mr. T" cuts - I know Doug Payne(who knows his stuff) says it's Smith, as do the liners of the reissue. But the organist sounds exactly like Earland. Exactly. So, I'm not convinced. No big deal.

For me, the great organ-Joe Henderson mood music date is Freddie Roach's "Brown Suger." And it's mixed with up-tempo numbers.

Cannonball-addict - I was at the Manchester Guild when that Mintzer album was recorded. It was my first exposure to Eling - I thought he was pretty good in the couple of numbers he did (remember, alcohol is served at the Guild shows), but not sure I'd want to listen to those performances in my living room. (The band itself was excellent, filled with great New York players.) I only jumped into ths thread because of the Pittsburgh references. Not sure Dodo ever shopped at IKEA, or ran a marathon.

I have the UK version of "Mr. T," with the extra cuts, which actually add something to the already first-rate disc. There was a discusion somewhere about this; it sounds like Charles Earland on the extra material, very unusual. My vote is for the Joe Farrell stuff. Some of it has been out (including "Outback"), but several ("Penny Arcade," "Upon This Rock") seem to have disappeared.

I would agree with WESBED above, especially in his comparison to the far superior "Idle Moments." "Blue" has grown on me slightly over the years, but still remains a disappointment. Compared to (say) "Feelin' the Spirit," or even "Goin' West," it seems weak.

My introduction to Costa was on one of those Mundell Lowe "TV Action Jazz" cheapo-LP's back in the early '60's. Of course, the Japanese CD version replacement made up for the money I saved back then...

Nice discography. My favorite is actually "Vista," his "fusion" album. Not very representative, but one of my all-time favorites in that vein. Go figure.

Someone mentioned his "Jazz Communicators" group a few pages ago. Don't think it was ever recorded as a group, although obviously there are many examples of the 2 leaders playing on record during that time. When I heard the group, Kenny Barron was the pianist, and I think Herbie Lewis might have been the bass player. The only tunes I recall were "Backlash" and "Pensativa." And, speaking of unrecorded Henderson, is there anything with him in the Miles Davis group? And Blood, Sweat & Tears?

I just read that Pete Jolly and Joe Bushkin died earlier in the month. Completely missed this.

Wait a minute... someone could actually HEAR Chuck Israels on "My Point of View?"

I've never made it all the way through "Astral Weeks," despite the high regard for the album. It may be one of those albums that, once heard a few times, really grows on you and becomes indispensable. In a conversation with Richard Davis many years ago I asked him about the album and his response was pretty much what has been noted above. He did talk about efforts to bring the group together for a sequel, but that never did come off, and, of course, would be impossible now.

Bob Dylan and "Victoria's Secret."

Maybe the fault is in the original recording. In my experience, the bass isn't all that prominent on a lot of Blue Note releases. In a couple of cases (Turrentine's "Hustlin'" and Herbie Hancock's "My Point Of View") I can't even HEAR a bass. (My reference is the original LP.)

The original Herbie Mann at Newport (it's the one that opens with "Soft Winds") is on "Wounded Bird" and it's excellent - Don Friedman, Dave Pike, Atilla Zollar. I just picked up Jaco Pastorious's "Invitation," which is pretty much a mish-mash of styles which might not be to your taste.