DMP

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.

Grant Green's "Feelin' the Spirit." And look in the used LP bins for Les McCann's "The Gospel Truth," which adds Charles Kynard to his trio.

I've heard Watts live a couple of times - don't think his recorded output had prepared me for how strong a player he is!! Eye-opening. (And "Planet Love" should be a reissue candidate.)

"Virginia Woolf" was an early CD release, when the Verve catalog was part of Polygram. (#823 309-2) In its initial LP release, and after the success of "Bashin'" (which had one side of big band material and a second side with trio) it was probably the first full-blown Smith + big band album - all organ, the band was strictly a back-up - and set the formula for much of Smith's subsequent Verve recording. At the time it came out, and as someone who grew up with the Smith Blue Note albums, it was a little off-putting - semi-classical touches, organ solos that didn't always seem to have much to do with what was going on, twangy guitars, no spots for anyone but Smith, and a sound level that ranged from loud to very loud. (Not to mention the goofy division of the title song into 2 arbitrary sections.) However, having said that, it's always been one of my favorites. "Organ Ginder" is (for me) the best of his Verve output - I might put it on my 10 best list - and many of the others mentioned (particularly "Bluesmith") are very good. "Respect" is also excellent, and I don't know how it's slipped through the reissue cracks.

And this new reissue of "Big Band" - is this supposed to be an improvement over the previous issue? That one had more tracks, and in session order. I'm not sure I get this. (Similar situation with the second CD reissue of Johnny Smith's Moonlight in Vermont" - 3 less tracks.)

Is anyone actually listening to this? The crowd noise (which I recalled above, from the LP) is still unbelievable! I understand that we sometime have to put up with sub-standard recording or other annoyances to listen to great music, but "The Boss" - recorded in an era when "live" recordings were fairly routine - has to be some kind of record. (And it's not like the audience noise has any relationship at all to what's being played - don't think anyone was evening listening to the good music that was being played.) With all the many fine "Verve" Jimmy Smith titles that are yet to be reissued, I don't get it . (Even Benson's "live" appearances with McDuff are better than this.)

Parker's appearance with Woody Herman is also available...

I would also give a strong recommendation to Mann's "Windows Open" and "Hold On, I'm Comin." And the original "Village Gate" is a classic, in its own way. Another good one is his first Newport album (available on "Wounded Bird"), the one that opens with "Soft Winds.". (The group includes Dave Pike, Atilla Zoller, and Don Friedman.)

This exchange has got me thinking... Hubbard is a wonderful player, maybe the best of his generation, and I've enjoyed his albums since buying them when they were originally released. But, as I think about it, I don't necessarily find his Blue Note albums as appealing as the output of other artists on the label - they're maybe a little cold? Can't put my finger on it. It's hard to find fault, but there's a little distant about them. I agree with the post above about his sideman appearances. (For me, his solo on "Maiden Voyage" is one of the greatest of all modern trumpet solos.) I do like "Blue Spirits' very much, but, since it was the first Hubbard LP I bought as a kid, maybe nostalgia plays a part.

If I recall, the album is a good one, but what kept me from playing it much was there was a constant buzz from the crowd. I don't mean applause or clapping (like a live Cannonball album, for example, or that over-dubbed enthusiasm on a Jack McDuff LP), or a phone ringing (like every record made at the Blackhawk) - which often add to the record's ambience - but a constant din. Maybe the CD release will correct this.

"Ape Woman" is on a Cal Tjader "Verve," with a different title - I can check when I get home. That cut is the highlight of the Smith LP. Actually, I think 2 1/2 stars is about right for that mishmash.

"Free For All" is one of the great jazz albums of all time, don't know of many records by any artist that are so strong from beginning to end. (Thank goodness they didn't gum up the CD's with extra tracks.) Did Wayne Shorter ever record a better solo than on the title cut? But also very strong - "Ugetsu" - rarely mentioned, but the band was at its peak.

This New Charles Earland reissue - "Funk Fantastique" - the title tune was called "Morgan" on the original "Intensity" release. Must be an alternate take. (Good album, though - Lee Morgan's final session.)

The "Reprise" date is okay - not up to the "Impulse" albums. But it's easily available in a good-sounding reissue from "Collectables."

Now THERE'S a project for "Mosaic" - the complete Charles Lloyd quintet with Charles Lloyd and Gabor Szabo - Clumbia, Reprise, and Impulse.

Since so much of the Blue Note catalog has been remastered, "upgraded," and put in the digital domain, does it even matter about the original tapes? The cheap, European knock-offs can be made from pristine CD's!

"Soft Samba" - wasn't there a promotional tie-in with some kind of booze? (Rum, maybe?) Much like Brubeck's "Jazz: Red Hot & Cool?" (That was a shade of Revlon lipstick.) (Or something.)

I guess you have to look at albums like "Visions" and Easy" as products of a time when record labels really didn't know what to do with their jazz "product." ("Natural Illusions," anyone?) I enjoyed the Green organ dates that preceeded "Visions" much more; while they, too, were "commercial," they somehow seemed more honest to me. And they were certainly more representative of what Green was actually doing in clubs at the time. However, if you're a Grant Green fan, I can't imagine NOT wanting to hear "Easy," just out of curiosity. It's much more of a "CTI"-type record than his actual "CTI" record!

And "Shades of Green," now that I think of it. (By the way - what's the story with that "Versatile" label? Besides the lousy Green LP, there was that Buster Williams - even worse!)

I'd put it ahead of "The Main Attraction," another album where he was nowhere near the studio when the tracks were put down. And, of his "Blue Note" albums, "Visions" is lousy. (I've never heard "Final Comedown" all the way through.)

This is one of those albums that isn't good, but I enjoy it, nonetheless. It's smilar to a "CTI" album of the time in personnel and packaging - pop hits of the day done in an anonymous manner. Background filler. Green maybe breaks a sweat on one tune. Musically I'd put it a step ahead of the Wes Montgomery "A&M" material. It's not the worst Grant Green album, but close to the bottom.

Ayers is also on Newman's "Lonely Avenue" - nice.