paul secor

Just ordered Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio from Dusty Groove. Tried to get the Barney Wilen, but it was out of stock - You guys must have grabbed them before I got there.

Guesses Part 2 - 9 - Sounds like a West coast thing. My first reaction was "pleasant", but this has grown on me with a couple more listenings. No guess as to identities, but I enjoyed the alto most, the bari least. Why did they bother letting the pianist solo? It seemed like he was cut off almost before he began? 10 - When this began, I thought perhaps Jimmy Raney. But it sounds like someone who's more used to playing rhythm guitar. 11 - This sounds familiar - like someone I should know, but I'm stumped. 12 - This came off a bit too mechanical or unrelaxed for my taste, especially the rhythm section. It sounded like a group that was brought together in the studio to do a bossa record. I imagine that if I heard these musicians under different circumstances I'd enjoy them a lot more, especially the saxophonist. I liked the guitar. 13 - I liked hearing the guitar player improvise with Monk's melody in mind, and not just the chords. On the other hand, I felt that the guitarist's sound was somewhat anonymous - not a lot of personality in his/her playing. 14 - The vocalist has a full strong voice. I couldn't take the lyrics - too earth mother/hippyish for me. I also enjoyed the instrumental backing. But ooh - those lyrics! 15 - Thought I was listening to lite jazz fm. Tuned this one out early. Sorry. 16 - No idea on the pianist. Didn't grab me, and the recording seemed pretty hard also. Reading this over, my comments on the second half of the disc seem pretty negative. I actually had a good time listening to what Jim put out there for us, and I'll probably pick up two or three recordings when I find out what they are. I was completely stumped on most (perhaps all?) of this, and that's one thing I like about these tests - I like to hear new things that I don't normally listen to. I also enjoy getting a sense of what other Board members listen to, beyond the monthly listening posts. Thanks for a good time, Jim. Now I'll go back and read other people's comments.

Sandwiched around enjoying and trying to figure out Blindfold Test 3: Various Artists: Play My Jukebox - East Coast Blues 1943-54 (Flyright) George Russell Septet: The Stratus Seekers Jimmy Smith: Back at the Chicken Shack Django Reinhardt: JSP Box 1 - Disc 1 John Lewis/Bill Perkins: 2 Degrees East, Three Degrees West

I have 7 or 8 Billy Harper LPs in my collection - Denons, Baystate, Black Saint/Soul Note, and Capra Black. When I play one of them, I'm hooked. I tend to think of him as a limited player (and I can understand those who hear him that way) until I listen. I don't know if I'd call it spirituality, sincerity, or what, but I dig his sound and his playing. Count me in as a fan.

I can recommend Streams of Consciousness. I've had the LP for a number of years, and listened to it recently. Of the others you listed, I have and like The Legendary Hasaan, Birth and Rebirth, and 1 In 2, 2 In 1. I also have The Long March, but it's been some time since I've listened to it. I did recently listen to Force, his other duet with Archie Shepp, and enjoyed that. As Jim Sangrey suggested, you might want to grab The Long March before it goes out of print again. I would suggest that you might pick up one of Max Roach's M'BOOM recordings. If you don't have Max's recordings with Bird - Essential. Ditto Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collossus, Plays for Bird, Work Time, Plus Four, and Tour de Force. If you go for everyone's recs, you'll probably be broke for a while, but you'll have a very good Max Roach collection and a lot of great listening.

I'm only halfway through this. I've listened to the the entire disc while driving, but today's the first time I've been able to sit down and listen seriously with both ears. 1 - The first person that came to mind was Vince Guraldi, but since I have no Guaraldi in my collection, and have only heard him on the radio, it's just a guess. 2 - Don't have a clue. I liked the vibes player - good relaxed, bluesy sound. The piano player didn't do much for me - a little Red Garland here, a little Timmons there. If this is the Lem Winchester/Ramsey Lewis date, it's better than I expected. 3 - Didn't care for this. The trumpet player was so tightly muted, it seemed like he was trying so hard to get his sound out of the horn that he couldn't get the music out. Maybe that's just the sound of the recording. 4 - When I was driving and heard this, Pat Martino came to mind. Nothing Special. 5 - My first thought (again when I was driving) was Lucky Thompson. The album he did for Prestige came to mind - don't have the record, but I remembered Hank Jones played on it, and the pianist reminded me of him. But the tone is heavier and the horn plays more rhythmically modern lines. My second thought was Benny Golson. I played some of his Free album today, and though it's not from that, Golson is my guess. 6 - Enjoyed this. No clue again. Denny Zeitlin was the first name that popped into my head - have no idea why. 7 - Two people doing a Hall/Evans thing, though I'm pretty sure it's not them. Nice stuff, though. 8 - Sounds like Getz to me. The tune is familiar - something he recorded previously? I love Getz' earlier Bossa stuff. Those sounded like they were made in the spirit of love and ended up being commercially successful. This sounds like it was recorded for commercial reasons and probably didn't make as much money as the earlier recordings. That's it for now. I'll get to part 2 tonight before the Series or, more likely, tomorrow night if tonight's not rained out.

Yazoo seems to have the same kind of thing with 23 tracks on a lot of their CDs. I've wondered what that's about - someone's lucky number?

You have your opinion. I have mine. That's what makes sports fans. If you dig Malone, that's fine. To me, he'll always be a flopper and a loser, no matter what his stats are. I was truly sorry to see the Lakers sign him.

Vacuuming - Hate the noise.

Da Mets! And not because I'm a Yankee fan. I rooted for the Mets when they came into being in 1962, but when they got rid of Rod Kanehl (sp?), my favorite Met player, in '63 or '64, I had no more use for them. He didn't have great skills, but he played hard, which was more than you could say for a lot of players on the Mets. I also got disgusted with the way that management promoted the team as "lovable losers". If I cared about NFL football anymore, I'd include the Boys. I couldn't stand the Utah Jazz when Stockton and (especially) Malone played for them - a bunch of floppers and whiners.

Yanks - Since 1969, when Mantle retired. Couldn't stand him - I was always a Willie Mays fan. I was a N.Y. and then S.F. Giant fan until they traded Willie to the Mets. I kept my loyalty when they moved to San Fran, but when they traded Willie - Sayonara! Lakers - From the time they were the Minneapolis Lakers, so I'm not someone who jumped on the bandwagon lately. I was a UCLA fan from the time I saw them beat Michigan in the 1965 NCAA finals. The way they played basketball looked to me like way it should be played. But now, college hoops don't interest me - there are more assholes and idiots playing (and coaching) college ball than there are in the pros.

Have a great birthday, Chris!

The Yanks just won it, but the Sox have my complete respect. If Pedro had been taken out earlier, the Sox probably would have won. A game to remember for Yankee fans. Probably one to forget for Red Sox fans, but they have a helluva team. Whew!

I heard Albert Ayler live once - early 1968 in Buffalo, N.Y. The group consisted of Albert, his brother Don, Call Cobbs, Junie Booth, and Milford Graves - except for Booth, the same group that recorded Love Cry. They only played for an hour, as their plane from New York was forced to land in Rochester because of snow, and they arrived late. Another concert was scheduled in the hall that evening so their time was cut short. Unfortunately, they seemed to be warmed up and just getting into it when the concert ended. Love Cry wasn't issued until a month or two later, but when I heard it, some of the tunes seemed to have been performed at that concert. The only difference was, at the concert they were done as continuous medleys, not separated into individual tunes, as they are on the record. My guess is that presenting individual tunes on Love Cry was an attempt to appeal to a larger audience. Hearing Albert Ayler play live was wonderful and unlike anything I'd ever heard, even though I already had a number of his records. He had a pure tone and, as others have noted, a large sound that went right through you. As a footnote, I received an early lesson in not believing that media that day. I didn't speak with Albert, but I had a chance to talk with Milford Graves. The jazz press, specifically Down Beat, had given the impression that he was full of anger, so I was somewhat wary. When I spoke with him, however, he came across as a nice guy with a quiet, almost gentle, personality. I learned an important lesson - try and experience for yourself. Don't take what you read as gospel.

I've always felt that Charlie Rouse captured the sound of Monk's music more than any of Monk's other saxophonists did.

Tal Farlow: At Ed Fuerst's Baby Face Willette: Face To Face Sonny Rollins: Newk's time Freddie Hubbard: Open Sesame (Clifford Jarvis!) Grant Green: Born To Be Blue Billy Mitchell: This Is Jimmy Witherspoon: Spoon So Easy - Chess Duke Ellington: 1929 - Classics Roscoe Holcomb: An Untamed Sense of Control Pleasant Joseph/Cousin Joe: The Complete 1945-1947

I don't have Legacy, but I've long enjoyed Youngblood, a Pablo LP.

Hope you're having a great birthday, John. Happy 48th!

A lot has been written, and depending on whether you're a Sox or Yanks fan, you probably agree with one side or the other. The bottom line: Pedro lost his cool and his team lost the game. Roger kept his cool and his team won the game. If the series goes to a 6th game and returns to New York, perhaps the Yankees should provide minimum security (for attending fans only) and leave the Red Sox to fend for themselves. (That's the Yankee fan in me losing my cool. I actually hope that there are no further incidents anywhere, and that fans can watch some good baseball without any more craziness.) P.S. - I like Zip, but for a different reason than most folks. To my mind, he mismanaged the Sox in '78 and allowed the Yanks to win the pennant.

Brandon and Chuck - Thanks, guys! Now that I have a sense of what it's like, I'll try and get hold of a copy.

To Brandon Burke: What's the Brigitte Fontaine/Art Ensemble recording like? I posted a query on this in Discography, but it received no responses. You may be the only one here who's heard this.

Farewell to a fine artist/illustrator. It sounds as if he had a long, full life. Does anyone know if his son Jeremy is still an active musician?

John, do you remember the track order and where Organic Greenery fits in? Or somebody else? I would be grateful for info on this. This must have been an obscure album, and it seems difficult to come by any additional information about it. I have a copy of the Japanese LP - Toshiba/Aurex BNJ-50101 - Jimmy Smith: Special Guests. The track order is: Smith Walk Lonesome Road Blue Room S' Wonderful Organic Greenery Day In, Day Out

This is a couple of days late, but belated birthday greetings, Mr. Freeman! Would that we all could all could keep our spirits and lives as fresh as you have kept yours.

Just scrolled to the bottom of the page and noticed this. Happy 53rd!