jazzbo

Hamilton or Tristano would be my vote. I think the Hamilto will disappear first of these. And not too long from now. I've had mine for years and am so glad I have!

Congrats Matthew! I always wondered what this set sounds like. Thanks for the info.

I think this was an enjoyable read, but I WAS disappointed that in my opinion there really wasn't much meat to the actual early history of the label and its first decade and a half of recording. This history is I think the least chronicled elsewhere, and this was a missed opportunity to make up for a deficit. I'm very interested in learning more about this, and I would have loved for there to be more material within this book.

The Cathcarts are wonderful, and as far as I know also don't overlap with the Matlocks. (I have some of those and dig 'em!)

In the Elmo Hope thread the inititator reports that he has the other JRVG; it would reissue just the Trio material, and I've never seen that, don't know if it's recent or a former release. I believe it may have been a part of the 10" series.

I do know that there was a JRVG of the Elmo Hope Quintet that had just the original tracks, not all the tracks of the US cd.

I stand with Dr. J on this one too. Keep those RVGs a-comin'!

Yes, I saw this in the latest issue of Mr. Buck's "Jazzbeat" and it sure looked good! All these Progressive reissues of Famous Door recordings I've heard are wonderful.

I'd forgotten about that one Mont! Good call. There is also a two cd set on Jazz Classics that reissues the other two cds of Teagarden transcriptions on the Jass/Stash label.

To paraphrase a Curtis Fuller and Benny Golson selection "Be Back Directly." B)

There was a Blue Note cd domestically, it was deleted, and then released again in the Collectors Choice series, and now deleted again. . . ! ARGH! I'll bet this JRVG sounds nice. I like Hope a lot. He and Bud and Monk were actually friends and travelled about their neck of NYC a lot as young men. Hope is his own man in ways that the others are their own men. . . . An interesting pianist and writer. I'd recommend almost anything you can find of his as a leader. I have a special like for the date on OJC cd called "Meditations," and I also have a fondness for the "Final Sessions" on Specialty and material on Beacon and Celebrity that has appeared on both a Fresh Sounds cd and a Prevue label cd.

This is a great set indeed!

I think we should celebrate Louis Armstrong's birthday, August 4th! -_-

Well you have a point. . . but I still enjoy these a lot, perhaps because I am not as steeped in Arab etc. music, and because I just think there are great performances in these. . . .

I actually like this one!

Good album. Cover that should have never been!

As you know, I'm a fan of the Hep label. They have great cds out there, reissuing in excellent sound material that is not available readily elsewhere. Their Slim Gaillard series is excellent---I have one more to find. And I bought the Benny Goodman "Plays" series of cds based on arrangers and play these often; I think it is a great way to present this material, and they sound great. Their Teddy Wilson series is excellent as well, reissuing the material without Holiday that doesn't see the laserlight in America for the most part. And there are many more. I just realized there are a few more of the Thornhill series I need to get when I have some more cash. . . .

Tea's big band sides are pretty darned good for the most part. There are several cds on the Vernon label of live broadcasts of the band, and then there are the Classics. There are some duds in the sides, but if you enjoy those on the Kallen disc, I think you'll enjoy exploring them. I like the Vernon (live versions) better.

Oh, you mean "EGOMAN"?

Alright, I just really enjoyed listening to this again, via the RCA box version. One factor that I really like about this suite is that Ellington and Strayhorn were very wise to not try to write Eastern music, but to bring some sounds of that music into their own. There are a few melodic elements that seem eastern, but most of that character of the suite is in my estimation developed through the sound of the instruments and to another extent through the rhythms selected. The suites seem to be joined by this approach, the touch of the exotic to the sound, and this is more effective a "glue" to my ears than some other methods Duke used to form suites. Gonsalves, Hodges and Hamilton especially seem to carry a lot of the "easterness" and quite admirably. Another plus to this recording is that the material was not entirely fresh in the studio. Bits and pieces had shown up on live material from as far back as two years plus before this session, and I have a recording of the bulk of the suite done for a Canadian television station more than a year before this. What is most new is the drummer, Rufus Jones, who does bring a new sound to the recording (it would be interesting to have this high fidelity a recording of the same occasion with Woodyard on the throne instead; Woodyard had a very well worked out conception for these pieces too that differs in some ways from Jones'.) To my ears the orchestra is really familiar with this material and gives it a tight rendition---not always the case with this orchestra which could be charmingly and not so charmingly loose as well. Another delight for me is bassist John Lamb. I really liked his tenure with the orchestra, and his meaty, modern sound really adds to the recordings he was on. From video sources it appears to me that Duke really liked his playing and sound as well. When the piano is absent during this suite, Lamb's notes give the swing and the foundation needed. If anyone knows of considerable work that Lamb did after this tenure with the band, let me know! Here too I find a very nice melding or fusion or coupling of Ellington and Strayhorn. One can find the lyrical Strayhorn idea followed by the flashily elegant Ellington bit, and they seem to be well placed. The writing of this seems more inspired than some of their collaborations or separate suites to me. Strong themes and strong writings for the ensemble, well captured by the RCA engineers. This recording was one of the ones that made me realize there is no decade or era of the Ellington Orchestra that can be ignored! I had been thinking that after the fifties I would probably have to be very choosy in selecting Duke recordings to collect. After exposure to this and other RCAs and to a Reprise lp or two I just decided I would have to pay as serious attention to the final years of the Orchestra as to the earlier! I hope that quite a few of you dig this out and listen again and enjoy!

This is a great cd, in killer remastering; I got mine for even less from Red Trumpet. Fans of Shepp, consider.

Yes, and I just think that it would be a great melody for her voice and phrasing. . . .

Sad news. Let's wish her all the best indeed!

Oh if only Billie Holiday could have recorded Duke's "I Didn't Know about You."

Well, I don't have either! It will be fun to read what you all think!