jazzbo

Received my set today. in all packaging ways it's the same as Vol. 4. Including not so great artwork printing. The second track on "Transition" is "Dear Lord." What I've heard sounds very good.

They definitely loved it. To sort of translate the final bit: Allen Lowe. . . shows a boundless imagination, unlimited culture (maybe structure?), a humor (jewish) exploding within a triple album which, with the exception perhaps of the great precursor mentioned above (The Blues and the Abstract Truth), is without equal in the genre.

I have most of the material on this set. I really am not that excited by it, I've passed on the set. At least until it gets much cheaper.

The Riddle is not a "Quartet" album. No Desmond, Bill Smith on clarinet. Compositions by Smith. It doesn't belong in this box set. It's been reissued as part of a Spanish label twofer.

Though I'd just like to add that Edison also hired innovative persons and if I'm not incorrect also assumed or was given credit for their innovation and invention. (Though he clearly had his own to claim). The interesting thing to me will be to see if Apple keeps the train a-rollin' post-Jobs.

I've slowly been exploring his music over the last six or seven years. What a talent. Rest in peace Graham.

As a friend, I'd rather it remained that way for you.

Ah, the Barbara Waters of the Organissimo View!

Why give this variatoned version of Clem the attention he so desires?

Who knew? I'm sure someone here did!

Many many more happy happy ones Allen! Hope all is well!

Cali, I didn't know that they made that substitution on any lp, I've never seen one, but they did alter the contents (and expand the contents) for the US cd. Still waiting on my Vol. 5 to arrive. Giving me plenty of time to keep listening to the Europe '72 Grateful Dead material. Gotta do that. Mr. Charlie told me so.

Been continuing on my re=viewing of Chuck on Blu-Ray, now watching the first third of Season Three.

I thought it was hilarious. Horror movie cliche after horror movie cliche strung together in some semblance of a plot. In about four more episodes they may have run out of using all these tired old ideas and come up with something new, who knows, it's possible! Entertaining in an amusing way for me. I think some of it is supposed to be shocking, and some of it may well offend or excite someone, but nothing new here. I got some laughs though! May watch the next episode.

I have a (stunning gatefold) Japanese lp facsimile cd from a few years ago that has "Dear Lord" and I'd wager this is the very same mastering of the lp material ("Ascension" from the same batch of lp facsimile releases has as far as I can tell the same mastering and sonics to the version in the third Impulse Album volume.)

Dusty Groove had it back in stock last night. . . I just got a shipping confirmation.

My biggest quibble is his final line about previous 24 bit cds. There haven't been that many to buy. I'm listening through Vol. 4 right now and the remastered sound quality is just stunning to me, on my system. The albums in that one hadn't been updated sonically for a while. It was worth the wait.

The Jurek "All Music Guide" review for what it's worth: The fifth and final volume in Universal's massive John Coltrane: The Impulse! Albums in the Originals series, contains five recordings, all issued posthumously between 1970 and 1973. Two of these, Transition and Sun Ship, feature Coltrane's classic quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. Of the remaining albums, two are live recordings -- Live in Seattle and Concert in Japan -- the remaining one being the infamous Infinity. Transition (AS-9195) was recorded in May and June of 1965. It is comprised of two long pieces, the title track, and the five-part "Suite," as well as the five-minute bridge between them, "Dear Lord" which, in its way, is both a conclusion to the fiery engagement of the title track and an intro to the labyrinthine, 21-minute, multi-part work. Musically, this is as fine as anything cut by the quartet, post 1963. It is fully engaged and realized. Its group interplay pushes at the edges, but contains passages of intense modal lyricism. Why it wasn't released during Coltrane's lifetime is curious. By contrast, Sun Ship (AS-9211, 1971), recorded in August of 1966, is a much more aggressive album with a much shoddier sound. It was clearly unfinished: Tyner's piano and Garrison's bass in the right channel are recorded far lower than Jones' drums in the left; only Coltrane's tenor is in both. Other than the title track and "Dearly Beloved," the rest sounds and feels like thematic sketches with long improvisations in between. Live in Seattle was also released in 1971 as AS 9202-2 on a double LP, and contained four tracks. It was recorded in September of 1965 with the quartet plus Pharoah Sanders and Donald Rafael Garrett on bass clarinet. While this performance is startling in revealing the direction Coltrane was heading with Sanders, the sound quality is somewhat dodgy, with instruments unbalanced and dropping out of the mix altogether in places. The 35-plus-minute "Evolution," which was split over two sides, contains the scariest moment (literally) in late 20th century music: when Coltrane and Sanders, who can go no further with their horns, begin shouting and moaning their improvisations. Infinity (AS-9225, 1972) is, as stated earlier, infamous. It contains four tracks from three different sessions in 1966. Alice Coltrane took unfinished demo recordings -- two with his earlier quartet, one with Sanders, Rashied Ali, and herself, and one with simply saxophone and drums, with dubbed piano, organ, tambura, and percussion parts added to them. She also dubbed Charlie Haden's bass onto three of these pieces (one, "Joy," in addition to Garrison's), and then arranged and added a string section to the entire album. Hearing it now, it's a much more gentle and tasteful sounding recording if rightfully questionable for the liberties she took with the demos. At the time it was a shock, and remains controversial. Finally, Concert in Japan (AS-9246-2) cut in Tokyo in July of 1966, and released as a double LP is a showcase of what this final quintet was capable of when firing on all cylinders. "Peace on Earth," at 25 minutes, is a beautiful modal piece with some outside soloing by both saxophonists. The nearly 45-minute "Meditations"/"Leo" is aural evidence of the improvisational power of the band; it features some fine bass clarinet from Sanders and piano work from Alice that is remarkable. Ultimately, while much of this music is fascinating, some of these albums will remain controversial because of the choices Alice and Ed Michel made, and is for those Coltrane completists who haven't already purchased these 24-bit remastered CDs before, either in the States or from Japan. ~Thom Jurek, Rovi All Music Guide

"Live at the Village Vanguard Again" from the John Coltrane Impulse Albums vol. 4. Great sound.

Vol. 5 was released Tuesday. My copy is in the mail . . . .Live in Seattle (2 lps on 1 cd), Sun Ship, Transition, Infinity (with Alice Coltrane and Strings) and Live in Japan (2 lps on 1 cd).

Hope it's a great one!

Pancreatic cancer is a bitch.

Premieres tonight on FX, as you no doubt know. I'm checking it out.

This is an interesting season for Sons of Anarchy.

No, it won't make me love Xmas albums. I might pick it up. The only other three I've kept are the June Christy, the Marcus Roberts, and the Uptown Christmas album. . . .