mjzee

Cheshire, CT

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas #4, 5, 9

George Tucker!

I remember the Greil Marcus review. I read it when it came out, and I still think about it from time to time, especially the anecdote about Max Kaminsky. Where I differ with Marcus is I think, at this remove, it's obvious there was a concept behind "Self Portrait," including the sweetening and background vocals. I had hoped that Dylan and/or his liner notes writers would honestly discuss the creation of the album, and the way they reassessed it after its release. "Another Self Portrait" and "1970" barely touch on that, instead trying to persuade that these sessions were really just a folk song revival. I think there's a fascinating story waiting to be told about the intentions behind "Self Portrait," and by extension, the cultural nerve it touched. One would think, now that Dylan is 80 and released his Sinatra albums (not to mention "Christmas In The Heart"), that he could finally fess up.

Some thoughts after listening to the 3-disc "1970": It's fun and listenable. George Harrison is a marginal presence at best (I had to check the notes to see which tracks he's on). It's fascinating to hear Dylan manipulate his voice within the same session to produce his "Nashville Skyline," "Self Portrait" or "New Morning" voice. He's working through the folk tradition, perhaps to touch base with his roots, similar to "Good As I Been To You" and "World Gone Wrong", but his voice is so much better here. It's lovely to relive the vibe of "New Morning," which I loved at the time (and so much of a relief after "Self Portrait"). Some thoughts as to why "Self Portrait" was so poorly received: First, because there was so little original material. It wasn't a common thing for rock performers, especially after they've hit big, to go back and perform traditional material. For a performer as personal as Dylan, it was jarring to hear impersonal renditions of songs we commonly knew elsewhere. Which was why "New Morning" was such a relief: it was an album of original Dylan songs, sung passionately, and with competent musicians playing listenable arrangements. I think the review in Rolling Stone began "Dylan is back." And indeed he was, and indeed he had gone away in the interim. Second, because so much of "Self Portrait" was borderline unlistenable. I cringe when recalling the performance of "The Boxer." Songs such as "Early Mornin' Rain" or "Gotta Travel On" could have been good, but were sung indifferently and dispassionately. Others, such as "Days of 49" had flubs and flaws, and needed more takes. The Isle of Wight material, for those of us who had heard bootlegs of the 1966 tour, sounded wan and bizarre; we knew he was capable of better. I understand that Bob Johnston was in a difficult position, but he should have put his foot down and told Dylan this stuff was not suitable for release. Third, the strings and sweetening. This helpful page (http://bjorner.com/DSN01790 1970.htm#DSN01790) implies that Dylan was not present for the 8 overdub sessions (March 11 - May 3). Perhaps the release of "Another Self Portrait," which contained non-overdubbed versions of the "Self Portrait" material, was meant to imply that Dylan does not claim the overdubs as his own work. But still, it couldn't have been done without his awareness and approval. It was the strings and syrupy background harmonies that, I believe, caused the most cognitive dissonance among his rock fans. It was a cultural demarcation: we (hippies) don't produce music that sounds like that. It's not our culture, it's not reflective of our lifestyles and desires. It was Richard Nixon, it wasn't George McGovern. It's a shame that the reaction was so tribal, but you can't ignore what your audience wants. So, a final thought: Dylan/Dylan's people/Columbia have tried to make the case that there is no real delineation between "Self Portrait" and "New Morning" - that they were conceived-of as a piece, two sides of the same coin, and it hardly mattered to which album the songs were apportioned. To my mind, this is obviously not true. Looking at Dylan's recording activity in 1969 and 1970 (as seen on the Bjorner web pages), it's clear that "Self Portrait" was a discrete project, with Dylan covering other people's material. Sessions for "Self Portrait" began in April 1969, and it was only in March 1970 that Dylan rehearsed some "New Morning" songs ("Went To See The Gypsy" and "Time Passes Slowly"). I think the three key dates to ponder are April 3 (the last "Self Portrait" overdub session), May 1 (the first "New Morning" session), and June 8 (the release date of "Self Portrait"). Surely, acetates of "Self Portrait" were being passed around Columbia by late April. Columbia execs probably heard them and told Dylan he was in danger of killing his career, and that he had very little time to correct course. So (IMHO), rather than "Self Portrait" and "New Morning" being of a piece, "New Morning" was hastily executed as an antidote to "Self Portrait." The final "New Morning" session was on August 12, and the album was released on October 21, in time for Christmas gift giving.

Center Line, MI

I remember being in the audience for a panel discussion about Mingus that was broadcast on the radio. This was in the early '90's. I don't remember all of the panelists, but two were Roy Haynes and Hentoff. Hentoff had a stack of index cards in his hands. When it was his turn to answer a question, he read off one of the cards. These were mostly anecdotes I had heard before (one was "Mingus said 'In my music, I'm trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time.'"). I think in his later years, he wrote about music to pay the bills; his passions were in his First Amendment writings.

Release date June 18:

Muzak has been releasing Black Lion titles in Japan. They seem legit. I own some (off the top of my head: Monk's The London Collection, Johnny Griffin's Hush-A-Bye, and Lee Konitz's Storyville material), and sound quality has been amazing. I'm not saying that Brilliant Circles will sound amazing, but it will probably sound as good as can be attained.

Just noticed that I have 5 albums with Extension or Extensions in the title: Extension - George Braith Extension - Clare Fischer Extensions - Dave Holland Extensions - McCoy Tyner Dimensions and Extensions - Sam Rivers

This is the date that Bob Porter talks about in his book Soul Jazz: THE KEY CLUB IN NEWARK, New Jersey, had a strange policy for its weeklong musical engagements. A band would open on Monday night and be off the following evening. They would then resume on Wednesday and work through Sunday. While unusual, it was not the sort of problem that a band could not, routinely, deal with. Yet the problem faced by Charles Earland in mid-September 1970 was a unique and vexing one: the tenor sax player he had opened with on Monday had disappeared by Wednesday, and he had a recording session scheduled to be taped live in the club on Thursday night! His solution was to bring in a young saxophonist who had been living in Philadelphia and supplementing his earnings as a musician by working during the day for a local record wholesaler. There was little time to get things together but the replacement turned out to be a big improvement; and the subsequent album, Living Black (Prestige), was not only a hit but also an introduction to the work of Grover Washington Jr. In short order, Washington Jr. became the “house” tenor player for Prestige and made sideman appearances on that label with Boogaloo Joe Jones, Melvin Sparks, Leon Spencer, and, most importantly, Johnny “Hammond” Smith.

I picked this up, and discover that it's only 27 minutes long. The credits on the original album (back cover reproduced in the booklet) state: Recorded at Van Gelder Recording Studio, New Jersey, June 13, 14 & 20, 1979 Recording engineer: Rudy Van Gelder Cutting lathe operator: Rudy Van Gelder This last credit got me thinking. Was this originally a direct-to-disc LP? That would account for the short running time. But how do two sides get cut direct-to-disc over three days? Maybe one day was a washout. Update: Still don't know if it was direct-to-disc, but it was released at 45 RPM:

Is it preferable to have balanced outputs? I notice many SACD players do not.

I was never a big fan of Mr. Henderson's music, so I will also pass. I acquired 4 of these albums (Page One, Our Thing, In N Out, and Mode For Joe) on a cheapo EMI set (the precursor to the currently available "5 Original Albums"); I also own the Dorham discs. So the only album I'm currently lacking is Inner Urge, which I'm sure I'll acquire at some point (although McCoy is not my favorite backup pianist).

Perhaps Lion & Wolff's perspective was: Most BN albums lost money (only a small percentage were hits), they needed the publishing revenue to make a profit, and Herbie Hancock was a literal nobody at that time. While "Watermelon Man" sounded like it could be a hit, nobody could really know in advance. So in the negotiations with Hancock, Lion & Wolff saw their potential to make money decrease with Hancock's insistence on retaining publishing, and L & W would still bear the entire loss if the record flopped. In the end, they decided to give the cocky new kid a chance, and it turned out well for everyone. Herbie stayed with BN through 1969, so I don't think he bore any grudges.

There were other Dodo Greene BN sessions, fully documented on the CD release of her album.

But here's the thing: they're only pressing 3,500 copies. Even if they sell out, is that enough to keep them as a going concern?

This is one of those glib statements that, if Porter reflected upon it, he'd probably rephrase or withdraw it. Looking at the table of contents of his Soul Jazz book, he extols Illinois Jacquet, Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff, and Groove Holmes (to name just a few). For all of these musicians, the bulk of their catalog has been and still is very difficult to find.

This made my day.

Another pet peeve: On most CDs I buy, I cannot get the booklet out of the CD case without bending the paper. A minor problem, perhaps, but incredibly annoying.

Dusty Groove is offering (but just sold out) a fascinating Japanese version of this album. Original cover: Alternate Japanese cover: https://www.dustygroove.com/item/882217?format=lp&new_status=used&sort_order=date_added&page=1

I thought I'd start keeping a running list of the locations shown on my phone screen from obviously spammy calls. Walnut Cove, NC (sounds really nice, doesn't it?)

I hear ya, Ken!

There should probably be a Louis Armstrong Corner here under Artists. Anyway... Apple Original Films announces definitive Louis Armstrong documentary “Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong” Imagine-produced documentary feature tells Armstrong’s story entirely through the revolutionary musician’s own words See: https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2021/04/apple-original-films-announce-definitive-louis-armstrong-documentary-black-and-blues-the-colorful-ballad-of-louis-armstrong/

Y'know what I hate? When personnel listings use the "As" "except" and "replaces" conventions. Example: from "All Star Swing Groups: The Savoy Sessions" (Savoy LP): Side A 6-7, B 1-2: Emmett Berry: trumpet, Walter "Foots" Thomas: alto sax, tenor sax, Budd Johnson: Coleman Hawkins: tenor sax, Johnny Guarnieri: piano, Max Shopnick: bass, Cozy Cole: drums. May 1, 1944 Side B 3-6: As May 1, except Eddie Barefield: alto sax, replaces Johnson and Sid Weiss: bass, replaces Shopnick. New York, June 14, 1944 I would much prefer they list the entire personnel on the 6/14/44 session, even though it means repeating the names of Berry, Thomas, et al. Just really bugs me.