mjzee

Has there been any progress on that Uptown project of Detroit jazz in the mid-40's? Sounded very promising.

There were a few BN-ish albums on Atlantic in the mid-60's. See Duke Pearson's "Honeybuns" and "Prairie Dog," Elvin Jones's "And Then Again" and "Midnight Walk" (with Hank!), and Roy Ayers's "Virgo Vibes" (with Charles Tolliver and Joe Henderson), to name some.

Happy birthday, Thom! We appreciate what you do here.

Then David Wild needs to update his discography to include more recent finds.

Just to follow up on my earlier post, either Wild is a little behind in updating his discography, or the 11/22/61 date is inaccurate.

I picked up some Louis Bellson LPs on the cheap from Dusty Groove, and have been surprised and impressed. First there's Louis Bellson Jam (Pablo). The title is really misleading, because this isn't a jam session; rather, it's a well-arranged and well-rehearsed collection of mostly originals. 7-piece band: Bellson, Blue Mitchell, Pete Christlieb, Ross Tompkins, Gary Pratt, Bob Bain and Emil Richards. Produced by Bellson (not Granz), which may be why the recording doesn't sound like an afterthought. I enjoyed this one, and look forward to hearing it again. The send is Raincheck (Concord). This is a quintet that includes a teenager named Ted Nash on sax. He's pretty good, but the true standout is Blue Mitchell - this may be the best Mitchell I've heard. Again, well thought out and well played. Bellson is a very tasteful, swinging drummer. I'm looking forward to listening to Sunshine Rock and Matterhorn (both Pablo), both big band.

Maybe I've just been lucky with Baker, but I've liked the titles I've acquired, though I'm sure I haven't scratched the surface of his oeuvre. Things I've heard from the '80's seem well-played and harmonically interesting. "Peace" (Enja) is a great date with David Friedman on vibes. "Straight From The Heart: The Great Last Concert"and "My Favourite Songs: The Last Great Concert" (also Enja), with the NDR Big Band, is also really good, although I can do without his singing. And "Strollin'" (Enja), with Philip Catherine on guitar, is flat out great. What intrigues me most about Baker is his conception; he somehow seems to have passed the major currents in NY and LA. It's sort of a midwestern hipness; very refreshing. On Verve? Baker seems to be sleepwalking and Getz is on amphetamines. It's great Getz, but what a schizophrenic date. Very Chicago rhythm section, and they're adding their own thing to it.

I find Chet Baker consistently interesting, and an undersung talent. He really doesn't sound like anyone else. Some great early Chet was the quartet with Mulligan, collected here: And then his own quartet with Russ Freeman: I also like these live dates, collected on Uptown:

I haven't belonged for a few years now, but I do look at their listings. Agreed that it's always been semi-amateurish and frustrating, and agreed that their quality listings continue to drop off. I do still think about rejoining, because they do have some crucial labels. Foremost is Steeplechase; I could probably go through a few years of membership just concentrating on that catalog. Also enticing are Uptown (they don't carry the whole catalog, but do have a lot, albeit without their great booklets), Resonance (ditto), Chet Baker Estate, Motema, Smoke Sessions, and Fresh Sounds. The latter is a special case, as they list every release at the same price, $6.99, which makes for crazy bargains for their multi-disc sets (such as Lucky Thompson Complete Parisian Small Group Sessions). So I'm still looking, but for all I know they'll go out of business next week.

I've been able to consistently log on since it came back up. When I post, it appears much faster than it used to.

Mosaic has posted, in their Daily Jazz Gazette on their homepage, 47 minutes of Coltrane and Dolphy in Helsinki on 11/22/61. Interesting that this concert is not listed in David Wild's discography page (http://www.wildmusic-jazz.com/jcdisc61.htm#611123). While I am not an expert in unreleased Coltrane, this would seem to be notable.

It is a great picture of that era. The set runs from some of the earliest points of jazz (1921) through almost the modern era (1943). In some ways, JPJ is like a Zelig, fitting himself into many different situations and styles, seeming at home in each of them. There's a nice variety between solo sessions, small groups, and larger groups; also, this is the Mosaic to showcase female blues singers: mostly Bessie Smith, but also Clara Smith, Lavinia Turner, Sadie Jackson, Rosa Henderson, Martha Copeland, Ethel Waters, Eva Taylor, and Ida Cox. I'm impressed by the discographical digging that Mosaic's put into this set. In short, this is the sort of set that Mosaic was made for, and it's highly unlikely that any other record company will do this sort of project ever again.

If you'd consider a download...$6.99: https://www.emusic.com/album/3799206/Various-Artists/You-Leave-Me-Breathless

Ever since I read the obit, I can't get "Grazing In The Grass" out of my mind. But not the Masakela version; rather, the Friends Of Distinction version. What a great arrangement/performance/single! Truly a golden era of popular music. I also loved Masakela's original version when it came out - hard to believe there was a time when instrumentals could become pop hits. That was a time.

Looking forward to the new software. Does it have the ability to "like" a post, ala Facebook? I always thought that would be useful here.

Welcome back.

Remember when Andrew Rose was posting here about his jazz releases?

I have no experience with them.

Came across this while looking for info on Bach Guild downloads. Some excellent bargains on box sets: https://www.classicselect.com/collections/september-warner-clearance-boxed-sets-6-cds?page=1

Can anyone confirm that the timings listed on the plosin.com page are the "correct" (as regards to pitch) timings? See: http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/BirdSessions.aspx?s=500517

How would you do that?

Fun fact: the correct date for this concert is February 11, 1949. There was a discussion about this many years ago on either this board or BNBB: Fantasy mistook 2/11/49 [probably noted as 11 (day) / 2 (month) / 1949] for 11/2/49.

Interesting article from medicalxpress.com: Miles Davis is not Mozart: The brains of jazz and classical pianists work differently

I found an LP copy of Milt Jackson Quintet featuring Ray Brown - Just The Way It Had To Be (Impulse AS-9230). It's in "Compatible stereo / quad." The back cover states "This album was mixed for compatible stereo / quadraphonic reproduction, and should provide exceptional and stimulating listening when heard on any high-quality playback system." After one listening, I can state that is not the case. The sound is distant, muddy, and indirect. I can hear all the instruments, but they do not have the clarity and impact they should have. I remember around when this came out, there were two competing technologies: one that was quad-only, and this supposedly compatible stereo / quad. I truly think they were kidding themselves. Does anyone remember other stereo / quad releases? I think Impulse was big on them. Has anyone done an a/b comparison of one of these LPs with a subsequent CD that was remastered for stereo only? And has anyone compared the sound quality of this LP with the other LP from the same session, "That's The Way It Is" (Impulse AS-9189)?