mjzee

John Wetton, the bassist and frontman for Asia as well as a former member of King Crimson and U.K., has died at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-wetton-dies/

Well, a lot of this verbiage is hyperbole...witness Sonny's tribute to Ornette's impact on "music, politics and human relations." The only time Ornette had an impact on my relations with my wife was when we both laughed at Dookie's "just wanting to DANCE!" (A reference to the old BNBB; otherwise, will mean nothing to you.) Like any music, you listen to it and make of it what you will. I thought the video looked cool, though. Maybe not $100 cool, but cool nonetheless.

The first sound you hear on “Celebrate Ornette” (Song X Records), a CD-and-DVD boxed set, comes from Ornette Coleman’s alto saxophone. All at once it conveys the frailty of old age; the sturdiness of enduring ideas; a childlike sense of play; and an elder’s wisdom. No one was certain Coleman would play at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in June 2014 during a concert in his honor. Yet out he came, horn in hand, a few songs in. These live recordings begin with that moment. Stating a cryptic blues, Coleman projects the same radiant beauty, vocal quality and radical freedom he did in the late 1950s, when he transformed jazz. Less than three minutes in, an ensemble of longtime associates assembled by his son, drummer Denardo Coleman, joins him, along with saxophonists Henry Threadgill and David Murray. “Ramblin’,” a Coleman classic, takes shape. In harmonic and rhythmic terms, the transition isn’t obvious. It’s as if we’ve entered through a side door, one only Ornette knew about. Such is the magic and mystery of harmolodics, a musical philosophy as influential as it is esoteric, through which Coleman dispensed with, among other things, key signatures, and sent waves of influence well beyond jazz. The more than two-dozen musicians at Prospect Park included violinist/composer Laurie Anderson; Flea, the bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers; and two members of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, the Moroccan ensemble with which Coleman recorded in 1973. Coleman was 84 years old at that Prospect Park concert. He hadn’t played in concert since 2011. By June 11, 2015, he was gone. “Celebrate Ornette” (available through the Ornette Coleman website) includes that complete 2014 event—Coleman’s final public performance—and a quite different set of star-studded performances, from a June 2015 funeral service at Manhattan’s Riverside Church. The boxed set’s CDs include more than three hours of music (a premium edition presents the music on 180-gram vinyl LPs too). Two DVDs document the Brooklyn concert, intercut with backstage interviews, and the full memorial service, which blended music with testimonials. A large-format 26-page booklet contains rare photographs and essays. The essays inform and demystify. Denardo, who first played drums in his father’s band in 1966 at age 10, and who produced this boxed set, describes the rigor—“the hours, days, weeks, months of rehearsal, those hundreds of tunes, parts and revisions”—behind what sounded utterly organic. Guitarist James Blood Ulmer explains that, for all its improvised glory, clearly stated melody is the key to Coleman’s music. The Prospect Park recordings underscore how many singularly brilliant melodies Coleman left us, and the avenues of interpretation they invite. The blues at the core of many of these gets expressed in various ways, most directly and intensely by Messrs. Threadgill and Murray, especially on “Turnaround,” and most abstractly through drones from a group that included Ms. Anderson, alto saxophonist John Zorn, bassist Bill Laswell. Geri Allen, one of the few pianists Coleman worked with, shines, as does Denardo, whose unconventional drum-kit approach gets accentuated in spots by tap dancer Savion Glover. Coleman’s “Peace” sounds loose-limbed and freewheeling in the Prospect Park version; at the memorial, with Ms. Allen and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane in duet, it is reverent and prayerful. The Riverside Church performances trace an emotional arc; solemn solo tributes by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and pianist Cecil Taylor give way to a final celebratory four-guitar salute, via Coleman’s “Dancing in Your Head.” The DVDs offer touching details. At Prospect Park, there’s Coleman, seated onstage, smiling tenderly as Patti Smith recites a poem about him, and tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins explaining Coleman’s impact on “music, politics and human relations.” At Riverside Church, Yoko Ono leaves behind on the podium the white scarf she’d been knitting for Coleman when he died. Beyond joyous expressions of enduring music and its context, this package functions like a family album—for the wide-ranging community animated by Coleman’s presence, still quite alive and unbound by convention. “It’s not that Ornette thought out of the box,” Denardo announced at the memorial, “he just didn’t accept that there were any boxes.” With this boxed set, he’s lovingly captured that spirit.

A boxed set documents two shows that celebrate the importance of Ornette Coleman’s music: his final live appearance at a concert in 2014 and a funeral service for the jazz legend from 2015. The first sound you hear on “Celebrate Ornette” (Song X Records), a CD-and-DVD boxed set, comes from Ornette Coleman’s alto saxophone. All at once it conveys the frailty of old age; the sturdiness of enduring ideas; a childlike sense of play; and an elder’s wisdom. No one was certain Coleman would play at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in June 2014 during a concert in his honor. Yet out he came, horn in hand, a few songs in. These live recordings begin with that moment... Coleman was 84 years old at that Prospect Park concert. He hadn’t played in concert since 2011. By June 11, 2015, he was gone. “Celebrate Ornette” (available through the Ornette Coleman website) includes that complete 2014 event—Coleman’s final public performance—and a quite different set of star-studded performances, from a June 2015 funeral service at Manhattan’s Riverside Church. The boxed set’s CDs include more than three hours of music (a premium edition presents the music on 180-gram vinyl LPs too). Two DVDs document the Brooklyn concert, intercut with backstage interviews, and the full memorial service, which blended music with testimonials (full disclosure: These include my own reflections). A large-format 26-page booklet contains rare photographs and essays. Full review here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/celebrate-ornette-review-live-performances-timeless-influence-1485469989

http://www.the-temple.net/sunradisco/

I haven't been a member of eMusic for many years now, but notice that they now have a substantial portion of the Steeplechase catalog for download at reasonable prices. Which titles are favorites of board members here? Stanley Cowell, Walt Dickerson, Frank Foster...a lot of interesting looking albums: http://www.emusic.com/browse/album/jazz/label:1320687/page/1/

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?/topic/4909-sexiest-album-covers/&do=findComment&comment=907979 RIP.

Volume 1 is just solid throughout; I'd start there. If you're not a fan of Ornette Coleman (as I am not), be aware that his track on Volume 2 ("Sonnymoon For Two") takes up about a third of the album. It's pretty sad to hear him struggle with some simple changes. Volume 3 is also solid, with a great "Why Was I Born" and ending with "Don't Stop The Carnival." I have Volume 4 but haven't yet heard it.

I had never focused on the discography before; it seems like it's a lot more than just an "Oliver Nelson box." There's 6 Jimmy Smith albums (although I accept they sound very different than JOS on BN), a Pee Wee Russell, a Ray Brown/Milt Jackson, and a Shirley Scott.

Any thoughts on the Oliver Nelson, which is also running low?

I own it. Rosie is in fine voice. But there are two things you should know: Most of the tracks are very short - two minutes or so. And most tracks have a backing combo whose lead instrument is organ. That organ is not greasy. This lends an unusual texture to a lot of the tracks. You should try to hear some complete tracks to see if it's to your taste.

I have some Lunceford on some European P.D. sets, and there are a lot of vocals, so I'm not sure I need more. Thinking I'd rather splurge on the Earl Hines, Chick Webb and/or James P. Johnson boxes, of which I have little to any of the material.

Richard Parsons, ex-chief executive of Time Warner and Citigroup, as well as restaurateur and jazz fan extraordinaire, has reopened Minton’s, the Harlem jazz club at 206 West 118th St: http://nypost.com/2017/01/16/ex-time-warner-ceo-reopens-famed-harlem-jazz-club/

This is the order I just placed; with $7.98 shipping, it came to $33.79: Herbie Mann: Roar of the Greasepaint/Today, $0.99 The Young-Holt Unlimited/Slide Hampton: Oh Girl/Somethin' Sanctified, $0.99 Roy Ayers: Daddy Bug/Virgo Vibes, $2.98 Hank Crawford/Leo Wright: Soul Clinic/Blues Shout, $2.98 Slide Hampton: Sister Salvation, $2.98 Elvin Jones: And Then Again/Midnight Walk, $2.98 Shelly Manne: Boss Sounds!, $0.99 Bob Brookmeyer: Brookmeyer, $3.18 Curtis Fuller: Boss of the Soul-Stream Trombone, $0.99 Chico Hamilton: With Strings Attached, $2.79 The Jazz Modes: The Jazz Modes, $0.99 The Jazz Modes: The Most Happy Fella, $0.99 Don Shirley: Orpheus In The Underworld/Improvisations, $1.98

This is a great value at $1.98: http://www.oldies.com/product-view/62352.html

Thanks for the tip about oldies.com, GA...a lot of interesting stuff there at good prices.

Just listened to the whole BFT. I really liked it - excellent playing, nice arrangements, great mood. Couldn't identify any of the tracks. Track 3 had a reggae beat, and sounded like some no wave from 1980. Was it Joseph and Lester Bowie with Bob Stewart? Was track 4 Pepper Adams with Roland Hanna? Track 8 had a James Brown influence; was it Maceo? And was track 6 sung by a man or a woman???

How much of the Lunceford has vocals?

I got 5 of those CDs recently, for $4 each. A real bargain, and the one I've listened to so far, the Edmond Hall, is really good. Thanks for the input.

Is anyone here a member of the IAJRC? Is it worth joining?

Mean To Me?

Also, Wolff's photos were beautiful and of great quality. The photos taken at Savoy sessions were more like Kodak Brownie quality. Were they taken by Lubinsky?

I've been enjoying reading everyone's opinions on the book. Amazon has the Kindle version for $3.99, so I just went for that.

Happy birthday!!!