mjzee

I don't think there's been a dedicated topic to this long-running band yet here. They were formed in 1971, and have recorded pretty consistently since. Their records are of a piece, and sui generis; their concept can be heard, fully formed, since their first recording. Their sound is unique. When I hear then, I admit the first thing I think of is the early '70's: vegetarian restaurants, patchouli, India, peace and love, etc., etc., etc., but their music is involving and complex, and sends me to a particular area that no other group or artist can. This was all brought back to me when I recently found a pristine copy of their first LP on ECM, simply titled "Oregon." Ralph Towner plays more Prophet 5 synthesizer than he does guitar (this was 1983, after all), but he gets a sound on it that blends well with the oboes, sitars, violas, and their other special mix of instruments. While their albums sound utterly like themselves, each one also sounds fresh and thought-out. (I haven't heard the album they did with Elvin Jones, and can't imagine what that sounds like.) So what do other people here think of their particular kind of jazz?

I also loved this line: Mr. Florez: At the end of the final take, my jaw dropped. I ran up to Wally to hug him and said, "My god, you were right." It was still a lousy tune but now it was a commercially viable one. Wally said to me, "Your issue John is that you want to make special, meaningful records. Instead, you should feed the market."

Happy birthday!

I know this should probably go into the Jazz In Print forum, but I found it fascinating that Joe Sample, Wilton Felder and Larry Carlton played on "Rock The Boat": The Making of the Hues Corporation's Rock The Boat - WSJ (If the link doesn't work for you, Google the article's title.)

You just hit 5,000 posts! Congratulations!

Riding home now. It felt like a very special experience. Wayne's tone was gorgeous on both soprano and tenor - he played a lot of soprano. The compositions ebbed and flowed, like a cracked mosaic. Wayne didn't solo as much as he inserted comments. It seemed like a type of musical, non-verbal story telling, as if the composer was telling stories and reminiscences from his life. In fact, almost the whole program seemed composed - while played with verve and vigor and wit, I didn't detect much improvisation. I was glad to have experienced the concert, but I can't say the music moved me.

Back in high school, I was on A&M's mailing list, and one month they sent Roger Kellaway's Center of the Circle. It didn't do much for me then; perhaps it was my youth. I don't have it now; I wonder how I'd react to it.

Can't wait to see Wayne Shorter tonight. Hope I like it; hope I "get" it.

Disc one has 6/9/53 (Lou Donaldson, Elmo Hope) and 8/28/53 (Gigi Gryce, Charlie Rouse). Disc two has 6/22/53 (J.J. Johnson, Jimmy Heath) and the Pacific Jazz date (August 12 or 13, 1954). All alternates are included.

He hasn't been funny in awhile.

I loved the article. Cobham was self-taught, and his opinions display the same autodidact quality: he thinks for himself. Interesting that he mentions so many drummers who aren't discussed often (at least on this board): Louis Bellson, Jo Jones, Mel Lewis, Sonny Payne, Sam Woodyard. You can tell he listened to these guys and came away with their distinct characteristics. It's also interesting that he thinks of Max Roach for his politics; one wonders what Cobham thinks of his drumming. But that is a problem when an artist gets so identified with their political work - it can overshadow their art. I also loved this line: "[laughs] These are personalities that I do not encounter now."

If you can't wait...

A very special album that hasn't been available on CD in more than 20 years is Amarcord Nino Rota: A tribute to Nino Rota's music, as played by Jaki Byard, Dave Samuels, Carla Bley, Bill Frisell, Sharon Freeman and Muhal Richard Abrams, David Amram, Steve Lacy, and William Fischer (with Wynton Marsalis!). A great idea, beautifully executed.

Amazon Marketplace has the Rubinstein box @ $229. Any thoughts on the Murray Perahia box?

It would be great if there were a mono Impulse release series.

Earl Coleman Returns, $5.99 Ray Brown, Don't Get Sassy, $5.99 Clark Terry, Serenade To A Bus Seat, $5.99 John Jenkins, Cliff Jordan, Bobby Timmons, $5.99

Andrew Rose hasn't posted here in awhile.

Friday, April 4: Ballister (Fred Lonberg-Holm, Paal Nilssen-Love, Dave Rempis) @ the Starlight Lounge (rooftop patio) at Khon's, 2800 Milam St., Houston. (The same night as Wayne Shorter.)

Listening now to Unity. Vinyl is heavy and very quiet but, disappointingly, a little off-center. Sound quality is nice and smooth. Music still doesn't thrill me, but I'm glad to have the album.

OK, I just take that middle step of first burning it to CD, so I can parse the tracks, adjust levels and (sometimes) declick.

Of course I do, as does everyone with a computer. (Although interestingly, as an aside, my new iMac does not come with an optical drive. I've repurposed my old iMac as a dedicated music server.) The CD recorder is part of my stereo system, and it's how I transfer LPs (and before that, cassettes) to iTunes: burn to CD, transfer to iMac, clean it up with Amadeus, then import into iTunes. As for Tascam, they're really TEAC, so it's worth asking how good this particular unit is. Thanks, Allen. What do you mean by "front-end converter" - do you use it as a pass-through DAC?

Does anyone here have any experience with the Tascam CD-RW900SL? My venerable Marantz CDR630 is giving up the ghost, and I'm shopping for a replacement CD recorder.

Got Free For All today.

With great sound, great photos, and great liner notes. Someone needing it should go get this one on ebay. It's in a different package than the one I have, mine's a double-wide disc thing in a slipcase, that one looks a little fancier. Terrific set. This is the one I have. Very nice design inside, great photos. It's a pain to actually get the CDs out, however. BN put out a similar package at the same time for Gerry Mulligan, but that went OOP in an instant.