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Kurt Masur - The Complete Warner Classics Edition, disc 44.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 55 (final).

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 54.

Track 01: In the Jazz Messengers mold. Modal. That fire makes me think of Woody Shaw. A lot of energy in that band. Billy Higgins on drums. Jackie McLean on alto? No, a little too everywhere, not blues based enough. Wait, is that late Hank Mobley? I’m stumped. But it’s a good’un. Track 02: The head is a little reminiscent of Ornette, maybe because the piano’s so down in the mix it’s almost not there. A little frantic. Maybe more than a little. I kinda lost interest after awhile. Is this one of those Pete Christlieb - Warne Marsh things? Track 03: Has to be Abdullah Ibrahim, a personal fav. Sounds like it could be from his South Africa years. 5 stars. Track 04: Violin and electric guitar to start. The band could be Oregon, but the guitarist is definitely not Ralph Towner. Moody, fun stuff. I’m gonna guess the recording date is mid-70’s, and Jerry Goodman and Jan Hammer are participating. Track 05: Sounds kinda lo-fi; off a cassette? Didn’t do much for me. Track 06: “Tenderly.” Trumpeter is taking his time, always a good sign, but it’s the bass that takes the solo. Is it the bassist’s date? The track was OK, but I would have liked it a little sweeter. Track 07: Track 6, disc 1, from this. Track 08: Based on the sound quality (the album was recorded on cassette), I’m gonna guess it’s the title track from this. Track 09: Already identified. I like Randy's BFTs because I think we're roughly the same age and share many of the same musical touchstones. Thanks for putting it together. I'll be interested in the identity of #1; I have a feeling I own it. (After reviewing the others' comments, I find I own #1 & 2.)

Reinhard Goebel Complete Archiv box, disc 29.

Kurt Masur - The Complete Warner Classics Edition, disc 43.

There was also a live album, "Re-Entry," on Joel Dorn-related labels (first Ram, then 32), recorded by Alan Grant in 1965 & 1966: https://www.discogs.com/release/9521955-Horace-Silver-Re-Entry

So true. I'm listening now to Jean-Yves Thibaudet play Chopin, and he's opening up these Polonaises, Waltzes, Preludes, Mazurkas, Scherzos, Barcarolles and Etudes in a way I haven't heard before. He's showing them as little pictures, set pieces, scenes, showing the life undergirding these compositions. He's bringing them to life for me. Up until now, I've been baffled why people have held these pieces in such high regard - they just sounded odd, with clunky rhythms. Thibaudet is making them sing, at least to me.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 53.

Billy Higgins on drums!

Any recommendations for her Mainstream albums? I have Live In Japan.

Reinhard Goebel Complete Archiv box, disc 28.

Track 9 is the first track from this.

Kurt Masur - The Complete Warner Classics Edition, disc 42.

It was Gary Giddins writing in the Village Voice who forced me to take Sarah Vaughan seriously; he was so emphatic about her brilliance that I began to pay more attention. There was a period when there wasn't a lot of Vaughan available; that started to change with the Pablo releases. Another thing that helped me was when I read her saying "I am NOT a blues singer!" That helped me focus on her style, who she was and who she wasn't. She obviously took a sensual pleasure in her range - singing for the sheer joy of singing. And yet there was more substance to her singing than I found in Ella, who seemed to me to hit one note: that of happiness. The only thing that still takes me aback is when I'll hear one of her later tracks on shuffle without knowing who it is, and I think it's a man singing (I also notice this with later Nina Simone); it takes a minute before I realize it's Sarah.

Track 5 is "Happy Hooligan" from: Al DeRisi, Bernie Glow, Nick Travis, tp; Eddie Bert, Ollie Wilson, tb; Tony Miranda, frh; Hal McKusick, as; Al Cohn, ts; Charlie O'Kane, bs; Elliot Lawrence, p; Russ Saunders, b; Don Lamond, d. 1956. This was identified during the BFT, as was Al Cohn's contribution. I liked that it was lively, in the Basie mold, but with an added intellectual layer on top. And that it was short! I was aspiring to have all short tunes in my upcoming May BFT, but sadly I failed. I didn't know much about Elliot Lawrence, and found his career to be fascinating: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Lawrence Many thanks to all who organized this all-star BFT! Let's hope to do it again in another 20 years.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 52.

Dan Serro was a character. At the jazz record store I worked at, he was our connection for Japanese LP releases that were hard to come by in this country (this was before Tower was importing them in bulk). I had a promo copy of Burton Greene's "Variations on a Coffee Machine". Someone once said Dan Serro wasn't his real name; he adopted it because at one time he was a dancer.

I saw her once, at the Beacon Theater in NYC, around the release of her Golden Lady album (~ 1980). It was as good as you'd imagine. Great voice, great stage presence.

Great! Thanks for posting, or reposting: I think I read this many years ago.

I’ve liked Walrath for awhile. I have his first album, “Demons In Pursuit,” which featured Scofield. I also saw his quintet in the village (NYC) which featured Kenny Drew Jr. on piano and David Fiuczynski on guitar, I think in the late ‘90’s.

Kurt Masur - The Complete Warner Classics Edition, disc 41.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 51.

Uncertain about the release date: Lovabye follows Groover's formidable first full-length album, Negro Spiritual Songbook, Vol. 2 (The Message), performed by his excellent Boston band in quartet or quintet configurations, contains Groover's arrangements of, as he then wrote, "Black America's praise music through jazz's evolving language to produce a radical theology that connects you to a higher power, ". Recorded in August 2019, it was released two years later, as society unwound from the Covid-19 pandemic. During the lockdown, Groover had generated a group of "love songs and songs of people I love." In spring 2023, he brought this music to Walter Smith III, who Groover had idolized as a teenager, and is now his friend and colleague at Berklee School of Music, their mutual alma mater, where Groover serves as Assistant Chair of the Ensemble Department. "I told Walter I'd like to play with some of my other heroes and peers, " Groover recalls. "He said, 'What's stopping you? The music is there.' Luckily for me, everyone who I wanted to record with was available and happy to do it." The Album was recorded August 16, 2023 at the GSI Studios, NYC. Producer Walter Smith III. Recording engineer Chris Allen. Sound engineer Mike Marciano did the mixing and mastering at Systems Two in NYC. Photography by Saito Ogata.

Uncertain about the release date: 13-time Grammy nominee and American Jazz Hall of Famer Kenny Barron's Beyond This Place is comes on the heels of his 2023 Grammy-Nominated solo album, The Source. Beyond This Place brings together a multi-generational quintet featuring Immanuel Wilkins, saxophone's rising star; Johnathan Blake, one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation; Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Barron's long-time double bassist and Steve Nelson, one of the most highly regarded vibraphonists.