mjzee

Sam played my college in Fall 1973, a trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul. Yeah, those were the days. They played for 2 hours, one continuous piece. I just remember the level of intensity in that room. It was a great show.

Ah, Sauter Finegan on vinyl with cover art by the great Jim Flora. Life is good. I've seen a mention every so often from posters who are fans of Jim Flora. There was an article in 2006 on the Flora family: The Fabulous Floras

Jim, how do you post your article scans? I want to post an image, but keep bumping up against that 100K limit (and the file doesn't appear in my post anyway, only a link).

From the liner notes: Reid Miles, photographer Did we once have a thread here, or on the BNBB, about Reid's work after he left BN?

Interesting that Chuck's recording dates differ from Binkie's.

Wow! Thanks! It was a very suggestive and moody cover, without suggesting anything realistic. I always translated it in my mind as maybe some ships braving an intergalactic storm. Now we know...great. It's even a little suggestive of the music on that first album.

Does anyone have discographical information about the first Weather Report album: recording dates, who plays what on which tracks, etc? Many thanks in advance.

This thread gave me the impetus to do a thorough search of this type of software for the Mac. I've spent a few hours playing with Amadeus Pro, and I like it, partly because it has a well-written help file. It also saves files as mp3 VBR (in Final Vinyl, I had to save the results as .aiff files, then convert each to mp3 in iTunes). I might go for it; a license costs either $36 or $40, depending on the website.

This question has bothered me for years. At first I thought it was some flying creatures, perhaps sci-fi related, but I took a long look at it today and the closest I came to was some crumpled-up aluminum foil. The LP does say "Cover photo: Ed Freeman," so it is a photo of something.

* Highlight track * File -> Export Selection. Is this correct? Wouldn't I have to separate the tracks first before exporting them? Also, it doesn't give options to export in either aiff or mp3.

I travel for many months on end. I may see my LPs/CDs once a year. I cannot download over a Sudanese dial-up line. Much of the time, I don't even have a laptop. I rip all my mp3s at VBR Q2, which is pretty much indistinguishable from CD. I don't need FLAC for portable listening when VBR Q2 works as well as it does. A typical 75 minute CD will rip to about 85 MB at this VBR bitrate. Since many of my Blue Note CDs are more like 42 minutes each, they take about 45 MB. A 16 GB Sandisk player would hold ~355 "typical" Blue Note CDs or if you rip all 75 minute discs, ~188 will fit. That's alotta music! Kevin, which program do you use to rip your CDs? I'm also looking for a good program to use while transferring my vinyl to digital. I record each side of vinyl as one track onto a CD, and want to split the side into individual tracks on my Mac. I started using Final Vinyl, but it's too buggy. I wouldn't mind paying for a program, as long as it will do what I need. If it had an equalizer, that would be fun, too. I tried Audacity, but it doesn't seem to do the track-separating thing.

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I'm digitizing my vinyl collection, and after a particularly bad batch of TDK CD-Rs, I remembered this thread. I ordered the Taiyo Yudens from American Digital, they arrived the next day, and the first two I've burned have been flawless. It looks like my CD recorder just likes these discs more than the TDKs.

What is that thing on the cover of their first album?

He was Jewish. Not sure that the "Lion" reference is to the Lion of Judah. He came up in an age when everyone had a nickname (the Duke, the Count, etc).

Thanks for posting that, Jim. Pictures of dissolution are never pretty, but we're all rubber-necking. I found this paragraph interesting: "He was dressed to kill: burnt orange leisure suit, bright blue shirt open at the collar, and an oversized cap." I don't have the disc handy, but on the One Night With Blue Note CD reissue, there are (I think) 9 photos of individual performers, and I always puzzled over one guy dressed like Superfly. Couldn't place him; the closest I came to was Bobby Hutcherson, but I could see the picture of Bobby also on the back cover. Was that Hank? I would agree with Bloom's assessment of Mobley's '50's sessions. They never really grabbed me; they seem kind of dull. I'd make an exception of the All Stars date, but that more for the tunes than for Hank's playing. For me, he came alive with Workout; that's when his horn really started to sing. I'd also agree with Bloom about the Blackhawk date. The band sounds like a disfunctional family. And why is it that every time Hank steps up to solo, Jimmy Cobb kicks up his drums into high gear? I always imagine it was under Miles's instruction: "Kick that up; make Hank play something."

It's the mystery of genius. Doesn't mean he satisfies every taste; does mean he's being true to himself.

Sorry to hear about this. I bought the Schoolkids CD without knowing anything about WW; I was simply in a record store, they were playing it on the sound system, and I dug the groove. Good, greazzzy music. RIP.

Two little pieces of trivia: 1) I bought the Joe Henderson Milestone box cheap, and the track "Power To The People", originally from the album "Black Narcissus", was defective. I thought I could just replace the track with a downloaded version from eMusic. Well, eMusic doesn't have the album, and neither do iTunes or Amazon downloads. 2) The Track "Power To The People" is on the album "Black Narcissus," and the track "Black Narcissus" is on the album "Power To The People."

Bob Brookmeyer - Live at Sandy's David Fathead Newman - Keep The Spirits Singing Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales - Hooteroll? Ali Akbar Khan & Ravi Shankar - Raag Shree Anthony Braxton - 9 Compositions (Iridium 2006) The Best of Max Roach and Clifford Brown in Concert (GNP) Happy Apple - Back On Top Pat Martino - Strings! Zoot Sims - Zoot!

OK, so they probably switched the timings of 45 Degree Angle and Infatuation Eyes while they were type-setting. They must have employed the Blue Note proof-reading department! Thanks for the info.

I have the Bethlehem 1976 reissue of this album. For side 2, both the cover and the label list the third song as Denzil Best's "45 Degree Angle" with a time of 2:45. However, the actual track 3 is about 4 minutes. Both this album and the CD reissue listed at Amazon show side 2 as follows (Amazon doesn't show the timings): Beyond Recall 4:36 All The Way 4:28 45 Degree Angle 2:45 Infatuation Eyes 4:06 S'Crazy Pad 4:40 The sample of 45 Degree Angle at Amazon matches the song on the LP. So, is track 3 actually 45 Degree Angle, with a time of 4 minutes or so, or is the listed song order incorrect?

I've enjoyed this thread. It seems to me that this thread has been about the act of listening - how we listen, and what we make of it. To the extent that Larry, Dan and the others have been able to articulate what is an intensely private process, I've found that valuable. As for Bill, I think you're experiencing the disconnect between how much you enjoy an artist and hearing from people who genuinely disagree with you, with perhaps the added dollop of those disagree-ers being very persuasive writers. Sorry, but they're out there, and you can't stop them. But you can be content in your own opinion, and hope that you can persuade some others to agree with you. Not me, though. I think Scott is pretty lightweight. But I do love Warren Vache.

I got my order today from CD Universe. The jewel cases on 2 of the 3 were cracked. Grrr...

Chicago's Avant-Garde Musicians By MARTIN JOHNSON Most jazz fans readily acknowledge that Chicago ranks just behind New Orleans and New York in importance to jazz history. During the '20s and '30s, Louis Armstrong made his first dozen seminal recordings in Chicago, and the postwar years saw a wide range of great musicians -- from bluesy saxophonists like Johnny Griffin to analytical pianists like Lenny Tristano -- emerge from this Midwestern epicenter of jazz. But what's less well known is that Chicago has continued to nurture generations of innovative musicians. The latest wave bridge the gap between avant-garde jazz and avant-garde or art rock to create a music of unusual texture and power. While the sound is surprising -- it's dense and infectious -- the development is entirely logical. Since its beginnings in the early '60s, the Chicago school of the jazz avant-garde has sought to embrace and unify the diverse threads of musical history rather than refute the most recent trends. The key early figures in the development of the Chicago avant-garde -- pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, saxophonist Fred Anderson, reedman Anthony Braxton and the members of the group the Art Ensemble of Chicago -- tended toward a quieter, more contemplative sound than the raucous dissonance often heard in New York avant-garde jazz circles, and they started The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. That organization established a school on Chicago's South Side and presented concerts and workshops that have cultivated dozens of young musicians. Saxophonist Matana Roberts and trumpeter Rob Mazurek, the leader of the Exploding Star Orchestra, are the brightest lights of the new Chicago wave, and each has a new recording -- Ms. Roberts's "The Chicago Project" (Central Control) and Mr. Mazurek's "Bill Dixon With the Exploding Star Orchestra" (Thrill Jockey). Ms. Roberts, who was born and raised in Chicago before moving to New York five years ago, says that the scene in her native city was crucial to the development of her sound. "My mentors made it clear that it was important to understand the history of the music but present it in a way that echoed my own personal stamp." She credits those elders -- particularly Mr. Anderson, who leads a weekly Sunday-evening jam session at his jazz club, The Velvet Lounge, and veteran saxophonist Von Freeman, who leads a popular gig on Tuesdays at his New Apartment Lounge -- with helping her find her voice on the sax. But she says that some of the younger players -- including Mr. Mazurek, guitarist Jeff Parker, flautist Nicole Mitchell and drummer Chad Taylor -- were key to her composing. "I had no interest in composing," she said via email. "I was going to focus my musical commentary on the work of my heroes and pay homage, but [that crowd] stayed on me all the time to write my own compositions." Ms. Roberts has made numerous performances as a sidewoman and a leader, but her style really began to mature with the collective trio Sticks and Stones, which featured Mr. Taylor and bassist Jeff Abrams. On "Shed Grace" (Thrill Jockey), released in 2004, Ms. Roberts's sound is vibrant and confident, full of bluesy, gruff tones and tender, wistful murmurs as the group moves through an eclectic repertoire. "The Chicago Project," a quartet recording that features Ms. Roberts, Messrs. Abrams and Parker, and drummer Frank Rosaly -- along with a guest appearance by Mr. Anderson -- exhibits Ms. Roberts's continued growth. Her sound is often built around short, staccato figures that create rhythmic tension with Messrs. Parker and Rosaly. Mr. Abrams holds the quartet's music together with a steady solid beat. Three tracks feature Ms. Roberts's duets with Mr. Anderson; they are dedicated to the Charlie Parker records that he had her study as a youth. Ms. Roberts brought the Chicago Project, which is the name of both the quartet and the recording, to Jazz Gallery in lower Manhattan in late February for a rousing performance. She's a commanding figure onstage with her cascades of curly and dreadlocked hair crowning a gold lamé jacket, and her playing is expansive and appealing. The alto saxophonist closed the first set with a 20-minute version of her composition "Thrills" that had the typically serene New York jazz crowd shouting in joy. This Sunday evening at 8, Ms. Roberts will perform in a more intimate setting, in a duet with guitarist Liberty Ellman at Jimmy's, 41 E. 7th St. For more information, call 212-982-3006. For years Mr. Mazurek, 42, a cornetist, has been known for some of the best small-group recordings in jazz with his Chicago Underground series. He recorded in duo, trio and quartet settings, and the discs are an outgrowth of his Sunday-afternoon jam sessions at the Green Mill on Chicago's North Side. Mr. Mazurek considers his new band, Exploding Star Orchestra ("the name is a metaphor for constancy and regeneration," he explained), an extension of that project. It involves several alumni of his Sunday-afternoon run, including Mr. Parker, John Herndon and John McEntire, all three members of the Chicago-based art rock group Tortoise. Groups in the Chicago avant-garde rock movement, which also include Gastr Del Sol and The Sea and Cake, have brought a parallel reserve and austerity to their somewhat cerebral music. Mr. Mazurek's cornet sound initially owed much to the razor-sharp rhythmic precision of hard bop trumpeter Kenny Dorham, but in the late '90s, it began to grow and take on elements of avant-garde jazz pioneers Don Cherry and Bill Dixon. His compositions also began to integrate some of the hypnotic beats of Balinese gamelan music. Last winter, Exploding Star Orchestra released its superb debut recording, "We Are All From Somewhere Else" (Thrill Jockey), and it featured Mr. Mazurek's stellar compositions and a near-all-star cast of players from Chicago's jazz and rock communities. The band's latest, "Bill Dixon With the Exploding Star Orchestra," affords Mr. Mazurek a chance to collaborate with one of his key influences. "Bill Dixon's sound penetrates yet hovers over you like fantastically colored clouds," said Mr. Mazurek of his idol. They met two years ago at the Guelph Jazz Festival in Ontario and hit it off. They collaborated on two pieces for the Exploding Star Orchestra and presented both last summer at the Chicago Jazz Festival. 'My ear was immediately drawn to his approach to the instrument," said Mr. Dixon of his collaborator, adding that he was impressed with Mr. Mazurek's ability to personalize a wide range of musical styles in his playing. The performances on the disc are full of surprise, whimsy and impressive detail. Mr. Dixon's lyrical and diffuse tone challenged the orchestral members to find appropriate complements in their solos, and they do creating a work full of intense orchestral color and unusual textures. Mr. Mazurek, like many other Chicago musicians, has moved and now lives in Paris after a stint in São Paulo, Brazil. But for musicians who have developed in Chicago, the city is never far from them. Ms. Roberts credits the strong family vibe within the musicians' community there. "I feel a certain familial love from a lot of the folks I played with there; they check up on me all the time. It helps me stay grounded."

Probably the big hurdle is that EMI owns the rights to the covers and liner notes. They probably can't charge for the discographical information, but can charge for the rest (if they would even grant permission). I think a better solution is to make each release's cover and liner notes a file, to be sold at the per-track charge when an album is downloaded. So for a 6-track CD, the 7th track would be the cover and liner notes.