mjzee

While you're largely correct, I can think of some odd exceptions. 1) There was a series of funk jazz albums on Inner City that involved graduates of Miles Davis's '70 bands: Mtume playing with Hubert Eaves (? I think that was the name)...there were others, too, if I remember the names, I will amend here. They were very bland funk albums. 2) There was an odd album, also on Inner City, called "The Three", a trio of Joe Sample, Ray Brown and Shelly Manne (well, they are all West Coast guys). Now on eMusic: The Three 3) Alphonse Mouzon was in Weather Report, then made many fusion/dance albums on MPS. 4) Idris Muhammad seems like a guy who went the other direction: from a dance/fusion focus to becoming a respected Jazz drummer.

Faddis had good chops, but worshipped Dizzy too much. There also always seemed to be steady work for trumpeters who could hit those high notes (Maynard Ferguson, Al Killian, etc); I guess some people liked it. At a JATP session, it was akin to the fat lady singing. During the '70's, I thought most Muse albums looked cheesy, populated with nobodies. I can moderate that opinion somewhat now, but back then I knew no one who listed to Jimmy Ponder, for example, and couldn't figure out why these albums kept coming out. Eric Gale had that sound that Paul Simon liked, but it seemed like he only had 6 notes in his repertoire. Steve Khan did some interesting things on Novus. Sammy Cahn's son, by the way. In the '70's, I remember really disliking certain artists, thinking they were overhyped (at least in the NYC area). Two in particular were Lester Bowie and Betty Carter. I remember having impassioned discussions with friends about the relative merits or lack of same ("How can you like Betty Carter? Haven't you heard Abbey Lincoln?" etc.). Then I remember hearing about Lester's death and feeling a loss. It seemed like those impassioned opinions paled next to the loss of a person's life; the opinions really weren't that important, y'know? You may like a person's work or you may not, but they only have a certain number of years on this earth.

Dunno. There's no correlation to the CDs on the website. Perhaps you could judge by the track timings?

I've just noticed that the next 4 are up: A Foggy Day (Length: 17:56, Cost $1.99) Four (Length: 15:58 Cost $1.99) My One and Only Love (Length: 6:29 Cost $.99) Blue 'n Boogie (Length 7:33 Cost $.99) Were there any posted previously besides: Autumn Nocturne Flamingo I'll Be Seeing You Night And Day Nutty Sonnymoon For Two St. Thomas Where Are You ?

You are correct; serves me right for working off memory. Cees Slinger on piano (thanks, AMG!). Also, recording date is 2/5/69, not 1967.

Just added is one of THE GREAT Dexter Gordon albums: I have this on vinyl as Live At The Amsterdam Paradiso. 1967. Acceptible sound quality, tho the piano is really funky (I think the liner notes mention it was missing a couple of keys!). The pianist is Han Bennink. This is prime, supreme Dexter, playing with a real edge and high energy, just ripping into the music. Don't miss it.

I saw him at Jones Beach in 1987 (?), and I agree - a baffling performance, tho the sound mix didn't help. At one point, on a solo acoustic number, I honestly couldn't tell whether he was playing his guitar or tuning it. But I think the real challenge with seeing Dylan live is that one hearing simply isn't enough - the joys of his music unfold with the rehearing. I have a bootleg of a performance from Philadelphia in I think 1989 that's just great. I'm certain I would not have known how good the performance was if I was at the concert.

I liked Infidels a lot (Dylan sounded a bit berserk on it, but that's all right), and also really liked Real Live. Considered Empire Burlesque a nadir of sorts - the songs seemed pallid and contentless (and the album just goes on and on). There was a King Biscuit Flour Hour of the Dylan/Petty tour which is great. I also liked Knocked Out Loaded and Down In The Groove - Dylan at his confusing best, with a lot of attitude: "Drifting Too Far From Shore" was everything that "Seeing The Real You At Last" was not, "You Wanna Ramble" presages "Someday Baby" from Modern Times, "Silvio" is of course great, and "When Did You Leave Heaven" is a wonderful piece of music - it shouldn't work, with Dylan playing with the song's meter, but it does. I think of these two albums as one; I believe the tracks came from the same sessions, and they're both so short that they can fit on one CD. Collected, the songs sound like a collected bunch of scraps, and the flow from one song to another seems almost like a mix tape. Where I think he really took a dive was with Oh Mercy - a humorless, dank album. I get it, Bob - the world's going to hell in a handbasket (or could it be that you're just getting older and the world is passing you by?). Only one good song, "Everything Is Broken," which has some clever wordplay and a good groove. And Under The Red Sky is probably his worst album, tho I think that's universally recognized. I haven't yet read Chronicles, but I believe somewhere in there he even admits that.

When the first album came out, I felt so relieved that Dylan seemed like a real person again, able to crack laughs and not take himself so seriously. There had been a string of albums where he just seemed so divorced from ordinary people, so solemn and self-serious, that it was great to hear him sing smutty double-entendres in "Dirty World," and do a great Springsteen parody in "Tweeter and the Monkey Man." So, yah, I loved that first disc. It was obviously a bunch of friends sitting around making music. And Orbison's voice is great: check out "Not Alone Any More." I never heard Vol. 3, but I guess I'll pick up the box set; it's pretty cheap at Costco.

This month's downloads: Charles Mingus in Paris - The Complete America Session, disc 1 Complete Dexter Gordon on Prestige, discs 6 - 10 Art Pepper - Gettin' Together Milt Jackson - Invitation Rosemary Clooney - Rosie Sings Bing Abbey Lincoln - Abbey Is Blue

Although I was never a fan of "Out Here," I've always thought "False Start" is a great pop album. Hendrix is only on one track, but he burns. It's too bad that Hip-O didn't think outside the box and include Arthur Lee's solo album, "Vindicator," which was on A&M (another Universal-owned label).

They've just added titles from the "Swiss Radio Days" series: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Lausanne 1960 Part 1 Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Lausanne 1960 Part 2 Ben Webster - Dexter Gordon, Baden 1972 Cannonball Adderley Sextet, Lugano 1963 Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Zurich 1962 Gerry Mulligan And The Concert Jazz Big Band feat. Zoot Sims, Zürich 1960 Benny Goodman, Lausanne 1950 Louis Hayes - Woody Shaw Quintet, Lausanne 1977 The Thad Jones - Mel Lewis Orchestra, Basle 1969 The Quincy Jones Big Band, Lausanne 1960

A smoker!

I was listening to "Outside Woman Blues" by Blind Joe Reynolds on a Yazoo compilation. Very scratchy, great fun. So I was wondering: where did Cream hear this? Yazoo wasn't around then. Were there blues compilations in England, and, if so, which labels released them? And if the cleaned-up Yazoo version is scratchy, what must've the older versions sounded like?

I'm a Junior Mance fan. Check out that instrumentation again: On a tribute to Dizzy, no horns or reeds! Very well done. What shines through on a Mance recording are composure and intelligence. Very enjoyable musician.

Currently available on eMusic: Hubbard: Fastball Hubbard/Heath: Left Bank

The version of Go Ahead John on BF is truly bizarre...the drums go back and forth between the left and right channel, seemingly with no logic...it has a very obnoxious sound, and is truly Big Fun. I'm disappointed that they didn't include that version in the Jack Johnson box, since it was the version that Miles approved. This is the descripton from the JJ box: "NOTE: The issued version of "Go Ahead John" on PG 32866 was oddly constructed, using various sections of the above takes. It begins with part two B, cuts to a section which uses part two A and part two C simultaneously, then a section with part one and part one remake simultaneously, and finally a piece of part two B for the ending. All of this was mixed with an automatic switcher that shot the guitar back and forth between each channel."

An atypical date that I've always loved is "Digital At Montreaux 1980." A unique lineup: Dizzy, Toots Thielmans on guitar (only; no harmonica), and Pretty Purdie, drums. That's it. Bluesy, funky, unpretentious, and a lot of fun.

This month's downloads: Art Farmer - The Summer Knows Art Farmer - To Duke With Love Art Farmer - Yesterday's Thoughts The Great Jazz Trio - At The Village Vanguard The Great Jazz Trio - At The Village Vanguard, Vol. 2 The Great Jazz Trio - At The Village Vanguard Again Pat Martino - Desperado Lennie Tristano - Note To Note David Fathead Newman - Davey Blue Emily Remler - East To Wes Sonny Rollins - The Cutting Edge The Complete Wes Montgomery on Riverside, disc 6 Zoot Sims - Soprano Sax Zoot Sims - I Wish I Were Twins

Thanks for posting that. Fascinating stuff.

Count me in. Ray's one of my favorites. What a powerful piano style, with great clarity. Also a good showman who communicates well with his audience. A favorite is Somewhere In France:

They've added a Coleman Hawkins title, "High School Hawk." I think this was mentioned recently in a thread as an amazing performance with a pick-up band, but I can't find the thread: http://www.emusic.com/album/11028/11028594.html

I've enjoyed this date for many years, since the first white cover issue. Great song selection, spirited playing, great Freddie. Much, much better than Gettin' Around (which sounds like a practice session, with everyone playing the songs verrrrrry carefully). I also liked "Landslide," but that's a discussion for another day.

This month's downloads: The Revolutionary Ensemble - Vietnam The Revolutionary Ensemble - And Now... Leroy Jenkins - Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America Leroy Jenkins - Solo Bobby Broom - Song and Dance Ben Webster/Tete Montoliu - Gentle Ben Wes Montgomery - Complete Live in Paris 1965 Sahib Shihab - Sentiments Mr. Billy Higgins The Godfathers of Groove Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers

Sco is nice on the "Phil Lesh & Friends" package. He mostly adds color, much like Weir did in the Dead. Unfortunately, most of the lead guitar lines are played by Larry Campbell, who's pretty conventional. And, unfortunately, Phil sings. Still, it was a fun listen, and one gets the impression that the group really improvised, albeit within familiar songs.