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Release date October 20: • The complete recordings from Art Pepper’s three-night stand at Los Angeles’ Maiden Voyage club in 1981 • 42 performances (23 previously unissued) on seven CDs • Packaging contains Art’s original handwritten notes, photos, and an essay from his widow and set co-Producer, Laurie Pepper When I asked Cheryl Pawelski, of Omnivore Recordings, why she was releasing this Maiden Voyage session, she said, “Because you made me.” I did. This material has been out of circulation for almost 20 years, and I’ve been obsessed with bringing it back in. Omnivore is not only bringing it back, they’re releasing the entire session, three nights, seven sets––warts and all. ––Laurie Pepper Maiden Voyage was a Japanese-owned jazz club, near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, from 1979¬¬–1983. In August of 1981, alto saxophone legend Art Pepper, pianist George Cables, bassist David Williams, and drummer Carl Burnett played seven sets over three consecutive nights. Musician/Producer Ed Michel and Art’s wife, Laurie Pepper, were there, and tape rolled for every note played. When listening to the tapes, Art took meticulous notes about each performance, writing things like “The best solo I’ve played on this whole date—wow!!” and ”This is worth the whole night!” Sadly, Art would die 10 months later. Some of the performances would find their way onto posthumous releases including Arthur’s Blues, Art Lives, The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3, Roadgame and The Complete Galaxy Recordings, but now, all three nights can be heard in full, as they happened, for the first time. Produced for release by Laurie Pepper and Grammy® winner Cheryl Pawelski, The Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings features 42 performances (23 previously unissued) plus all of the between song banter and stories from Art’s three-night stand at the Los Angeles club on seven CDs. The 44-page booklet features photos, Art’s original hand written notes and commentary, ephemera, and a new essay from Laurie Pepper telling Art’s story. So, prepare yourself for a true LA jazz club experience. Venture back to Maiden Voyage and relive those three summer nights when Art and his band gave it their all. As Art said in his notes about “Thank You Blues,” “My whole life went into this.” Hear it for yourself.

Disc 4.

Maybe they still have music education in the schools.

I had never heard of her, so I played the first track that came up on YouTube (above). My impressions: She has a very nice voice, good control - I always liked female singers who sing in the lower register. The overall sound of the tune sounded like something I'd hear in a Starbucks while ordering a coffee. I'm not really sure I'd call it jazz - more like sophisticated pop. Jazzers generally don't write songs with lyrics, so that aspect of the song is a whole other bag. Not sure an anti-male song will endear her to that demographic, but maybe she wants the Taylor Swift audience. Anyway, good luck to her.

I plunged in and bought many KJ Trio albums on one of Tommy's sales. I found that, the more I listened, the less I noticed the vocalizing, and was able to concentrate more on the music, which is usually very good.

I haven't heard them, but these get very good reviews:

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 11. Also includes:

A friend and I exchange mix tapes (er, discs), and he's included many Ezra Collective tracks. Very enjoyable, in many diverse styles.

Decca - The Mono Years, disc 38. Also includes:

Agreed. I rarely play the original release. Arrangements are often hokey.

Disc 3.

Happy birthday, Sonny!

Now disc 4. Do you like it? I wasn't big on this era of Zappa - too preachy and full of himself.

While I was chronologically exposed to Coltrane's music from latest (Impulse 2) to earliest (Prestige), I've come to enjoy the Prestige material the most, probably because it's the most enjoyable. As Coltrane's career progressed, he got more serious and, to my mind, more intent on making "statements." The classic quartet was great, but it could've used more variety, especially with additional musicians who were not followers of Coltrane. The Prestige recordings (and those made concurrently: Blue Note, the other leader dates, the other sideman dates) have it all: a nice variety of tunes (originals, standards, blues), tuneful tunes (lotsa changes and melodies), Coltrane's sound heard among a succession of solos from other artists, and the ability to hear him within the context of other musicians of the period.

Disc 11 (last): J. C. Bach.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 10. Also includes the Rachmaninoff Préludes, Barcarolle and Mélodie from this:

Decca - The Mono Years, disc 37. Also includes:

Saw this yesterday; very good:

Disc 3.

Disc 10: J. C. Bach and C. P. E. Bach.

The Decca Sound - The Piano Edition, disc 9 (Piano Concerto No. 3 only). Also includes:

Decca - The Mono Years, disc 36. Also includes:

R.I.P. I may have seen him in the house band at the Big Apple Circus.

Disc 1.

Someone posted this on Facebook: Frank Zappa : "There was a place in San Diego on the ground floor of the Maryland Hotel where you could buy R&B singles unobtainable elsewhere - all those Lightnin' Slim and Slim Harpo sides on the Excello label. (The reason you couldn't order them in the 'white-person record stores' was that Excello had a policy that if a store wanted to carry their R&B line, it also had to take their gospel catalog.) The only way I could get a Lightnin' Slim record was to travel a couple hundred miles and buy it secondhand, all scratched up. (The Real Frank Zappa Book 1989): Did you have any friends at the time who shared your enthusiasm for Varèse? Frank Zappa : No, but I would play it for them anyway. I mean, usually if they'd come over to the house, everybody does this same thing, if you have records, you tend to play your favorite items for whoever comes in. And that gives them the test to find out what kind of person that individual is. What I used to do was play them parts of the Varèse album and then play them Lightnin' Slim things like "My Starter Won't Start" or "Have Your Way" or I'd play them some Howlin' Wolf. That would clear them out really fast. They didn't like that stuff either? FZ: Well, usually that would get rid of the girls and the ignorant boys and what was left over was somebody you could have a conversation with. It's interesting that you mention these two separate currents because I was introduced to your work by a classical cello player who mostly listens to avant-garde 20th century music and you. FZ: Well, he's missing a good bet by not checking out those old records by guys like Lonesome Sundown and Lightnin' Slim. That's good stuff because it's real direct, it's not a matter of pretense there. It's right to the point. - Frank Zappa, quoted in Frank Zappa: The SongTalk Interview.