mjzee

In my comparison of Bruckner with Wagner, it helped that the prior disc in the Walter box contained Wagner's Lohengrin, Siegfried Idyll and Tannhauser Ouverture & Bacchanale (Venusberg). The style of those were so striking that it stayed with me. Then, when I heard the Bruckner, I noted some similarities. I'm not sure I would have made that comparison if the Wagner disc was, say, 5 discs back.

I still consider myself a neophyte when it comes to classical music. I buy these boxes and play them one disc at a time, often in the background, to acclimate myself to the music and see what I pick out. So what strikes me is sometimes the compositions or the composer, or sometimes how one conductor or orchestra differs from another. I don't know a lot of Bruckner (although a search of my collection reveals I have 8 discs: 4 by Walter, 2 by Szell, 1 by Haitink, and one by Runnicles), but this composition strikes me as reminiscent of Wagner. In general, I find Walter's results appealing: lush, detailed, lively, but not as hard-edged and energetic as, say, Szell. Does that at all jibe with your impressions?

Only two more discs to go to complete listening to the Bruno Walter box (I'm not going to listen to the 8 discs of interviews and rehearsals).

Not a "box" per se, but a great bargain if you like Tim Buckley: on Ebay, Manifesto Records is offering a 4 CD bundle of Sefronia, Look At The Fool, Venice Mating Call, and Live At The Electric Theater Co. Chicago 1968 (6 CDs total) for $12.49.

There was a review of the book in the December 2 WSJ. I liked this: At 92, owing to pulmonary fibrosis, Mr. Rollins is in “his final sabbatical,” his famously huge tone now silenced. Mr. Levy enlightens us most of all about the resilience behind that power, the well-honed technique and wild imagination with which it was employed, and the humility, perhaps more apparent now, at its core. “You’re here to make decisions,” Mr. Rollins tells a drummer in one of his last working bands. “And as long as the music feels good, you can do what you want. And if you think about it, you couldn’t be in a more privileged position.”

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I picked up a copy in 2019 from CDJapan. The band is Serrano, Hill, Abrams, Bob Cranshaw and Walter Perkins. I only gave it one spin so far, but remember liking it. What specifically struck me was how well Muhal played in a straight-ahead context. IIRC, one of Cranshaw's earliest dates.

If you liked the original Fillmore East May 1971 album, I'd advise someone to grab this box at a good price. I found it amazing to hear how tight and inventive was the band. Aynsley Dunbar was a great drummer, I love Flo & Eddie (I know opinions differ, which is why I started this comment with "If you liked..."), I was blown away by the compositions, and the band is tight as all getout. I agree, 4 versions of Billy The Mountain is way too much (I never even liked it the first time, on Just Another Band From L.A.), so just skip over them. The booklet is fabulous (don't miss the interview with Ian Underwood), and, above all else, don't miss the Rainbow concert. It's astonishing to hear them, after the fire at Montreux, appear with rented instruments and be as great as they were. The verite moment at the end is what it is; I felt like a voyeur listening to it once, although it is fascinating and dramatic, and I probably will never listen to it again.

Finally, a version of Sweet Georgia Brown I can enjoy!

On the Hoffman boards, there's a thread devoted to The Youngbloods' Raccoon label. Most of the 20 or so albums released on the label were folk or country related. But they released one jazz album: Kenny Gill's "What Was, What Is, What Will Be." It was recorded in May 1970, and the band is Kenny Gill, piano; Carlos Garnett and Bob Berg, tenor saxes; Stafford James, bass; Norman Connors, drums. Apparently, nothing is known about Kenny Gill other than the small biographical blurb on the back cover. The album is available for listening on archive.org.

In Jack Chambers's biography of Miles, "Milestones," Dorham is consistently referred-to as Kinney. His index entry says "Dorham, Kinney (Kenny)."

I wonder whether there's an interesting story to be told about Alfred Lion's producer relationship with Grant Green. It seems that Lion charged Green to record albums in many different musical genres. There was spiritual (Feelin' The Spirit), country (Goin' West), latin (The Latin Bit), and somber (Am I Blue). I wonder if there was something in Lion's working relationship with Green - maybe he was more amenable to these sorts of suggestions, or maybe Green simply felt comfortable in many different genres (or maybe I'm incorrect, and these genre-defined albums were Green's idea). But I don't think Lion asked this of any other BN artist.

🤣 Don't know if this has been mentioned yet in this thread. I recently picked up the RVG version of Horace Silver's Serenade To A Soul Sister at a used record meet. It turns out it was a made-on-demand copy, but those have reproductions of the original cover and liner notes. It says on the cover, booklet and disc "Produced by Alfred Lion," but Lion stopped producing the prior year. This was produced by either Francis Wolff or Horace Silver (per Horace's liner notes).

Some random thoughts; I haven't read anyone else's response. 1) 70's arrangement out of Broadway. Labelle? 2) Might be an organ trio (quartet w/ conga), but with guitar as a lead. Guitar has the sweetness of a Burrell or Benson, but with more modern shadings. Goes on too long, but maybe I'm impatient. 3) Some foreign language. Lively. Guessing it's the trombonist's date, because the trombone's a little out of place as the lead instrument. No clue who. 4) More Brazil, Chick Corea influence. Stan Getz? 5) Johnny Mathis. 6) Whoever it is, he's free at last. Free to boogie to KC & The Sunshine Band! My guess is it's some straight-ahead saxist forced to do this during the height of the disco boom. 7) Laura Nyro. 8 ) Some Ahmad Jamal disciple. I'm feeling like Nat Hentoff. 9) Starts off sounding like Eddie Harris. Hard attack. Maybe Rahsaan, one of those 32Jazz live dates. 10) Michel Urbaniak? Sounds like some classically-trained violinist who hates his life & figures jazz affords him more "freedom." 11) Tubby Hayes on vibes? I like the '60's British brass sound, though it's probably nostalgia. 12) JC Superstar? Godspell? 13) As soon as I heard "bright tomorrows," I knew it would be rhymed with "sorrows." Bad trip, man. I need some punk rock as an antidote. 14) No clue. This was fun; thanks.

I've never seen that album before. The August 5, 1970 recording date places it in between two other Webster titles I have: Ben & Teddy (Bern, Switzerland, May 1, 1970), and Wayfaring Webster (Holland, September 2, 1970). Webster in those years was remarkably consistent - you won't find many surprises, but you will have a good time listening.