mjzee

Ordered. I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if Blumenthal's notes will address why Hubbard did side projects for Impulse. I miss Mosaic Selects. A perfect one would have been Hubbard on Atlantic. 5 or 6 albums: Backlash, High Blues Pressure, A Soul Experiment, The Black Angel, Sing Me A Song Of Songmy, and maybe Sweet Return.

A really instructive comparison is Milt Jackson on CTI vs. Pablo. Shows the need for a good producer (vs. one that's AWOL). Also shows the need for attractive packaging and good merchandising. Vs:

Speaking of Lucky, Creed produced those great Lucky trio recordings on ABC (later released on Impulse on LP as "Dancing Sunbeam" and on CD as "Tricotism"). Great, great music, intelligent and touching at the same time.

Funny enough, Laws is a major reason we have Joel Dorn, and vice versa. Dorn tells the tale in the book that accompanied the "hommage a Nesuhi" box set. Dorn, as a Philly disc jockey, developed a relationship with Nesuhi Ertegun, and kept pestering him for work. As Dorn tells it: "Somewhere along the way in '63, he called me and made the following offer: "Find an artist who's never made an album as a leader, and I'll give you $1,500 [not a lotta money even back then] to make an album. The money has to cover the artist, the sidemen, all the studio costs, plus a $50 producer fee for you." Naturally, I was elated, overwhelmed, and beside myself with joy, but it caught me off guard. All through my disc jockey days, I was plottin' and schemin'. I had a plan for when I got to Atlantic. There were artists I was clockin' -- Yusef, Rahsaan, Les, Stanley Turrentine, and others -- that I was going to bring to Atlantic with me when their contracts with other labels were up. I never thought I'd have to make my first album with an artist nobody had ever heard of. Obviously, Nesuhi wanted to find out if I could spot talent, as well as make a record that was worthy of release. "So now I'm trying to find someone to roll my first real dice with. In addition to hearing every jazz album that came out, I was at Pep's and the Showboat, Philly's two jazz clubs, almost every night. I got to know what the cats sounded like in person, as well as on record. It was another kind of college for me. "I happened to tell one of the owners of Pep's, Jack Goldenberg, about Nesuhi's offer. Jack and the guy who owned the Showboat, Herbie Spivak, had been very kind to me from the day I went on the air. Even though I was underage, Pennsylvania had blue laws back then, they let me hang in their clubs. And it wasn't just because I plugged the acts who worked their joints; I would have done that for the artists anyway. They knew what I was trying to do, and they legitimately tried to help me. Naturally, I wasn't allowed to drink and I had to stay in the corner and keep my mouth shut. I got a PhD not only in jazz but also in music in general from being in those clubs all those years. I never would have made the records I made had I not had the opportunity to hear all that "live" music and see how people reacted to it. "The other thing, by the way, that taught me what did and didn't work for people was the phone we had in the studio that our listeners called in on to talk to whoever was on the air. I got the chance to talk to thousands of people during my six years at the station. You could tell within a couple of minutes of playing a record whether or not they dug it. Their response showed me what it was that moved them, good or bad, and how certain songs by certain artists affected certain kinds of people: men and women, young and old, black and white. "One night Jack Goldenberg called and told me to make sure I came to the club that night to catch the last set. He had Mongo Santamaria in that week, and there was someone in the band, a flute player, he wanted me to hear. His exact words were: "I got your guy. Wait 'til you hear this kid play." By the time I got to the club, Mongo was three or four songs into the last set. As I walked in the door the flute player was in the middle of a solo on "Manhâ De Carnaval." I'd never heard anybody play like that in my life. He had symphony chops and a jazz head. His name was Hubert Laws. Jack was right on the money. Hand me those dice. "I called Nesuhi in New York and told him I found the artist I wanted to record. It wasn't hard to convince Hubert to sign with Atlantic, but convincing him to let me produce his first album was something else altogether. But in spite of me --I legitimately had no idea what I was doing-- Hubert and the guys (Chick Corea, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers) made a hell of an album. It sold in excess of 5,000 copies, more than respectable for an unknown jazz artist back then, and got pretty good reviews. Hubert even placed first on piccolo in the "Best New Artist On A Miscellaneous Instrument" category in that year's Down Beat poll. Goodbye, Philly; hello, New York. "Not quite."

My experience at my college radio station 1973-77: We had a Jazz Music department and a separate Black Music department. The Jazz jocks played a lot of "out" music: Coltrane (Impulse, never Prestige), Shepp, Sun Ra, etc. These jocks were white. The Black Music department were all black, and they were not at all interested in "out" music. They played a very complimentary mix of music, which consisted of a lot of CTI records, Lonnie Liston Smith, Philadelphia International records, Herbie Mann, and smooth disco (Spinners, O'Jays, Intruders, etc.). Their sets all flowed, one track mixed into the next. They had a large audience; the "out" Jazz shows really did not. I don't think CTI was really meant to appeal to standard jazz audiences. They were building a whole new thing, which was very successful. BTW, if you go to archive.org and search for CTI, they have three live all-star shows from 1972-74.

Don't forget this invaluable resource: Doug Payne's comprehensive discography of CTI. http://www.dougpayne.com/cti.htm

It must be noted that two of the last CTIs released were very strong and distinctive: Art Farmer & Jim Hall's Big Blues, and Nina Simone's Baltimore. On a different note, I've noticed a few CTIs that don't seem coherent as albums. For example, Hubert Laws's In The Beginning. It's really hard to figure out what they were striving for; stylistically, it's all over the place. I read in the liner notes to a CTI CD reissue (don't remember the title) an arranger (may have been Sebesky or Dave Matthews) commenting that Taylor put together the bands and paid for the sessions, but spent almost no time in the recording studio; he left the supervision of the date to the arranger.

I can do May.

I own a pair of Edifiers, and the bass response is not impressive. Try to listen before you buy, or make sure you can return them if needed.

Is he in the Ukraine, or a Ukrainian living somewhere else? Do we have to worry about his collection getting blown up (along with him)?

Just came across this: https://archive.org/details/john-mc-laughlin-free-spirits-1993-umea-jazz-sweden

I heard on SiriusXM that his father’s still alive. Damn, that really hurts to have a child predecease a parent. I wish the family well during this painful time.

Sad news. I saw him with Pat Martino, Billy Hart (?), and guest Eric Alexander at a benefit for Barney Kessel at Birdland. Smokin' show. Also enjoyed him on that documentary about the Hammond B-3. RIP.

The liner notes to the German issue lists Donald Bailey: https://www.discogs.com/release/6738917-The-Amazing-Jimmy-Smith-Trio-The-Amazing-Jimmy-Smith-Trio-Live

You have to respect what he created. RIP.

RIP. I remember him on WBGO. He had a great radio voice.

Thanks for the tip!

And not just female singers. I always thought Dave Matthews sounded like his mouth was full of small stones while he sang - can't understand a word.

That's nice. Money well-spent. Wish the MacArthur Foundation could do something similarly enlightened, since they have far more money.

The only thing missing is the Auto-tune. She really nails how incomprehensible these singers are, as if clear enunciation is a sin. Also, no voice projection - just mumbling into a microphone. Sign her up!

I downloaded the mp3 version of the On The Corner box from Amazon; I've read reports that the booklet is unimpressive. I'm glad I did; the mp3s sound fine, and the music is great.

Ditto for The Cellar Door box.

All good points. Also, much modern art that is purchased for a home is enjoyed because it "goes well" with the room's decor. "I like this, but do you have it in blue?"

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Note-Story-Modern-Jazz/dp/B0012K53U4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DMJ7INS50FVT&keywords=blue+note+a+story+of+modern+jazz+dvd&qid=1660143953&sprefix=blue+note+a+story+of+modern+jazz+dvd%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-1 Worth seeing. It's 91 minutes on DVD. Originally broadcast on TV in two one-hour segments, so there was a little editing for the DVD version. Yes, Gil Melle is all over it - very articulate. He was the one who brought together Alfred and Rudy.