mjzee

Release date May 28: George Cables should be declared a National Treasure. As a pianist he is surely second-to-none on today's jazz scene. Listen only to "A Valentine for You" on Cables' current offering to hear what a jaw-dropping beauty of tone he can produce from the pile of wood and metal we call a piano, and how much critical mass is behind every sonorous voicing of his chords. As a musician he possesses endless imagination and creativity, shown by his strikingly new takes on tunes we thought we knew, particularly the title track, "Too Close for Comfort," which retains little trace of it's pop song origin. As a composer he has quietly amassed a catalog of works of extremely wide range and extraordinary quality, such as his compositions on this new release, "Circle of Love," "This is My Song," "Klimo" and the aforementioned "A Valentine for You." And finally, the album's cover photo perfectly captures George Cables the man - full of boundless energy, a love of his instrument and the music he makes on it and an impish sense of humor, evidenced by his titling the record Too Close for Comfort during a pandemic where social distancing has become the order of the day. The artist Edward Hopper said, "Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world." That would explain why the world according to George Cables is such a wonderful place to be.

Release date June 25: By 1991, the world’s most celebrated trumpeter could look back on five decades of musical evolution – his own, and that of the world around him. Miles Davis had found ways of marrying jazz with classical ideas, then later R&B, rock and funk, producing hybrid offspring that shaped the course of popular music and had come to define his legend. In 1985, he’d left Columbia after thirty years to sign to Warner Bros. Records, a label riding high with best-selling artists like Madonna, Van Halen and Prince, with whom he had a mutual admiration and friendship. - Miles Davis’s lifelong love for France is well-documented, and in July 1991, he became a Knight of their Legion of Honour. Davis received the award from French culture minister Jack Lang, who described him as: "The Picasso of jazz." A few days before, he played this electrifying set at the Vienne Jazz Festival with the Miles Davis Group. He passed away two months later in September 1991. - Miles Davis’ performance at Jazz a Vienne on July 1, 1991 became one of his final live performances before he passed away on September 28, 1991, and this previously unreleased set includes two songs written by Prince, “Penetration” and “Jailbait”.

32Jazz bought Muse's masters, and Denon bought 32Jazz's masters, so the tape, if it still exists, is now in Denon's possession.

Very sad to hear; RIP. I was fortunate enough to hear him with a group put together by Don Sickler; also in the group were Billy Higgins, John Ore, James Spaulding, and maybe a tenor player. A friend told me that Fuller only had one lung; true? Anyway, another of the greats gone.

Could it have been the Five Spot in NYC? (see upper left corner)

Has anyone seen the DVD?

I agree, contracts are interesting. Re the existence of a Verve contract, it could have just been a one-off (or two-off) agreement. I think usually for an exclusive contract, it requires a certain number of recordings, regardless of how long it takes (remember that Herman Lubinsky wouldn't release Wilbur Harden, and Orren Keepnews joked that he signed Sonny Rollins to a standard contract for Milestone, knowing full well how long it would take him to fulfill it), so if Verve had Green to an exclusive contract, he would have had to fulfill it after he came back on the scene (unless Verve released him). Verve seemed to be doing a lot of those one-off dates at that time, such as the Donald Byrd "Up!". Let's not overlook that it might have been a pick-up organist for the Iron City date. That would explain why the playing is not very distinguished. Almost definitely, Buck Jones and Jimmy Watson were local Indy guys.

About time Braxton got Artie Zim to help with the marketing!

I'm still not seeing the incentive for anyone in this production chain to say it was Patton when it was actually Young. It's not like one was a bigger draw to record buyers than the other; in fact, in 1972 (the year of release), Young may have been a little "hotter" due to his work with McLaughlin, Santana, etc. By that logic alone, it is probably Patton on Iron City. Another interesting question: how did a date from 1965 or 1967 wind up in Cobblestone's hands in 1972? Who was holding it in the interim? Especially since Green was paid for the date, why would it take so long for the backer to get a return on his investment? If it was held up for legal reasons, then there would have been a wider knowledge of the tape's existence.

There was a similar cranky review in WSJ. But I liked some of the reader comments: "Unfortunately, this review tells us more about the reviewer's political disagreements with Morrison than it does about the album itself." "Van’s the man, and it seems he’s paying pretty close attention to contemporary culture, but the author doesn’t seem to understand the Blues." "I have been a Van Morrison fan for 55 years and I have always had the sneaking suspicion that Morrison was a closet Capitalist. He definitely believes in a free market and his anti establishment, anti authoritarian streak must grate on all of those left wing music reviewers who still cannot admit that they themselves are the establishment and the authoritarians." "I guess his gripes aren't intersectional enough to warrant a favorable review." "Yep, if Van were singing the praises of BLM and Critical Race Theory, or looking for the bogey man of White Supremacy, the reviewer would praise the album as if it were by Beyonce or Lil’ Wayne. Instead, because Van is writing lyrics from right of center, it is derided. It’s is sad that everyone at the WSJ not on the editorial side is so SJW biased. Rock music used to be about criticizing “the man” and those in power. Now when an artist criticizes the government and its policies, a double masking, restaurant avoiding, grocery decontaminating, basement dwelling critic defends “the man” while pillorying the artist. Sad how times have changed." "Songs in the key of "the lockdowns were not even remotely close to worthwhile." He is correct. The lockdowns were not even remotely close to worthwhile. An Actuarial Society of South Africa study estimated the South African lockdowns caused 29 times more harm than benefit in their country." "I imagine that if Van Morrison had, instead, put out an album praising Biden and Fauci, asserting systemic raz-esm and commending politicians for the lockdown, the reviewer would have loved it. Pop music, as elsewhere, is an echo chamber of unimpressive undercooked groupthink. Deviate from the "truth" at your own peril."

Excellent!

Just received these from Tommy's Jazz:

Photo by Roy DeCarava, 1960:

Interesting that the Mingus is coming out. One would have thought that the original tapes would have been destroyed in the 1978 fire.

Great stuff! Thanks for letting us know.

Listening now to this:

Albert Marx licensed his productions to other labels, but I guess copyright reverted back to him after a period of time. There was a Clare Fischer on Atlantic and a Marty Paich on WB, among others, that were reissued on Discovery in the '80's.

Cheshire, CT

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas #4, 5, 9

George Tucker!

I remember the Greil Marcus review. I read it when it came out, and I still think about it from time to time, especially the anecdote about Max Kaminsky. Where I differ with Marcus is I think, at this remove, it's obvious there was a concept behind "Self Portrait," including the sweetening and background vocals. I had hoped that Dylan and/or his liner notes writers would honestly discuss the creation of the album, and the way they reassessed it after its release. "Another Self Portrait" and "1970" barely touch on that, instead trying to persuade that these sessions were really just a folk song revival. I think there's a fascinating story waiting to be told about the intentions behind "Self Portrait," and by extension, the cultural nerve it touched. One would think, now that Dylan is 80 and released his Sinatra albums (not to mention "Christmas In The Heart"), that he could finally fess up.

Some thoughts after listening to the 3-disc "1970": It's fun and listenable. George Harrison is a marginal presence at best (I had to check the notes to see which tracks he's on). It's fascinating to hear Dylan manipulate his voice within the same session to produce his "Nashville Skyline," "Self Portrait" or "New Morning" voice. He's working through the folk tradition, perhaps to touch base with his roots, similar to "Good As I Been To You" and "World Gone Wrong", but his voice is so much better here. It's lovely to relive the vibe of "New Morning," which I loved at the time (and so much of a relief after "Self Portrait"). Some thoughts as to why "Self Portrait" was so poorly received: First, because there was so little original material. It wasn't a common thing for rock performers, especially after they've hit big, to go back and perform traditional material. For a performer as personal as Dylan, it was jarring to hear impersonal renditions of songs we commonly knew elsewhere. Which was why "New Morning" was such a relief: it was an album of original Dylan songs, sung passionately, and with competent musicians playing listenable arrangements. I think the review in Rolling Stone began "Dylan is back." And indeed he was, and indeed he had gone away in the interim. Second, because so much of "Self Portrait" was borderline unlistenable. I cringe when recalling the performance of "The Boxer." Songs such as "Early Mornin' Rain" or "Gotta Travel On" could have been good, but were sung indifferently and dispassionately. Others, such as "Days of 49" had flubs and flaws, and needed more takes. The Isle of Wight material, for those of us who had heard bootlegs of the 1966 tour, sounded wan and bizarre; we knew he was capable of better. I understand that Bob Johnston was in a difficult position, but he should have put his foot down and told Dylan this stuff was not suitable for release. Third, the strings and sweetening. This helpful page (http://bjorner.com/DSN01790 1970.htm#DSN01790) implies that Dylan was not present for the 8 overdub sessions (March 11 - May 3). Perhaps the release of "Another Self Portrait," which contained non-overdubbed versions of the "Self Portrait" material, was meant to imply that Dylan does not claim the overdubs as his own work. But still, it couldn't have been done without his awareness and approval. It was the strings and syrupy background harmonies that, I believe, caused the most cognitive dissonance among his rock fans. It was a cultural demarcation: we (hippies) don't produce music that sounds like that. It's not our culture, it's not reflective of our lifestyles and desires. It was Richard Nixon, it wasn't George McGovern. It's a shame that the reaction was so tribal, but you can't ignore what your audience wants. So, a final thought: Dylan/Dylan's people/Columbia have tried to make the case that there is no real delineation between "Self Portrait" and "New Morning" - that they were conceived-of as a piece, two sides of the same coin, and it hardly mattered to which album the songs were apportioned. To my mind, this is obviously not true. Looking at Dylan's recording activity in 1969 and 1970 (as seen on the Bjorner web pages), it's clear that "Self Portrait" was a discrete project, with Dylan covering other people's material. Sessions for "Self Portrait" began in April 1969, and it was only in March 1970 that Dylan rehearsed some "New Morning" songs ("Went To See The Gypsy" and "Time Passes Slowly"). I think the three key dates to ponder are April 3 (the last "Self Portrait" overdub session), May 1 (the first "New Morning" session), and June 8 (the release date of "Self Portrait"). Surely, acetates of "Self Portrait" were being passed around Columbia by late April. Columbia execs probably heard them and told Dylan he was in danger of killing his career, and that he had very little time to correct course. So (IMHO), rather than "Self Portrait" and "New Morning" being of a piece, "New Morning" was hastily executed as an antidote to "Self Portrait." The final "New Morning" session was on August 12, and the album was released on October 21, in time for Christmas gift giving.

Center Line, MI

I remember being in the audience for a panel discussion about Mingus that was broadcast on the radio. This was in the early '90's. I don't remember all of the panelists, but two were Roy Haynes and Hentoff. Hentoff had a stack of index cards in his hands. When it was his turn to answer a question, he read off one of the cards. These were mostly anecdotes I had heard before (one was "Mingus said 'In my music, I'm trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time.'"). I think in his later years, he wrote about music to pay the bills; his passions were in his First Amendment writings.

Release date June 18: