Leeway

Queen For A Day Queen Latifah Queen of Sheba

I have a lot of respect for Potts, how he maintained a sort of musical alter ego relationship with Lacy. That was not easy by any means. I mean, sometimes he's practically in Lacy's pockets during performances. It's a great partnership/relationship. Having said that, Potts is still the "alter" and Lacy "the ego," and its the latter that drives the artistic vision. Without that vision, there wouldn't be much more than the commonplace performance, fine as that might be. Lacy without Potts works for me, Potts without Lacy, not so much, which is not a knock, just an acknowledgment of artistic achievement.

Mr. Green Jeans Shecky Greene Shecky Shabazz

Disc 4 -

Went to the Ran Blake Master Class today in DC. The format was 4 young journeyman musicians-- a trumpeter/singer, a guitarist, a bassist, and a saxophonist--played various music suggested by Ran. One was based on an Abbey Lincoln song. First they played the melody "straight," then Ran asked them to play more expressively, putting more of their personal self into it. Ran also had them improvise as a quartet to the 2 noir films I mentioned in the previous post for Thursday's show. There were various other musical exercises and discussions. Unfortunately, Ran did not play, except to tap out a few notes on a Fender Rhodes to illustrate a point (there was a piano there too but Ran didn't use it). I took a few notes of things Ran said. Probably old news to died-in-the-wool Ran fans. Anyway, here goes: 1) Ran takes "aural cocktails" two or three nights a week. He has arranged for music he is interested in to be piped into his bedroom while he sleeps. He believes that he absorbs the music while he sleeps over several nights. 2) Ran believes it is important to rest your ears once in a while; no sound, no music, etc, instead read, watch silent film, etc. Your mind needs rest from sound occasionally. 3) Singers are "so important" to developing one's musical sense. He esteems Abbey Lincoln highly. 4) In order of importance, Ran ranks the following as influences on his musical thinking/playing: orchestral music, singers, film directors, then the piano. 5) His personal style was developed though film noir, novels, painting. 6) Development of personal style needs hours and hours of solitude; difficult but important to the self. 7) He is not skilled at algebra but engages in algebraic work to develop himself. He made a promise to his father to achieve certain capabilities in algebra. 8) Ran is always searching his memory; reflections on past and present are vital. 9) Ran spends hours in bed orchestrating music in his head. 10) Ran;s book's title, "The Primacy of the Ear" is foundational to Ran's method; getting the music by ear before getting down to analysis and written form. 11) Developing your personal style requires that you "have a story" to tell. 12) Silence and space are very important to one's development. Ran struck me as a very sensitive and kind individual, very courteous to audience and the 4 musicians, very encouraging to them also. The time went quickly. I was glad to have met him.

I emailed Not Two a while ago and asked them if they could replace my cd 1 of that first boxset. I haven't got any reply so far... :/ That's not good. When I asked for my disk replacement, the set had just been issued, so I assume they had spare discs around. It helped that the dealer I bought it from interceded as well. The set is O/P now; maybe they went through whatever spares they had on hand. I'd keep trying though with Not Two (email, Facebook, whatever). Or maybe your dealer can help. Would you mind playing the giant Lotto sweepstakes here for me? I like your luck!

Conway Twitty Tweety and Sylvester Sylvester Stallone

Provisionally, it looks to be the original, since it has the original artwork and matrix numbers (see above post), per Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Steve-Lacy-The-Way/release/1305917 Congrats on "The Baptised Traveller," you've been picking up some very cool CDs lately.

John Calvin Thomas Hobbes Martin Luther

Thanks Jim for the info. Thought I'd post the LP label: The dead wax on mine also has a Masterdisk stamp and "EDP" in an oval, and the matrix # is HH2 RO3. The album sleeves have a "W" printed on them (Windsor?). Anyway, I have some homework to do; could be interesting. Thanks for that information.

A real test pressing or a promo copy? In the original hat Hut packaging? Either way, WHOA! Yeah, that's what I thought! Looks like a real test pressing. The LP labels are printed, "Windsor Records Inc." The LP sleeves have some album side notations in pencil. Yes, in Hat Hut pictorial jacket, but it is a single sleeve affair (was the commercial issue also?), with a photo of the group on the inside of the back sleeve, and "Notes" on the inside of the front sleeve. Looking at it a little more, it looks like a pre-production issue, since the sleeves are in paper form (although with final cover illustrations), and not in stiff cardboard. I haven't had a chance to research it yet, but it looks interesting!

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Alice Cooper Alice

AZZ APPEAL - Swedish Azz Mats Gustafsson: Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Electronics [Live] Erik Carlsson: Drums Per-Åke Holmlander: Tuba, Trombone [Cimbasso], Mixed By Dieb13 (Tjuv13): Turntables, Electronics [Live] Kjell Nordeson: Vibraphone

JAZZ PA SVENSKA - Swedish Azz - Mats Gustafsson, Dieb13, Kjell Nordeson, Per-Ake Holmlander, Erik Carlsson. Not Two.

R. Crumb Stephan Crump The Krampus

CONSERVING NRG - Hal Russell and the NRG Ensemble (Hal Russell, Steve Hunt, Chuck Burdelik, Brian Sandstrom, Curt Bley). Principally Jazz LP. Picked this up yesterday, gave it a spin, and really enjoyed it.

Braxton (as, ss, cl), George Lewis (tb), John Lindberg (b), Gerry Hemingway (d).

Picked up some vinyl in Baltimore yesterday: Steve Lacy - THE WAY - 2LP test pressing. I've not come across any Lacy test pressings before, so am quite curious about it. Hal Russell - NRG Ensemble - CONSERVING NRG- Principally Jazz label. Anthony Braxton - FOUR COMPOSITIONS (QUARTET) 1983 George Lewis-Douglas Ewart - s/t - Black Saint. Glad to get some Ewart on vinyl. Also picked up a couple of Ran Blake CDs at his concert: Driftwoods Suffield Gothic

Ran Blake at An Die Musik, Baltimore, Dec 4, 2014 This is the backdrop to the Ran Blake concert stage. The concert was dedicated to his sister, Marthe. The room was shrouded in a twilight gloom. The piano was turned so that Ran sat almost facing the audience, behind the baby grand. Looking over the piano (top up), I could just discern Ran's face; the keyboard was not visible to the audience. When Ran came by my aisle seat, he was pushing a wheeled walker. I will admit to a flicker of doubt. He managed the large step up to the stage with the assistance of his manager. Ran sat at the piano. He struck the first note. Amazing. One of those notes that seems to capture all possibilities. All doubts were dispelled, and I knew this was going to be a special event. The only other pianist I know who could combine such strength and authority with such delicacy and sensitivity is Cecil Taylor. Hearing Ran or Cecil in concert is revelatory and unforgettable. The first set lasted about 50 minutes or so. Ran played set pieces from the program and also improvised. His playing didn't flag. It was ruminative and vital. During the first set, a film clip was played from "Dr. Mabuse," a classic silent horror film. The noirish atmosphere deepened. Ran improvised (I assume) along with the clip, which was visually stunning. An intermission was taken before the 2nd set. Ran played about 30 minutes, broke briefly, then played another 15 minutes or so. Another silent movie clip, "Spiral Staircase," another noir of course, to which Ran played. The playing remained vital and full of feeling. Ran's performance was remarkable. He was by turns poetic, spiky, lyrical, powerful. I'm going to try to attend his master class on Saturday.

Disc 3 of the Tristano, Konitz, Marsh box. All Tristano.

Ultron Avengers X-Men

Always been my understanding that CC cannot be charged until the item ships. Saw this: Can mail-order merchants charge my card before they ship? According to Janet Hug of Visa USA, "a merchant is not permitted to bill ahead of time" except in case of a deposit or down payment that the customer agrees to. MasterCard said in a letter that a merchant can charge you before shipment only if s/he tells you and you agree to "the terms and conditions of the sale."American Express said the merchant can charge your card as soon as you give your account number; but if you receive the bill before the merchandise, call Amex customer service and you don't have to pay while they investigate. So maybe they charged it and are shipping it. (Looking on the bright side here).

Don McLean Jackie McLean Dr. Jackle

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt the Younger Zazu Pitts

I like Olie Brice in the Riverloam Trio albums, especially the recent FMR one. Beyond that, I don't know his work. But I like what I've heard.