Steve Reynolds

As great a show as I’ve seen in maybe 2 years. Wow.

First Row!!! amazing to see this group of musicians on one stage including Nels Cline Herb Robertson Ellery Eskelin Tony Malaby Ches Smith Briggan Krauss Oscar Noriega

Satoko Fujii Orchestra NYC 8:30 @ New Stone

Grateful Dead from the early MAY 77 box “Get Shown the Light” started with 5/7/77 from Boston Garden - second half of the second set has an amazing Eyes>Drums>Wheel>Wharf Rat.... now the sleeper show - 5/5/77 from New Haven, CT

Dave Rempis with Brandon Lopez & Ryan Packard Eric's House of Improv Presents 244 Rehearsal Studios 244 West 54th Street, 10th Floor, NYC 8:00 show

I have that one as well. Fantastic freeish yet groovy session.

Branford was awful on 3/29/90 with the Dead. He stepped all over Bird Song, Dark Star & Eyes of the World. He apparently never even heard of these great compositions. Which musicians suck, Branford?

I’m fired up for the show. I’m going with a young friend who’s all in right now to free jazz/improv, etc. Some of the Rempis recordings on his own label are very good and a few are more than that. The last double drummer Percussion Quartet recording (Cochonnerie) with Ingebright Haker Flaten is incredible for one example. His playing is more than it initially appears to be. He’s more than just intensity and mind blowing technique. I’m hoping or wishing he brings his non-alto horn(s) BUT I’ll settle for just his alto saxophone playing:) plus looking at his newest releases, I’m sure he will have the new CD of the trio I’m seeing, plus if he has copies of the last 3-4 I havn’t bought, I’ll get them all at the show next Tuesday.

Which one? The one with Rempis that I’m seeing or the one with Gilgore that Larry saw live?

Thanks, Larry - I’ll be looking out for Gilgore and this trio As an aside, I’ll be seeing the great Chicagoan saxophonist Dave Rempis on next Tuesday 4/23 with Brandon Lopez on double bass and another Chicago musician (one I’ve never heard of - Ryan Packard on drums) for a show at a new performance space started by Eric Stern - 244 Rehearsal Studios - 244 West 54th Street, 10th Floor. I’m a big fan of Rempis but I’ve only seen him once live (a short set a couple of years back - Lopez was also in that group and he’s a very exciting young bassist) so here’s hoping we are in for a show somewhere near what you just experienced. Although some are not so excited about high energy Saxophone trios, quartets, etc. led by kick ass freely improvising saxophonists, I certainly am.

Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks 30 (3/25 & 3/27/72) prime pre-Europe 72 Dead. Smoking Hot music from the Academy run in NYC

Awesome front line, Kevin I saw Phil with George Garzone about 2 years ago and he was great. You know I’m more into “out” music so I’ll relay a comment that Tony Malaby made regarding Bergonzi. He said he knows no one that can play changes as well as Jerry Bergonzi. He was relating it to a set he saw him play when they were both playing at the same Jazz festival a few years back. Enjoy the show!!

Giant Sand: Glum 1994 album on Imago - very good but not a great Giant Sand recording

Fillmore West - 3/1/69 Grateful Dead - Set 2 astounding incredibly exciting music

Can: The Lost Tapes Disc 1

After early Floyd and after the ultimate Can which was 68-72 or certainly the most radical Can. Can to my ears is the most innovative and exciting of all these bands.

Plus, of course, Gong who were the consummate space rock band

Can: Tago Mago All of the 68-74 Can is great but the above double LP set is the benchmark for this sort of stuff

Also Can which were probably “better” than Floyd in that respect. certainly Cream, The Dead & The Allman’s belong in a somewhat different idiom. for a very short time Cream was a monster but it was over before 1968 ended. They only played that great improvised stuff because they lacked songs and they had shows booked @ The Fillmore and they had to fill their time. They didn’t plan on I, hence the mostly brilliant results. Too bad most of the Spring 68 tapes are gone. The Allman’s used much more of a set framework to play off as did the Dead originally but the difference is the Dead kept at it and continually adjusted their approach and they *became* truly great improvising musicians - they also became collectively an amazing creator of a great American song book with their collaboration with Robert Hunter & John Perry Barlow. Jim - point made big have you ever sat down and listened to something like the 4/8/72 Dark Star with no distractions at sufficient concert like volume?

6/24/73 Grateful Dead from the PNW box set which includes 3 shows from 1973 & 3 shows from 1974.

From maybe 1993 or 1994 through maybe 2002 I listened to maybe 95% jazz never listening to things I thought I was beyond. My close-mindedness really got in my own way. I still listen to a whole bunch of free jazz/free improvisation but I’m much more open to music I grew up with and I’m also a huge fan these days of the Grateful Dead. The 4 shows I’ve seen over the last 13 months with Phil Lesh leading various bands have been highlights of all my years of seeing shows. Plus the 3 Joe Russo Almost Dead shows have been very good to amazing. The last Phil Lesh show on 3/14/19 (with John Scofield Burning It Up fwiw) was almost as great as Mats Gustafsson’s Fire! Trio on 3/28/19. More exciting than Evan Parker (my favorite saxophonist) with Paul Lytton & Matthew Shipp on 3/25/19 as wonderful as that set was) As far as musical improvising talent and abilities I’m a fan of many current masters mostly in the more ‘out’ avant-garde areas of jazz and related musics and I’ve been an off & on listener to many of the all-time well known giants of jazz and it’s pretty clear that Jerry Garcia & Phil Lesh are on the level or greater in some cases as improvisors/creators as any of them. I’m not saying anyone here is saying so (hmmm??) but for anyone to even imply that because they are rock musicians that somehow they (and many others) are below that standard of grand master is a bit much. Especially Jerry as a guitarist. Or Phil on electric 4-string bass circa 1972-74). Whatever one thinks they know about the Dead if they havn’t listened to the truly great long form improvised jam based stuff from especially 69-74, they don’t know. Dark Star on 4/8/72 or maybe The Other One from 4/26/72 just to choose 2 30+ minute masterpieces from the Europe 72 tour. I’ve found as many surprises and more excitement and sound of surprise in this music than in most jazz than I ever imagined. as far as that Fire! show it was probably closer to rock anyway for whatever that is worth it it’s worth anything at all.

Dave’s Picks 2 Grateful Dead Live in Hartford, CT from 7/31/74 pretty damn great 3 set show from the Wall of Sound 1974 concerts Phil’s bass & Keith’s piano & keyboards here are all-time peak Dead

Crank it up, Scott Roger’s bass never sounded better than on the opening track!!

Giant Sand: Is All Over the Map incredible 2004 album - for whatever reason all of the post-2004 albums don’t have any of the magic that appears throughout this recording. Somehow Howe Gelb seemed to forget how to rock out and even his balladic material doesn’t sound like Giant Sand to me. I havn’t even tried the last 2 (Heartbreak Pass (2015) & Return to the Valley of Rain (2018)) since Provisions (2008) & Blurry Blue Mountain (2010) were so disappointing to me. I’m tempted to give the latter a try but I’ve got so much good music to listen to of all sorts that I don’t want to be let down for a third album in a row. As I’ve mentioned over the years Giant Sand is one of the most overlooked rock bands ever and the heart of their catalogue is quite something: great great albums include: Long Stem Rant - 1989 Swerve - 1990 Ramp - 1991 Center of the Universe - 1992 Glum - 1994 Chore of Enchantment - 1999 then the above there are also others before and in between but the above are all very good to great depending on one’s perspective.

Especially the incredible live version of Astronomy Domine But really all 4 long tracks are wonderful - plus they aren’t even the best live versions of what we’re often played pieces during that time. In my view as great as the classic mid-70’s trio of albums are, the earlier music is by a large margin more exciting to these ears and I felt the same way in the late 70’s when I first listened to Pink Floyd. I bought The Wall the week it was released and liked it for a few years. As time passed I really didn’t retain any interest in that album or The Final Cut. I bought 3 of the 6 portions of the big box and this thread has me determined to spent more time with those releases. I need to focus more on the earliest of those which contain the more raw Syd Barrett stuff.