Steve Reynolds

I found a good price on e-bay - seemed cheaper than direct and it arrived within 10 days. I’ve only listened to the duo with EP. the trio CD with Kaucic called Disorder at the Border with a bassist & saxophonist I’d never heard are what got me excited. It’s an Ornette that is honestly the most striking take I’ve heard of Ornette’s music outside of a live performance of a quartet that included Darius Jones & Nate Wooley. The only thing better than that was a take on Skies of America that included that quartet plus a quartet that included Josh Sinton on baritone saxophone. You wouldn’t have believed it unless you were there how draw-dropping it was. In a little room in Brooklyn a couple of years back. I did feel bad for the other trumpeter who had to stand next to Nate Wooley. No matter how well he played (and he was a fine player), next to Wooley, he sounded like an amateur.

Another one on my list. I jumped on the new 5 CD set from Zlatko Kaucic (also on Not Two) as it is a nice selection of small ensembles (duo with Evan Parker, trio with EP & Agusti Fernandez, Quartet including Lotte Anker Rafal Mazur, etc. he’s a very stronger drummer I’ve recently become familiar with) plus I’ve been debating a few other newish improv releases. Plus I don't buy CD’s or obtain new music to create a back-log. I’ve been revisiting newer releases such as Six Situations (a great trio with McPhee, Damon Smith & Alvin Fielder) or the last Dragonfly Breath CD & the newish small group 2 CD set with Dave Holland, EP, Craig Taborn & Ches Smith. Lots to listen to...

I’ve added it to my list. I have a great album with that bassist on No Business Records: “The Attic” a trio that also includes the great Portaguese saxophonist mentioned below, the *great* Rodrigo Amado. This record seems to be led by the bassist, Gonçalo Almeida and it builds to some incredible heights by the end of the multiple part suite. Speaking of Mr. Amado, have you investigated Rodrigo Amado yet? “The Freedom Principle” with Peter Evans added to his core trio is pretty great. Also on No Business his recent recordings on Not Two (last 5 years) are all great to spectacular. Searching for Adam, The Flame Alphabet & This is Our Language in an alternate musical universe would already be reknowned as all-time classics.

I could have voted for a number of trumpeters / Wooley might be my favorite as well. Have you heard Larry Och’s “Fictive Five”? Among others, Wooley is great on this recording / it’s on Tzadik. My impressions of Wooley live have been overwhelmingly positive. I havn’t seen Evans as often as I’m not as interested in his own projects as I’d like to be. Taylor Ho Bynum, Axel Doerner, Herb Robertson, Magnus Broo & Josh Berman all come to mind as major talents on trumpet. Hard to select one.

Besides Nessa Records not even being listed, Not Two Records was also not even listed the other side of this coin is that many great musicians are listed I think I voted something like this: HOF: Fred Anderson album: Tim Berne’s Snakeoil: Incidentals (most of my favorites not listed) - but I really liked this recording soprano saxophone: Evan Parker alto saxophone: I think I also picked Joe McPhee - Darius Jones would be a very strong choice as well but the great 78 year old McPhee deserves my vote as he continues to astound on Tenor, Alto & trumpet whenever I see him live or on recent recordings. tenor saxophone: Tony Malaby - I don’t think Rodrigo Amado was listed which is as an absurd ignorant ommision as he is simply one of the most stunning of today’s saxophonists baritone saxophone: Mats Gustafsson trombone: Jeb Bishop trumpet: Peter Evans piano: Kris Davis - the fact that Agusti Fernandez is missing is pretty damn pathetic drums: Hamid Drake bass: Barry Guy - no time to write in any more and Guy is still as great as anyone live except probably another guy not listed - John Edwards is NOT listed - they never heard of the best and most powerful double bassist on the planet? He’s only been on the scene in London for 25 years and is the first call bassists for many of the great improvisors/legends like Brotzmann, Parker, McPhee, Moholo-Moholo violin: Mat Maneri (even though he’s played viola exclusively for the last 12-15 years or so. At least he’s listed vibraphone: Jason Adasiewicz

Wanted to vote for Hank had to vote for the *great* Fred Anderson

More amazing that Roscoe & Wadada are not in or Sam Rivers glad you think so highly of Jeb Bishop, Larry I always search out recordings that feature him. On my rare opportunities to see him live, he’s always been outstanding.

Incredible that Hank isn’t in the Down Beat HOF I don’t think I want to see who is in whatever poor excuse it must be if the best hard bop tenor saxophonist who ever lived isn’t in there

Let me give those another spin. I wasn’t so excited about these recordings when I got them a number of years ago. Maybe I didn’t give them the attention they deserved. What I remember is that this is about when Ellery Eskelin started playing in a much more reserved and traditional manner. Not to the point of playing 2/3rds ballads which is where he was at a few years ago when I last saw his organ trio. So glad I’m not the only one who feels this way!! as far as great modern classic recordings, yes only a few I know of on Clean Feed but I know of dozens of incredible releases on other labels over the past 15 or 20 or even 30 years that are not even included in the “so-called” Pantheon of Jazz Classics. When “The Marmalade King” or “Coming Down the Mountain” or “Searching for Adam” or “Blue Winter” or “Captain of the Deep” are heard by more than 2-3 of us here, then maybe there will be some hope of a more rational perspective.

Thanks for responding / no disrespect taken fwiw - I have no problem being on somewhat of a musical island. To each his own. Sometimes I feel a bit odd with my viewpoints on jazz/abstract music and the relation of all of it to historical classic jazz being at odds with almost everyone but it is what it is:)

I mentioned that many of these listeners have decent ears so I’m certainly not denigrating people's tastes in music. You are correct that I’m an objectivist at heart and with my mind so I have no issue in being referred to as someone who thinks in a fundamentalist manner. I also certainly do not expect many more people to jump into listening to improvised music that many find “difficult” or “abstract” or “atonal” or whatever language one might use to describe “avant-garde” jazz or freely improvised music. I do certainly believe that many still avoid listening due to pre-conceived notions and certainly believe many who have “sampled” or “tried out” certain music of this sort. Understandable as the demographic for “jazz” listeners is older and most older music listeners are not delving into new spheres of music. I do believe that many are missing out. I’ve said that if my non-jazz loving wife can love many of the shows I’ve been to then certainly “jazz fans” who think this stuff is too far out of whatever are not completely aware of what they are not listening to.

Another example of lesser music being enjoyed by way more creative music even by many who have decent ears. Really quite sad. I was listening to a 23 minute piece of live music from 2011 that included (among 2 others) Joe McPhee (on alto saxophone of my ears were working decently) and Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello/electronics. There were portions of this piece where McPhee’s level of playing was certainly in the area that could be described as “brilliant” and there are many sections where Lonberg-Holm’s level of playing is even beyond that. As we know this isn’t “commercial” music in any respect. (It’s actually a track on disc 2 of the 5 CD set recorded live in 2011 in Wels, Austria called Long Story Short - curated by Peter Brotzmann) It do remain astounded that many many recordings and musicians such as McPhee or Lonberg-Holm or Michael Zerang (who is the drummer on this piece) continue to be even more marginalized by jazz and non-jazz fans alike even when and especially as far inferior current music/musicians/recording or 50 year old recordings gain all kinds of accolades. Over the past 8-10 years I’ve seen maybe 20-30 shows per year (less this year and last due to life circumstances) and I’ve seen probably 25 or 30 shows easily that to my hopefully decent ears would rate as all-time great performances/concerts no matter what the era or style of music might be. Yet not more than a blurb or pulse about any of it anywhere - not even much here. Most recently in what for me was a larger show, I experienced the night of May 23rd @ Vision Fest which showcased among other fine performances a freely improvised grooving piece of stunning jazz where an 83 year old frail tenor saxophonist gave a performance that would put to shame anything Kamasi Washington would even dream of playing. long live the *great* Edward “Kidd” Jordan

Not my “go to” label as it's quality & sound are a notch below the true ‘concierge’ labels such as Not Two, Intakt, Ayler, Nessa, Trost & No Business. In the past I’d put Hat ART, Silkheart & even Okkadisc in the premium label category. Clean Feed is kind of like Cunieform in that regard although the British label is much more attuned to self-editing. so I only dabble in their releases as there are so (too?!?!) many but a few of the ones I’ve heard that are close to classic/top notch include some mentioned above and the few mentioned below: Ticonderoga: McPhee is great here as is the quartet - especially great to get a rare hearing of Charles Downs behind the kit John Butcher with The Red Trio: Summer Skyshift. Great to hear the great trio in a blistering set with Butcher in his more agressive & expressive free jazz mode Tamarindo - the first one with Malaby, William Parker & Nasheet Waits - the last one (Somos Agusti) is good as well but neither gets to the core power of the great trio when they hit the groove. Malaby’s Novella is also a good release but don’t expect much roaring tenor - the band is the story here. avoid the Tamarindo with Wadada Leo Smith - the sound is hideous - one wonders if anyone listened to the recording before they released it!!! Parker-Guy-Lytton with Peter Evans: Scenes from the House of Music - greatvsession but the sound doesn’t match what one would hear on Intakt & certainly not the depth of sound that happens on a Not Two release. “Soul Food” from Brotzmann with Edwards & Noble is an example of something NOT to get - again one wonders who is minding the store....way to many other tremendous Peter Brotzmann releases on better labels - I should have taken my own advice hear as well...

Now:)

Like most us here I’ve listened to a large amount of Coltrane over the years but I’m thoroughly uninterested in hearing this. Just where I’m at. MUCH more interested in current or more recent jazz/improvised music Not as many shows this year but maybe 20-25 per year over the past 9-10 years and I buy and listen to a decent amount of newer creative exciting music. Just ordered the new 5 CD box called Diversity from Zlatko Kaucic - a drummer I recently discovered via an amazing Not Two recording. This new box features Evan Parker, Lotte Anker, Rafal Mazur & Agusti Fernandez among others. This I’m excited to hear especially the trio session with Kaucic, EP & Fernandez. Not that’s an exciting discovery to me.

I’ve always dreamed/fantasized about hearing tenor saxophinists other than Rouse playing with Monk - but in altered reality tenor players who came after Monk - many of whom have covered Monk in amazing ways with post-Monk musicians or bands - all of whom to my ears are much more interesting players than Rouse.

Immediate order. Fired Up!!

Simply amazing sound from Booker here

His large ensemble Bik Bent Braam (I think I have the spelling close) has some tremendous recordings. Growing Pains (2 CD set) is worth the search.

Over the last few days (among other things) I listened to 4 longish form improvisations of ~ 15, 18, 25 & 19 minutes plus a 70 minute or so continuous Grateful Dead Live segment. Thank jah there are no time limits like 6 minutes per track. those improvised pieces were made by musicians such as Evan Parker, Barry Guy, Agusti Fernandez, Peter Evans, Lucas Niggli & others. There are many brilliant recordings of Evan Parker of pieces up to or longer than 45 minutes. Are there too many? Ha I saw Evan in a quartet with John Escreet, John Hebert & Tyshawn Sorey when one piece lasted almost 50 minutes. Maybe someone should have stopped the set!! hopefully that show gets released on disc one of these days

Opening night tomorrow night - listed as Sold Out which is not surprising - I’ll be there and then on either Friday or Sunday night. Looks like Charles Gayle is NOT listed any longer but I still will probably go that night for the first two quartets

Most of my listening these days is in the car and I have lots of 45 minute to 1 hour drives - perfect for good long slabs of improvised music or big parts of Grateful Dead shows. These 2 sorts of music is about 90% of the type/sort of music I listen to these days.

Thanks for posting that Uli:) I’ll be seeing a few of our heroes next week. I’ll be sure to say hello to Hamid & Kidd for you:)

The new Evan Parker recording with Dave Holland, Craig Taborn & Ches Smith is on the way! Among others but this one I’m really looking forward to hearing

In the middle of the first disc (concert from October 8th, 1997 in Oslo) Building up a whole lot of steam after Hamid’s solo which starts about 18-20 minutes in and builds to a climax ~5 minutes later. All alto saxophone so far from Frode.