Steve Reynolds

Why I'm most interested in many types of music - within jazz and otherwise I'm simply not interested in listening to slightly different versions of the same solo - or as Bev said, listening to a band play theme-solos-theme tunes over and over again. why anyone else would want to is of little concern to me as there is so much cliche free improv out there - old and new - that I have little time or patience for rote sessions of blasé jazz.

Who are the musicians on the CDs?

I kind of like it when once in a while I'm exposed to a musician for the first time Live rather than on a recording. I think it will be hard for the 9/1 night to be too "crisp" with Malaby and Bishop doing what they do!!!

agree that the more recent Yo La Tengo recordings are missing the spark and the magic that makes their older music so special

same here

Harris Eisenstadt has a week residency. Maybe surprisingly (to myself & others) I've never listened to him on drums nor seen him live. Very tasty line-ups and I'm going Tuesday & Thursday: 9/1/15 - 8:00 & 10:00 (Old Growth Forest): Tony Malaby: tenor saxophone Jeb Bishop: trombone Jason Roebke: bass Eisenstadt: drums & compositions 9/3/15: Canada Day Quintet & Octet 8:00 Canada Day IV: Nate Wooley: trumpet Matt Bauder: tenor saxophone Chris Dingman: vibraphone Adam Hopkins: bass Eisenstadt: drums & compositions 10:00 - Octet add: Jeb Bishop: trombone Anna Webber: flute Dan Peck: tuba many reasons I'm excited for both nights but maybe main reason is to see Jeb Bishop for the first time in about 13 years. Bishop with my man Tony Malaby sounds like a very powerful combination to me. Also will see Roebke for the first time as well as Bauder. Plus I havn't seen Wooley enough - I will make sure to see him a couple of times during his upcoming October Stone residency which includes among others, a rare NYC appearance of the *great* Paul Lytton!! Standing on a Whale Fishing for Minnows

I'm almost willing to spend the $35 or $40 to buy Dudu's "In the Townships" I had no idea it was anything more than a mythical/legendary quintet date with Mongezi on trumpet. Karl - thanks for the wonderful writing as always and you are the first person to put at least a bit of a finger on what makes "Ask the Ages" so special you also have me hankering to hear those other Sharrock records I've never heard. to all of you who've never heard "Ask the Ages" go forth - to me it is easily the best Elvin sounds on record post 1968-70.

In a live setting in a small room, I've never heard anything that sounded remotely like the sound out of Darius Jones' alto saxophone. Last time was with Nasheet Waits Equality Band and he was incredible. Methinks with the right band and a good sound system, he blows people away in a large room with a big crowd. I don't know how he plays in that big room with a large crowd without selling out his soul. Plus maybe a band with Nasheet & Ches together with Cooper-Moore and Pascal on the upright would make music that could change the world. but I've always thought that so have other dreamers first time I met a 72 year old microtonal saxophonist/teacher/genius, he told me his music "was gonna be huge" and it is and was and that night with Cecil McBee, Randy Peterson and his mercurial son, Joe Maneri's music was bigger than life itself. When the Ship Goes Down

That Jarrett Gilgore has it going on. The version of QOW is hot. almost made me forget about Clusone's stupendous take on the great Dewey line with Michael Moore on alto. thanks, Larry

Tonight @ a new venue in Brooklyn - Threes Brewing (curated by Josh Sinton): 8:00: Michael Attias trio 9:00 Tony Malaby, Mat Maneri & Daniel Levin 10:00: Tony Malaby's Apparitions featuring Ben Gerstein, three. bassists and two drummers one drummer is the wonderful Billy Mintz and that's enough for me fired up!!

enjoy, Ulrich one day I get back to Chicago for a weekend of shows!

And when she sees Nasheet Waits and/or Tyshawn Sorey.... thanks for reading. Every time I see Ray Anderson live, I'm invigorated during and even today running on a couple less hours of sleep than normal for a Monday. an aside - good enthusiastic varied crowds both nights which were Wednesday and Sunday nights which is a good sign of support for these wonderful musicians Ha ha, i was going to ask you how this set went, wondering whether having Hemingway in the group would make any difference for you. Guess not! Never seen them live but i LOVE the two NY Trio albums (well aware that our mileages vary on that one). I've seen the Ellery NY trio twice before (with Waits and then Cleaver). Both times 2 sets - both times MUCH more varied and vibrant. But the 3 years since have apparently brought this band almost to a screeching halt tempo wise. East of the Sun is nice but My Melancholy Baby and I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You at sub human tempo are just not making it happen for me.

First set was Ellery Eskelin's NY Trio with Gary Versace on organ and GH in the rotating drum chair. I will get back to that set if I have the heart.... the main reason I was determined to be at The Stone last night was to see and hear three of my long time favorite musicians in the long standing collaborative group known as Bass Drum Bone. Having seen the band once before a few years back @ Cornelia Street Cafe and having listened to the group on record often and having listened to the three musicians in various combinations with others in ways that depending on the year or the decade as somewhere between often to obsessively (especially the drummer), I knew pretty much what the band and these veteran musicians do. helluva sentence, aye??? that being said, I wouldn't exchange 10:10 PM through 11:20 for very much on this earth. In combination with last Wednesday , Gerry Hemingway is now my wife's favorite drummer. This band is a grooving, cranking, slamming bar band playing in a totally quiet perfect acoustic environment and we got to experience it from a few feet away. They start with scratchy improv into a classic Ray Anderson piece (from March of Dimes) and 15 minutes later we are screaming and the great man of the Bone part of the trio is grinning ear to ear!!! on Hemingway's Dance for Edward (for Edward Blackwell) - a tune which Ed really liked according to Gerry. This thing went from downtown to Africa and back and forth. Lordy fucking Lordy!! 25 minutes later, I'm speachless. I might have then lost my mind but I know they finished with a Mark Helias piece called Land's End. I know you all wouldn't believe it and I wouldn't have either as I had never heard of it, or heard it, but it was more outrageously phenomenal than the Dance for Edward piece. Who Knew?!? again like Wednesday it was done and we went home with silence from the car stereo no need to wallow too much on why EE wants to impersonate A combination of Ben Webster and Stan Getz and the second set almost eliminated the thought or question why he wants to do that odd imitation based playing in tempos that barely touch medium speed and when they do, he quickly brings his two wonderful band mates back to numbingly slow and nod inducing non tempos. Thumbs Up and Hands Down, baby

@ The Stone 8:00: Ellery Eskelin - Gary Versace - Gerry Hemingway 10:00: Ray Anderson - Mark Helias - Gerry Hemingway yeah baby!!!!

Ab Baars isn't overlooked neither is Tobias Delius and Ronnie Scott IMHO if either Ab Baars or Toby Delius were leading a band in NYC, about 20 people would show up. Certainly overlooked and undervalued. Many supposed well rounded listeners here have barely ever heard either of them play

Ab Baars Next step for me is picking up some of his recordings outside of ICP. His spots within ICP can be stunning.

2x3=5 Schlippenbach Trio crossed with Parker-Guy-Lytton 76 or 77 minute continuous performance. Awe inspiring. I would have died and been reincarnated if I was ever able to witness that show in person

Ok - been a while since I wrote one of these accounts. Hottest day of the year - 96 degrees in NYC - hottest in 2 years and still blazing hot @ 7:30. Inside the new AC is working wonders. All set middle front row with my wife 5 feet from the drum kit with Marty Ehrlich right in front of us with the baby grand piano off to the left with Anthony Coleman facing Hemingway. first piece 30 minutes pure improvisation with Ehrlich going from clarinet to flute to alto saxophone to a short time on harmonica and then to bass clarinet. How they got to wherever they got and how and why it was stunning speaks to these 3 musicians. Coleman is older yet new to me and was a fine foil but Hemingway and Ehrlich were why I was there. To be blunt, Hemingway and Ehrlich are a large part of why I am at any of the music shows I attend. No need to try to explain the piece any further. I'm not capable. Next piece based on a Hemingway composition - "Pumblum" which I was sure was "If You Like" (GH corrected me when I told him what tune it was:)). the music was recorded and videotaped. If it's made available in any way, let's hope a few here watch and listen to at least this 15-18 minute excursion into the impossible. Mostly on clarinet (along with his voice and maybe some scorching alto saxophone), he again played that b-flat clarinet with the highest intensity of anyone who has ever played that horn. By the end with Hemingway being Hemingway when he blows it all the way out and at complete full volume, I thought my brain was going to melt down - and with a monster crash it was over. a short softer encore and we awaited the second set Rudresh Mahanthappa played strong lines throughout playing themes and music from a suite Gerry and Rudresh. Russ Lossing combined the inside and outside of the piano like few others as the music undulated via velocity, volume, and detail. Mahanthappa has a fine sound and it took a whole for me to forget that I couldn't hear the great Marty Ehrlich again in this set. Rudresh is simply not the same genius level improvisor and musician that Ehrlich is so much of the energy and intrigue of this set came from the dynamic between Lossing and Hemingway. But really all anyone needs is Gerry Hemingway. His power, creativity and his simple presence is overwhelming and the fact that I was again able to experience it in the best venue possible to hear and feel his music was incredibly gratifying. THEN when the continuous set was losing steam, something happened and the intensity was back, then a pause, they go into Monk's "Oska T", they blow the roof off, the audience is astounded, I'm stunned, we go home - not a thought to put on any music for the hour ride home

Tonight @ The Stone: 8:00: Gerry Hemingway with Anthony Coleman & Marty Ehrlich 10:00: Hemingway with Russ Lossing & Rudresh Mahanthappa

Ordered a few discs today: Andrew Drury: Content Provider Tyshawn Sorey: That/Not Schlippenbach Trio: First Recordings Satoko Fujii Ma Do: Time Stands Still Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio + Jeb Bishop: Live at the Jazz AO Central

Probably the ugliest grouping of words within the inanity is "spastic pounding of the drums" thirded here the "trailers" make it sound like these great musicians were simply angry black men fighting the power. plus maybe some white guys who joined the youthful revolt egads

Agusti Fernandez

Right now: the opening long track "Blood and Body" from the awe inspiring Maneri Ensemble recording, "Going to Church" every time I listen, I believe this is just about the best recording of the 21st century

John Law

Rob Brown is an interesting case. At times he can be much better than good, but he can also spend a decent amount of time seemingly searching for something that never comes. I remember within the two sets that I saw live that he hit it real strong about three times during the two sets. Almost worth the wait. Blue Winter with Fred Anderson on eremite is *the* disc to hear WP/HD with above interesting/great saxophonist