Steve Reynolds

First great bassist I ever saw live. 1978 and 1980 I think still irritated they played nothing from Tales or Relayer RIP, Sir!

Plus listening to the trio (thanks for the picture) has me yearning to get to a live gig as it's been over a month. So I'm hoping to see a trio next Saturday - Tyshawn Sorey with Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock. Known as Paradoxical Frog. Three musicians with their own sound and approach. For whatever reason, I've never seen this trio or listened to them other than a clip or two. Then Diane Moser's Quintet the next night (never heard her) with Marty Ehrlich(!!), Ken Filiano(!!!) and Gerry Hemingway(!!!!!!) plus a trombonist I've never heard. in a much less spacious room than you guys played in - Cornelia Street Cafe! I've heard Hemingway twice in the little room - and there is little like that in this world. If the world doesn't mess with me, it will be awesome to hear two of the true original drummers play on back to back nights in the same space! What they all have in common is that they just play the music.

Listening again as I was truly intrigued, I will say that you wear your influences well (Sonny, AACM approaches, etc.) but you sound like your own man. since I mentioned Malaby, upon the relisten, Tony is a much more radical player in many respects, then again in many respects besides the minimal sound approach players, Malaby is just ably the most radical player sound wise to my ears. Again, I really enjoyed the music

Yes - I thought of Malaby when I was listening to the 18 minute clip. I think the similarity was in approach. Almost that 'non-idiomatic' sense. A style but really no style. Just playing. So yes - a compliment. Nothing irks me like a current day tenor saxophone "stylist". Playing to form. For me I want to hear a musician play. Play the music that is to be played with the other musicians you are playing with.

Enjoyed it very much, Jim you dudes make a CD and I'm buying. you don't want to know who you remind me of on tenor. I'll let you guess! A hint is that it is one of my favorites:)

CSNY 1974 box Wilco 1994-2014 rarities box Both on a whim!

What Waclaw Zimpel CDs do you recommend I might start with? Fwiw, I've been thinking about a few of the eremite discs I don't have looking for a blast of that sort of old schoolish free jazz

I'll send the WP quartet to London in exchange for Parker-Edwards-Sanders to NYC I'll send the WP quartet to London in exchange for Parker-Edwards-Sanders to NYC Or Foxes Fox or......

I have to add that I saw the quartet in the fall of 2013 @ The Stone. First night they were augmented by Cooper-Moore and Steve Swell for the first set and the second set was the group with Leena Conquest and Eri Yakamoto. Good sets of music Second night (the next night - Friday) was the base quartet playing 2 sets - each 70 minutes plus playing mostly familiar material. The blew the roof off the little room. Drake was immense and Rob Brown played some really gritty alto saxophone. My wife *knows* she heard something like she had never heard before. As fresh and exciting groove based music as I've heard live. Except disc 8 from the box (IOTS) which we saw @ Roulette. This comes across well on record, but my recollection of Cooper-Moore that night will not be forgotten.

Different strokes As in forever, I can listen to Hamid play with most anyone and be energized. I like the quartet. I like Barnes and I really like Rob Brown in the group. Certainly Barnes isn't an overly exciting soloist but although the jazz world, my mind and possibly common sense tells me I should be sick of Parker/Drake BUT it has never happened. They continue to hit grooves and create energy/excitement despite the fact they have now been playing together with similar materials seemingly forever. There are a couple of discs of the 8 I've only listened to on e but for me the 4 quartet discs, the expanded band with Bang, Bradford and Spaulding and the In Order to Survive recording from Vision Fest make up 6 of the 8 discs and they all contain excellent music.

Different strokes As in forever, I can listen to Hamid play with most anyone and be energized. I like the quartet. I like Barnes and I really like Rob Brown

For those who don't have Wood Flute Songs, please get that FIRST

"Turnaround" and "When Will the Blues Leave" are two beauties

Fwiw, I listened to Jerry sing "Wharf Rat" this AM in the car (on a killer stock car stereo in my new 2015 Mustang) and for me I like his voice way more than Van Morrison. No doubt Bobby or Phil can't sing a lick, but Jerry Garcia is a singer of the highest order. Fwiw, I never liked Van Morrison's voice or music one iota. Just for me, of course.

Likewise, great music and cover art too I'm ordering it soon. Very envious that you played with Mark Sanders of Toby Delius. Two of my favorite musicians. Sorry I missed a recent NYC concert I heard about with you and Ingrid Laubrock. I do think a good friend of mine was there.

This the real deal. Is assault worse than indifference? Damn good question Today the truly great innovators/improvisors (not equating them with Ornette by any stretch) are mostly ignored. Especially by the entrenched "Jazz Fan" A damn shame - pathetic actually

Well - well I heard his name many many years before I heard his music It was some time around 1980 or 1982 or 1984 in a dream or on binge of whatever either before or after I moved to NJ and it was like a dream that I heard this great name ORNETTE Coleman It was as if his music or art was from another planet - but I did not yet search it out - it was a fantasy I didn't know I had to hear his music - and THEN all the other music he made possible. Music that even at 25 or 30 I didn't know would change and possibly save my life. Then maybe six or eight or even ten years later I read that Don Van Vliet listened to two guys with fucking awesome names... ORNETTE Coleman and CECIL Taylor Who would have known that I would be blessed to discover who were the last two founders of the music I love to remain alive until yesterday or today. We know it's from before but for me they are the inventors, the mad geniuses with the beautiful names. Two of the few rare first name guys. Always my guys whether I listen to more of what followed. Always the inventors of my music - despite all the other music I like, adore or even love - THIS music as my pal Shrugs calls it - THIS music is the music of true freedom and love - front row music, music to this day I've NEVER listened to in the background - music that strives to move souls, hearts and minds. Change of the Century, baby RIP, sir

I am very happy for you that you will see this quartet live. Besides me being very much interested in seeing Hawkins and Yarde, my dream remains to see Louis Moholo-Moholo live one day. In addition, I am pretty sure that John Edwards is the greatest living bassist I've not seen live.

Yeah baby!!! Plus look at that very cool picture/cover of the band!!

I've been kicking myself for missing Matt Nelson with Henry Grimes & Ches Smith last fall. I picked another show to hear Mat Maneri & Ingrid Laubrock with Kris Davis' Capricorn Climber and unbeknownst to me, they switched the band the previous day to not include either for whatever reason. Plus the second set after the trio mentioned above was Ches with Tyshawn Sorey and Randy Peterson!!! I still don't know what I was thinking - plus I heard the drummer trio thing was off the fucking hook with the *great* Randy Peterson shaking the walks of The Stone. I'll be sure to check out Matt Nelson sooner than later.....

In case I've been misunderstood (quite possible), I'm a great admirer of Halvorson, and my comments were intended to be complimentary. I feel she's extending Braxton's post-mod program, and is very much an artist of her time. My point was that we need to adopt new evaluative paradigms in order to better appreciate what she is doing. The old Romantic egoist approach isn't cutting it anymore. As in the old "reaching for the great solo that ends with a big flourish to gain the big cheer" has been a thing of the past for quite some time. Very rare if you've ever seen the best of the best current improvisors where there is a set up for an applause. Very rare that Malaby ever gets applause during a set. All the real great stuff always happens in the moment within the context of the music.

Btw - Halvorsen as understated with ICP in May but she was thoroughly brilliant. Even a friend who is not a Mary fan admitted to her wonderful playing with the great ensemble. Fwiw Marcus Rojas might have been even better - but I remind myself it isn't a contest. Maybe ICP deserves to be mentioned here as they are mostly older, mostly been playing together a long time, mostly playing lots of the same music for a very long time - and yet they are filled with spirit, excitement, surprises and are thoroughly engaging and exciting improvisors. My only issue is that I only was able to see one of the three nights they played here in Brooklyn in May.

Along with Mat Maneri, I find as pure improvisors that Malaby & Halvorsen are the most vibrant in the moment, 'sound of surprise' musicians I see and hear live on a fairly regular basis. For example, as I said above, I'm going to see Thumbscrew on 6/20. I've not yet heard the trio on record or live. I am pretty sure I have no idea what their mode of operation is or what the compositional approach will be. As far as her use of distortion and the pedals et al, I find it organic, refreshing and simply part of her 'voice'. None of it is done to impress, it is all fine in the spirit of the music. Mat's use of his pedal/volume is somewhat similar with his viola and the effect is somewhat similar. I find the one historical musician that they both sometime recall when I'm experiencing them live is Jimi Hendrix. See - in a perfect world, more could feel and hear that. Yes - they can both be that good. Malaby for whatever reason only makes me think of him. He doesn't sound like anyone else on tenor and lately on soprano, he's come into a whole new level of brilliance. His antecedents and influences to me come more from other musics than from other saxophonists. Sure - he is a high energy tenor man first and foremost and has absorbed the full history and breadth of the music and of the horn - maybe deeper and wider than any of his contemporaries. I mean what other guy plays ripping changes and free bop shit along with very abstract excursions into places beyond? Without it being pastiche.

There was one night that Malaby seemed not to be able to get it together until late in the second set (in a two tenor Mario Pavone band maybe 5-6 years ago), and then he uncorked an improvisation that made me a lifetime follower. I think the other tenor guy inspired him or something within the band/music finally inspired him. Who knows?

Malaby is almost notoriously inconsistent in my experience. For me, it's not because he's bored. He never settles for the easy audience thrill which he could pull off every time and every set. He may struggle for motivation - maybe we a do. But I do know he's still searching. For me the last year of his performances that I've seen have been overall the strongest playing of his I've seen/heard.