king ubu Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 I always thought Swallow *was* "laying it down" - he just doesn't use the low range of the bass that often, to do it, but I'd find it difficult to point out a contemporary bassist who "lays it down" as uniquely recognizable and as groovy, as Swallow does! I agree on "Deconstructed", by the way. I first got "Always Pack Your Uniform on Top" and loved that one a bit better - just because I had it first, I guess. Also the discs with Carla Bley & Andy Sheppard ("Songs with Legs" and more recently, with Billy Drummond added, "The Lost Chords") are very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ep1str0phy Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 i think country roads might be the highlight of swallow's career, IMO. i am not a fan of his. i think he does a crappy job of being a bassist. he's a good musician but a bad bassist. he's kind of like eberhard weber in that a band could have him plus another bassist actually laying it down and they probably wouldn't get in each others way... I agree that Swallow can come across as a sort of destabilizing element in many contexts (especially in terms of his electric output), but I find his earlier acoustic work to be rather strong (and balanced, for that matter). Basra, Ezz-thetics, and the earlier Giuffre sides are gems (IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 I like the duets he recorded with Carla Bley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 i really enjoyed this one: one of the highlights for me was the play of ryan kisor on trumpet. why haven't we heard more about him here? I touted this CD 2 1/2 years ago in this thread. Someone finally agrees. yes - and how about that ryan kisor on trumpet! but how about that ryan kisor on trumpet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Yep - Ryan Kisor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 For something different, try HOME, Swallow's settings for Robert Creeley's poems, sung by Sheila Jordan accompanied by Lyle Mays, Steve Kuhn, Dave Liebman, and Bob Moses. Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milestones20 Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 I have to throw in "Real Book." It may not be his most chance-taking record, but I really dig the band, plus I prefer Tom Harrell to Ryan Kisor (not to talk s*** on Ryan, though!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Anybody have this one? I've picked it up a couple of times and almost bought it, and always put it back for some reason. Looks interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 I'm not a big Swallow fan (liked him more in his ancient days as a acoustic bassist), but I enjoyed that Talmor-Swallow album quite a bit. Maybe that makes me a Talmor fan; the references in his writing to Stravinsky's "L' Histoire du Soldat" (the album is balanced more toward writing than blowing) don't come across as the post-modern trickery you might expect but as acts of genuine affinity. Also, one of the semi-incidental reasons I like the album is that Swallow's bass is recorded more clearly than is usually the case in my non-comprehensive experience of his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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