So, What Are You Listening To NOW?

[Peter Friedman]

[JSngry]

18 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Joe Segal ran those things with his wife and a couple of his kids helping.

I arrived about 90 minutes early.  Joe met me at the door and said something like "Great,

someone who knows something. Prestige wants this recorded, and I hired an

engineer but I'm here all alone and I have to work the door. Will you

take charge of the recording?"  I later found out there was a big family

fight and as a result they all stayed away.

 

I look inside to find my old friend Leon Kelert fiddling with a tape

machine. Leon was some sort of electrical engineer, trad band fanatic,

record collector and proprietor of Blackbird Records. He had a semi-pro

Concord tape machine and had recorded a few dixie dates for his own

label. Leon was in over his head and knew it. He was as happy to see me.

The recorder was on the right edge of the stage, no playback facilities and only a

pair of headphones. Since the sound of the band would overpower the headphones,

I decided my best chance was to have as thorough a soundcheck as I could get for

balances and just watch the VU meters. Oh yeah, I moved the recorder off the risers

and set it on a folding chair or something.

 

The show was 3 tenors - Jug, Dexter and Don Byas. Joe told me we would not

be recording Byas since Don and Prestige had not come to terms. The format was a

continuous program of tenors rotating in quartet and quintet formats,

sort of "round robin" style. Because of the format, Joe had hired 2

rhythm sections, or they would have played for hours at a time.

 

The place was packed with a rowdy Chicago crowd and Byas took to

the stage and announced there were 2 thieves at the edge of the stage and

asked the audience to police us while he was on playing. This became an

ongoing "joke" throughout the day and by the end of the evening Byas was

plying me with Courvoisier back at the bar, and exhorting me to punch

him in the stomach so I could see just how tough he was.

 

We rolled tape when the other guys played, both afternoon and night. I

watched the dials and Leon sat there with his headphones, shaking his

head from side to side. In the evening, during a fantastic version of

"Lonesome Lover Blues" (or what passed for it) a drunk tripped over the

power cord and unplugged the machine. At the end of the piece, a delighted Jug,

wiping his brow with a bar towel, looked over at me and said

"How's it goin' fellas?". I held up 2 fingers, he stared at me for a few seconds

and turned to the mike. Then Jug said "the man says we have to do it again".

Dexter chuckled and the crowd went wild.

You taped the entire night (minus Byas)? Do you know how much of that has survived?

[Chuck Nessa]

17 minutes ago, JSngry said:

You taped the entire night (minus Byas)? Do you know how much of that has survived?

Afternoon and evening shows. The cd has 2 tracks (31 minutes) not on the original lp. Not sure if more survived.

[JSngry]

Was Byas in good form throughout, like all the way to the end?

The mouth waters at the possibility of the entire thing still being intact somewhere, just waiting to be stumbled upon ...and not thrown away.

[Chuck Nessa]

17 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Was Byas in good form throughout, like all the way to the end?

The mouth waters at the possibility of the entire thing still being intact somewhere, just waiting to be stumbled upon ...and not thrown away.

Byas was not recorded.

[JSngry]

Sorry, those were separate items. A question about Byas and then a fantasy about the tapes.

[Rabshakeh]

Lee Konitz - Alone Together

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[jazzbo]

George Benson “The Other Side of Abbey Road” A&M Universal Japan SHM-CD.

This is an odd record. Has its moments!

 

[jazzbo]

Stan Turrentine “Cherry” CTI Supreme Blu-Spec CD

 

 

I’m definitely in the mood for this one! And it delivers. Milt Jackson is featured, and on occasion Cornell Dupree’s Telecaster steals the show.

[optatio]

10 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Lee Konitz - Alone Together

👍

[mjazzg]

11 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Lee Konitz - Alone Together

I have that somewhere, unlistened to for years. I should dig it out

[soulpope]

32 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

I have that somewhere, unlistened to for years. I should dig it out

For me the Konitz/Haden duo recording "Sweet & Lovely" works even better ....

[jazzbo]

Greg Groover Jr. “Negro Spiritual Songbook Vol. 2 – The Message”

 

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Jason Palmer – trumpet,
Gregory Groover, Jr. – tenor sax,
Jesse Taitt – piano,
Clay Nordhill – guitar,
Max Ridley – bass,
Jharis Yokley – drums

[Rabshakeh]

1 hour ago, mjazzg said:

I have that somewhere, unlistened to for years. I should dig it out

I find that I tend to react to it based on my mood (last night I was definitely in the mood for it), but I do think it is very strong. It is one of the few places in which I react well to Mehldau, who is otherwise one of my least favourite jazz musicians.

[jazzbo]

The ever-intriguing Hermeto Pascoal.

“Natureza Universal” disc 2

 

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[mjazzg]

32 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

I find that I tend to react to it based on my mood (last night I was definitely in the mood for it), but I do think it is very strong. It is one of the few places in which I react well to Mehldau, who is otherwise one of my least favourite jazz musicians.

I liked Mehldau for a few albums, saw him a couple of times but I certainly haven't missed listening to him

1 hour ago, soulpope said:

For me the Konitz/Haden duo recording "Sweet & Lovely" works even better ....

I don't know that one, thanks for the tip

[mhatta]

Whenever I think of Brad Mehldau, I always think of this 2004 Live In Tokyo. I saw this recording live, and although I felt the entire show was a bit redundant, the encore, "River Man," was so wonderful that I was stuck in my seat with emotion. However, when I listen to it again on CD, I am not so moved. I am not so interested in the subsequent Mehldau outputs. Maybe it was because I was young and foolish, or maybe I am not in the right mood for his music.

[jazzbo]

Bob Dylan “The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981” disc 5

Another fascinating box set. This band cooked.

[ghost of miles]

[Tom 1960]

With Dave Schildkraut.

Edited July 19, 2024 by Tom 1960

[Peter Friedman]

[soulpope]

Priceless Anthony Ortega release on hatOLOGY ....

[Rabshakeh]

More Hut over here.

Joe McPhee – Graphics

What an enjoyable record this is. Rare to have a solo horn record that has this sort of gutsy idiomatic feel.

Edited July 19, 2024 by Rabshakeh