What music did you buy today?

[Leeway]

Steve Lacy - THE WAY - 2LP test pressing. I've not come across any Lacy test pressings before, so am quite curious about it.

A real test pressing or a promo copy? In the original hat Hut packaging?

Either way, WHOA!

Yeah, that's what I thought! Looks like a real test pressing. The LP labels are printed, "Windsor Records Inc." The LP sleeves have some album side notations in pencil. Yes, in Hat Hut pictorial jacket, but it is a single sleeve affair (was the commercial issue also?), with a photo of the group on the inside of the back sleeve, and "Notes" on the inside of the front sleeve. Looking at it a little more, it looks like a pre-production issue, since the sleeves are in paper form (although with final cover illustrations), and not in stiff cardboard. I haven't had a chance to research it yet, but it looks interesting!

[JSngry]

The original commercial issue was a gatefold "two-fer" style package, not a lot on the inside really, (probably the same photo that you have on the back is inside right), but if you've got the original cover art in a single sleeve and with labels like that and not those of the regular issue...what a fascinating find!

Here's a link to consider on a "what the hell" basis:http://www.bizapedia.com/ct/WINDSOR-RECORDS-AND-TAPES-INC.html

Just looked at my copy, and it's got MASTERDISK stamped in the dead wax, as well as EDP inside an oval, along with the regular matrix #...no way do I claim to be a scholar of such things, or even remotely aware of them, but there's this: http://www.masterdisk.com/about-masterdisk/ and this http://www.christmachine.com/tag/dead-wax/ which seems to me to be contradictory, how can it be both MASTERDISK and EDP?, but like I said, I don't know about any of this. Just having "Windsor" thrown into the mix...sounds like an adventure ready to get going, if you ask me. Congrats!

[Leeway]

Thanks Jim for the info. Thought I'd post the LP label:

The dead wax on mine also has a Masterdisk stamp and "EDP" in an oval, and the matrix # is HH2 RO3. The album sleeves have a "W" printed on them (Windsor?). Anyway, I have some homework to do; could be interesting. Thanks for that information.

[colinmce]

Cool indeed. Do you think this is the original pressing or the later reissue?

I seem to have finally scored The Baptised Traveller! And for $10 to boot. White whale!

[Leeway]

Cool indeed. Do you think this is the original pressing or the later reissue?

I seem to have finally scored The Baptised Traveller! And for $10 to boot. White whale!

Provisionally, it looks to be the original, since it has the original artwork and matrix numbers (see above post), per Discogs:

http://www.discogs.com/Steve-Lacy-The-Way/release/1305917

Congrats on "The Baptised Traveller," you've been picking up some very cool CDs lately.

[mjazzg]

You will not be disappointed with Baptised Traveller, Colin

That Lacy certainly intrigues, Leeway. We'll all await your further research (now all I need is to 'get' Lacy. I know, akin to heresy on this board)

just pulled the trigger on Luther Thomas - 11the Street Fire Suite LP. Been after a copy for a while....intrigued and have no idea what it'll sound like. An adventure

[jeffcrom]

That Lacy certainly intrigues, Leeway. We'll all await your further research (now all I need is to 'get' Lacy. I know, akin to heresy on this board)

I know you weren't asking, and maybe "getting" Lacy isn't a goal of yours. But if it is, my suggestion is to try out some of his trio recordings from the 1990s, like Bye-Ya and The Holy La on Freelance - or, even better, the live The Rent on Cavity Search, if that one is still findable.

His earlier quintet and sextet recordings, even though they are held in high esteem, aren't a good place to start, in my opinion.

[jeffcrom]

A quick search indicates that The Rent should be easy to find.

And, again, sorry if I'm answering a question that you weren't asking.

[mjazzg]

Thank you, you're answering a question I often ask myself when so many people who's musical tastes I admire are so enthusiastic about Lacy and I just seem to have a block there. I'll certainly have a look for those you suggest.

edit to add: Just found 'The Rent' on Spotify!

Edited December 6, 2014 by mjazzg

[Steve Reynolds]

"The Window" is an earlier wonderous date on Soul Note

As I've posted recently, I'm "hearing" Lacy like I never had before. I used to like the Steve Potts solos/improvisations more than Lacy's. Now I love them both. What I hear more than anything else is that his improvising is totally without cliche or pat licks. The control he has of that crazy horn is unmatched by anyone I've heard play that crazy horn - at least in the upper register or beyond the point where the soprano is "supposed" to be heard or played.

I still think Morning Joy is a great introduction to Lacy. A quartet recording that has it all - Lacy compositions plus a couple of great Monk tunes with the band stretching out. From 1986, I believe

Damn - pretty soon I might turn into Jeff or my friend Paul B!!!

[JSngry]

Lacy is not somebody to listen to if you're not one for the very deliberate expansion of ideas. He drives some people crazy with that, people be in such a hurry about things sometimes, but as somebody who feels you can never take too much time to get anything right, he tickles me pink. Plus, what he's really doing is "worrying" a note in super-slo-mo, breaking it down into mega lines that if sped up would be just one worried note. He's like a blues player who is using the blues vibrational plane to put forth a plan in full minute detail, like life is a debate class, here's my premise, fully extrapolated, you think you can find a hole in this logic, go for it, and good luck.

[Steve Reynolds]

Lacy is not somebody to listen to if you're not one for the very deliberate expansion of ideas. He drives some people crazy with that, people be in such a hurry about things sometimes, but as somebody who feels you can never take too much time to get anything right, he tickles me pink. Plus, what he's really doing is "worrying" a note in super-slo-mo, breaking it down into mega lines that if sped up would be just one worried note. He's like a blues player who is using the blues vibrational plane to put forth a plan in full minute detail, like life is a debate class, here's my premise, fully extrapolated, you think you can find a hole in this logic, go for it, and good luck.

I Ike this!

YET he comes across as a quick and agile thinker/player.

[JSngry]

Totally. That's how I got sucked in...so much spontaneous yet absolutely deliberate delineation. It's like he dares you to pay get on, and then dares you to get off.

Words don't really suffice, but yeah, Steve Lacy!

[Steve Reynolds]

All this Lacy talk had me digging up some you tube videos of Lacy in the 80's.

If one searches, there are some great videos.

Of course I found a couple with the *great* Steve Potts.

The two saxophonists together are great foils for each other.

[colinmce]

Lacy is not somebody to listen to if you're not one for the very deliberate expansion of ideas. He drives some people crazy with that, people be in such a hurry about things sometimes, but as somebody who feels you can never take too much time to get anything right, he tickles me pink. Plus, what he's really doing is "worrying" a note in super-slo-mo, breaking it down into mega lines that if sped up would be just one worried note. He's like a blues player who is using the blues vibrational plane to put forth a plan in full minute detail, like life is a debate class, here's my premise, fully extrapolated, you think you can find a hole in this logic, go for it, and good luck.

Well put. Reminds me of an anecdote Josh Sinton passed along. Lacy told Sinton he should literally "walk his scales", i.e. walk back & forth a step for each note on a scale. Lacy said it took him a little bit before he felt like he got it down. "How long?" Sinton asked. "Oh, about 25 years" said Lacy.

[Chuck Nessa]

Still view Potts as 2nd rate. Never had a problem with Lacy.

New used vinyl today:

Oliver Lake "Life Dance of Is" Novus

Terry Gibbs "Vibes on Velvet" Emarcy

Terry Giggs "Swingin'" Emarcy

Total of $14 - the two Gibbs are from 55 and 56 with Al Cohn, Hal McKusick, Terry Pollard, erc.

[Steve Reynolds]

Still view Potts as 2nd rate. Never had a problem with Lacy.

New used vinyl today:

Oliver Lake "Life Dance of Is" Novus

Terry Gibbs "Vibes on Velvet" Emarcy

Terry Giggs "Swingin'" Emarcy

Total of $14 - the two Gibbs are from 55 and 56 with Al Cohn, Hal McKusick, Terry Pollard, erc.

This is not the first time I've heard similar things said about Potts

I think his playing on the Lacy recordings I have from the 80's is excellent.

Vibrant, expressive and his tone is gorgeous.

In fact, his solo on Wickets from Morning Joy is one of my favorite alto saxophone solos I've heard by anyone. His improvisation on the uptempo tune Blinks (second track) from the 1983 recording sets the tone for the great 2 CD set.

Different strokes.....

Edited December 7, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[StarThrower]

Chico Hamilton Soul Note box.

[jeffcrom]

Still view Potts as 2nd rate. Never had a problem with Lacy.

This is not the first time I've heard similar things said about Potts

I think his playing on the Lacy recordings I have from the 80's is excellent.

Vibrant, expressive and his tone is gorgeous.

In fact, his solo on Wickets from Morning Joy is one of my favorite alto saxophone solos I've heard by anyone. His improvisation on the uptempo tune Blinks (second track) from the 1983 recording sets the tone for the great 2 CD set.

Different strokes.....

I had just put a Bill Evans CD in the player, and was about to hit "play," but after reading this, I pulled out that CD and put in Flim-Flam by the Lacy/Potts duo.

If my opinion is between those of Mr. Nessa and Mr. Reynolds, it ends up being a lot closer to Steve's. Potts is certainly not "second-rate" as a saxophonist - as an alto saxophonist, at least. He has a good, individual sound and excellent command of the instrument. I've never enjoyed his soprano playing nearly as much - his sound and intonation on soprano are a little grating to me.

As an improviser, he's obviously not Lacy's equal, but he's pretty good at his best. Putting it bluntly, he uses a lot more notes than Lacy - but practically everyone does. And those "extra" notes are not just decoration or filler - they generally have a harmonic significance. And Steve (Reynolds) is right that Potts is an excellent foil for Lacy. Potts brings a kind of energy and excitement to the music that Lacy's deliberate approach doesn't have without Potts. And, more importantly, Potts brings in The Blues, baby. Lacy's beautiful playing just doesn't have that blues flavor/content that I crave sometimes. Even when he's playing a Monk blues, or one of his own blues like "Wickets," Lacy treats the blues as a form and a chord progression, not as a style/language. Nothing wrong with that - plenty of other improvisers have done the same, like Peter Bocage, Benny Carter, and Art Tatum. But the contrast Potts' deeper blues style brings enriches the music.

I was particularly taken with Potts' bluesy solo on the title cut of Flim-Flam. This is a danged good CD; it might be worth checking out if you don't think you like Potts. Heck, by the end of the 21-minute "3 Points" suite, I was just about ready to take back my qualms about Potts' soprano playing.

[MomsMobley]

state street ramblers 'wild man stomp'

[Leeway]

I have a lot of respect for Potts, how he maintained a sort of musical alter ego relationship with Lacy. That was not easy by any means. I mean, sometimes he's practically in Lacy's pockets during performances. It's a great partnership/relationship. Having said that, Potts is still the "alter" and Lacy "the ego," and its the latter that drives the artistic vision. Without that vision, there wouldn't be much more than the commonplace performance, fine as that might be. Lacy without Potts works for me, Potts without Lacy, not so much, which is not a knock, just an acknowledgment of artistic achievement.

[kh1958]

Chico Hamilton Soul Note box.

Good choice.

[paul secor]

[jlhoots]

Max Roach: Deeds Not Words

[erwbol]

Horace Tapscott Quintet - The Giant is Awakened (International Phonograph)

Only $12.83 at Importcds.

No longer listed at Importcds. I wonder if they're going to be able to fulfil my order.

Until 8 December 10% off entire order at Importcds. Code "SAVE10."

I got a shipping notice today. 16 days to complete an order is not too bad. The item is once again listed, but not in stock.