Rooster_Ties Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 (edited) Just noticed that Julian Priester's 1974 ECM album "Love, Love" is available for download from www.darkfunk.com. And be quick about it. Download it now - cuz stuff's only available there for a week or two, at most --- and I have no idea how long "Love, Love" has been up (so, for all I know, it could go down tomorrow!! ). I've never heard this date before (it's never been released on CD, by the way), and I just downloaded it seconds ago --- and I'm "spinning" it now!! Groovy!!! B) Edited April 6, 2004 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 I see it has Hadley Calliman on it... CLICK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 (edited) The two ECM recordings by Julian Priester (Love, Love / Polarization) are great stuff indeed. In the Herbie Hancock Mwandishi vein. I found both LPs in mint condition recently. Edited April 6, 2004 by Claude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Wasn't there something written somewhere about these sessions being listed amongst those for which the master tapes were probably in too rough a shape for transfer to CD? I've got both on German ECM vinyl and they sound excellent. 'Love, Love' is very much in the Mahavishnu/Eddie Henderson Capricorn vein and highly recommended. 'Polarisation' is probably my favourite of the two - fine playing by Priester in a quartet and superbly recorded. Great cover on 'Love, Love' too ! Groovy - for sure ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted April 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 What's the cover look like??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Incredible blue ocean seascape with a couple of gulls zooming over it. Taken by a Japanese photographer, I believe. One of my fave ECM covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted April 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Answering my own question.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWright Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 (edited) I listened to the Priester album "Love, Love" on the darkfunk site and liked it a lot. I keep a wish list of either rare (only available as import or not available at all) jazz albums and both of Priester's ECM dates have been on it for some time. Having now heard one of them, they are sure to stay on the list. Perhaps there are technical issues preventing a perfect CD release, but I say bring the stuff out anyway, it's just too good to be left in the vaults! When one considers the questionable fidelity of some of the key items in Sun Ra (Priester's old one time boss)'s often lo-fi discography, for example, what is there for ECM to be afraid of? Couldn't they just make a transfer from someone's LP if the masters are in such terrible shape? I understand this is done all the time with old time blues, country and gospel '78's being transferred to CD... Edited April 6, 2004 by HWright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Technically, this is all possible, but there is Eicher's perfectionism standing against it ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 (edited) Incredible blue ocean seascape with a couple of gulls zooming over it. Taken by a Japanese photographer, I believe. One of my fave ECM covers. The name of the man in question is Tadayuki Naito. It is only one gull, by the way ... Edited April 6, 2004 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 (edited) Aha - I didn't have the LP in question in front of me at the time, being chained to the ol' workdesk so I stand corrected. One gull it is ! B) Any idea where the blue stuff was photographed? Edited April 7, 2004 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Sure everybody found this one: Now, could someone do a scan of the front cover, in a size that would fit nice into the CD case I'm storing the downloaded CDR in? (Thanks a lot, Rooster! I'm listening right now, and it's a great disc, I never heard it before! ) ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleM Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 I saw Priester play a small show (I was w/ a fellow board member) about 4 months ago at the Bluemonk in Portland. He did a set w/ a piano player (only) and then another w/ a drummer and an occassional improv. dancer coming up. I wasn't expecting any be-bop or even anything resembling his work w/ Booker Little, Max Roach, etc..., but I found his stuff to be largely inaccessible. The piano player was nothing to write home about, that's for sure. There was one 15 minute (or so) segment in which Priester made unorthodox sounds acapella w/ his trombone, manipulating the mouthpiece, spit-valves, and such and most of it sounded like flatulence to me. Once the drummer got up they just improvised very freely, but somehow most of it just didn't float my boat. I met him after and gave him some artwork, which prompted a cool conversation about "making it" as an artist/musician. He was really cool and personable. I'd love to hear the ECM stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Priester covered a wide range of styles in his career. Consider the leaders he played for as a sideman: Sun Ra Max Roach Art Blakey Herbie Hancock Duke Ellington His own records covered hard bop, electronic funk, free improvisation. I have a CD titled Quartet, a collaborative effort using free improvisation, with Jay Clayton, Gary Peacock and Jerry Granelli, that comes off pretty well. His contributions to Reggie Workman's two excellent CDS on the Postcards label are worth hearing, as is the duo CD on that label with Sam Rivers. So in his favour, I guess he had a bad night ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 That back cover posted above, BTW, is only the lower half, with the album title pasted in, cut to coveniently fit a CD case and still be readable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 That back cover posted above, BTW, is only the lower half, with the album title pasted in, cut to coveniently fit a CD case and still be readable. I thought so, thanks! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 I recall seeing Priester a good 20 years ago playing with Dave Holland's Quintet back in the Steve Coleman days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 (edited) Priester was an important voice in that (first) edition of the Dave Holland Quintet. On the next album, Robin Eubanks replaced him. Many consider this to be the most interesting edition of Dave's quintet. I have to admit I like Priester much better than Eubanks in this band ... I like Priester best on: 1) Sam Rivers' Dimensions and Extensions (Blue Note) - that most unlikely horn section of Donald Byrd, Julian Priester, James Spaulding and Sam Rivers works out excellently, to these ears, and Priester cleverly stays on the thin line between inside and outside playing. 2) Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi (Warner Brothers) - his solo on "Wandering Spirit Song" (which he also wrote) is so beautifully forlorn, always on the verge of getting lost in background, truly illustrating the song's title. Edited April 9, 2004 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Priester was indeed great but I think it is unjust to not take a look at the growth of Robin Eubanks as a trombonist and a composer since joining the Holland Quintet. He just gets better and better. That whole group operates like a fine tuned machine and Robin is an integral part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Agree with you on Eubanks' growth - saw him live with that band and liked him much better than on the CDs. But I'm biased, as Priester is my all time favourite trombonist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Hearing that band live vs on cd's is a huge difference. Especially with Billy Kilson.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Hearing that band live vs on cd's is a huge difference. Especially with Billy Kilson.... Now what is the reason? I'm afraid Manfred Eicher's esthetic takes away too much of the rough edges of this music. All the cymbal sounds of the drummers are so similar on ECM records, and - but this is very often the case - the drums are too low in the mix, and everything is at too far a distance from the speakers - i.e. the soundstage is like on top of a Norwegian mountainscape - all digitally effected, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Dark Funk indeed. The owner of that site must have been listening to side one when he registered his domain. How do you download from darkfunk.com??? I heard Polarization behind a NY radio dj in the moving van the day we headed up to New England. A kind board member sent me a CDR with cover art, and I am embarrased to say that I can't remember who that was. If you would be so bold, could you please remind me? Thanks again! I am truly embarrassed to have to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wheel Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 You should be able to simply navigate with your browser to the page where the mp3 files are, then download them in the usual way (right click then "save as" or whatever). He usually has a couple of albums/boots up at a time and changes them once a month or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wheel Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 BTW, a friend of mine who I played a gig with Saturday is good friends with Darkfunk. Maybe we could collectively lobby him through my friend for things we want up there? If 50 or so of us want to hear something, he just might put it up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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