Jazz Beat (Part 38)

Yes! This is part of the problem unfortunately. I am a big believer in buying from and supporting local shops and try to give them as much business as is reasonable. Hell, who wouldn't want to be able to have their own shop and have it profitable? So, I'll pay an extra buck or two for something that a local shop is stocking. I'm sure we all know many of these folks personally to varying degrees as well. There are not many places that I go anymore to "shop" or spend time and money, it's basically record stores and brew pubs. Sound familiar?

So I've been lobbying my local shops to bring in more "audiophile" titles like MoFi and AP and ORG etc. The problem is that they price the damn things $10 over RETAIL. I told the one owner Greg that while I said I would buy from them if they brought them in I did not mean at a price OVER retail. I'll pay retail for that stuff, but I'm not a chump.

I was surprised at how high the prices were at Dimples.

 

Giving this a listen now. I love Mingus but never heard this album before. It's probably not one of my favorite albums but the compositions Opus 4 and Canon really shine. Some great composition as well as playing.



"In contrast to the larger ensembles normally associated with Charles Mingus and his Jazz Workshop, this smaller group merits considerable praise for the beautiful sophistication interwoven with the dynamic expressive power of avante-garde jazz. A “must have” for any avante-garde jazz collection." PAULA EDELSTEIN, All about Jazz.

I dont' know if it's a must have, but i agree with the rest.

 

Just as I'm listening to Changes 2:

 

The Blue Notes. The new SHM-CDs from Japan offer the best audio quality on physical digital media.
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Milt Jackson

Next stop, Prestige, these SHMs have also never sounded better.
Trio
Quintet
Monk & Sonny
Moving Out (for the superb last track with Monk)

Get them before they go OOP. Some of the early SHM releases in these two series have been going OOP recently.

 

John Surman / Barre Phillips / Stu Martin – The Trio - CD 1 (BGO Records / Dawn Records)

 

(CD Steeplechase SCCD 31139)

 

Etienne Charles - Creole Soul

 

I am Lon Armstrong (Monk fanatic) and I approve this message.

On the Blue Note front there is also this slightly less expensive option, a release which sounds very very good and I happen to prefer the Japanese SHM-CDs that Sorceror lists by a hair, but others may prefer this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Round-Midnight-Complete-Singles-1947-52/dp/B00NQ2ZJ2S/ref=sr_1_15?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1424987275&sr=1-15&keywords=thelonious monk

 

Always loved that album. Just got it again as part of the complete miles and Gil Evans set.

With Monk, it is all so good it is hard to pick a starting point and go wrong. But I would recommend Monk's Music ( the one where he is in the red wagon)

 

The best thing about Dimples is their used lp prices. They had a new JJ Cale reissue of Troubadour for $44 and the list price was mid $30s I think. I agree, I'm not paying over full retail for these audiophile albums. Instead of these owners thinking they have a chance to milk customers who care about sound and will be repeat customers (the best kind) if they don't overprice them. Said customer would probably spend that extra ten on another lp or come back sooner and buy more. When they stack a $10 stupid tax on a Music Matters album I will pass every time.

 

Ray Barretto on the conga, ladies and gentlemen! Give it up for Ray and his conga!

 

Chick Corea ~ Origin

Live at the Blue Note

 

This entire series is vastly underrated...

 

Air Pocket - Fly On

 

To "start" I would go with Monk's Dream which was his first on Columbia.
Then the live one on Blue Note with Coltrane at Carnagie Hall.

Misterioso, Straight No Chaser (the album on Columbia, not to be confused with the movie soundtrack) and Alone In SF would give you a nice overview to see if you like Monk.

I am not sure if Brilliant Corners or Genius Of Modern Music are good places to start, I love them but those took the longest for me to "get". Others may disagree, Brilliant Corners is now my favorite btw so by no means am I saying it's not with exploring at some point.

It also took a long time for me to get into Sketches Of Spain compared to others by Miles but now I love it. Fwiw.

 

Thanks! Great start, really appreciate you taking the time to post.

 

As always, you take the time to give forum members asking for guidance a direction to follow. Right direction? Time will tell of course, but I truly appreciate you taking the time to post a detailed answer like this one. Thank you!

 

(CD Steeplechase SCCD 31149) - this beautifully recorded session nevers fails to improve my mood...and the compositions recorded are stellar anyway....

 

I found an excellent vinyl copy of this from a library sale about a year ago, great stuff!

 

The best of the Riverside albums and the Blue Note disc with Coltrane at Carnegie Hall are also essential and they make good entry points. It's impossible to predict for me how you will respond to the early albums, but I don't believe in keeping away from material perceived as difficult by some. And anyway, the early Monk Blue Notes are some of the most timeless and modern music from the forties imo.

The Riverside and Columbia albums have been made available in several good sounding editions over the years. You won't have to spend extra cash to acquire those later on. I believe the Prestige OJCs are not as easy to find, however, and the K2 Complete Prestige Recordings box has poor sound.

 

I really dig this record. It was my introduction to Mingus and also important to me as it turned me on to Adams and Pullen.

 

Count Basie – Basie at Birdland — Recorded Live at "The Jazz Corner of the World" (Roulette Jazz)
— With Thad Jones, Sonny Cohn, Lennie Johnson, Snooky Young / Quentin Jackson, Henry Coker, Benny Powell / Marshal Royal, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Budd Johnson, Charlie Fowlkes / Freddie Green, Eddie Jones, Sonny Payne; tunes by Neal Hefti, Ernie Wilkins, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, etc; 8 bonus tracks; remixed from the original 3-tracks and mastered by Malcolm Addey, sounds great

 

I don't know that album, but the cover is cool!