Being 90% a vinyl guy, I decided to dive into my CD collection a little. Last night, I dug this recent thrift score: I didn't like it much upon first spin, but it's growing on me. It's a fairly adventurous production; I wonder how all of those musicians fit inside the tiny Contemporary studio/warehouse? Right now, I've got this one in the toon deck: Recorded at the Nonagon Art Gallery, NYC, in 1959. Anybody know where that was located? Google turned up no info.
Listening to the new Blu-ray "Dear Jerry: A Concert Celebrating the music of Jerry Garcia." There are a few rather jazzy performances here by Billy Kreutzman's new band "Billy & the Kids" featuring Tom Hamilton on guitar, and then a few more with this band supplemented by members of the Disco Biscuits. This is a really nice Blu-ray.
Now onto this. . . . A great cd/DVD set featuring Louis and the All Stars in '59. Wow. This is the stuff! Great sound and picture quality. (Well, horns are a bit under-recorded, but that's not surprising in this big space).
The last track on side 2- 'I Believe In You', that was the piece that made me fall in love with the sound of Bill Evans. I picked up a sampler of his Verve recordings when I was just starting out in jazz, and that song really grabbed me. Something about it, so much poise, he seemed to be able to twist the thing inside and out and yet still keep some unity of feeling. It starts out slow and simple with Bill and Shelly Manne bringing some subtlety to the intro with his brushes, then picks up speed. I love the way he goes from some staccato notes into a gorgeous fluid run in the blink of an eye. It's not an album I play too much, but when I hear that last track I'm hearing something special.
It always drove me crazy the way Prestige repackaged all the 10" albums which for the most part made sense and were culled from single recording sessions, and mashed together a bunch of barely related stuff to make 12" albums that sometimes make for really odd ball listening. Like I was listening to the Bag's Groove 12" the other day -- and it has the five great tracks that come from the original Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins 10" (one of my favorite sessions of all time), and then two takes of Bag's Groove with a different band, the other tracks from those sessions, originally on the 10"ers Miles Davis All Stars Vols. 1 & 2, showing up elsewhere. Last night I was listening to one of the worst offenders: Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins. Two tracks from a great trio session (with no Rollins at all of course), the other two tracks from which wound up on a different 12" (Thelonious Monk Trio); one track with Rollins and a 5 piece with French horn from the original 10" Thelonious Monk Quintet Blows for LP; and then two tracks from a completely different quartet date with Monk and Rollins that had been released as part of a different 10". Makes for some of the oddest, and frankly off putting, kind of disjointed listening. But, of course the playing and music is superb, amazing that Monk never recorded "Work" again. FWIW, here's what the original 10" Thelonious Monk Plays, the trio date with Percy Heath and Art Blakey, which featured "Work" and the first recording of "Blue Monk," looked like:
I guess the clothing brings back memories of clothes of the 70s. I think my brain is filing in sme blanks. Don't mind me. (Response to the Elvin cover btw)
I love this music. . . I've never been bothered by the way that it was combined on LP . . . but I can see why it might bother one.
This review taken from here...Thad Jones: The Magnificent Thad Jones (1956) Blue Note/ MM33 » "1956, the list of names coming through Blue Note's door, this was a time of giants, Miles, Monk, Powell, Nichols, Burrell, Silver, Blakey, Donaldson, Dorham, Mobley, Morgan, Rollins. Amidst this galaxy, Thad Jones recorded two titles for the label, at Van Gelder's Hackensack home. Thad's trumpet, remember, it's just a pipe and some valves, has a purity of tone and expressiveness that draws you to listen. A few jokey quotes," 'alf a pound of tu'penny rice... pop goes the weasel " but the voice is steadfast and controlled, each burnished note perfect, this is trumpet-porn for consenting listeners. Billy Mitchell's tenor is firm, polished, his phrasing bluesy, not unlike Lou Donaldson's alto but in the lower tenor register. On April in Paris he slips between the sheets, full-on boudoir sax. Here and on other tracks he weaves skilfully through the charts. Max Roach's timekeeping is captured and rendered beautifully, the strike and resonance on cymbals and brushwork slap. Too many albums seemed to lose the highest frequencies, casualties in the war against tape-hiss, then clipped on CD by the iron logic of the 20,000khz false ceiling. (A glance at the histograms in the Audacity rip show the fullest use of the musical envelope) Barry Harris notes ripples in and out, comping accents behind the beat, while Percy Heath's bass is tuneful like a firm well-sprung mattress supporting the ensemble, resonant and proportionate, avoiding the bottox boom that some engineers think bass is about, how low can it go, how to make it sound better on a phone. This is vinyl for grown-ups. Musically, this record is a product of its time, without the dark corners or self-expressive angst emerging a few years later, not in any way far out, or very far from the mainstream. I recommend you take a break from the noise and misery of the modern day. Settling down on the sofa for concentrated listening to The Magnificent Thad Jones is such a good thing, calming, sending out positive waves, it should be available on prescription."
Ruby Braff and Ellis Larkins – Calling Berlin, Vol. 2 (Arbors Records) — cornet & piano duets; all tunes by Irving Berlin
Had the pleasure this week of attending Daniela's CD release gig at Thelonious Monkfish in Cambridge-- lovely vocals and big time pianistic chops in this recording of Van Heusen tunes.
Slow down and enjoy what you do have. Give your new purchases 10-15 listens each before acquiring new music. Be in it for the long haul
Sun Ra and his Arkestra – Bad And Beautiful [on two-fer with We Travel the Spaceways] (Evidence Music / Saturn ESR523 / Impulse ASD-9276) — With Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick, Ronnie Boykins, Tommy Hunter; probably recorded at the band's first NYC studio session in late 1961.
Was in the mood for some Dexter. I have this on LP but I wanted to try out some of these new Xanadu CD releases, and they do sound good. . . . And all these players are so good.
This has always been one of my favorite Miles Davis recordings. I'd missed that a "complete" version was released. I had the original CD, which was on the short side at around 28 minutes. This newer version ships in a digipac, and unlike the first edition has a decent booklet (which is fastened to the cover). Sounds great.
The "complete" CD that I bought in the late '80s is in a proper jewel case and has a "decent" booklet.
Huh. Did it have the full 26 tracks on the later one? I was cheated. I've written on this site previously about my battles with Miles, but as I say this one just clicked.
Gerry Mulligan – Lonesome Boulevard (A&M / Verve Originals) — With Bill Charlap, Dean Johnson, Richie De Rosa
Playing what is new to me this week a Liberty Blue Note I picked in Horace Silver - Serenade To A Soul Sister. I was already familiar with the Stanley Turrentine tracks Psychedelic Sally and Serenade To A Soul Sister but Side 2 with Bennie Maupin is where its at. This album has some of the best tune writing by Silver in his catalog. Nice little Piano Trio tune to close things out. Great record and top shelf Horace Silver.
The later Horace Silver albums are very underrated. I always pick the originals up whenever I find them as they are still somewhat affordable for Blue Notes. Do you have The Jody Grind or Silver N' Percussion? He was a great writer and always had interesting musicians in his groups.
Lou Donaldson - Sunnyside Up (Blue Note) Liberty stereo pressing. This is the reissue cover with the sunnyside up eggs on a plate in a field. Strange idea for a cover. Uncharacteristic for Reid Miles. Maybe he was on vacation and the folks at Hee Haw gave a lending hand. Bill Hardman - t Horace Parlan - p Sam Jones or Laymon Jackson - b Al Harewood - d Lou - as Bill Hardman does his usual stellar job. Everyone cooks as you would expect but Hardman always gets my attention. The rhythm section has made more than a few good albums so they are a well tuned unit.
