I have El Chico and it’s good for sure .... though I don’t think anywhere near this record... but that’s just me
Well, that's a prickly, dividing issue for me. When I'm not attached to the original release via years of listening I can admit that a number of the remixes are in fact improvements. And they're an investment by the label in an effort to present something new and add a marketing allure that has I think actually helped the sales of a number of artists. Record labels are in it to make money, so they make investment plans and marketing plans and I don't always like those but I will concede that they often make releases possible that wouldn't be and have brought both exposure to many titles and artists that wouldn't get it and new fans for the genre and its constituents. Jazz needs all the help it can get to keep being put out in the market and keep from being put out to pasture.
My comments were aimed pretty much within the LP era itself, not really about the CD/digital era. I forgot about Brubeck obviously. They promoted him heavily. Monk....a little off and on. But I am thinking less about the superstars and more about the majority of jazz artists who were not magazine cover material. It seemed strange to me why Columbia would sign these artists and then ignore their recordings and even quash their careers. That LP era was before the era when record companies became almost exclusively MBA run money machines. The CD era was well within that corporate business model approach to marketing. Companies had no interest in maintaining their CD catalogs in print and readily available.
ECM is a funny animal. The few Lloyd records I have heard from his 90s ECM era are the bland stuff I generally associate with ECM. His 2000s stuff on ECM however is quite good. Which Way Is East is really beautiful and quite varied and edgy in spots. Highly recommended. It’s also I think the last Higgens record so bittersweet. The interplay between the 2 is really heart felt. It’s interesting that in the early seventies they were a very avant garde label with all the Braxton / Corea / Holland/ Altscull / Rivers etc. releases. As well as cerebral stuff like Bleys Open to Love. Bit of a shift you might say.
I think I've heard nearly every one from the nineties on up to last year. Just don't float my boat. There's so much to listen to!
I can relate to this conundrum having often been there myself with various masters. Blue Afternoon is probably the best entry point IMHO. NP. Pairs well with Woodford Reserve Edit. The first 4 records are a pretty remarkable run so if you find the door in there is a lot of reward.
I can't remember when I first heard him. I know I heard about him in 67-69, but it may have been later that I actually heard him. I can always try again. Or is it too late?
The ECM sound changed too. Some of those earlier records have a crisp, upfront sound too -- like Conference of the Birds, or some of the live records by Old and News Dreams and the great Urban Bushmen album by the AEC. But the typical ECM today is murky, dark and I find, that the energy feels sapped by the sound. The label still produces so much great music but I stuggle to listen through the sound.
Even though I think his greatest impact was in the context of his times, it is never too late. I suggest trying Blue Afternoon and Lorca together, as they were really recorded almost together. Blue Afternoon tends to be more song-like, Lorca more "out there". I got to hear an advance test pressing of Blue Afternoon from a musician that Tim had sent it to. That was an amazing experience.
Lloyd's Rabo De Nube, recorded live in 2007 with Jason Moran on piano, is not quite good; it's downright excellent. No ECM trademark sound either, but that's rather a norm for live recordings on that label (a few exceptions notwithstanding).
My two spins for the evening, just grabbed both this week. Jazz musings by Drew Turner, on Flickr Jazz musings by Drew Turner, on Flickr
Playing this now. Mono lp on metro jazz. Maybe it was more of a novelty idea but still great with these guys. Has there ever been a family w more talent? Elvin is on blue note Thad 3 (which is why it's the best Thad BN!!) but have they all been on a record other than keeping up w the joneses? I have never seen another copy of this. They even got an unrelated guy named jones to play bass! Also the cover art is priceless....
Re Bill Evans: Columbia signed him, and they totally blew it. That takes special talent. I'm glad they never got Coltrane.
Sony did re-issue this excellent album, and in stunning sound, via their Japanese Jazz Collection CD 1000 series. Blue Trombone - J. J. Johnson (Sony) CD with Max Roach, Paul Chambers & Tommy Flanagan
Not sure that's the case. True that Blue Afternoon and Lorca - including the live tracks - were recorded very closely together in Sept/Oct 69 but Starsailor was recorded a year later in Sept 1970.
Read it and you won’t feel so good. Small growth in vinyl. 6% drop in CD sales and a large drop in download sales. Almost all growth is from streaming.
Wading through 30 some odd pages since the last time I saw this thread, and still learning so much. Taking a lot of notes on things to expand my horizons. Just wanted to say thanks to all who participate.