I grew up hearing similar sounds coming from Keith Emerson, and really got into Jimmy Smith later on. Great sounds from the Hammond B-3.
I'm really glad to hear that the Willisau set is available again (or at least for now the two studio disks of it). I've had the old full 4-disk version for a long time, and after the Arista/Freedom quartet dates and the Creative Orchestra sessions and live recordings, it's my favorite Braxton set. Mark Dresser's playing, in particular really gets me. Check out the solo he plays, for example, on No. 23m (+10+108d), the second track on the first disk of the reissue (starting about 7:30 into the track). L.
You need to give a try to Gerry Hemingway's albums, especially the titles by his "classic" 90s quintet, which featured Michael Moore (alto sax, clarinets), Wolter Wierbos (trombone), Ernst Reijseger (cello) and Mark Dresser (bass). I'd recommend to start with "Demon Chaser" (1993) and "Waltzes, Two-Steps & Other Matters of the Heart" (1996), although frankly speaking everything he recorded on his own during that decade was superb IMO. It's a relatively more traditional music (in the sense of being more influenced by diverse, also non-jazz, traditions), but it's so compellingly, so beautifully arranged (and improvised) that I just have to bring it up now to attract your attention!
Right now this one again: Sonny Rollins "Movin' Out" RVG Edition. This is the American RVG edition and I find on my system it sounds best with the DAC in the "OUT" of phase switch position. Horace Silver does some excellent work on this one. And what Monk plays on "More than You Know" is just so beautifully conceived and executed. And whack.
I haven’t read the entire liner notes for the set but I did read the section for this date and was surprised it didn’t mention why he was missing.
Graham Lock's Forces in Motion: Anthony Braxton and the Meta-reality of Creative Music is about to be reissued. Essential reading covering the quartet's 1985 tour of England and everything else up to that point. https://www.amazon.com/Forces-Motio...preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
I followed this thread up by putting on this performance from the Bootleg Series Vol. 4 disc. They groove so hard here that it must have hurt.
Usually it was Miles himself who missed his gigs. From 1969 to 1974, I had tickets to four Miles concerts and he did not show up for any of them. For at least two of them his entire band was there but Miles was a no show. Who knows if he was incapacitated but in town, or if he was anywhere within 200 Miles. This was a tremendous disappointment in those days. Then in 1984, after his return, yet again I bought front row seats for a Miles concert. The start time was the standard 8 PM. At 8 PM, there was no evidence of a show, except the drums were all set up. At 8:30, the place was full and getting more restless. At 9PM, an announcement came that the show was still on. At maybe 9:30 PM, the announcer said that Miles was on his way. I had heard that before. Not again, I muttered. Where was he coming from? Many people started to leave to request refunds. I had nowhere to go, so I stayed. At 10:30 PM they said Miles had arrived. He came on at about 11PM (for an 8PM show) with his red horn and played for about two hours. I think that maybe 30% to 40% of the sold out hall had left. It was exciting to be in the front row about ten feet from Miles. It was mostly a visual experience for me, not a musical one, but that was worth it. However, I did not buy tickets to see Miles again. I didn't want my average to dip below .200. I wonder where the Red Trumpet is today? From the decorations, there may have been more than one, unless Miles had some decoration added later on. Maybe one of these is authentic and one might be a Hollywood prop for the recent movie?
Is the 'Classic Quartet' of Anthony Braxton a designation you came up with? Funny. Because AFAIK there is no group he had or album he made under that group name. I guess it all depends on which particular group of musicians he had when you first heard him. The instrumentation that I associate with Braxton most commonly in a quartet is brass, woodwind, bass, and drums. Aside from Creative Construction Company I'm scratching my head to think of a quartet line up he had much before the Willisau band that included piano on a regular basis, although Muhal Richard Abrams did play with him from time to time of course, and Chick Corea from the Circle days. Now Circle, that was a classic quartet, but I think it was more Chick's band. Eventually I think all of Braxton's music will be considered classic, or at least I hope so.
Maybe my favorite Rollins Prestige album. Certainly "There's No Business Like Show Business" is one of my all time favorite Sonny performances.
In the booklet to the 9 Compositions Iridium (2006) box set the Braxton/Crispell/Dresser/Hemingway quartet is referred to as his classic quartet by liner notes writer Jonathan Piper on page 8. I guess the phrase stuck, at least with me.
It's fine with me, and quite possibly Braxton had that band together longer and released more recordings with them than any other ensemble he assembled. I am a semi-elderly crank from the NY Jazz loft era myself and am not familiar with Jonathan Piper.
The booklet says: "Jonathan Piper, a Chicago attorney, is coordinating an online "Gigography" of Anthony Braxton's live performances, posted at jazzdiscography.com." His piece called Like a Giant Choo-Choo Train System is 10 pages long.
Thanks for the recommendations man, i'll try to check them out. I'm lucky to already have a copy. Wonderful read, one of my favourite music-related books. No, as mentioned by others it's already a thing. I myself wasn't particularly conscious of it until fairly recently when it seemed to pop up quite a bit on my internet travels. I might be misremembering but one instance was Taylor Ho Bynum saying it on a podcast, FWIW.
I’ve been taking breathers from Miles lately to listen to this one: NP: Booker Ervin - The Freedom Book (AP Prestige 33)
I'm nearly at the end of reading that. And the best thing is that Gerry Hemingway is playing with Alex Hawkins at Cafe Oto on Saturday so I'm gong to see whether he'll autograph my copy. And next month Anthony Braxton is playing three nights at the same venue...so of course, I booked all three nights...
I saw Braxton perform once, his 70th birthday concert at the Bimhuis in 2015, and would love to see him again. First set was Falling River Music with quite a large group of current primarily American collaborators. Second set was a big band thing with members of ICP added and Braxton only conducting. What's on the menu for your three nights of friendly experiencing?
Well this is weird. I just played "going up " by Freddie Hubbard. First song is the kenny Dorham tune asiatic res, which is also on a sonny Rollins album I forget which. So I was thinking of KD and the first one of his I saw on my shelf was "2 horns/ 2 rhythm". I throw it on and the first song is KD's "lotus blossom". Guess what- it's the same song! 2 horns 2 rhythm---->2 names one song ;-)
