Those three are good players, I just happen to like those I mention a bit more. I really like Sam Most. He has some very good albums on Bethlehem Records.
Gunter Hampel & Galaxie Dream Band - Celebrations (1974) This German composer/multi-reedist is a frequently overlooked figure, even though he has been active for more than five decades and the music he has conceived/performed easily matches that of Anthony Braxton in scale, ambition and originality. The two men actually played together on various occasions, like on the classic The 8th of July (1969). The main problem it seems is the availability, as the majority of Hampel's discography has been (re-)released on his own imprint Birth, with no serious distribution and some titles only in the form of self-burned CDRs wrapped up in printed paper sheets. This particular one, bought from Gunter directly, is actually a self-burned needle-drop, but the music is worth every penny. Galaxie Dream Band were his primary, ever-changing vehicle throughout the 70s, with vocalist Jeanne Lee (Gunter's wife) and clarinettist Perry Robinson being the most frequent features in the lineup, and for this 1974 studio date in Cologne Gunter assembled an octet. Unlike on many other releases from the era the band did not whip up a monumental side/album long improvisation, but a string of relatively shorter compositions that mixed Mingus-inspired narrative forms with structured free-jazz improvisations and Jeanne Lee's eerie vocalises. Yet like many of his recordings it's a superb stuff that should have earned the leader a place alongside other maverick geniuses like Sun Ra, Anthony Braxton or Henry Threadgill. I cannot provide any link to let you check it yourselves and you're not likely to come across it (unless you contact Gunter via his hard-to-navigate website), but I hope one day Gunter's catalogue gets a proper (long deserved and widely distributed) re-edition campaign. Thank you for your attention.
Yikes this sounds like a tough thing to do...not sure how I could do this. If you can, go slowly and carefully, you don’t want to make any wrong decisions. If in doubt keep it!
Continuing today's deep dive into Art Pepper, Blues for the Fishermen The Complete 1980 Recording Session at Ronnie Scott's London. On Qobuz.
I have always been behind the curve, busy with discovering the music that everyone else had seemingly heard months/years before, so this year could not be any different. I dug a lot the recent live releases from Elephant9 (Psychedelic Breakfast) and Sonar (Live at Moods). DKV Trio got documented their respectable return to form with Joe McPhee on their live box The Fire Each Time, while Fourth Page's return to life on The Forest from Above was even more surprising and enjoyable. And that's pretty much what my radar has registered over the past twelve months from contemporary activity in a broadly defined jazz realm. Okay, that may lie outside this thread's confines, but Jack O'Clock's still steaming outing Witness has been a major revelation for me. If anyone has ever fancied Gentle Giant doing Lambchop with an improvised chamber rock twist, it should be of his/her interest. Witness, by Jack O' The Clock
Yeah in recent years I've slowed down on new releases a lot. I used to feel like I needed to keep up and maintain an overview of the 'scene', plus also fear of missing out etc. Years ago I used to host a weekly radio show so again I felt like I needed to have new stuff coming in, and although that finished years ago I think I was still in that habit. But yeah, I've started to slow down and it actually feels okay.
I picked up some Oregon albums on CD. Wounded Bird has re-issued Violin w/ Zbigniew Seifert, Together w/ Elvin Jones, Our First Record, and 1975's In Concert.
Duke Ellington "Midnight in Paris" CBS France cd. I always liked this session. Has that bit of sloppiness I love about the Ellington band. . . they're well lubricated and having fun. Right now Ray Nance is playing violin and it's always a pleasure to hear Ray Nance.
Had some time around the house to play records this afternoon... Donald Byrd / Chant Kenny Burrell / K.B. Blues Ike Quebec / Soul Samba I forgot Hank Mobley played on K.B. Blues and he plays a big part in the session, Horace Silver on the piano too - nice Japan 1979 pressing.
What do you think of those Oregon albums, @StarThrower62? I have only one Oregon album and it’s this one on ECM:
I think they're superb! All the albums with Collin Walcott are worth owning. The one you have is the last one they recorded before he got killed. I decided to grab these because Wounded Bird deletes titles after a while. Amazon has these for 1o and change, but the first record is a few more bucks. Together is an album they did with Elvin Jones on drums. And Violin was recorded with the late Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert. The other two feature the core quartet. I'd say the non ECM titles are a bit more lively. But the s/t ECM album is great too. The opening tune called The Rapids is worth the price of admission. It has a bit of a Metheny feel and it's a great Towner composition. The 2-fer on BGO I uploaded a photo of the other day is also highly recommended. Roots In The Sky/Out Of The Woods.
Both of the Satch/Duke albums are available together on one CD, The Great Summit, if you're a CD guy. On Trane, his album with Duke is also highly recommended. In my opinion, Coltrane from 1962 is as good as any of the early Impulses and is well worth checking out if you like Africa/Brass. You might also like John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman if you liked the Ballads album.
I've gone whole hog into streaming and I'm finding I'm hearing more new music in the last couple of years as a result -- since so much is available at no incremental cost when something new comes out. But it's definitely a double edged sword since there is just flat out SO much, and my business and personal life have gotten so busy, that listening deeply can sometimes become a challenge for me these days.
I certainly do. There are so many Mosaic sets where the owner tossed out the outer box, and either tossed or lost the book. Yes, it is still the same music but your ability to resell it later in life just fell off a cliff. Bear Family boxsets without the books are really a loss.
I have been enjoying listening to original 10 inch LPs, EPs, 78s and such. The grooves are often in poor shape, even when the record looks unscratched and shiny. But it gives you a special feeling of listening back in, say, 1945 or 1954, after you got home from a night on 52nd Street. You can't get that from a Mosaic box.
Listening deeply can become a huge problem. I streamed current rock/ indie/ alt country for about 5 years about 10 years ago. It was a disaster. I found I dabbled in soo much but nothing much penetrated. Worse i forgot where i was with artists or who i even liked I have found streaming is best used as a tool to discover artists or albums that i like and then i purchase a physical copy to delve deeper into. It works well. I buy way less stuff that I end up not really listening to in the end. The stuff i buy has been tested thoroughly and almost always stands the test of time This system now works for me for any genre.
