Live at Ronnie’s Scott (DVD version) is also very good. Saw him live in Plattsburgh, NY circa 1980. Memorable concert.
Wasn't aware of the Ronnie Scott's video... And I never saw Jeff Beck, but I saw Jan Hammer with Tony Williams at the Bottom Line. That kinda counts, right? What I remember about that show is that Tony Williams played with no finesse whatsoever. It seems he just wanted to prove he could rock and he overdid it. Of course, there's probably a tape of the show out there somewhere which proves my memory is exaggerating how bad it was but I really remember being annoyed by constantly bashing LOUD cymbals. The GOOD thing I remember is Jan having a huge grin on his face the whole time. It was infectious.
Not sure if in this long thread, this great recording has been mentioned, so, I will go ahead and mention it. Rubisa Patrol - Art Lande (piano), Mark Isham (trumpet, flugelhorn, sax, bamboo flute), Bill Douglass (bass, bamboo flute, Glenn Cronkite (drums). If you don't have it, well worth hunting down a used copy.
I actually meant this for the ECM listening thread. Probably too much jazz for a lot of prog listeners. But I listen to both almost equally, so I was toggling between both threads.
That's OK, I would think. The "Conversation" part allows for occasional side-steps. This was actually the reason these "conversation" threads were started initially, so as not to stifle posts and discussions which arise organically but aren't strictly on topic, unlike some of the other genre-specific threads which are strict about what's allowed to be posted. Things like when someone mentions the wine they're enjoying while listening to some album and then several members wind up talking about wine for awhile. That kind of thing. And ECM isn't radically off topic anyway IMO. It's certainly no worse than my troublemaking Philip Glass post.
As you bring it on, I would recommend that Koyaanisqatsy and Glasswork should feature in any prog collection. They are probably the best Glass entry level recordings. Once you have developped the addiction (or not), there are hours of interesting recordings where is minimalism technique is applied in various classical and non-classical context (e.g. Eno/Bowie Low And Heroes Symphonies)
You're probably right, although speaking for myself, I'm only a fan of his early, more rigorous material. Einstein is the last work of his that I like. For me, his later work is just too watered down and compromised. But that's just me. I was instantly impressed by 1000 Airplanes On The Roof, but before the album finished, I felt that the music had lost steam. As a result, my hopes for a later Glass work that I could enjoy were shattered.
Glass/Oldfield "Northstar" is the only Glass I will have in my collection. (Other than the group Glass)
I like North Star too. I think it could also make a good introduction to his music. Early Philip Glass music in bite sized chunks. It has a little more obvious movement than his larger works of the time while still managing to retain an insistence which IMO got lost after Einstein On The Beach.
NP: Renaissance - Novella This is one of my two favorite Renaissance albums. I know that some Renaissance fans feel the band was starting to lose it with this release, but I strongly disagree. Their earlier albums are all great too, but there's just something about the melodies here which I think are untouchable. My other favorite is their next one, Azure d'Or, which is even less liked. In this case, I can understand why, as the music is definitely more streamlined. But again, those MELODIES! There are at least two or three earworms for me on this one. Then there's the heavier use of synths which bothers a lot of folks. But I think they're used quite tastefully. Yes, the band's overall sound is changed as a result, but speaking for myself, I don't think it hurts the music a bit.
I agree that both are stellar (Novella, in particular). For me, there are few bands that reach the height of Renaissance when they were firing on all cylinders (Yes being an example). Novella is another example of one of their perfectly balanced albums — it has all the drama, melody and composition that elevates it to a top-tier release, IMO. And the melodies on Azure d’Or, wow. I had that one on Thunderbolt, which had a very muddy mix, then got the Japanese release. Pure bliss.
The CD I bought of Azure d’Or was in fact the Thunderbolt and to be honest, I never had a problem with its sound. I always thought it sounded warm and smooth. I never had the LP so I don't know if it sounded different. I've heard complaints from others who also said the Thunderbolt CD sounded muddy, so I got curious and bought the '91 Japanese Sire CD. But I thought it sounded thin in comparison. It didn't have the heft I was used to. To my ears, it didn't sound balanced. So I went back to the Thunderbolt, and I might be the only person who's completely happy with it.
On the 1969 V/A Wowie Zowie! The World of Progressive music, there is a flute-driven track Go Away, Come Back Another Day by The John Cameron Quartet that does not bow to bop and has a very similar atmosphere to Jaimi's Birthday Song by Rubisa Patrol, as one of the iconic "songs" of amazing Manfreid Eicher's ECM production. Go Away Come Back Another Day is originally from The John Cameron Quartet's Off Center the album from 1969 that is in many ways "ECM" before ECM. Indeed, that atmosphere somewhat later will become like a trademark of ECM and I remember that the records like already mentioned Rubisa Patrol, or for example Solstice by Ralph Towner, or Dawn by Double Image, or Fluid Rustle by Eberhard Weber, or some other masterpiece of the 1970's ECM, were all considered as a Progressive music back then. The John Cameron Quartet Go Away, Come Back Another Day (from Off Centre, 1969)
