Revisiting this very entertaining album again. Get Stupid - MATS EKLOF Octet (DRAGON OF SWEDEN) CD Alto & Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Thomas Jäderlund / Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet – Mats Eklöf / Bass – Johannes Lundberg / Drums – Göran Kron / Percussion – Jonny Axelsson / Tenor & Soprano Saxophone – Thomas Gustafson / Trombone – Niclas Rydh / Trumpet – Staffan Svensson 15 track disc digitally recorded at Swedish Radio Gothenburg May 1997. "An extravangant record which sews together 15 compositions in a virtually unbreakable whole." - The Penguin Guide To Jazz review Be smart. Get Stupid!
MAYAN SPACE STATION | WILLIAM PARKER (AUM Fidelity) CD Bass – William Parker / Drums – Gerald Cleaver / Electric Guitar – Ava Mendoza Recorded, mixed and mastered February 2020. Issued 2021 in gatefold digipak. *There are two less tracks on the LP edition. "At Mayan Space Station we get a set of electric guitar, bass and drums, which can easily be seen as a hefty dose of "psychedelic rock" with clear references to jazz guitar heroes, such as the Norwegian Terje Rypdal. This album is further proof William Parker is one of the most iconic and creative jazz musicians to have emerged over the past half century."
Uptown Records UPCD 27.52 - Frank Rosolino / Carl Fontana " Trombone Heaven" - rec. 1978 - Engineer: Jack Stafford
JAMES ZITRO | ZITRO | ESP_DISK | 1967 | US FIRST STEREO PRESSING ESP_DISK 1052 LP Haven't posted in a while, but that's about to change. More records to come. This is an underrated LP from ESP. James Zitro was offered to record under his own name, because Sonny Simmons, for whom Zitro had played (on "Music From The Spheres", also ESP), had put in a good word for him to Bernard Stollman.
SONNY SIMMONS | STAYING ON THE WATCH | ESP_DISK | 1966 | US FIRST MONO PRESSING ESP_DISK 1030 LP Sonny Simmons' first album on ESP, a real treat for everyone interested in Free Jazz. As so often with ESP, what was supposed to be a stereo disk turned out to be the mono version. Still sounds great and what's also exceptional for ESP is that the pressing is extremely quiet. And you gotta love the front cover photograph...
CHARLES TYLER ENSEMBLE | ESP_DISK | 1966 | US FIRST MONO PRESSING ESP_DISK 1029 LP Charles Tyler, former member of the Albert Ayler Quintet, has a haunting tone - "Strange Uhuru" sounds like a horror movie score. "Lacy's Out East" on the other hand, while still menacing in tone, is almost (it hurts writing this in a jazz contest) a hit to bang your head to. While I feel that Tyler managed to make an ever better album in 1975 with "Voyage From Jericho", this is almost as good as it gets.
Listened to discs 3 and 4 of this set earlier today. Quite a bit of Dixieland-style jazz, which is not really my cup of tea. The first two discs were great, though, and I'm looking forward to the final two discs, with the Count Basie Orchestra with Lester Young.
I see a a lot of love and recognition for this album but I will be the contrarian here. I don't enjoy it at all.
LEE MORGAN THE COMPLETE LIVE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE (Blue Note) 8CD Box Drums – Mickey Roker Drums - Jack DeJohnette (2 tracks only) Electric Bass [Ampeg Bass] – Jymie Merritt Piano – Harold Mabern Tenor Saxophone, Flute & Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Lee Morgan Recorded live on July 10, 11 and 12, 1970 at The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California. Eight CD set with two CDs housed per one very shiney/laminated cardboard gatefold sleeve. The packaging looks great but I have noticed everything in it omits a strong odour - even days after opening. There is a 66-page full colour illustrated book with liner notes. I have listened to the first six discs and am enjoying all the content, which surprisingly is much more intense at times than any previous Lee Morgan recording that I have heard. The overall sound (mastering) is louder than expected.
THE CONTEMPORARY JAZZ QUINTET | LOCATION | STRATA | 1973 | US FIRST STEREO PRESSING SRI 1001_73 LP Kenny Cox, head of the CJQ, founded Strata, first as a vehicle for live sessions in Detroit, then as a record label for independent jazz musicians rejected by major labels. The CJQ recorded twice for Blue Note in the sixties, but never gained enough recognition to claim total artistic freedom. Charles Tolliver, impressed by Cox's philosophy, later founded Strata East with intent to have a similar label for the East Coast (hence the "East" suffix). Ironically, the much better known and more successful Strata East served as distributor for the very first Strata LP (this one). This LP stands in the tradition of 1970's Jazz coming from Detroit, a sort of Soul Jazz/Fusion/Free Jazz melange that – to me – bears strong resemblance to Wendell Harrison's "An Evening With The Devil", especially due to it's incorporation of improvised elements. 180 Proof Records / BBE reissued the entire Strata catalogue on LP and CD, even released albums that were in the pipeline but never saw the light of day due to the massive lack of funding.
