corto maltese

I prefer Circle's German Concert over the Paris Concert and Gathering is my favourite Circle record. I also really like the quartet pieces on both Circulus albums and the odds and ends on "Circling In". Frankly, I never quite understood the recurring criticism that the group was no more than the sum of its parts. Of course, I can imagine the average Corea fan not liking Circle, but that will probably be equally true of some other early Corea records ("The Sun" is another favourite). Superb cover and wonderful music.

Well said.

The concept of the NDR Jazz Workshop was to practise for several days, followed by a try-out session (with cameras if the workshop was also produced for TV) and then the actual concert. I suppose the previous cd/dvd release was a recording of that rehearsal session, from the same day as the concert. I have an album released by the NDR with selections from the 1968/69 Jazz Workshops ("Die Jazz-Werkstatt '69 - Eine Skizze in 11 Stücken"). On it are two tracks from the "Flashpoint" session that is now being released in full: "Background" and "Puzzle".

Such a shame about that uninspired cover (as is often the case with this label). Just imagine this record with a classic BYG/Actuel gatefold.

About track 12: try filtering out the saxophonist and this could well be an excerpt from "Orient", with Cherry on the piano (and humming) and Han Bennink.

Ah, okay, then it's the version from the "Blue Beginnings" LP. I recognised this as the Blue Note tune from "Shades Of Blue" and didn't notice this was a live version.

I can offer two more ID's. If "London is calling", the finger-poppin' track 2 had to be the early Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. "Sailin'" is from "Shades Of Blue", the first of their Lansdowne albums. It's an attractive tune, but for me, the title track is the album's obvious highlight. Track 6 is a duo recording from bassist John Pope and violinist John Garner. The track listing of their "Water Music" album (all avant-jazz covers) was certainly intriguing, but when sampling the music I was a bit underwhelmed. This Don Cherry cover is a case in point: it's just a bit too clean and polite, especially the violin. Actually, for me, some parts of track 12 exude the spirit of Don Cherry (ca. early seventies) more clearly than the "Mopti" track. Apart from the obvious Pharoah influence, that is.

The pianist is Alexander Hawkins. It's a track from Evan Parker's fine "All Knavery And Collusion" album. Other members of the quartet are John Edwards and the great Paul Lytton.

I sometimes dream that a box set came out with all the recordings from their French period including 10 hours of unreleased material.

If you like it - and I'm pretty sure you will, you should also hear the other records in the series (Evan Parker solo and Barry Guy solo and with Fred Van Hove).

Congratulations on your purchase from me too. It is indeed almost impossible to find a decent original of the Jazz Epistle album (I never managed to find one 😢). I was in London last winter but unfortunately didn't make it to Atlantis.

Hear, hear! Absolutely right! This record should be mentioned and played much more often.

I like those two records very much. Oren Ambarchi once told me how important Free Kata has been to his musical education. He also has played with Edouard Bronson, the saxophonist on these records.

I don't think "Balls" ever came with a poster. No matter, it is indeed a great record.

Quite a few titles from the Moers Music catalogue, including this one, are still available and they are not that expensive. Check here.

Great record. Do you also have the "Up-To-Date" double album, recorded one year earlier by the trio with the original drummer Takeo Moriyama? That's an incredible concert performance, like the Cecil Taylor Unit in full flight, and, as a bonus, an "audiophile" recording.

The album has never been reissued on CD, even though these are very marketable names in Japan. I therefore highly doubt that there are tapes available.

Yes, they were reissued by Dialogo a couple of years ago (LP and CD). A well-made set and an affordable way to have all the music together. My favourite single release under Morricone's name might be this compilation from 1979 on the General Music label. It's a double album (8 long tracks) focusing on his experimental soundtrack music from the late 60s, including the stunning "Altri Dopo Di Noi" (“La Tenda Rossa”, 1968).

The opening track ("Lip Service") would be the perfect soundtrack for the next candlelight dinner hosted by you and Ms TTK.

This record may be almost 60 years old, but the music sounds as fresh as ever. Well, this does differ a bit from the music you usually showcase here.

I only read right now that he passed away last week. That's a blow; he was only 62. The Pop Group was hugely important for my musical education, but I also loved -and still like- the industrial dub cut-ups of his later albums.

If you enjoy his playing on "Seant", you will probably also like his trio album "Heart" from the same period. Nothing earth-shattering, but a fine record of Polish "New Thing"-jazz.

I have far more Feldman in my collection than Glass, but the Glass music I listen to is his early work, precisely because of its austere and unsweetened "relentlessness".

Too rarely seen and too little talked about. I like those records.

1984. LondonJazzCollector has a useful label guide.