adh1907

A cut and paste merchant. No original material or comment.

Interesting turnaround for Bagley. He sounds a pretty wild character back in the early 50s, according to Kerouac.

Shorter’s explosive solo

Art Blakey Golden Boy Colpix. Great record, Shorter’s solo on Yes I Can is incendiary. What a strange sleeve, opens like a book, no top or bottom to it. Never experienced this before.

Prompted by a mention in another thread, I have been intrigued for a while by references in Jack Kerouac’s selected letters, 1940 -1956, to a character referred to as ‘Wig’. Ann Charters decides he is Gerald Wiggins in the index which is a nonsense. He is white and a bass player with Shorty Rogers. Don Bagley. He turns up in Mexico City and, with a heavy habit, connects with William Burroughs. Plays Kerouac and others Lars Gullin records (I assume these would be Bagley’s sessions with Lee Konitz etc). He also raves to Kerouac about his recent sessions with Shorty Rogers, Modern Sounds. Not sure if Kerouac or Charters disguised his name but it’s fairly obviously Don Bagley. Seems he lived to 85 so his old beatnik ways didn’t do him too much harm. Kerouac describes ‘Wig’ as a bebop bass player, in Mexico City (1952) playing with a US baritone saxist ‘Hood’. Bill Hood I guess.

Agreed, the pianist was v good and the trio sort of sat back and let her play solo sometimes but I preferred the space of the trio. I will definitely look out for more Josephine Davies and the Full Circle Quartet. Thanks

Josephine Davies Satori last night at the Parrakeet Kentish Town. In Trio format and then joined by a pianist. Wow, what a tone on the tenor, especially at the lower end. Very interesting original compositions.

Saw the Outrun with Saoirsa Ronan today, filmed in London and the Orkneys. She plays an alcoholic who heads back to her parents in the Orkneys, to recover. Beautiful film, great outdoor scenes in the Orkneys, with seals and birds. Moving.

I am getting so many pop ups on that site these days, I am not sure it is being actively maintained and it is difficult to read. It was a Michael Fitzgerald project, wasn’t it? Is he still in charge?

The Vocalion CD reissue was also billed as ‘first time in stereo’. A good album. A mix of free form tracks and more straightforward tracks. High Spirits , the other album on the CD reissue is a strange one. Tunes based on a musical version of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. I have only ever seen one beat up copy of Movement (never High Spirits) and even then a lot of money was being asked.

Would this have been in 1988? From rummaging around the internet, Ornette played Skies of America on 3 June that year with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Prime Time, though if it’s the concert I remember, they played separate sets. The opening set was Evan Parker solo. I recall lots of circular breathing. And all of it was fantastic too! Anthony

RIP. I was lucky to have seen him at Smoke in New York when he was about 80 I think. It was incredible to be sat close to him and hear him with a small group. Snappily dressed and in good playing form.

Yes, I have just played it twice through, enjoyable and interesting. There’s a lot going on here. £15 from Out on the Floor in Camden. More reggae than jazz but the odd interesting item.

Chic Chic Chico - Chico Hamilton (UK HMV Mono 1965). Interesting record, I bought this mainly for Albert Stinson whose playing on Bobby Hutcherson’s Oblique blew me away. Has some good Harold Land blowing space among some arranged pieces with flute and French Horn. Stinson impressive, esp on Carol’s walk. Not released on CD I understand.

Love John Law. Also Leon Greening on piano tonight. Always enjoy him. Seems to have a Phineas Newborn thing going on, to my ears.