CJ Shearn

While I just received the "Jazz Messengers" on Columbia CD the other day, out of the many Blakey discs I have this record is underrated, almost enjoy it better than some Blue Note dates from around that time. IMO, this disc has a fire and consistent groove level that is unlike any other Blakey I've heard, all it takes is everyone's single chorus on "Ecaroh" to realize how exciting and hip that Byrd/Mobley front line was in Art's band, wish they had recorded more. I even think that if a neophyte wanted to investigate the Messengers, this would be the place to start, concise tunes, great writing, playing and tight arrangements. I noticed during myt Jazz class that "A Night at Birdland" as much as we all dig it, when my professor discussed and played "Tunisia" off of it it seemed a lot of folks were overwhelmed by it, despite us talking about and listening bebop for a while. Maybe b/c those cats just barrel through with everything they got and then some. the Jazz Messengers on Columbia offers a bit of everything. Anyway I thought of some other Blakey's that are quite overlooked IMO. At the Jazz Corner of the World: Lee and Hank........ always a potent team, the hot setting off with the cool. Wish there was more with Lee and Hank, Timmons/Merritt. Mobley's solos are consistently great on this. Mike, isn't there a rejected studio session by this edition in the can? I'll type more later....... took a NyQuil liquigel, think I'm getting a cold. must sleep now

Shrdlu, Philly did most likely use K's....... I just listen to the way the cymbal rings and washes, deep resonant metallic tones. When Philly switches to a different ride on those Miles dates behind I think some of Trane's solos, it has a really dark sound with lots of stick tone, pretty dry too. I was talking a local drummer who gigs at the Lost Dog, a cafe around here and he told me back then, there wasn't as big a difference between A'S and K's cuz the cymbals were made really thin....... (he uses a beautiful sounding vintage K, sounds nearly identical to Tony's), tho generally the A's are a bit brighter, and K's are darker. Sometimes I have a tough time guessing the cymbal myself, then again, I'm not a drummer, just an audiophile

I generally upgrade for albums I truly love, ie.... the RVG's of "The Sermon", "Houseparty", "A Night at Birdland", or never previously had on CD ("Midnight Blue") although most of my RVG's are of music I never previously heard or owned. The McMasters truly have a nasty, sandpapery edge in the treble and lack of defined bass from the 80's, although some his more recent jobs aren't that bad. Hey, did someone else do the remastering jobs for the early 90's twofers like "Up At Mintons" and "At the Jazz Corner of the World" since there are no credits on them? the sound on those hold up well. About 3-4 years agon I thought that a 20 or 24 bit CD meant instantly better sound, not always so, it can aid in a better sounding version but not perfect all the time. What really floored me are the domestic K2's I have of Cookin/Steamin/Relaxin I got around X-mas time, the rich woody bass tones, Philly Joe's K's rich with detail, a full, pleasing midrange that's very warm.... Paul's bass sounds so resonant that he almost sounds DI'ed before that practice ever was used........ tho it's not ever twangy. The XRCD I have of "Workin" is a little brighter, but still very well done. I look forward to snapping up some of those Coltranes and Rollins' in K2 that are domestics in the near future. As for other companies, I have most every recent Columbia Miles remaster of the Trane and Second Quintet stuff, b/c those early Columbia's are horrible. altho the existing "My Funny Valentine/Four+More" set isn't that bad. Anyway....... McMasters that I wish were upgraded to RVG's domestically but aren't that bad in their current state: Crazy Baby At the Five Spot Cafe

calling our Resident KB Expert Doctor Jim R. For opinions on these Burrell discs. I was thinking about if they'd be worth the plunge as well. How are the tracks with Jimmy Smith?

thanks for the info Mike. I wonder if those french reissues are dupes of the Japanese remasterings. Re: Hard Bop, is the album released in it's entirety with the Paris Concert on Collectables twofer? I know Collectables has a spotty record w/ releasing twofers in regards to an album's entirety. One final question: since I also ordered the "Jazz Messengers" reissue, is the sound on it as bad as I read on an old rec.music.bluenote post? I do have an original 10" LP copy my biology teacher gave me in 10th grade, tho I I wouldn't be able to do an A/B test.

yes Mike, I ordered it along with the Columbia Messengers disc with $5.00 via credit from CDUniverse. I have most of what's available from the 50's on BN, and a few others from other labels (I have 15 or 20 Blakey's on CD as a leader, I don't remember) and I did have Orgy in Rhythm although I traded it after having it several years and never really listening to it a lot. I have "Drums Around the Corner" and dig it, even though Orgy is a very different kind of session. Was "Drum Suite" recorded at the Columbia 30th Street studio, and how is the sound on the French reissue?

I saw this at CD Universe, looking to fill odds and ends. how is it?

well, I have 6 of the regular OJC CD's from that series, and when I was 8 I found an Italian pressing of t

how many records per set?

was this ever released as a 15 LP set of all the albums Granz recorded of his artists that year? was the packaging the standard red, white and blue color with text design for that set?

hmm...... I've seen an old copy of the LP w/ yellow leterring/logo. very odd. I hope this title gets RVG'ed for US release...... the existing version isn't that bad, it just needs some improvement.

I was shocked when I read that. I remember my dad telling me how the "ladies love it" in this day and age when I graduated highschool. He had an incredible voice definitely, and could play w/o question.

I seem to remember seeing a few times that original mono pressings of Crazy! Baby, could have been stereo, had a yellow Blue Note logo on the cover in addition to yellow lettering of the title, instead of light blue. Anybody with me on this?

I emailed a Japanese friend I go to school with and asked her what those are about.

Kari, I ordered SoN Live through Audiophile Imports. I had previously posted that they had a fiasco w/ poor customer service but I got a very nice email from their president w/ a sincere apology, my items arrived very shortly thereafter. ID Live is a good DVD, it makes that music comes alive, particularly outstanding are the versions of "A Story Within a Story" (love that funk groove) "Heat of the Day" and "September Fifteenth". Pat has a great solo on "Minuano" as well. ID Live suffers visually from overproduced video, in fact it was never supposed to be released because it was only shot with two cameras and it was eventually released b/c someone at Pioneer liked what Steve Rodby did with the video. However there is nothing on any of the DVD's as the vibe captured on SoN Live, everybody is just on, whether or not it was because they were infront of a Japanese crowd and willing to get their hands dirty because the audience was very knowlegeable, but also they were being recorded for six shows in two days. they played 3 concerts in one day for that video shoot. They were probably wanting to get the freshest ideas in each take possible. SoN Live also succeeds where the other PMG DVD's fail: you are getting nearly a complete show at 2 hours and 15 minutes, and seamlessly edited for continuity. The other PMG DVD's are album specific, containing virtually all of the new material with a few classics, this features the right balance struck. If you are interested in my opinion of other Metheny DVD's here's how I rate them, although the consistency of the music makes it very hard for a true rating, each DVD has some great moments and unexpected surprises. tied for 1st......... Speaking of Now, Live in Japan, Secret Story Live and DeJohnette/Hancock/Holland/Metheny Live in Concert. The latter is a superb live gig from Jack's Parallel Realities tour, that features IMO, some of the best Hancock I own. 2nd. More Travels, only available on Japanese DVD (which I have) is a long form music video featuring the classic Letter From Home era line up. This video was the best PMG document prior to SoN Live. There is eye popping camera work during Pat's solo on "Have You Heard". Also included is a version of "Half Life of Absolution" that is superior to the version on "The Road to You" live album, ditto to "Third Wind". Unfortunately it's only available on VHS here in the States and my VHS copy has badly distorted hotly mastered sound. The sound on the Japanese DVD is incredible tho, lots of dynamics, some details I never heard before, and very clean. 3rd. We Live Here Live in Japan. Contains some excellent versions of the WLH material, like "Episode D'Azur" with Lyle's intro, and "To the End of the World". Unfortunately the U.S. version has some real editing issues which reportedly aren't there in the Japanese version and there are interviews dispersed between the music you don't wanna watch more than once. Do we really wanna hear about Paul Wertico's baby making with his wife? Oh yeah, the version of Scrap Metal gets absolutely obliterated by the one on SoN Live but it's nice to have a different take investigating another area of the song. 4th, ID Live. See comments above. Have a good 4th everyone

are you a member of the Yahoo Metheny board? much more substantial discussion there.

yes it is a good CD, "Autumn Leaves" cooks!

yeah Joe, the sitar sound on "As It Is" seems to sound like the studio one, it's noticeable that it's probably a sequence because the sitar sound doesn't trigger when he does that little fill of harmonics during the first half of the melody. It similar to how the sitar sound is used on "Facing West" from the Secret Story video (the DVD is on it's way to me) There's no 2nd cord going through Pat's blonde Ibanez PM 20 prototype, which incidentally if you don't look closely, you'd think he dusted the Gibson off again, the way the PM 20 is engineered on the record makes it sound like the ES 175, but on this DVD it has a thicker bottom. Pat's black PM 100 has a synth trigger cord in it tho, which you see him triggering on the ID Live video by turning the extra black knobs built it. I never hit the Garage to post anymore, it gets too idiotic.

agreed on that version of "Valentine". Man, that is sad Jimmy is in such a condition, he's been one of my very favorite musicians since I was a kid, his form was good when I saw him at the Blue Note in '98 during the co bill with Jack McDuff, but he didn't play much. At least we have all the great recordings he's made to remember him by if he does pass soon. His playing on Joey D's "Incredible" is some of his best in years, stretching himself and showing why he really is the shining force on the B-3, despite their being other very, very good players.

an acoustic Actual Proof? wow........ did Herbie rip it up like a demon as he does on "Flood"?

Got this a few days back, here is my review. The SoN DVD is without a doubt the ultimate PMG video document thus far. maybe ranked with Secret Story and the Parallel Realities DVD's as the best Metheny live DVD's....... I know it sounds like hyperbole but I'm sure like any Pathead I've watched all the DVD's to death, but there is a real sense of "going for broke" and totally inspired highs that's never been seen/heard on any PMG DVD yet For example, Pat takes chorus after chorus on "How Insensitive" as if he were to never play it again, there are ideas in there that I've never heard, it's almost as if we are in a virtual continuation of "Trio Live" where Pat delivered some of his freshest playing in years. Antonio just feeds off of Pat in a way that reminds me of classic Blue Note hard bop sides and how great drummers like Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey responded to soloists intuitively raising the heat level. Compare this to "Insensitive" on Secret Story live, another great version, and how Wertico's drumming, Armando Marcal, Steve Rodby combine to form a consistent groove behind Pat for his ideas. The busyness of Sanchez just brings Pat to a whole other level and the interplay to the point where Pat partakes in all the "innuendos and slang" that he enjoys with absolutely top craft players. Another aspect that makes the DVD simply incredible is that it seems when jazz musicians play in front of a Japanese audience they exhibit and knowledge and critical listening ability that allows the players just to let go of any inhibitions, time constraints, ultimately leading them to play their most ambitious ideas. This is not like their Austin City Limits appearance, these guys really stretch which is especially apparent on "The Gathering Sky" "Proof" and "Song For Bilbao". Antonio in particular on "Sky" during his now immortalized for all to see and for drummers to analyze painstakingly, features some absolutely insane stuff. it's not just a chops fest. this man's ability to make a coherent logical melodic statement on the drums, completely his own........ yet obviously rooted in both the approaches of Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams' very distinctive ways of making melody with their kits....... at one point Antonio gets an astonishing combination of three latin polyrhythms at once...... (and wouldn't it be fun if he and Dave Weckl just threw down? ;-) ) Richard Bona, what is there to say? a great musician............... his vocals on "You" are mesmerizing, his solo intro to "On Her Way" with his African-funk choir of mini Bona's is something that will imprint the melodic riff he creates in your head for days...........he also has a laugh out loud moment on "Bilbao" where he quotes "Rhythm-a-ning" in his solo, I'm surprised he and Pat didn't engage in a battle of bebop quotes. Cuong Vu's "Scrap Metal" feature is painted with eerie tone colors, electric whites, muted blues and reds...... I really need to get his own albums. Are You Going With Me is only the duet portion with Pat and Cuong and we don't hear the familiar snare drum hits into bah buh bah buh bah bah buh bah buh bah buh......... but it works surprisingly well as a separate entity from what we all love. Lyle Mays has made some of the finest statements of recent years on this DVD, "Proof" has him really engaging with the harmony in his left hand, and really swinging, his solo approaches Herbie Hancock intensity to these ears. And on Bilbao, his self made big band section is great..... that was really cool when I saw them live also. "The Roots of Coincedence" surpasses the original and ID Live versions because the vibe is just so different. Part of that is because Antonio brings a real post Tony Williams feel to the groove right before Pat's solo, and also because Antonio is part of my generation (well, close to, I'm 22) he has managed to fuse the influences of popular music seamlessly into his jazz playing, after all he started as a rock drummer. He also brings an authentic drum and bass feeling, whereas Wertico's rhythmic feel was more like rock super drummer turned bebopper =) Pat begins his solo with a phrase which includes a favorite lick but it's used in combination with a descending chromatic phrase that morphs it into something totally new. After several viewings (and more to come)I still stand by my statement that this is the best PMG yet made, I could listen to it with the TV off like a live album but it's something that just needs to be watched. SET LIST. Last Train Home (Go) Get It As It Is Proof How Insensitive The Gathering Sky You On Her Way Intro (Richard Bona improvisation) On Her Way A Place In The World Scrap Metal Another Life Are You Going With Me? (prelude) The Roots of Coincedence Map Of the World In Her Family Song For Bilbao runtime: 2 hrs and 15 mins. p.s. Pat triggers stuff on "Roots" but he no longer uses the Synclavier portion of that Roland guitar anymore, but appears to still dial in on that panel, does that GK-2 A pick up work in conjunction with that? anyone? Joe G.?

because I am a college student, I pretty much have all the time in the world, barring classes to listen, but since I work this summer (bill collector for MCI. hey, the money is good) I usually have to listen after work about 11 at night...... I do need some new and better headphones. just have a crappy pair of Sony headphones with the earpads worn off. I've been interested in looking into the Grado SR 60 or 80 headphone series.

on Jarrett's latest disc "Up For It" the sound is amazing. Although I don't have a super system, a good one nonetheless. The sound is great, rich bass from Peacock (not the crappy DI stuff we've discussed in another thread) and I feel like I'm right behind DeJohnette's cymbals. Funny thing too, you can hear a dog barking in the distance after the first tune, wonder why Keith didn't tell it to shut up first Oh yeah, has any one heard Keith's "Spirits"? I heard "Spirits 17" during a tribute to him broadcasted from Swedish TV over the net, the Polar Music Prize ceremony. What is the general opinion of that "Spirits" record? to me it seems like a sincere effort but an overindulgence in a concept, in a similar way to Pat Metheny's "Zero Tolerance For Silence" (which is intriguing) Spirits wouldn't be a record I'd buy anytime soon, still trying to buy more trio recordings then eventually the solo and European Quartet stuff.

well, at least it'll be here tommorrow I'm pretty sure but I probably won't be ordering from them again either although the apology was nice. If DVDUniverse was importing what I ordered "Speaking of Now: Live in Japan" and "More Travels" I would get it from them, they have been great for the year I've been using them. The only import Metheny DVD they carry is "Secret Story Live", a great show, which I will be upgrading soon as well. A friend of mine dubbed me a VHS copy, great music.. killer "How Insensitive" on there.

Pat and Lyle left ECM because they felt Eicher was putting a damper on what they wanted to do musically. Although the things production wise that were on their ECM records have always stayed with them in certain degrees to this day. If one heard Lyle Mays' Geffen debut without knowing they switched labels from ECM to Geffen you would think it was an ECM recording from the production. The engineer is Jan Erik Kongshaug. I have heard admittedly only Jarrett and Metheny on ECM (thus the 9 ECM's in my collection) but they are a very unique label. The minimalism on the covers is striking. Didn't Steve Reich record "Music for 18 Musicians" first on ECM?