CJ Shearn

Yes, it is a fold out digipak like the Miles Bootleg Series releases. Blade is fantastic with Chick IMO, I wanted this since last year but didn't want to spring for the expensive Japanese version. I ripped all the discs to my hard drive, but everything arrived fine in the digipak, no damage to packaging or discs. I would say it's a lot more "in" then the Gomez/Motian trio, but of course with that insideness, Chick definitely takes liberties with the standards and the originals. You see "Spain" on disc 1 and you think "again? really?" but it's an inspired performance where the melody doesn't pop in until mid way through, that track features Nino Josele on acoustic guitar and Jorge Pardo on flute Paco DeLucia's bands from Chick's Touchstone days (never heard that album yet).

Very awesome!!

RIP. I should familiarize myself with some of her other work, but the whistling of the Munich audience on the CTI All Stars recording in response to an I guess (lack of funk) is always a trip. And yes, "A Wilder Alias" is something else!

Out for a week in the US, the massive 3 CD set released in Japan last year. I like it quite well, although Gayle Moran Corea's vocals on "Someday My Prince Will Come" is definitely a YMMV thing.

"Holding Together" by Steps Ahead has some smoking Berg, which I think was his last recording. Maybe he flew under the radar because he was sharing the same grammar as Grossman and Brecker as far as that post Trane thing that began in the late 60's early 70's, he was such a fine player. I enjoy his playing very much.

Antonio Sanchez plays cajon on "Kin" with the Pat Metheny Unity Group, and I think I've heard a few other instances by other artists in a jazz context.

Very interesting thought colin. I think alcohol without question contributes to liver problems, oddly I never heard that IV drug use leads to hepatitis C......... very interesting

Same here, love his solo on "Eggplant"

Thank you Chuck! Will check these out later.

Thank you for the music, Gerald

HBD Newk! Love you!!

I like some d'n'b sound ... but I've heard much, much better instrumental/acoustic emulations than that - the beats are incredibly lame and Mehldau sounds totally out of ideas to me - and mind me, I quite enjoyed "Largo" when it first appeared, I'm a 90s kid of some sorts (though mostly I grew up in my own time I guess, after all how many middle-class european 13 year olds ask their aunts and uncles to get "Bags' Groove" and "Nippon Soul" for x-mas?). Just doesn't do it for me, no matter from what angle I try and approach it (though I've not heard the album, only some live recordings such as a concert from London captured by the Beeb). Anyway, I think Mehldau is often a bit underrated/downplayed/sneered-at-too-much in circles such as this splendid forum I am a 90's kid also and that wasn't strange for a 13 year old to ask for that stuff because I was asking for stuff like that too. I think I got the old Trane Prestige Recordings big box when I was 14 for Christmas I believe Mehldau is underrated here also, and I spun a bit of "Highway Rider" the other night, the writing is wonderful. Been listening to Mark Giuliana's new album of Rhapsody, (he has two) it will take a bit to for it to settle in with me, but it is working for what it is.

Oh wow, what kind of memorabilia was there?

Very interesting list!! Though I would say "Blackbyrd" has never turned me on despite it's massive important influence in funk, R&B, hip hop and DJ circles

Definitely Jack McDuff "Screamin" and "Crash" (the twofer) George Benson, "The New Boss Guitar" which doesn't seem to get mentioned that much in comparison to "It's Uptown", "Cookbook", the A&M, CTI or Warner period. Don Patterson "Boppin and Burnin" is real nice as is Arnett Cobb, "Blow Arnett Blow",is one of the greatest two tenor records I've ever heard.. Some of the Prestige jams, like "The Cats"(technically New Jazz) I like a lot too, but that is probably the least underrated of the lot b/c it features Trane, but Kenny Burrell and Idrees Sulieman are terrific on that, too.

I have been eating vegetarian mostly for the past several months, with the occasional meat eating while out, and that is disgusting. Just another way we are killing people.

That's a great story!!

I guess it depends on whether or not you like that drum n bass/electronic sound. I like that general sound though I don't claim to have a deep knowledge of that genre. Some of the stuff in the ridiculously labeled "intelligent dance music" genre is really boring. I think only Aphex Twin and Squarepusher have done things I've heard that are intriguing for me.

I thought "Mehliana" was cool, though that opening track needs to be edited for radio. I still haven't heard the last two trio albums, but "Art of the Trio Volume 4: Back at the Vanguard" "Art of the Trio Vol. 5", "Live in Tokyo" (the 2 disc Japanese version which is the complete concert) the two albums with Metheny and "Trio Live" are among my fav. Mehldau. "Highway Rider" I need to pull out again, it's a very dense album with some terrific string writing. And he is great on that new Cobb in a more inside hard bop mode.

Just a few tunes in, but yes, you are right! her pocket is deep on this. The band played the first two tunes way up, and they are very "intense" but for some reason, it's working

This was killing!

Thanks Guy!!

This would be a great find if true. Wasn't there also some Greek Theater dates from 1967 with Albert Stinson subbing for Ron Carter?

The music on this set is some of the best of Elvin's career I think, and a small treasure of gold in the lean Butler/UA era Blue Note era. I dig the session with Morgan and Coleman a lot also

Great article! Lundvall and Was really helped turn BN around from the Butler era disaster. I feel like Was holds much closer to the original philosophy of Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff, although like I said a while back, the Blue Note of today marketing wise seems to be a redux of Blue Note Hits a New Note in a way, except the quality of the music is much better tastes notwithstanding.