king ubu

Again Giuffre - John, are you familiar with him? The Mosaic is great (and OOP), and "Free Fall" (Columbia/Legacy) as well as the two Verve albums (reissued on ECM, a two CD set called something with "1961" it the title) are standout recordings! If you're not yet familiar with Giuffre, I'd start with the original "Giuffre 3" album (Atlantic, part of the Mosaic, but available separately, too), and the ECM set. ubu

I've added it to "the list" along with the Von Freeman mentioned above. That one sounds fantastic! John, I haven't yet found the time to listen to the "Improvisor" by Freeman, but from what I've read it has to be just as good, if not better. There's a third recent one, as well. An Amazon search will bring up the title fast. I'll post my impressions of the "The Improvisor" latest on the weekend. And @ all concerned: I haven't forgotten the Brotzl thing, but I just put almost all of my jazz/music/listening/www-browsing etc. time into the Basie website, for several weeks now. ubu

To quote Chaney and D.D., from back in May: "QUOTE (?.?. @ May 18 2004, 02:23 PM) Both are solid, if not outstanding works. I like this and so I've decided to honor it with a newly created acronym - full credit to David - we'll split the royalties: SINOW So often, when I've wanted to recommend a particular CD, I've searched for the proper words to convey the idea that you'll like this one alot but it probably won't change your life. A good, solid effort which you'll enjoy but may not revere. SINOW Doesn't quite roll off the tongue but it'll do." Thanks, makes sense! Let me again recommend the Giuffre I mentioned above - I am impressed by the tracks with Phillips/Friedman. ubu

wish it was... ubu

Read about this Blythe, and heard one tune of that group, but from the late nineties. Will keep it in mind. You know "Lenox Avenue Breakdown"? I think that one's great. It was on Columbia, and Koch did a reissue. And what again is SINOW? I'm too lazy to search (and I hate abbreviations - they're usually used in places like armies, so I really think we ought to keep the rat free from them...) "Hipnotism" is of the same vintage it seems as "Retroflection." As I only get these from the library, I am not too hard on them, the most I can lose is a CDR I hardly listen to anymore... ubu

Now since this is a music board... ubu

Jim, that photo is by the late (and great) Jean-Loup Sieff. Get this book instead of the disc: One of my favourite books of photography. ubu

Hank Mobley sucks!

Will soon be enjoying the Mulligan CJB - finally! Picked it up in its Universal version in a store I NEVER imagined to have it, and for quite a good prize, as well (a bit less than the Mosaic prize, no shipping, no taxes, no nothing). The set I have has no number, but it states that it's part of the 7500 edition - so there will be numbers NOT on any of these sets... strange! ubu

Listening to the second (1965) concert on this disc: (actually I don't have this version, but the cheapo one on Laserlight) Great stuff! Don Friedman on piano, and Barre Phillips on bass - how I wish they had recorded in the studio, a couple of albums or more... a beautiful trio, just as fascinating as the Giuffre-Bley-Swallow one! They're certainly less filigrane (does this adjective exist in english?), more powerful, less "head"-music (though that doesn't bother me if the outcome is as good as teh Giuffre-Bley-Swallow unit's is). Giuffre plays quite some tenor, the French (as they usually did in those years - see Miles wiht Coltrane, George Russell... conservative lot!) whistle quite some... Good one, for sure. Pick it up if you find it cheap. It seems our Zweit-friends do have some of the Laserlight releases for good prizes! ubu

Got this one from the library: Solid, unpretentious modern mainstream, I'd call this. Good, but not outstanding. Not sure how much of Blythe's sound I could take at a time. However, it was good late night listening yesterday. Now spinning: ubu

If I remember correctly, there is a really powerful and quite "out" version of Footprints on some Freeman live CD. If it is on this one, then this CD is worth hearing if only for this track alone. I think I also have a CD of Von Freeman with Chico Freeman (BIrthday at Blue Note or something like that) and I remember it being pretty boring, mainly due to Chico's playing which I find absolutely bland. "Footprints" is on this CD - a marvellous version, indeed! Yesterday picked this one up cheap: No chance yet to listen. "African Drums" is a real winner, it seems! Will be interested to hear the "Arrivederci..." review - haven't heard it yet, but somehow I still like Sclavis, and the library I frequent in Zurich has quite many of his CDs. ubu

Where's the love for Big Black?

Have been listening to some radio recordings I made from the Willisau festival which took place last weekend. Thursday saw a great opening by a group led by swiss bass player Heiri Känzig (he was with the Vienna Art Orchestra a long time), featuring Christy Doran on acoustic guitar, Fabian Kuratli (d), and Mark Feldman (v). Then, E.S.T. - still not getting too much love from me... Friday night had a group around swiss rapper Nya (who gained some notoriety by appearing with Erik Truffaz' group, on some Blue Note CDs), another electronic/funk/rock group led by Adrian Sherwood, featuring Doug Wimbish and Bernard Fowler, among others (haven't heard them, weren't broadcasted). The last group on Friday was DJ Spooky with the Matt Shipp 3 (Parker & Brown). Pretty boring, I think. A friend burned me "Optometry," and even if his playing there is very tame, it seems Joe McPhee makes a difference. There are several tracks on the CD I like quite well. Saturday: afternoon was guitars (haven't yet heard it): Elliot Sharp with Melvin Gibbs (b), and Lance Carter (d), group called "Raw Meat." The second group featured the resurrected Henry Grimes, a quartet by Marc Ribot, "Spiritual Unit," dedicated to Ayler's music. Roy Campbell (tp) and CHad Taylor (d) were the others. Saturday night was Rebekka Bakken (currently spinning, rather boring), then Dave Liebman solo, in top form! A marvellous concert! To end that night was Josh Roseman's Unit (with Peter Apfelbaum, Barney McAll, Liberty Ellman, and Gabe Jarrett) - not bad, but I only heard 20 minutes of their set. On Sunday, the afternoon had the trio of Irène Schweizer, Fred Anderson, and Hamid Drake. Only heard half an hours worht, but great music! Then Portal's Minneapolis schtick... Sunday night, to end the festival: a chinese improvising duo, Xu Fengxia (I think I saw her life a couple of years ago in another setting), and Wu Wei, both playing trad. Chinese instruments in a decidedly non-traditional way. Pretty intense, pretty good, but not jazz. Then, the VAO ended things with world premiere of the new programme, "Big Band Poesie" - as usual lately, polished, good, but not too exciting. I hope to hear the rest of the Schweizer/Anderson/Drake, Liebman, and Känzig concerts, as well as the full Sharp and Ribot sets... I guess the festival was mediocre, which is a bit sad, as it was the 30th anniversary edition. ubu

I remember Elvis? I remember Beavis?

And he did talk during the Cuong Vu excerpts he broadcasted on Sunday afternoon... The French do that all the time, too ( ), well at least the guy who does the France Musiques programmes on jazz. Announcing musicians or whatever during applause, and then not shutting up in time when the next tune starts. Sucks! Though I'm maybe spoiled, as I had no access to any foreign stations until recently, and the Swiss always keep their mouths shut when the music's on. They even let you hear a full round of applause and stage chatter, doing it the atmospheric way, when they're live on the air. end of rant. And in case: no i don't hate the French, I adore them, in spite of that stange chap. Couldn't say the same about Austria in general... (saw some live parliament again today... killing!) ubu

I know he didn't talk during the 5 elements... sorry for stating he did the miles mistake, though. The problem with five elements, though, is that there's some otehr odd chap doing waaaaaaay too much talking! Not sure I like it, yet. Would rather have liked to hear either all of the Byron, or all of the Lloyd (but I guess they'll come around doing that later on). ubu

Check "April In Paris" (Verve Master Edition), and the Basie Sings/Joe Williams Swings (Verve as well, but not VME). Then, it seems, Blue Note will release more soon (a comp and a real one, as far as I understand). They also have a great live CD available, "Breakfast Dance and Barbecue". ubu

Did they play stuff from "In A Silent Way"? I was half asleep when I heard this on the radio. I know they played "In a Silent Way" at their Vanguard stand last winter (w/Billy Hart) and it will be on the new CD (w/ Jack deJohnette). Plenty of Jason Moran soloing at that Vanguard gig (maybe the radio guy was partial to Don's playing -- like I am -- and maybe even ubu on this occasion, since, as you said, "I quite liked his playing in this setting. Loose and swinging...") Yes, they played "In A Silent Way" - and the strange chap that did the moderation said it was a Miles composition... why have those Ö1 guys to be so talkative? I'd love it if they could just keep their mouth shut WHILE there's still or already music being played - even more so as these programmes were NOT done live, but taking place several hours later... End of rant. Had a listen to another Byron trio track (played on Sunday, during the 5pm-6pm slot), and I think Byron was playing very sloppy. Those other tracks, I wasn't half asleep, but not too attentive anymore, either, and I didn't take notice of it, but it seems that Byron does not only have a rough tone, but also some serious fingering problems. Definitively unwanted ghost-notes (I'd be outright enough to call them "errors"), and generally bad tonguing. But then he's got fast fingers etc, tries to do the virtuoso stuff, but somehow... It seems that he tries to play faster and flashier than his technique allows. (Now forgive me these harsh sentences, but I attempted to play the clarinet for many years, also thought about going to conservatory etc, but then decided to go to university instead... and changed to saxophone, but haven't nearly as much time to practise and play as I'd wish I had...) ubu

Why the hell do you need two of them? And what I always wanted to ask: are you a relative of Cheney?

One for, me, yes, my dearest friend?

deus, when I say "in spite of", I mean: I like the way he accompanies other players (notably Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on those Fifites Verve dates, but there are many many more), yet I've never been too keen on his soloing, on those records. I mean that there are piano players appearing on hornmen's dates and I wish they'd get more solo space, but with Peterson, I don't feel that way. It's just great what he plays on "Hawkins encounters Webster", and it's fine with me that he doesn't solo on each track... But then, as I said, I start liking OP slowly, but it seems, surely. That twofer with Affinity (the Brown-Thigpen trio) is sure very fine, for instance. ubu

The Byron trio (with Moran and Billy Hart) played the Austrian Saalfelden Jazzfestival this weekend. Heard a couple of tracks on radio, and I quite like it. Pity though that Moran did get quite less solo space than Byron. Not too warm either on Byron, in general (the only disc I have and never really got so far, is "You are #6"), but I quite liked his playing in this setting. Lose and swinging, Hart did some Krupa tricks (if I heard that right), and the music has a sort of retro-vibe, yet Byron and Moran's harmonic awareness make it more than just a nostalgic affair. ubu