king ubu

Just back from Middelheim Jazz Festival, where Akinmusire was artist in residence this year ... I've heard him in person already last winter with his fantastic quiartet (the one on the Blue Note double album from the Village Vanguard). I very much like his approach, both tonally as well as rhythmically ... and the band was truly together in a way that I've not heard all that often yet, all four able to jump in at any time and take any turn right away--a very challenginng approach it seemed, yet also one that allowed plenty of looseness on all sides. Sam Harris (his EP "Harmony", bandcamp/dl only, comes recommded, too!) is a great new voice on piano/keys, too. At (in) Middelheim (a part of the city of Antwerp which is worth a visit, independently of the festival), the first appearance by Akinmusire was with "Origami Harvest". I was a bit doubtful how well this would work in a live setting, but it gelled right away. This was the first set after a fun opening by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids and an amazingly powerful set by David Murray's quartet with Saul Williams. A supercharged set indeed--I heard them for the third time and they smoked this time around, never heard Murray in such a mood ... he was in front row checking out Ackamoor's final ten or fifteen minutes, and I guess he went back with the will to show them boys how to really do it, and so he did, his band right with him. This seemed like a nearly impossible act to follow, but the Akinmusire band (with rapper Kokayi [Carl Walker], Sam Harris on piano/keys, Kendrick Scott on drums, the Mivos Quartet - which is right now playing with Saul Williams at Lucerne Festival, alas I'm not attending that) was on from the first beat. The two middle sets from the opening night would remain two of the four or five best sets of the festival (Pharoah Sanders did the closing set ... it was much better than I feared, but still ...) On the second day, Akinmusire was probably rehearsing for the first of his sets on closing night, but on day three he was back. That night was adressing a different crowd, standing room only, the incredibly boring Nubiya Garcia (her band being the only one at the entire festival whose names weren't mentioned, a case of dumb disrespect, but I guess this is pop music ... sax tba, p tba, b tba, d tba - not quite sure it was really her playing, maye she sent in a sub ) ... anyway, we were there for the second set, which was Akinmusire's "Mae Mae", a project attempting to incorporate samples of the recordings made of the singing of Mattie Mae Thomas. The line-up this time was Akinmusire, again Kendrick Scott on drums, singer Dean Bowman, Joe Sanders-b, plus Gerald Clayton-p and Marvin Sewell-g (both part of the Charles Lloyd band that provided another highlight the night before). The set took a while to get going and proved a bit difficult. The interplay (or rather togetherplay) by Clayton/Sewell wasn't as amazing as the night before, but by the time the set came towards its end, I was quite stunned overall. Bowman was quite charismatic, the rhythm section pretty great, only those samples weren't really working at all ... triggered by Kendrick Scott, they weren't even matching in tempo, and with the rather thick orchestration of the band, and then Bowman singing at the same time, it kinda stopped making sense, yet that was definitely not the intention. Anyway, an okay set still, not a great one. On closing night, Akinmusire had two gigs. We skipped the first set that night and arrived in time for his first appearance, with a quintet of students of the Antwerp conservatory. This was a more or less ECM-ish set, with Akinmusire blending in and never attempting to outshine the other guys, who were pretty competent and actually better than I was hoping, but it was all a bit too nice, too melancholy, too subdued for my likings. Two sets (and standing ovations for an awfully nice Toots Thielemans tribute headed by Kenny Werner and Grégoire Maret and featuring a messy guest appearance by local hero Philip Catherine) later, Akinmurise played a quartet set with Harris, Sanders and Scott over on the small stage, and that final set kind of saved closing night. Again they were focussed, to the point, alert, the music and the rhythms taking twists (Scott seems to have his hip stuff down, breaks and all, his beats sometimes skipping a milli-second or being delayed for a blink of an eyes etc.). Akinmusire well, yeah, he shined, but he doesn't do that in a flashy in-your-face way most of the time, he keeps his tone alive, adding shades and colours (and those dissonances mentioned above), his lines flexible and his beat pulsing. And I think he does bring qualities to his music that those mentioned by Steve above mostly lack, a punch, a puckish style, also loads of fun that don't make his stuff leightweight at all ... I love Santos Silva's clarity, I admire Finlayson, enjoy Knuffke and Berman, sometimes like Wooley, but am pretty bored by Branch ... either way, none of them have the force that Akinmusire has (and I guess all of them, most of the time, are too serious about their stuff and not leeting lose quite enough, which may actually be my main issue with Wooley, and partly with Peter Evans, too, who hasn't been mentioned for whatever reason, but this thread is about Akinmusire anyway and that constant derailing is getting extremely tiresome), at least that's how I hear it. -- PS: Where's that noughties recording of Rufus Harley on trumpet? Or what was that all about anyway? Please answer in the fitting thread, which is not this

Got mine today, very nice hardcover book with plastic trays front and back holding the disks and a booklet in between. Haven't listened or read anything yet.

Thanks @SimonSpill Still too bad I bought the 2 CD set already ...

Going through the list: CD1: Tubbs (1961) CD2: Equation In Rhythm / Palladium Jazz Date (A side: Southern Routes Pts. 1 & 2, B side: Tubby Hayes’ Palladium Jazz Date tracks) + Sally/I believe In You (single) (1961 & 1962) CD3: Tubbs In N.Y. (1961)* CD4: Return Visit! (1962) CD5: Late Spot At Scott's (1962)* CD6: Down In The Village (1962) CD7: Tubbs' Tours (1964) + previously unreleased bonus material CD8: 100% Proof (1967) + previously unreleased bonus material CD9: Mexican Green (1967) + previously unreleased bonus material CD10 & 11: Grits, Beans And Greens (Complete sessions) (1969) CD12: The Orchestra (1970) CDs 5 & 6 were out on ReDial or whatever that then BMG/RCA outlet was called ... CDs 1-4 (only part of CD 2?) and 7-9 were available in the Impressed Re:Pressed series. I have those ... Not sure about CD 2 ... I see "Palladium Jazz Date" was a shared LP with Cleo Laine - definitely don't have that. My understanding is that the Costanzo album is only represented in the new box with the tracks Tubbs actually plays on, and then it adds a single ... And I still don't have CD 3 - I wonder if the bonus tracks from the old Columbia will be included (they're not "previously unreleased", so the absence of that comment says nothing). CD 12 was not part of the Impressed Re:Pressed series I understand? Or was it and I missed it? Without the separate release of CDs 10/11 (still on its way), that doesn't make the box all that enticing (1.5 albums, a single, some bonus material on discs 7-9). Hmmm.

My copy of "Grits ..." is on its way already - yet that entire set is part of the box again -- aargh! I miss but a few of the albums in the box, so this duplification is a major nuisance if I go ahead and buy it ... I wonder what the other bonus tracks are.

Yup, shipping has long become ridiculously expensive ... I ordered two copies to cut a bit on the shipping costs, passing one on to a friend.

This set sure sounds intriguing to me! If anyone in Europe wants to unload the Mosaic, drop me a PM please!

Luckily, I had the chance to catch both Leimgruber and Koch in various settings over the years, both of them in very intimate settings, too (including small rooms without stages, just instruments set up in a corner and any number between 10 and 30 people sitting around). They're certainly two of the most extraordinary improvising musicians Switzerland has produced (and in my book at least Leimgruber certainly ranks with the best in general). Re Corsano and McPhee, just got my shipment from Oto(roku) today, including the new McPhee/Corsano/Coxhill/Parker (and the Gayle/Edwards/Sanders), but I have to confess I totally don't get Corsano - saw him live at the festival in Mulhouse and I just found him boring, non-swinging in a bad/rock manner, tough and virtuosic, but lacking any kind of feeling I like, way too controlled somehow.

Don't think I did ... but that was a nice trip to Willisau, hearing both Hans Koch and then Urs Leimgruber (and Barre Phillips, never heard him before or since and don't expect to hear him again, he's a rather rare sight over here it seems).

I was there! Still have to buy it though. Scroll down a bit for a few modest snapshots: http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.com/2017/09/hans-kochmanuel-troller-kris.html

Still trying to make my order work ... a few minutes after sending it, my bank phoned me, thinking of fraud (why would I order a book in the US? well, some people still buy books, suckers!) ... then the credit card didn't go through, and now it seems my second attempt to order failed as well ... maybe I'll just have to go through evil A, but for books I usually don't (for music it seems sometimes we don't have much of a choice, alas).

That would be Tom Jobim, right? My go-to album of Gilberto's so far has been this: It's from the early seventies and holds about 50 minutes of wonderfully subdued Music.

Missed that thread when Johnson died ... had no clue who he was until buying Chuck's reissue of the very fine "Indian Summer". Just put in an order for both Delmarks, thanks everyone

It did ... the CD with the live material is the 1998 one, not the 2001 -- guess I'll stick with my combo (same as post #1) I used to have the Cicala LP, quite horrible ... but it was my first chance to hear the live half of the music, which definitely should be heard. Anyone has a link to that article by Mike Zwerin? I remember reading it but recently tried to find it again, ending up empty though. One thing I wonder though, will they get this right, this time around? The first two tunes from the nonet ("The Theme" and "Move") are about a half-tone flat on Capitol CDP 94550 and Definitive. from here: http://plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=480904

I'm with @JSngry all down the line here ... love "Amandla", love "Star Time", quite enjoy "Decoy", love "Tutu" beyond Side 1 (never owned it on LP though, too young for that), never got why I should be interested in "You're Under Arrest" ... and yeah, "Aura", too. Also I remain pretty fond of "We Want Miles", which (same goes for "Amandla") was one of the recordings that were important to me when discovering jazz (heck: music) in my early teens.

Pre-ordered as well, though I have no clue how horrendous the international shipping costs will be, no info on the UMich site.

I see, thanks! I have that box and have wondered about that ... not sure they give that reason in the booklet, I think I searched in vain for why some sonatas are included twice.

btw, this here stands out among the recent recordings (Zimerman's D 959 is gorgeous, a bit less sure about his D 960 ... Khatia Buniatishvili is interesting, but I've yet to really sit down and listen to her latest disc with the necessary concentration):

I was supposed to hear Radu Lupu play D 960 and Kreisleriana tonight ... alas he cancelled his concerts. The replacement ain't bad at all (Maria João Pires with K 332, the Pathétique and half a dozen Nocturnes and a couple of Waltzes by Chopin), but still a let down. Anyway, this is the Rubinstein I love: -- @soulpope What's that Regis disc by Richter? I think Regis is only a licensing label putting out stuff others produced? Is that a version that's neither on Universal (Decca, Phillips, DG whatever) and Melodiya (Brilliant)? Regarding Paul Badura-Skoda, by re-recorded you mean that there are two recordings of some Sonatas found on RCA (now in that Sony box) @Chuck Nessa? And that recording you display @mikeweil is different from the well-known/easy-to-obtain cycles (RCA/Sony, Arcana), right? Seems not exactly easy to find. How do his Genuin discs fit in? Yet another cycle?

It's indeed excellent! Got mine in time for the Weekend and gave it a first spin. Strong stufff! Between this and the reissue on Soul Jazz, I'd love to see some more Tapscott becoming available again ... I missed out on ordering from Nimbus West while that was still an Option.

Thanks for sharing your first impressions @mjazzg Excited about this! Hope I get it in time to give it a first spin before my vacation (starting the day after ascension).

Thanks for the correction/addition -- so generally, FMP never owned the recordings, but kind of licensed them from the musicians? Alas I'm not that person with that surplus change ... too bad the Trumpster isn't a free jazz fan, as that would be a terrific deal, greatest deal of all times

previously partly available on this CD: Not sure I need more than that -- maybe I do ...

It's a one-man affair, and I guess Bertrand got some orders after sending out the info - I ordered/paid right after and was hoping for a faster reply, but never mind, I'm excited about this, no matter when exactly it will arrive!

my copy will be shipped tomorrow, hope to get it by the end of this week!