HutchFan

This again: Dave Liebman horning in on Steve Lacy territory with an album of Monk tunes.

Oh yeah.

Yeah!

Mahler's Fifth Symphony performed by Bernstein and the VPO, as heard in this set:

Next up: Marty Ehrlich - Line On Love (Palmetto, 2003) with Craig Taborn, Michael Formanek, and Billy Drummond

More Duke: Terrific set!

NP: Disc 2 - selections by the 1947-52 band

Now on my turntable: A desert-island disc.

Yes, Dutoit's Ravel recordings are amazing. Top-shelf sonically, too.

Brilliant! I'd heard a bunch of Ellington -- but the stuff that made the EKE light bulb come on for me was the late-30s band. Particularly music from 1937: "Azure," "Solitude," "Caravan," and other cuts.

Now spinning: The Bruce Forman Quartet - Pardon Me! (Concord, 1989) with Billy Childs, Jeff Carney, and Eddie Marshall

More Art Pepper:

Speaking of Bernstein & Mahler . . .

I think Abbado's M5 is a tremendous performance. Two thumbs up! IIRC, this is the first of two recordings of the Fifth that Abbado made. I've never heard the second version. Bernstein's Mahler is definitely EXTREME. But I love it. Bernstein's VERY exaggerated Mahler Ninth (on DG, with the Concertgebouw) was my entry point into Mahler's music -- so I'll always have a soft spot for it. That said, I also love other ways of approaching Mahler too -- by conductors like Bruno Walter, Jascha Horenstein, Rafael Kubelik, and Bernard Haitink. (Just to name a few.) Each of them brings something unique to the table.

Now spinning this LP: