Guy Berger

I guess I'm not sure I see where this complaint is coming from -- Hank plays quite a bit (and quite well) on the Blackhawk recordings, though he obviously isn't going on any Trane-style marathons. I don't think Miles even makes him sit out the ballads -- something that Trane had to deal with early on. (Heck, Miles made Cannonball sat out on some ballads!) By the way, I listened to Seven Steps to Heaven today after spending a week listening to the 1961 band and IMHO George Coleman was an upgrade over Mobley. Guy

I had a weird (jazz-related!) dream last night. In the dream, I go to the local supermarket and buy the latest Jackie McLean RVG reissue, The Cookie Bag. (In the real, conscious world, I just picked up the RVG of Jackie's Bag.) Like its real world dopplegange, The Cookie Bag is made up of two sessions, one from 1961. Except the trumpeter has a Scandinavian name I don't recognize. Anyway, I'm leafing through the liner notes (no Bob B, as far as I remember) and one of the writers reminisces about a symposium he went to attended by a bunch of jazz luminaries, including Chick Corea, Hawk, Coltrane, and Michael Cuscuna (other names I don't remember). Initially I think this took place recently, but then I see Hawk's name and realize this must have taken place in the 60s. So at this symposium, young Mr. Corea starts describing what he thinks (prophetically) the future of jazz will look like. Michael Cuscuna bitches him out for talking nonsense, but then Hawk steps in to cover for Chick and puts Cuscuna in his place. And then Trane does too. I don't remember the rest of the dream. Guy

I dug out the two albums I have by the current quintet (Prime Directive and Not for Nothin') recently and still enjoy them a lot. I can understand why some people don't like this music -- there's a certain "emotional even-ness" to the music that could maybe be misinterpreted as a lack of emotion. But I hear a band that's having a lot of fun making lively jazz with some pretty hip compositions and a great groove. I think track #6 on Prime Directive ("Juggler's Parade", I believe) showcases them at their best.

By the way, Hank's solo on "Neo" from Miles's Carnegie Hall concert is absolutely smoking. It's not a setting he was always comfortable with at this point in his career, but definitely one of his finest moments. Guy

A few days ago I downloaded a phenomenal Charles Lloyd recording from Sharing the Groove. It's a 1967 performance from Paris and the quartet is absolutely smoking. The music is much freer than what I've heard on Forest Flower, Love-In or Soundtrack and I only recognize a few tracks ("Piercing the Veil", "Tribal Dance", "How Can I Tell You".) Charles's tenor playing, which is erratic on some albums from this period, is really strong with some nice unaccompanied cadenzas. The collective improvs by the rhythm section are outstanding. Anyway, highly recommended! Guy

Both of these albums are close enough to the modus operandi of the earlier quintet recordings that you shouldn't find anything too shocking. Miles in the Sky is IMHO the weakest of this group's albums. It's still really good, but things don't click as well as they do on the group's best work. I think Miles and the group were still trying to figure out how to merge elements of popular music into jazz and hadn't gotten it quite right yet. Two of the tunes ("Paraphernalia" and "Black Comedy") are similar to material the group had been recording on Nefertiti and Sorcerer. "Country Son" is an interesting composition in three parts -- ballad, swinging, boogaloo; Miles, Wayne and Herbie go through this sequence. (I never thought I'd say this, but it sounds like Tony is overplaying on this tune.) And "Stuff" is a long boogaloo, the only track on the album that features electric piano. Filles de Kilimanjaro is one of Miles's best albums from ANY period. Each track does something different -- funky as hell on "Frelon Brun", a mellow vibe on "Filles de Kilimanjaro", more post-boppish on "Petit Machins". Miles, Wayne, and Tony are all at the top of their games. My favorite tune on here is "Mademoiselle Mabry", which has an incredible dreamy feel over which Miles, Wayne and Chick spin their solos. I guess I'm gushing about this recording, but it really is that good. And I know there are quite a few other people here who feel the same way. By the way, there's electric piano on every track, but I think if you had to make the case for electric piano in jazz (not fusion) this album would be exhibit A. Guy

I don't have John Szwed's book handy, but I seem to recall a hilarious passage where Jacson describes playing a bassoon in front of a French audience and freaking out because the French invented the bassoon. Anybody want to transcribe it for our reading pleasure? Guy

Is it just me, or are some of those t-shirt designs SWEET. I need to get myself a Unity t-shirt. Guy

I can't wait to hear some of this music (haven't heard the Tokyo, Antibes or Berlin recordings), but think I'll wait on this one until: (A) The individual albums come out, assuming that they comprise the entirety of the material on the box, or... (B) It's available for a budget price on BMG. I guess this means you guys get to torture me for 6 months about how great this music sounds... Guy

I'm embarrassed to say I've only heard two of these. The McLean is terrific. The Silver is very good but not his best. Guy

I haven't heard all the Shorter-era albums, but Mosaic is my favorite for sheer consistency. And Free for All deserves all the plaudits it gets, though I think the paint-peeling intensity of the first track, and particularly Wayne's solo, good god what a solo, leaves the album feeling a little unbalanced. Guy

Listening to Mingus's Town Hall Concert as we speak. So long Eric... Guy

I was listening to KCSM today and an unfamiliar track comes on. Pretty quickly I realize the composer is Mingus. The altoist is very distinctive, incorporating wild jumps in register. It's not Dolphy, but this saxophonist has obviously been doing his ED homework. My guess is that this is either a Mingus performance from the 70s, or maybe a recent Mingus Big Band recording. Anyway, the DJ announces that this was "Alice in Wonderland", from a 1/59 Mingus recording with Booker Ervin and John Handy. (And if the rest of the album is as good as this, I need to get it right away.) I'd noticed the stylistic similarities before on the classic 60s JH records, and had always assumed that the flow of ideas went from Dolphy to Handy. But this 1959 Mingus recording made me think JH developed those ideas on his own; after all, wasn't Dolphy still mostly unknown at the beginning of 1959?

So the Hank Mobley sans Coltrane cuts will not be boxed. Once again he gets short shrift. Isn't all of the Mile+Mobley stuff currently in print now that the Blackhawk stuff has been released? I'm not sure why box sets are such a big deal for Hank's legacy. Guy

Bev, Maybe you should give The Who Sell Out another chance, because it definitely fits the description you give here. Guy

I think at this time it is appropriate for us to revisit some of my excellent playoff predictions and pronouncements: April 23rd: April 24th: May 2nd:

By the way, I think the comparison between these songs is really unfair. The Byrds tune is from early '66 and is pretty heavy/noisy for the time. The Who tune was recorded at least 18 months later. A lot happened during that time -- Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, Blonde on Blonde, Cream and the Hendrix Experience. And the Byrds' recordings from late '67 reflect that, just as the Who Sell Out does. Guy

I'd feel pretty comfortable putting Younger Than Yesterday and The Notorious Byrd Brothers head to head against almost any album from that era. Guy

Nothing, but when you hear jazz played on the radio, it's rarely fusion being played. Let's switch the words around a bit: "When you hear music on the radio, it's rarely jazz being played."

By the way, you didn't list anything from the '61 Village Vanguard engagement on your list. As a Trane enthusiast, the 4 CD box is the first thing you should pick up next -- Coltrane, Dolphy and their buddies revolutionizing jazz as the tapes were rolling. Guy

Dear Old Stockholm -- One of the last Impulses to acquire. There's some first tier, classic music here ("After the Rain", "Dear Lord") and some excellent transitional '65 music that bridges A Love Supreme with the later stuff, but somehow the package is disposable. Live at Birdland, Crescent -- Both of these are essential parts of any jazz collection. The John Coltrane Quartet Plays, Transition, Kulu Se Mama -- All of these are important milestones from '65, but not the first albums to pick up. Except "Quartet Plays" might be a good first step from A Love Supreme to the more advanced '65 material. Ascension -- Anyone who is serious about Trane's later music has to tackle this. Sun Ship -- The best, most focused quartet recording from '65. Difficult but thrilling music, it's almost a shame he didn't record much more with this group in this style. Live in Seattle -- Get this if you like Ascension. Some incredible music, some dead spots. Meditations -- Essential. My favorite of the JC-Pharoah Sanders collaborations. Difficult, harrowing music. Interstellar Space -- My favorite late Trane. "Nothing of the circus", as Sibelius would say. Just sax, drums, creating a musical galaxy from a small amount of musical seeds. Stellar Regions, Expression -- Two excellent documents from Trane's last year. Serene free jazz, if that makes sense; much quieter and more resigned than the '65 music. Trane's playing on these albums (and Interstellar Space) is some of the best of his career.

I don't think Miles's playing is "confused", except insofar as he has no clue why Monk has stopped. His playing (repeating a dissonant phrase three times) prior to Monk's re-entrance sounds like he's saying "Monk, wake up you MF, it's still your turn to solo!" Of course, Monk is perfectly awake. Guy

I don't have any of Jackie Mclean's Prestige recordings. (Other than his sideman appearances on Miles Davis's Dig and Gene Ammons's The Happy Blues.) Anybody want to mention their favorites and maybe short descriptions? How do these compare to Jackie's early Blue Note albums? Guy

This is a great thread. Here are my choices. 1) Eric Kloss and the Rhythm Section -- A two-on-one from Prestige/Fantasy. Some intense alto and tenor playing, backed by Miles Davis's best rhythm section and (on the second half) Pat Martino. They do an absolutely smokin' version of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". (I kid you not.) 2) The Jaki Byard Experience -- Again on Prestige. Jaki, Roland Kirk (pre-Rahsaan?), Richard Davis and Alan Dawson. Opens with a blockbuster version of "Parisian Thoroughfare". A beautiful Byard-Kirk duet on "Memories of You". 3) Joe Henderson, Power to the People -- On Milestone. A quintet record with Herbie, Ron Carter, Jack DJ in the rhythm section. Plenty of powerful playing by Joe and nice Fender Rhodes work by Herbie. Easily goes head to head with the best of Joe's Blue Note work. 4) Prince Lasha/Sonny Simmons, Firebirds -- On Contemporary/Fantasy. Two freebop altoists are joined by Bobby Hutcherson, Buster Williams and Charles Moffett. This is right up there with Out to Lunch and the other better-known inside-outside dates on Blue Note. There's a nice variety of tunes from the more melodic end of avant-garde jazz. "Psalms of Solomon" is a personal favorite. 5) Live at Monterey, John Handy -- For whatever reason, Charles Lloyd made it big and these guys never did. No superstars came out of this group, but the unique lineup (alto/guitar/violin/bass drums) and interesting compositions stand out. Handy is an intense inside/outside altoist. 6) The 2nd John Handy Album -- I think this album is a notch below the Monterey recording because of the lengthy avant-garde chamber piece that closes the album. But the rest of the tune are great. 7) Miles Davis, Filles de Kilimanjaro -- Not sure if you can seriously call ANY Miles Davis album truly underrated, but considering that this is one of the best jazz albums ever recorded and yet barely a blip in most assessments of Miles's career, I'll put this on the list. Bonus BN) McCoy's Extensions is on BN but definitely an underrated masterpiece. Though to be fair, you have to work very hard to make a bad album when your band features Wayne Shorter AND Gary Bartz in the front line. Bonus BN) The quartet tracks from Chick Corea's Complete Is Sessions. My comments about Chick/Dave/Jack fully apply here. ----- Conference of the Birds is a wonderful album but it's acknowledged a masterpiece of the 70s avant-garde frequently enough that I don't know if it belongs on an "underrated classics" list.

I was actually prompted to buy this album after reading the Chambers book. I wish I had the book here so I could transcribe the segment for you guys. Chambers suggests that since Monk executed the slow solo fine on the first take, it would have been pretty unlikely for him to botch on the second. Guy