Rabshakeh

That makes sense. It explains why there's no glass in the window. Or perhaps there originally was glass...

I have so many questions about this weird photo. Why’s it in some weird building site?

It's another way to get some good recommendations, I guess.

Steve Beresford, Toshinori Kondo, Dave Toop and Tristan Honsiger - Imitation of Life (Y, 1981) My favourite of the second free improv gen's records. It's amazing how similar it is to other groups with no lineal connection to this music, whether the Holy Modal Rounders, Sebadoh or the Residents. It's a total desecration.

Great record. I couldn't sleep the other night and just sat up listening to it. It's the Beirach record where his style really does work.

Michael Garrick Septet - Black Marigolds (Argo, 1966)

I also struggle with the megasets.

Someone on twitter recently pointed out how much of a "disconnect" there is between John Coltrane and his music on the one hand, and his voice on the other.

Thank you both!!

Any suggested recordings for these two?

I'm glad they and Joelle Leandre got a mention. I am a huge fan of Schweizer and Leandre, but sadly have never acquired a taste for Nicols. She's in London in January, playing the Barbican. I've bought tickets, on the basis that it might still be the least expensive way to hear her music.

No-one has mentioned Susie Ibarra. 15 years ago that would have been unthinkable.

This was the set, by the way: Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Vol 3 Tomeka Reid Quarter - s/t Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell - Adornments of Time Nicole Mitchell - Engraved in the Wind Ingrid Laubrock - Contemporary Chaos Practices Angel Bat Dawid - The Oracle The aim was really to show my aunt that very forward thinking female led jazz of all kinds is now a big thing. She's 80 and is still angry at whatever 1960s pig at her university jazz club told her women could not play jazz. Obviously the pig was wrong even then, as great female instrumentalists have never not existed in jazz, whether Mary Lou Williams, Barbara Donald or Shirley Scott.

I'm really impressed by it. I shall check out those Nendo Dangos!

Is this about all jazz and improv, or recent releases? I recently bought my aunt as a birthday present five IMPORTANT CDs by female jazz artists from the last 20 years. I was struck by how hard it was to keep to 5.

Count Basie - Chairman of the Board (Roulette, 1957)

I picked up from somewhere that you may be a bit younger than me (I'm staring down forty, with quavering spirit), although certainly roughly the same stage kids wise - mine are 3 and 1.

Dave Holland Quintet - Prime Directive (ECM 2000)

Gosh. You're right. I had misread it as "Elvin" and never checked.

We've got one:

Same. Mine barely notices. As far as he's concerned, there are two kinds of music: music with animals on the cover (principally Osibisa's first, the greatest classic in the canon of animal music), and music without animals on the cover (anything from Leonard Cohen to Machine Gun). What's less great is that many of my most cherished videos of him as a baby can only be listened to with the volume down, because there's some kind of hellish noise in the background. Anyway, congratulations again!

Rudresh Mahanthappa - Hero. Trio (Whirlwind, 2020) I always loved this cover but never really grasped why. Clearly Jones and Montoliu are looking at the wrong cameras, whereas Johnson's creasing up over something Montoliu muttered. I don't know many I'm afraid. My folks are all born in South Africa, and I've got received knowledge up to the early/mid 60s, when they all split, after which it is all about the emigres, particularly those based in London. That means they saw a lot of the 60s players live, but don't really know the records that they released in the late 60s, which didn't make it out. The only family members who stayed in SA were... not jazz fans, so I'm as clueless about the new stuff as anyone, and irritatingly reliant on marketing from e.g. Blue Note and Impulse!, so also grateful for any recommendations.

Great stuff!

Henri Renaud - New Sound at the Boeuf Sur Le Toit Still mining the Euromodernism vein. There's some good playing by (non-European) Sandy Mosse on this.