Rabshakeh

Does anyone know the cause of Perry's death?

I had never made that connection!

I don't know this one. Another one to check out. I'm currently on 1973's Astro Black. Not the greatest Sun Ra release (is there one?) but in some way the most characteristic.

Who else has recorded it? The version on the Turrentine album of the same name is incredible, in line with the rest of that, severely underrated, album.

That sounds correct. Pleased to hear that you were there.

Hilton Ruiz - El Camino (Novus, 1988) I love the contrast between the brass section and Sam Rivers.

There's been a recent, and predictably tedious, flare up on social media of the old question of whether standards are good or bad over the past fortnight. This latest came out of a blog / Twitter post by Ethan Iverson to the effect that jazz standards should be the core curriculum for jazz education, which was then attacked by Phil Freeman of the Burning Ambulance blog and record label. The usual dull stuff, with the usual predetermined sides. However, it did make me think of the question of whether, leaving aside the issue of whether jazz standards are nice or whether they are Satan, there are any standards that I actually really enjoy hearing to the extent that I am actually interested to hear how an artist tackles them. I think, for me it is really just two tunes: "Just Friends", which I note does not even make it into the above list, but which has quite a dramatic shift in the tune early on that can be tackled in a number of ways, and which seems to me to be one of the most adventurous platforms for improvisation of any of the standards (although I am not musician, so have no authority in that respect); and "Angel Eyes", which gives performers the option of whether to include the Sinatra refrain, and in any case allows for some very smokey playing. There are plenty of other standards that I enjoy hearing: "Beatrice", "Autumn Rain", "Lover man", and half of the Monks, Carla Bleys and Damerons, but I'm not sure I'd be sad if they were never recorded again, given the wealth of recordings already available.

The orchestra was certainly on the festival circuit. I saw it at Primavera in the mid teens. One of his tunes was sampled in a track by the rapper Nas, so he is very popular among hip hop fans. For anyone unfamiliar with Nas, he is Olu Dara's son, and frequently makes use of both jazz samples and playing (most notably by Stanley Cowell on Nas' most famous record) on his records. So the Mulatu sample is in good company.

Dave Holland Quintet - Not For Nothin' (ECM, 2001) With Chris Potter, Steve Nelson and Robin Eubanks on front line.

Don Braden - After Dark (Criss Cross, 1993) One of my favourite Criss Crosses.

One of the great records of all time, in a large part down to the production.

I thought this was a little known Sam Rivers record for a second. Identical wardrobe.

I only recently discovered Straight Ahead, which is on New Jazz rather than Prestige proper. As far as can tell it is basically a gift date to Eric Dolphy, who gets almost more solo time than Nelson. One of Dolphy's best early albums, I think.

I'm currently listening to Low Flame. Stitt's playing is great - precise, yet emotional, but also capable of little unexpected steps, like tweaks in embouchure that you don't expect. For all that, it is noticeable how uninterested he sounds in the date. There's a sense that he just turned up, played, and left, without giving it a moment's thought.

Michael Gregory Jackson - Clarity (Bija, 1977)

Andre Hodair - American Jazzmen Play Andre Hodeir's Essais (Savoy, 1953) Looking at Discogs, I'm surprised at the very low price for which this one goes. Most of the records that were referred to in the recent European jazz modernism thread seem to go for inflated values (possibly due to be highly prized rarities in the Japanese market, as someone noted on that thread). This one goes for £3.

The George Adams / Don Pullen Quartet - Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. 2 (Soul Note, 1983)

In view of the excitement around the Seattle set, what on earth is the reason that the remaining Half Note recordings haven't been released formally? They're a revelation.

Again, on the funkier side, Tilahun Gessesse (spellings vary) is a name that's worthwhile investigating.

All three thumbs up.

RIP. Apart from the dub albums under his own name he produced some of my favourite roots records ever.

Lee Konitz and Matt Wilson - Gong with Wind Suite (Steeplechase, 2002). I'm re-reading the Konitz interview book at the moment. It's weird what happy vibes he has about this one. Certainly an enjoyable release, but it occupies a disproportionate amount of space in his recollections about his career, compared to all the other great records he put out.

Welcome!

David Murray - Flowers for Albert (India Navigation, 1976) I'm always surprised at how easy this one is to find. Surely it can't have been that big a seller.

What was that moustache?!