gdogus

Geri Allen, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian - In the Year of the Dragon Some great music from this trio - they've recorded quite a bit together, but this is the only disc I have from them...recommendations of others are welcome!

Damn. Missed it. Have fun, Claypone!

Joshua Redman covered a number of "pop" songs on Timeless Tales (for Changing Times) (Warner Bros., 1998), including tunes by Stevie Wonder, Dylan, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, as well as standards coposers like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwins. I think the only post-1980 tune he covered was Prince's "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"

iTunes does let you control the gap between tracks when burning to CD. Bertrand is saying that Verve has created tracks that already have some seconds of silence at the end - that is, they've built the gap into the track itself. So, even if he sets the gap at "0" in iTunes, there's still two seconds of silence at the end of the track, making an effective gap when there shouldn't be one.

Hmm, it seems that Chris has attached a print of the image that's different from the one that Dmitry posted. Where did he find that print? Could he know more than he's admitting? Mysterious. I wondered the same thing... what's up with that, Chris?

Okay, I got it fixed - for other users who may have had the problem, here's the fix: Go to preferences in Firefox Go to Web Features Go to Load Images enter www.allmusic.com as an "allowed site" As I said, I've only had the problem in the last few days - AMG must have tweaked something that requires Firefox users to make this preferences adjustment.

Okay, I just tried viewing All Music Guide with another browser (Internet Explorer for Mac), and all seems well and normal. Hmmmmm. My main browser is Mozilla Firefox 0.9 for Macintosh, which is usually terrific...just in the past week or so, though, it doesn't show album covers or artist photos on All Music Guide's site, or ANY of those covers/photos when posters on Organissmo forums link to them. Any ideas? Maybe AMG changed something that makes Firefox incompatible for those particular graphics?

That should help pin it down. There are not too many known occurrences of jazz musicians playing in dives or of buildings made of wood in the north...

Is it just me, or is All Music Guide having a problem with displaying album cover art and artist photos? This has consequences for the Big O forums, as many on this board link to AMG's album cover images in their posts. For a while now, I've been seeing empty posts or big holes in posts where an album cover image was clearly meant to be.

Just to reiterate, underscore, emphasize, and/or redundanate - I like the trio stuff best: As leader: Bright Size Life (with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses) Rejoicing (with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins) Question and Answer (with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes) Trio Live (with Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart) As sideman: Joshua Redman - Wish (with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins; interesting to compare with the same rhythm section on Metheny's Rejoicing)

Okay, then - good for you. Whatever. But you know something? I just realized that I don't give a rat's ass about any of this.

I can't even imagine how this would work. Paul Rogers is a fine blues-rock singer, no doubt, and he could handle a number of such Queen songs nicely - "Fat Bottomed Girls," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (and things of that sort). But of course, the real question is "Bohemian Rhapsody" (and things of that sort), which I just can't hear him singing in my head. At all.

Some of you have mentioned Fred Anderson's duet recording with Hamid Drake, Back Together Again (Thrill Jockey, 2004), which I really dig, and recommend most highly. To go along with it, I'd also advise interested parties to pick up Fred's duet outing with drummer Robert Barry: Duets 2002: Live at the Empty Bottle (Thrill Jockey, 2002). ...

Just ordered Andrew Hill's Black Fire (RVG)...long overdue, I'd say.

Yoes, it seems oddly formatted to me too.

I've been listening to Genius Envy (OmniTone, 1999) today. It's a marvelous set, Horton's first album as leader.

jhoots - is that Subtextures? What's it like?

Here are the five jazz albums I purchased this year that now occupy truly revered places in my collection: Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel - Riding the Nuclear Tiger (Palmetto, 2001) Allison (like all of the wonderful musicians of the Jazz Composers Collective, which he founded) was a new discovery for me this year. This is probably my favorite album from the bassist-leader, a remarkable, adventurous, quirky post-bop set with memorable original compositions. Michael Blake (saxes), Ted Nash (reeds), Ron Horton (trumpet), Frank Kimbrough (piano), and Jeff Ballard (drums) are all wonderful in their roles. Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel - Third Eye (Palmetto, 1999) See above. My second favorite from this great group. Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake - Back Together Again (Thrill Jockey, 2004) The legendary Chicago tenor player was another new discovery for me this year, and this duet album with percussionist Hamid Drake is a miracle. Anderson extends his improvisations the way a storyteller unfolds a tale. Suspense, charm, drama, humor - it's all here, and all brilliant. Matt Wilson's Arts and Crafts - Wake Up! (To What's Happening) (Palmetto, 2004) An associate of Allison, Kimbrough, and the Jazz Composers Collective, Wilson is an astonishing drummer and a great bandleader, to boot. This band features Terrell Stafford and organist Larry Goldings, who both contribute stunning solos and musical textures. Offbeat and innovative stuff. Fantastic. Their first album, Arts and Crafts (Palmetto, 2002), is a very close second. Ted Nash - Still Evloved (Palmetto, 2003) Nash is another JCC member, a valuable contributor to The Herbie Nichols Project and Ben Allison's Medicine Wheel. I picked this up just out of curiosity, expecting a solid-if-not-great album. Boy, did I get more than I bargained for! There's a sound here, a layered set of textures and small dramas throughout. Ben Allison on bass, Matt Wilson on drums - and Wynton Marsalis on half of the tracks, sounding more relaxed and adventurous than he has in many years. Yeah, I know that's a lot of Jazz Composers Collective stuff from the Palmetto label, but this set of musicians was by far the year's most important discovery for me.

Really great program with Kimbrough, GoM, as I've said elsewhere. In addition to his trio recordings with Ben Allison and Jeff Ballard (or Matt Wilson), I've also really been enjoying his duet recordings with vibraphonist Joe Locke - Saturn's Child and Willow, on the OmniTone label. And I agree that Palmetto is to be praised. Given its roster and the kind of music being produced by its artists lately, it may well be the most interesting jazz label out there right now, as far as I can see.

Thanks, Guy. The OmniTone site had both Love Is Proximity and Dr. Cyclops' Dream for $16.95 each - LIP seems dicey as far as shipping time goes - it may not really be in stock. I appreciate the tip!

I'm having a terrible time trying to find The Herbie Nichols Project's first tow albums on CD - Love is Proximity and Dr. Cyclops' Dream, both on the Soul Note label. Any leads, folks? ...

The Medicine Wheel stuff from Ben Allison is worthy of all the vaunting, I think. If you like the Herbie Nichols Project, you'll probably dig hearing most of the same musicians playing other material in Medicine Wheel - compositions by others as well as originals... Herbie Nichols Project/Medicine Wheel overlap: Ben Allison Frank Kimbrough Michael Blake Ted Nash Ron Horton Jeff Ballard Which means that these are quite nearly the same bands under different names, thoug Medicine Wheel is a good deal more adventurous, I thin, than HNP. Fabulous stuff. I also want to plug Ted Nash's Still Evolved (Palmetto 2003), which features Allison, Kimbrough, and Matt Wilson - and (wait for it) ...Wynton Marsalis, who sounds terrific here. It's really a great record.

Okay... I only discovered the work of the collective this year, myself, when I ran across The Herbie Nichols Project's Strange City. "Whoa!" sez I to myself, "Now what have we got going on here?!" Which led me to bassist Ben Allison - Medicine Wheel, Third Eye, Riding the Nuclear Tiger, and Buzz struck me as fantastically shaped albums, quirky and rich. And it also led me to pianist Frank Kimbrough - Chant, The Quickening, and Lullabluebye are remarkable modern piano trio albums. Allison and drummer Jeff Ballard play on Chant and The Quickening; Lullabluebye also features Allison, with Matt Wilson on drums. Which led me to Matt Wilson's fine releases as a leader, particularly Arts & Crafts and Wake Up! (To What's Happening). Wilson also plays on The Herbie Nichols Project's Strange City; so does Kimbrough. And Kimbrough plays on Allison's albums, too - as has Jeff Ballard, who was the drummer on the first two HNP albums. And Ron Blake plays with HNP. And Ted Nash, also. And Ron Horton. And Allison, Kimbrough, Horton, and Wilson have all played on Blake's albums. Allison, Kimbrough and Wilson have also also appeared on Nash's albums, just as Nash, Horton, and Blake have played on Ben Allison's albums... It's a wonderfully connected little world, the Jazz Composer's Collective - and they're making terrific music.

How about a place to discuss the individual and collective work of the Jazz Composers Collective Ben Allison Frank Kimbrough Michael Blake Ted Nash Ron Horton The Herbie Nichols Project ...as well as... Jeff Ballard Matt Wilson ...and others involved in this organization. I really think these guys are putting out some of the most astonishing music to be heard these days. What say you all?

Okay - let's see...cowardly, wimpy, friendly...got it. Thanks, akanalog! NP: String Cheese Incident - March 31, 2000 • Stubb's • Austin, TX