Mark Stryker

When those men were in their prime(s), the sound of Hubbard, Gordon, Blakey, Rollins, Silver etc. wasn't a "traditional sound" in the sense you seem to mean. It was their sound, though it certainly didn't come from nowhere. What I want from any "in the tradition" player of today is the same sense of personal expression/my sound inventiveness that I used to get as a matter of course from the players mentioned above and many more. I don't hear a lot of them, but Grant Stewart is one who comes to mind. Otherwise, it is getting close to Jim Cullum time -- more or less a style, not so much a matter of personal expression/inventiveness. Also, wasn't the hard bop style built on the latter principle far more than a lot of earlier attractive jazz styles were? A nice re-creation of, say, the ensemble sound of the Hubbard-Shorter-Fuller edition of the Jazz Messengers without soloists of that quality and individuality (at least in terms of aspiration) would be kind of pointless IMO. As for Kevin's claim that Organissimo the band is "traditional" in the Jim Cullum sense -- that's not what I hear. A few related thoughts on this topic: I think Larry is exactly right that the issue is a matter of personal expression within a given language, though of course different folks can disagree about what qualifies. But my biggest beef with some critics -- especially those who champion free jazz and its offshoots or contemporary structuralists like Vijay Iyer or Jason Moran to the near or complete exclusion of the post-bop mainstream -- is that I often feel that as soon as they hear chord changes and swing rhythms they turn off their ears because to them it's all old-fashioned. Of course, everyone is entitled to their aesthetic preferences, but I think the issue in many cases is that they can't actually tell the difference between those players who really are stale recreations of the past and those who are playing freshly within the bebop to post-bop continuum -- whose individual tone, command of time, harmony, phrasing, melodic invention, taste and ability to tell a story gives their music a timeless expressiveness and in-the-moment glory. I say this, by the way, as a critic whose top 10 list this year was headed by Henry Threadgill and counted Roscoe Mitchell's "Congliptious" as one the top reissues of the year (thanks, Chuck). My top 10 also included Tom Harrell, John Hollenbeck, Grant Stewart and the Clayton Bros., and for the record, I have tremendous respect for Iyer. At this point, it's all history. Ornette hit the Five Spot just over 50 years. The seminal Art Ensemble records are now more than 40 years old. It's just as easy to for players working in freer or (intentionally) non-swinging idioms to sound as stale as a group playing out of Blakey's bag. Having said that, I do think that certain historical styles can atrophy and that as time goes on the mainstream shifts forward, assimilating more and more information. The older a particular idiom, perhaps, the more difficult it is to stay fresh within it. Players who work in a hard bop bag that excludes any development post-1962 now have a high hurdle to jump, and I suppose you could argue that at a certain point, the bar is so high that it doesn't even make sense to try. Certain stylistic calling cards can morph into tropes, but I don't think 4/4 time and chord changes on their own tip the balance or even come close. I would also say that while I'm not a big fan of One for All, I have enjoyed them in person because there is a certain thrill that comes across in hearing that music live when you can actually feel the depth of the groove and the air move in the room. Those qualities are mostly lost on the band's records. That's not uncommon. A lot of music sounds "older" or less fresh on record that it might live, because the recording medium itself creates a certain distance between the listener and the music that's not there in in a club and recordings also bring a particular set of expectations, sound world, references and comparisons. I think that's especially true of classic modern jazz (1955-70) because the talisman recordings from the era play such a large role in our collective unconscious. But back to Grant Stewart. He's so interesting to me because on one level, his playing is so steeped in Sonny Rollins circa 1957-8 that less favorable critics might call him a clone; yet I think he easily slips the noose. There is so much spontaneity in the way he manipulates the language that on a micro level, as in what is the next phrase going to say, I never know what he's going to play. There is also an inflection and intonation in his sound, and especially a command of rhythm, melodic invention, internal rhyme and connectivity in his phrasing that together it all communicates a sense of aliveness. When I hear Stewart, he gives the illusion of freedom, that he's not playing within a defined box. (But of course he is. All art is in some kind of box defined by the parameters and conventions of the craft and idiom, but the goal is to make the box appear to disappear. Some boxes are, of course, by definition bigger. Joe Henderson or Sonny Rollins might play anything at anytime., and I think it was Jackie McLean who refered to modal playing as the "the big room," but of course once you're in it for a while, its four walls begin to look like any other four walls.) While I respect Eric Alexander's craft and have heard him sound really good, his playing almost never moves me. When I hear him, I become overwhelmed by the ghost of George Coleman and I can predict what he's going to play. The reason, I think, is that Alexander is a "lick" or "system" player. I hear regular patterns and memorized figures in his solos in a way that I don't in Stewart's playing, and that combined with Alexander's more straight up and down approach to rhythm and phrasing make him sound rather stiff to me: I can see the box. It's interesting that Stewart's model (Rollins) is a true improviser in the sense of creating new material in the moment while Alexander's model (Coleman) is also a lick player, though an incredibly sophisticated one. Influences have an impact on how we perceive certain players, especially as you move further down the historical line. I don't mean to dis Coleman, by the way, who at his best - "Stella" on Miles' "My Funny Valentine" or "Sophisticated Lady" on the duet record with Tete Montoliu - tells remarkable stories. The more you can tell a story as an improviser, that is, construct compelling narrative filled with heart, intellect, humor, surprise and the whole of your humanity, the more your particular language or idiom disappears and the greater the impression of freedom -- whether you're playing 4/4 and changes or choosing not to. At that point, listeners don't hear "style," they hear "music." Coda: System players can reach levels of transcendence too in full "lickdom" too -- when Coleman is roaring through all kinds of harmonic substitutions it can have an irresistible gravitational pull. I don't care that he practiced them at home; to hear the ideas manipulated in real time and with so much passion and conviction can be exhilarating. Sonny Stitt was a lick player too. But he was a first generation lick player and that makes a lot -- perhaps all -- the difference, not to mention the personality of his sound. Even when I feel like I know what Stitt's going to play next, I don't care.

http://ronanguil.blogspot.com/2009/09/jim-mcneely-on-composition-interview.html Stumbled upon this long, fascinating interview with Jim McNeely speaking about composition and creative process. The interviewer is Ron Guilfoyle, who according to his blog profile is a jazz bassist, composer and teacher living in Dublin, Ireland. I am not familiar with him but he asks some very good questions of a composer I think is always intriguing and frequently brilliant. Underrated pianist, too. Addendum: Upon reflection, it was Guilfoyle who also penned a Defense of Jazz Education essay in the last year or two that I found insightful.

I found a citation for a Jazz Times "Before and After" from December 1996, but I don't have the magazine. (Anybody got this?) As far as Downbeat is concerned, I found the 1988 and '97 tests by by going through my store of back issues. I have all of 1993, but am missing half of 1992 (Jan., Feb., April-June, Aug.; I'm also missing Dec. 1991 but otherwise have that year complete). Perhaps there's a Moody test in one of the missing issues -- can anyone out there check conveniently? That would amount to three BTs in a 10-year span, which I think would be unusual frequency but perhaps not impossible. It may well be another magazine.

A trip to the used record store today landed Moody's "Homage," which I hadn't heard before. It came out on Savoy in 2004 but is already out of print. Pity. I'm only five tracks in to it so far, but Moody is playing his ass off (all tenor), and the high concept is working really well -- the tunes were written for Moody by Herbie, Chick, Zawinul, Kenny Barron, Horace Silver and others and arranged for ensembles of varying size by producer Bob Belden. Moody sounds very contemporary here, especially on the more modal material. A couple of the cuts so far would make great blindford test material, actually.

I looked this up and while I found no Moody Blindfold Test from 1993 I did find one from 1997. So, assuming this is the test you are refering to, I don't agree at all with the characterization that he put-down nearly everybody -- or that he seems oblivious to cultural changes, crotchety or blind to the fact that his current style would be impossible but not for younger players pushing ahead in new directions. He's opinionated and has some sharp criticisms at times, but he also says positive things and his descriptions of what he's hearing do not necessarily appear inaccurate. Given the records put in front of him, and the way they do or don't relate to the contemporary currents most relevant to his own aesthetic, it all seams reasonable. And, in fact, in his response to the final record (GRP All-Star Band) he addresses the issue of the generation gap between older and younger musicians head on and generously sides with the younger cats! I've scanned the test but, unfortunately, don't know how to insert it into this post. But here's a summary: He's played six records by Jane Bunnett, Jesse Davis & James Carter, Either/Orchestra, Lucky Thompson, Mario Bauza and GRP All-Star Band. Let's leave aside Thompson and Bauza since those are older players and he's certainly positive about what he's played. Otherwise, I'd say he's positive about GRP, negative about Either, mixed-positive about Davis-Carter and mixed-negative about Bunnett. 1. Bunnett's "Pannonica." From "The Water is Wide" (Bunnett on flute, with pianist Don Pullen, bassist Kieran Overs): "I've got mixed emotions. For a hot minute I thought it might be Frank Wess because of the vibrato and sound, then it changed. I don't think Frank would put that thing on the end. And then, damn, I thought it was Elise Woods. One thing for sure, I know it wasn't Hubert (Laws) and it wasn't James Newton. I have mixed emotions about this group. I have to say 2-1/2 stars or 3 stars. 2. Davis (alto) and Carter (tenor). "Moten Swing" from "Kansas City": "Whoever the alto player was, he likes Phil Woods and somebody like Bob Wilber. At one point, the tenor player sounded like Buddy Tate, but then he went off somehwere else. In the last part, the vibrato sounded like Zoot Sims." (Moody is asked if the record sounds like an old recording or a new one.) "It sounded old to me, like when Zoot and Al played, but it could some young guys just playing like that. For the alto player, the way he was playing 3 or 3-1/2 stars. He was swinging, playing what he was feeling. The band thing didn't move me at all. The tenor player was OK. You can tell he wanted to play more when he growled like that. I guess he wasn't finished, but what can you do when you only have eight bars?" 3. Either/Orchestra. "The Brunt" composed by Curtis Hasselbring with Russ Gershon, tenor; Charlie Kohlase, baritone sax; Chris Taylor, keyboards: "Sounds like somebody that just likes (scats even, unswinging tones), that rhythm and the major scale (scats). Like something from a movie, something very chaotic. You can't sit down and listen to that and feel mellowed out, tranquil. It's like jumping from one language to another: a little French, a little German, a little Italian. I give this guy credit to noate the thing to get the sound that he wanted, but the sound isn't killing me -- maybe it is. I'll give them 1 for putting it down. That takes a lot of work." 4. GRP All-Star Band. "Some Other Blues." Soloists are Chuck Findley, trumpet; Bob Mintzer, tenor sax; Nelson Rangel, flute; Russell Ferrante., paino. Tom Scott, arranger. "That's a Coltrane composition. I don't know who the tenor player was, but he sounded beautiful. This sounded like one of those school bands but with professional soloists. It sounded good, man, really good. 5 stars. The flute on top, that's nice. "I don't care who you are, musicians feel things differently. OK, the younger musician will feel something different than the older one. Not saying it's not good, because it is. I remember when I was coming up, I heard older people saying these young guys, they play too many notes. I don't think anyone has license to say how many notes a person should play. Because if a young person can play fleetingly and he can play and then has to do that, let him do that. As he grows he will change and do what he has to do. I said when I get older, I'm never going to tell a young kid, you play too many notes. No, you play as many notes as you want, because that is your way of growing. You don't tell a young colt, don't run and jump around and run into the fence. He does that. After that, he becomes a champion. See what I mean?" Addendum: I've now located a previous Blindfold Test by Moody from 1988 in which he was played tracks by Scott Hamilton/Buddy Tate, newer Sonny Rollins, World Saxophone Quartet ("Take the 'A' Train"), Branford Marsalis and David Sanborn ("Straight to the Heart"). Moody identifies every artist save Hamilton (whom he clearly recognizes but can't place his name right away) and the WSQ, which he misidentifies as the "New York Saxophone Quartet." He gives 5 stars to Sonny, Branford and Sanborn and 3-1/2 to Hamilton/Tate. The WSQ track is the only thing he doesn't like at all but is so tactful about it that Leonard Feather literally has to push him to admit that he got nothing out of it. Moody ends by saying, "I'm not saying you have to stay within the boundaries ... you have to express what you feel, and different people feel different things. That's what makes the world go round. I don't want to rate it."

I can understand that criticism of some of the Novus LPs, especially production wise, but "Moving Forward" is a magisterial exception -- there's some synthesizer here and there, but Moody plays the hell out of "Night Has a Thousand Eyes"(!), "Autumn Leaves" and an interesting arrangement of "Giant Steps," plus the ballads. (Rhythm section is Kenny Barron, Todd Coolman, Akira Tana, synths on three tracks by Onaje Allen Gumbs; Tom McIntosh is credited as arranger.) As a group, the Warner Bros. dates are probably better. Each has a concept -- "Young at Heart" is a Sinatra tribute arr. by Gil Goldstein with a small group and some orchestra; "Moody Plays Mancini" is all small group also arr. by Goldstein. Moody plays great on both. The real overlooked gem is "Warner Jams, Vol 2: The Two Tenors," which has him facing off with Mark Turner (with Goldings, Wolfe, Penn). Hearing Moody next to Turner throws into relief just how much Moody has continued to develop and how contemporary his harmonic conception has remained.

Thanks for the responses so far. Yeah, "Never Again" is great. I've got an old cassette from college but am always looking for it on LP. Never came out on CD did it? I've also got the Scepter LP "Running the Gamut." Are there any others on Scepter? I thought that was it. The tricky thing about compiling the kind of recommendation box I'm after is you have to balance personal favorites and essentials with stuff that's actually in print, and it's got to be brief. As of now, I'm thinking: "Moving Forward," "Feeling It Together," something that includes "Great Day" if possible, one early thing that grabs "Moody's Mood" and the recent "Our Delight." I can sometimes mention stuff that's out of print that people might be able to find without too much hassle. But if some Moody-o-Phile has a nomination for something that's in print and that I'd be an absolute fool not to include, I'd consider it. Addendum: Appears that in addition to "A Great Day" the Spanish Lonehill release mentioned by Brownie also includes "Running the Gamut."

For a sidebar to a James Moody story I'm working on, I'm putting together a short list of recommended recordings, but the Amazon listings and discographies are confusing on a couple of points. So, does anyone know if "A Great Day" and "Last Train to Overbrook" are in print/available in some effecient form? Also, any suggestions for the most efficient approach to the earlier material, including the 1949 original and later vocal version of "Moody's Mood"? Thinking out loud 1: Moody's '80s and '90s recordings for RCA Novus and Warner Bros. are to me his most satisfying records. Almost none of this material is in print -- though the tremendous "Moving Forward" (Novus) appears to be a welcome exception -- and taken together these would be a great Mosaic Select. Thinking out loud 2: "Feeling it Together" (1973) on Muse is the other great Moody LP that I find myself going back to the most.

These aren't errors -- the list is defined in the paper as covering the last 12 months rather than the calendar year of 2009, which is an editor's trick of building in enough wiggle room to account for the fact that the list is published before the end of the year and is probably put to bed by the middle of the month because of deadlines (no pun intended). Both Cox and Cavanaugh happened to die on Dec. 19, 2008 -- too late for inclusion in last year's roundup.

Varying levels of obscurity here, but these come to mind quickly: Kenny Werner, "Introducing the Trio" (Sunnyside) with Ratzo Harris and Tom Rainey. http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Trio-Kenny-Werner/dp/B0000035YB/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262102201&sr=1-18 Hal Galper, "Tippin'" (Concord) with Wayne Dockery and Steve Ellington http://www.amazon.com/Tippin-Hal-Galper-Trio/dp/B0000006LK/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262102417&sr=1-11 Mal Waldron, "Impressions" (New Jazz) with Addison Farmer and Tootie Heath http://www.amazon.com/Impressions-Mal-Waldron-Trio/dp/B000000Y7O/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262102762&sr=1-6 Roy Haynes, "We Three" (New Jazz) with Phineas Newborn and Paul Chambers http://www.amazon.com/We-Three-Roy-Haynes/dp/B000OLHG5M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262103222&sr=1-3 Wynton Kelly, "Kelly at Midnight" (VeeJay) with Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones http://www.amazon.com/Kelly-at-Midnight-Wynton/dp/B000024YHV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262103378&sr=1-1 Paul Bley, "Footloose" (Savoy) with Steve Swallow and Pete LaRoca http://www.amazon.com/Footloose-Paul-Bley/dp/B000001CQZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262103770&sr=1-1 Hank Jones, "The Oracle" (Emarcy) with Dave Holland and Billy Higgins http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Jones-Holland-Billy-Higgins/dp/B0000047B2/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1262103641&sr=1-26 Also, I second Stanley Cowell's "Illusion Suite."

Rjjazz -- thanks for alerting us to the YouTube clip. All: here's the link: It's from October 1956. They play a swift bebop tune with Pollard on piano and then an even quicker "Now's the Time" with both Gibbs and Pollard trading off on a single set of vibes. She's a wizard. On piano, it's a scampering Bud Powell conception, but I hear a lot of similarities with early Horace Silver in the pinging evenness of her articulation, the blues allusions and the rumble in her left hand. Anybody else hear this? (Blue Note trio Horace, when he was still playing longer 8th note lines, before he distilled his right hand to short, jabbing ideas.) Chas was nice enough to send me a copy of her Bethlehem 10" LP and I was struck by some of the same qualities -- it's a fine record. Her energy and drive are really something. I'm sorry I never heard her live.

Having never heard the Don Patterson version of "People," I can't comment on the performance specifically. However, I can say for certain that there is no Stephen Sondheim song called "People." Sondheim did write lyrics to a song called "Some People" for the show "Gypsy" (1959) with music by Jule Styne, who also wrote the "People (Who Need People)" under discussion, with lyrics by Bob Merrill from the show "Funny Girl" (1964). Perhaps this is the source of the confusion. Surely the Patterson recording is the latter, right? The discography says it was recorded in May 1964, which is about six weeks after "Funny Girl" opened on Broadway. In a ridiculously arcane footnote, I can report that Sondheim also wrote a very early song (music and lyrics) called "The People Will Hear" when he was about 18 that appeared in a show called "All That Glitters" produced at Williams College in 1949 when he was a student there. Other Sondeim songs with the word "people" in the title include: "Silly People," which was cut from "A Little Night Music" (1973); "So Many People" from the show "Saturday Night," which was originally to be produced on Broadway in 1955 but abandoned when the producer died and finally staged for the first time in 1997 in London; and "Another Hundred People," an anthem from "Company" (1970) But I digress ...

Brownie, thanks for posting. Space was rather limited, so I didn't have room to include some other stories that Terry Gibbs told me. Apparently, he has film of an appearance he and Pollard made on the Steve Allen Show in 1956 in which they both play vibes. Gibbs said he's played it for Stefon Harris and other younger vibes players that his son Gerry has brought by the house. Gibbs says her bebop command and fluidity just blows them away -- most of them have never even heard of her. Gibbs also said that when he brought her to New York, she used to constantly get offers to join other bands, including one from Charlie Parker when he heard her right when she hit town. Anybody seen that video? Also, anybody own her Bethlehem album? Finally, if you click on the smaller picture that ran with the obituary, you can clearly see that it's Pepper Adams performing with Pollard. I don't know where the photo was taken but assume it's from the '70s before her stroke.

I'm guessing 1969. I think earlier in the interview they show a clip from "The Producers" so it's possible that it's '68 -- but I'm not certain.

Mel just nails this Sinatra impression on every level. Not only is the accent there ("ammbur," "puhpull") but the actual musicianship is really sophisticated -- his pitch, phrasing and modulations. On a related note, anyone know who the pianist was in the house band on the Cavett show? He's right on it here.

Hm, very weird interview... I get the impression it's fabricated - many all-too-general statements, it seems like either Fuller just didn't answer the questions, or they just had a chat and the interviewer later made up some questions to put into the transcript. Also sorry to say, but the language is pretty... "holprig" I'd say in german. Anyway, it's great that Fuller's still going strong, and I wish him all the best and that he can go on for as long as he wants to! Thanks for the perspective. I should have added that I don't speak German at all -- beyond what I can recall from "Hogan's Heroes" as a kid -- so I was just acting as the messenger.

http://www.taz.de/1/leben/musik/artikel/1/ich-habe-keine-zeit-zu-verschwenden/ If you speak German ...

My list from the Detroit Free Press. The same top 10 were submitted to the Village Voice (along with reissues, vocal, Latin and debut categories). A couple notes: Last three out were probably: Alex Cline, "Continuation" (Cryptogramophone); Vijay Iyer, "Historicity" (Act); Steve Lehman,"Travail, Transformation and Flow" (Pi). I also didn't get "Vonski Speaks" in time to consider, but it probably would have made the list. (Bought it locally, by the way, at Dearborn Music, which has a terrific jazz department -- three cheers for great old-fashioned record stores!) Also, as I scan other lists, it amazes me that even with the ridiculous amount of recorded music I consume in a year and how much I am priviledged to receive for free as a working critic, I still don't come close to hearing everything of value. New Releases 1. Henry Threadgill Zooid, “This Brings Us To” (Volume 1) (Pi) 2. Tom Harrell, “Prana Dance” (HighNote) 3. Miroslav Vitous Group, “Remembering Weather Report” (ECM) 4. John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, “Eternal Interlude” (Sunnyside) 5. Jeff “Tain” Watts, “Watts” (Dark Key) 6. Clayton Brothers, “Brother to Brother” (ArtistShare) 7. Steve Kuhn, “Mostly Coltrane” (ECM) 8. Chris Potter Underground, “Ultrahang” (ArtistShare) 9. Dana Hall, “Into the Light” (Origin) 10. Grant Stewart, “Plays the Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn” (Sharp Nine)

To Larry's original post, if the notion is: Branford Marsalis doesn't have a distinctive voice so how can you tell that Strickland has absorbed him, I would respectfully disagree. Value judgements aside, I think Branford's playing has focused in recent years to the point that I would say he has an identity (not the same as an original style). I can usually identify him on record by the combination of a dark sound, lively vibrato, a kind of Wayne Shorterish articulation and a furioso attack, especially on fast, burn-out type modal tunes, which is where the influence on Strickland is perhaps audible. I also think it's true that a lot of straight-ahead musicians of Strickland's generation (he was born in 1979) have studied Marsalis' records. We can argue whether that's good or bad, but I don't think on the surface Ratliff's description is necessarily wrong. For the record, I wasn't a big fan of Strickland's disc, though I liked parts of it. When I've heard him live, I've always distrusted the fact that he always sounds good coming out of the gate but seems to get less interesting as the set wears on -- and really comes up short on ballads. On the other hand, he's still young.

I'm a day late but hopefully not a dollar short -- happy birthday.

In honor of the freezing cold weather that has blown in this week, I've been enjoying this 1951 clip of Sinatra singing "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It's a fascinating clip to me, because it seems to capture the nascent beginnings of the grown-up tom cat approach to swinging standards that defined the upcoming Capitol era. You can almost sense him inventing it on the spot. Lots of signature moments -- in the third A section of the first chorus he connects the line "So I will weather the storm/what do I care" without a breath to create one ridiculously long phrase. He really lays back the first time he does it, and the time almost gets away from him. He does the same trick on the final A of the tune (with more secure time), and then uses the "lookey-here now" interjection as a kind of climatic tag. I like the arrangment too -- anyone know who did it? -- and the pianist plays some hip shit starting in the second bridge. Another interesting detail is that in that final A, Sinatra unbottons his jacket and flips open his collar as he sings, "My hearts on fire/with one desire." That's obviously a deliberate gesture -- a tiny piece of theater.

I don't believe that Count Basie's "I Told You So" (1976) has been mentioned. The big draw here is that the charts were all written by Bill Holman; It's the best Basie big band album from the 70s or 80s that I've heard -- though, caveat emptor, I haven't head them all. http://www.amazon.com/Told-You-Count-Basie...4835&sr=1-1

It's from 1962 -- settings of the songs from the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the time that is best known for the songs "Once Upon A Time" and "I've Just Seen Her." I now see upon consulting Walter van de Leur's "Something To Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn" that eight of the album's ten arrangements were Strayhorn's: "Back To School," "I've Just Seen Her," "Which Way?", "If I Were You," "Once Upon a Time," "Our Children," "I Couldn't Have Done It Alone," and "We Speak the Same Language." I think I came to the album thanks to an enthusiastic contemporary review of it by LeRoi Jones that appeared in the literary magazine Kulchur (which also published some of John Litweiler's early work). Thanks for this -- I've read the Van de Leur book but didn't recall the discussion of these arrangements. Unfortunately, I didn't turn up a copy yesterday -- though I did stumble across a copy of Art Blakey's "Golden Boy," which I didn't buy since I already own, but I did mention in another post on that topic over in Jazz In Print. But I digress. Also, on the All Star Road Band album if anyone is still confused, the two-LP set under discussion came out in the early '80s and was just labeled "All Star Road Band" but didn't included the designation of Vol. 1; the cover was red. When a second set came out shortly thereafter, it was called "All Star Road Band, Vol 2." It was yellow. From the photos posted, it appears that "Vol. 1" was added to some CD versions. Regardless, the set list is the one that opens with two versions of "A Train" followed by "Such Sweet Thunder."

For anyone in the metro Detroit area interested in this album -- and it's a great one! -- I saw a copy yesterday at Encore Records in Ann Arbor in excellent shape for $18.87.

One of the things I like most about this site is that I get reminded of things I had once known but had forgotten and I learn things I never knew. Based on Chuck's list, I've been re-checking out "All Star Road Band," which I haven't listened to in probably 20 years. I get it -- great spirit, a more populist repertoire (dance setting) compared to the concert recordings, but still a nice cross section of music and the lack of formality pays big dividends in the inspiration of the playing. We talk a lot here about the way the music once functioned within the community and this is a great example of timeless art growing out yet another one-nighter for the people in a 40-year string of them. And, Lord, what incredible vibrations and timbre that saxophone section could create ("Bassment!"). Now, pace Larry, "All American in Jazz" is actually completely new to me. I'll look for it today -- we are blessed in metro Detroit with several kick-ass used stores -- but in the meantime, anyone want to enlighten me about this one?