What vinyl are you spinning right now??

[uli]

James Blood Ulmer - Are You Glad to be In America (Artists House). Inspired by Clunky's spin of the Rough Trade version. The horns sound just fine here.

What kind of music is this? Good music.

Later, after the whole thing: I should have said that the horns sound just fine in an 80s studio kind of way - they are indeed mixed kind of "vaguely," although presumably more clearly than on the Rough Trade release.

For those interested: David Murray plays on every track; Oliver Lake is on all tracks except "Are You Glad to be in America," "Pressure," "Revelation March," and "Interview." Olu Dara only plays on "See Through," "TV Blues," and "Jazz is the Teacher (Funk is the Preacher)."

And that last-mentioned tune is kind of amazing.

James "Blood" Ulmer---------Are you glad to be in America?---------(Rough Trade)

Prime Time like. Olu Dara, David Murray and the sublime Oliver Lake are playing but so far back in the mix you'd never know it was them. This has some interesting moments. Not sure if this is punk/funk or what. Deserves repeated listens.

I like that one, too, but I've got the Artists House reissue, and never noticed any issues with the "presence" of the horns. Either it was remixed or I just never noticed.

As I recall it has been remixed ( possibly more than once). The horns on the RT issue provide background sounds only

Yes, I have the DIW cd. Around this time Ulmer played a couple of concerts in London. Notably a gig at the Roundhouse with a quartet featuring Murray. Terrific stuff. Like that Artists House jacket.

Heard this group 79/80 in New York and they floored me,

[Clunky]

Revolutionary Ensemble-------Inner City

followed by

Cover features bad jumpers, bad shirts and beards. Music confounds resultant expectations as its neither dated nor got yesterday's soup in it. I don't usually find Ray Anderson all that an individual stylist but he fits well here. I would prefer a bit more attack but this works well enough.

[Clunky]

more violin music...

Billy Bang---------Invitation --------(Soul Note)

great line up with Dennis Charles, Wilbur Morris, Charles Tyler and Curtis Clark. Good date. Charles' rhythmic flexibility is wonderous.

[JohnS]

Bought as an object, will be kept as such, on the shelves right next to my early 70s UA (NOT Blue Note!) two-fer of the BN sessions.

Mine arrived today. Something nice to have.

[vinyltim]

Art Blakey - Free For All (Music Matters reissue)

I have a 70's pressing with Van Gelder stamp that I'm going to listen to as well--curious how they compare.

[paul secor]

The Modern Jazz Quartet: Under the Jasmin Tree (Apple)

[B. Clugston]

Richard Abrams, Level and Degrees of Light (Delmark). Great album. Digging the heavy reverb which was removed for the CD reissue.

[jeffcrom]

Gary Clark, Jr./Son House (Daytrotter No. 14). Small-run vinyl of Clark at South by Southwest, 2012 on one side and House at the Ash Grove in LA in 1968 on the other.

[Clunky]

John Stevens-------Chemistry-------(Vinyl)

excellent white hot date. lovely , not listened to this in a while.

[mjazzg]

John Stevens-------Chemistry-------(Vinyl)

excellent white hot date. lovely , not listened to this in a while.

fine one ideed

Mike Osborne & Stan Tracey - Original [Cadillac]

[paul secor]

Chicago Piano Plus (Atlantic)

[JSngry]

Plowed all to hell, but with good reason. Good GOD is this a fine record!

also plowed all to hell, and also with good reason...apparently Gene Ammons made it happen for the disc's previous owner MANY times, or at least twice for a veeeeerrrryyyyy long time.

[paul secor]

Art Pepper: Intensity (Contemporary)

[paul secor]

Clifford Gibson: Beat You Doing It (Yazoo)

[clifford_thornton]

Richard Abrams, Level and Degrees of Light (Delmark). Great album. Digging the heavy reverb which was removed for the CD reissue.

Indeed, love that one.

Now:

Cage - Freeman Etudes I-VIII (Zukofsky) - CP2

[JSngry]

Question - if we are to deny Quincy Jones any real credit for anything good with his name on it, to whom shall we attribute such trite uninspired dreck as the arrangements found here?

I really want to know, because Vaughan herself is in incredible form here - but the arrangements nullify all of that. and I'm pretty big on listening past bad production choices. Can't do it here, Boo!

I love Brass Fantasy. It's pop music, it really is. Exceptional pop music by one of the grandest thinkers of our time, RIP.

[jeffcrom]

Wadada Leo Smith - Divine Love (ECM). There's a lot of controversy here about the "ECM sound." All I'll say tonight is that I love how this record sounds.

And dinner with Dwight Andrews in a couple of weeks, apparently. I'll try not to embarrass myself.

Edited December 11, 2014 by jeffcrom

[Homefromtheforest]

I love the ECM sound! Sure the first few releases were more "experimental" but it's still a very credible label in my book to this day. That Leo Smith album is fantastic. Right now I am listening to "waves" by Terje Rypdal on German vinyl. Earlier was listening to my CD of it but right now the vinyl is sounding much better...I guess it helps that I have a nice little tube preamp for my turntable!

[clifford_thornton]

A lot of early ECMs sound totally different - maybe Eicher hadn't perfected the reverb quotient, or maybe it was because he didn't record all of them at that point. They are often a lot rawer than stuff from the mid-80s onward. Also the US pressings/masterings are rolled off, or seem to be - the German issues are not.

[paul secor]

Ran Blake - Jaki Byard: Improvisations (Soul Note)

[mjazzg]

Jimmy Giuffre Three - River Chant [Choice]

each time I listen to this and its partner session I realise just how strong they are. I get the impression they're somewhat overlooked

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, I think you're right.

[JSngry]

Choice didn't get a lot of distribution back in the day, at least not where I was. But they had a good catalog, small label, good offerings. The first Giuffre album, the Mosquitoes thing, got a 5-star review in Down Beat, might have even been offered as a subscription premium, but i never saw it in a store, not even in a Peaches. Finally found it used, in the 90s. The second one, I didn't even know about it until it got reissued on CD!

[clifford_thornton]

Kiyoshi Takunaga is a very underrated bassist, and Randy Kaye was quite a special drummer. No reason these records wouldn't be top shelf!

[Chuck Nessa]