What vinyl are you spinning right now??

[kh1958]

Last evening, two of the last new releases under the Prestige label (post-Fantasy purchase).

Mark Soskin, Rhythm Vision, and

Patrice Rushen, Preclusion.

The Patrice Rushen release is quite fine, with Joe Henderson and Hadley Caliman.

Yeah, Preclusion's a dandy record, and came out of left field, walked into the store one afternoon, though it was some new Herbie/Joe joint, which in 1974 was a real WTF?- ish consideration, but what's this, hey, she's cute too, I'll take a copy right now, please!

Before The Dawn, the follow-up, was a good record too, but more "contemporary"/fusion-y in approach. Not silly music, just different in orientation. After that though, she began to explore other facets of her talents in other musical arenas. Obviously. But to this day, when I see her name in the credit on any "jazz-related" project, I'm not instantly put off, because the woman still has skills, fine skills. I wish hse'd do a Joe Sample and make a straight-ahead trio record for East-Wind and get it released in America on Inner City.

I've never seen her live (almost, one time, but Geri Allen substituted at the last minute), but judging from her website, she plays a significant number of straight-ahead live jazz appearances.

[Leeway]

I'm listening to the Braxton album too right now (on CD, actually, though) and making plans to drive to Tuscaloosa for Braxton's residency at the University of Alabama later this month. On the 18th, he and the UA big band will be playing the whacked-out march and that strange, wonderful last track, among other pieces.

That sounds wonderful. Lucky you.

The Argo/Cadet pressing. On 2nd look, that cover is pretty odd, isn't it. I mean, where's the "J"?

And:

[Leeway]

AND:

Tim Berne's early recordings still sound fresh, vital and interesting to my ears.

[Leeway]

Atlantic green label

[BillF]

Atlantic green label

[JSngry]

The Argo/Cadet pressing. On 2nd look, that cover is pretty odd, isn't it. I mean, where's the "J"?

In red!

Somewhere in the 70s, whoever owned Chess/Argo/Etc (or maybe somebody who didn't own it...) flooded the cutout bins with all these LPs that had B&W Xerox-y looking covers. Not remembering if this was the same batch that had same front and back covers, but there was that too.

Anyway, you know how tricky xeroxing red could be back in the day.

[Leeway]

The Argo/Cadet pressing. On 2nd look, that cover is pretty odd, isn't it. I mean, where's the "J"?

In red!

Somewhere in the 70s, whoever owned Chess/Argo/Etc (or maybe somebody who didn't own it...) flooded the cutout bins with all these LPs that had B&W Xerox-y looking covers. Not remembering if this was the same batch that had same front and back covers, but there was that too.

Anyway, you know how tricky xeroxing red could be back in the day.

Yeah, I have the B&W cover. I saw the color versions. I guess when they placed the B&W copy order, they didn't realize that the "J" would blend into the black background, with amusing results. Did it inspire Mats Gustafsson's "Swedish Azz"?

[paul secor]

Gene Ammons: Nice an' Cool (Prestige Moodsville/Analogue Productions)

[sidewinder]

The Argo/Cadet pressing. On 2nd look, that cover is pretty odd, isn't it. I mean, where's the "J"?

In red!

Somewhere in the 70s, whoever owned Chess/Argo/Etc (or maybe somebody who didn't own it...) flooded the cutout bins with all these LPs that had B&W Xerox-y looking covers. Not remembering if this was the same batch that had same front and back covers, but there was that too.

Anyway, you know how tricky xeroxing red could be back in the day.

I've got a few of those Cadets and very tacky they look, although they don't sound too bad. Golson's 'Take a Number From One To Ten' and Art Farmer's 'Art' as well as the 'Big City Sounds'. Mole Jazz's deletions rack was full of them. Coincided with the 'Winter of Discontent' over here !

Edited February 3, 2015 by sidewinder

[tomatamot]

Lester Young in Paris

[jeffcrom]

Howard Rumsey/Lighthouse All-Stars - Music for Lighthousekeeping (Stereo, "In Association with Contemporary Records"). Can't find a picture of the original stereo release; it's similar to the common one.

[clifford_thornton]

And that makes sense too.

I say this very advisedly, because I love the man, I love the music, and I for sure love the album, but that Julius Hemphill big band album...if jut a few strategically placed section players would have been inserted, the writing itself might have benefited. What that might have cost the feel of the music, I dunno. Something, I'm sure.

Part of me says that if I got ears, I can hear the writing no matter what, and as a rule, I can. Another part of me says that parts are meant to be heard as much as they are felt, and that the clearer the parts are executed individually, the better you can feel them based on what is really there instead of waht you think you want to be there. And another part of me says just fuck it, go for what you get, start there and keep getting and going. Thing is, all these parts are often going on at the same time. And if/when it's Ellington, none of those parts have time to be bothered by any of that.

But as far as the Braxton record goes, hey, you made the album you made and used the people that you used, if they did what you hired them to do, the complaint that they didn't/couldn't do past that, well, live and learn. That record is glorious as is. Whatever else it could have been, hey, time machine, go for a time machine.

You want the flipside, go to the 1978 orchestra and the Koln album. For that reason I much prefer it to the Arista (even though I love that one too, of course)

The Arista is awesome, never had any problem with it from a listener's perspective, though there are Braxton LPs I dig out before this one. I don't find the Ring set that interesting but it was made much, much earlier before some of these concepts had taken flight.

[colinmce]

Just to be clear I was referring to the Hat Hut release. Not yet heard the Ring set.

Edited February 3, 2015 by colinmce

[clifford_thornton]

The ring is from '72.

[colinmce]

Right.

[B. Clugston]

Dave Liebman, Drum Ode (ECM, Germany)

Joseph Scianni with David Izenzon, Man Running (Savoy)

[jeffcrom]

Joseph Scianni with David Izenzon, Man Running (Savoy)

That's a very cool album.

Vernard Johnson - Live (Glori)

[Homefromtheforest]

Don Rendell/Ian Carr 5tet "change is" (UK, Lansdowne)

Cluster "71" (Philips, Germany)

[mjazzg]

Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Three, River Run Thee [Constellation]

another very singular and personal statement. First listen reveals a denser tapestry of sounds than previously despite it effectively being a solo recording. Spoken word, found sound, singing and saxophone all emerge from a sometimes dense seemingly electronic haze. This will require many listens to fully reveal its depths, I suspect. Intrigued....

[Leeway]

Muhal Richard Adams, piano, percussion, voice, synthetizer. - Joseph Jarman, soprano sax, alto sax, bass say, voice, bassoon, alto clarinet, flute, percussion. - Douglas Ewart: B clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, bassoon, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, african flute, percussion, voice. - Amina Claudine Myers: piano, percussion, voice. - Thurman Barker: trap drums, percussion, marimba, timpany, bells.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Leeway

[B. Clugston]

Muhal Richard Adams, piano, percussion, voice, synthetizer. - Joseph Jarman, soprano sax, alto sax, bass say, voice, bassoon, alto clarinet, flute, percussion. - Douglas Ewart: B clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, bassoon, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, african flute, percussion, voice. - Amina Claudine Myers: piano, percussion, voice. - Thurman Barker: trap drums, percussion, marimba, timpany, bells.

!

[Homefromtheforest]

Miles Davis "milestones" (Columbia, USA 6-eye mono)

Embryo "we keep on" (BASF, Germany)

[Leeway]

and

[Leeway]

Intense and compelling but maybe just a bit tamped down (the influence of Motian?). "Clarence" Herb Robertson, though, blazes away. I don't recall other albums where Herb uses his full first name name.

[clifford_thornton]

It's the influence of that "Bonandrini sound" - c'mon, everyone knows that!