undergroundagent Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I know I should get a lively reaction from Tom, but is this guy's Strata East output really all it's cracked up to be? I am considering purchasing his stuff, but am not really sold on it as of yet. Is he really soul-jazz? Modal? Post-bop? Quote
J Larsen Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I know I should get a lively reaction from Tom, but is this guy's Strata East output really all it's cracked up to be? Yep. Music Inc. Live at Slugs has been in heavy rotation for me. I wouldn't call it soul jazz or avant-garde. If I REALLY had to pick a label, post-bop is probably the one I'd go with. But really, this is just good music. The Strata Easts have inspired me to look for the rest of his albums. Quote
BFrank Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 You could probably put him in the modal/post-bop category if you want. The Strata-East stuff is definitely smokin'. Start with the "Live at Slugs" set(s). There are 2 LPs of this session or a single CD. You miss a couple of tunes with the CD, though. Next should be "Grand Max" (originally released on S-E as "Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival") on Black Lion. Quote
pryan Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I've only heard Tolliver as a sideman on a couple of BN Conns, JACKNIFE and STRUCTURALLY SOUND and appreciate his compositions on the former, especially 'On The Nile'. His playing to me sounds close to Freddie Hubbard's, albeit with its own twist. A quick search of some notable online merchants revealed that Tolliver's albums seem to be pretty scarce, out of print, or extremely expensive imports. Too bad, as I wouldn't mind checking out his leader dates. Quote
J Larsen Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I've been seeing some of his Strata East material on CD and LP for $12 a pop in my local record stores for the past few weeks. To me, the Strata East material much, much different from his sideman dates on BN. I actually prefer the Strata East stuff by far. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 FYI, all of Tolliver's "Strata East/Charly" CD's are currently only $12 a pop at Dusty Groove. If that ain't cheap, then I don't know what is!!! Do a search on "Tolliver", and you'll also find a number of titles they normally stock, but happen to be 'out-of-stock' on at the moment. And, you can easily sign-up to get an e-mail from them when they get stock back in on them. They also normally have his Black Lion titles for $7 each. Dusty Groove - the source for all your Charles Tolliver needs!! Here's a search on "Charles Tolliver" at Dusty Groove to get you started!! (Beware, the sound quality on "Impact" is really weird. The music is great, but the sound is quite odd. Not really 'bad', but very odd.) Quote
BFrank Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 Yeah, "Impact" is really harsh. Practically unlistenable, actually. I've tried to enjoy it several times and always end up taking the needle off (yes, it's vinyl) before it finishes. To correct my earlier comment, "Drought" is the only tune that you don't get with the "Live at Historic Slugs" CD but is on the Volume 1 LP. Quote
JohnS Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I was very sympathetic to Strata East when they came out and bought an awful lot of their stuff despite their occasional disasters. Over the years I got rid of several including the Tollivers. A mistake maybe but Tolliver's Strata Easts never appealed to me. I've stilll got about a dozen lps on the label which do and I wouldn't part with them. At least Strata East was issueing jazz at a time when it was pretty thin on the ground. Quote
David Ayers Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 I'd say that Live at Historic Slugs still holds up and would be good for those wanting to sample. As John says, this style can pale a little bit... Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 OK, enough other people have posted, such that I can weigh in now without spoiling the jury pool. If you know and like Woody Shaw's work in the late 60's and early 70's, you should like Charles Tolliver. I find them to be very similar, generally speaking. Tolliver is kinda my #1 pet "obscure" jazz artist, so I'm fond of saying I like him best. But truth be told, I probably like Woody Shaw a touch better. Still, many of Tolliver's tunes are really great (IMHO), and Tolliver has lots and lots of great ideas in his playing. As to what to call it?? The once and famous BNBB legend Aric said it best, I think about Lee Morgan, "Live at the Lighthouse"... "It's the future of Hard Bop, as we now know it today", or words to that effect. (Or was it "it's what happened to Hard Bop, after Hard Bop"?? --- anyway, something like that....) I tend to fumble around , and call it "progressive hard bop" (like that's a label that everyone knows), but if you have any of Woody Shaw's early 70's albums, then you know what I'm talking about. By the way, if you can filter out the Dusty Goove 'universally positive spin' fluff, all of the descriptions of Tolliver's albums are still fairly useful. (See the "Dusty Goove" search/link I provided in my post up above.) Quote
pryan Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 FYI, all of Tolliver's "Strata East/Charly" CD's are currently only $12 a pop at Dusty Groove. If that ain't cheap, then I don't know what is!!! Do a search on "Tolliver", and you'll also find a number of titles they normally stock, but happen to be 'out-of-stock' on at the moment. And, you can easily sign-up to get an e-mail from them when they get stock back in on them. They also normally have his Black Lion titles for $7 each. Dusty Groove - the source for all your Charles Tolliver needs!! Ah yes, totally forgot about Dusty Groove, thanks for the reminder RT. I might have to get that live date (at Slugs) just to 'sample', as David says. Quote
ralphie_boy Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 A good bet would be to pick-up both THE RINGER and GRAND MAX on Black Lion. Quote
BFrank Posted May 15, 2003 Report Posted May 15, 2003 You can get "Grand Max" from Berkshire Record Outlet for $2.99. Quote
Late Posted October 5, 2003 Report Posted October 5, 2003 Right Now Charles Tolliver: trumpet Gary Bartz: alto saxophone Herbie Hancock: piano Ron Carter: bass Joe Chambers: drums recorded 1968 (Notice Max in the corner of the album cover!) Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted October 5, 2003 Report Posted October 5, 2003 "Right Now" has been "coming soon" for at least 2 or maybe 3 years now (do I hear 4???). Don't hold your breath... Quote
mikeweil Posted October 5, 2003 Report Posted October 5, 2003 Is that a reissue of the Paper Man album or unreleased material? Maybe he should start a subscritption to raise the necessary funds. Quote
relyles Posted October 6, 2003 Report Posted October 6, 2003 I believe it is Paper Man (great album by the way), but like RT said, the website has been saying this is comming soon for way more than "soon" Quote
robviti Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 I "discovered" some of Tolliver's Strata East recordings through the Charley reissues last year. IMHO, they are well worth checking out. They aren't easily categorized - that's one of the reasons I still listen to them. Here's a link to Tolliver's page on the Strata East website, including some sound clips: Tolliver. As far as obtaining the Charley reissues, Dusty Groove is my first choice. Quote
ghost of miles Posted November 27, 2004 Report Posted November 27, 2004 Was rooting around in our station's LP library looking for something else & came across PAPER MAN, THE RINGER, and IMPACT. Quote
marcello Posted November 27, 2004 Report Posted November 27, 2004 IMPACT and MUSIC INC. & BIG BAND are two of the really great big band recordings of the '70's! Quote
Late Posted November 27, 2004 Report Posted November 27, 2004 Was rooting around in our station's LP library looking for something else & came across PAPER MAN, THE RINGER, and IMPACT. You lucky varmint! Quote
king ubu Posted November 30, 2004 Report Posted November 30, 2004 "Grand Max" can be bought here, in case anyone's interested: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=15133 Quote
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