New ESP re-issues

[jlhoots]

  On 6/16/2012 at 12:09 AM, Matthew said:

Hmmmm, now I'm interested in getting it, thanks.

Get it IMO.

[Chuck Nessa]

Let it be IMO.

[JSngry]

It's avant-garde-y-ish...lots of no doubt well-intentioned and sincere effects that in the end are still effects.

[Head Man]

  On 6/16/2012 at 3:22 AM, JSngry said:

It's avant-garde-y-ish...lots of no doubt well-intentioned and sincere effects that in the end are still effects.

One of those albums you buy, play once, and put away.

[Matthew]

  On 6/16/2012 at 4:25 AM, Head Man said:

  On 6/16/2012 at 3:22 AM, JSngry said:

It's avant-garde-y-ish...lots of no doubt well-intentioned and sincere effects that in the end are still effects.

One of those albums you buy, play once, and put away.

I guess like everyone had to do a Bossa Nova album later on, in the early 60s, everyone had to do a New Thing album -- but Bob James of all people?

[JETman]

  On 6/16/2012 at 5:55 PM, Matthew said:

  On 6/16/2012 at 4:25 AM, Head Man said:

  On 6/16/2012 at 3:22 AM, JSngry said:

It's avant-garde-y-ish...lots of no doubt well-intentioned and sincere effects that in the end are still effects.

One of those albums you buy, play once, and put away.

I guess like everyone had to do a Bossa Nova album later on, in the early 60s, everyone had to do a New Thing album -- but Bob James of all people?

This was his musical personality before he went light. He didn't just out of the blue try to do something trendy.

[JSngry]

His first album was a trio side on Mercury, probably from when he was Sarah Vaughan's MD. Very mainstream stuff.

I give him credit for being curious and checking stuff out. There's plenty who aren't and who don't. And I think that quality shows up in his later, overtly "commercial" work as well. It's a guy making calculated choices, sure, but he's making informed choices, not just giving his artistic booty up to the Robot Probe while reading the Enquirer in the checkout line. Those type guys are a pox on humanity. The Bob James types are just people having fun making a good living. I'll not convict for that.

Edited June 16, 2012 by JSngry

[felser]

  On 6/16/2012 at 1:11 AM, Chuck Nessa said:

Let it be IMO.

Mine too. One listen was plenty for me. And I like ESP-disk stuff fine.

[clifford_thornton]

  On 6/16/2012 at 7:28 PM, JSngry said:

His first album was a trio side on Mercury, probably from when he was Sarah Vaughan's MD. Very mainstream stuff.

I dunno, the Bob James on Mercury is pretty weird - electronics, inside the piano stuff, alongside real odd versions of standards. Reminds me a bit of the Don Friedman stuff from the period, albeit with a narrower vocabulary. The trio won a single-LP deal on Mercury as a prize for an Ann Arbor Jazz Festival competition in '63. This is what I recall from my conversations with the drummer, Cleve Pozar, anyway.

It's a fine LP in my opinion, but then again, I like the ESP quite a bit as well.

[JSngry]

You may well be right. I have only a faint memory of it.

[peterintoronto]

Can anyone comment on the sound quality of the 2008 digipack reissue of Paul Bley's 'Barrage'?

The German XYZ is very muffled and most certainly a needle-drop. Is the 2008 reissue indeed sound like it mastered from the original tapes?

[Gheorghe]

Well Bob James really does his jazz thing on that Montreux Summit from 1977, where he´s together with George Duke. IMHO , Bob James, when playing "jazz", sounds a bit more abstract, maybe a litte into the Tristano thing, I don´t know how to describe it, but though I´m not too familiar with all his big hits from the 70´s , I think he´s someone who really knows all the stuff and could or would play everything from straight ahead to far out to "Nightcrawler" and stuff......, great musician no question......

[Justin V]

  On 6/18/2013 at 11:35 AM, Gheorghe said:

Well Bob James really does his jazz thing on that Montreux Summit from 1977, where he´s together with George Duke. IMHO , Bob James, when playing "jazz", sounds a bit more abstract, maybe a litte into the Tristano thing, I don´t know how to describe it, but though I´m not too familiar with all his big hits from the 70´s , I think he´s someone who really knows all the stuff and could or would play everything from straight ahead to far out to "Nightcrawler" and stuff......, great musician no question......

I like his Straight Up disc with Christian McBride and Brian Blade. I haven't heard any of his more commercial work.

[paul secor]

As to the Bob James ESP - I had it, listened to it twice, don't have it any more.

[clifford_thornton]

Expanded issue of More Giuseppi Logan is either out or imminent. Real nice date in my opinion, with ten minutes of unheard music from the Town Hall set. Hope Giuseppi is seeing some money for this.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

  On 6/18/2013 at 3:57 PM, clifford_thornton said:

Expanded issue of More Giuseppi Logan is either out or imminent. Real nice date in my opinion, with ten minutes of unheard music from the Town Hall set. Hope Giuseppi is seeing some money for this.

I used to have that. As I recall, one side was only about 9 minutes long. Needed expansion. Wonder why the 10 min track was left off?

MG

[clifford_thornton]

Well that's another story - the first run of stereo pressings accidentally left off the last track, which was fixed in the early '70s.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

  On 6/19/2013 at 2:39 PM, clifford_thornton said:

Well that's another story - the first run of stereo pressings accidentally left off the last track, which was fixed in the early '70s.

I'm as sure as I can be that I had a mono one. I bought it in July '67 and didn't start buying stereo LPs until '68.

MG

[clifford_thornton]

Ah, really? I was under the impression that the monos were correct. I know all four tracks were present on green-label stereo issues from the early '70s. This is good information, thank you!

[paul secor]

My LP copy of More Giuseppi Logan - not marked, but sounds like mono - was purchased when it was released and contains four tracks: "Mantu', "Shebar", "Curve Eleven", and Wretched Saturday". Hope this adds to the confusion.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

  On 6/19/2013 at 10:26 PM, paul secor said:

My LP copy of More Giuseppi Logan - not marked, but sounds like mono - was purchased when it was released and contains four tracks: "Mantu', "Shebar", "Curve Eleven", and Wretched Saturday". Hope this adds to the confusion.

Certainly does. Perhaps a pre-release batch was sent to Britain?

MG

[HW!]

Even nicer is the fact that Mr Logan is still alive and his fifth album has just been published: http://www.improvising-beings.com/#ib16.

Sorry for being out of topic, I would just find it saddening that another re-re-re-re-reissue of ESP stuff overshadows what's happening in the here and now of our heroes' difficult lives...

Edited June 25, 2013 by HW!