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Post by dottorjazz on Mar 11, 2015 20:46:35 GMT
I couldn't find anything interesting in it, quite anonymous. I considered it boring. when I don't like a record, for me is as dead. I can keep a record for a solo only but if I can't find enjoyment, it goes directly on my sale list. not frequently but happens to buy a record totally unknown. sometimes it's a surprise: Togawa wasn't. Attachment Deleted
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 12, 2015 14:43:41 GMT
i can relate to that. i'd say i collect 50% for the music and 50% for the history of that music. i haven't heard the togawa, but as one of the only releases during jazz's "golden age" that features an asian leader, i want it either way.
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Post by alunsevern on Mar 14, 2015 11:09:13 GMT
Prompted by dott's recent postings of West Coast jazz I'm kicking off the morning with the supple, swinging sound of Stan Getz's THE STEAMER (24th Nov 1957) on a UK first pressing licensed on the HMV label from around 1959. Marvellous stuff -- impossible to listen to without feeling a smile break out on one's face. Lou Levy swings impeccably on piano.
I shall move on to the complete Roost recordings (1951) on a cheap Vogue two-fer from 1981, which if memory serves well doesn't sound all that marvellous. If the complete two or three disc CD St of the Roost recordings is available, this old Vogue might be a candidate for replacement. I haven't got much Getz, but whenever I play some I want to hear more.
Well, I'm now listening to the Roost sets on Vogue. I imagine these were never jewels of the recording engineer's craft, and in this version a handful of tracks are dubbed from 78s, the original tapes and acetates having disappeared. Cook and Morton say the remastered three-CD set brings all the material up to a consistent standard and is "indispensable". I may have to look for a secondhand set. The sound of the Vogue records captures Getz well, as might be expected, and the piano not too badly, but the drums have something of a veil over them, the bass less so, but still not perfect. The "incredibly lovely sound of Stan Getz," as it is claimed he was once overheard to say of himself.
Sunday. So far, A Garland of Red, Red Garland, on a 90s CD, which left me rather underwhelmed. I love Red with Miles, but somehow his own trio work leaves me wanting. Then a Liberty BLUE TRAIN, which as usual left me thinking how quickly the quality of this record falls away once the wonderful opening track is over. At the risk of starting a war - not my intention -- does anyone else feel this has become an over-rated LP?
And now a recent ECM -- the Giovanni Guidi Trio's CITY OF BROKEN DREAMS. About half of it is very good, but there's simply too much of it (like so many CDs).
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Post by DobermanBoston on Mar 15, 2015 18:03:07 GMT
Well, it is now Sunday but...
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Post by dottorjazz on Mar 15, 2015 18:26:37 GMT
no Saturday listening (Leo played yesterday, and won again). Sunday devoted to Trane in Japan, July 1966. there are different editions In USA and Japan. my preference goes to the latter. Coltrane in Japan, Impulse IMR-9036C, three records, five sides, the last is not playable. I've got two different editions 'cause the second, Impulse YB 8501-3 AI, has a richly illustrated booklet. Second Night in Tokyo, Impulse YB 8508/10 AI, three records boxed set. it's the "last" Coltrane, which I love a lot. there's almost anything of the celebrated quartet, McCoy substituted by Alice McLeod/Coltrane, Elvin by Rashied Ali. Pharoah Sanders doubles on reeds. Jimmy Garrison is the only one survived. Coltrane plays alto too as well as Sanders. extremely long tracks, Peace on Earth, My Favorite Things and Leo on the first one, Afro-Blue, Peace on Earth, Crescent on the second one (bonus interview added). here they are:
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Post by alunsevern on Mar 15, 2015 19:03:52 GMT
DoBerman - What's that Braxton like? I've got quite a lot of Braxton (although only a minuscule proportion of his overall,output, of course) but I don't think I've got Nything from the 90s. Everything I have is very late 70s and 1980s, I believe.
Dott, happy listening with JC in Japan. I don't know it at all.
Now playing, a Speaker's Corner of MILES SMILES. I've had a couple of pretty awful pressinGs of this over the years, but the Speaker's Corner is almost certainly the best version on record to date, I reckon. The mid to late 60s second quintet recordings are Miles's most enigmatic period but I return to them frequently and find myself knocked out each time by how marvellous they are.
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Post by DobermanBoston on Mar 15, 2015 19:11:20 GMT
no Saturday listening (Leo played yesterday, and won again). Sunday devoted to Trane in Japan, July 1966. there are different editions In USA and Japan. my preference goes to the latter. Coltrane in Japan, Impulse IMR-9036C, three records, five sides, the last is not playable. I've got two different editions 'cause the second, Impulse YB 8501-3 AI, has a richly illustrated booklet. Second Night in Tokyo, Impulse YB 8508/10 AI, three records boxed set. it's the "last" Coltrane, which I love a lot. there's almost anything of the celebrated quartet, McCoy substituted by Alice McLeod/Coltrane, Elvin by Rashied Ali. Pharoah Sanders doubles on reeds. Jimmy Garrison is the only one survived. Coltrane plays alto too as well as Sanders. extremely long tracks, Peace on Earth, My Favorite Things and Leo on the first one, Afro-Blue, Peace on Earth, Crescent on the second one (bonus interview added). here they are: I'd like to get the Japanese vinyl at some point, but for now it's such a great bunch of recordings I'm happy to have the US CD box. Heck, I even loved the oddly-sequenced and badly pressed "Concert in Japan" 2LP US edition back when I was in high school in the early 80s, and nothing else was available from those dates.
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Post by DobermanBoston on Mar 15, 2015 19:26:24 GMT
DoBerman - What's that Braxton like? I've got quite a lot of Braxton (although only a minuscule proportion of his overall,output, of course) but I don't think I've got Nything from the 90s. Everything I have is very late 70s and 1980s, I believe. 70s and early 80s is also my main/favorite Braxton era, but the Parker discs are pretty good. There's a live and a studio; both feature Paul Smoker (t), Ari Brown (ts, ss), Misha Mengleberg (p), and Joe Fonda (b). The studio disc (the better of two) has Pheeroan AkLaff on drums; the live one Han Bennik. The level of fidelity to the originals is all over the map, from a letter-perfect "Bebop" to a totally deconstructed "Sippin' at Bells" featuring AB and his contrabass....
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 16, 2015 14:31:43 GMT
i often see japanese impulses on ebay and have though about diving in, especially when they are trane. are they different from their american counterparts? which ones have new music on them?
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 16, 2015 15:00:52 GMT
oh i almost forgot! my own listening this morning:
1) Chico Hamilton - "Passin' Thru". I forgot how good this record was. I only recently got a copy after the issue of the "Am-Par/ABC" label was more or less solved by the ever-sleuthing LJC. Gabor Szabo demonstrates that he is to be taken seriously here (despite what his ridiculous pop albums for Impulse later on would suggest) and the playing is so subtle and folksy that it's easy to forget that a drummer is leading this date! The trombone is also really great. George Bohannan is a name I know nothing else of, but god DAMN that guy could hold his own against Kai, JJ, Grachan, etc. Very sleak playing. And the lack of a piano creates a nice open space that hints at freedom without ever giving in. I really cannot sing this date's praises enough. Everyone needs to listen to this. 2) A bunch of metal and hardcore crap I recently bought that no one here likes. Haha. 3) Currently enjoying Miles' "Blue Haze" again, which I got as an original NYC pressing for a song. The top of the cover is totally split, but that is the only flaw on the cover OR the vinyl. It is perfect. I love his early moody playing more and more every time I listen, though I must say his Prestige recordings with Parker (think "Collector's Items") or Coltrane are still my favorite to his quartet dates.
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Post by dottorjazz on Mar 16, 2015 21:04:03 GMT
i often see japanese impulses on ebay and have though about diving in, especially when they are trane. are they different from their american counterparts? which ones have new music on them? The only Japanese Impulse I've are those three Trane's boxes. Two are the original and complete releases of the Tokyo concerts, one is the second issue but with a beautiful booklet. I don't think there are any issues with Trane's tracks unpublished on USA issues, as originals, and I got'em all. if anyone knows of anything I missed, please let me know. I remember to have seen Second Night in Tokyo in a shop in Paris in 1978. it was very expensive (for me) at the time and didn't buy it. back in Italy I was obsessed by not having taken it home and had a friend who frequently travelled to Paris buy it for me. I have never more seen that record in a shop in Italy or abroad. sometimes it's on eBay. if you are a Coltrane's superfan like me, you'd like to see these ones. The original (and quartet only) version of Greensleeves on Impulse 203 and the "small" version of Ascension, Impulse AS-95. both are 7". the first came without art cover.
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 17, 2015 12:53:23 GMT
Ok, Dott, you're starting to scare me a little bit. I ALSO have the Ascension 7-inch record! Being a huge fan of Ascension and Coltrane in general, I had to have it when I saw it, and I've never ever seen it since, anywhere but here! I understand that they are quite rare. Impulse made those 33rpm 7-inches for jukeboxes and Ascension was never meant for such a format. I think they realized that was a dumb idea fairly quick after releasing it, hence the rarity. Good show!
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Post by alunsevern on Mar 21, 2015 13:28:47 GMT
I'm a bit late to the Saturday listening party today (21st March) but I'm kicking off now with SOMETHING IN BLUE, the first of the two volumes of Monk recorded in London in Nov 1971 for Alan Bates' Black Lion label. Moons at his happiest and most playful. And then I think an afternoon of mid- to late-60s Miles is in order:
ESP on an Impex analogue remaster by Chris Bellman and Bernie Grundman. Miles Smiles on Speaker's Corner. Sorcerer, stereo original. Nefertiti, an indiffent 90s repress that really needs replacing with something nicer/better.
And then Miles in the Sky and Filles de Kilimanjaro (on stereo originals) if I get that far.
Oh, and ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT on a mono 180gm reissue for record store day 2013, mastered I think by Kevin Grey -- I had completely forgotten that I had this. It's playing now and is a vast improvement on any of the previous versions I have owned.
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Post by alunsevern on Mar 22, 2015 10:52:03 GMT
Well, I never did get beyond ESP yesterday, but the process did at least remind me that I need to play these particular sets more frequently. But right now, on a late-60s Fontana pressing, MIDNIGHT SESSION -- Mulligan, Konitz, Chet Baker, Larry bunker drums, and Carson Smith bass. Issued previously as Konitz Meets Mulligan on Pacific, I believe (1953). A hugely enjoyable set and it sounds marvellous on this Fontana pressing.
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Post by gregorythefish on Mar 24, 2015 21:22:59 GMT
Today before work, I began listening through some nice recent purchases from the collection I just bought a chunk of.
Up first: Django Reinhardt, The Quintet of the French Hot Club, Dial 214. This is the original pressing on 10'' vinyl, with DG orange/yellow labels and the 'ear'. It has the very old original vintage Dial sleeve with nothing on the back, and a sticker on the front stating the name of the album and the artist. It plays with significant noise, so will need to be cleaned, but as a first foray into Django in a small group, I rather enjoyed it. His playing is almost decades ahead of its time, and you can tell that despite the fact that Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, and many others cite Charlie Christian as a major influence, they were certainly listening to some Django as well.
Next: "K + J.J., East Coast Jazz 7" by the JJ Johnson/Kai Winding group on Bethlehem. This, too, is an original. Not as much of a high-end collectible, but the pre-Columbia days of the Jay and Kai group are very enjoyable for me. Trombones lack the punch and cut of alto/tenor or trumpet, and so one can turn it up very loud without fear of an eardrum-shattering splat (think Miles Davis playing a ballad). Mid-50's jazz is a true delight.
Finally: Lou Mecca Quartet, Blue Note 5067. This is the jewel of the score, and rightly so. This is an original 10'' with Lexington labels, DG, and ear. It does not look visually promising but the tough and thick pressings from those days are worth the price for a reason. It cuts right through the scars to provide a top-notch experience. A little TLC with the rubbing alcohol and cloth should do this baby wonders when I get home to try it again. Lou is a great guitarist, easily the equal of Kenny Burrell, and his compatriots on vibes, bass, and drums support him comfortingly. There is no sense of lead instrument, given that none are winds, and the vibes support the leader tastefully and colorfully, without some of that in-your-face PING that you get with Milt Jackson. I do, however, prefer Jackson's low oscillator settings in general.
So it was a good morning. And now I must work. Math won't teach itself!
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