Sunday, March 10, 2013

Catching Up -- And Spinning Records Again

When I took off the last LP, I never imagined it would be nearly several weeks before I would put on another. Acute illness, hospitalization, surgery completely interrupted my quotidian habits. Now, hopefully, in the recovery phase, it is once again time to play some music. This was actually more difficult than I anticipated; sickness wants to burrow under the covers in absolute quiet. However, that phase dissolved, and it was great to finally hear music again.  I never did get a chance to log some of the rest of my February listening, so I will do that in this post.

1) STEAL YOUR FACE:  Grateful Dead.  Grateful Dead Records LP.
2) CASTLES OF GHANA:  John Carter. Gramavision LP. A true masterpiece.
3) THE GIUSEPPE LOGAN QUARTET. Eponymous. ESP/ Get Back LP.  I have an enduring fondness for the free jazz of the 60-70s, including such errant efforts as this.
4) LINED UP: Shriekback. WB 45rpm EP.
5) GRAVE NEW WORLD: Strawbs. A&M LP.
6) MARION BROWN QUARTET. Eponymous. ESP/Get Back LP.
7) TANJAH: Randy Weston. Polydor LP.
8) COMIN' AND GOIN': Jim Pepper. Europa LP.  Been curious about Pepper for quite a while.  Not really out music, and not really a thoroughly well-formed aesthetic, it still has some compelling moments, especially where Pepper draws on Lakota Sioux elements.  Sort of the Sherman Alexie of jazz.
9) 3 COMPOSITIONS OF NEW JAZZ:  Anthony Braxton. Delmark LP. Another masterpiece.
10) CHAMPION JACK DUPREE: Eponymous. Blue Horizon LP. Blues Masters Vol. 10. Not as powerful as Muddy or Howlin Wolf, maybe a bit more R&B, but I enjoyed this music. Hope to play more blues in the course of time.
11) OPERATION: MINDCRIME: Queensryche. Capitol LP reissue. Regressing towards adolescence.
12) KING ALBERT: Albert King. Tomato LP. Saw him at Fillmore East.
13) THE OUTSIDE WITHIN: Chico Freeman. India Navigation LP. Early Chico, which means good Chico.
14) REJUVENATION: Flow Trio. ESP CD.
15) PORTRAIT IN JAZZ: Bill Evans Trio. Riverside/Victor Japan LP.
16): A LONG DRINK OF THE BLUES: Jackie McLean. New Jazz/OJC LP.
17) SNURDY McGURDY: Roscoe Mitchell Ensemble. Nessa CD.
18) SLEEPTHIEF: Ingrid Laubrock. Intakt CD.
19) ELTON DEAN'S NINESENSE: Dean, Feza, Malfatti, Beckett, Miller, Moholo, et al.  CD. Excellent Brit free jazz.
20) MAN FROM TWO WORLDS: Chico Hamilton with Charles Lloyd, Gabor Szabo. Impulse! LP.
21) COLLISION IN BLACK: Blue Mitchell. Blue Note LP. Not much known, kind of cool.
22) DEMONS AND WIZARDS: Uriah Heep. Mercury LP.
23) NIGHT FANTASIES & PIANO SONATA: Elliott Carter, comp., Paul Jacobs, piano. Nonesuch LP.
24) ITALIAN CONCERTO, CHROMATIC FANTASIA & FUGUE, 4 DUETS: Bach, comp. Rosalyn Tureck, p. LP.
25) SNEAK PREVIEW: Simon Nabatov Trio. Hatology CD. Sort of a last chance for Nabatov. Just don't dig him, so headed for the discard pile.
26) JIMMY CLIFF: Eponymous. Trojan Records LP. I think this is Cliff's first LP. Wonderful.
27) MUSTANG!:  Donald Byrd, Mobley, Tyner, et al. Entertaining enough, but not that interesting. I used to wonder and occasionally fulminate why Penguin Guide would give 2.5 stars for BN efforts like this Now I get it.
28) LIVE AT THE LOFT:  Lotte Anker, Taborn, Cleaver. I remember seeing Lotte several years ago when she and Ingrid Laubrock were really just starting out. Ingrid has really taken off (deservedly), Lotte not so much (undeservedly). A fine musician. Hope to see her tour this year.
29) LIVE AT THE CAFE MONTMARTRE: Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Arthur Murray. Fantasy/Debut LP. Have always liked this CT album, rooted in club performance, advancing a new aesthetic. Wonderful.
30) KABSHA: Idris Muhammad, Pharoah Sanders, George Coleman. An excellent LP on the little known Theresa label. Pharoah did some recordings for it too.
31) DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH: Judas Priest. CBS LP.
32) THE WAY: Steve Lacy Quintet. Hat Hut 2LP. Brilliance.
33) RAGE IN EDEN: Ultravox. Chrysalis LP.
34) ALMOST LIKE ME: Odean Pope on tenor, Gerald Veasley on electric bass, Cornell Rochester on drums. Moers Music LP. Veaseley lays down some big fat bass and Pope does some big fat blowing, and it works.
35) "A. WE ARE DEVO": Devo. WB LP. Twisted genius.
36) GHOST OF A TRANCE: Peter Kuhn (as, bcl), Wm Parker (on tuba!), Phillip Wilson, et al.  Hat Hut LP. Never heard of this album before I spotted it, but it is really quite good. Very Euro free jazz.
37) DONNA LEE: Anthony Braxton. America LP. Yet another masterpiece.
38) ZUMA: Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Reprise LP.
39) THE VILLAGE CALLER! Johnny Lytle (vibes). Cool bop. Riverside/OJC LP.
40) WHERE FORTUNE SMILES: John McLaughlin, Dave Holland, Karl Berger, John Surman. Pye LP. Utterly intense.

Music is the healing force of the universe. Fingers crossed for a better 2013.

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