What's your latest jazz purchase?

[Ian Thumwood]

Well, I've gone and ordered the Sunday at the Village Vanguard album. Why? - you ask, when you've just got the complete Village Vanguard recordings? Well a) While the album appears to be on youtube, actually some of the tracks run into each other with beginnings and ends cut off short and b) I want all these fine, exquisite tunes and different renditions thereof on one disk and c) while I have the Sunday at the Village Vanguard on the 12 Classic Albums collection mentioned upthread by Cloughie, as I mentioned, that for some reason features the same recording of 'Solar' where 'All of You' should be, at least on my copy, and also, it does not feature the bonus tracks.

I actually went to order Sunday at the Village Vanguard - or just to see if it was in store - at HMV - neither was it in the store nor could they order the version with bonus tracks! So I went and got it from the South American rainforest, along with Herbie Hancock's Thrust - which I used to own and am looking forward to once again owning.

I think "Thrust " is better than the first Headhunters album. It is worth the money for "Actual proof" and "Butterfly" alone. Hancock's involvement with fusion probably remains the most musically challenging of all efforts in this field. As I have said previously, it is probably my least preferred style of jazz and the oeuvre has a tendency towards the bombastic and even poor judgement of taste. The two Headhunter's discs both sound of their time yet there is so much genuine music going on with the keyboards that it is easy to overlook these albums as being commercial. You get a taste for where Herbie was heading with the "Fat Albert Rotunda" offering a clue albeit with tracks which effectively featured a big band. On "Headhunters" and "Thrust", the funk is still there in truckloads yet the harmonies Herbie comes up with are staggering. It always seems to me that he was having a game with seemingly simple grooves and hooks whilst see just how far he could push things. To my ears, I think that the whole approach was radically different to the likes of what Weather Report and Chick Corea were doing which was increasingly dealing with the compositional process. By contrast, Headhunters looked at dealing with complex grooves and harmonies and is more of an improvisational approach. "Actual proof" is one of Herbie's best compositions, in my opinion.

[Joseph K]

I think "Thrust " is better than the first Headhunters album.

I think they're both equally incredibly good. For my money, they're Herbie's best albums - but then, I hardly know anything of his output from the 80s onwards.

[Ian Thumwood]

I think they're both equally incredibly good. For my money, they're Herbie's best albums - but then, I hardly know anything of his output from the 80s onwards.

I always regret not buying Herbie's "The New Standard" which included the likes of Mike Brecker, John Scofield, etc in a collection of pop covers.
However, I would strongly recommend the solo album "The Piano" which was a Japan-only issue in the late 1970s which is a seriously under-rated, mainly because most people in the US and Europe were unaware of it for so long. If you enjoy the playing of Bill Evans, I think this is as good as example as there is as to how the next generation of pianists built upon his innovations. I totally agree with your comment about Evans' phrasing being a radical step-change from be-bop and feel that Evans was a heavily scored demarcation between what came before and what came after. He pushed open a new harmonic language too and I feel that this was something that Herbie really exploited. If you want, Hancock is the next step in the process of opening up the harmonic language in jazz' albeit exploiting the in roads made by Evans. If you have enjoyed Evans' work, I recommend exploring this solo album, especially as you can pick up copies very cheaply. I think that it might not have the emotional clout of Evans at his best but it edges him in terms of both technique and sophistication of harmony.

There is also a really good quintet recording made at a gig in Montreal with Mike Brecker and Roy Hargrove which is pretty much state-of-the art. I caught this group in concert around 2002 and there was a feeling amongst those at the gig that this approach was offering something very new and interesting in jazz. Standards were chopped to pieces and re-assembled in a new form. Hancock is exceptional on this record although the recording does not quite match the sense of incredulity of when I was at the gig. It sounded extremely radical hearing this music played on the moment.

I also heard Hancock in a quartet with Wayne Shorter where he replaced Danilo Perez and that concert was incredible too. I think Dave Holland was on bass. There is a DVD of the tour recorded in Japan but the sound quality is unacceptable for these times.

In my opinion some of Herbie Hancock's best playing was with Bobby Hutcherson in the 1960s. There are two albums made by a quartet under BH's name with "Happenings" being the pick and, for my money, probably the most unsung album on the Blue Note roster. Some of the music is quite free in the same sense as on "Empyrean Isles" but I just feel that the combination of these two musicians was exceptional. I would suggest that this record is essential for HH's playing and more interesting musically than the Headhunter discs.

[Joseph K]

Thanks for the recommendations.

[Joseph K]

I have The Complete Miles Prestige Albums box AKA The Bible of Hard Bop arriving tomorrow.

[Joseph K]

This was pushed through the letter box this morning: Miles Davis - The Lost Quintet. This particular quintet's last recorded performance which was live in Rotterdam in November 1969. I remarked how amazing this sounded through youtube some time back - excellent sound quality (drums and bass are swish) and some incredible music-making.

I have the more recent Lost Septet recording to look forward to, too.

EDIT: it is a pity, however, that whoever made this recording available clearly didn't know much about Miles's music - Sanctuary morphs into It's about that time, though you wouldn't know that by the track-listing on the back of the CD case - no times given for each tune, either.

[Serial_Apologist]

This was pushed through the letter box this morning: Miles Davis - The Lost Quintet. This particular quintet's last recorded performance which was live in Rotterdam in November 1969. I remarked how amazing this sounded through youtube some time back - excellent sound quality (drums and bass are swish) and some incredible music-making.

I have the more recent Lost Septet recording to look forward to, too.

EDIT: it is a pity, however, that whoever made this recording available clearly didn't know much about Miles's music - Sanctuary morphs into It's about that time, though you wouldn't know that by the track-listing on the back of the CD case - no times given for each tune, either.

I believe producers should always give times, so you know if you're at least getting a reasonable CD duration. I have a sneaky suspicion that absence of track times is supposed to say, "We're too condescending to you the listener to imply you'll be anything other than lost in timelessness by this wonderful offering".

[Joseph K]

HMV, each CD 2.99 -

Grant Green - Green Street
Ornette Coleman - At the Golden Circle Stockholm
John Coltrane - Blue Train (a replacement, this one)
Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Undercurrent

Currently on the first track of the Grant Green and it's great.

[Serial_Apologist]

HMV, each CD 2.99 -

Grant Green - Green Street
Ornette Coleman - At the Golden Circle Stockholm
John Coltrane - Blue Train (a replacement, this one)
Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Undercurrent

Currently on the first track of the Grant Green and it's great.

Excellent find, Joseph K. Coincidentally I was listening to that Ornette this morning.

[Joseph K]

I have the more recent Lost Septet recording to look forward to, too.

... this arrived this morning and is on now. First thoughts: wonderful. HIGHLY recommended for fans of the Cellar Door sessions and Live Evil.

[Joseph K]

... this arrived this morning and is on now. First thoughts: wonderful. HIGHLY recommended for fans of the Cellar Door sessions and Live Evil.

... although, they've screwed up the track-listing again. Track 3 is meant to be 'What I Say', when in fact its first 5 minutes is the end of the previous track - 'What I Say' starts five minutes into track 3.

[Serial_Apologist]

... although, they've screwed up the track-listing again. Track 3 is meant to be 'What I Say', when in fact its first 5 minutes is the end of the previous track - 'What I Say' starts five minutes into track 3.

It was pretty difficult working out which titled referred to which track on the original double LP gatefold: I ended up plastering out the personnel details in heavy black marker pen all over the inner sleeves, after figuring them out with the help of Ian Carr's discography.

[Joseph K]

I have Keith Jarrett's The Survivors' Suite to look forward to arriving in the post.

[Joseph K]

Yesterday I made a digital purchase of Ant Law's 'The Sleeper Wakes' - not only was all the money going to the artist(s), but Mr Law himself was throwing in the lead sheets of the album purchased for free!

[Serial_Apologist]

Yesterday I made a digital purchase of Ant Law's 'The Sleeper Wakes' - not only was all the money going to the artist(s), but Mr Law himself was throwing in the lead sheets of the album purchased for free!

You might need help with getting it into the house!