16 Comments

Thanks for the tribute to Barre, and the link to his Ornette stories, which are truly amazing. He is truly missed, I loved playing with him, always inspiring and pushing you to the highest levels.

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Ditto for the wonderful Barre link and tribute.

The early, pre-Five Spot Ornette origin story is so much richer than the standard account from the New York perspective. So many profound encounters in Texas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, etc.. Wondering if there a book that properly puts them all in context.

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Interesting comment, thanks

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Thank you! Some Martial Solal favorites, for anyone interested in such things:

http://noahjazz.com/top-10-favorite-martial-solal-tracks/

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thanks Noah!

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Lovely essay. Looking forward to the Martial Solal piece. For me, he’s perhaps the most underrated pianist of the modern era.

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Hi Chuck! Do you have a favorite Solal record?

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Happy New Year Ethan! The solo record on Black Saint, Bluesine, is the one I go back to most frequently. But his catalog is so rich and diverse. There’s a trio date with Motian and Peacock and a collaboration with Lee Konitz. He’s a challenging and inspiring duet partner. And I love the soundtrack to Breathless—a great score worthy of the classic it supports. Cheers!

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Sad to hear of the passing of Anthony Pinciotti. I spent the evening of the 2016 presidential election at Smalls listening to the Wilner Trio and was seated right next to the drum kit watching him play and utterly mesmerized at the small things he would do to accent the beat or add a nice touch. At the final set, he thanked me for coming out and for being such an attentive listener.

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I completely agree about wishing there were more videos, or even audios, of rehearsals by the greats. I've seen a few minutes of Ellington rehearsing with his orchestra and they are a revelation.

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Drummer Alex Riel was a founding member of an Important Danish rock band, Savage Rose. Beginning in 1968 with their debut IN THE PLAIN, he played on seven Savage Rose albums including their three U.S. releases. Although Riel left the band circa 1973, Instagram informs me that Savage Rose will begin a Scandinavian tour in Spring 2025!

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Thank you for mentioning the Kenny Clarke/Andre Hodeir album - it's great. Here's a link to a remastered version: https://song.link/i/1443462569

I can't stop listening to it!

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Beautiful Ethan!

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This post is one of my favorites.

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This is nicely celebratory and welcome; if only a cymbal crash would beneficially punctuate the incoming administrations’ coming statements and ’perfect’ them into things of beauty…

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Mr. Iverson! Are the scores to "Bud Powell in the 21st Century" available for purchase anywhere? Not for performance, just for my viewing pleasure.

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