recent listening March 11-31, 2017

Jay Gottlieb, Philip Glass – Piano Music
Andrew Chubb, Philip Glass – Etudes Book 1
John Adams – Earbox
The Swingle Singers – Anyone for Bach, Handel, Vivaldi?
The Swingle Singers – Jazz Sebastian Bach
Cecil Taylor – Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come
Paul Motian Trio – Bill Evans
Jacob Bro – Balladeering
Jakob Bro, Thomas Morgan, Joey Baron – Streams
Anthony Braxton – Willisau (Quartet) 1991
David Liebman – Trio + One
Dave Liebman & Franco D’Andrea – Nine Again
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid – The Exchange Session, Vol. 1 & 2
Marilyn Crispell / Mark Helias / Tyshawn Sorey – at The Stone, NYC – July 29 2014
Werner Pirchner, Harry Pepl, Jack DeJohnette (ECM 1237)
Joe Diorio Trio – Live
Joe Diorio – …It’s About Time
David Becker and Joe Diorio – the Color of Sound
Joe Puma – It’s a Blue World
The Sound of the Johnny Smith Guitar
Jeff Berlin – Champion
HBC – HBC

Lovingly remastered live studio performance of Tubular Bells Part 1 for BBC TV ‘2nd House’, filmed on 30 November 1973, originally broadcast on BBC2 on 1 December, with a cast including Oldfield, his brother Terry (flute), Fred Frith (and other members of Henry Cow), Steve Hillage, Pierre Moerlen, Tom Newman, Mike Ratledge, Mick Taylor, Karl Jenkins and others. It includes a new part for oboe.

Video remastered in to HD.
Audio remastered and restored with some subtle stereo widening.
All remastering done by Peter Nicholls.

Tubular Bells Live Performance on BBC TV
“BBC TV 2nd House Performance”: live-in-the-studio performance for the BBC, filmed on 30 November 1973, originally broadcast on BBC2 on 1 December, with a cast including Oldfield, his brother Terry (flute), Fred Frith (and other members of Henry Cow), Steve Hillage, Pierre Moerlen, Tom Newman, Mike Ratledge, Mick Taylor, Karl Jenkins and others. It includes a new part for oboe.

This has been released on the Elements DVD and is on the 2009 reissue of Tubular Bells

Music copyright Mike Oldfield.
Video copyright BBC.
This production by Peter Nicholls 2016

recent listening March 1-10, 2017

Two out of print John Abercrombie albums
Marco Oppedisano -The Good News (for classical or electric guitar quartet)
Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra
Bill Evans – Portrait In Jazz
Bill Evans – Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Bill Evans – How My Heart Sings!
Bill Evans – I Will Say Goodbye
Lou Reed – Hudson River Meditations
Derek Bailey & Dave Holland – Improvisations for Cello and Guitar
Jerome Cooper – the Unpredictability of Predictability
David Diamond – Complete String Quartets, Vol.1 & 2
Craig Taborn – Chants
Craig Taborn – Daylight Ghosts
Matt Mitchell – Vista Accumulation
Mary Halvorson – Ghost Loop
Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz – Music for Piano and Drums
Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz – Flags
John Adams – Scheherazade.2
Ralph van Raat, John Adams – Complete Piano Music
Virgil Donati – In This Life
Virgil Donati – Stretch
Sofia Gubaidulina – Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings
Sofia Gubaidulina – Triple Concerto (2016), for Violin, Cello, Bayan and Orchestra

Two out of print John Abercrombie albums

Albums never released on CD…

John Abercrombie has been on innumerable sessions over the years, many of them have never been released on CD. Straight Flight (JAM 5001) aka Direct Flight (DSP-5015) was recorded in March 1979 with the same rhythm section – George Mraz (bass), Peter Donald (drums) – that appear on his ECM quartet albums from that period. Straight Flight gives us to an excellent chance to hear Abercrombie playing standards during that time. I’ve never seen a copy, but I’ve been told there were many copies in the discount bins when it went out of print.

The First Quartet box on ECM includes Beirach on piano.

Beautiful Friendship (Concord CJ 243) by Canadian bassist Don Thompson features Abercrombie (guitar) and Michael Smith (drums). Dave Holland fills in on bass when Thompson plays piano.

John Abercrombie Trio Straight Flight (JAM 5001) 1979 In Your Own Sweet Way My Foolish Heart Bessie’s Blues There Is No Greater Love  Beautiful Love  Nardis  John Abercrombie – guitars George Mraz – bass Peter Donald – drums
Don Thompson Beautiful Friendship (Concord CJ 243) 1984 Even Steven My One and Only Love Blues for Jim-San I’ve Never Been in Love Before For Scott La Faro A Beautiful Friendship Ease It Dreams Don Thompson – bass, piano John Abercrombie – guitars Michael Smith – drums Dave Holland – bass