The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

Two Intrada releases -- Tiffany was just re-released. Hatari! is OOP, but I was able to find a reasonably priced SS copy.

Still need these three to finish up Hank. (To my knowledge Daddy was never re-issued by any of the s/t specialty labels while Charade and Maguires are expensive OOP issues.)
  • Charade (Intrada)
  • What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
  • The Molly Maguires (Kritzerland)
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Tiffany's is probably my favorite. It's not like I've watched the movie several dozen times, but I'd watched it enough that I can immediately picture the scenes that all the music and cues were used in. I'd probably listened to the record from the age of four or five, but the movie rarely ever played on local TV, and it wasn't until I bought a Laserdisc player in the early 80s that I bought it as one of my first titles.

One stroke of genius on Mancini's part was the two versions of "Loose Caboose." As I recall, the party at Holly's apartment was already in full swing, just as the police were showing up. Paul and José meet in the bathroom to plot José's escape ("this I cannot have"), and as Paul makes his way back through the party to leave the apartment, that is when the more frantic and off-the-rails second version of "Loose Caboose" (faster tempo, taken up a minor third in key) is playing, an indicator that the party is careening even further out of control.

And on top of it, "Caboose" is a darn good song in any of its three versions. 😁
 
Tiffany's is probably my favorite. It's not like I've watched the movie several dozen times, but I'd watched it enough that I can immediately picture the scenes that all the music and cues were used in. I'd probably listened to the record from the age of four or five, but the movie rarely ever played on local TV, and it wasn't until I bought a Laserdisc player in the early 80s that I bought it as one of my first titles.

One stroke of genius on Mancini's part was the two versions of "Loose Caboose." As I recall, the party at Holly's apartment was already in full swing, just as the police were showing up. Paul and José meet in the bathroom to plot José's escape ("this I cannot have"), and as Paul makes his way back through the party to leave the apartment, that is when the more frantic and off-the-rails second version of "Loose Caboose" (faster tempo, taken up a minor third in key) is playing, an indicator that the party is careening even further out of control.

And on top of it, "Caboose" is a darn good song in any of its three versions. 😁
I remember the movie too and in addition to the great music that party at Holly's scene was at times Hilarious Mickey Rooney was Funny as The Frustrated Mr Yunioshi "Miss Golily I must Protest". it was a fun movie to watch and even more fun The Soundtrack music One of Mancini's very best
 
On a tear with the good Doctor lately...

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Great groovin' tune to start the proceedings, "A Matterapat":

 
That happens a lot with me lately. I'll get sidetracked by an album or even a single song, then I'm off on a tangent listening to a bunch in a row.

This evening I sat down with Doin' The Thing queued up, and ended up adding Song For My Father and The Cape Verdean Blues. And I had to replay "Filthy McNasty" one more time, since Silver's solo on that just cooks...and I really get into how Roy Brooks changed from a swing rhythm in the head arrangement to a chugging straightahead beat through the solos.

Roy Brooks....there's an interesting fellow. I'd heard him at the jazz festival locally, probably back in the 80s. This was with his Artistic Truth band and the Aboriginal Percussion Choir. My buddy and I had walked in on the latter part of his set. I honestly can't say I remember any specific tune he played--it seemed to run on into one long piece. The band was haphazard and when they would finally get locked into a groove, he would start swinging his arms wildly behind the drum kit and they would all halt. Then he'd tentatilve tap on a drum or two, which was being mic'ed through a smaller Fender amp with the echo turned way up. So he'd hit the snare....BRAP BRap Brap brap brap...hit two toms, tap one or two other things, then somehow the band would come back in.

Rinse, and repeat. At least two more times. It'd just start getting good and he'd shut down the band once again for some noodling on the drum kit. Thankfully we weren't there to see Roy Brooks.

Only last year I got curious and looked up his bio. Then it made sense. He had a history of bizarre behavior going back to the mid 70s, and through the 80s was taking lithium to help with his mental condition. In the 90s it got worse when he quit taking the medication, and he had a few threatening run-ins with his neighbors, which finally led to his imprisonment in 2000. He was released in 2004 and placed a nursing home, and passed in 2005.
 
In an Astrud Gilberto mood this morning. I've listened to THE ASTUD GILBERTO ALBUM from a Japanese SHM-CD reissue from 2016. This album's had a lot of reissues. This exact version isn't on Discogs - maybe I'll add it if I feel like scanning and stuff.

Next we're into I HAVEN"T GOT ANYTHING BETTER TO DO. This is like the Brazilian cousin to Herb's WARM album with two tracks in common, plus "Wailing Of The Willow" which was on LOST TREASURES.

Maybe THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE after that - or maybe on to something else.

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I like Astrud's album with Stanley Turrentine. I may have to spin that one this afternoon.
 
Listening to Starbuck "Moonlight Feels Right" (original album) (1976) & "Rock And Roll Rocket" (1977) which I downloaded on Apple iTunes!! Their 3rd & final album "Searching For A Thrill" (1978 on United Artists) as well as Bruce Blackman's other group Korona (1980 on United Artists) is NOT available on Apple iTunes.
 
This is one of about three albums where John Klemmer was in the sax section, and his "Excursion II" is featured on this record:

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Besides, how can anyone resist an album with a song entitled "The Magic Bus Ate My Doughnut"? 😁
 
The Cape Verdean Blues
That's my Horace go-to LP. Every selection is a winner. The African Queen, Pretty Eyes, Nutville, Mo'Joe... With Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson and JJ Johnson!
I've listened to THE ASTUD GILBERTO ALBUM from a Japanese SHM-CD reissue from 2016. This album's had a lot of reissues
Harry, do you hear any distortion on that issue? I tried 2 different CDs of her debute -- both had distortion so I gave up and found an old VAN GALDER-stamped Verve LP (VG++ which sounds fine).
Next we're into I HAVEN"T GOT ANYTHING BETTER TO DO.
That's always been my personal favourite of the Verve cycle.
 
Yes, the distortion is there on my 2 cds as well. I first bought a "Silver" compilation from Germany that included both of her first two albums and heard the distortion.

Then I ordered an SHM-CD from Japan and it sounded the same, so I've sort of accepted the distortion as inherent in the master recording.

Finding a clean LP is too difficult for something I don't listen too all that often.
 
From the jazz forum, the topic of big bands led to me spinning this one...(Dang, but those are two of the coolest shirts.)

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Listening to this again--it's really a nice album. Credits include Michael Brecker, Ron Carter, Ronnie Cuber, Steve Turre, Claudio Roditi and Lewis Nash. A four-horn lineup in addition to the trio, in other words, and everyone gets solo space. The tunes are typically playful Horace Silver, evident in the song titles like "Serenade to a Teakettle," "The Hippest Cat in Hollywood," "We've Got Silver at Six," and "I Got the Blues in Santa Cruz."

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Percolating on track #9:

 
Deluxe edition of En Español is being released Friday by The Mavericks. Only one new track, "Por Ti (Yo Quiero Ser)," which is quite a tejano cooker. Of the other two, one is a remix of "Mujer," and the other a live acoustic Ranchera version of "Poder Vivir."

 
Haven't played this one in ages! Local band Sponge makes it big. Just looked at the release date and I feel really old--1994. 😲

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"Molly (Sixteen Candles)" was one of the hits, a tribute to actress Molly Ringwald.
 
(Western Art Music Survey, 1750-1950: Week XV -- Berlioz)

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Took a break to review a couple "unissued" Blue Note sessions from Stanley T. (These were the last 2 of his I needed to complete my Blue Note collection of his releases about 5 years ago.) Stan as always is in top-notch form. (To some, it remains a head scratcher why Al Lion kept such a high volume of fine sessions in the can yet, I have my theories as so why he actively over-recorded select artists.)

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Funny how these albums creep up on you. I've been working on a five-part article of Cal Tjader's recordings for an online magazine, and am tweaking part two which covers Tjader's Verve albums. His recordings on Verve have had a shabby reissue history by Universal (no surprise 🙄). Some were released in the US. Others have never been released. The Prophet was only released on CD...in Japan, I think? At any rate, it is available on Qobuz, and I bought the lossless download a few days ago. I have it on vinyl but dismissed it at the time. And this one has crept up on me.

While Creed Taylor produced many Verve albums, Esmond Edwards took over production for this project, and it's a nice finish to his stay at Verve. It was recorded in autumn of 1967, with string overdubs by Don Sebesky in 1968.

Three of my favorite tracks are below. The Tjader original that opens the album, "Souled Out," cooks, and despite Esmond Edwards' production, it has a Creed Taylor touch to it with Hubert Laws' flute and Sebesky's strings.



He also plays a tune that fans of the Wanda Sa/Sergio Mendes Trio album Brasil '65 might be familiar with. Joao Donato's "Aquarius." Haunting arrangement on this one.



This slow burner was used by Tjader's pal, San Francisco DJ Herb Wong, for his radio show. "Warm Song."



I admit that this has to be one of Tjader's oddest album covers though. At least they got the glasses right... 😐
 
My NP list for the past month or so has been cycling between Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass's Summertime, Herb Alpert & the TJB's You Smile - The Song Begins and Coney Island, and Herb Alpert/Hugh Masekela on CD in my car. The one thing I've noticed myself doing (and I suspect it is because I'm much older now than when in my teens) is I no longer skip "the slow ones." In fact I find myself hitting repeat on the ones I ALWAYS skipped in my youth, specifically the title track "You Smile - The Song Begins" and "I Might Frighten Her Away" and "I'll Be There For You" from HA/HM. I have no skips (and never have) on Coney Island. However, on Summertime I still skip the title track. It has never done anything for me and is about the most "un-TJB-ish" song in the catalog (except maybe for "Mexican Drummer Man").

I DO break this cycle every few plays with the Collector's Choice Baja disc and Bill Nelson's Orchestra Arcana as well as The Buzzcocks' A Different Kind of Tension.

--Mr Bill
 
I've been trying to find a version of "Aquarius" performed by the composer, João Donato, and finally came up with this. An album under the same name by Joyce Moreno and João Donato.



Interesting that this version and Cal Tjader's (above) are both in 6/8 time, whereas the Wanda Sá/Sergio Mendes Trio version is in 4/4. I have a feeling it might have been recorded under another title.

I also found a very enjoyable 1963 album by Donato and his trio: A Bossa Muito Moderna. It's not a composer album where he plays only his own compositions--this also features tunes by other prominent Brazilians from the early 60s, including Sergio Mendes, covering his tune "Nôa...Nôa":



Interesting, too, that the tune which closes out the album, "Villa Grazia," sounds a lot like "Bananeira," which I see he covered a few times on later albums. Bebel Gilberto covered it on Tanto Tempo as well.
 
The "groove" on "Summertime" is phenomenal.
Once I finally got my hands on a used copy of that LP (senior year in high school) it became my instant favourite of the LP (along with Hurt So Bad). Based on the rhythmic phrase, I'd say it was written in 8/4 (which, was part of the lure -- particularly the tom-tom hits on 7 and:cool:.
 
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