Playlist, Week of 2026-03-29

 

For me, Curtis Mayfield's solo work, as interesting as it is, can't hold a candle to the music he produced with the Impressions... the writing is better (he never equaled songs as powerful as "They Don't Know," "We're a Winner," or "I'm Loving Nothing," with the possible exception of "Move On Up" from Curtis), the blend of voices is more interesting, Mayfield's guitar work is stronger and subtler, plus there's the orchestrations of Johnny Pate, adding texture, acting almost as a fourth voice... I've been enjoying working my way through a lot of live Art Ensemble of Chicago sets... very open-ended, with melodies as signposts along the way, or springboards for nuanced improvisations... 

Playlist 2026-03-30:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-26 NYC (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1987-03-06 Cambridge MA (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra "Comp. 25" (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 5)
*Daniel Carter: Makeshift Spirituals, Vol. 1
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 2)
*Nels Cline Singers: Draw Breath
*Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come (side 1)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 6) "Directions"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Masterpieces by Ellington (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1964
*Duke Ellington: Yale Concert
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites
*Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (50th Anniversary) (sides 1, 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-18 Munich (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-09-11 Williamsburg VA (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 19 (1973-10-19 Oklahoma City OK) "Dark Star > Mind Left Body Jam"
*Craig Harris: Black Bone (side 1)
*Heldon: Electronique Guerilla
*Julius Hemphill: Dogon A.D.
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 7)
*Impressions: This Is My Country
*Impressions: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story 
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 1)
*Magda Mayas' Filamental: Murmur
*Maurice McIntyre: Humility in the Light of the Creator (side 1)
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2026-03-23 "Red Fire Extinguishers on Parade" (wav)
*Sonny Rollins Quintet: Rollins Plays for Bird (side 1)
*Fie Schouten: Open Space
*Sparks: Balls (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind Vol. 1
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite (side 1)
*Gebhard Ullmann/Basement Research: Impromptus and Other Short Works
*UYA: 1994-10-15 Loud Connection (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 3) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-29

Reading List 2026-03-30:

*Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Arden 3rd ed., ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri) (reread/started)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 3) (reread/started)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 1) (reread/started/finished)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 2) (reread/started/finished)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/finished)
*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of a New Name (transl. Ann Goldstein) (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-22

 

More of same... but it's such good stuff!... After hearing Charles Mingus's "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion" on In Argentina,  I went back to the original version and was blown away all over again... this is my absolute favorite of late-period Mingus... its cinematic sweep and grandeur are unparalleled in his work, plus it swings deeply, Ellingtoniangly... Speaking of Ellington, In the Uncommon Market is a great Pablo compilation of '60s live material... And Sun Ra continues to rock my boat... in the early recordings, I find myself drawn to his marvelous piano playing throughout all the solos... he's doing way more than comping... it's just mesmerizing...

Playlist 2026-03-23:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-10 Umea, Sweden (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1998-08-14 Oakland CA (CDR)
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me "Small World in a Small Town"
*Anthony Braxton: For Trio (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 1)
*John Coltrane: The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Jimmy Ghaphery/Sam Byrd: 2026-02-14 Richmond (wav)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-07 Wigan, England (CDR) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-30 Universal City CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-08-01 Jersey City NJ (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Guru Guru: UFO
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 6)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 2)
*Impressions: The Fabulous Impressions
*Impressions: We're a Winner
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Charles Mingus: Cumbia Jazz Fusion (side 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles (side 1)
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (disc 1) 
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 8)
*Larry Ochs/Joe Morris/Charles Downs: Every Day → All The Way
*Evan Parker/Keith Rowe/Barry Guy/Eddie Prévost: Supersession
*Tomeka Reid/Kyoko Kitamura/Taylor Ho Bynum/Joe Morris: Geometry of Phenomena
*Sonny Rollins: Way Out West Plus
*Keith Rowe: The Room
*Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J.J. Johnson: Sonny Stitt Bud Powell J.J. Johnson
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 12)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Else
*Sun Ra: Other Shades (CDR compilation)
*Cecil Taylor: All the Notes (DVD)
*UYA: 1994-10-13 Hey, Turn That Fan Off, Will Ya? (wav)
*Various artists: Doob Doob O'Rama: Filmsongs from Bollywood
*Baby Face Willette: Face to Face
*Stevie Wonder and Wonderlove: 1973-03-04 Berkeley CA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 7, 8)

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-22

Reading List 2026-03-23:

*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of a New Name (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started)
*Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Forty Lashes Less One (started/finished)
*Lock, Graham. "Sun Ra: The Mysteries of Mr. Ra" and "John Gilmore: Big John's Special," in Chasing the Vibration (reread/started/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/in progress)
 

Brody on Sun Ra: Catching Up

His philosophy was a vision of progress--of a future, inspired by black American culture, that would be as glorious in its own way as the one promised by the technological advances of a segregated American society. Ra affirmed that the musical past of jazz was part of the avant-garde, so far ahead of its time that he and his musicians were still struggling to catch up with it. (Richard Brody, "The Sun Ra Centanary," New Yorker, 2014-05-22)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-15

 

In addition to my weekly forays in the worlds of Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, and "Dark Star," this has been a week of exciting electric guitar... For reasons unknown, Nels Cline and Gregg Bendian's revisioning of John Coltrane and Rashied Ali's Interstellar Space had eluded me... whoa, it's incredible... I am slowly exposing myself to more of Otomo Yoshihide's exploratory guitar work... it's particularly strong on his big band album Stone Stone Stone... In my journeys through the UYA archives, the standout aspect for me has been the outstanding sonic explosions of Rodger Coleman's guitar solos... like throwing James Blood Ulmer, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Thurston Moore in a blender... great stuff...

Playlist 2026-03-16:

*And Big Band: 2026-03-01 Chapel Hill NC (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1988-08-31 Chicago (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-01-08 Oakland CA (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Octet (New York) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: Destroy All Nels Cline
*Nels Cline/Gregg Bendian: Interstellar Space Revisited
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Imaginary Vinyl "Face A"
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 3)
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington Octet: Live at the Rainbow Grill
*Duke Ellington Small Bands: The Intimacy of the Blues
*Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests: Baden-Baden '75
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-10 Washington DC (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-24 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Heldon: Third ("It's Always Rock'n'Roll") (disc 1)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: People Get Ready
*Fela Kuti: Roforofo Fight
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 1)
*New Ting: 2026-03-09 Partially parking (wav)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Stone Stone Stone
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 1
*Sergei Rachmaninov: Rachmaninov Plays Chopin
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Visits Planet Earth
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Interstellar Low Ways
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Fate in a Pleasant Mood
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus "Game Is Up"
*UYA: 1994-08-30 Steamin' Demons (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-07 Laundry Bar Billy (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-13 Jiggle Tooth (wav)
*Baby Face Willette: Stop and Listen

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-15

Reading List 2026-03-16:

*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (started)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/started)
*Leonard, Elmore. Hombre (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Valdez Is Coming (started/finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)