These four medium-sized big band Muhal Richard Abrams studio recordings from the early '90s all kind of run together in my mind... I obviously need to listen to them more in order to differentiate them... there's a lot going on in them, with each piece stylistically its own thing... Something I need to come to terms with: I am not so fond of his synthesizer work... what he's playing is fine, and fits in with the pieces, sort of, but it feels like he is using manufacturer pre-set tones... perhaps it's grossly unfair to compare his synth work with Sun Ra's, but who else in the jazz big band universe employs synthesizers in these ways? (I'm sure there are others.... let me know who I'm missing...)... to me, Sun Ra's use of synthesizers is more organic and inventive, and is better integrated into the music... but (in all seriousness) what do I know? Muhal's synthesizer work doesn't move me like Ra's does... This coming week I'll be taking a short break from my Muhal Richard Abrams deep dive... I'll be attending Big Ears and thus will be otherwise preoccupied! Will pick it back up the week after...
Playlist 2024-03-18:*Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet: 1973-11-04 Berlin (CDR)
*Muhal Richard Abrams: 1986-03-28 Charlottesville VA (CDR)
*Muhal Richard Abrams: FamilyTalk
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Think All Focus One
*Muhal Richard Abrams: Song for All
*Muhal Richard Abrams: One Line, Two Views
*Louis Armstrong: The Louis Armstrong Story Vol. 3: Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines (side 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium (disc 2)
*Daniel Barbiero/Cristiano Bocci: Now/Here
*Paul Bley: Live in Haarlem
*Terri Lyne Carrington: New Standards, Vol. 1
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2023-12-29 Nashville (rough mix wav)
*John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings (disc 11)
*Chick Corea: The Complete "Is" Sessions (disc 2)
*Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Best of Duke Ellington (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 6 (disc 1)
*Farmers By Nature: Love and Ghosts "Aquilo"
*Kate Gentile: Find Letter X (disc 2)
*Samuel Goff: Transmissions
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-10 Washington DC (CDR) (disc 4)
*Grateful Dead: 1990-03-19 Hartford CT (CDR) (disc 1)
*Mary Halvorson: Cloudward
*Andrew Hill Trio: 1972 Yellow Springs, OH (CDR)
*London Jazz Composers Orchestra featuring Anthony Braxton: 1988-03-25 Basel, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2)
*Charles Mingus and His Jazz Groups: Mingus Dynasty (side 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory: 2000-09-02 Chicago (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Not Yet: Six Compositions
*National Health: National Health (side 1)
*New Ting: 2024-03-04 "Slippery Traffic" (wav)
*Sam Rivers: Sizzle (side 1)
*Ernesto Rodrigues/Guilherme Rodrigues/Daniel Barbiero: [The] Nature [of Things] Likes to Hide
*Ches Smith: Laugh Ash
*Soft Machine: Fourth (side 2)
*Sparks: Propaganda (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: The Rest of Sparks (side 1)
*Sparks: Big Beat (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Research Arkestra: Paradiso Amsterdam 1970
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Saturn XIII (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Omniverse (side 2)
*Cecil Taylor Quartet: In Europe (side 1)
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 7)
*Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One
*UYA: 1992-10-27: The Flaw Won (wav)
*UYA: 1992-11-01: Actifact (wav)
*Various artists: 7 x 7
*Anna Webber: Shimmer Wince
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