Peace yall,
On the subject of last week's thread about best live albums, I just
acquired 2 new records that are certainly noteworthy:
John Handy : live at the Monterey Jazz Festival (Columbia Records)
A heavyweight slab of wax!!! There is one song on each side, Spanish Lady
(20 minutes) and If Only We Knew (27 minutes) .. from their performance at
the 1965 festival.
Spanish lady is a free spirited improvisation on a Moorish scale...
beautiful eastern tonalities.
If Only We Knew is an introspective excursion...
The thing that is so special about this record is how the band operates as
a unit, and weave through a musical landscape with peaks and valleys,
really taking you on a breathtaking journey. It's reminiscent of In a
Silent Way or Bitches Brew, but predates it by 5 years.
Performing alongside Handy on this record is Michael White, the excellent
jazz violin player whose record on Blue Thumb "Go With the Flow" is a
must.
Actually while we're on the subject of Monterey, nobody mentioned the
excellent Jimi Hendrix live at Monterey album!! essential!
Nina Simone - Black Gold - RCA / dynagroove 1970
It doesnt say where or when this was recorded, it just says "recorded live
in concert" ... but a man introduces the band first, and on keys is none
other than Weldon Irvine, and when he introduces Nina Simone they jump
into a very fast, funk-jazz version of Milestones... this sets the pace
for the record - uplifting, spiritual, black music.
the musicians beautifully bring out Nina Simones emotional songs...
There's a great version of Miriam Makeba's Westwind which features an excellent
(and highly samplable) conga groove.
peace & happy hunting
Nat
p.s. Re: the whole web is dead thread... I been on the list on and off
since 94 ... its the only list really pay attention to... a great group of
people all over the world!!! Respect!
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